Chapter 31: An Advance Payment

Not only was Wang Huaying not angered, but after a quick turn of her eyes, she shifted her attention to Tao Hongyi and immediately began promoting her own daughter with a flattering smile.

“Oh, young man, don’t be upset. If you think Tang Shu’s family background isn’t good enough, then why not take a look at our Xinyao instead?”

“Our family is well-off. You wouldn’t have to shoulder a single cent of debt. Xinyao is beautiful, gentle, sensible, and has a wonderful personality. If you marry her, you won’t have any pressure at all. Isn’t she a hundred times better than Tang Shu?”

The words made Tao Hongyi feel utterly disgusted. He was annoyed just looking at the mother and daughter for even a second longer.

Tang Songhai immediately stepped forward and shielded the others behind him.

“Sister-in-law, Xiaoyi is an honored guest in our home. Please show some respect. Don’t make inappropriate jokes, and don’t try to play matchmaker.”

Wang Huaying clicked her tongue impatiently. Too lazy to keep beating around the bush, she delivered her ultimatum directly.

“Fine. I won’t waste any more words on you.”

“In short, Tang Shu must go to the blind date at Starry Night Restaurant this morning. That’s a high-end western restaurant that ordinary people can’t even get into. It’s already doing your family a favor.”

“We’re not going.” Tao Qingrou’s face turned pale, but she shook her head firmly. “My daughter’s marriage will never be used to repay a debt.”

Tang Songhai echoed her words in a low voice.

“This matter isn’t up for discussion. We won’t force Shu Shu to go on a blind date.”

Seeing the family’s unwavering attitude, Wang Huaying finally dropped all pretense of kindness. Her expression twisted as she looked down at them arrogantly.

“I didn’t come here to discuss this with you.”

“I came here to inform you!”

“If Tang Shu dares not show up for the blind date today, then that one million two hundred thousand yuan debt must be repaid in full within three days!”

“And if you can’t pay it back by then, don’t blame me for bringing people here to make trouble. I’ll shut down your hot pot restaurant completely and make sure your entire family can never hold their heads up in Yuncheng again!”

Tao Qingrou had always been gentle and accommodating.

Normally, she preferred to avoid conflict whenever possible.

But after being repeatedly harassed and threatened at her own doorstep, she was finally exhausted beyond measure.

Her eyes were filled with weariness and helplessness.

Tang Shu, who had been silently watching everything unfold, felt the coldness in her eyes explode into fury.

She turned around, walked to the entryway, picked up the broom leaning against the wall, and strode directly toward the two women.

Her small face was ice-cold.

“My family doesn’t welcome you. Leave immediately.”

Before they could react, Tang Shu raised the broom and steadily advanced toward them.

“You can either walk out yourselves, or I’ll throw you out.”

“I acknowledge the debt. But if you think you can use my marriage to repay it, keep dreaming.”

Forced back by the broom, Wang Huaying and Tang Xinyao retreated again and again.

While awkwardly dodging, they continued hurling curses and vulgar insults nonstop.

Expressionless, Tang Shu drove them all the way out of the house.

The next second, she slammed the front door shut with a loud bang, completely cutting off the noise from outside.

Outside the door, Tang Xinyao rubbed the sleeve that had been brushed by the broom and looked at Wang Huaying unhappily.

“Mom, Tang Shu is being so stubborn. What if she really refuses to go on the blind date no matter what?”

Wang Huaying straightened her wrinkled clothes and smirked confidently, calculation filling her eyes.

“She’ll go.”

“Their family simply can’t come up with one million two hundred thousand yuan in cash. Once the three-day deadline arrives, they won’t have any way to repay it.”

“If it weren’t for securing a stable, high-paying job for your brother through the Liu family’s connections, I wouldn’t even bother personally dealing with a poor family like theirs.”

Tang Xinyao immediately agreed, her eyes full of contempt.

“Exactly. People who are both poor and stubborn aren’t worthy of associating with us in the first place.”

“We’ll just wait for them to bow their heads and beg for mercy.”

The mother and daughter exchanged a glance before striding away in their high heels.

Inside the house, silence instantly descended.

The atmosphere was heavy and oppressive.

Looking at his aunt’s haggard face, Tao Hongyi felt a pang of heartache.

“Aunt, what exactly happened?”

“How did your family end up owing such a huge debt?”

“You’ve been carrying such a burden all this time. Why didn’t you ever tell our family?”

“My parents and grandparents have always worried about you. As long as you said the word, we could have paid off the debt at any time. Why bear all of this suffering alone?”

Tao Qingrou’s nose stung.

Her eyes reddened slightly as she spoke in a pleading voice.

“Xiaoyi, please… don’t tell your parents or grandparents about this.”

“Your uncle and I can slowly earn the money and repay the debt ourselves. We don’t want to trouble your family anymore, nor do we want our relatives far away to worry about us.”

“We can get through this ourselves.”

Tao Hongyi didn’t continue persuading her.

Instead, he directly pulled a bank card from his wallet and solemnly handed it to her.

“Aunt, there are one million yuan in this card.”

“I’ll transfer another two hundred thousand to you right now through my phone. That makes exactly one million two hundred thousand.”

“Pay off the debt first.”

“At least Shu Shu won’t have to go on a blind date to repay it.”

Looking at the bank card before her, Tao Qingrou’s fingertips trembled slightly.

Without hesitation, she pushed it back.

“No, Xiaoyi. I can’t take this money.”

She knew that if she accepted it, her brother’s family would most likely never ask her to repay it.

That kind of favor was a debt her family could never afford to return.

She didn’t want to burden her distant relatives any further.

A family’s hardships should be borne by the family itself.

“Aunt, at a time like this, what does pride even matter?”

“Getting through the immediate crisis is what’s important.”

Tao Hongyi frowned deeply and tried to force the card back into her hands, clearly anxious.

Tang Shu had remained silent the entire time.

After listening to their conversation, she lifted her eyes calmly.

Then she turned and walked straight back to her bedroom.

A few minutes later, she returned holding a bank card.

Walking up to Tao Qingrou, she gently pressed it into her mother’s hand.

“Mom, there’s no need to trouble Cousin.”

“I have money.”

“There are one million three hundred thousand yuan in this card. It’s enough to pay off all the debt.”

“With the remaining money, we can handle the restaurant’s issues and completely cut off all ties with Uncle’s family.”

The moment those words fell, the living room became silent.

Tang Songhai and Tao Qingrou froze simultaneously.

They stared at the bank card in disbelief.

“Shu Shu, where did you get so much money?”

“You’re still a student. How could you possibly have saved up one million three hundred thousand yuan?”

Everyone’s eyes fell upon her, filled with worry and confusion.

Tang Shu had already prepared her explanation.

Lowering her gaze to hide the guilt in her eyes, she replied calmly,

“Do you remember Aunt Qiao?”

“She introduced me to a high-end online part-time job before. The workload wasn’t heavy, but the pay was very good. I recently finished a major project, and this was the final payment.”

When her parents still looked unconvinced, she rubbed the tip of her nose and stubbornly added,

“If you don’t believe me, you can call Aunt Qiao right now. She can vouch for me.”

In reality, every cent of that enormous sum had been transferred to her by Shi Zhiyu.

Before coming home, she had already made up her mind.

This time, she would use the money to completely pay off her family’s debts and free them from the endless oppression of her uncle’s family.

There was less than a month left before she completed her relationship mission with Shi Zhiyu.

Once the mission ended and she received the final one million yuan payment, she would return every cent to him without keeping a single yuan.

She would simply treat the money as an advance payment on her future earnings—

a payment to be settled later.

She had no intention of taking even the smallest advantage of him.

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