Chapter 79:  She Has to Repay the Debt with Lu Zhixing?

He had never considered money a problem, so when Xie Yunshu asked for 3,000 yuan in compensation, he agreed without hesitation. He felt he owed her, and if spending money could make her feel a little less sad, he was willing to pay.

Of course, he wasn’t going to ask the Lu family for the money. Aside from what he had in his savings passbook, he borrowed 1,800 yuan from several friends. His salary was already quite high, and with the generous year-end bonus, he didn’t feel much pressure. After all, he didn’t spend much each month, and he could just pay his friends back slowly with his wages.

But now Zhou Xinyue was constantly pestering him for money. He felt not just annoyed, but also that she was vulgar! And now she was even threatening him using his parents — all for a bit of money?

Because of what happened with Zhou Xinyue, he had already caused a major scandal at the hospital. He even lost his position as vice president. If Zhou Xinyue went to the Lu family and caused more drama, how could he continue to show his face at work?

“The money on my salary card — aside from a small amount for living expenses — all has to go toward repaying debts. As for the year-end bonus, you can forget about it.” Lu Zhixing looked at Zhou Xinyue coldly, his gaze devoid of affection and laced with mockery. “You keep saying you didn’t want to marry me, but in the end, didn’t you still force me into it? Zhou Xinyue, I used to think you were kind and pitiful — clearly, I was blind!”

Regret already?

Zhou Xinyue abruptly pulled Xiaowei over and kicked him hard. “Kneel down and beg your father for money! If he doesn’t give it to you, don’t you dare get up!”

Xiaowei’s little face scrunched up in pain. He bit his lip and obediently knelt down. His expression was vacant and submissive, as if he had been trained to ignore pain. He lowered his forehead to the floor — once, twice, over and over again…

Lu Zhixing was so shocked that he stumbled back a few steps before quickly pulling Xiaowei up forcefully. He glared at Zhou Xinyue with rage. “First, you used my parents to pressure me. Now, you’re using a child? Zhou Xinyue, how did you become like this?”

Suddenly, he remembered what happened that day at the apartment block — Zhou Xinyue had brought Xiaowei to kneel and beg Xie Yunshu as well. And what had he said back then?

He said, “Forcing a five-year-old to kneel and apologize — is that your goal?” He had also said to Xie Yunshu, “Don’t make things hard for a child. It’s the adults who are at fault — how could you be so cruel?”

But now he was the one being forced — only now did he realize how foolish he had been!

Seeing that Xiaowei had been pulled up, Zhou Xinyue’s expression turned even uglier. She began crying pitifully, trying to win his sympathy — a tactic that used to always work: “Zhixing-ge, I know you still don’t want to see Xiaowei and me suffer. My father was a benefactor to the Lu family, and later you saved me and married me. Can’t we just live a good life? Now that we’re married and Xiaowei is registered under the Lu family household, Yunshu can’t come back…”

She didn’t believe Lu Zhixing’s talk about debts at all. What kind of family was the Lu family? How could they possibly owe money?

Lu Zhixing felt a deep chill spreading through him as he looked at Zhou Xinyue, as if he was seeing her for the first time. He once thought she was delicate and fragile, like soft ivy wrapping around him. He enjoyed her admiration and dependence, and basked in the compliments from others.

He never imagined that one day he would be so tightly entangled by that ivy he couldn’t breathe.

This was the first time Lu Zhixing felt such overwhelming regret — even more than when Xie Yunshu filed for divorce and completely left. He didn’t even dare imagine what Xie Yunshu must have thought of him when he constantly defended Zhou Xinyue and confronted her again and again.

Bitterness rose from his chest to his lips. Lu Zhixing was exhausted: “Zhou Xinyue, if it’s money you want, I can give it to you. Once this mess is over, let’s get a divorce. Whether you want three thousand or eight thousand, I’ll give it to you.”

He had been wrong — he should’ve just used money to settle things from the start, instead of trying to fix everything himself.

Divorce? She had risked her reputation and even her life to marry him — and he dared to talk about divorce just two days after getting their marriage certificate?

Zhou Xinyue bit her lip. Three thousand or eight thousand — that’s all she was worth?

Sure, she had schemed to sleep with Lu Zhixing on purpose, but her goal was to become his wife and live a good life — not just get a few thousand yuan!

In the past, tears would always soften Lu Zhixing’s heart. But now, no matter how much she cried, it didn’t work. “Zhixing-ge, I love you — how could I divorce you? Xiaowei is our child now. Even if you don’t care about me, can’t you care about him a little?”

Even now, she still thought Lu Zhixing was just brushing her off. Why wouldn’t he give her his salary card? Was he still thinking about Xie Yunshu? Was he trying to save the money for her? But she was now the daughter-in-law of the Lu family — she was Madam Lu, the future wife of the hospital director!

Xie Yunshu would never set foot in the Lu household again!

Lu Zhixing’s tone grew more irritable. He looked at Zhou Xinyue coldly: “When Yunshu lost her job, I promised her 3,000 yuan as compensation. That money from the savings passbook has already gone to her. The remaining 1,800 yuan I borrowed from friends. From my salary, I can give you 10 yuan a month — the rest has to go toward debt.”

“Believe it or not — that’s all I can do! If you want to cause a scene, go ahead. I don’t have any more money for you! If you like this house so much, then stay here by yourself!”

With that, he grabbed Xiaowei and walked out the door, leaving Zhou Xinyue alone in the house.

Zhou Xinyue was still processing his words, and by the time she came back to her senses, the only thing left was the swinging door and the neighbors outside pretending not to watch — but they were clearly all waiting to see her make a fool of herself!

But Zhou Xinyue had no mind to care about any of that. She slammed the door shut and, nearly crazed, picked up a chair and smashed it against the wall! The fragile wood splintered into pieces on the ground!

Xie Yunshu had not only taken everything in the house when she divorced, she had even taken the full 3,000 yuan! Zhou Xinyue had worked so hard to seize her chance, used every trick to marry Lu Zhixing, dreaming of living a high life — yet now she was stuck repaying debt with him?

And those debts were all because of Xie Yunshu!

The only person left for her to vent on — Xiaowei — had also been taken away by Lu Zhixing. Zhou Xinyue was so furious she nearly lost her mind. Even after smashing all the chairs, her anger hadn’t subsided.

She had grown up pampered in the military compound, adored and spoiled. Then she was trafficked to a remote village, where life was worse than death.

Even after being rescued, everyone looked at her with pity, as if she was dirty, as if she was less than them! Why? What gave them the right to look down on her?

She, Zhou Xinyue, was born to live a good life. Now that she had married Lu Zhixing, she deserved the best clothes, the best food!

That imported down jacket in the department store — she had wanted it for so long. Why, after marrying into the Lu family, could she still not afford it?