Chapter 25
The next morning, Shu Pan got up early and left. She went to the hospital to help her father with the discharge procedures and then took them to the house she previously rented.
Knowing that Shu Pan had sold all their properties to repay the debt, Auntie Lu couldn’t stop crying.
Lu Lifen, too, treated Shu Pan well. She didn’t have any children of her own, so she cherished Shu Pan like her own.
Shu Pan looked at her and pursed her lips, taking out a card from her wallet. “Auntie Lu, there’s still some money in this card, please take it.”
Lu Lifen didn’t decline and accepted it. “Panpan, listen to us. Don’t worry about the money your father owes. We are already old and ready to struggle. At most, we’ll fight with all our might. But you’re still young. Even if you divorce Gu Shaoting, you can still find a more suitable person. Don’t let this situation hold you back.” After living together for more than ten years, it was impossible for her not to care about Shu Pan.
Shu Pan sighed, “If I just leave like that, what will happen to those people?”
“Oh, you’re so foolish,” Lu Lifen said without saying much. “Things have changed. Now, you and Gu Shaoting have come to the point of divorce. Your salary is barely enough to get by, so how can you repay the debt?”
“Yeah, Panpan, Auntie is right. Forget about me. I can even go to jail. It’s just a wretched life,” Shu Laide chimed in. He couldn’t bear to see his beloved daughter burdened with these debts.
“Father, please don’t say that. I’ll figure something out. Take care of your health,” Shu Pan comforted her father, worried that he would blame himself.
After settling everything, Shu Pan went to her father’s company. There was a security guard at the entrance, and inside, it was empty and deserted. Most of the employees had already left after receiving their salaries. Shu Pan took a deep breath. She spent the afternoon arranging the money to pay off the debt collectors. There were still a few left, but she had no other options.
“Get Shu Laide out here!” suddenly came a loud voice from outside the office.
Shu Pan came out and saw that it was those few people who still hadn’t received their money. She acknowledged her fault and spoke politely, “Can you give me a few more days?”
She didn’t expect them to find out so quickly.
“Don’t play tricks with us. If you don’t repay the money today, you won’t be able to leave,” one of the men said menacingly.
Shu Pan took a step back, feeling scared, but she pretended to remain calm and said, “I will definitely repay the debt. Please rest assured.”
“Last time, you said you would repay, but now you’re not. Do you think you can deceive us?” one of the men approached aggressively.
Feeling helpless, Shu Pan suddenly saw a black Mercedes stop by the roadside. A handsome man stepped out of the car and shouted, “Stop.”
Then he approached and called out, “Pan.”
Shu Pan snapped back to reality, realizing that among the people she knew, only Su Yuan would call her Pan. Looking at Su Yuan standing before her, she was stunned, feeling a bit overwhelmed. Although she had repeatedly assured herself that she had let go and could face him calmly if they met again, she was still a bit confused and didn’t know how to react.
Su Yuan walked towards her, looking at the face that had been absent from his life for six years but had appeared in his dreams countless times. His emotion was not as calm as it seemed on the surface. He was excited and wanted to tightly embrace her, but he couldn’t, because he wasn’t allowed to.
In fact, when he returned to China, he had already found out about her workplace and couldn’t help but send flowers to her there. He even secretly watched her leave work and go home, but he didn’t have the courage to approach her. He was afraid that she hadn’t forgiven him.
Shu Pan felt that her life was full of melodrama. She didn’t expect to encounter Su Yuan in such a sorry state, and she felt a bit embarrassed.
“What are you guys doing? A few grown men bullying a woman?” Su Yuan’s sharp gaze seemed to penetrate through them.
“Repaying debts is only natural. Who are you? It’s none of your business,” one of the strong men retorted fiercely to Su Yuan.
“If she owes money, I’ll repay it for her. You all step back for now,” Su Yuan spoke with a powerful and steady aura, tall and imposing in his expensive suit, giving an unapproachable impression. The men immediately took two steps back.
“Fine, keep your word. Repay the money now, and we won’t bother Miss Shu,” one of the men seized the opportunity and quickly stated their objective.
Up until now, Shu Pan still felt a bit bewildered. How did things turn out like this?
“Su Yuan, I’ll find a way to solve this. I don’t need to trouble you,” Shu Pan didn’t want to have any relationship or owe any favors to Su Yuan.
“It’s alright. You can repay me when you have the money. Let’s first resolve the immediate problem,” Su Yuan understood what was in Shu Pan’s mind.
Shu Pan knew that Su Yuan was true to his words, so she let him help resolve the situation. Looking at Su Yuan’s tall figure and his calm demeanor, the young face from her memories had become a bit blurry.
