The Poor School Heartthrob Was Secretly a Financial Titan - Chapter 17
The atmosphere in room 508 had completely changed.
830,000.
830,000!
I was gambling like crazy, my eyes were bloodshot, and I kept writing IOUs one after another, without ever thinking about how terrifying the numbers would become. Now that I’ve calmed down and look at it again, I feel dizzyâ830,000 yuan, how am I going to pay it back?
Wei Tao’s hands were shaking violently, Huang Xiaolong’s forehead was sweating, and Liu Zhiyuan’s eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses were blank, as if he had gone mad.
Zhou Cheng gritted his teeth, and a fire suddenly ignited in his heart.
Return it? On what grounds should we return it?
How dare some random middleman, who appeared out of nowhere, ask them to pay back their money?
He raised his head, stared at Bao Da, and his eyes darkened.
âHey you, surnamed Bao,â he lowered his voice, âdo you know who we are?â
Bao Da leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs, and remained silent.
Zhou Cheng pointed to himself: “My dad is the presiding judge of the Criminal Division of the Donglin City Intermediate People’s Court.” He then pointed to Wei Tao: “His maternal grandfather was a retired deputy director of the Municipal People’s Congress.” He then pointed to Huang Xiaolong and Liu Zhiyuan: “His dad is the director of a textile factory, and his dad is the deputy director of the Industry and Commerce Bureau.”
He leaned forward and said, enunciating each word clearly, “You want us to pay you back? Do you deserve it?”
Wei Tao recovered his composure and sneered, “Exactly. You, a speculator, dare to play these tricks on us? Believe me, one phone call from me and the Industry and Commerce Bureau will shut you down tomorrow?”
Huang Xiaolong retorted, “Pay back the money? Go back to your motherâ”
Before he could finish speaking, Bao Da slammed his hand on the table.
“Damn it!” He stood up, pointed at the door, and said, “Trying to pull this on me? Fine, I won’t stop you. If you’re so capable, then walk out this door.”
Zhou Cheng stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly stood up.
“Walk!”
He strode towards the door. Wei Tao and the others exchanged glances and followed.
Zhou Cheng pulled open the doorâ
There were three people standing outside the door.
Wearing a black vest, he looked menacing. The leader, a bald man with a tiger tattooed on his neck, had arms twice the size of an average person’s; his presence made even the doorway seem narrow.
Zhou Cheng was stunned.
The bald man looked down at him, grinned, and revealed a mouthful of yellow teeth.
“Shall we go?” He stepped aside, gesturing for us to proceed.
Zhou Cheng didn’t move.
The three people behind them didn’t move either.
As Bao Da sat in the room watching this scene, a weight lifted from his heart.
He acted convincingly just now, but he was actually incredibly nervous inside. He’s just a thief; he’s good at petty theft, but this kind of pretentious debt collection is nowhere near his forte. His palms were sweating profusely when Zhou Cheng and the others were making those threats.
But Han Xuetao said that he should just pretend, and that he would naturally have “sticks” to back him up.
The people have arrived.
Bao Da stared at the three burly men at the door, his mind going blank for a moment.
Where did they find this person?
How can a high school student in a school uniform order around thieves and con artists, and even call in these gangsters?
Is this a high school student? Or is this a gangster boss?
Zhou Cheng stood at the doorway, unsure whether to go in or back. The bald man stood there like a wall of flesh. He steeled himself and took half a step forwardâthe bald man didn’t move, just tilted his head and looked at him. Zhou Cheng then withdrew his half-step.
Bao Da spoke up leisurely from behind: “Gentlemen, focus on paying off your debts and don’t overthink it.”
He stood up, walked over to Zhou Cheng, and patted him on the shoulder.
“I’m not an unreasonable person. If you guys still don’t come out, you can use your spare parts to make up the differenceâ50,000 for each finger. If there are four of you, that’s eight fingers, and I’ll forget about the rest. Consider it making friends, how about it?”
Zhou Cheng’s face turned pale instantly.
Wei Tao’s legs went weak, and he almost sat down on the ground.
Huang Xiaolong and Liu Zhiyuan’s lips trembled, and they couldn’t speak.
Meanwhile, upstairs, the atmosphere was quite different.
In a corner of the sixth-floor Western restaurant, a group of waitresses were gathered in a circle, chattering away.
In the center of the crowd, a young woman in her early twenties was crying her eyes out.
Her name is Yin Qin, a waitress at Chunmei Hotel. She doesn’t talk much, but she’s well-liked.
I usually have a Shiba Inu named A-Chai. I bring it to work and keep it chained up in the staff room; I never let it out. But these past few days, A-Chai has been breaking free of its leash and running away.
When Yinqin found it, Achai was rummaging through the trash can. Upon seeing its owner, it wagged its tail and ran over, but after a couple of steps it suddenly stopped and began coughing violently. It then collapsed to the ground, kicking its legs wildly.
At this moment, A-Chai was being held in Han Xuetao’s arms.
The little guy was making gurgling sounds in his throat, his mouth was open, his tongue was sticking out, and drool was dripping all over Han Xuetao’s pants, but he just couldn’t breathe. His eyes rolled back, and his four legs kicked every now and then.
The surrounding waitresses chattered amongst themselves:
“Take him to the hospital!”
“Hospitals care about people, not dogs!”
“Then go find a veterinarian!”
“They’ve all died by the time we found a veterinarian!”
“Xiao Han, be careful, don’t get bitten!”
Li Man stood at the very edge of the crowd, her face filled with worry. Seeing A-Chai’s distressed state, her heart ached, but she dared not approachâthe dog looked so miserable, what if it bit someone?
But she was startled when she saw Han Xuetao seemingly about to pry open the dog’s mouth.
“Be careful it doesn’t bite you!” she blurted out.
Han Xuetao ignored her and called out, “Bring me a towel!”
Someone sent a white towel via express delivery.
Han Xuetao wrapped a towel around his hand and pressed it down on A Chai’s head. The little dog struggled desperately, kicking its four legs wildly, and the purring in its throat grew more and more rapid.
Han Xuetao lowered his head and stared into its eyes.
Their eyes met, and A-Chai froze.
That look seemed to say: Move one more time and I’ll snap your neck.
The puppy let out a whimper, its body shrank back, its tail tucked between its legs, and it dared not move again.
Han Xuetao held its head still with his left hand and inserted two fingers of his right hand into its mouth, probing deep into its throat.
A collective gasp of astonishment filled the air.
Li Man stood to the side, seemingly frozen in place.
The moment she saw Han Xuetao stick his finger into the dog’s mouth, her heart leaped into her throat. The movement was swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation, as if he didn’t care at all whether the dog would bite himâor rather, he didn’t believe the dog would dare to bite him.
That certainty, that sense of control, made her heart skip a beat.
Han Xuetao’s fingers probed the dog’s throat for a few seconds, his brow furrowing slightly. Suddenly, he pushed his fingers further in and pulled them outâ
A beer bottle cap fell to the ground, covered in sticky saliva and a little blood.
Ah Chai coughed twice, panting heavily, then let out a howl and tried to run away. Han Xuetao’s hand was still holding it down. The little dog struggled a couple of times but couldn’t move, lying there trembling all over.
Cheers erupted all around.
Wow! Xiao Han is amazing!
“They’re saved!”
“That’s amazing!”
Li Man stood there, feeling her legs go weak. She braced herself on her knees, her heart pounding wildly.
She had only ever seen boys play basketball or soccer before, running around in sweat, yelling when they scored. She had never seen anything like thisâjust prying open a dog’s mouth, sticking her hand in, and pulling something out of its throat.
That composure, that calmness, that overwhelming powerâit struck her heart instantly.
She looked at Han Xuetao and suddenly felt that this boy was a complete stranger.
At school, he sat in the back row of the classroom, didn’t talk much, and had a low profile. He had good grades but never showed off. She was the class monitor for three years, and her impression of him was that he was “a decent student and quite honest.”
But now, this “honest” Han Xuetao is gently stroking the head of the little Shiba Inu with his hand covered in dog saliva. The hand that was so forceful just moments ago is now very gentle.
The scene was surprisingly heartwarming.
Li Man’s nose tingled, and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
She didn’t know why she wanted to cry, so she quickly covered her mouth, turned around, and ran away.
I ran to the bar, and just then, the phone rang.
Li Man picked up the receiver.
“Hello? 508? Two large bottles of Coke? Okay.”
She hung up the phone and was about to turn around when Han Xuetao walked over.
“Who made the call?” he asked.
Although Han Xuetao was rescuing the dog, he had been keeping an eye on the bar area. When he saw Li Man answer a phone call, he came over to ask what was going on.
When Li Man saw him coming, she panicked. She didn’t dare to get too close to him nowâjust by standing there, she could smell his unique scent, and the scene of him prying open the dog’s mouth and sticking his hand inside would automatically flash through her mind.
My heart is racing again.
“No…it’s nothing, you go ahead and do your thing.”
She looked down, turned around and grabbed two large bottles of Coke, then ran downstairs with them.
Han Xuetao stood there, watching her run away, his brows furrowed slightly.
Why are you running?
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