Faced with Zhao Jia's plea, Yu Bai did not respond immediately.

She just frowned slightly, with just the right amount of helplessness and embarrassment.

His fingertips curled up unconsciously, stroking the corner of his clothes.

It was as if he was struggling to digest this "bad news", and as if he was struggling fiercely deep in his heart - a struggle between compassion and the reality.

This hesitant and dilemma-like look exactly matched Zhao Jia's prediction.

So, he took another step forward, almost grabbing Yu Bai's arm, his voice was hoarse and pleading with a deliberately suppressed tone:

"Xiaobai, I know this is very difficult for you...but, I really have no other choice!"

"Mom can't wait any longer... The doctor said the sooner the surgery, the better..."

He paused, as if he had made a great decision, and said through gritted teeth:

"Can you...can you help me with this money first? Just think of it as a loan from me! I, Zhao Jia, owe you that!"

Afraid that Yu Bai wouldn't believe him, he immediately added in a firm tone:

"If you don't believe me, I'll write you an IOU right now!"

"As soon as the bonus for that new project comes out, I promise to return it to you immediately, without missing a cent!"

Oh, IOU?

Yu Bai almost couldn't help but applaud his superb acting skills on the spot.

These words were spoken with sincerity and conviction, as if he were really a poor man with a heart full of filial piety and nowhere else to go.

Rather than a shameless person who is scheming, full of lies, and ready to use the money to please another woman.

Zhao Jia is the perfect combination of a dramatic genius and a scumbag. If he doesn't pursue his dream in the entertainment industry, it would be a huge loss to the Chinese film and television industry. Even the Oscars owe him a little golden man.

Yu Bai sneered in his heart, but his face still maintained the hesitation and entanglement caused by the "borrowing money" and "IOU".

This appearance perfectly matched Zhao Jia's inherent impression of her -

She is beautiful, but comes from a poor family; she is kind and soft-hearted, but also short of money. Faced with large sums of money, she will inevitably hesitate or even be unable to afford it.

It’s not that she’s unwilling to help, but... she really can’t come up with so much money.

This is the "reality" that Zhao Jia wants to see and is happy to see.

Sure enough, when he saw that the temperature was "just right", a barely perceptible calculation flashed across Zhao Jia's eyes.

Then, his face was replaced with a complex expression of deep sorrow, deep understanding of justice, and even a bit of self-loathing.

He sighed softly, his voice becoming low and tired. With an almost cruel "consideration", he brought up the sensitive topic again:

"Xiaobai, I'm sorry..."

"It's all my fault... Look, you've had it hard enough treating your brother's illness, and not only can I not help at all, but I'm even...making such an unreasonable request of you..."

He seemed unable to forgive himself, his tone full of self-blame:

"I'm such a piece of shit!"

"Maybe... maybe we really aren't suitable to be together anymore."

He raised his head, looked at Yu Bai with a "sincere" gaze, and explained his previous behavior:

"Actually, the main reason I broke up with you was because of my mom's illness..."

"I was so confused and stressed at the time that I was about to collapse and lose my mind, which is why I said those nonsense... I was afraid of dragging you down."

"In the future... find someone better than me, someone who can treat you sincerely, someone who comes from a better family, and someone who won't cause you trouble or make you suffer like I did."

Every word he said was filled with good intentions of "considering her", as if he was the victim who was forced by reality to let go.

This kind of confession, which was a retreat in order to advance and full of deep feelings, would have moved my previous self to tears.

But at this moment, Yu Bai only felt waves of physiological nausea churning in his stomach.

Good, that’s great.

Playing hard to get, using moral kidnapping, what a great show!

Since you want to watch it, I will cooperate with you!

"No breakup!"

Her voice was clearly tearful, but remarkably firm:

"Zhao Jia, I won't break up! We won't break up!"

"Don't say that... Auntie's illness is more important! Money... money... I promise you."

"Don't leave me..."

As she spoke, she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, quickly took out her cell phone, and tapped the screen a few times with her fingertips trembling slightly with "excitement".

The movements were urgent, with a reckless impulse.

Almost at the same time, a clear and pleasant "ding dong" sound came from the mobile phone in Zhao Jia's pocket - it was a text message notification of the bank's arrival.

"First...take it for emergency."

Yu Bai sniffed, his voice a little choked, as if he had exhausted all his strength, yet with a sense of relief and exhaustion.

"Not enough... Let's find a solution together."

Zhao Jia almost subconsciously took out his phone. When he saw the content of the bank text message on the screen—

[XX Bank] Your savings card account ending in XXXX received RMB 100,000.00 at XX:XX on X/X/X. The current balance is...

One hundred thousand!!!

A full one hundred thousand!

Zhao Jia's pupils suddenly shrank and his breathing stopped for a moment.

He anticipated that Yu Bai might be soft-hearted and might try to scrape together some money, but he never expected that she would actually be able to come up with such a huge amount!

For a moment, great surprise and a hint of imperceptible greed quickly filled his eyes.