Chapter Fourteen: Why Did He Come Here?
The note looked like a corner hastily torn from rice paper, with the bank card PIN and a sentence written on it:
Please don't refuse. If you need help, come directly to the Tang family to find me.
The characters were written with a brush, which Su Xiao was very familiar with.
The old man of the Tang family once wrote a piece of calligraphy for her father, who treasured it so much that he hung it in front of his work desk and would look at it every day.
Holding the note, she finally felt a little more at ease.
The fact that the Tang family was willing to stand by her side was undoubtedly the best news they had received in a long time.
Overwhelmed by exhaustion, Su Xiao lay down on the sofa and had the most comforting sleep she'd had in a while.
The next morning, Su Xiao was awakened by the smell of food.
Xu An stood behind the sofa with a smile, holding a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) in his hand: "Wake up, get up and eat."
"An'an?" Su Xiao rubbed her eyes and sat up from the sofa. "Didn't you join a film crew? Why do you have time to come back today?"
"Tsk, you little ingrate."
Xu An stuffed the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) into her hand: "I was afraid you would be sad by yourself, so I flew back overnight and only landed in the early hours of this morning."
"An'an, you're the best."
Su Xiao took a bite of the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) with tears in her eyes; finally, she could eat a proper meal.
With her father able to be buried peacefully, a weight was lifted from her heart.
"Eat quickly. The divorce agreement has been drafted. When are you going to tell him?"
Xu An gently ruffled her hair, feeling a pang of heartache. How could the child suffer so much?
"Next week."
Next week is Yan Mingshen's birthday, and she will give him a big surprise.
After finishing her meal, Su Xiao accompanied Xu An to the airport. She still had filming duties and wouldn't be staying here for long. She rushed back just to see Su Xiao.
After seeing Xu An off, Su Xiao's phone rang; it was a call from the court.
She walked to the corner and answered the call.
"Ms. Su, regarding the joint lawsuit filed by the collectors, if a settlement cannot be reached today, the court will initiate the gallery's auction process to offset part of the debt."
"Can't we have a few more days?"
Su Xiao's grip on her phone tightened slowly, her recently calmed mood sinking again: "Some collectors have already agreed to withdraw their lawsuits, I..."
"I'm sorry, this is the plaintiff's request."
The person on the other end paused for a moment, then continued, "Ms. Su, if you intend to inherit the gallery, please repay your debts as soon as possible."
"I see……"
The call was disconnected, and Su Xiao stood there.
The wind swept fallen leaves past her feet. Although it was summer, she felt as cold as if she were immersed in ice water, the chill running from her fingertips all the way to her heart.
The card the Tang family gave her contained exactly ten million.
Even with the money for the two villas and the amount already frozen in the bank account, it's still more than half short...
Although most of the relatively expensive works in the gallery have been salvaged, there are still too many scattered pieces.
Xu An's meager funds were simply insufficient to cover the financial hole.
Who else could she turn to?
Qin Yu's studio was just starting out, and he didn't have much money on hand.
Su Xiao slowly squatted down and leaned against the stone bench by the roadside.
Now both the Su and Yan families are pressuring her, forcing her, and scheming against her.
But all she held in her hand was a handful of shattered light that she couldn't grasp.
He hovered his finger over the screen for a moment, then finally dialed Yan Mingshen's number.
The phone rang for a full half minute before it was answered.
"Xiaoxiao?"
Yan Mingshen seemed surprised that she would call, his voice tinged with impatience:
"What's up?"
Are you busy right now? I'd like to... borrow some money from you.
It was actually a bit difficult to say, but she really couldn't think of anyone else besides Yan Mingshen who could come up with so much money all at once...
Su Xiao paused, and seeing no reply from the other end, she added, forcing herself to speak:
"If I'm not busy, I'll come to your company to find you."
"OK."
"Then... see you at the coffee shop downstairs in thirty minutes."
Yan Mingshen hung up the phone.
Su Xiao stood there, her hand gripping the phone so tightly that it turned slightly white.
After all her efforts, she never expected that she would end up asking Yan Mingshen for help...
I should have scammed more people back then.
Su Xiao gave a wry smile and hailed a taxi to Yan Mingshen's company.
As the car drove towards the city center, Su Xiao looked out the window. Glass-walled office buildings stretched out one after another, and even the wind carried the fast pace and vibrant atmosphere of the city.
"Driver, please pull over, thank you."
Su Xiao got out of the car, pushed open the door of the coffee shop, and greeted the owner.
I walked easily to a corner seat and sat down.
She used to come and wait for him to get off work whenever she wasn't busy.
This coffee shop is my most frequent spot because it offers a perfect view of Yan Mingshen's office window.
She leaned back in her chair, absentmindedly scrolling through her phone.
"Have you been waiting long?"
Yan Mingshen sat opposite her, ordered a strong Americano, and his eyes and brows were filled with a sense of irritability from working overtime for several days.
"No." Su Xiao honestly shook her head: "I just arrived too."
How much do you want?
Yan Mingshen leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table: "I'll have someone transfer the money to your card."
"Eighty million."
Su Xiao obediently lowered her head and took a sip of water.
Everyone in the Tang family knew her card had been frozen, but her husband, Yan Mingshen, was completely unaware…
If you tell anyone, people will laugh at you.
What do you need so much money for?
Yan Mingshen frowned, a cigarette between his fingers, but he didn't light it.
"I've been sued by the collector."
Su Xiao lowered her head, her slender white fingers slowly stroking the rim of the cup: "If we don't pay back soon, the gallery will be auctioned off tomorrow."
Why didn't you tell me sooner?
Yan Mingshen lowered his eyes, lit a cigarette, and the flame flickered between his fingers:
"I can pay you back right now, but you have to come back with me, and also..."
He paused, then continued:
“If the Su Family Gallery is rebuilt, I want you to give 20% of the shares to Xia Zhi.”
"On what grounds?"
Su Xiao instinctively retorted. She looked up at him and felt a sense of unfamiliarity for a moment.
He knew perfectly well that what she valued most was the gallery, yet he still insisted that she give it up to him.
Or is it that, in her eyes, her only value is to be a docile and obedient wife?
"Your hands are no longer suitable for doing these things."
Yan Mingshen's words were neither too harsh nor too mild: "Either listen to me, or..."
He didn't continue, just like Zhou Manyun, he stopped there.
"Yan Mingshen".
Su Xiao's fingers gripped the water glass tightly, and the white tinge from her palms was reflected in Yan Mingshen's eyes.
She opened her mouth, her voice trembling uncontrollably:
Are you even human?
Yan Mingshen had taken advantage of so many of her father's connections, and for the past three years, she had always been obedient to him.
How did things end up like this?
"I've had the contract printed out urgently. Whether you sign it or not is up to you."
He sat there confidently, unmoved by her emotions.
He didn't want her to go begging for other men while her hand was injured.
Besides, the Yan family has everything they need. Once things settle down, he wouldn't mind building her a new one.
"I'll sign..."
"Su Xiao."
A deep voice, tinged with a casual sarcasm, reached Su Xiao's ears.
"If you dare to sign, I'll cut off Xu An's fingers one by one and give them to you to drink with your wine."
Su Xiao looked at him, her hand holding the pen frozen in place, her expression blank for a moment.
The newcomer was wearing a well-tailored black shirt with clean, crisp shoulder lines and two buttons undone at the collar, revealing a delicate and beautiful collarbone.
As they approached, they made no sound, yet their fox-like eyes were half-closed, and the beauty mark at the corner of their eye appeared somewhat dark in the light.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com