It was just like the tangled mess between her and Xie Yunting—one she couldn’t cut off or sort out.
She wanted no money, no bags or jewelry either. Once money got involved, everything changed.
Ming Yue seized the chance to slip into the bathroom and dialed the number saved as “Ting.” It rang once before connecting. “President Xie, lend me five hundred thousand. Consider it payment for that night we spent together.”
This was the first time Xie Yunting had heard someone ask for a loan so bluntly, with such a hard-edged attitude.
“Ming Yue, are you insulting me… or yourself?”
He yanked off his tie in irritation and tossed it onto the sofa. Ming Yue rarely called his personal line; he’d thought it was something else. But no—it was about money.
Fine, a loan was one thing. But using their one-night stand as collateral?
Was that all that tied them together?
Ming Yue ignored his question and said just three words: “Will you lend it?”
A minute later, Xie Yunting replied, “Sent.”
Ming Yue checked her account balance. “I’ll return the extra. I only need five hundred thousand—not a penny more.”
Stubborn and bullheaded, just as he’d expected. He wouldn’t get any details about why she needed it.
“Thanks, President Xie. I’ll draw up the IOU by Monday.” Her tone was all business, like she was reporting to her boss.
An IOU—she actually thought of that. No doubt, come Monday morning, one would be sitting on his desk.
She hung up.
Ming Yue knew Xie Yunting would lend it. Forget five hundred thousand; even five million, and he’d transfer it without hesitation.
Pretending nothing had happened, she came back out to comfort Gu Nianyi. “Get some good sleep first. We’ll deal with tomorrow when it comes.”
Ming Yue couldn’t convince Gu Nianyi to cut ties with her parents. Li Huiling was a contradictory woman, unable to treat her children equally but still giving Gu Nianyi a little.
On the last day of her college entrance exams, Li Huiling would wait outside the test center, asking if she was hot, what she wanted to eat.
When she started college, she’d even see her to the dorm—though never with the same attention she lavished on her son.
When Gu Mingxuan went to college, Li Huiling sent food constantly, terrified he’d go hungry.
Ming Yue and Gu Nianyi were different. Her own parents had never spared her a scrap of love.
So after middle school, she’d cut all ties with Blue Mountain Town.
Home was a distant, unfamiliar thing that didn’t even exist.
Meanwhile, at Cypress View Pavilion, Nian Gao stared at the door for ages, waiting in vain for Gu Nianyi. Growing hungry, she clambered up and down in search of food, meowing nonstop in protest.
No use counting on the man on the sofa, frozen like a statue.
In the empty house, the kitten’s cries grated on his ears.
Lu Jin’an sent Gu Nianyi a message: 【Nian Gao keeps meowing.】
The abrupt text had Gu Nianyi puzzling over it for a few seconds. 【Sorry, Nian Gao must be hungry. Could you feed her? There’s cat food and cat strips in the snack cabinet in the kitchen.】
She quickly added: 【Just one strip.】
Lu Jin’an opened a box of cat food, mimicking Gu Nianyi’s usual motions as he poured it into her bowl, then called the kitten over.
Nian Gao held a grudge against him and wouldn’t come eat. Lu Jin’an put on a stern face. “Your mom’s not coming home. It’s just me feeding you now.”
The little cat, powerless against the lure of food, dashed to her bowl and tucked in with gusto.
After finishing the kibble, Nian Gao looked up at Lu Jin’an with big, pleading eyes, fixated on the cat strip in his hand.
“Just one.”
Even after devouring it, the kitten kept gazing at him with those wide eyes. Lu Jin’an saw echoes of Gu Nianyi in her and sighed. “Last one.”
“You think your mom would be this easygoing?”
As if Nian Gao could understand.
Lu Jin’an flicked her forehead. “Ungrateful little thing.”
Full and satisfied, Nian Gao started nibbling at his pant leg.
After a night to regroup, Gu Nianyi had made up her mind. Dodging the issue wasn’t a solution; she had to face it head-on.
But Lu Jin’an wasn’t home, and she chickened out again.
She searched online for an IOU template, added her fingerprint, and left it on the desk in the study.
Gu Nianyi sat downstairs, waiting anxiously for Lu Jin’an to return.
Ming Yue called first. “Yi Yi, I sent you five hundred thousand. Use it to cover the gap for now.”
Gu Nianyi asked, “Where’d you get that kind of money?”
Ming Yue lied. “Xie Yunting gave me a necklace. I sold it. Don’t worry about it—just fill the hole. You can pay me back later. I actually liked that necklace.”
The first part might be true; the rest was pure fabrication. She didn’t want Gu Nianyi burdened, so she called it a loan and dangled the necklace to distract her.
Gu Nianyi’s eyes grew misty. “Ming Yue, how am I ever going to repay you?”
Ming Yue teased, “Penalty: You can never leave me for the rest of your life. Be my friend in the next one too.”
Without Gu Nianyi, she’d have dropped out long ago. Without her, she wouldn’t even be alive.
So what was five hundred thousand?
And what did she owe Xie Yunting matter?
Xie Yunting was in a foul mood and dragged Lu Jin’an and Lin Qianyu out for cards first thing in the morning.
Men disappointed in love, huh.
The moment he saw Lu Jin’an, the clouds over the loan cleared up.
“Ming Yue hit me up last night for five hundred thousand. Get this—she’s not house-hunting or car-shopping. The only person around her who needs cash is one person. Only that one would be in trouble enough to make her ask me.”
Lu Jin’an played a card, replying offhandedly, “Got it.”
Lin Qianyu chimed in, “Ming Yue? The girl you’ve got stashed away?”
No one answered him. He’d gone abroad, and the world had changed.
Just then, Lu Jin’an’s phone buzzed with a message from Gu Nianyi: 【Lu Jin’an, I’m so sorry. I used five hundred thousand of the betrothal gift. This five hundred thousand is a loan from you. IOU’s on the desk. Sign when you get back.】
Five hundred thousand—matched perfectly.
Gu Nianyi couldn’t wait around forever; with it weighing on her, she couldn’t focus on anything. A WeChat heads-up would at least prepare him.
Five hundred thousand might be pocket change to Lu Jin’an, but to her, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back—a massive boulder.
The IOU was a constant reminder of the vast gulf between them.
Even with Ming Yue’s money, how could she use it to fill the hole? She’d rather Lu Jin’an resent her, blame her—anything but Ming Yue owing Xie Yunting.
The necklace story might fool outsiders, but not her.
Coincidentally, Xie Yunting got a message from Gu Nianyi: 【President Xie, thanks for the five hundred thousand. Paying you back. Ming Yue doesn’t owe you.】
Lin Qianyu watched them both check their phones. “You two got messages? I’m just the third wheel here.”
Xie Yunting shoved his screen in Lu Jin’an’s face. “Your wife’s.”
Lin Qianyu leaned back in his chair and drawled, “This is gonna be good.”
Lu Jin’an shot him a glance. “Too chatty. Go home and beat the jet lag.”
Lin Qianyu: “…”
He’d just come back from America—not outer space, for crying out loud.
The three stopped playing. Lin Qianyu felt like an outsider, clueless about what was going on.
Xie Yunting crossed his arms. “Those two sisters are something else. One borrows for her friend; the other repays for hers. Dr. Lu, five hundred thousand has your wife this worked up? We haven’t gone bankrupt, have we?”
From their talk, Lin Qianyu pieced together the gist and piled on. “What kind of marriage is this? You’re like strangers.”
Lu Jin’an stood, seemingly unconcerned. “We are strangers.”
He grabbed his suit jacket from the chairback. “I’m out. You two keep playing.”
Lin Qianyu turned to Xie Yunting. “What’s his rush to get home?”
Well, damn—Xie Yunting snatched up his own coat. “Beats me. I’m leaving too. Play by yourself.”
Lin Qianyu shouted, “I fucking—”
He nearly cursed. Did he have “sucker” written on his forehead? They’d woken him at eight on a weekend morning, and they bailed before one round was done.
“Settle up before you go.” No way was he the fall guy.
Lu Jin’an got home and headed straight for the study. The IOU lay on the desk, weighted down by an inkstone.
He picked it up. Written in neat regular script, every stroke precise and elegant.
Party A (Lender): Lu Jin’an. Party B (Borrower): Gu Nianyi. Full ID numbers provided. Due to personal reasons, borrowing five hundred thousand RMB in full (five hundred thousand RMB in figures). Loan term and interest spelled out clearly.
Below: Stipulations for breach of contract and penalties; designated jurisdiction court; borrower liable for legal fees, preservation costs if unpaid.
Signed and thumbprinted at the bottom.
A textbook-perfect IOU template.
And a duplicate, identical—one for each party. Gu Nianyi had already signed and thumbprinted both.
For a moment, Lu Jin’an felt like he was reviewing a company contract.
At some unknown moment, Gu Nianyi stood outside the study door, not daring to step inside. In a small voice, she apologized. “Lu Jin’an, I’m sorry.”
“Take a look and see if there’s anything that needs adding. The interest rate is the average I calculated from comparing credit loan rates at major banks.”
Lu Jin’an lifted his gaze. She stood ramrod straight, like a model student who’d bombed an exam and was now facing the teacher in their office for a scolding.
His voice was cold and detached. “No.”
Gu Nianyi pressed on with her explanation. “I lent the remaining betrothal money to my mom. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It won’t happen again. If you want a divorce, I’ll break the news to both our parents.”
Divorce? How had she linked those two things together?
Lu Jin’an’s long, bony fingers toyed with the pen beside him as he furrowed his brow slightly. “Is this matter that serious?”
Gu Nianyi frowned in confusion. “Isn’t it? I made a large expenditure without getting your permission first.”
The man fell silent for a long moment, his expression lazy and aloof. His gaze lingered on her face, searching for any hint of what she was truly thinking.
The atmosphere grew eerie. The air hung heavy and stagnant, as if even the molecules had frozen in place, making it hard to breathe.
Gu Nianyi drew in a deep breath and lowered her lashes, urging him on. “If you have no objections, the pen and ink pad are right there.”
Lu Jin’an gave no response either way. His thin lips curved into a faint arc. It was too ridiculous.
In a surge of anger that dissolved into incredulous laughter, he tore the IOU to shreds and tossed it into the trash bin.
A sharp, chilling aura radiated from him.
Gu Nianyi stepped into the study, her expression tense. “Is there something wrong?”