Chapter 21: Is it real money burning?

“What the hell? What’s going on?”

Ma Lao San and his associates could no longer laugh, exchanging uneasy glances instead. Has Liu Fang gone mad? Getting this scared by a deadbeat so early in the morning? Zhang Qiang’s eyelids twitched violently, his gaze locked on the transfer agreement in Lin Fan’s hand. For some unknown reason, a sense of unease and tension began to creep into everyone’s hearts, along with the faint, ominous premonition of impending disaster.

“What are you doing here? You’re not welcome. Get out right now!”

Lin Fan was momentarily stunned, his jaw clenching silently. You teamed up with the Su Family to pressure me last night, and now you want me to plead your case? Do you have no shame? You’ve completely thrown away your pride!

A flare of anger rose in his chest. Lin Fan took several steps forward and gestured dismissively toward the door. “If you don’t get out now, I’ll throw you out myself!”

“Lin Fan, I already apologized to your mother! What more do you want?” Liu Fang cried, turning her head. Her face was a mess of snot and tears as she screamed at him. “Can’t you just forgive me? Please, ask the person from last night to spare me and let me off the hook!”

After she had rushed to the hospital the previous night, her aunt had already been admitted to the intensive care unit for emergency treatment and was still in critical condition. Her uncle’s family was furious, and other relatives and friends were screaming for her blood. Even her own parents cursed her relentlessly when they arrived. Terrified, she was beaten until she was wailing in the hospital corridor, nearly losing her life. She barely made it to dawn before rushing to the memorial hall as if her pants were on fire, hoping to move Lin Fan with her weeping repentance.

“Ah… I’m so sorry, so sorry! Please, be the bigger person! Ask your uncle to spare me and my aunt!” From the corner of her eye, she spotted Yuan Youwei beside Lin Fan, and her whole body trembled. She scrambled forward on her knees and prostrated herself at Yuan Youwei’s feet.

“Weren’t you the one saying last night that you’d raise the rent however you liked?” Yuan Youwei’s red lips curled into a half-smile as she retorted. “And didn’t you also tell me to wait, that you’d be back to settle the score?”

“No, no, no! I was out of my mind! I was insane! I was just joking, please, I beg you, don’t take it seriously!” Liu Fang’s face went deathly pale. She desperately clung to Yuan Youwei’s pant leg, wailing and begging for mercy.

“A pity. I much preferred your unruly demeanor last night,” Yuan Youwei said, shaking her head. Then, she viciously kicked Liu Fang away, sending her screaming and tumbling out the door!

From outside, Liu Fang’s heart-wrenching sobs could be heard.

Yuan Youwei’s smile vanished as she spoke coldly, “Rest assured, even if your aunt dies, she’ll have to spit out every benefit she ever pocketed. As for you, if you deserve to go to prison, you will. The Yuan family will not show a single shred of mercy!”

BOOM!

The Yuan family? So it really is *the* Yuan family, the top powerhouse in Haicheng! Never mind Yuandao Properties. The entire Yuandao Group belongs to them!

“No, don’t! Ah… Ahhh!”

Outside, Liu Fang lay collapsed on the ground, crying hysterically, her face a mask of utter despair.

Inside, the legs of Ma Lao San and the others turned to jelly, and they almost collapsed onto the floor in shock. Zhang Qiang’s forehead was slick with cold sweat, his mouth hanging wide open in horror.

What did I just do? I openly harassed a girl from the Yuan family!

“Miss Yuan, it was all a misunderstanding, a complete misunderstanding!” Zhang Qiang swallowed hard, forcing a smile that was uglier than a grimace.

“Your courage is admirable, but you picked the wrong target,” Yuan Youwei said, her lips curving as a chill flickered in her eyes.

“No, no, no, I deserve to die! This mouth of mine needs a good beating!”

SLAP!

Zhang Qiang’s body shuddered as he felt a desperate urge to piss his pants. Gritting his teeth, he raised his hand and began slapping himself again and again. In just a few moments, his mouth and nose were bleeding, and he was a pathetic sight. But when he saw Yuan Youwei just watching with a faint smile, his scalp tingled. He could only force a pained expression and continue slapping himself.

Almost at the same time, Ma Lao San and the others also changed their tune. “Lin Fan, our apologies. We just got carried away for a moment,” they said, rushing forward to crowd around Lin Fan with forced laughs. “We don’t want the money anymore, hehe… Since we’re here, we’ll just pay our respects to your mother with some incense and be on our way.”

It was obvious now that the property transfer agreement in his hand was real. Didn’t they see how Liu Fang had been so scared she’d nearly wet herself? Not only was the stunning woman someone they couldn’t afford to provoke, but even this young man, Lin Fan, had become their landlord overnight! They couldn’t afford to offend him. They absolutely couldn’t!

Thinking back to how they had treated Lin Fan just moments before, the faces of Ma Lao San and his group burned with shame. They wanted nothing more than to slap themselves silly. Turning, they glared at Zhang Qiang, so sick with regret it felt like their insides were turning green.

“Actually, I also preferred your arrogant and unruly expressions from before,” Lin Fan said flatly, once again pointing toward the door. “Get out! All of you, get out! You’re not worthy of paying respects to my mother!”

His furious roar echoed in their ears. Ma Lao San and the others turned pale, but they ultimately swallowed their anger and choked down their bitterness. Being berated by someone from a younger generation and not daring to talk back was beyond humiliating. What’s more, if they hadn’t burned their bridges with Lin Fan, they might have been able to plead with him for a rent reduction, given his past temperament… or maybe even score some other benefits!

Their regret intensified. They exchanged glances, their faces as grim as if their own parents had died. They could only hang their heads and shuffle toward the door.

“Mr. Lin, hello. I am Luo Da, president of Haicheng Commercial Bank. This is my business card.”

The next moment, President Luo, who could no longer contain himself, stepped forward and offered his card to Lin Fan with both hands. His face was wreathed in smiles, with a faintly sycophantic tone. “I’ve brought the armored cash transport vehicle. Shall we load the one hundred million and deposit it into your personal bank account now?”

At these words, the memorial hall fell dead silent.

Ma Lao San and the others froze in place as if struck by lightning. Zhang Qiang, who was still slapping himself, also stopped, his head turning with a look of stunned disbelief.

HISS!

One hundred million? Could it be… that pile of “Cultivation Coupons” in the corner?

BOOM!

The minds of the dozen or so people in the room simply exploded. Zhang Qiang staggered backward, clutching his chest and sucking in sharp breaths of cold air.

“There isn’t a hundred million left,” Lin Fan said just then, pocketing the business card and shaking his head. He pointed at the profusely sweating Zhang Qiang and the others. “They came to collect a debt earlier. I gave them about ten million, but they burned it all.”

What? They were willing to burn ten million in cash? Was this extreme wealth, or stupidity beyond cure?

Hearing this, Yuan Youwei gave a wry smile and shook her head without a word. When she had first seen the black ashes on the floor, she had assumed they had been burning joss paper as an offering for Lin Suxin.

“Damn, that’s incredible! You’re a real badass!” President Luo’s eyes widened. He strode over to Zhang Qiang and sized him up with mock seriousness. “My friend, you’re the number one badass I, Luo Da, have ever met. I was truly blind before. May I ask your esteemed name?”

“No, it wasn’t me! I didn’t do it on purpose! How was I supposed to know Lin Fan had a hundred million lying around his house…” Zhang Qiang stammered, trembling in fear and on the verge of tears.

Frozen at the doorway, Ma Lao San and the others stared at each other, looking as if they were about to burst into tears themselves. What had they done? They had burned away a heaven-sent fortune that Lin Fan had given them! And what’s worse, they had even complained that Zhang Qiang wasn’t burning it fast enough and had eagerly joined in to help!

That was hundreds of thousands, even millions! As people from the bottom rungs of society running small businesses, how many pounds of fruit would they have to sell, how many lunch boxes, how many years would they have to run their little shops… to ever earn that kind of money back?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep