Chapter 504: Chapter 501: The Police Station Bails Me Out
"Stop pretending to be pitiful here. Just because I haven’t called the police doesn’t mean I can accept what you’ve done."
"You’re returning tomorrow, and even though I’m giving you time, it’s impossible for you to get fifty thousand yuan in such a short period," Zhang Hao said.
Liang Xin came to Zhang Hao in a very awkward manner and hugged his legs.
"I know, I will gather the fifty thousand yuan as quickly as I can."
"Don’t worry, I will definitely pay back He Qianhui the fifty thousand yuan."
Seeing the sincere expression on Liang Xin’s face, Zhang Hao still felt a pang of sympathy.
It was only when Liang Xin’s brother suddenly blurted out a statement that Zhang Hao’s heart hardened instantly.
"Sister, didn’t you say you wanted to introduce me to your classmate? Honestly, I think Xiao Wei’s family also looks down on us."
"After spending so much money to marry her, I think it’s not worth it."
"This morning, I saw a photo in your phone, and I think that girl looks pretty, with fair skin and a nice figure."
"And she has a big butt, didn’t our mom say that a woman with a big butt is good for giving birth, and would definitely bear a son?"
Listening to his brother speak, Liang Xin was so angry he could barely speak, his voice hoarse as he said, "Just shut up, do you not realize what situation we’re in?"
At this, Liang Xin’s brother clearly had no opinion left.
"Sister, please stand up. You see, they are not even paying attention."
Barely managing to stand up, Liang Xin came over to her brother, lowered her voice and asked, "Did you really transfer the money? If you haven’t, spit out the fifty thousand yuan. Hurry up and let him leave."
"I know He Qianhui, but I’m not familiar with her boyfriend."
"The fact that he could use He Qianhui’s WeChat to invite me shows that He Qianhui doesn’t know about this."
Her brother frowned: "Sis, I already transferred the money..."
Before her brother could finish, Liang Xin snatched the phone from him.
The lock screen password was his own birthday; Liang Xin didn’t even have to ask to unlock his phone.
She checked the transaction information again, and he said he had transferred the money that morning.
But there was no record on several bank cards, and most importantly, the fifty thousand yuan were still in her own bag.
"Didn’t you say that you had already transferred the money? How come there’s no record at all? You can try to fool others, but you can’t fool me."
Knowing he couldn’t hide anything from his sister, her brother had to change his story.
"I was just afraid he wanted to rob us, so I said that, and even if I did transfer the money, could I still get it back?"
Liang Xin threw the phone back to her brother without caring further, and turned to Zhang Hao: "I’m sorry, I’ll go get the money for you right now."
After waiting for a few minutes, Liang Xin finally came downstairs, holding a kraft paper bag in her hands.
Looking at the thickness of the paper bag, it seemed to contain about thirty to fifty thousand yuan.
"This was given to me by Xiaohui yesterday. I am returning it to you, unopened, and I hope that when you take it back, you will tell her to shred the I.O.U. I don’t want her to turn on me later."
"Nevertheless, I am still grateful that she was willing to lend me this money in my time of crisis."
"But after this incident, I think our friendship will likely come to an end."
Whether their friendship ended or continued, Zhang Hao didn’t care.
"Then I’ll count it myself, if you don’t mind?"
Zhang Hao took out the money, which was all crisp new bills, and asked the front desk for a money counter.
After running the money through the machine to count it and confirming the amount was right, Zhang Hao then put it back into the paper bag.
"Money is no problem, and I won’t disturb you and your brother’s rest anymore. There will be no further meetings," he said.
With the money in hand, Zhang Hao left the hotel, and the receptionists witnessed quite a drama unfold.
In this day and age, melodramatic scenes are more entertaining than TV shows once they start.
Zhang Hao turned and entered a bank with the money in hand, carrying so much cash.
It was like asking to be robbed, so it was safer to deposit it.
He deposited it into his own account, then transferred it to He Qianhui.
He Qianhui, in the middle of a meeting, thought someone had sent her a message when her phone vibrated.
Picking it up, she saw a banking notification on her screen—it turned out her account had suddenly increased by fifty thousand yuan.
He Qianhui was astonished. Today wasn’t payday, and her bonuses hadn’t been tallied yet.
So where had this fifty thousand yuan come from?
He Qianhui hurriedly sent Zhang Hao a message, asking what was going on.
No sooner had she sent the message than Zhang Hao replied.
"I got the money back for you, not a penny more or less. Next time someone asks to borrow money, small amounts are fine, but don’t bother with anything over 500 yuan," he texted back.
Only then did He Qianhui realize it was the money she had lent to Liang Xin.
Zhang Hao had managed to get it back. Recovering such a large sum, He Qianhui was naturally overjoyed.
But how had he found Liang Xin? Had something unpleasant happened in the meantime?
It wasn’t until noon that He Qianhui found a chance to call Zhang Hao.
She was eager to know what exactly had happened that morning. "Where are you? Didn’t you go to the hospital this morning?"
With that question from He Qianhui, the answer was obvious; if he had been to the hospital, how could he have possibly confronted Liang Xin?
"With so much money at stake, how could I just let it go to waste, even with your strong work ethic," he said.
"It would take about a week for you to earn that fifty thousand yuan back, and that’s your hard-earned money."
"When I met Liang Xin, I learned from her that it wasn’t her getting married," he continued.
"It was her brother, and they were short fifty thousand yuan for a dowry, so she thought of you."
"I guess she’s tricked quite a few classmates this way, and perhaps you were the only one generous enough to lend it to her, given your past good relations," he explained.
He Qianhui had never expected that Liang Xin, who once shared bunk beds with her, would resort to such tactics.
"Thanks nonetheless, I was puzzled why I suddenly received a message from Liang Xin during the meeting," she responded.
"She said she wanted to cut ties with me. At first, I felt bad, thinking of meeting her tonight to talk it over, to find out why she wanted to end our friendship."
"But now I think I need not bother. With the fifty thousand yuan back, let’s take 500 yuan and have a nice dinner at home tonight, how about that?"
"I get off work early today. Are you still going to the hospital this afternoon?" she asked.
Over the phone, Zhang Hao gave a firm reply, "Yes, of course I’m going. I only took a half-day leave."
"Let me tell you, if it weren’t for my quick thinking, I might not have gotten out of there with everything intact," he added.
"You know, when I followed Liang Xin to the hotel she was staying at, she kept trying to get me to go up with her."
"It’s just that I’m more mature now, not easily seduced by her beauty."
"I stayed on the first floor the whole time, and sure enough, her brother was also there. I thought, once I went up," he recounted.
"Her brother might set me up for a scam, and then you’d have to trouble yourself with getting me out of police custody," he concluded.
