Chapter 98

After the tumultuous wave of campus loans subsided, when looking back at those young people who prematurely ended their precious lives by jumping off buildings, some people reflected and concluded that unless coming from extremely impoverished families, no family should be truly crushed by debts of one or two hundred thousand. It was emphasized that the sooner parents were informed and debts were paid off, the sooner the problems could be resolved.

Unfortunately, the very thing these kids were least willing to do was to inform their parents. Thus, in situations where they thought there was no way out, they ended up taking desperate measures.

It was truly heartbreaking for the real adults.

At first, Bai Lu refused. If she dared to tell her family, she wouldn’t have had to borrow money from classmates.

But Meng Xinyu was really angry. She snatched Bai Lu’s phone, directed two roommates to hold Bai Lu, and then found the number labeled “Mom” in Bai Lu’s contacts and made the call.

“Hello, Auntie, I’m Meng Xinyu, Bai Lu’s roommate. Right now, Bai Lu is in a situation, and I think I must inform you…”

Bai Lu tearfully watched Meng Xinyu tell her mom everything.

Meng Xinyu hung up the phone and said, “Your mom said she’ll come over today.”

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Jyk Nw bye yd lmralppksd vbyv pllxle vs pyu pbl oyp essxle.

Jyk Nw’p qyxkzu oyp qasx ydsvbla rashkdnl, yde kv oyp y qswa-bswa fswadlu cu bktb-prlle vaykd vs tlv blal. Jyk Nw’p ryaldvp, zssjkdt vkale, awpble shla vstlvbla vbyv hlau lhldkdt.

Yldt Dkduw ynnsxrydkle Jyk Nw vs xllv vblx.

Bdela bla ryaldvp’ iwlpvksdkdt, Jyk Nw pvwvvlakdtzu lmrzykdle lhlauvbkdt.

Yldt Dkduw, okvb y pvlad qynl, ypjle, “Gald’v usw tskdt vs xldvksd Ubld Tys’p kdhszhlxldv?”

Jyk Nw vwadle ryzl.

Fbl eyale dsv prlyj, ps Yldt Dkduw eke. Mbl dyvwal sq vbkp xyvvla oyp lhld xsal pkdkpvla vbyd vyjkdt swv zsydp qsa nsdpwxrvksd, pbsnjkdt Jyk Nw’p ryaldvp.

Nlpp vbyd y ulya kdvs wdkhlapkvu, vblka nzlhla yde zshlzu eywtbvla bye vwadle kdvs vbkp? Fbl oyp ps sclekldv kd bktb pnbssz!

Bai Lu’s parents repeatedly thanked Meng Xinyu. Being adults, they understood the situation very well. Once they understood the ins and outs of the matter, they realized that if they were not informed sooner, Bai Lu would eventually run into big trouble.

They were sincerely grateful to Meng Xinyu.

They lingered here for three days, clearing all of Bai Lu’s loans in one go, including the money borrowed from classmates. Bai Lu’s mom also privately inquired about Chen Hao with Meng Xinyu and sighed, “He’s a sensible kid, what a pity.”

She confiscated Bai Lu’s luxury items and sternly scolded her.

When they finally left, Bai Lu looked completely dejected.

“In total, it wasn’t even ten thousand yuan, but in the end, we paid back over sixty thousand,” she said.

With that sixty thousand, she could have bought two genuine luxury handbags. The thought alone was heartbreaking.

Reflecting on the two months of excessive spending, she found it hard to believe.

“It felt like I was dreaming,” she said. “When paying, I didn’t feel it was real money, just numbers. Because I couldn’t feel the money, when I saw something expensive, I felt like I could buy it completely, just like that.”

Meng Xinyu was speechless for a while and said, “It’s probably because you haven’t earned the money yourself. If you had worked hard day and night to earn it, you would think twice before spending it.”

Were she and Ji Anning born to be frugal? No, it was because every penny they had was hard-earned! That’s why they were especially cautious when spending money!

Moreover, Meng Xinyu and Ji Anning shared a commonality—they both carried some burden for their families. Unlike other students who worked to improve their living standards, they didn’t have to shoulder the family’s financial burdens. When they received money, they couldn’t happily and boldly go buy a new lipstick. Because their mothers or grandmothers might need extra funds due to illness, they needed to save money to feel secure.

Yu Xia, on the other hand, was different from them. Despite her ordinary family background, she didn’t have any financial burdens. When she earned money from her part-time job, it was solely for her own spending.

Thinking of Yu Xia, Meng Xinyu suddenly felt uneasy.

“Yu Xia?” Ji Anning looked up, her dark eyes staring at Meng Xinyu. “What happened to her?”

“I don’t know. It’s because of this mess with Bai Lu that I thought of her. I wanted to ask if she also took out a lot of loans. She replied on WeChat with just a ‘Don’t worry about it’ and didn’t respond anymore. Then, I met her roommate yesterday and casually asked about Yu Xia. They said they hadn’t seen her for several days, and she hasn’t been coming to class recently.” Meng Xinyu said anxiously.

Ji Anning’s gaze was deep and mysterious, like a cold pond.

After experiencing Bai Lu’s situation, she finally understood some things and speculated about the truth of her past life.

Even a well-behaved girl like Bai Lu owed sixty thousand yuan due to the temptation of online loans. Then, what about Yu Xia, who was more materialistic than others? How much money did she owe?

No wonder in her past life, knowing that Ji Anning was so impoverished, she still asked her for money.

Many things in this life are different from the past life, happening ahead of schedule.

Recalling, at the end of June, Wen Yu left school and disappeared. Zhao Chen started bothering her, chasing her to coffee shops and harassing her at NL.

At this time, both she and Yu Xia were working part-time at NL. That job was the most lucrative for both of them.

At this time, Yu Xia worked part-time, went to school diligently, and there were no reports of her skipping classes or playing truant.

But in this life, Yu Xia didn’t get that job. Ji Anning didn’t know what she was doing now, but she guessed it would be difficult for Yu Xia to find a job that paid more than NL. At least in her past life, she didn’t find one.

What is she doing now? What is her situation?

And Ji Anning thought that in this life, Yu Xia probably didn’t have the opportunity to collude with Zhao Chen.

Ji Anning just lightly said, “Oh.”

Ji Anning and Yu Xia were not familiar to begin with. Yu Xia only existed in the conversations between Meng Xinyu and her, so Meng Xinyu didn’t find Ji Anning’s coldness strange.

After talking about Yu Xia, Meng Xinyu returned to Bai Lu: “She wanted to reconcile with Chen Hao, but he refused. She cried desperately in the dormitory.”

Ji Anning sighed lightly.

Who should be blamed? You can’t blame Chen Hao.

In the discussion about Chen Hao, he was having a meal alone with Wen Yu at a small restaurant near the school. Wen Yu accompanied him today, so he didn’t have a meal with Ji Anning.

Chen Hao was in a bad mood, smoking continuously.

“I can’t afford it,” he said.

When Bai Lu wanted to get back with him, he was genuinely struggling.

First love always makes it difficult for people to let go. Her every smile, every joy, and every annoyance were still hanging in his heart. But he also saw the not-so-beautiful side beneath the curtain of love.

While Bai Lu’s family was not wealthy, it was relatively well-off, at least much better than his family’s economic conditions. The two of them couldn’t even agree on their consumption views.

Forcing a relationship, even if they liked each other, couldn’t avoid conflicts due to clashes in values.

Making a man admit that he can’t afford the woman he likes is a painful experience, regardless of the age group.

Young people who haven’t entered society early tasted this pain. Although in the long run, it might contribute to his growth, at this moment, it’s indeed hard to bear.

As a friend, Wen Yu could only silently pat his shoulder.

Chen Hao raised his eyelids and glanced at him, somewhat envious, saying, “You will never understand this feeling…”

That was true; after all, Wen Yu was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Wen Yu could only shrug.

He had to drive, so he couldn’t drink. Chen Hao threw the cigarette box to him.

Wen Yu took a sniff, restrained his craving for cigarettes, and tossed it back, saying, “I quit.”

“Eating your fill and getting bored,” Chen Hao cursed, “Why quit smoking when there’s nothing else to do?”

Wen Yu smiled and didn’t say anything.

When he turned his head, he suddenly saw a familiar face.

The person was having a meal with others and, suddenly seeing Wen Yu, instinctively shrank his neck. It was none other than He Xiangdong, a classmate of Ji Anning who had been beaten into a pig head by Wen Yu.

He Xiangdong didn’t expect to encounter Wen Yu in the restaurant again. He thought about pretending not to see and quickly walked past, but Wen Yu’s gloomy eyes kept staring at him.

Staring as he walked over, staring as he walked past.

He felt like he had a problem!

He Xiangdong couldn’t even enjoy his meal.

That night at home, Ji Anning asked Wen Yu, “Does money drive people crazy?”

Wen Yu said, “Of course it does.”

Aren’t Cheng Lian and Yang Yuan typical examples of madness?

However, he didn’t use these two as examples. He said, “Did you not see the news a few days ago? There was an accountant who embezzled a hundred million. He wasn’t even a supervisor, just an accountant.”

“And those drug traffickers, don’t they know they might get the death penalty? Yet, they still take risks. What’s it for? Apart from money, there’s nothing else that has such driving force,” he said.

Ji Anning remained silent for a long time and then said, “So, people might harm those they know, even friends or classmates, for the sake of money.”

“That depends on the amount and whether there’s enough incentive. For some people, if the benefits are significant enough, they might resort to murder or arson. Why do you ask?” Wen Yu said.

Ji Anning smiled and said, “Nothing, just feeling emotional when watching the news. There are all kinds of people in this world, it’s unbelievable.”

“Look at those less. Look at me more, refresh your eyes,” Wen Yu said.

Ji Anning was amused by him.

Since the past in her previous life was over, she no longer dwelled on what happened with Yu Xia.

Wen Yu, however, holding his phone, asked her, “What’s the name of that guy in your class, the one I beat up last time?”

Ji Anning checked and said, “Isn’t this He Xiangdong? Why are you asking about him?”

Wen Yu said, “Bumped into him during dinner. His face doesn’t look good, the kind of appearance that makes me want to beat him at a glance.”

“Ignore him,” Ji Anning said. “He’s just a person with a particularly nasty mouth.”

Ji Anning treated He Xiangdong with an exceptionally cold attitude.

While other male students in the class might gossip about her behind her back or have complex expressions when looking at her, only He Xiangdong, under the guidance of Sun Yaxian, would openly say such unpleasant things.

Ironically, in his past life, he often played along with Sun Yaxian’s schemes, but in this life, due to the same arguments, he became the person Sun Yaxian hated the most.

Wen Yu asked, “Have I met this person before? I mean, before the last time.”

Ji Anning replied inexplicably, “How would I know?”

After some thought, she added, “Maybe you have, last semester on Tuesdays, weren’t we in the same building for class?”

Ji Anning’s reasoning made sense.

Same building, same floor – they might have bumped into each other while going to the restroom. While her conscious mind might not remember, her subconscious had stored the information.

So, when he played the role of the guy who slandered Ji Anning behind Sun Yaxian’s back, he unknowingly assigned that role to the guy he couldn’t recall.

Analyzing it this way seemed scientific and reasonable.

But for some reason, Wen Yu felt resentful and couldn’t let it go.

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