Putting down his phone, Xiao Yufan simply greeted Xiao Ai, then immediately took a taxi towards the new home of Ma Teng and Mu Qing…
Inside, Mu Qing was anxiously sitting on the sofa. When she saw Xiao Yufan arrive, she hurriedly walked over, her eyes red and swollen—clearly overwhelmed with worry for Ma Teng.
“What exactly happened? How could Ma Teng borrow money from loan sharks, and where is he now?” Xiao Yufan glanced around the room but didn’t see any sign of Ma Teng, puzzled about where that guy had run off to.
“When we decided to get married, he wanted to do more than just live out his life as an ordinary employee. Coincidentally, some coworkers encouraged him to start his own business. After much consideration, Ma Teng finally agreed.”
“Then what? Does he really think starting a business is that easy, especially in Beijing?”
Xiao Yufan couldn’t understand what Ma Teng had been thinking. Starting a company in Beijing usually ended in failure nine times out of ten—why would he take such a risk? Even if he had some savings, it would barely cover the initial costs.
“Once he decided to start the business, Ma Teng began raising funds everywhere. But our circle doesn’t have many wealthy friends, so in the end, he turned to loan sharks. He didn’t expect the interest to pile up so quickly. Now it’s become a huge debt. And within just a few days, the lenders have already started demanding repayment. If we can’t pay soon, they’ll take our house…”
Tears streamed down Mu Qing’s face as she spoke. Ma Teng had already gone out to borrow more money, but with such an enormous debt, how could he ever repay it? Although she knew Xiao Yufan probably couldn’t help financially, at least they could brainstorm together.
Xiao Yufan remained silent for a moment. He wasn’t particularly worried yet—the situation hadn’t reached the worst point. To him, any problem that could be solved with money wasn’t really a problem anymore.
He took out his phone and immediately dialed Ma Teng.
“This kid has gotten himself into such a mess and didn’t even tell me. If Mu Qing hadn’t spoken up, I might have remained clueless,” Xiao Yufan thought.
“Hey, bro, what are you up to?” Xiao Yufan’s tone sounded normal, giving no hint of what he knew.
“I… I’m just having dinner with some friends. Why’d you call me?” Ma Teng stammered, clearly unaware that Mu Qing had already told Xiao Yufan everything.
“Really? I’m at your new place. If Mu Qing hadn’t told me, were you planning to keep this from me forever? I might have a solution, so come back quickly!” Xiao Yufan wasn’t angry—he understood Ma Teng had probably kept it a secret to avoid worrying him.
There was a noticeable pause on the other end of the line. After a long silence, Ma Teng finally responded with a hesitant “Okay…”
Ma Teng didn’t really believe Xiao Yufan could help, but he knew his friend never lied to him.
…
Soon, some rustling sounds came from outside the door. Xiao Yufan knew Ma Teng had returned. Judging from how quickly he came back, he hadn’t gone far…
“Did you raise any money?” One look at Ma Teng’s gloomy expression told Xiao Yufan the answer—he had come back empty-handed. Unless someone was a truly close friend, who would just hand out money without reason?
“No…” Ma Teng slumped onto the sofa, feeling defeated as he recalled the afternoon’s efforts. Friends he thought were fairly close had all suddenly become poor the moment he mentioned borrowing money from loan sharks.
“You’re usually such a smart guy—how could you act so recklessly this time? Didn’t you think about Mu Qing? You two just got married. Wouldn’t a stable life have been better?”
Xiao Yufan didn’t know where his sudden wave of emotion came from. Had he really grown too accustomed to his comfortable life? Ma Teng still had dreams and aspirations—what about himself? Would he spend his whole life as just a small employee?
Ma Teng nodded repeatedly. He had always wanted to succeed quickly. For a long time, he had dreamed of starting his own company, but lacked partners. Now that an opportunity had suddenly appeared, he jumped in without thinking. Only now did he realize how unprepared he had been. After all, he had just gotten married—what would happen to Mu Qing if things went wrong?
“How much did you borrow from the loan sharks?”
“At first, two million. Now with the interest, it’s already 2.6 million…” Ma Teng groaned. That extra 600,000 had appeared out of nowhere.
“2.6 million?” Xiao Yufan paused. In the past, even selling himself wouldn’t have earned him that much in a lifetime. But now, with the golden card his master had given him, things were different.
“Give me your bank account number. I’ll transfer 2.6 million to you this afternoon.” Xiao Yufan said calmly, as if he were talking about 260,000 instead of 2.6 million. Yet, despite his shock, Ma Teng believed him…
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