Liu Xu Yuan moves into the bathroom stall, locks himself in and calls the system in his head.

[Xiao Tong, mask me.]

[Any specifics request, master or will you leave it in my hand?]

Despite knowing his system is going to mess around with his disguise like last time, Liu Xu Yuan needs to hurry up before Song Yu comes to pick him up.

[Forget it, your hand. I’m too lazy to make changes myself. You do it.]

[Is it not because you wish to see Song Yu faster, master?]

[I said I’m lazy means I’m lazy! Hurry up, ah!]

The system decides to not pursue further and starts adjusting its host body into one that looks like a common middle-age man who likes to gamble a lot. His face chubby and round, body fat and greasy dressed in black suit aged between the 40s.

[Tell me, Xiao Tong. Are your types like these?]

[I do not know what you are saying, master. Please focus on finishing your task.]

Liu Xu Yuan rolls his eyes, everytime he leaves it in the system’s hand it likes to play around and makes thing embarrass for him but those disguises help so Liu Xu Yuan throws away all his complains and steps out. His steps pause and continue.

[System, make Song Yu arrives later than he would.]

Gu Jiu, sitting beside Su Yan’s, looks at her with disdain in her eyes but her mouth softly persuades, fill with enthusiasm like a poisonous snake coiling itself desiring to bite its prey’s flesh and gobbles up everything inside its stomach.

“One more round, Ah Yan? I think you’re going to get it correct! Your luck has been going so well these days, we need to grasp the chance while we can ah!”

“I-I don’t know, I’d been playing for 6 rounds already. Isn’t that more than enough? I also didn’t bring much money for tonight…”

As she speaks, her voice gets smaller and smaller, her tearful eyes glancing around the other guests looking like they were mean to her but this trick won’t work after all this is the land where the riches gain profit through winning and exploiting those who are weak without backings. Su Yan’s peaks around for awhile but seeing no responses she had expected, her irritation grows. Tonight, she has been losing and winning on a stable scale so it’s still okay. For the past months, she had been coming over to gamble and discover she had a knack for it missing the touch of holding the rewards from her victories. Su Yan never realizes how addicting and fun gambling is until now, she had also won some of these wealthy men’s favor so the loss isn’t that heavy. Just as she thinks no one’s going to lend her money, her brows crease and Su Yan moves her chair wanting to get up but she heard a lecher’s voice coming their way and seated to her left, her eyes leer to the side. Another rich old man, he looks loaded but these big, greasy men…

“Beauty, you look like you’re in trouble ah? Uncle can help. Tell uncle.”

As he speaks, his oily, fat palm sneaks it way to rest on her chair seeming like his hands are resting on her shoulder but Su Yan didn’t reach out to push it away. She looks over and word at a time ask.

“U-Uncle, you can really help me?”

Hearing that, the grin’s on his chubby face widens.

“Of course, ah! Quickly let uncle know if I can help.”

“It’s just that I didn’t bring a lot for tonight and my luck isn’t that good…”

“Oh? That I can lend you some but things don’t come free ah, beauty.”

“Then…”

Su Yan gives the man a look, choosing her words only to hear the man say.

“How about you send a contract and see if you are able to lend me afterwards? I won’t charge the interests if you don’t mind…”

As he speaks, he shows his actions to indicate the meaning. The man leans back, his hands move down to pull her waist close to him. This old man looks like he’s into pretty faces, maybe he’s useful to her anyways he’ll probably forget these once she says some sweet words. These lechers are all like this, thinking simply Su Yan nods and the servant comes over bringing a paper for Su Yan to sign. Reading the contract saying she’ll lend back the amount of money she borrows him, Su Yan signs and the servant takes back the file, leaving. The old man takes back his hand, looking around. The people sitting around the table laughs, Gu Jiu sneers. She doesn’t know what Xu Yang sees in Su Yan but she’ll make sure he opens his eyes wide!

The game starts, Su Yan’s lucks seem like she’s on a win and the other people are frustrated. Liu Xu Yuan naturally had the system do so to pull Su Yan’s mind into a muddle before he begins the plan. Seeing as time quickly passes with Su Yan getting more and more arrogant as they continue to gamble, couple with Gu Jiu’s cloying lies, Liu Xu Yuan briskly order the system to manipulate the gambles back to original. Since Su Yan has been winning a fortune and because the system had messed the structure, the games will need for her to lose double the amount she had won for it to be stable. Liu Xu Yuan can just sit back and watch.

Glancing at the time, Liu Xu Yuan deduce the plan is already set in place and he’s not needed much now.

[Have someone replace me.]

The system scans around, changes someone’s face into what Liu Xu Yuan is disguise as now and tampers with the brain waves for that person to act for awhile then notice an affirmation for its host. Liu Xu Yuan watches a servant comes over, whispers into his ears and he stands up and leave. Minutes pass by and the old man is back and Su Yan does not find it odd, continuing to gamble. Piles of losses gather up, Su Yan feels like she has just ascended to heaven only to fall back down to the bottom mist in a swift motion.

“Why?! WHY IS IT ALWAYS LOSSES?!”

Her voice grows louder but not distinct in the loud club, Gu Jiu watches as her friend’s mood deteriorates and counting the money lost. From beginning to end, she stayed silent not reminding Su Yan of her visible future soiling.

Looking at his money getting more and more borrowed, the old man frowns. Su Yan is already in an angry mood, she stands up look at the man and shouts.

“GIVE ME MORE MONEY! IT’S NOT ENOUGH I NEED TO WIN!”

The old man only looks at her, not mouthing anything but Su Yan sees it as him backing from his word so she snickers.

“What? You’re out of money for me left to borrow? I knew it, you don’t look like you have that much money anyway.”

Hearing his wealth being questioned and implying that he’s not a man of his word, veins throb appear on his forehead and the old man raises his leg to kick at Su Yan’s chair and puts them loudly on the gamble table causing a ruckus around them. Su Yan finds it more disgusting that this man dared to kick her chair when he can’t even lend her money as she was about to say something else, the old man waves at a servant and spit out.

“Bring the contract and calculate how much Miss Su Yan had borrowed from me and the amount of her losses. Make it clear for Miss Su Yan.”

He emphasizes the lady’s name in a blaring tone, attracting the other players. Su Yan frowns, she doesn’t know why the man had kept repeating her name. Does he like saying it that much? Che, disgusting guy.

Su Yan sits back down and waits to see what this man has plan. Gu Jiu stares at Su Yan, ridicule in her eyes. She’s about to realize her misfortune and she still acts tough? This old man helps her, he even make the matter widespread so they can see the miss of Su’s family having a huge debt.

Su Yan has only started gambling for a short period but had develop an addiction was because of Gu Jiu’s doing. She was in a hurry to see Su Yan in despair so she dipped her hands in drugs. Gu Jiu brought Su Yan out for meals saying it’s her treat but the foods had been drugged. Su Yan always thinks it’s her own will that she’s easily addicted however Liu Xu Yuan is not going to let Gu Jiu’s free either.

The servant hand over the file copy for Su Yan to see and read aloud for everybody to understand. This s naturally for them to be witnesses if she had anything planned, even if Su Yan did something else Liu Xu Yuan had already recorded the whole ordeal so she won’t be able to say anything else.

After reading the agreements, they then announce the amount of money.

“Miss Su Yan starts borrowing from the moment she had met my master when she had won to when she had lost. The total amount of losses Miss Su Yan had account to a fixed 800 thousand yuan. The total amount Miss Su Yan had borrowed is fixed to over 28 million yuan combined…”

“I-IMPOSSIBLE!”

Hearing the number, Su Yan’s eyes widen as if she had seen a ghost or heard something absurd and she jumps from her chair, shrieking and shaking her head before the servant had finish his words, pulling all attraction on her. The people watch as if she was an idiot, mad going on a rampage. Nobody knows who started it but ridicule and disdain insults are being spit out for her to hear from the crowd. Once there is a start, there’s going to be a second and on…

“She borrows someone’s money, promise to pay. Now the amount she spent is told, she’s shivering all over! What a person and it’s Miss Su Yan!”

“Isn’t Su Yan that young miss from the Su family?”

“This big miss is in a huge trouble, ah!”

“If you don’t have enough money, don’t even borrow in the first place!”

“Aiya, this young and already in debt. Really don’t know how to take care.”

“Since she’s the Su family’s young miss, she can just get the money paid back. Why is she acting like it’s the end of her life?”

“You don’t know? ….”

The servant continues reading but all words disappear in Su Yan’s mind. She blanks out, can’t tell between reality and dreams. Su Yan’s body trembles, her hands cover up. If she can’t hear it, then it’s not true. Yes, not true! This is all but a nightmare! There’s no way I, Su Yan, a dignified woman is in a huge debt! Su Yan repeatedly convinces herself, Gu Jiu to side saw Su Yan shaking and muttering words of disbelief, smirks. She can see the bright future ahead of herself where she gets to stand on top and look down on Su Yan! Where Xu Yang will look at her!

“I heard the Su and Li’s are relatives! She’s a lucky girl to be related to the Li’s but still mange to drag the family down!”

“Yeah but I don’t see the two family around each other much ah? Could it be they have a bad relationship?”

“How can they see if Li’s mansion is empty? Li’s heads left already and their young master move out!”

“Why did he leave? What an unfilial son! They left him a fortune but he won’t even take it?”

“Don’t say that. Li’s young master is now working at the Ye’s hospital! I went there before and he’s such a gentle man! Good temperamental, easy going and he’s a talented doctor!”

“Are you talking about the genius young doctor, Li Hao? He’s that Li family’s young master?! Zezeze, rich as well! Looks, personality, brain and riches! Poor Dr. Hao, such a prominent figure but this woman here is actually his cousins ah!”

“Shush, we shouldn’t stay near someone with a brain like that ah! Lets go, lets go!”

Th noises scatter, the gambling table is back to its usual state but with a different atmosphere. Su Yan heard the voice of the devil asking.

“I expect Miss Su Yan is able to pay it after all you are the Su’s family miss?”

“Y-You, play me!”

The old man’s voice is leisure, not caring about the person in debt emotional state. Su Yan turns to look at him, finger pointed and accuse the old man in seat. He stares at her then burst into laughter as if he heard a fun joke.

“Play? Ahaha… Are you making a joke, Miss Su Yan? I didn’t know the Su’s are jokesters but considering your actions right now perhaps that is not a lie?”

His eyes turn cold, finger taping against the armrest but it sounds like a clock ticking for the remaining time left for Su Yan to live. The old man stands up, feeling this is wasting time he said with no words left for arguments and left.

“Considering I did business with the Su’s, I will put the date but I expect you to pay back the full amount by the end of this month, young miss of the Su. If not, I will have my men go knock on the Su family’s door… Think for your sake and your family’s, do you want this to be made publicly or private. Then I’ll be seeing the money on my desk by the time comes. Have a great day, Miss Su Yan.”

Author’s Corner:

Ps: I used they/them pronoun for the servant because I didn’t specify anything.