Chapter 4: Debt

Five million?

Zhao Qinglang was momentarily stunned, looking at Gu Sheng with some surprise. Seeing her waiting seriously for his answer, he swallowed hard and, gazing into those brown eyes, realized she was not joking.

Gu Sheng was asking for the money—not borrowing.

Zhao Qinglang’s brow twitched subtly as he sat back down. “Shengsheng, what’s going on with you?”

He remembered Gu Sheng as delicate yet obedient, aware of her status as an adopted daughter; she never once asked for money on her own.

That was the unspoken rule in the Zhao family: “I can give, but you mustn’t ask. Otherwise, it’s improper.”

But now...

Seeing Zhao Qinglang hesitate, Gu Sheng clenched her clothes and answered decisively, “Yes, I need to pay off a debt.”

Without giving him a chance to respond, she tossed the file bag from her lap onto his hands. “Look for yourself.”

Zhao Qinglang frowned and lowered his eyes to flip through the documents quickly, almost skimming the pages with a rustling sound.

Soon, as Gu Sheng had expected, his face darkened with shocked disbelief.

“So expensive? Why didn’t that He guy just steal it?” Zhao Qinglang’s face grew stormy, a surge of anger rising. He carelessly threw the papers aside. “Wait, isn’t he supposed to be advocating for public interest lawsuits lately?”

Gu Sheng calmly corrected him, “First of all, you need to understand that lawyers’ services are not entirely free.”

She bent slightly to pick up a sheet that had fallen by her feet. “Especially not for a case like mine.”

Wang Xiao came from a powerful family. Having provoked him, there was hardly any lawyer in the entire capital willing to take her case.

Besides, even while she was imprisoned, they had brutally broken her leg. Who would dare bring misfortune by crossing the Wang family?

Gu Sheng blinked, realizing that thought wasn’t quite right.

After all, He Wenzhou was quite bold.

“But we didn’t even ask him to handle this!” Zhao Qinglang argued unhappily. “That price could hire ten lawyers in the whole city, even with a discount. He didn’t even notify us and just took care of it. Shengsheng, you’re a lawyer too; you know the market and prices. How do we know he isn’t just taking advantage of the Zhao family now that we’re doing better?”

Zhao Qinglang exhaled heavily after ranting for a while. Gu Sheng listened attentively, then analyzed each word. “So, what you’re saying is that I shouldn’t have been acquitted, that I should bear the charge of intentional injury and continue serving time so as not to cause trouble for the Zhao family.”

She deliberately emphasized “Zhao family,” locking eyes with Zhao Qinglang’s increasingly flustered gaze, and smiled faintly. “Is that right?”

“Of course not!”

Zhao Qinglang was momentarily speechless, sweating under Gu Sheng’s piercingly cold stare. He hastily reached out to hold her hand, trying to soften things, but she easily evaded him. His hand grasped empty air as he urgently asked, “Shengsheng, why would you think that about me?”

“Well then, what do you suggest?” Gu Sheng glanced at the sports car key clenched in his hand. “How am I supposed to think?”

After all, the Zhao family held a notable reputation in the capital’s upper circles. Zhao Qinglang, as the sole heir of Zhao Group, was constantly hailed as Young Master Zhao. He was lavish, spending far more in a single night than this sum.

Moreover, the sports car they were sitting in was a globally limited edition. Five million was but a fraction.

It was just that Zhao Qinglang inwardly felt she wasn’t worth the money, unwilling to spend it, and certainly unwilling to be responsible to him.

A surge of bitterness rose in Gu Sheng’s heart; more than that, the core of her chest felt a growing chill.

“Also, since the day I was imprisoned, I am no longer a lawyer.” Gu Sheng produced the receipt for her revoked license. She frowned and looked down for a long moment before slowly smoothing out the creases on her name, asking flatly, “Are you planning to let me owe a lawyer’s money?”

After a pause, she expressionlessly handed the receipt to Zhao Qinglang. “He Wenzhou’s money isn’t easy to owe.”

Rumors circulated that He Wenzhou came from humble beginnings. His current prestigious status was all earned through his own ability. Such a man was harsh, gloomy, and hard to approach, but intelligent and fiercely ambitious.

He was not a privileged scion bound by the unspoken rules of the elite circles. He acted decisively, recognizing money but not people. He pursued his interests ruthlessly.

If you accidentally offended him, he would coldly and mercilessly strike back.

Moreover, everyone was in business, constantly dealing with contracts—they inevitably crossed paths with He Wenzhou.

Gu Sheng was the Zhao family’s adopted daughter and Zhao Qinglang’s fiancée since childhood. This debt was ultimately hers to pay.

There was no escaping it.

Zhao Qinglang understood this completely.

Though deeply displeased by Gu Sheng’s sharp attitude, he felt inexplicably guilty when faced with her; especially holding that receipt, he was reminded of all the hardships she endured to become a lawyer.

But now, her dreams and future were shattered.

Feeling remorseful, Zhao Qinglang frowned, taking Gu Sheng’s icy hand in his. The coldness made his heart tremble as he softened his tone. “Shengsheng, don’t treat me this way. Please don’t misunderstand me.”

Gu Sheng looked at him expressionlessly.

As if recalling something, Zhao Qinglang gripped her bony hand tightly and earnestly explained, “This isn’t a small amount. You don’t know—since that incident, my parents have been very strict with me. I need some time to manage this.”

Gu Sheng asked directly, “How much time?”

She didn’t know He Wenzhou personally, but debts had to be repaid promptly.

Zhao Qinglang’s face stiffened. He slowly released her hand, his voice cooling. “You have to give me some time.”

At that moment, Gu Sheng noticed a subtle shift in his attitude. She knew Zhao Qinglang had been pampered all his life. His pride and arrogance made him unhappy to be pressured over money.

But who was to blame?

Who had made her end up like this?

Bitterness rose in Gu Sheng’s heart. Clutching her clothes, she stared seriously at Zhao Qinglang’s impatient brow, seeing through those dark, affectionate eyes to the vivid, bright young man she remembered.

Back then, the boy smiled freely, letting the breeze lift his shirt’s hem as he pedaled his mountain bike fast.

He would shout endlessly through countless days and nights, “Shengsheng, hold on tight, or we’ll miss dinner at home!”

But now, everything had changed. Sitting together, asking too many questions only bred resentment.

Gu Sheng couldn’t understand where she had gone wrong.

“Zhao Qinglang,” her eyes stung slightly as she raised her head, suddenly wanting to ask, “Do you like me?”

She had never asked such sentimental questions before. Having grown up together, there was always an illusion of fate binding them.

Yet Zhao Qinglang was stunned by the question.

He stared in disbelief at the disheveled woman before him and awkwardly replied, “Of course.”

Then affectionately added, “You’re my fiancée, Shengsheng. If not you, then who else would I like?”

But before he could finish, his phone on the car mount vibrated suddenly. Gu Sheng lowered her eyes to see the incoming call’s wallpaper—a photo of a smiling, charming girl.

The caller ID flashed in bold letters: “Darling.”