Money Over Love
Copyright© 2026 by RomanticDoaist
Chapter 19: I, Lin Fan, will repay a thousandfold!
“What’s the matter? You want to start something?”
“Lin Fan, you lay a finger on us and see if we don’t make you pay until you’re bankrupt!”
“You have the damn nerve to yell at us? Don’t act like we’re ganging up on you; you’re the one who turned shameless first!”
Having come to their senses, the dozen or so men and women all grew furious. Their faces flushed red as they surrounded Lin Fan and loudly berated him. Many rolled up their sleeves, looking ready to get physical.
“Heh, these days, the debtors are the loudest ones. What a joke.”
Just then, Zhang Qiang, who had been enjoying the show for a while, smirked. He pushed through the crowd and pulled a list out of his small leather bag.
“Lin Fan, seeing as we used to be relatives, I went ahead and tallied everything up for you.”
RUSTLE!
Zhang Qiang unfolded the paper and began reading it aloud, word by word. It was all trivial stuff, mostly gifts these neighbors had brought when they visited Lin Suxin in the hospital: fruit baskets, milk, or a few homemade boxed lunches. Some had given a little money—fifty yuan here, a hundred there. It was all bits and pieces.
“I calculated the value of everything. The total comes to 835 yuan and 70 cents.” After finishing the list, Zhang Qiang peeked into the clinic with a sly grin. “If we clear out everything inside, we should be about square.”
“Square?”
Hearing this, Lin Fan laughed out of sheer rage. Perhaps this is what they mean by ‘a kind man is always bullied, just as a gentle horse is always ridden.’ Right now, he felt only that his mother’s past kindness had been utterly wasted!
“Why don’t you all take a look at this account book first?”
SLAP!
He turned, went to the consultation desk, pulled out a thick notebook, and slammed it down in front of everyone.
“This contains all the unpaid medical bills from you beasts! And here are the IOUs for when you borrowed money from my mom to get by!”
Flipping open the yellowed pages, he stared at the familiar, neat handwriting, and his eyes instantly turned bloodshot. Every single stroke was a testament to his mother’s kindness toward these people over the last seven years. In return, they had come to her mourning hall to brazenly demand repayment for the trivial things they had once given her.
“Hmph, so we were right to come. Your mother really wasn’t a good person!”
“This is from years ago! She remembered every single cent. How stingy!”
“Lin Fan, who says I owe your family money? You got proof? Why don’t you call your mom out and ask her?”
Facing Lin Fan’s furious gaze, some turned their heads away in disdain. Others looked uncomfortable and started shouting loudly. A few simply dug in their heels, shamelessly denying any debt.
Zhang Qiang tossed his list in front of Lin Fan and jutted his chin at him. “See? I told you this family was no good. And here some of you were, hesitant to even come. Lin Fan, are you going to pay up or not? Don’t tell me that after being kicked out of the Su Family, you can’t even scrape together a thousand yuan?”
He glanced around, and his eyes suddenly fell on a large pile in the corner covered by a black plastic sheet.
“Tsk tsk, what kind of junk needs to be covered up? How ridic— HISS!”
WHOOSH!
Zhang Qiang yanked off the black plastic sheet. The mocking sneer on his face froze, and his eyes flew wide open.
Money! It was all money!
A mountain built from bundles of cash, piled so high it nearly touched the ceiling!
The cramped mourning hall plunged into dead silence.
Zhang Qiang was dumbstruck. The neighbors, their faces unsightly, were so shocked their mouths hung open and wouldn’t close for a long time.
“You want money, right? Fine! I, Lin Fan, repay kindness ten thousandfold and avenge any grievance ten thousandfold!”
SLAP!
Lin Fan slammed the account book shut, his heart clenching painfully. These animals before me are utterly unworthy of my mother’s kindness! They don’t even deserve to cause a scene in her mourning hall!
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