"No."
Xiao Xiao shook his head, then looked at the two elderly people. "I think I might be able to help a little."
The old man, the old woman, and the man kneeling on the ground all froze.
"My friend's father works at the Public Security Bureau."
"R-really?"
A faint glimmer of light appeared in the old woman's dim eyes.
The old man's hunched back straightened slightly.
Though he couldn't bear to dash his parents' hopes, the man hesitated before speaking.
"The police probably can't do anything about my situation."
"I don't have any evidence."
On the contrary, his eldest brother had a promissory note bearing his own signature.
He had considered calling the police at first.
But after thinking it over carefully—and because he was afraid of retaliation—he had given up on the idea.
"Is that so?"
The old woman couldn't believe it. "Why can't the police do anything?"
"He's extorting you!"
"This is all because of this idiot!"
The old man seemed to understand a little. "That man really did lend this idiot money."
"And he's got the promissory note."
"Even if the amount written on it is fake, who can prove it?"
"I never wrote a promissory note," the man muttered.
"You should've written one from the start!"
The old man glared at him. "Then maybe none of this would've happened."
"Who told you to take a chance?"
"I didn't!"
The man protested, but he couldn't help feeling a little guilty.
It wasn't that he truly had no intention of paying the money back, but when he learned he could avoid writing a promissory note, he couldn't deny that he'd felt a little secretly pleased.
"Ah..."
The old woman sighed, and the faint light in her eyes dimmed again.