Fourteen million

"Thank you, little one."

The adult beside him said softly, "Call her big sister."

"Big sister." The little boy looked at my hand with his wide, innocent eyes. "Does the needle hurt a lot? Why are you crying?"

I shook my head. "It doesn't hurt. I, I'm just feeling a little unwell because I'm sick."

The little boy seemed to want to say more, but the adult beside him picked him up. "Big sister is sick and needs to rest. Don't bother her."

I thanked them again.

After they left, I, who had still been able to hold on a little longer, was sobbing too hard to speak.

All these days of hurt and forbearance, being mocked by people who had once been close to me, feeling a coldness I had never experienced before.

Yet now, my heart was filled with the warmth a little child had given me.

There was still goodness in this world.

Six million. There had to be a way. If nothing else worked, I would go beg Gu Hansheng again and borrow whatever I could. I had to scrape together the money.

When I returned to the villa, Auntie Zhang, the housekeeper, came out to meet me and asked what I wanted to eat, but I had no appetite at all.

Lying in bed, I sent Gu Hansheng a message: [Are you coming back tonight?]

He didn't reply.

I sent it again, but once again, it sank like a stone into the sea.

I wanted to call him directly, but I was afraid he was with Shen Nian. If I upset her, he would despise me even more.

Before I knew it, I fell asleep.

I didn't know how much time had passed when my phone suddenly rang.

I jolted awake and opened my eyes, thinking it might be Gu Hansheng. I found my phone, but the screen showed Yu Hui.

I thought he was worried about me and calling to ask about my illness, so I answered. Who knew I would hear a commotion the moment the call connected?

It was my dad's voice. "You useless piece of trash! Are you trying to drive the whole family to their deaths...?"

"Yu Hui, what's wrong?"

Yu Hui's voice trembled. "Sis, come home, quick. Something, something happened. The f-four million is gone!"

"Gone? What do you mean?"

"Just come home first."

I barely hesitated. Without even putting on my slippers, I ran downstairs barefoot.

Auntie Zhang was in the kitchen making dinner. Seeing me run downstairs with my hair disheveled and no shoes on, she asked in surprise what was wrong.

I had no time to explain. I put on my shoes, rushed out, and took a taxi back to my parents' home.

The moment I walked in, I saw the whole place was a mess. Yu Hui stood by the door, the injuries on his face still unhealed.

My dad's hair was disheveled, and there were several scratches on his face. My mom was crying and trembling in a corner, her clothes torn and bruises on several parts of her body.

"What happened? What on earth happened?" I was frantic.

I went to ask my mom, but she only cried.

Just as I was about to keep asking, my dad picked up the belt from the floor and lashed it at her.

I hurried to stop him, but my dad, who had always protected me, raised his hand and shoved me away.

If Yu Hui hadn't caught me, I would have fallen straight to the floor.

"Dad, stop hitting her! What happened?"

My dad turned a deaf ear and kept whipping my mom.

I was frantic. "Yu Hui, hurry and stop him!"

Yu Hui didn't move. "The four million you gave me-I gave it to Mom to pay off the debt. She took it to a casino and lost it. Then she borrowed another four million from loan sharks. If we don't pay it back in three days, they'll come to our door and hack our whole family to death."

In an instant, I felt my blood flow backward, my hands and feet turning icy.

My legs gave way, and I sank straight to the floor.

My mom's screams rang endlessly in my ears. I tugged at Yu Hui. "Hurry, get Dad to stop hitting her first."

Yu Hui held my dad back.

My mom seemed to feel wronged. "I just saw how hard things were for you kids and wanted to win some money to pay off the debt. I meant well!"

My dad was about to erupt again when I shouted, "How could you touch gambling? Don't you know that nine out of ten gamblers lose? You never had this habit before, so why did you suddenly start gambling?"

My mom faltered. "I asked an old friend to lend me money, and she told me about it. She said money came quickly at the casino. When you first start playing, they let you win a few rounds. As long as you leave after winning, there's no problem."

I felt my heart constrict.

"Who knew that after I won over a million, I'd start losing!"

My mom grew animated. "I must have been set up! I was clearly winning at first, but the more I lost, the more I wanted to win. After I lost everything, I, I borrowed another four million..."

Her voice grew quieter and quieter, but all I could think about was fourteen million. This time, it really was over.

Everything before my eyes seemed to blur, and my breathing grew rapid.

My vision went black, and I passed out.

When I woke up, my ears were still filled with my parents' arguing.

Seeing that I was awake, my mom rushed to the bedside. "Hanhan, go beg Gu Hansheng. For the sake of your past relationship, he'll definitely lend us more."

I no longer knew what to say to her.

"Mom, what past relationship did he and I ever have? Have you thought about how we treated him before? He's already done all anyone could ask by paying our debts. Why should he lend us any more money?"

I gave a soft, self-mocking laugh. "After the scene you made at his company before, do you think he'd still have any affection for us?"

My mom was utterly terrified. Her body shook nonstop, and she actually dropped to her knees before me.

"Hanhan, you have to save your mother. You can't just watch the debt collectors hack me to death, Hanhan..."

My dad shoved her aside. "You did this yourself, so bear the consequences yourself. Stop dragging Hanhan down."

My mom kept crying, begging me to save her one moment and calling me useless the next.