Neighbor 09

The sky had just darkened when a woman's cry came from next door, but it quickly vanished, as if her mouth had been muffled.

"It's all your fault! And you have the nerve to ask for time off? Don't you know no work means no money? And you brought our son back! Don't you know he could be earning money next door right now? Useless!" Zhang Xi was once again beating his wife, who hadn't even fully recovered from her previous injuries.

This time, however, Zhang Xiaoli was spared. In Zhang Xi's eyes, he was now "valuable." If he got hurt, the neighbors next door might not pay, and that would be troublesome. Plus, there was the risk of them calling the police. So, the domestic violence that was once shared by mother and son fell solely on Li Juan's shoulders.

She looked in disbelief at her son, who was just staring blankly as she was beaten. Her heart turned cold. In the past, whenever she was hit, her son would rush to protect her. Now, he was completely unmoved! It was true then—those two women next door had corrupted her precious boy!

But under her husband's threats, she could only reluctantly agree to let her son spend more time with his "godmother."

All she could do was stay at home, viciously cursing Fang Wanwan and Fang Zaolao. Yes, she would curse her two neighbors rather than direct a single curse at her own husband.

Night fell. As Li Juan ate her boiled cabbage, she began to recall the smells of the meals cooked next door. Thinking of her son feasting over there right now, she felt a strange mix of envy and jealousy.

Suddenly, the door creaked open. Li Juan instinctively frowned. Her son was back—only he would come home at this hour. Her husband wouldn't be back until midnight. But when she looked up, she froze.

Two strange men followed her husband inside. Zhang Xi's face was swollen, clearly from a beating.

"Husband!" Li Juan rushed forward without hesitation. "What happened to you?"

Seeing her, Zhang Xi looked as if he'd spotted a savior. "Wife, help me! Please, wife!"

Seeing his wretched expression, Li Juan hurriedly asked, "What's going on? What happened?"

One of the men spoke up. "Your husband owes us money. I'm telling you, if he doesn't pay up today, we're breaking one of his legs!"

Li Juan was stunned.

She remembered now. Her husband had indeed borrowed money from others before, but she never knew how much.

Zhang Xi's face was a picture of misery. He never imagined his creditors would track him down so suddenly.

Neither of the couple knew that in a corner of the city, a middle-aged man was making a phone call.

"Hello, do you know Zhang Xi?"

"Zhang Xi? That bastard! He still owes me money! Who are you?"

"What a coincidence, I'm also looking for him to collect a debt. I just found out his address..."

Dejected, Zhang Xi couldn't believe his luck today. First, he was found and beaten by one set of creditors, and now another group had shown up at his door.

"Zhang Xi, you've been hiding well!" A burly man spotted Zhang Xi cowering on the sofa immediately and took a few steps forward, only to be blocked by two other men.

"What are you doing? I'm here to collect a debt!"

The two who had arrived first were also confused. They glanced back at Zhang Xi. Just how much money did this guy owe?

But adhering to the principle of first come, first served, they said, "We're here for the same reason, but we were here first."

"Get lost!"

The three men began to scuffle. Soon, a third group arrived at the door.

Zhang Xi buried his head in his hands. He couldn't figure out why... Wait! It suddenly dawned on him. Someone had given his address to all these creditors!

But who could it be? He couldn't think of anyone, and there was no time to ponder now. The creditors finally sorted out their order and were now all staring at him, demanding payment.

Zhang Xi thought of a solution: online loans! He definitely couldn't get one himself, but there was still Li Juan! This was his emergency plan, and now it was time to use it.

Li Juan was already panicking, capable only of crying until Zhang Xi yelled at her. She then fumbled for her phone. But after going through the process, not a single cent was approved.

"How can this be?" Zhang Xi was furious. He snatched the phone from his wife's hand and looked at it, nearly dying of anger. Unbeknownst to him, Li Juan had already taken out online loans at some point and hadn't repaid them!

"Husband, what's wrong?" Li Juan asked with a bitter face.

In response, Zhang Xi kicked her. "How dare you even ask!"

The kick sent Li Juan sprawling onto the floor. "What?"

"Did you borrow money and not pay it back?"

Li Juan was stunned for a moment before suddenly remembering the time Fang Zaolao helped her borrow money.

"It wasn't me! It was that woman next door, the one named Fang," she quickly shifted the blame to Fang Zaolao. "It was that day when Xiaoli had a fever. She... she did it for me."

Zhang Xi had no time for details. "What do we do now, you good-for-nothing woman!"

"No, it's not like that! She tricked me! She said if I uninstalled the app, I wouldn't have to pay it back!"

The debt collectors couldn't help but laugh. "You've really mastered the art of self-deception, haven't you?"

Li Juan still felt wronged. "I didn't want to borrow it, really. I never would have..."

The creditors had no interest in their performance. A stocky man with a crew cut pointed at Li Juan. "You should be glad I don't hit women, but he's a different story."

With that, Zhang Xi took a punch.

Li Juan's face was full of distress. "Don't hit him, don't! I'll pay! I'll pay it back, okay?"

She said the words, but she didn't move. It wasn't for any other reason; she was just thinking about who would still be willing to lend her money. What she said earlier was true—she never intended to borrow money online because those people were trouble. She only borrowed from people she knew around her. Whether she paid them back was another matter; she could always just plead poverty.

It was all that Fang Zaolao's fault!

But blaming anyone was useless now. She had to save Zhang Xi.

One creditor, noticing the bruises on her body, nudged Zhang Xi with his elbow in confusion. "Hey, you do that?"

Zhang Xi, who was only tough at home, put on an ingratiating smile and nodded. "This woman needs to be beaten into line."

"Big brother, you hear that? This woman is really something else," someone commented.

"Shut up."

Just then, the door opened again. A young woman delivered a little boy to the doorway. As she was about to leave, her eyes met those of the people inside.

For a moment, both sides were tense.

"Who's that?" a creditor finally broke the silence.

"Big brother, that's my son! And that's his godmother!" Zhang Xi seemed to have spotted a lifeline. "She has money!"

The debt collector looked suspiciously at Fang Zaolao. Seeing the situation, Fang Zaolao also held onto Zhang Xiaoli, crossing her arms as she observed the people inside the room.

"What does her having money have to do with you?"

Zhang Xi didn't expect the creditor beside him to kick him directly.

"We can ask her to lend it! Borrow it!" Zhang Xi said repeatedly, then glared at his wife. "What are you just standing there for?"

Li Juan understood. She immediately stepped forward and fell to her knees with a thud. "Miss Fang, you... you have to help us. It's all because of that money you helped me borrow on the phone that things have come to this!"