Chapter 459 - 232: Cable Car Accident?

Chapter 459: Chapter 232: Cable Car Accident?

"Don’t spout nonsense. Your mom fell ill on her own; it has nothing to do with me."

"And this subordinate of yours fell on his own. That has nothing to do with me either."

Xie Yuan replied immediately.

Boss Tian was at a loss for words. Old Zhou shot him a glare.

"I told you to handle things according to the law. What are you doing in their home?"

"Um, what we’re doing is legal..."

Boss Tian’s eyes darted. Realizing that another word might land him in the police station, he grabbed his men to leave.

"Whatever. We’re leaving for now."

"Wait."

Old Zhou held up a hand and looked at Xie Yuan.

"So, nothing happened here today?"

"Nothing."

Xie Yuan looked at Boss Tian and replied calmly. He didn’t want to give a statement either; it would be useless.

’Seeing how familiar they are with the police, they’re clearly just shameless troublemakers.’

Boss Tian let out a sigh of relief and said with a chuckle:

"Young man, the contract is in black and white. Debts must be repaid. We’ll let this month slide, but next month’s penalty fee will be even higher. If you still can’t pay..."

He glanced at the neighbors who had gathered around and said with a smile:

"We’ll have no choice but to visit your dad’s workplace."

Xie Yuan watched him in silence.

"If my dad loses his job, we won’t be able to pay back a single cent. We won’t even be able to afford to eat. When my family is pushed into a corner... well, I’m someone who’s already died once. I’m guessing you *really* don’t want to see me then."

Boss Tian’s expression instantly stiffened. Old Zhou frowned and barked:

"What nonsense are you spouting, young man? Are you threatening someone right in front of me?"

Xie Yuan looked at Old Zhou and said coldly:

"Are you in on it with them?"

Old Zhou flinched, his expression turning serious as he pointed to the badge number on his chest:

"This is my badge number. If you find any misconduct on my part, you are welcome to exercise your right to file a complaint at any time."

"These guys are familiar faces at the station. They come by often, and they love to call the police themselves. We just know who they are, that’s all."

Xie Yuan’s face tensed.

"So you just let them get away with this? Isn’t that negligence?"

Old Zhou shook his head.

"They haven’t done anything that clearly breaks the law. At most, they could be held for disturbing the peace, but that just means a few days in detention, and then they’re out. For them, it’s like going home. Times have changed. Their company has professional legal advisors who know how to toe the line, and the company itself is legitimate. We don’t have many options. We can only advise you to be patient, call the police when necessary, and don’t lose your temper. If you do, they’ll be the ones calling the police..."

Old Zhou spoke with Xie Yuan a little longer. After confirming that the situation was under control, he left.

Xie Yuan closed the door, poured a glass of water for his mother on the sofa, then silently cleared the dining table, washed the pots and bowls, and returned to the sofa.

Wang Yafang looked pale and listless, still struggling to catch her breath.

Xie Yuan sighed.

"Mom, how much did we borrow from them?"

"N-not that much. A little over five hundred thousand."

Wang Yafang whispered.

’Over half a million?’ Xie Yuan frowned.

’At that interest rate, Dad’s monthly salary would barely cover the interest payments.’

A little over five hundred thousand might not seem like an astronomical figure, but this was money the Xie family had borrowed *after* selling their car, selling their house, and borrowing from every friend and relative they could. It was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.

The Xie family had no way left to plug this financial hole. All they could do was barely stay afloat.

Originally, the Xie family was a dual-income household. His parents’ income wasn’t high, but it was stable. They had a car, a house, and savings. They could even afford to travel once a year—a textbook middle-class family.

But Xie Yuan’s accident came with immense expenses. He lay unconscious in the ICU for over a month, and every single day, his parents would wake up to tens of thousands in bills, flowing away like water. They weren’t willing to give up hope, so they kept paying.

Although they got their miracle, the family’s savings were completely wiped out. The tourist site offered compensation, but the large travel group’s legal team was no less formidable than the loan company’s. The settlement clearly couldn’t cover the full cost of the ICU stay.

The seemingly perfect middle-class family was driven back into poverty by illness, teetering on the edge of collapse.

If it had been a normal illness or even a serious disease, things might have been manageable; health insurance would have covered some of it. But Xie Yuan was in a semi-vegetative state. Even a wealthy family might not have been able to afford the constant care, unless they had the fortune of someone like that famous race car driver, who hung on for over a decade and still made it to his daughter’s wedding.

If Xie Yuan had woken up even a little later, his parents would have been forced to give up, even if they didn’t want to.

Xie Yuan comforted his mother and told her to go back to bed and rest.

’After the big flu, his once healthy mother had grown weaker. On top of that, after taking care of him for over a month... she’s aged so quickly...’

Xie Yuan let out a breath, sat on the sofa scrolling through his phone, his brow furrowed.

"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—"

Another knock sounded at the door. Xie Yuan opened it to see people from property management and the neighborhood committee standing there together.

"Uh... You must be Xiaoxie, right? Are your parents home?"

"I’m an adult. You can talk to me."

The two older women exchanged a glance, and one of them cleared her throat.

"Here’s the thing. You just moved in, so you aren’t original residents here. The neighbors, well, they don’t really know you."

"And, well, since you’re renting, you have to be mindful of your impact. First gangsters, then police officers... If this happens too often, it makes the neighbors uneasy, you know?"

"I’m so sorry. Today was an exception. I apologize for the trouble. We promise it won’t happen again."

Xie Yuan looked apologetic and bowed repeatedly.

Seeing how polite he was, the woman couldn’t bring herself to say much more.

"Alright, young man. Just pass the message on to your parents. If this happens again... you’ll have to move out."

After the two women left, Xie Yuan closed the door and let out a long sigh.

’The family is already having trouble making ends meet. If we lose this affordable place... rent is so much higher everywhere else.’

A real sense of anxiety washed over Xie Yuan.

Even if everything here was...

But Xie Yuan still wanted to stay here a little longer, to see his parents more, to feel the warmth of home, and to make them happy.

’What should I do...?’

Xie Yuan scrolled through job-seeking apps on his phone. He searched for a long time but couldn’t find anything suitable. After all, as a college student who hadn’t graduated, the most he could do was part-time work. It was impossible to pay off a debt of over half a million, especially not quickly.

And on top of that half-million, they had also borrowed a lot from friends and relatives.

Although they weren’t pressing for repayment yet, all three members of the Xie family were the type of people who couldn’t rest easy with debt hanging over their heads. They had to pay it back as soon as possible.

Xie Yuan looked at the statue of Buddha his mother had placed on the room divider and sighed.

’Mom prays so devoutly, but Buddha doesn’t help the poor.’

He opened WeChat again, scrolling aimlessly until a name suddenly caught his eye.

After a moment of thought, Xie Yuan sent a message, adding to the long, one-sided chat history:

"Brother Bing, I’m awake now. Let’s get together."