Chapter 7 — The Path I Chose

What? We have to be liable for the debt too? I don’t have any money! My mother immediately tried to back away.

The real estate agent stepped forward to explain, Madam, you can still choose to have Miss Liang be the primary borrower, and she will be the one making the payments. You just need to sign as guarantors so the bank can approve a higher loan limit. If we rely solely on Miss Liang’s profile, the bank will never approve such a large sum. Liang Xiao leaned close to my mother’s ear, whispering intensely, Mom, Dinh Dinh has already made it clear; she wants this house, or the wedding is off. Besides, it is essentially Liang Tri Da’s money paying for it anyway. And look, she has to pay an eighty-thousand deposit upfront. If she stops paying the mortgage later, we can just sell the house and reclaim our deposit! After whispering back and forth for a while, the two of them finally nodded in agreement. The agent happily pulled out a stack of documents and began having them sign the contracts on the spot. Seeing me pick up the pen to sign, they both followed suit with eager enthusiasm. Immediately after, right in front of them, I transferred the deposit into the escrow account the agent had provided. After a flurry of activity, Liang Xiao clutched the home purchase contract tightly to her chest and left, looking completely satisfied. I looked at my mother and said, The house is bought. I only have three days of leave from school, so I have to return to America tomorrow. She let out a cold huff and issued a threat, Make sure you pay that mortgage on time every single month. If you dare to pull any tricks, I will fly straight to America to settle the score with you!

After they left, the agent handed the entire stack of signed contracts over to me. I took out my phone and transferred eight thousand yuan to him.

Thank you. Your performance was professional.

He smiled and waved at me.

If you ever need this kind of service again, just reach out.

They had no idea that this agent was someone I had hired to act out the scene. The contracts that bore my signature were forgeries, while the ones they had just signed were 100 percent legitimate, zero-down-payment mortgage agreements. According to the terms, they would be responsible for paying over thirty thousand yuan every month from now on. My older brother is a good-for-nothing loafer, and my parents barely scrape by on odd jobs. That thirty-thousand-yuan figure is enough to make their lives a living hell. Once they default on the debt, they will be blacklisted. As for the dream of leaving the country? It will be difficult for them to even set foot outside of Giang Thanh! And they wanted to come to America to harass me? Not a chance. From this day forward, as long as I do not return to the country, this family will never see my face again. With everything settled, I returned to the hotel to grab my luggage for the airport. As I was checking out at the lobby, a surprised voice called out from behind me.

Tri Da?

I turned around to find Pho Thanh Tay standing there, his face full of shock and delight. He rushed toward me, reaching out to grip my shoulders tightly.

Is it really you? Why are you back in the country? Why didn’t you tell me?

I brushed his hands off, my voice icy. Mr. Pho, I don’t think we are close enough for this kind of familiarity. He looked at me, crestfallen. What is wrong with you? I warned him, Please relay a message to your ex-girlfriend, Chu Diem Diem: tell her to stop obsessing over ways to cause trouble for me. I handled things smoothly this time, so I am letting her go. If there is a next time, don’t blame me if my methods turn out to be even dirtier than hers! With that, I grabbed my suitcase and walked away. He hurried after me.

What on earth happened? Tell me, I can help you!

I stopped in my tracks. Pho Thanh Tay, at the end of the day, all of this is because of you. Chu Diem Diem was used by you, yet she ended up venting all her resentment onto me.

So, if you truly want to help me, just stay away from me. Never appear in front of me again.