Chapter 342 — Driven to Desperation

"I..." Tang Yun bit her lip and looked to her father, hoping he might put in a word or two for her, but Tang Jucheng only lowered his head, the very picture of a browbeaten, long-suffering nice guy.

In that moment Tang Jucheng was in fact secretly cursing his own uselessness. If he had made something of himself by now, would the family have to be this hard-pressed?

"Sis, is my brother-in-law really that rich?" Xiaowei, catching his aunt's words, could not help asking. If there was another hope, who would sell a kidney? Xiaowei too had thought of selling his only because he was left with no way out; but if the problem could be solved without selling it, he was hardly fool enough to insist on going through with it.

"Xiaowei, don't listen to Mother's nonsense. He's not your brother-in-law, just a classmate I'm rather close to." Tang Yun looked at the hope shining in Xiaowei's eyes and felt torn inside.

She knew that if she borrowed money from Wei Zhao this time, the two of them would be tangled together past all untangling. But if she didn't borrow it, Xiaowei would still have to sell his kidney...

"Sis, why don't you ask him?" Hearing her say this, Xiaowei was now certain that the man his aunt had spoken of must be his big sister's boyfriend — and even if he wasn't, it was nine parts certain.

"I... Xiaowei, it isn't that your sister doesn't want to help you, but if I borrow the money, what am I supposed to pay it back with? Do we even have the money to give him?" Tang Yun sighed.

"Sis, sooner or later he'll be my brother-in-law anyway. You're already his, so he won't force you to pay it back, will he?" Xiaowei looked at Tang Yun. "Besides, Xiaodan and I have hands and feet. We'll work hard, little by little, and one day we'll pay it all back..."

"Yes, Yun'er, your brother has never asked you for anything. It's a trifling matter, the work of lifting a hand. Why must you be so pigheaded?" Mother Tang was growing angry too — there was a way to solve this, plain as day, yet you would force your brother to sell his kidney? "If you won't make that call, then I'll call him myself!"

"You... you're all forcing me..." Tang Yun's eyes reddened; she was on the verge of tears. "You don't understand at all, you have no idea what's going on..."

Tang Yun wanted to say that whether Wei Zhao would even be with her in the future was uncertain, but in the end she did not say it.

"Yun'er, how is this forcing you? Would your mother ever harm you?" Mother Tang was rather displeased. She wasn't asking her to do anything shameful; the money was there for the borrowing from Wei Zhao, and the girl simply refused. What was that supposed to mean?

"I'll call, I'll call, all right!" Tang Yun stood up, grabbed her phone and ran out of the room into the yard, where she could not hold back her sobs...

Her mother didn't understand, her brother didn't understand either; they actually thought she had enough pull with Wei Zhao to make him lend their family a hundred and fifty thousand! Had they ever given a thought to her situation?

It was true that Wei Zhao liked her now, but when all was said and done, her relationship with him had not even been formally settled. On what grounds would he lend her a hundred and fifty thousand? That was no small sum. Besides, if she could have borrowed money, she would have long since borrowed the surgery fee for her father — why wait until now?

When she had finished crying, Tang Yun still dialed Wei Zhao's number. Whatever else, she could not let her brother go and sell a kidney.

Wei Zhao had sent Tang Yun a text, and when she went a long while without replying, he'd assumed she hadn't seen it; he had never expected her to call.

"Hello? Tang Yun?" Wei Zhao was pleasantly surprised. Tang Yun calling him of her own accord was, whatever else, a good start. "What made you call me? Did you miss me?"

"..." Tang Yun was caught between laughter and tears by this barrage of words, and her mood, which had been rather bleak, brightened considerably. "Who missed you? Don't flatter yourself!"

"Heh..." Wei Zhao chuckled. "Calling so late — is something the matter?"

Wei Zhao actually knew Tang Yun rather well. She was the inward sort of girl, strong-willed yet not very good at putting her own feelings into words. If nothing were the matter, she would not have called him — at least, not yet.

"Wei Zhao... there's something I want to ask of you..." Thinking of what she was about to say, Tang Yun's heart grew heavy again.

"Something to ask of me?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback as well. That didn't seem like Tang Yun at all.

"Mm... could you... lend me a hundred and fifty thousand? Don't worry, I will definitely pay you back, I promise!" Tang Yun hesitated, then gritted her teeth and made her request.

"A hundred and fifty thousand?" Wei Zhao was even more startled. This was even less like Tang Yun. When he had given her a phone before, she had hemmed and hawed and not wanted to accept it — so why would she suddenly ask him for money?

But it also showed, indirectly, that Tang Yun must have run into some trouble she had no way to resist; otherwise, making her open her mouth and ask him for a loan would be harder than killing her. Tang Yun was not the money-grubbing sort — if she were, she would long ago have been corrupted by the great dye vat of society.

"I really do need this money. My brother has gotten into some trouble, and without it he'll have to go and sell a kidney..." Afraid Wei Zhao would mistake her for a greedy girl, Tang Yun hurried to explain.

"Sell a kidney?" Wei Zhao was dumbfounded. "Tell him on no account to do anything foolish. Money is not the problem. Give me an account number and I'll have someone transfer it to you right now!"

A few days earlier Wei Zhao would not have had such confidence, but now he had just extorted a hundred million out of Liu Tianyi — rich and bold with cash, so to speak.

"Ah?" Now it was Tang Yun's turn to be stunned. She had not expected Wei Zhao to agree to transfer the money without even asking what it was for. Did he trust her that much? Wasn't he afraid she was making something up to cheat him out of his money?

"Ah, what? It's only a hundred and fifty thousand..." Of course Wei Zhao was not afraid Tang Yun would cheat him; he knew her character.

"Then... wait a moment..." Tang Yun was thrilled; her little face flushed red. Only a moment ago she had mustered all her courage to ask Wei Zhao for the loan. She had feared he would refuse outright, and she had also feared that asking would put him in a difficult position. Wei Zhao might be a rich man's son, but being able to produce a hundred and fifty thousand at the drop of a hat was not something every rich man's son could do.

Yet Wei Zhao had agreed as though it were nothing at all, without the slightest hesitation. It made Tang Yun breathe a sigh of relief, and at the same time filled her with gratitude toward him.

"Mother, Wei Zhao says he wants a bank account number..." Tang Yun felt that as she said this, the corners of her mouth could not help but brim with a smile...

She had been driven to borrow the money against her will, but now that she had gotten it, she wanted to show off a little. A girl like Tang Yun had her share of small vanity too. She wanted others to see just how much Wei Zhao cared about her...

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