It’s hard to have a conscience while working as a lawyer.

But Xu Liang had the "Liang" in conscience written on his household register, so in a certain sense, he wasn’t lacking one!

If sparing a bit of conscience could yield satisfactory answers, he might be able to consider it.

But this case...

Zheng Shijie’s family was quite understanding.

Xu Liang found no need to arrange the debts for the other party because...

Zhao Yue’s wife and daughter were indeed in debt!

...

March 20th.

"Harass, harass, harass, why are you harassing me? It’s just three thousand bucks. It’s not like I can’t pay you back. When have I not given you money the last two times!?"

Qingshi City in the Eastern Country.

A woman in her twenties answered the phone, her face showing an impatient expression.

A man’s harsh voice came through the phone speaker.

"Three thousand? That’s the original loan amount!"

"Now it’s already risen to nine thousand!!!"

"If you don’t repay today, I’m coming to find you!"

"..."

After hearing this, Zheng Yu’s makeup-covered face immediately fell, looking rather unsightly.

She was about 5’3" and weighed 130 pounds, appearing a bit chubby.

But her outfit was exceptionally eye-catching!

Without exception, they were all brand names, with the total value almost exceeding what others earned in a year!

"I’ll pay it off today. It’s just nine thousand bucks, as if I don’t have it,"

Zheng Yu retorted impatiently.

"Nine thousand? Who said you were going to pay it all off? You can only pay six thousand at most! If you can’t even pay that... heh, see you tonight!"

A threatening voice came from the other end of the line.

Zheng Yu didn’t mind, "So annoying!"

After saying that, she directly hung up the phone.

Soon after, Zheng Yu looked at the bustling city in front of her, staring at the extremely lively commercial street, and suddenly lost interest.

This is Qingshi City, the capital of Lanshan Province.

The development here is renowned across the country, and if you ignore the internet aspect, its bustling appearance is almost identical to some of the more developed cities Xu Liang had known in his previous lifetime!

Zheng Yu went to college here and never returned home after graduation, living a life of luxury in Qingshi City ever since.

Her family was very wealthy.

In Zheng Yu’s memory, her family was pretty average until...

When she was 13, the family suddenly became rich!

Stacks of money appeared inexplicably at home, her mother stopped working, and she indulged in spending recklessly — it was as if the family had a printing machine that continuously churned out cash.

Zheng Yu didn’t know how it was earned; she guessed it was probably illegal income.

But it didn’t matter whatever way it came, as long as she could spend it!

As for the debt...

"What a biological dad, nothing better to do than drink and drive..."

"He drinks, drinks, but doesn’t even say how the money was made before he went in!"

Zheng Yu grumbled bitterly in her heart.

Then she looked at the commercial street in front of her and lost the desire to shop, directly heading towards the bank.

The debt was incurred five years ago.

At the time, she was still in school, living lavishly like a rich second generation, squandering money left and right during her college days.

But then suddenly, Zheng Shijie went to jail!

Yes, Zheng Shijie was arrested, reportedly for drunk driving, and was sentenced to a full 15 years!

The family’s situation took a nosedive immediately, and mother Zhao Yue, realizing no new funds were coming, decisively began to temporarily tighten the budget and live frugally.

But...

As the saying goes, transitioning from frugality to extravagance is easy; returning to frugality from extravagance is hard!

Having been accustomed to good times, how could Zheng Yu bear living in poverty again?

Moreover, she knew the family was wealthy, so she spent her living expenses freely without any sense of limits.

After spending it all, she sought more from Zhao Yue, who only gave her a little money, which was intolerable to Zheng Yu. After all, face was what mattered most, plus Zhao Hailong and others would be lending money too, so...

She temporarily borrowed from new online loans popular at the time, which were some illegal dubious online loans.

"Nine cents out and thirteen returns, not allowing a complete payback of the principal, with compound interest..."

Zheng Yu stood in front of the ATM, took out her bank card, muttering while managing the operations.

What she mentioned were all rules of online loans!

The online loan company wouldn’t let go of such a big catch like Zheng Yu!?

The three thousand principal simply couldn’t be repaid; the opponent kept earning interest! Over the years, the interest had already exceeded ten thousand, more than ten times the principal!

"Forget it, it’s just a few thousand bucks anyway."

Zheng Yu consoled herself inwardly, then pulled out her card, inputting the withdrawal amount at the ATM.

Unluckily...

The anticipated sound of counting cash didn’t come, and instead, a line of words appeared on the ATM.

[Transaction failed!]

Zheng Yu was stunned, trying once more with the machine.

Regrettably...

[Transaction failed!]

[Transaction failed!]

[.....]

After numerous failures to withdraw, Zheng Yu suspiciously looked at the ATM in front, then moved to a brand-new machine next to it.

"Why isn’t anyone fixing these broken machines..."

She muttered, repeating her actions on a new machine, but unfortunately...

[Status abnormal!]

Seeing the message on the screen, Zheng Yu froze.

Neither of the two machines allowed withdrawal...

Zheng Yu was starting to panic and began trying different banks, using other machines repeatedly.

But sadly...

Not a single penny could be withdrawn!

"What’s... what’s going on!?"

She repeatedly attempted to withdraw money in growing distress.

"Why can’t I withdraw the money!?"

Thinking of the nine thousand, she became increasingly anxious.

This accumulation of interest, nine thousand rolling up... was quite a significant burden for her already!

But unfortunately...

No matter what, the money in the card was still inaccessible.

"Going to the counter? No, no, what if they discover my transactions..."