Chapter 1

In the hospital corridor, people came and went.

Ye Fei, however, paid no attention, squatting in a corner and sobbing loudly.

"Your mother's stomach tumor has become malignant. If you don't pay 100,000 for surgery, she only has a month to live."

The doctor's cold words pierced his heart like needles.

But the exorbitant cost was something Ye Fei could not afford.

His adoptive father, Ye Wujiu, had gone missing a year ago while working on a ship, and his adoptive mother, Shen Biqin, had been hospitalized due to a stomach tumor. Ye Fei, who had just graduated, had become the family's mainstay.

Over the past year, to treat his adoptive mother, Ye Fei had not only exhausted the family's savings and taken out all the online loans he could, but he had also become a groom for the Tang family to bring good luck.

He worked like a slave for the Tang family, losing all his dignity, in exchange for 500,000 yuan.

But this money was quickly used up in the hospital.

Now, Ye Fei had only a mobile phone and 10 yuan left.

"Another 100,000, another 100,000..." Thinking of the number the doctor mentioned, Ye Fei felt deeply hopeless. With no resources left, where could he find this 100,000?

But he couldn't just watch his mother die.

"I have to borrow 100,000."

Ye Fei wiped away his tears, gritted his teeth, and stood up: "I must not let anything happen to my mother."

He decided to swallow his pride and borrow money.

Ye Fei went to the first house, knocking on his uncle's door.

His aunt opened the door with a stern face.

Ye Fei begged desperately, "Aunt, my mother needs money for surgery..."

"Ask for money again? Ask for money again? Didn't we already give you 200 yuan? Is that not enough?"

"Get out, get out, get out. Don't come here. We don't have greedy relatives like you..."

As she spoke, she pushed Ye Fei out and slammed the security door shut.

Hearing these harsh words, Ye Fei trembled with anger and punched the wall.

He knew human relationships were cold, but he never expected his uncle, who had taken his father's ancestral home, would refuse to help even a little.

With no other options, Ye Fei had to swallow his pride and ask other relatives for money, but he was turned away at every door.

They even warned him not to harass them, or they would call the police.

Then, the landlord called, saying he would clear out Shen Biqin's room if the rent wasn't paid within a week.

The online loan companies also started calling relentlessly.

Ye Fei, with a stiff upper lip, called Tang Ruoxue, who was on vacation in the Maldives.

Tang Ruoxue hung up the phone in extreme annoyance as soon as he asked for money.

Desperate.

After standing in the cold wind on the street for a while, Ye Fei wiped away his tears and went to the Zero Degree Bar.

This was where his ex-girlfriend Yuan Jing worked, or rather, where his former roommate Huang Dongqiang had lent 5 million yuan to Yuan Jing to realize her dream.

Of course, it was also because of this 5 million yuan that Yuan Jing left Ye Fei and went to Huang Dongqiang.

With the allure of a high-and-mighty school beauty, the bar was very popular, becoming a gathering place for many rich second-generation in Zhonghai.

Ye Fei had become a laughingstock.

Although he felt humiliated coming here, thinking of his mother's surgery, he had no choice but to enter the Zero Degree Bar.

He believed that Yuan Jing would lend him the 100,000 out of past affection.

The bar was lively and upscale, with the scent of perfume making Ye Fei feel inferior.

As Ye Fei walked into the hall, the entire place fell silent.

A dozen well-dressed men and women looked over.

Ye Fei also looked at Huang Dongqiang and Yuan Jing.

He saw arrogance and disdain in Huang Dongqiang's eyes, but not a trace of guilt.

Yuan Jing wore a low-cut top, revealing a patch of white abdomen, and a very short hot pants.

Her fair skin, long legs, and beautiful face were very eye-catching.

However, her cold and proud expression made many people dare not look at her.

She looked at Ye Fei with no emotion, as if she were seeing a dog on the street.

Yuan Jing's best friend, Yang Qianqian, jumped off her high stool: "Ye Fei, what are you doing here?"

Her tone was full of disdain.

Ye Fei mustered his courage: "I came to..."

"We don't need a cleaner here."

Yang Qianqian mocked, "Get out."

She had always looked down on the penniless Ye Fei and had actively pushed Yuan Jing and Huang Dongqiang together.

Ye Fei quickly waved his hands to explain: "I'm not here to be a cleaner, I came to..."

"Twenty-eight yuan for a lemonade, 180 yuan for a cocktail. Can you afford it?"

Yang Qianqian sneered, "Even if you have some pocket money from the Tang family, we still don't welcome you here."

Huang Dongqiang spat, "Damn, what bad luck, running into a waste of space today."

Huang Dongqiang and the others had long known about Ye Fei's role as a groom for the Tang family.

The dozen men and women laughed at his words.

"I—" Ye Fei, with a stiff upper lip, stepped forward, about to speak to Yuan Jing, when a pretty girl shouted, "Get your dirty hands off, it's a leather sofa."

She waved her hand in front of her nose, as if Ye Fei were a stinky ditch.

Ye Fei, like a snake bitten, pulled back his hand, blushing.

He knew he would be humiliated, but he didn't expect it to be so ruthless.

He gritted his teeth and blurted out, "I came to see Yuan Jing."

"Yuan Jing, let's talk outside..." Ye Fei hoped to save some face.

Yuan Jing's long legs were crossed, her white toes shimmering in the light. She didn't mock or move, but this was the greatest disdain.

Huang Dongqiang's lips curled into a mocking smile: "Yuan Jing is my girlfriend now, not someone you can just see."

He even rubbed Yuan Jing's leg provocatively.

Ye Fei's cheeks flushed: "Yuan Jing, I really need to talk to you, let's go outside."

Yuan Jing looked at Ye Fei without responding, only with pride and coldness, like looking at a insignificant ant.

"Get lost, you make me sick."

Yang Qianqian, impatient, shouted, "Don't ruin our mood."

Seeing that Yuan Jing wouldn't even give him a shred of dignity, Ye Fei felt very disappointed and sad, but he still managed to say, "Yuan Jing, I need to borrow 100,000 from you."

Ye Fei made a promise: "Don't worry, I will definitely pay you back. I can even pledge my ID card, graduation certificate, and other things..."

"100,000?"

Yang Qianqian exclaimed, "Ye Fei, you want to borrow 100,000? You're not worth 100 yuan, and you dare to borrow 100,000?"

Ye Fei looked at Yuan Jing and explained, "My mother needs money for surgery..."

"I know this is sudden, but I really need it to save her life. Please, I beg you."

He even took out his mother's medical records, hoping to move Yuan Jing.

Huang Dongqiang looked at him as if he were a fool: "Your father is missing, your ancestral home was taken by your uncle, you're renting a house, you're a groom for the Tang family, and you don't have a job. What do you have to borrow 100,000?"

Since graduation, Ye Fei had been busy with his mother's illness or serving the Tang family, and had not looked for a job.

So he was still unemployed.

"Once my mother's surgery is done, I'll find a job immediately. I will definitely pay it back."

Ye Fei felt humiliated, wishing he could turn and run, but he had to persist.

"Yuan Jing, I beg you, my mother needs surgery, and I really need this money..."

At this moment, Ye Fei felt as low as a dog.

Yang Qianqian sneered, "We're not your parents. What does your mother's surgery have to do with us?"

"Yuan Jing, please help me."

Ye Fei looked at Yuan Jing, pleading, "I will definitely pay you back."

Everyone looked at Yuan Jing.

Yuan Jing looked at Ye Fei coldly, speaking in an even colder tone, making Ye Fei's heart chill: "Borrow money from me?"

"Don't you think it's ridiculous?"

"What does your mother's life or death have to do with me?"

She sneered, "Do you think we still have any past affection?"

"Don't be delusional."

"No swan cares about a toad."

Ye Fei looked at Yuan Jing in shock, unable to believe she had said such things.

"Our circle is not for you to enter."

"My money is not for you to borrow."

"I have no feelings for you."

"By the way, when we were dating, I was sick, and you gave me a Taiji jade, saying it would protect me."

"Now, I'll return this Taiji jade to you. Take it to protect your mother."

Yuan Jing took out a Taiji jade from a drawer under the table and threw it into Ye Fei's hand: "Go, don't come here again."

"Your appearance at the Zero Degree Bar is inappropriate and causes trouble for me and Dongqiang."

Her voice was calm, without any arrogance, but it pressed him to the ground, as if a sky-high ant looking down at the ground: "Know your place."

Yang Qianqian pushed Ye Fei: "Get lost, toad."

Ye Fei looked despairingly.

Huang Dongqiang suddenly spoke: "I can lend you 100,000."

Ye Fei's eyes lit up, and he was excited: "Really?"

Huang Dongqiang smiled playfully: "Kneel down."

Ye Fei's blood boiled, his eyes filled with anger, but he quickly calmed down.

"Thud—" Ye Fei knelt straight.

His knees hurt, but his heart hurt more.

But for his mother, Ye Fei was resolute.

"Ha ha ha—" Yang Qianqian and the others laughed, never expecting the supposedly most stubborn Ye Fei to kneel before them.

Someone took out a phone to record the scene.

Yuan Jing raised her white chin, proud like a princess, with even more disdain: a man without any backbone.

Huang Dongqiang went to the bathroom, came back with a cup of yellow liquid, and placed it in front of Ye Fei.

"Kneel and drink it."

Huang Dongqiang threw a bank card: "This 100,000 is lent to you."

Looking at the cup, Ye Fei was first stunned, then angry: it's urine! "You bastards!"

Ye Fei threw the cup at them: "You're too much."

Yuan Jing and the others screamed, their clothes in disarray.

Huang Dongqiang was furious and ordered: "Beat him up!"

Ye Fei turned and ran.

Seven or eight young men rushed over.

One fist cannot fight four hands, and Ye Fei was quickly beaten down.

He leaned against the wall, protecting his head with his hands.

His hands were numb, but he instinctively held his head.

His head was protected, but other parts were not, and after a few heavy punches, Ye Fei started bleeding.

Yuan Jing and Yang Qianqian were jubilant.

To them, Ye Fei's resistance was a grave offense, and his current predicament was purely self-inflicted.

"Waste of space!"

Huang Dongqiang stepped on Ye Fei's head.

"Bang—" Ye Fei's hands, which had been protecting his head, finally relaxed, and he slid down the wall, unconscious.

A spurt of blood flowed from his palms, seeping into the ancient Taiji jade...

"Whoosh—" A flash of light disappeared.