Disabled Childhood Sweetheart: A Humble Puppy Begs for the Young Lady's Pity

The phone call had barely ended when there was a rapid knocking at the door.

Zhou Jingchen got up and walked over, raising his hand to open the door. Three burly men were blocking the doorway with menacing expressions.

He frowned, his gaze sweeping over the three men with a sinister look. The other men were also taken aback, speechless for a long while.

"Who are you looking for?" he asked coldly.

Zhou Jingchen was very tall. Although he wasn't as muscular as the other man, his handsome face with its distinct features and sharp, imposing gaze, along with his deep, piercing, narrow eyes, gave him a silent sense of pressure when he stared at the other man.

"You're the CEO of Xingyao?" Jiang, the leader, was the first to come to his senses and asked in a gruff voice.

"Um."

Zhou Jingchen already had the answer in his heart.

He narrowed his eyes, his deep voice carrying a chill: "Looking for Wenxi? You're loan sharks?"

"That's right." Brother Jiang puffed out his chest and said in a gruff voice, "Her father owed us money, and now that he's dead, it's naturally her responsibility to pay it back!"

These words were like a thunderclap from a clear sky, leaving Zhou Jingchen's mind blank for several seconds.

"What...what did you say?" He looked utterly incredulous, staggered back two steps, and murmured, "Her father is dead? How is that possible?"

Jiang Ge snorted, "You've been with her for so long, and you didn't even know about this? It seems that what she said is true; your relationship is just like that."

Zhou Jingchen suddenly looked up, his gloomy gaze fixing on the other person. He rushed forward, grabbed the collar of the person in front of him, and asked in a hoarse voice:

"When did her father pass away? Where did he pass away?"

Those eyes were now terrifyingly bloodshot, with blood vessels running through them and a layer of glistening moisture, like a wild beast about to go berserk, carrying a murderous aura capable of destroying the world.

Jiang was startled by his sudden action. The two underlings next to him wanted to step forward, but when they remembered that this was the big boss of Xingyao, their outstretched hands froze in mid-air, and they dared not make any rash moves.

Jiang Ge's momentum weakened slightly. He pulled his hand away and replied:

"Wen Zhiting borrowed five million yuan from us at exorbitant interest rates to save the factory, but he couldn't repay it and ran away with his family. We brothers chased after him for many years, enduring wind and rain. In 2001, he fell ill and died in Lianghe."

Zhou Jingchen's expression was blank and his dejected look was bleak. He leaned against the door frame, barely supporting his almost exhausted body.

Uncle Wen has passed away... Uncle Wen, who taught him and was very kind to him and Grandpa Zhou, the kind and gentle Uncle Wen, actually passed away as early as 2001.

Wenxi, how many things have you been hiding from me?

His throat tightened, tears welled in his eyes, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "And what about her mother?"

"Her mother has cancer and she's hidden her away; we're looking for her." Jiang Ge changed the subject, looking at Zhou Jingchen tentatively, "Mr. Zhou, we've been chasing this debt for so many years; it hasn't been easy. Yesterday, the higher-ups loosened their stance; originally it was ten million including interest, but now she only needs to repay five million of the principal. Do you think... you could repay this debt for her?"

After her uncle passed away and her aunt was diagnosed with cancer, she took care of her mother while working odd jobs to pay off millions of yuan in debt, enduring all of this alone for so many years...

A sudden, excruciating pain, like being stabbed by a sharp blade, shot through Zhou Jingchen's chest. He clutched his chest, his face contorted in agony, and crouched down...

Seeing this, Jiang and the others quickly reached out to help him up: "Mr. Zhou, are you alright?"

Zhou Jingchen raised his hand to stop him, and two hot tears fell onto the cold ground, spreading into small water stains.

After a long silence, he roughly wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand and struggled to stand up: "Did you bring the loan agreement?"

"Yes, yes, I brought it." The other person nodded repeatedly.

Zhou Jingchen took out his phone and called He Li.

Within fifteen minutes, He Li arrived in a hurry, carrying a briefcase. After reviewing the contract and confirming that everything was correct, he gave Zhou Jingchen a look, and then immediately paid the five million to the group.

With this, the Wen family's debts were all paid off.

As the group reached the building entrance, Zhou Jingchen stopped them, a cigarette between his fingers, and said coldly, "Didn't you come looking for her a few days ago?"

Jiang and his men stammered, "Yes... we're here to collect a debt too."

Zhou Jingchen raised an eyebrow, his gaze suddenly turning cold: "You called me 'President Zhou' the first time you met me. You've investigated me."

It's not a question, it's a certainty.

Jiang and his men shrank back, not daring to respond.

"You used me to threaten her?" His voice was icy.

"Mr. Zhou, we had no other choice..." Brother Jiang quickly apologized.

Zhou Jingchen interrupted him, his eyes darkening: "I understand, get out."

As soon as the word was spoken, the group felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and they ran off with the money in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Jingchen got into the car and began to sort out his thoughts step by step from the chaos.

No wonder she suddenly made an excuse to break up with him. Because she was threatened by debt collectors, she was afraid of getting involved, so she deliberately said so many cruel things.

It's not that she doesn't love herself; she loves herself to death.

Thinking of this, Zhou Jingchen felt a pang of tenderness in his heart.

He suddenly remembered the name she mentioned most often during their argument that day: Song Xianglin.

Song Xianglin, Song Xianglin... Doctor, the Third Hospital? Aunt Xiang, cancer...

Suddenly, Zhou Jingchen had a flash of inspiration, his eyes lit up, and he sat up straight.

Aunt Xiang must be at the Third Hospital!

He slammed his fist on the steering wheel in frustration, and the car honked its horn in a piercing blare.

Wenxi went to the Third Hospital not to see Song Xianglin, but because Aunt Xiang was receiving treatment there!

Without further hesitation, Zhou Jingchen immediately started the car and drove towards the hospital.

The chaotic haze dissipated, and he finally saw the faint light of day. Everything made sense; everything became clear.

However, there is still something wrong.

He frowned deeply, unable to figure it out no matter what he did.

Why did Wenxi keep all this from me? Why was she so harsh to me when we first met? Why was she so stubborn and refused to take a single penny from me?

Was it simply because of her pride? Was it simply because she didn't want him to see her in such a sorry state?

No, this is not right.

I felt there was something else he had overlooked.

Just then, the cell phone rang abruptly.

He answered the phone; it was Lu Xiaobao on the other end.

"Brother, come find me quickly," Lu Xiaobao's voice was a little choked up, "I'm staying at Mom's house."

He remembered his mother saying that Xiao Bao had a high fever last night, so he reassured him, "I have something important to do right now, so I'll leave it for now..."

Lu Xiaobao interrupted him, saying urgently, "Brother, nothing is more important than this; it's about your sister-in-law."

Zhou Jingchen's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and a bad premonition instantly gripped him.

......

Half an hour later, the Land Rover came to a steady stop at the entrance of the Yushuiwan residential complex.

This apartment was purchased by Lu Yuanyuan; it's close to her workplace, and she spends most of her time living here.

Zhou Jingchen pushed open the door and went in. Lu Xiaobao was coming out of the room with a pale face.

She had removed the exaggerated earrings, and her face was bare of makeup. Her clean-cut face showed signs of sickly weariness, and her eyes were red and swollen.

The brother and sister sat at the dining table. Zhou Jingchen raised his hand to feel her forehead. Her temperature had returned to normal, and he was relieved.

"Tell me, what exactly happened to your sister-in-law?"

Tears welled up in Lu Xiaobao's eyes instantly, and he choked out, "Brother, I finally understand. No wonder my sister-in-law avoided you for so many years, no wonder she had such a hard time and wouldn't ask you for help... It's all Grandma's fault!"

"My sister-in-law came to our house a few years ago looking for you. Her father was sick and needed surgery, and she came to borrow money..." Lu Xiaobao became more and more agitated as he spoke, tears streaming down his face. "Brother, only Grandma was home that day. Not only did she not lend us any money, she also severely humiliated my sister-in-law, kicked her out, and said so many nasty things..."

At this moment, Zhou Jingchen's face was deathly pale, as white as paper.

Lu Xiaobao told him everything he had heard at the ward door, word for word.

As Xiao Bao recounted his story, and as time ticked by, Zhou Jingchen's expression became beyond just grim.

His eyes widened, and he stared at his sister in astonishment, mouth agape. The light in his eyes gradually faded away, leaving only a desolate, dried-up riverbed.

Something was slowly breaking apart on his face.

"Brother, I'm done." Lu Xiaobao wiped away his tears, his voice choked with sobs. "The Wen family raised you for more than ten years and treated you so well, but Grandma treated my sister-in-law like this... I used to think that Grandma was domineering and controlling, but I never thought she would be so heartless and ungrateful."

"How heartbroken and sad your sister-in-law must have been back then... Brother, if I were your sister-in-law, and your family humiliated me like that, I would never speak to you again in my life."

Every word, like needles and thorns, pierced Zhou Jingchen's internal organs and heart, leaving him a bloody mess.

He closed his eyes in pain, and the image of Wenxi from back then flashed through his mind—she mustered all her courage, put aside all her pride, and came to the Lu family to borrow money to save her father, only to be met with an extremely harsh humiliation, and in the end, she could only leave in a disheveled and dejected state.

How desperate she must have been at that time.

Zhou Jingchen's heart was churning with pain, it was killing him...

He clutched his chest, his thick brows furrowed, opened his mouth, his chest heaving violently, but only managed to utter a short, broken gasp.

In one day, he learned the whole truth and understood everything.

Everything struck him mercilessly like a series of heavy hammer blows, leaving him bloodied and his life a living hell.

He sat there quietly, as if all his strength had been drained away, and he silently collapsed into dust.