"Teacher Wan..."
Wan Jing waved his hand to stop her from speaking, and finally managed to exhale the pent-up anger in his chest, then said hurriedly.
"I'm asking you, have you two broken through that barrier yet?!"
Yin Jiayi bit her lip and shook her head.
“I haven’t told her.”
"That's good, take it, and get out of here!" Wan Jing slapped the contract on the table into her hand.
"Leave tonight. I'll give you a week to adjust yourself and get rid of this idea as soon as possible. If someone with ulterior motives makes a fuss about it, you may not care about your reputation, but I do!"
"Teacher Wan! Could we do it tomorrow..." Yin Jiayi held the flimsy contract in her hand, but felt as if a thousand pounds were pressing down on her heart.
She desperately wanted to try again because she had promised her that she would watch every one of her matches.
Whenever she has free time.
Even if they can't be together, as ordinary friends, she doesn't want to disappoint her, after all, this is Kim Nam-ji's first time reaching the World Championships finals.
Wan Jing smashed the teacup, his face turning red with anger.
"Get out!"
Yin Jiayi didn't know how she left the coach's office or how she returned to her apartment in a daze.
Her teammate opened the door and was surprised to see her.
"Captain, why are you crying?"
Yin Jiayi then realized that her face was covered in tears. She hadn't cried in a long time. As the captain and the backbone of the national team, she carried too much on her shoulders. She had to be strong, she had to be patient, and she had to be omnipotent.
She really wanted to say something to someone after losing the game.
"I'm a person too, not a god."
But now, she simply wiped the corner of her eye as if by accident, forced herself to remain calm, and smiled with a spirited smile.
"Oh, it's windy outside, and I got sand in my eyes. I'm going to take a shower."
After everyone left, Wan Jingcai, his fingers trembling, took out a bottle of nitroglycerin from his pocket, poured one pill into his palm, closed his eyes, and swallowed it whole.
After a long while, a long sigh echoed in the empty room.
"Sigh, what a tragic fate."
***
“What we mean is, we don’t want much, it’s just…” The lawyer and the victim’s family sitting opposite each other exchanged a glance and held up five fingers.
Qiao Yuchu: "Five hundred thousand? No problem..."
Before he could finish speaking, the people opposite him exchanged glances. The lawyer cleared his throat and coughed lightly.
"No, I think you've misunderstood, Miss Qiao. It's five million."
"What?! What are you doing..." Upon hearing this number, Qiao Yuchu's vision went black, and she tried to stand up abruptly.
Jin Shunqi pulled her aside and whispered.
"Let's hear what they have to say first."
She then slowly sat down again.
The lawyer handed me a prepared form.
"The specific costs are all written down here."
Qiao Yuchu flipped through a few pages, and the last bit of pity in her heart was completely consumed by the family's insatiable greed.
"Compensation for medical expenses, funeral expenses, mental distress damages, and vehicle repair and replacement costs is all reasonable, but what kind of logic is this, demanding compensation for labor services and money for baby diapers and formula?"
Just as the woman was about to speak, the lawyer gave her a wink.
"It's like this: because both my clients and their spouses work away from home and have no time to take care of the child, the child was originally cared for by the grandmother. Now that the grandmother has passed away, it's natural to hire a new nanny, so..."
Qiao Yuchu gave a cold laugh.
"Okay, that's barely acceptable, but it's a bit unreasonable for you to raise children and then ask us to compensate you for the cost of diapers and formula."
The man could no longer sit still and slammed his fist on the table, standing up.
"You killed my mother, shouldn't you pay more compensation?! If my mother were still alive, she could have received retirement pensions for at least several more decades. That would have covered not only the cost of baby formula, but also the cost of her children's college education!"
"You... this is clearly extortion!" Qiao Yuchu's face flushed red as she shouted, "Five million! Where am I supposed to get that much money for you?!"
The lawyer smiled slightly and looked at Kim Soon-sik.
"Just because you don't have it doesn't mean your husband can't produce it either."
Qiao Yuchu was taken aback and was about to argue.
"He and I are not..."
Jin Shunqi gently grasped her hand from below, signaling her not to rush, and calmly spoke.
"This amount of compensation, which is completely unfounded, is already suspected of being extortion. You can hire a lawyer, and so can we."
The lawyer sitting opposite him relaxed slightly and leaned back in his chair.
“It’s alright, you can sue us. We have the time and energy to fight the case with you. But as far as I know, Miss Qiao’s parents are getting old. I don’t know if they can endure the hardship of imprisonment.”
The lawyer chuckled softly as he finished speaking.
"Also, I heard that Miss Qiao's parents are also going through a divorce. It's really not easy for her to appease her parents, handle the division of property, and also find time to deal with our lawsuit in such a short period of time."
"You—" Qiao Yuchu was so angry that she was about to speak when someone pulled her to her feet and said coldly.
"I'm sorry, but if this is your attitude—using threats, bribes, and even humiliating my girlfriend—then there's no point in discussing this, not even five million. We won't encourage your arrogance. Goodbye."
Before anyone could stop him, Jin Shunqi forcefully pulled her out of the restaurant, gripping her hand tightly the whole way. His tightly pursed lips showed that he was truly angry.
It wasn't until they had walked quite a distance that he came to his senses, let go of her, and looked at her with an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry, I only said that in a moment of panic, it doesn't mean..."
The warmth of his touch still lingered in her palm, and Qiao Yuchu smiled.
"It's alright, thank you."
He stood on the street and smoked a cigarette. He couldn't bear to see her caught in the middle, suffering from all sides and having to work so hard. He frowned slightly and said...
"It's only five million, how about..."
Qiao Yuchu shook her head firmly, interrupting him.
She knew what he meant.
"Although I really want to gain the forgiveness of the victim's family and want to get my parents out of jail, I can't do anything beyond my financial means, especially..."
She glanced at Kim Soon-sik and lowered her voice.
"I could never pay back the five million I borrowed from you."
"No need to pay it back, this is something I did willingly."
Qiao Yuchu shook her head again.
"How could friends not repay debts?"
Jin Shunqi exhaled the last smoke ring, stubbed out his cigarette, and suddenly called her name.
“Yu Chu”.
Qiao Yuchu hurriedly looked up and was suddenly pulled into someone's arms, enveloped by the faint smell of tobacco on Jin Shunqi.
Their eyes met, and she blushed again, avoiding his burning gaze: "Jin, you... let me go first."
Jin Shunqi pulled the person even tighter.
“If we’re not friends, we can turn this money into joint property of the couple, making it legitimate so we don’t have to pay it back.”
Qiao Yuchu was taken aback. Although her heart was in turmoil, she blushed and pushed him away little by little.
"I'm not with you for the money..."
Jin Shunqi nodded eagerly.
"I know I'm not saying this to threaten you or anything. I genuinely want to help you, and I like you a lot!"
"But as you just said, we can't let them get away with this arrogance. If they agree once, they'll do it again. It's five million now, but who knows what other excuse they'll come up with to ask for more money later?"
"Just because they want it, does that mean we have to give them money for the rest of our lives?" Qiao Yuchu retorted, watching his eyes gradually dim, and feeling a pang of pity, she struggled to explain.
“I hope my relationships and marriages are pure, not entangled with these things, mixed with desire and money. Do you understand what I mean, Kim?”
***
That night, Xie Shi'an also slept very restlessly. The dull pain in his lower right abdomen that had been lingering for several days finally intensified.
She trembled, her body covered in cold sweat, and she clenched her teeth tightly, not daring to make a sound for fear of disturbing the sleeping Jian Changnian.
Jian Changnian turned over, half asleep, and seemed to see that the lamp on her side was still on, and let out a groggy cry.
"Shi'an, aren't you going to sleep yet?"
She was met with a rustling sound.
Jian Changnian barely opened one eye and saw her curled up in the quilt, her shoulders shaking incessantly. Instantly, she was wide awake, jumped out of bed, and rushed over in one stride.
"Please rest in peace!"
She turned him over and saw that Xie Shi'an had his eyes tightly closed, his forehead was covered in sweat, his face was pale, his body was burning hot, but he kept shivering.
Jian Changnian was at a loss, her voice trembling with panic.
"Shi'an, Shi'an, are you alright? What happened?!"
Hearing the familiar call, Xie Shi'an barely opened his eyes, glanced at her, and then closed them again weakly.
"I...I'm fine...Don't call...the team doctor...there's a game tomorrow..."
As soon as she finished speaking, she frowned in discomfort, pushed Jian Changnian away, leaned over the bed, and vomited.
She hasn't been eating much these past few days, and what she's vomiting is mostly sour water. There's practically nothing left in her stomach, and she's still dry heaving.
Jian Changnian was heartbroken, her eyes instantly reddened, and ignoring her attempts to stop her, she rushed out the door barefoot without even changing her clothes.