In the blink of an eye, the fourth day of the Lunar New Year arrived.

Following tradition, they began to visit relatives and friends. Chen Zheng's relatives were mostly in the village, so over the next two days, they accompanied Liu Qianqian on visits to all of them.

On the sixth day of the new year, Chen Zheng drove Liu Qianqian from their home, heading to Shengdong Village where his second aunt lived. After having breakfast there, the two returned home.

Just as they arrived, they found a Toyota parked at the entrance to Chen Zheng's house, completely blocking the road. With no other choice, Chen Zheng parked his car and pushed open the main gate to walk inside.

He heard a familiar voice say, "Sister, I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to pay you back the one hundred thousand yuan we borrowed to buy a car all those years ago."

He looked up to see three people standing at the entrance to the living room, with his parents beside them. It was two men and one woman. The woman was clutching a stack of money, freshly withdrawn from the bank.

His father reached out to take the money. "We'll accept this. If there's nothing else, you should stay for a meal." Despite the offer, his tone wasn't as cordial as his words.

Chen Zheng knew exactly who these three were: his mother's brother, his cousin, and his aunt-by-marriage. Three years ago, his cousin, Li Shanqi, had graduated from college and needed a car. His family had come to Chen Zheng's home and borrowed the 100,000 yuan his parents had saved, promising to return it within a year. However, when the year was up, the promise was never mentioned again. Though disappointed, Chen Zheng's parents chose to be forgiving and understanding. After all, they were brother and sister. But a later request had fractured that familial bond. When Chen Zheng had wanted to get married, Huang Yiyi's family demanded a bride price of 200,000 yuan. His parents had no choice but to turn to his eldest uncle's family for help. However, their plea was coldly rejected. His uncle and aunt sent them away with a curt, "We don't have the money." They didn't even show up on Chen Zheng's wedding day.

Now, his uncle Li Yousu's words felt like a thorn in his heart. "Thank you, brother-in-law. It's been a long time since I've had my little sister's braised pork ribs."

But his aunt, Qin Qiumei, poured cold water on the idea. "We'd better not stay for a meal. Shanqi has to get back to the city for work; he's very busy."

"Suit yourselves," his mother said indifferently. Taking the money from her husband, she stepped out of the living room, went into her room for a moment, and then re-emerged.

"Alright, Mom and Dad, stop with the pleasantries. Let's get to the point. I'm very busy," Li Shanqi said, cutting in.

"Is there something important?" his father asked with a frown.

Qin Qiumei finally steered the conversation to its true purpose. "Brother-in-law, you know our Shanqi is seeing someone. They're planning to get married soon. The girl's family expects them to have a car and a house. We have the car, but the new house is proving to be a problem. As you know, Shanqi works at Dahong Real Estate, and they have a batch of properties for sale at a discount. We were wondering if we could borrow some money from you."

After she finished speaking, she glanced at Chen Zheng's father but found his face was expressionless.

She immediately pivoted to praising Chen Zheng. "Brother-in-law, your son has really made something of himself, driving those luxury cars around! I bet his net worth is already past ten million, isn't it! I always said that Huang Yiyi was a vixen. If she looked down on our Chen Zheng, then let her live to regret it!"

Hearing this, Chen Zheng's expression remained unchanged.

At that moment, his mother suddenly asked, "How much do you need?"

"Just one million!" Qin Qiumei said quickly. "Don't worry, sister. You can rest assured. I promise I will definitely pay you back within a year. Our Shanqi is now the sales manager at Wan'an Ju, one of Dahong Real Estate's properties. He earns tens of thousands in commission every month. He'll definitely be able to pay you back in less than a year!" she declared with full confidence.

"That's very impressive, Shanqi. You make us proud," his father said flatly.

"Oh, brother-in-law, you flatter me," his uncle began. "Compared to him, Little Zheng is even more…"

Qin Qiumei cut him off with a smile, "So, brother-in-law, about this one million…"

"Oh! One million... that's an astonishing number. I've worked my whole life and have never seen so much money!" his father exclaimed, his face a picture of mock-astonishment.

"Brother-in-law, what are you talking about…"

"My father isn't joking," Chen Zheng's voice cut in, clear as a spring. "Can't you tell he's politely turning you down?"

His words, sharp as a sword, instantly drew everyone's attention. The smiles on the faces of his uncle's family of three froze, then quickly flushed with embarrassment. Yet, Chen Zheng's expression remained as cold as winter snow.

To him, their forced smiles were like vibrant butterflies resting on rotten fruit.

"Little Zheng, you're finally back! Come, let your aunt get a good look at you. So handsome and dashing!" Qin Qiumei gushed. "Oh, and look at your girlfriend! She's truly beautiful, so much prettier than that Huang Yiyi."

However, Chen Zheng was as still as a frozen lake, showing no reaction at all. Liu Qianqian didn't offer the family of three a smile either; her gaze was as sharp as an icicle in a cold wind.

"Little Zheng, your cousin is in a tough spot right now. He just needs about a million yuan to get through this. You'll help him, won't you?" his uncle, Li Yousu, asked.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully triggering a selection task.]

[Choice One: Agree to lend the money and receive a reward of ten million in cash.]

[Choice Two: Refuse your uncle and receive a reward of one Misfortune Card.]

[Friendly Reminder: Once the Misfortune Card is used, the target will suffer three consecutive days of bad luck, though none of it will be fatal.]

Hearing the prompt, he immediately made his choice.

"Uncle, let's cut the crap. When I needed to borrow one hundred thousand for my girlfriend's bride price, what happened? My parents came to you, and you just sent them away. Now that you need money, and you've found out I have some, you suddenly decide to pay back that old debt so you can borrow a million more. You've got it all planned out, don't you? Do you really think we're fools?"

At his words, his uncle and aunt's expressions froze solid.

Just then, Li Shanqi spoke up coldly. "You're quite the actor, cousin. You're driving a luxury car. Are you telling me you were short one hundred thousand?" he sneered. "And you call this being family?"

Chen Zheng almost laughed out of pure anger. "No, I'm not short on cash. But that was my parents' life savings, earned through half a lifetime of hard work. What right did you have to borrow it and never pay it back?"

"Forget it, I can't be bothered arguing with you," Li Shanqi said icily, his tone aggressive and demanding. "Just say yes or no. Are you lending us the money? If not, we can forget about being relatives!"

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