Chapter 108: Unbearable Memories

Chapter 108: Chapter 108: Unbearable Memories

Su Yunzhou frowned. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"Mr. Su, I appreciate your help, but please drop any other ideas you might have," Tao Shu said bluntly.

Su Yunzhou’s eyes flickered, displeasure showing on his face. With her words laid out so bare, her implication couldn’t be clearer.

Binding with the system had given him some understanding of Xia Wanqin. As for buying the house, he genuinely liked it; it was just killing two birds with one stone.

As a man, he couldn’t deny that he’d had certain thoughts about this woman—who looked like a beautiful housewife straight out of a Japanese manga. But as he got to know her, those feelings had shifted mostly toward pity and sympathy.

Moreover, having used the system for so long, he knew that Affinity didn’t only increase through romantic or sexual relationships. That was why he had approached Xia Wanqing—he was looking for an opportunity to utilize her business talent, which had been praised by the system.

With this in mind, his brow relaxed. "You might have misunderstood me. I’m not the kind of person you think I am."

As a lawyer with years of experience, Tao Shu firmly believed that the eyes were the windows to the soul. And at this very moment, all she saw in his eyes was sincerity.

"Did I really misunderstand him?" she wondered briefly.

She shook her head. "In my eyes, no one does anything without an ulterior motive."

Hearing this, Su Yunzhou didn’t know how to explain himself. Sometimes, it was better to say nothing at all. Many things would prove themselves; it was merely a matter of time.

Seeing his silence, Tao Shu paused for a moment before speaking.

"Wanqing and I are neighbors. Even though I’m a bit older than her, we’ve shared everything since we were kids.

"She was always that ’perfect child next door’ growing up. She did everything right, except for one thing." Tao Shu’s face twisted with a trace of disgust. "She had never dated before. In college, she met that scumbag, fell in love, and trusted him without reservation.

"When they decided to get married, I didn’t think highly of the guy, but she wouldn’t listen. And that one misplaced trust dragged her into a quagmire.

"For the first two years of their marriage, the scumbag performed quite well. With the help of both families, he started a business. The business grew better and bigger.

"There’s a saying that all men turn bad, with or without money, and it couldn’t be more true.

"After the scumbag was caught cheating, he cried and swore he would turn over a new leaf, claiming he had been seduced and framed by that woman.

"Wanqing decisively filed for divorce, but he kept dragging his feet with various excuses, refusing to agree. He constantly tried to curry favor with her and repeatedly brought out family and friends to play peacemaker.

"But in reality, that scumbag was using this time to transfer all his assets. He even went around taking out loans in the company’s name. In the end, he fled the country with that mistress.

"It wasn’t until a few days after he ran away that everyone realized something was wrong. The company’s capital chain broke, creditors inexplicably showed up at the door demanding payment, and everything descended into utter chaos..."

Hearing this, Su Yunzhou sighed. He hadn’t expected Xia Wanqing to have such an unbearable past.

Observing his expression, Tao Shu continued her story.

"During the police investigation, it was discovered that the scumbag had been maintaining an illicit relationship with the mistress for over a year. He was a master of time management. He only got caught recently because the mistress got pregnant with a son.

"Wanqing was so furious she fell severely ill. Even the police were somewhat helpless in the face of this situation.

"The most hateful part was that to get cash quickly, the scumbag took out high-interest, short-term loans. Because the money wasn’t repaid on time, those creditors resorted to all kinds of threats and coercion.

"Ultimately, it was Wanqing who stepped up. First, she comforted her terrified parents. Then, she gathered all the creditors together, verified exactly how much was owed, and promised everyone that she would repay the money—but it would take a relatively long time. Furthermore, she made it clear that paying any illegal, exorbitant interest was absolutely out of the question.

"Having no other options, the creditors finally agreed to Wanqing’s proposal and mutually agreed never to harass her family again.

"For the past half-year, I honestly don’t know how Wanqing managed to endure all of this..."

Having revealed everything about Xia Wanqing, Tao Shu stared directly into Su Yunzhou’s eyes.

"I’m telling you all this because I want you to know just how incredibly hard it has been for Wanqing to persevere step by step until now.

"Mr. Su, you are young and wealthy. You can find whatever kind of woman you want.

"So, I’m begging you..."

BANG!

The door to the private room suddenly swung open.

Xia Wanqing walked in. Looking at the strange expressions on their faces, she asked, "What were you two talking about? Why so serious?"

Tao Shu didn’t answer. Instead, she turned her gaze toward the man who currently wore a thoughtful expression.

Su Yunzhou looked at the beautiful woman before him. The previous recounting had merely been a few brief sentences, but the twists and heartbreak within could only truly be understood by the person who had lived through them. The fact that Xia Wanqing could pull through so strongly made him look at her with newfound respect. Thinking about it carefully, every mature woman Tong selected had something extraordinary about her.

However, how was he supposed to navigate this situation?

Su Yunzhou realized one thing: when communicating with an intelligent woman, lying was the lowest-tier strategy. Thus, he decided to tell the truth.

"Alright! I admit it! I do have an ulterior motive."

His words caused Xia Wanqing’s body to stiffen slightly, while Tao Shu revealed a look of confusion. She had just said all of that to dispel his romantic notions! Yet now, he was openly admitting that he had approached them with a motive. What did he mean by this?

Staring straight into Xia Wanqing’s worried eyes, Su Yunzhou gave an inconceivable answer. "I want to invest in you to do business!"

"Ah?" Now it was Tao Shu’s turn to be dumbfounded. What kind of game was he playing?

Xia Wanqing also froze for a moment, but looking at Su Yunzhou’s utterly serious expression, she wondered if he was perhaps trying to lighten the mood with a joke.

"Mr. Su, please don’t joke around!"

"I’m being completely serious, okay?" Su Yunzhou replied.

Tao Shu looked at him, completely speechless. This excuse was truly terrible.

Seeing their slightly awkward expressions, evidently unsure of how to respond, Su Yunzhou’s mouth twitched.

UH.

"Why does it feel like telling the truth is harder than lying these days?" he wondered.

"COUGH, COUGH." He cleared his throat and continued, "I know it sounds a bit unbelievable, but it really is my true intention.

"I came into a windfall recently and had been thinking about how to use it. Eventually, I decided to buy a house first.

"That was how I met Xia Wanqing. We had never seen each other before, so how could I harbor any improper thoughts about someone I had never even met?"

Pondering the logic in his words, Tao Shu asked, "Since you two have only known each other for such a short time, why do you want to invest in Wanqing’s business?"

Su Yunzhou had long anticipated this question.

"There are three reasons."