3.
Two vehicles pulled up in front of the house
at the same time.
One was the “funeral home” they’d hired to
pick up Ethan.
The other was a posse of creditors there to
collect their debts.
Last time, Ethan had been spirited away first.
Then, the debt collectors had caused a
ruckus, and Mom and Dad had dramatically
clutched their chests and collapsed.
The doctors diagnosed them as being in
vegetative states.
They’d used their last penny to plan their
escape route.
And I?
I was tossed aside like garbage.
They even wanted to squeeze the last drop of
value out of me.
This time, thanks to my stalling, both groups
showed up at the same time.
The creditors were thugs.
They barged into the house and started
smashing things.
“Zhou Xing!
Hand over our money!
I’ve been patient long enough!
If you don’t pay up, I’ll tear this place down!”
Mom and Dad exchanged frantic looks.
This panic was real
く
This panic was real.
The thugs had arrived, but they hadn’t gotten
Ethan out yet.
What if I really did cremate him?
For the first time, Dad was begging a younger
guy for mercy.
“Give me some time, please!
My son just jumped off the pier because of
this!
I’m an old man burying his son!
Let me at least send him off properly!
Please!”
I pretended to be terrified and screamed like
a banshee.
But I was actually chilling out to the side,
watching the show.
く
The thugs were ruthless.
Last time, they’d begged and pleaded for
ages, until Mom and Dad “collapsed.”
Only then did they give me three more days.
I nearly skinned myself alive trying to pay
them back.
“Brother, I’ll call you brother, okay?
Just let me send my son off first!”
Mom was on her knees.
But the thugs were like hawks who had
caught prey.
They didn’t budge.
They even had guys block the front door with
a truck.
く
“No money, no one gets out, not even a fly!
Your son can rot in the house, serves him
right for having deadbeat parents!”
Mom and Dad were spinning in circles.
They wanted to get someone to take Ethan
away, but no one dared move.
“This is terrible, terrible!
You’re gonna suffer for this!
I’ll pay you back when I have the money!
I don’t have the money now!
What do you want me to do?!
Take my life!”
Why would blackmailing thugs help?