The air fell quiet. Jin Zhao’s words lay there for quite a while before Grandma cleared her throat and spoke, “Back then…”

“About your father’s matter, we don’t really know either.”

Grandpa cut Grandma off even faster, his gaze shifting toward her.

Grandma’s eyes flickered away for a moment, and she said nothing more.

Jin Zhao let her gaze move between the two of them once, didn’t press the issue, and nodded. “Alright, then we’ll proceed on the basis that there’s only this one property. This afternoon, I’ll file a lawsuit with the court.”

“Does it really have to go to court?”

The older generation always felt that going to court was something shameful. Lin Yao had more or less counted on this, which was why she was so brazen.

Jin Zhao smiled slightly. “Then what should we do? If we don’t go to court, there’s no money. What happens when the loan sharks come knocking?”

Grandpa said nothing more.

Jin Zhao then turned to look at Jin Wenyi. “Aunt, could we arrange a time with the creditors? We should talk to them as soon as possible.”

She explained, “I consulted some professors at the law school. They said that for civil litigation like this, even if we go through the simplified procedure, it’ll still take at least two or three months to get a result. During those two or three months, if the interest keeps rolling like this, the money from selling the house definitely won’t be enough.”

“You’re thinking exactly what I’m thinking,” Jin Wenyi said. “From the start, I wanted to talk to them, but we don’t have enough leverage. They’re not willing to meet us.”

Jin Wenyi looked at her husband with some difficulty. Zhao Xu, understanding perfectly, laid it out plainly. “That’s why your aunt contacted you. We can help shoulder the money, but we may need a middleman.”

Jin Zhao understood what Zhao Xu meant.

They wanted Meng Yanxi to be that middleman.

With the three words Meng Yanxi, let alone mediating, even settling this debt outright would be nothing more than lifting a finger.

But this matter had nothing to do with Meng Yanxi. She herself owed favors and had to repay them while guarding her boundaries. Meng Yanxi did not, so he did not need to be dragged into this.

Jin Zhao smiled gently. “Then contact them again. Soften the attitude a bit. Don’t position yourselves as victims—calm your mindset. Every time you reach out, first state your position, say that we acknowledge this debt and are willing to repay it; we just need to discuss a timeframe. Think about it—at school, some students clearly make mistakes, but as long as their attitude is sincere, we’re always willing to give them another chance, aren’t we? What’s more, we haven’t actually done anything wrong. We’re victims too—even my dad. Put yourselves in their shoes. As long as the attitude is sincere enough, I think most people wouldn’t go so far as to drive us to a dead end. They’d still be willing to leave a way out.”

From this gentle stretch of words, Zhao Xu had already understood Jin Zhao’s meaning. Meng Yanxi was her bottom line—she would not let him be involved. This matter would either be resolved through joint effort between her and the Jin family, or the Jin family would resolve it themselves.

He nodded. “Alright.”

After all, dealing with something like loan sharks—a gray industry—was not something that could be left to a woman. Zhao Xu took the initiative to take this on. “I’ll contact them again.”

Jin Wenyi said nothing, her expression somewhat dazed as she looked at Jin Zhao.

Watching her suddenly be struck by such a massive injustice, yet without anger, without accusations, without shouting curses—sitting down calmly with them instead, methodically making arrangements. She seemed gentle, yet her bottom line was firm; she appeared not to refute anyone from start to finish, yet her stance was unwavering the entire time.

For the first time, Jin Wenyi felt so strongly that Jin Zhao had truly grown up. She was no longer that sixteen-year-old girl from back then, who could be knocked into helpless tears by the slightest storm.

In that moment, Jin Wenyi’s emotions grew complicated—comforted by her growth, yet also, to some extent, heartache for her.

Jin Zhao had not grown because someone taught her. No one taught her. She originally understood nothing and knew how to do nothing. When she encountered injustice and harm, her first instinct had been sadness, tears. And yet she had still made it to today. How many hardships must she have faced alone to exchange for the growth she had now?

Jin Zhao turned back to look at Grandpa and Grandma and continued the earlier topic. “That apartment—I’ve asked around. Back then, the transaction price in that complex was roughly between five and six million. If the court really rules that we can recover the proceeds from the sale, and if Uncle-in-law can negotiate a repayment period with the creditors in time so the interest doesn’t snowball too outrageously, I think this amount should be enough. Then there’d be no need to dig up more old matters.”

She had first pressed bluntly about other inheritance, and now she took the initiative to step back and ask for only this one property. Grandpa and Grandma both naturally felt a sense of relief and immediately accepted this plan.

Jin Zhao could actually understand it.

Adults always instinctively overlook children. The deception back then—toward children and toward adults—came from two entirely different mindsets. Toward children, it was probably taken for granted, even with a sense of moral justification; but toward adults, once such deception was torn open, the sense of morality collapsed and shame came head-on.

As long as one wasn’t completely throwing caution to the wind, people all wanted to save face. No one was willing to face such shame directly.

So she understood. It was just human nature.

Including their final agreement. Just as Mr. Lu Xun said: the disposition of Chinese people is always to favor compromise and moderation. For instance, if you say this room is too dark and needs a window opened here, everyone will certainly refuse. But if you propose tearing off the roof, they will come to compromise and be willing to open a window.

After separating from the Jin family, Jin Zhao went with the lawyer to the court; Zhao Xu and Jin Wenyi went to look for the creditors; Grandpa and Grandma went to see Jin Wenhui.

Division of labor and cooperation—professionals doing professional work. That very day, Grandpa and Grandma obtained the supporting materials from Jin Wenhui.

Whether Jin Wenhui took the initiative to relent, or Grandpa and Grandma used other methods—after all, parents know their son best—they obtained from Jin Wenhui the original proof of purchase, the contract, the subsequent sales contract, and a whole series of supporting documents, all of which they handed over to Jin Zhao.

Looking at those documents, it would be a lie to say her heart felt no ripples.

Back then she had been too young. Even for all these years, she hadn’t thought of that apartment. It was only after repeated heartbreak that she had vaguely formed some suspicions. But they were only suspicions—perhaps the more she thought, the more certain she became, seven or eight parts sure—but she had no evidence. And now, the evidence was in her hands.

It was easier than she had imagined, but it didn’t bring the sense of release she had imagined.

She handed everything to the lawyer.

Zhao Xu also finally managed to arrange a meeting with the creditors.

In order to secure the most favorable amount, on the day of the meeting, Jin Zhao went together with Zhao Xu and Jin Wenyi.

The other party was a portly middle-aged man. His features were still vaguely decent-looking, just a bit bald. His name was Feng Chao.

In the café, Feng Chao’s black belt cinched his protruding belly, one leg crossed high over the other. He spoke bluntly: “I didn’t study much. I didn’t even finish middle school before heading out to make my way. But I quite like dealing with you cultured people. Cultured people read a lot of books and care about face. Teacher Jin, teaching at a university—you’re really way ahead in that regard.”

As he said this, Feng Chao put his leg down and leaned forward, asking Jin Zhao, “Teacher Jin, honestly, I’m pretty surprised you’re handling this matter. With that bastard father of yours, if I were you, not kicking him while he’s down would already count as having a conscience. Yet you’re actually willing to come forward and help negotiate for him.”

Zhao Xu immediately cut in, “Boss Feng is joking.”

“I’m not joking,” Feng Chao pointed at Jin Zhao. “I’ll be honest—out of everyone involved in this, the most miserable one is Teacher Jin. For so many years, she hasn’t gotten a single benefit, and the moment something happens, she’s the first one they come looking for. Of course, in our line of work, I’ve seen plenty of things like this. There are loads of families that favor sons over daughters—when it comes to benefits, they never think of the daughter; when something goes wrong, they drag the daughter out to shoulder it. Things get ugly in all sorts of ways. But someone as decent and even-tempered as Teacher Jin? This is the first time I’ve seen that. I’ve even seen fathers and daughters, mothers and daughters hacking at each other. I took photos too—want to see?”

As he spoke, Feng Chao actually took out his phone to share.

Zhao Xu hurriedly said, “No, no need, Boss Feng.”

“Yeah, all bloody and smeared—pretty horrifying.” Feng Chao put his phone away and crossed his legs again. “Alright then, back to business. Seeing as Teacher Jin has it so rough, I’ll agree that we set a fixed amount and stop the interest from rolling further. But I don’t agree with the number you proposed.”

Zhao Xu politely refilled his tea, smiling apologetically as he asked, “Then what amount do you think would be appropriate?”

Feng Chao held up a number. “Eight million.”

Zhao Xu and Jin Wenyi’s expressions shifted slightly.

Calculated this way, fixing the amount didn’t really gain them any advantage at all.

Feng Chao said, “If you don’t agree, we can also just stick to the original terms—wait until you finish your lawsuit, get the money back, and then repay me. But let me remind you, court cases can drag on long or short. By then, it won’t just be eight million anymore.”

Zhao Xu and Jin Wenyi exchanged a glance.

Jin Zhao said decisively, “Alright. Eight million. But there’s one thing—I’ll need Boss Feng’s help.”

“You’re negotiating terms with me now?”

Jin Zhao said, “It’s not a condition. It’s also to help you recover the debt sooner.”

“Go on.”

“We’ve consulted on this case. We’re guaranteed to win the lawsuit. But once the court hands down the judgment, when the other party will actually pay is hard to say. If they drag it out for a year or more, that’s a loss for us—and for you as well. What I mean is, once the court issues its judgment, I’ll immediately transfer the creditor’s rights to you, and you can directly go after Lin Yao to recover the money.”

Feng Chao paused, then laughed. “I have to say, Teacher Jin, you’ve really got this abacus figured out. Clearly it’s you who owe me money, and in the end you’re the one directing me to do the work. You’re worried the other side won’t pay, so you’re borrowing my strength to counter them, huh?”

Feng Chao thought it over. It was his area of expertise anyway—collecting from whom was all the same. He nodded decisively. “Fine, I agree. Eight million. Whenever you get the judgment, come find me and I’ll help you collect.”

After saying that, Feng Chao slapped his thigh and left the café briskly.

Back in the car, Feng Chao immediately dialed a number. The call was picked up quickly.

“I agreed to her.”

There was only him in the car. He had the call on speaker. The other party was a woman’s voice, somewhat cool.

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. We’re old acquaintances too.” Feng Chao chuckled. “I’m just curious—Big Star Wu, who never gets up early without profit, how did you suddenly become so willing to help others? With your personality, even if someone drank a sip of your water, you’d want to claw back interest and principal. That’s how you are.”

There was a brief silence on the other end. “She already gave me something ten years ago.”

Feng Chao said, “Ten years ago? You owe her a favor?”

The other party didn’t respond, only reminded him coolly, “Remember what you promised me. The eight million was just something to tell the Jin family. When the money is recovered, you have to return the excess to her.”

Feng Chao shifted his posture. “No—Wu Nian, since when did you become so kind-hearted? Did the sun rise in the west? This really doesn’t seem like you. Just last year, you were ruthless enough to pin your own brother down in the mud and grind him there. And now you pull something like this—I’m even more curious about who that person is.”

“Just a good person.” Wu Nian paused, then softly asked in return, “And shouldn’t good people be rewarded?”