Chapter 139: Shameless

Xu Jie had merely gifted her a thirty-thousand-yuan handbag. In contrast, Mo Han had bought out the entire store for Li An’an, spending a total of 450,000 yuan. It was clear that in front of Li An’an, she had been reduced to nothing more than a clown.

Wu Wan’s face turned deathly pale. She could not fathom how Mo Han, a security guard, and Li An’an, a sales representative, had managed to accumulate such wealth. Why, just last year, their family had been begging to borrow money from her own! What on earth had happened to them in the past year? She felt a wave of bitter resentment; this was her once-in-a-lifetime chance to show off in front of Xu Fang, and it had been ruined.

Xu Jie, however, kept his eyes fixed on Mo Han, his gaze narrowing. So, this was the "security guard" Wu Wan had spoken of? He looked at Wu Wan and suddenly felt an urge to laugh. Everything that happened today was entirely of her own making. He was no fool; he could see that from start to finish, neither Li An’an nor Mo Han had any intention of flaunting their wealth. If Wu Wan hadn’t pushed them so far, he was certain Mo Han wouldn’t have bothered to stoop to her level. He sighed inwardly, feeling a mix of wariness toward Mo Han and a sense of pity for Wu Wan. He hoped that after this incident, her obsession with comparing herself to others might finally subside.

"Li An’an, do you think you’re so great just because you have a little dirty money? Does that mean you can do whatever you want?" Xu Hong, seeing her daughter’s crushed spirit, felt a pang of heartache and immediately began to lash out.

"Aunt, if the roles were reversed and you were the ones flaunting your wealth in front of me, stripping away all my confidence, would you still feel the same way?" Li An’an replied, her voice tinged with anger. "And please, get your facts straight. From beginning to end, it was you who insisted on this competition. Did we say a single word?"

"But your cousin was only playing around! Did you really have to take it so seriously? You even bought the entire store. Why didn’t you just buy the whole mall while you were at it?" Xu Hong argued, trying to defend Wu Wan.

"Aunt, if it were me who had lost face today, would you still be saying that?" Li An’an was speechless. She had never intended to embarrass Wu Wan, but it was all self-inflicted. Wu Wan had pushed Mo Han step by step until he finally snapped. Did he not even have the right to strike back?

"You once married a good-for-nothing, and you already lost face once. What are you afraid of? Why couldn’t you just let your cousin have this moment?" Xu Hong said brazenly.

"A good-for-nothing? When have you ever seen a 'good-for-nothing' son-in-law capable of buying out an entire store? If your son-in-law isn't a good-for-nothing, why don't you have him buy a store for your daughter?" Xu Fang, hearing this, could no longer hold back and retorted with stinging sarcasm.

Xu Hong’s face turned white under the weight of the insult. She looked toward Xu Jie, desperately hoping he would stand up and help her regain some dignity. Unfortunately, Xu Jie looked away, refusing to meet her eyes. Seeing his reaction, Xu Hong felt a deep sense of unease, but she dared not vent her anger on him. The Wu family relied on Xu Jie for their status; if she angered him and he broke up with her daughter, where would they find another wealthy son-in-law?

"Mom, let’s go. Stop arguing." After settling the arrangements for the bags, Mo Han noticed Xu Fang and Xu Hong locked in a heated dispute. Frowning, he began to walk away. With Mo Han leaving, Xu Fang had no choice but to follow.

Xu Hong felt a deep sense of frustration and anger, but she was powerless to act. She had previously suspected that the luxury car Mo Han drove was a rental, but now she realized it was likely his own. If someone could spend 450,000 yuan on a whim to clear out a boutique, how could they not afford a million-yuan luxury car? A wave of regret washed over her. If she had simply acknowledged that the car was his to begin with, perhaps none of this would have happened. Even Xu Jie, for all his business success, only drove a domestic car worth a little over 200,000 yuan.

"I will never acknowledge these relatives again, even if it kills me!" Xu Hong hissed, glaring at their retreating backs.

Wu Wan was deathly pale, now consumed by regret. If she had known Mo Han and Li An’an were doing so well, she would never have dared to show off in front of them. Mo Han had spent 450,000 yuan just to satisfy Li An’an—such grand, effortless generosity was far beyond anything her boyfriend, Xu Jie, could offer. Her claims that Xu Jie earned over a million a month were pure fabrication; his company was just starting out and hadn't even turned a profit yet. Even when it did, it would be lucky to clear two or three hundred thousand a month—it was a small business at best. If she hadn't offended them, she believed Mo Han would have helped them if they had only asked.

"Mom, Xu Jie’s company still needs capital to get on the right track. Why don't you talk to Dad and have him ask Mo Han to lend us a few million?" Wu Wan suggested suddenly.

Xu Jie’s eyes lit up. His company was indeed facing a million-yuan shortfall. If he could really borrow that from them, his problems would be solved. Just as he was about to plead with Xu Hong, he heard her say shamelessly, "Yes, I’ll call your father right now. Tell him to come to your grandmother's house tonight. We must make Mo Han lend us those millions, and then we simply won't pay them back! Let's see if they dare to offend our family again after that!"

"What do you mean, 'not pay them back'? Of course we have to pay them back. Once my company is on track, I’ll return the money." Xu Jie frowned, finding Xu Hong’s plan dangerous. If Mo Han was willing to lend them millions, he would certainly have the means to force them to pay it back. He shook his head inwardly; even if his father-in-law intervened, he doubted they would get the money. After all, the two families had practically severed ties today—it would be a miracle if they weren't berated, let alone given a loan. However, he didn't stop them. He wanted to see if his father-in-law could pull it off. If they really succeeded, his business troubles would be over.

"What are you afraid of? If we don't pay, we don't pay! Your father works in the government sector; he’s a public official. I don't believe for a second that Xu Fang’s family would dare to go after a public official for money," Xu Hong scoffed.

Xu Jie was speechless. Even public officials have to pay their debts, he thought. Besides, his father-in-law held a sinecure—a position with no real power or influence. Who would care about his status?

"That’s enough, Mom. Let’s just focus on getting the money first; worrying about paying it back is a problem for later," Wu Wan added.

"Exactly. Let's get the money first," Xu Jie agreed. It was for his company, after all, and he had no intention of defaulting—most importantly, he didn't dare to.

"Fine, I'll call your father and tell him to come over immediately," Xu Hong said, pulling out her phone to call her husband.