After seeing Su Jianguo off, Lin Ran also left the company directly.
In less than an hour, the online narrative took a sharp turn—the revelation that Lin Ran and Chen Qingtian were cousins caught everyone off guard.
Meanwhile, Lin Jian was stunned.
Lin Ran and Chen Qingtian were cousins? Who would believe something so absurd?
But before he could post another rebuttal, he received a message:
[Didn’t see that coming, did you, you little punk? Lin Ran and Chen Qingtian are cousins, but you and Liu Ruxue? Not so sure about that, huh? Haha.]
Lin Jian jumped in fright.
Liu Yuemei: "Xiao Jian, what’s wrong?"
"N-nothing."
His eyes darkened with malice—he was ready to kill.The feeling of having his secret exposed left him completely unprepared.
[Who are you?]
[Your granddaddy!]
"Damn it!" Lin Jian’s composure shattered. Since when did people just start cursing like that?
The message, of course, had been sent by Lin Ran’s doing. He wanted Lin Jian to live in constant fear, drowning in paranoia.
With that matter settled, Lin Ran picked up Luo Yao, and the two headed back to the estate.
In the car, Lin Ran noticed Luo Yao’s sour mood and immediately understood why.
"Yao Yao, you’re upset."
Luo Yao stayed silent.
"Yao Yao, are you jealous?"
She nodded.
"I am jealous, and I’m angry. Not at you, and not at Chen Qingtian. I’m angry that before our relationship could even be made public, people started spreading rumors about you and her. How ridiculous."
Lin Ran: "..."
"Yao Yao, I’ll announce our relationship to the whole world."
He dropped the bombshell.
Luo Yao’s eyes instantly sparkled.
"Really?"
"Of course. Have I ever lied to you?"
"I remember once, you tricked me into—"
"Stop right there. Back then, I was a dog. Now, I want to be a man—your man."
Luo Yao finally broke into a smile.
She had almost lost her temper earlier.
While Lin Ran was busy making grand promises to Luo Yao, Liu Yuemei quietly left the temporary apartment the Lin family had rented.
Normally, Liu Yuemei wouldn’t have planned to meet with her family at this time.
It wasn’t that Lin Tianba refused to repay the debt—she wanted him to give her the money first so she could return it to her family herself.
This, however, had made Lin Tianba suspicious, so Liu Yuemei decided to coordinate with the Liu family in advance.
That’s why she unexpectedly showed up at her parents’ home today.
The Liu family had been fuming over Lin Tianba lately, ready to kill him, but after hearing Liu Yuemei’s explanation, they all fell into deep thought.
"Yuemei, my dear daughter, we can help you with this, but on one condition—we get at least half of the money."
Liu Yuemei frowned.
Even she thought her family’s greed was shameless.
"Not a chance. At most, you’ll get a million. If that’s not enough, then I won’t make Lin Tianba pay at all. Do whatever you want."
Liu Ritian immediately flew into a rage, grabbing a nearby broom to swing at Liu Yuemei, but Liu’s mother stopped him.
"What? You want to hit me?" Liu Yuemei narrowed her eyes.
Liu’s mother quickly intervened, "Ritian was just cleaning up. What nonsense are you talking about? Fine, a million it is."
"Mom—" Liu Ritian started, but Liu’s mother cut him off.
"Son, we’re family. Let’s just help Yuemei out."
Liu Ritian caught his mother’s meaning and reluctantly agreed.
With that settled, Liu Yuemei immediately arranged to meet Lin Tianba.
Despite being shameless, Lin Tianba loved Liu Yuemei too much to let her suffer in her family’s eyes, so he agreed to repay the debt.
Lin Tianba handed over the money to the Liu family and left with Liu Yuemei. But something felt off—the Lius showed no sign of returning her share.
Back at the apartment, Lin Jian grew anxious.
[Texting: "Mom, why hasn’t Grandma sent the money yet? You said once they transferred it, you’d give it to me so we could prepare for the next steps."]
His words sent a chill down Liu Yuemei’s spine.
Remembering her family’s greed, she broke into a cold sweat.
"Wait here, son. I’m going back."
Just as she was about to leave, she ran into Lin Tianba, who returned looking exhausted.
Lately, he seemed to have aged years in days.
"Where are you going?"
"To my parents’ place."
Lin Tianba didn’t question her further and let her go.
Maintaining good relations with the Liu family might prove useful later.
But when Liu Yuemei arrived, she was stunned.
The person who opened the door wasn’t a Liu family member—it was a stranger.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Who are you? Why are you here? Where’s Liu Ritian?"
"Oh, Liu Ritian? His mother sold the house to me."
Liu Yuemei froze.
It felt like the world was crumbling around her.
Had her own mother and brother really abandoned her for a bit of money?
Just then, her phone rang—it was Liu Ruxue.
She answered immediately.
"Ruxue, where are you?"
"Auntie, Dad has me locked up. Listen, Grandma and Dad aren’t living there anymore. They don’t plan to give you the money back."
Liu Yuemei was devastated. She knew her family was capable of this.
"Ruxue, where are you? I’ll come find you."
"You won’t be able to, Auntie. But I know a way you can get the money—hire a debt collector."
"Ruxue… why are you helping me?"
"Because you’re my aunt. Seeing how Grandma and Dad are treating you breaks my heart. You’ve always been so good to me—how could they do this?"
Liu Yuemei took a deep breath. At least she hadn’t wasted her affection on this niece.
After hanging up, she pondered.
Liu Ruxue’s suggestion made sense.
If it had come from anyone else, she might’ve hesitated. But from her most trusted niece? There was no need to second-guess.
Liu Ruxue had proven herself more loyal than the rest of the Liu family. Touched by her concern, Liu Yuemei decided to follow her advice.
Now, who would be best at collecting debts?
Wait—wasn’t that Brother Dao into loans and debt collection?
After pulling some strings, Liu Yuemei finally contacted Brother Dao and arranged a meeting.
What she didn’t know was that hell awaited her.
And she would never guess that the person who pushed her into this abyss was the very niece she trusted most.