96: Chapter 96 Debt Collection

The clock hands had long since slid past midnight.

Zhou Xinyu dragged his leaden legs through the front door, finding the house shrouded in pitch-black silence.

A heavy sense of fatigue washed over him like a tide, his eyelids so heavy they felt as if they were glued together.

All he wanted now was to collapse onto the bed and sleep until the end of time.

But he couldn't.

The team leader's harsh voice was still ringing in his ears.

"Before leaving work tomorrow evening, I want to see the complete test report and optimized performance data!"

This wasn't just a job; it was about his career.

The Spark Base project had zero margin for error.

If the module he was responsible for had problems during final delivery, or if even a slight delay on his part caused the entire project to be pushed back, the consequences would be far worse than a simple reprimand.

Judging by past examples, it would likely mean losing his footing entirely in this highly specialized circle.

This was the bitter fruit of his own negligence and personal matters interfering with his work; now, he could only do his best to make amends.

He fumbled for his phone's power button, but the screen remained black.

It was out of battery.

Zhou Xinyu irritably tossed the phone onto the sofa, lacking even the strength to charge it.

He stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the cold water tap.

The icy stream poured over his head, the bone-chilling cold making him shiver violently, finally forcing his exhausted brain into a state of relative alertness.

He hurriedly dried himself and changed into clean clothes.

Zhou Xinyu took a deep breath, sat down at his desk, and opened his laptop once again.

The faint glow of the screen illuminated his bloodshot but exceptionally focused eyes.

He opened the code editor and scrutinized line by line the core code of the information communication module he had rushed to complete during the day.

Now was not the time for rest; he had to use every minute and second of this late night to check for omissions, refine test cases, and rack his brain for any possible optimizations.

He had to polish this rough draft into a finished product that could pass the most rigorous inspections.

In the silent room, only the rhythmic tapping of the keyboard and the occasional low hum of a passing night car outside remained.

...

Meanwhile, in a quiet alleyway elsewhere in the city, the atmosphere was entirely different.

"Call your boyfriend! Now!"

A burly man in a dark jacket spoke in a low, commanding tone that brooked no argument.

Wang Siyu leaned against the cold brick wall, her fingers gripping her phone so tightly her knuckles turned white.

Her voice carried an imperceptible tremor.

"I called... I can't get through! He turned off his phone! What else do you want from me?"

"What do we want from you?"

Another lean man in a tracksuit sneered and took a step forward.

"You didn't have this attitude when you were borrowing the money.

You were quick enough to sign and take the cash, but now that it's time to pay it back, you're playing missing person? No answering the phone, no replying to texts?"

Wang Siyu's heart sank to the bottom.

She hadn't expected them to actually find her.

A few months ago, short on cash and introduced by a friend, she had found this company.

The procedure was unbelievably simple: no collateral, no guarantor, just a signed IOU.

She had even secretly rejoiced at the time, thinking it was a windfall, and hadn't given the repayment a second thought.

"I'll pay it back! I'll definitely pay it back!"

Wang Siyu forced herself to stay calm, trying to step around the people blocking her way.

"But I'm going home now! Blocking me like this is illegal! If you don't move, I'm calling the police!"

"Calling the police?"

The burly man looked as if he had heard a joke, his lips curling into a cold arc.

"Miss Wang, you're quite knowledgeable about the law. You're right, we don't have the power to restrict your personal freedom; this is a financial dispute."

His tone shifted, his gaze becoming as sharp as a blade.

"However, we happen to have some information about you here. Are you interested in hearing it? For instance, is your father, Mr. Wang Shihai, still doing well at the XX Bureau? Your mother's contact number is 139XXXXXXXX, right? Oh, and there's your cousin—I heard she just had a second child?"

Wang Siyu's face instantly turned pale, her forced composure crumbling.

Her father, Wang Shihai, was an extremely traditional and strict man who valued the family's reputation above all else.

If he found out his daughter had not only incurred high debts but also frequented bars and nightclubs, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Disownment might even be the mildest outcome.

The lean man added another comment at the right moment, his tone filled with contemptuous certainty.

"By the way, your good friend Peng Ying was quite chatty with us. She provided plenty of details about your spending habits and social circle."

Wang Siyu felt a chill rush from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, her whole body starting to shake uncontrollably.

All her luck and pretenses were completely torn to shreds.

Leaning against the wall, her voice carried a sob.

"Don't... don't tell my parents! I beg you! I'll pay! I really will! Right now... I don't have that much money on me, can I transfer everything in my card to you?"

The burly man shook his head expressionlessly.

"No, our boss isn't running a charity. The interest is already very low. We lent it to a girl like you without any collateral out of trust. Today, it must be settled in full."

He took out his phone, the screen light reflecting off his indifferent face.

"I'll pay! I'll pay! Right now... I don't have that much cash on me, I'll go borrow some! Okay? Just wait for me! Just a moment."

She frantically unlocked her phone and began contacting the friends she usually hung out with.

She went through her entire contact list, but those friends she usually ate, drank, and played with either made excuses about having no money or simply hung up.

She felt as if she had been abandoned by the whole world.

"It seems you really can't come up with it. No matter, I'll just mass-send the fact that you haven't paid your debt, along with those colorful photos and spending records of your nightlife, to your friends and relatives. Let everyone have a look."

"No!"

Wang Siyu screamed in despair, immense fear and shame instantly overwhelming her.

She slid down the wall and sat on the cold, damp ground, covering her face with both hands. Suppressed sobs leaked intermittently through her fingers, her body trembling violently from extreme helplessness and fear.

She couldn't imagine the scene if that information were seen by her parents, relatives, friends, or even colleagues; it would be nothing less than social death.

Just as the two men were about to operate their phones and Wang Siyu was falling into the abyss of a complete breakdown...

A gentle, calm, and even somewhat soothing female voice rang out at the mouth of the alley.

"Wait."

The voice wasn't loud, yet it possessed a strange penetrating power.

Hearing this voice, the two aggressive men instantly stopped their movements, and the coldness on their faces softened considerably.

They subconsciously stood up straight and slightly stepped aside, their posture revealing a hint of subtle respect.

A well-dressed woman with a gentle temperament stepped out slowly from the deeper shadows of the alley.

The faint light at the alley's entrance outlined her soft facial features, but her specific expression remained unclear.

She walked straight to the crying Wang Siyu and knelt down beside her.

"In a lifetime, it's inevitable to take a few wrong steps."

The woman's voice was very soft, carrying a comforting power like warm spring water.

"Who hasn't had a moment of confusion?"

She reached out and helped Wang Siyu up with a gentle but firm motion, then naturally brushed the dust off her pants.

Wang Siyu was still sobbing, her body shaking uncontrollably from the crying and the lingering fear.

The woman didn't rush her, just gently patted her back with one hand in a soothing rhythm.

"Money, in the end, is just a worldly possession."

The woman's voice remained peaceful, but every word was clear.

"Is it worth breaking your parents' hearts and destroying a warm home for these things?"

Her words were like a needle, accurately piercing Wang Siyu's deepest fears and guilt.

Wang Siyu raised her tear-blurred face, looking helplessly at this stranger whose face she couldn't see clearly but who radiated an inexplicable sense of security.

The woman paused, her tone becoming even gentler, yet carrying a hint of subtle guidance.

"Actually, there is still room to turn things around. Perhaps there's no need to rush to pay back the money."

Wang Siyu jerked her head up, a flash of unbelievable hope in her eyes.

The woman leaned forward slightly, lowering her voice even further, speaking in a confidential manner.

"As long as you're willing to help us with a few very simple tasks.

It won't hurt anyone, nor will it put you in a difficult position.

Once they're done, the debt will be cleared, and everything will be as if it never happened.

You can still be the well-behaved daughter in your parents' eyes, and your life will return to normal. How about it?"

At this moment, Wang Siyu was like a drowning person clutching at a final straw.

Under the weight of immense fear and pressure, her brain was no longer capable of complex thought.

Escaping the current desperate situation and preserving her image before her family became the overriding thought.

She nodded vigorously without any hesitation, tears streaming down again, but this time they were a mix of fear and the complex emotion of having found a way out of a dead end.

In the alley, only the woman's gentle but unfathomable whispers and Wang Siyu's suppressed sobs remained.

The two debt collectors stood quietly to the side, like two silent statues.