C4 High Interest Loan

Lin Luo tossed the 10,000 yuan he had earned from treating a patient in front of the man with the floral shirt.

"Take the money and beat it!"

The man with the floral shirt looked at the cash scattered on the ground and, with a frown, expressed his displeasure.

"Lin Luo, are you hard of hearing or is it your brain that's malfunctioning? You owe me a total of 300,000 yuan, and you think you can fob me off with this pittance? Do you take me for a beggar?"

"Just give me two days. I promise I'll pay back every cent I owe you in two days!"

The man's frown deepened.

"Lin Luo, have you forgotten who you are? You're nothing but a penniless gambler in debt. What makes you think you can set terms with me?"

His eyes then shifted to Xiao Qingli, shivering in the corner, and a sleazy grin spread across his face.

"I might consider giving you an extension of two days. Just send your wife over to keep me company tonight, and I'll grant you the extra time without charging interest for those days. How's that for a deal? I'm being generous, aren't I, Lin Luo?"

His henchmen erupted in laughter, their guffaws dripping with scorn for Lin Luo.

Meanwhile, Xiao Qingli clutched her daughter, Lin Xiao, tightly in the corner, her heart filled with indignation.

"Do you have any idea of the consequences of insulting my family?"

Lin Luo's brow was furrowed, his eyes icy, and the chill in his voice could have frozen the room.

"Oh? And what might those consequences be?"

The man in the floral shirt looked up at Lin Luo with a sneer, as if mocking him for his lack of money and influence. What made him think he could stand up to me?

Lin Luo wasted no more time on words. He swiftly raised his hand and delivered a resounding slap to the man's face.

*Crack!*

The man in the floral shirt was taken aback, and so were his burly companions.

None of them had expected the once meek gambler to act with such resolve.

"Lin Luo! You dare to strike me?"

The man in the floral shirt stood up furiously, his eyes blazing with rage as he stared down Lin Luo, as if flames could shoot from his gaze.

"You insulted my family. A slap is the least of what you deserve."

Lin Luo's voice was icy.

"Damn it! Take him down!"

At the floral-shirted man's command, seven or eight burly men lunged at Lin Luo.

"Seeking death!"

Lin Luo scoffed, expertly hitting the men's pressure points with his fingertips, his moves both rapid and precise.

The men, upon being touched, felt as if they had been injected with anesthesia, collapsing to the ground, utterly powerless.

In mere seconds, all seven or eight were sprawled on the ground, not a single moan escaping them.

"He, he actually took down so many of my guys?!"

The man in the floral shirt was ashen.

This gambler, feared by thugs in his own casino, had just laid out his most formidable enforcers in one fell swoop.

Such a scene was too outlandish even for a movie!

Watching Lin Luo approach with an impassive expression, the man in the floral shirt shook uncontrollably.

"Luo, Brother Luo, let's talk this out, please, no violence."

His voice quivered as he spoke.

Lin Luo waved his hand, seizing the man's neck and hoisting him into the air.

"Tell me, will you have any objections if I repay you in two days?"

"I..."

As the man hesitated, Lin Luo tightened his grip, causing the man's face to redden from the pressure.

"I'm asking you one last time. Do you have any objections?"

"No, none..."

The words barely escaped the man's constricted throat.

Lin Luo released his hold and said coldly:

"Take your men and vanish from my sight, now!"

After a few coughs to regain his breath, the man in the floral shirt looked at Lin Luo with lingering resentment. But a fierce glare from Lin Luo sent him scrambling to his feet, hastily gathering the downed men. They clambered into the white van parked at the entrance and fled.

Once the man in the floral shirt and his crew had left, Lin Luo immediately rushed to his wife and daughter's side.

"Qingli, Xiao, are you both okay?"

Xiao Qingli lifted her head, her eyes filled with disappointment as she met Lin Luo's gaze.

She pointed to the ten thousand yuan Lin Luo had dropped on the ground and said,

"Lin Luo, you said you had changed, didn't you? You promised you'd quit gambling, right?"

"So, tell me, where have you been just now? And where did this ten thousand yuan come from?"

Lin Luo, realizing his wife had misunderstood, quickly clarified,

"It's not like that, Qingli. I actually went out to treat someone's illness, and this ten thousand yuan is the consultation fee they gave me."

"Treat an illness? Hmm..."

Xiao Qingli gave a bitter laugh and said, "Lin Luo, we've been together for eight years. Don't I know whether you have the ability to treat others? Can't you stop lying to me for once? Can't you tell me the truth?"

"Qingli, I truly didn't lie to you. I really did go out to treat someone's illness just now."

Seeing Lin Luo persist in his lies, Xiao Qingli's heart sank with utter disappointment.

"Lin Luo, I am so disappointed in you."

Xiao Qingli took her daughter's hand and stood up, "If you can't give up gambling, then I have no choice but to take Xiao and leave this home."

With that, Xiao Qingli turned to leave.

But Lin Luo reached out and grabbed her.

"Qingli, please believe me. I promised I would overcome my gambling addiction, and I will keep that promise!"

"Believe you?"

Xiao Qingli's eyes brimmed with tears as she spoke with fervent emotion, "Where were you when the loan sharks came to collect today? Where were you when they were threatening me and Xiao? How can you expect me to believe you?"

"I..."

Lin Luo was at a loss for words.

Just then, their daughter Lin Xiao suddenly spoke up, "Mommy, my head hurts so much..."

Xiao Qingli looked down to see blood streaming from Lin Xiao's nose.

"Xiao!"

Xiao Qingli was startled by the sudden turn of events.

Lin Luo acted swiftly, catching Lin Xiao as she nearly collapsed.

"Quick! We need to get Xiao to the hospital immediately!"

Xiao Qingli urged, her voice laced with urgency.

Lin Luo cradled his daughter, who was on the verge of passing out, and sprinted out of the house. As they hurried to the hospital, his daughter weakly inquired, "Dad, is Xiao going to die?"

Hearing her call him "Dad" after more than three hundred years brought tears to Lin Luo's eyes. It was a bittersweet moment to hear that cherished word again, especially under such dire circumstances.

"It's okay, it's okay. Daddy won't let anything happen to you. I'm going to save you, Xiao. You have to trust Daddy, you..."

Before Lin Luo could finish his reassurances, his young daughter lost consciousness in his arms. His heart heavy with anguish, he mustered all his strength, wishing he could run faster than his legs would carry him, as he dashed to the hospital.

Once his daughter was taken into the emergency room, Xiao Qingli anxiously approached the doctor who emerged after the treatment.

"Doctor, how is my daughter doing?"

"Your daughter has been diagnosed with acute leukemia. Her condition is quite serious. Without immediate surgery, she is at grave risk."

"How much will the surgery cost?"

"600,000."

"What?!"