C11 A Debt from the Door

Qiu Ruola's eyes briefly lingered on Su Wen's face, her voice tinged with surprise.

"Hehe, beauty, we meet again. You're looking quite well today; seems like you're almost back to full health."

People these days really must be wealthy, casually dropping a fifty-dollar bill on the ground like that.

After exchanging greetings with her, Su Wen bent down to pick up the discarded fifty-dollar bill. As he did, he couldn't help but internally grumble about it.

"Madam, this beggar has been lurking around our doorstep, claiming he wants to see you. I was about to send him on his way."

Qiu Ruola maintained an impassive expression, betraying none of her feelings. The gatekeeper, fearing her anger, raised his hand to shoo Su Wen away.

"Hey, hey, hey, watch it! Don't lay a finger on me, or I'll have your mistress fire you!"

To be a gatekeeper for the wealthy sure seemed to have its perks, but it didn't teach him any manners. Su Wen, slightly annoyed, stepped back to avoid the hands reaching out to grab him.

"Who do you think you're threatening? Get lost, now!"

Initially, the gatekeeper had moderated his behavior upon realizing that Qiu Ruola actually knew Su Wen. However, seeing that she showed no sign of defending Su Wen, he became even more insolent.

"Such a foul mouth, you'd do well to keep it shut!"

Mid-sentence, Su Wen pulled a dark pill from his pocket and, with lightning speed, tossed it into the man's mouth.

"Ugh..."

The gatekeeper felt an object fly into his throat and tried to fish it out, but to his surprise, the pill dissolved instantly. Within seconds, it had vanished without a trace.

"You motherf— Ahhh..."

Enraged, he pointed at Su Wen, ready to unleash a tirade, but after uttering just a few words, his voice gave out. Terrified, he collapsed to the ground, staring at Su Wen in horror.

"What did you give him? Give me the antidote, now!"

Even Qiu Ruola, who had maintained a calm demeanor throughout, couldn't help but change her expression. She addressed him with a stern, commanding voice, "Rest assured, what I gave him isn't poison. It's merely a temporary measure to keep him from speaking. His mouth was foul, and he needed to be taught a lesson."

The pill, while not poisonous, had significant side effects. Anyone who took it would be rendered speechless for a few hours, and then the nerves on the left side of their body would become scrambled, leading to paralysis.

Su Wen had concocted this medicine during his idle time on the mountain. Its effects varied from person to person. Those with stronger constitutions might recover in as little as half a month, while those less robust could take one to two months.

"You didn't come to see me just to deal with the gatekeeper, did you?"

Qiu Ruola was not fond of others disciplining her staff, but since the gatekeeper had indeed insulted Su Wen, she had no choice but to swallow her irritation.

"No, no, no. I came specifically to see you, beauty. You promised me a handsome reward on the plane last time. Surely you haven't forgotten?"

Only a fool would turn down money.

Su Wen was not one to engage in unprofitable ventures. The pill he had given Qiu Ruola was worth several hundred thousand yuan on the market; he couldn't simply hand it over without compensation.

"Do you think I'm as idle as you, to remember such trivialities?"

Qiu Ruola spoke frankly. Managing an extensive family business kept her so preoccupied that she hardly had time to remember someone as insignificant as Su Wen.

Had Su Wen not shown up on her doorstep today, she would have long since put the matter out of her mind.

"Hehe, no worries. I remembered it for you. A wealthy lady like yourself wouldn't skimp on the payment, right?"

Su Wen brushed aside her scorn and unabashedly pressed Qiu Ruola for the money.

It wasn't that he was avaricious. The old man had amassed a considerable sum in medical fees up in the mountains—certainly not a small amount, with at least ten or twenty million yuan to his name. Yet, Su Wen lived by the principle of frugality; he would stoop to pick up even a single yuan found on the ground.

"How much do you want? Is one hundred thousand enough?"

Qiu Ruola couldn't stand the sight of his greed. With a furrowed brow, she pulled out a thick wad of cash from the car and handed it to Su Wen.

"One hundred thousand? Beauty, don't you think you're being a bit tightfisted? The ingredients for that pill alone cost more than one hundred thousand."

To an average person, one hundred thousand might make them leap for joy. But Su Wen was no ordinary man. He had seen mountains of money; a slim stack like this was nothing to him.

"You're being rather greedy, don't you think?"

Qiu Ruola, unfamiliar with the intricacies of pills, couldn't believe his claims. She felt Su Wen was deliberately trying to swindle her, and a hint of indignation crossed her face.

In all honesty, how did speaking the truth become greed? Did she really think life-saving medicines could be made so easily? If he had given her a pill made from inferior ingredients, she'd need the courage to even consider taking it.

"Beauty, I'm speaking nothing but the truth. Do you think saving your life was a simple feat? If I hadn't been there on the plane that day, you might well have been long gone."

"Don't you dare curse me!"

"My conscience is clear; this is no curse. You're well aware of how critical the situation was that day."

Qiu Ruola was left speechless by Su Wen's retort, for what he said was undeniably true. The events of that day had been perilous, and without Su Wen's intervention, she might indeed no longer be among the living.

"I don't have the energy to argue with you. Five hundred thousand, will that suffice?"

After taking a deep breath and pushing down her irritation, Qiu Ruola pulled out a check from her purse, hastily filled it out, and tore it off with a detached air.

To her astonishment, even quintupling the amount didn't tempt Su Wen to take it. He simply regarded her with a sardonic look.

"What? Half a million still isn't enough? Surely even the most precious ingredients don't cost that much."

"It's not about the amount. I was just pondering how the life of a beautiful and elegant lady like yourself is apparently valued so modestly."

Qiu Ruola was seething with anger at his words. Despite taking several deep breaths, she couldn't quell the rage burning within her chest.

"Why don't we make a deal? Give me a kiss, and we'll call it even for saving your life."

"In your dreams!"

Qiu Ruola glared at the man's careless demeanor, fighting the urge to slap him across the face. Her good manners, however, prevailed, and she held back.

In a fit of fury, she tore up the check in her hand and hastily scribbled on another.

"Here's one million yuan. Take it and get lost!"

Su Wen peeled the check off his face, his gaze lingering on Qiu Ruola's curvaceous hips and slender waist. He couldn't help but marvel.

"Wow, what a stunning figure."