Xiao Zhan didn't take Wang Yibo's hand.
Even after Wang Yibo asked Xiao Xue to leave and closed the door, Xiao Zhan was still trying to digest the scene in front of him.
The General Manager of Yunshen Credit, "Young Master Wang" — could it really be Wang Yibo? Wasn't he the one who got a scholarship to study for a master's degree in business in the US? If he remembered correctly, Wang Yibo wanted to become an investment analyst. When did he become the boss of a loan shark company?
Wait — back in university, he vaguely remembered Wang Yibo mentioning his father's involvement in illegal businesses, and Wang Yibo had shown obvious disdain for it, swearing he'd cut all ties.
And this is what cutting ties looks like? Cutting ties by becoming the boss?
Xiao Xue had left and closed the door. When Wang Yibo turned back, he didn't bother pretending anymore. He'd always been a two-faced person — to outsiders, he was cold, aloof, stingy with words, as if he didn't care about the affairs of the world. But in front of Xiao Zhan, every emotion he had come pouring out, like a painter's palette. Staring at Wang Yibo's handsome face, that sinister, sneering smile made Xiao Zhan furious the moment he realized what was happening.
"Wang Yibo," Xiao Zhan gritted his teeth, "did you do this on purpose?"
Wang Yibo spread his hands, looking helpless. "I'm not that despicable. I didn't know until I looked at the file just now that the debtor Xiao Xue was talking about was your father and mother."
"Don't drag my parents into this. I said I'll deal with the money and the negotiations," Xiao Zhan tried to control his emotions and took a deep breath.
Wang Yibo sat down on the reception sofa, pouring a glass of water for each of them.
He nodded. "Fine. I'll deal with you. We'll come to you for the money."
Xiao Zhan was still sceptical, hesitantly sitting down. "Why didn't Xiao Xue finish negotiating with me earlier? He was halfway through."
Wang Yibo pushed the glass of water toward Xiao Zhan and raised his eyes. "This kind of thing is more comfortable to discuss with someone familiar, don't you think?"
Was that really the case? If it were anyone else, maybe. But when it came to Wang Yibo, it wasn't the same. They could be considered old classmates, even old acquaintances, but if the two of them had cut off contact forever, it wouldn't have been strange either. 'Familiar' didn't quite fit.
And how was he supposed to correct that? He couldn't.
"Besides," Wang Yibo's gaze lifted to Xiao Zhan's face, "my position is the same as Xiao Xue's. He works for me."
Xiao Zhan picked up the glass, his fingers pressing so tightly that a mark was left on the glass. "Fine. What's the most 'humane' repayment option your company offers?"
When he heard the word 'humane', Wang Yibo shot Xiao Zhan a look.
Since Xiao Xue left, Wang Yibo's expression had stayed a half-smiling one, which in Xiao Zhan's eyes looked deeply sinister.
"I only just took over, and a lot of the old rules here still have to be followed. According to Yunshen's agreement, your father and mother signed a non-negotiable contract. If you don't want things to get ugly, you need to pay back the principal and interest in full within 30 days."
Thirty days? Xiao Zhan knew that was impossible. Even if he emptied out all his savings, it wouldn't cover a fraction of that.
Wang Yibo paused for a moment, giving Xiao Zhan time to digest the information — and with a hint of gloating in his expression.
"According to the contract, your parents guaranteed a principal loan of XXX million yuan. Since the borrower was of unknown origin, it was categorized as a high-risk loan with a 10% interest rate, compounded every five working days. Simply put, if you delay payment for 30 days, by then you'll owe 1XXX million yuan in total."
A 10% high-risk interest rate? Compounded every five days — which meant in five days, he'd have to come up with XX million?
Wasn't this just blatant loan sharking?
Xiao Zhan's face turned ashen, his mind a tangled mess of numbers, crashing into his awareness that he had no money.
Wang Yibo's attitude wasn't even that arrogant. Actually, it was strange — he never acted arrogant. He always kept this cold, reserved demeanour, and back in school, even classmates who gossiped about him thought he was a formidable person. Maybe because he didn't talk much, but when things got done, they worked out perfectly. Over time, people around him came to remember his shining moments.
After a while, Wang Yibo added, "We're old classmates after all. I'll give you a small favor — I can drop the interest rate to 9%."
He handed over the file properly to Xiao Zhan. "These are all signed, sealed documents with your parents' signatures and fingerprints. No forgeries here — you can go through them. If there's no issue, contact our finance department about repayment details. Cash is preferred."
Xiao Zhan stared at the contract in Wang Yibo's hand, wishing his glare could burn those papers to ash.
"I have a question," he said hoarsely. "Is this really the most 'humane' option you have...? Xiao Xue mentioned big banks' interest rates earlier — did he mean—"
"He meant that compared to banks, our rates are four to five times higher. Xiao Zhan, the person your parents guaranteed is a shady character — no bank in the market would've approved a loan for him. Yunshen lent out XXX million — if we charged market rates, it'd be a losing business. Besides, you should know what kind of company Yunshen is."
Wang Yibo's expression turned complicated. "I just got back to take over the business too, but I've done my homework. You're here to negotiate, so don't tell me you didn't know how Yunshen Credit operates."
"I know," Xiao Zhan shot him a death glare. "Debt collection company, loan shark, gang front, call it whatever you want."
"We're not a gang," Wang Yibo was calm. "Yunshen doesn't deal with that side of things — that's a different line of business."
He thought for a moment and added, "Of course, if someone stiffs us, then that's another story."
"I'm not interested in your company's dealings," Xiao Zhan snapped.
"You know my parents got scammed. They're getting on in years, they were easy targets. Even if they cash out everything for retirement, it'd barely cover a few interest payments. As for me — my cash flow isn't great either, I just bought a house recently. I—"
Xiao Zhan couldn't go on, realizing he was practically begging for leniency.
Wang Yibo seemed to have been waiting for this, smiling faintly. "Well then... sell the house. That should cover a good chunk."
Xiao Zhan pursed his lips. "It's not mine alone. It's not my decision to make."
Wang Yibo's smile remained, but turned a little twisted. "Whose house is it?"
Xiao Zhan was silent for a moment. "It's mine and Jiang Cheng's."
Silence.
Wang Yibo seemed to grind his teeth lightly. After a while, he said, "So it's your wedding house — no wonder you won't sell."
He set down his glass and leaned back. "If that's the case, you'll have to find another way."
Xiao Zhan racked his brain for any workable option, but shot each one down — because the root of the problem was, none of them had money.
"Could you at least lower the interest rate to match what the major banks charge?"
Wang Yibo shook his head. "Can't. Too risky. Pay up."
"Then can you cut down the principal a bit? Compounding interest is just burning through money."
Another shake. "Nope. That's bad business. Pay up."
"Can I use something else as collateral? Besides the house, I have a Volvo I've been driving for three years, and —"
"No," Wang Yibo was calm. "Cars depreciate too quickly. Pay up."
"I have a few other things —"
"No. This is a credit company, not a pawn shop. Pay up."
Xiao Zhan completely gave up. "You've probably already checked my financial situation. I really have nothing. As long as you leave my parents alone, do whatever you want with me."
Wang Yibo's expression was so calm and refined it didn't look sinister at all if you didn't look too closely.
"Yunshen's sales department happens to be hiring. Come work here. In sales. Once your total sales performance matches your debt, we'll call it square. And since you'll be an employee, you'll get the staff discount — after 30 days, we won't charge compound interest anymore."
He said this so smoothly it sounded rehearsed. "Even though we're not a government bank, we still offer full benefits."
Xiao Zhan instinctively wanted to refuse.
"No way. Do you have any idea how many people would kill to get a permanent position at my bank? Last year when a woman in my division retired, nearly 2000 fresh grads applied for her job. The market's bad right now — a bank job isn't easy to get, and our team's super stable. I can't just walk away."
He rattled off a string of reasons, and Wang Yibo patiently listened without interrupting. Finally, he chuckled. "And what does that have to do with me? I just want you to pay your debt. Or, you can pick a scenic grave site you like?"
Xiao Zhan froze. "What do you mean?"
Wang Yibo took out a company brochure from his folder. Xiao Zhan had seen this one on their website too — a normal-looking corporate pamphlet about company history, products, and services.
Wang Yibo flipped through it for him, then said.
"This is our public brochure. The official version for external events."
He stood up, motioning for Xiao Zhan to drink some water, then stepped out briefly. Soon, Xiao Xue returned with an awkward look and handed Xiao Zhan a smaller pamphlet.
"What's this small-size version?"
Still confused, Xiao Zhan took the booklet — it was a light blue cover, looked well-designed, probably filled with pictures. He opened it. A moment later, his face turned ashen, as if about to vomit the water he'd just drunk. Xiao Xue looked equally awkward, while Wang Yibo seemed entirely at ease.
"Well? Thoughts?"
Xiao Zhan threw the pamphlet aside. "What the hell! Is this a list of medieval torture methods?"
Wang Yibo said, "These are countermeasures for uncooperative clients."
He thought about it, tone mild. "If we have to enforce the final options, we'll still pick a good burial spot. But those cases are rare. Usually, clients find a way to pay up after seeing the first few options. We also provide jobs in those cases — mutual benefit. There's good money in it."
One look at Xiao Zhan, who was already drenched in cold sweat.
Was this still the same Wang Yibo from college? The one who despised his father's dirty businesses and swore to live clean, study hard, and be an upright person?
Xiao Zhan looked at him weakly.
Wang Yibo downed his water, and after a long pause, said, "Scary, huh? I think so too."
Xiao Zhan suddenly stood. His palms were sweaty too. "You've turned from a white swan into a vulture."
Wang Yibo glanced at him. "Take a few days to think it over. Give me your answer soon."
Xiao Zhan practically fled — he couldn't stand another second in there. The meeting room wasn't crowded, it was spacious, airy, with a beautiful fiddle-leaf fig in the corner. But he felt like he was suffocating.
In that moment, he realized this must be what absolute desperation feels like. His heart pounded; breath caught in his chest. He turned and hurried to the door. Xiao Xue softly said, "Goodbye, Mr. Xiao."
Xiao Zhan forced a smile, about to leave — then seemed to remember something and glanced back at Wang Yibo.
"Nice watch. Got it last year?"
Wang Yibo glanced at the omega diamond-set classic on his wrist. Didn't speak. After a while, he answered, "A gift."
Sunlight poured in from the window, making his pale skin almost glow. Wang Yibo's sharply defined features somehow blended into a startling kind of beauty.
Xiao Zhan looked at him for a long moment, as if talking to himself. "I see... it's a good gift."
Then turned and left, quietly closing the door.