193: Chapter 193 The loan sharks found their way home

The water in the kitchen began to boil, making a gurgling sound that interrupted Lou Dong's thoughts.

He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and put on his gentle expression again. He picked up the kettle, poured a glass of hot water, and carried it into the living room.

“Yuya, have some hot water.” Lou Dong handed the cup to Shang Yuya, his tone still gentle. “Drink it to warm up, or you'll catch a cold.”

Shang Yuya took the cup and held it with both hands. Feeling the warmth radiating from the glass, her body gradually began to warm up.

She took a sip of the hot water, looked up at Lou Dong, and said with a hint of complexity in her eyes, “Dong Zi, about what that man said earlier... don't take it to heart. I believe you.”

Lou Dong sneered inwardly, but his face showed a touched expression. “Yuya, thank you for believing in me. I know you've been wronged. It's all my fault for letting you encounter something like this.”

“From now on, I will definitely work hard to earn money and support the family. I won't let you suffer even a little bit ever again.”

As he spoke, he reached out and gently hugged Shang Yuya.

Shang Yuya leaned into his embrace, feeling his body heat. The trace of unease in her heart gradually dissipated.

Perhaps she really was overthinking things. Dong Zi loved her; that man had just been intentionally trying to drive a wedge between them.

But Shang Yuya had no idea that the man holding her right now wasn't thinking about how to support the family at all, but rather how to escape the pursuit of loan sharks.

The hideous faces and vicious threats of the debt collectors constantly flashed through his mind, each image filling him with absolute terror.

He held Shang Yuya tightly, as if grasping at a final lifeline.

But he knew deep down that this lifeline couldn't save him.

His plan to murder his wife for the insurance payout had already failed; he had no other options left.

Today, he either had to pay back the 580,000 yuan debt in full, or his hands would be chopped off.

Lou Dong's body began to tremble slightly—not from the cold, but from fear.

He didn't know how to face the loan sharks, nor did he know what his future would look like.

He only knew that a massive disaster was slowly closing in on him, and he was powerless to resist.

Shang Yuya felt Lou Dong trembling and thought he was scared because he was worried about her. She gently patted his back and comforted him softly.

“Dong Zi, don't worry. I'm fine. We'll live a good life from now on, and everything will get better.”

Lou Dong didn't speak. He just buried his face in Shang Yuya's shoulder, his heart filled with despair and malice.

Get better?

How could things possibly get better?

He was currently nothing more than a desperate dog with nowhere to run, able only to watch helplessly as he waited to be slaughtered by the loan sharks.

He hated Cao Kun; he hated this stranger who had suddenly appeared and ruined his plans.

He also hated Shang Yuya. If this woman hadn't stopped struggling in the water just now, Cao Kun wouldn't have been able to save her at all, and his plan would have succeeded.

But most of all, he hated himself. He hated his gambling addiction, and he hated that he had reached this point.

But no amount of hatred could solve the problem.

The loan sharks could show up at his door at any moment. He had to think of something.

But no matter how much he searched his mind, he couldn't think of any way to scrape together 580,000 yuan.

He was like prey trapped in a corner, helplessly waiting for the hunter to arrive.

The sunlight from outside shone through the glass into the living room, falling upon the two of them, yet it could not dispel the gloom in Lou Dong's heart.

He held Shang Yuya, his body still trembling slightly, with only one thought in his mind.

It's over. Everything is over.

He didn't know how to face what was coming next, nor did he know how to deal with those ferocious debt collectors.

He didn't even know if he could keep his hands or his life.

...

The afternoon sun gradually dipped toward the west, casting long shadows across the living room floor through the old glass windows.

Shang Yuya leaned against the sofa, holding the now-cold cup of water, her eyes still somewhat vacant.

The chill from falling into the water seemed to linger in her marrow, making her shudder from time to time.

Lou Dong sat on the single-seater sofa next to her. On the surface, he was watching a soap opera on TV, but his eyes frequently drifted toward the window, his expression anxious and restless.

The warmth of her embrace could not dispel the fear in his heart at all. The hideous faces of the loan sharks haunted his mind like a nightmare.

“Dong Zi, what's wrong? Is there something on your mind?”

Shang Yuya noticed his abnormality and turned her head to ask softly.

Her voice still carried the weakness of someone who had just recovered, and there was a lingering trace of dependency in the way she looked at Lou Dong.

Lou Dong snapped back to his senses and quickly hid the panic in his eyes, forcing a strained smile.

“No... it's nothing. I'm just still shaken from you falling into the water earlier.”

He reached out to hold Shang Yuya's hand. The coldness of his fingertips made her instinctively flinch, but he gripped her tightly.

“Don't worry, I'm here.”

Lou Dong intentionally made his tone gentle, but only he knew that these words were nothing but self-deception.

He couldn't even protect himself, let alone the woman in front of him.

At the thought that the loan sharks could come looking for him at any moment, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, making even breathing difficult.

Shang Yuya didn't notice the flaw in his tone; she just nodded gently and leaned back against the sofa.

Cao Kun's figure uncontrollably surfaced in her mind again, that stranger's serious warning echoing in her ears like a curse.

She shook her head vigorously, trying to throw these thoughts away, but the more she forced herself, the stronger the unease in her heart became.

Right then, there was a loud bang as the security door was kicked open from the outside.

The door slammed heavily against the wall with a piercing crash, shattering the brief peace in the room.

Lou Dong shuddered violently, and the remote control in his hand fell to the floor with a clatter.

He stood up abruptly and looked toward the door, his face instantly turning as pale as paper.

Four tall men stood at the doorway, all wearing black tight-fitting clothes. Vicious tattoos were visible on their arms, and their eyes were fierce, scanning the room like hungry wolves.

Leading them was a bald man with a long scar on his face that stretched from his forehead all the way down to his chin, making him look exceptionally terrifying.

It was the leader of the loan sharks, Scar Strong.

“Lou Dong, you're pretty damn good at hiding!”

Scar Strong stepped into the room, his heavy leather boots making dull thuds on the floor.

The three lackeys behind him followed him inside and casually closed the security door, completely turning the house into a closed cage.

Shang Yuya turned pale with fright and instinctively hid behind Lou Dong. She gripped his shirt tightly and asked in a trembling voice, “Dong Zi, who are they?”

...