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Shawn Young got out of bed, pulled out the 'iPhone 4s' that Joanna Gong had given him, and dialed her number again. Just like before, after calling several times, all he got was a busy signal. The texts he sent went unanswered too. So Shawn simply called his home phone—his mom should be home at this hour.
The call went through, and sure enough, it was his mom who picked up. Shawn, feeling a bit emotional, said, "Mom, it's me, Shawn!"
"Oh! Shawn, it's you! I'm cooking right now. When I'm done, I still have to bring food to your dad! You know, don't just focus on studying at school—you're almost a junior now, so eat well. And—" Like most moms who worry about their kids, Shawn's mother just kept talking, afraid her son might go hungry or suffer.
"Oh, I know, Mom. Actually, I wanted to ask you about something," Shawn quickly interrupted her, getting straight to the point.
"Oh, you want to ask about your old classmate from the Gong Family on the next street, Joanna Gong? Let me tell you, her family ran into big trouble. How could a perfectly fine family suddenly end up like this? Sigh—" Shawn's mother sighed.
"Uh—yeah, that's what I wanted to ask. What exactly happened to her family? She hasn't been back to school for half a month! What on earth happened?!" Shawn felt a chill in his heart and hurriedly asked.
"Sigh—word is her father racked up a mountain of debt! And it seems he borrowed it from the triads, some deadly loan sharks! The Gong Family's troubles have become the talk of our little county—everyone's gossiping about it now!" Shawn's mother said with another sigh.
"What? Loan sharks? But their family was doing pretty well—how did they end up owing the triads so much money?" Shawn asked anxiously.
"It seems it has something to do with her father gambling. Sigh, those rich folks get bored and end up gambling all their money away! It's a real tragedy! People like us, just ordinary families, have to work ourselves to the bone just to put food on the table. You really can't compare people, huh!" Shawn's mother lamented.
"Ah! But gambling is illegal in our country. Doesn’t anyone do anything about it?" Shawn Young asked anxiously.
"Nobody can do anything, because it’s not happening in our country. I heard they’re organized and go to casinos abroad. These days, the rich here like to go gamble in Myanmar and Vietnam since we’re close to the border. Lately, a lot of people have lost everything, some even jumped off buildings. Sigh, the world’s a mess!" Shawn’s mother replied.
"What? Gambling abroad?! Did you see Joanna Gong?" Shawn wasn’t really interested in gambling; he was more concerned about Joanna’s whereabouts.
"Her? Yeah, I saw her. Her dad lost all their houses and property gambling. Their business is gone too. I heard her mom got sick because of her dad’s loan shark debts. Now she’s running around borrowing money from relatives and friends to pay off debts and treat her mom. Poor girl, she doesn’t even have a job yet, and now her family’s in trouble. It’ll be hard for her to borrow money! Such a good girl, stuck with this mess. That’s fate!" Shawn’s mother sighed.
"Uh—really? Mom, have you seen her these past few days?" Shawn pressed.
At that moment, Shawn’s mother noticed how concerned he was about Joanna Gong and immediately asked, "Shawn, are you dating that girl from the Gong family? Why do you keep asking about her?"
"Uh—Mom, don’t worry about that! Have you seen her or not?" Shawn, flustered, tried to change the subject.
"Shawn, that Gong girl is a good person. If you’re dating her, I won’t object, but her family’s in trouble and we’re not well-off ourselves. We can’t help them. Besides, I hear those loan sharks show up at her house every day, splashing paint, making threats—they’re ruthless! They could even take her as payment for the debt! We don’t have the connections to get involved, Shawn. If you’re with her, you’d better think it through. One wrong move and you’ll get burned!" Shawn’s mother warned earnestly.
"Mom, stop! I know what I’m doing about Joanna. I’m hanging up now, bye—" Shawn felt overwhelmed and hung up, ignoring his mother’s nagging and concern.
As soon as he hung up, Rainie Cheng, who’d heard most of the conversation from the bed, looked at him with concern. "Uh—loan sharks, huh? Looks like your hometown girl’s in deep trouble. What are you going to do?"
"I’m going back home right now!" Shawn said without hesitation, having already made up his mind when he hung up the phone.
"Oh! Great! I’ve got three days off, so I’ll go with you!" Rainie Cheng giggled.
"Rainie, you—are you really coming with me?" Shawn was genuinely surprised.
"Of course! I’ve got my own car, and I’m an ex-Interpol inspector—dealing with this kind of thing is my specialty. Plus, I want to see just how gorgeous your hometown girl is, since she’s got Shawn Young, the stud, ready to risk life and limb for her! And I want to meet your parents. You know what they say—sooner or later, the ugly wife has to meet the in-laws! Hehe, that’s a good enough excuse, right?" Rainie squinted her beautiful eyes and teased.
"Thank you, Rainie! You’re amazing!" Shawn knew Rainie was trying to help him out and was truly touched.
"Dummy, just remember to teach me more of your magical Daoist tricks when you get the chance! Hehe—" Rainie said playfully.
"Of course! And whenever we get time, I’ll do some dual cultivation with my beautiful Rainie!" Shawn wrapped his arms around her slim waist and grinned mischievously.
"You naughty boy, always thinking about getting lucky! If you manage to fix your hometown girl’s problem, I bet you’ll get some fresh meat again! Hmph—" Rainie teased, pouting.
"Hey, don’t say that! No matter what, Rainie, you’re the first woman in my life. No one can ever take your place! You’re the only one for me!" Shawn quickly poured on the sweet talk.
Sure enough, Rainie was delighted to hear this. She knew Shawn was just sweet-talking her, but like most women, she couldn’t resist. She crawled up from the big waterbed and said in a coquettish voice, "Hmph, you know what’s good for you! I’m going to take a shower, then we’ll head out!"