Chapter 577 — What Will Become of Us Now?

Tang Zhi felt a deep sense of grievance — half because she had been bullied, and half because Wei Zhao had abandoned her. So it was true: an ugly duckling was destined never to become a swan! And she had thought she had found herself a good boyfriend, when all along he had just wanted to play around with her.

Hearing Zhao Qibing's words today, Tang Zhi understood all at once. In truth, girls from poor families like theirs were nothing but playthings in the eyes of those rich young masters — where was the sincerity in any of it? And she had naively believed that Wei Zhao would treat her well for the rest of her life...

Just as mother and daughter Tang sat there stewing in their worries, a doctor in a white coat came in. Looking at Mother Tang, he said, "You're the family member of Tang Jucheng and Tang Zhi, aren't you? Please pay the surgery and hospitalization fees. The ten-thousand-yuan deposit isn't enough."

"What? Not enough?" Mother Tang was at a loss all of a sudden. That ten thousand yuan had been borrowed from the neighbors in the shantytown. Their house had been torn down, and she had long since lost track of where the card Wei Zhao gave them had gone. How was she supposed to pay the medical bills?

"That's right, please make the payment as soon as possible. You'll need to pay at least twenty thousand more." The doctor set the bill on the table in front of Mother Tang, then withdrew.

Mother Tang stared at the bill before her, completely at her wits' end.

"Mom, are we out of money? Where's the money the family had?" Seeing her mother's desperate look, Tang Zhi suppressed the grievance in her heart for the moment and asked.

"The card and the passbook never made it out with us — I don't even know if we can find them now. This ten thousand was borrowed from Liu Xinlan's family, and it's still not enough..." Mother Tang sighed. "Now the house is gone, and you and your father are hurt. How is our family supposed to go on living?"

However hard things had been before, the family had never truly reached a dead end. But now they really had. No house, no money — and the card was in Wei Zhao's name, so she couldn't even report it lost. What were they going to do from here?

As Mother Tang sat there fretting, Liu Xinlan came running in, shouting as she ran, "Yunyun, how are you? How are you? You scared me to death!"

There had been no room in the ambulance, so Liu Xinlan hadn't been able to ride along and had come on her own — which was why she was only arriving at the hospital now.

"I'm fine..." Tang Zhi gave a bitter smile and lifted a hand to rub at her eyes, not wanting Liu Xinlan to see that she had been crying.

But Liu Xinlan was no fool. Tang Zhi's eyes were red and still traced with tearstains — how could she not tell?

"Yunyun, you cried?" Liu Xinlan exclaimed. "What's wrong? Has something happened? Didn't the doctor say you'd be all right?"

"Xinwen, my face is ruined..." Tang Zhi could hold it back no longer. She had suppressed it long enough; now all she wanted to do was cry and cry. She would never be a pretty girl again! Compared with her father's broken leg, the consequences for Tang Zhi were far more serious!

Tang Jucheng had only a fracture — nothing too serious; as long as he recovered well, he would be fine. But Tang Zhi's face was ruined, and that was for life. How was she supposed to accept that?

"What? Ruined?" Liu Xinlan was startled too. Tang Zhi was the prettiest of all their sisters — how could her face be ruined?

"Eight stitches on her forehead..." Mother Tang said with a bitter smile. "Now the house is gone, her father's leg is broken, we still owe your family money, and the hospital keeps pressing us for payment. How are we ever going to get through this?"

"Have you told Wei Zhao?" Liu Xinlan asked suddenly.

"I... why would I go looking for him?" Tang Zhi's grievance welled up, and she nearly burst into tears again. Let Wei Zhao see her in this miserable state? How could she? Once Feng Xiaoxiao showed up, she would surely mock her — she would be thrilled that Tang Zhi's face was ruined!

"With something this big happening, how can you not look for him? You idiot, call him right now!" Liu Xinlan was getting anxious.

"He doesn't even want me anymore — why would I go looking for him? Cling to him?" Tang Zhi was crying again, weeping with utter heartbreak and grievance.

"If you ask me, child, they say even one day as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of devotion. I think he likes you — why don't you give him a call and try? Our family is in this state now; if we don't look for him, how will we live?" Mother Tang hesitated a moment, then said, "Even if we ask for nothing else, at least we should get that five-hundred-thousand-yuan card replaced?"

"Likes me? Likes what about me? My face is disfigured — I'm not even fit to be his mistress anymore. How do you expect me to call him? Humiliate myself?" Tang Zhi's heart was full of grievance. She hadn't expected her mother to still be thinking about the breakup money at a time like this, and the bitterness she felt was beyond words. Her reaction was fierce; she stiffened her neck and answered in a furious huff.

"He did like you before — why don't you just try?" Mother Tang was still unwilling to let it go. She was an adult and had more to consider. That five hundred thousand could not be given up — if they gave it up, how would this family survive?

"Try what? How am I supposed to try? I already owe him so much money, and there's never been anything between us. What am I supposed to say to him? How am I supposed to pay him back after this?" Tang Zhi was growing frantic.

"Well, then... why don't you beg his girlfriend? Be his mistress? His girlfriend agreed to it too, didn't she?" Mother Tang said after a moment's hesitation.

"I won't do it! Mom, what kind of idea is that? Say one more word and I'll go kill myself! How could you make me go humiliate myself like that? My face is ruined — how could he possibly agree to take me as his mistress? How am I supposed to live after that?" How could Tang Zhi agree? Wasn't this just asking her to go make a fool of herself?

"Why must you be so stubborn? You let Zhao Qibing have his fun with you, and you'd let Wei Zhao have his fun too — so what's so bad about being a mistress? We don't even have a house anymore. If you don't make that call, our whole family might as well sit here and wait to die!" It wasn't that Mother Tang was unreasonable — it was that this family truly had nowhere left to turn. What else were they supposed to do?

Mother Tang would have liked nothing better than for her daughter to seduce Zhao Qibing; two apartments in the city would have been quite a fine thing! The trouble was that her daughter's face was ruined, and even if she were given away free, Zhao Qibing wouldn't want her anymore! So Mother Tang set her sights on Wei Zhao instead! She reasoned that Wei Zhao had, after all, been in love with her daughter, and surely he would show some consideration for old times' sake? Even with her daughter's face ruined, he couldn't just wash his hands of her, could he?

And no wonder Mother Tang thought that way — she had simply been poor for too long! Bullied for too long! Back when Wei Zhao was around, Mother Tang had enjoyed a prosperity she had never known before; even the people on Snack Street hadn't dared to bully her, and that had given Mother Tang a deep sense of satisfaction!

But the moment Wei Zhao left, her family was bullied — their house torn down, her man's leg shattered by falling debris, her daughter's face ruined — and they didn't even dare go argue it out with anyone! Mother Tang didn't want to live like this; she wanted, oh how she wanted, to live a life of wealth and power!