Reluctantly Willing

An Xiaoyan recognized the voice. His entire body trembled. This was the man that had made his life a living hell.

"Mr. Gu…"

Gu Jun gripped An Xiaoyan's chin with one hand, "An Xiaoyan, it seems like I've left a deep impression."

"Heard you had someone pick you up today. Seems like you're quite popular."

"Are you spying on me?"

Gu Jun sat on the couch aside, "An Xiaoyan, I have the money. I can do whatever I want, and you have no choice but to do what I say."

"Daddy, Daddy…" A child's voice streamed in from outside the door.

"Who let him in?" Gu Jun asked harshly, walking out the door.

The nanny on the side bowed and apologized. "Sir, Young Master saw you downstairs and started crawling up the stairs. I couldn't stop him."

"Bring him down."

"Yes, yes." The nanny hurriedly brought the young master downstairs.

She didn't let go of Guo Guo until they reached the bottom of the stairs. "Young Master, don't go upstairs without permission again. Sir doesn't like it."

Gu Jun returned to the room and locked the door from inside. He studied the man tied onto the bed.

"An Xiaoyan, tell me how you should atone for your crime."

"Mr. Gu, I did my time. I've already been punished."

"You think that is enough? You're still here, alive, while my son is not."

"Mr. Gu, you can have more children."

Gu Jun scoffed at this. "Easy for you to say, 'I can always have children'. But do you know the chance of having a prodigy child?"

An Xiaoyan knew the probabilities of inheritance. The chance of having a genius is less than one percent, and that requires both parents to have an IQ over 180. Otherwise, it is almost impossible unless a gene mutation happens.

"I'm sorry." An Xiaoyan didn't know what else to say. Maybe this is my fate.

"How about we make a deal?"

"What kind of deal?"

"You pay me back five million and we call it even."

Five million was a number far out of An Xiaoyan's reach. How could he possibly have five million now?

"As long as you pay me back five million within a year, we are clear."

"Mr. Gu, you know that's impossible!"

"Whether it's possible or not isn't up to me. Whether you agree or not, this is the deal. Mr. An, find a way to get the money. I'm a businessman. If I can't collect the profit in time, I can't say what might happen."

After that, An Xiaoyan was left behind with a slam of the door, his neck hurting.

The nanny was playing with Guo Guo when Gu Jun went downstairs. The second the kid saw his father, he opened his arms and ran over for a hug.

"Can he say anything else now?"

The nanny blanched. "The young master is much better than before."

"Can he speak now?"

The nanny stammered "No".

Looking at Guo Guo's open arms, Gu Jun pushed him aside.

"Daddy, Daddy…" Guo Guo wept as he sprawled on the ground. Gu Jun didn't even look back, leaving the nanny to pick the kid up to comfort him.

The nanny obviously pitied the young master, but what could she do? Gu Jun didn't like him as the only word the young master was able to utter was "daddy", no matter how many times she taught him. This family was honestly frustrating.

When An Xiaoyan woke up, he was back on the street curb again as if nothing had changed other than the soreness of his wrists from being tied up. Feeling around his pocket, he found a piece of paper.

It was an IOU that said that An Xiaoyan owed Gu Jun five million dollars and had his fingerprint.

He had no recollection of giving his fingerprint. Opening his hand, he saw that his forefinger was red.

An Xiaoyan sighed. What could he do?

As the sun went up, An Xiaoyan arrived at a ghetto where things were cheaper here. The money he earned in prison was only enough to afford the rent here.

He quickly settled the rent with the landlord. He put down six months' rent at once because he needed to settle down.

He had no clue about where to find a job yet. He obviously wouldn't be able to get in any large company for no one would want someone who had no degree and had a criminal background like him. He was left with options such as waitering at some restaurant.

Thankfully, a small restaurant in the ghetto was looking for a waiter. Since they didn't care about backgrounds, An Xiaoyan got the job successfully. The salary was only little above 2000 per month, but it was enough to get by.

After work, An Xiaoyan took some food from the restaurant to eat at home. At his doorway, he saw someone standing in the hall.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see what you're doing now and if you can pay up," Gu Jun said in disdain.

"Mr. Gu, I will pay you back within a year."

Gu Jun scoffed. "Open the door."

"Mr. Gu…"

In the end, An Xiaoyan opened the door and placed his food aside.

He only had one pair of slippers. An Xiaoyan gave it to Gu Jun while he himself walked barefoot.

The apartment was in a building that was decades old and the interior had no flooring but merely hard concrete. Gu Jun couldn't help but notice An Xiaoyan's slim and bare ankles.

"Living in this kind of crappy place suits you."

Gu Jun tapped the table, and it creaked as if it was about to collapse.

With Gu Jun here, An Xiaoyan couldn't do anything except stand aside and watch.

Checking around the tiny one-bedroom, Gu Jun quickly lost interest as he toured himself.

His phone dinged. Gu Jun opened it to read the message that just came in and said, "An Xiaoyan, I'm in a good mood today, so I won't mess with you. Just remember to pay me."

The moment Gu Jun walked out the door, An Xiaoyan practically collapsed. It was a cramped room, but Gu Jun's aura had weighed down on him like a mountain.

Sitting on the ground, An Xiaoyan felt empty inside. There was no light in his future.

After a long while, An Xiaoyan stood up. He grabbed the food from beside the door to start cooking. Before, he had seen so many patients latch onto doctors at the end of their lives, begging to be saved. Their helplessness made An Xiaoyan feel the value of life.

He couldn't give up. His life was not yet to end.

One month passed. An Xiaoyan spent the days either at work or at home. Gu Jun didn't come back, which gave him an opportunity to relax a little. As long as Gu Jun didn't appear, nothing would change in his life. Gu Jun was like a nightmare.