"What you said makes a lot of sense, maybe that's exactly what the Wu family is thinking. Simply killing Xu Hao and then seizing his properties is obviously not satisfying enough for them—they want to play Xu Hao to his death!"
The crowd nodded in agreement, certain that this must be the truth.
At that moment, they all spontaneously thought of Guo Lan.
They immediately turned their gaze towards Guo Lan, who was walking briskly back.
Before the crowd could shout out, the beggar-pants man took the lead and yelled, "Stop right there! You deceitful bitch!"
Guo Lan paused, knowing she could not escape, then turned around and said, "I haven't deceived anyone, I told the truth. Young Master Xu really did help me."
"Humph! You were just pretending to have big backing. And now, your so-called support, Xu Hao, has fallen! Brought down by the Wu family!"
The beggar-pants man sneered, "Guo Lan, you just played big-shot and fooled us all, causing us unnecessary alarm. Tell me, how are you going to compensate everyone for the distress you caused?"
"I don't owe you anything, why should I compensate you?" Guo Lan retorted with reason.
"Humph! You've tricked us into thinking you were so powerful. I don't believe you were unaware of Xu Hao's downfall!" someone said.
"Why waste words on her? The type of person I despise most in life is one who pretends to wield power they don't have. For such people, I would only spit in their face and walk away. It disgusts me to no end!" An old man said with a look of disdain, yet his eyes were slyly sizing up Guo Lan's figure.
Suddenly singled out by the mob, Guo Lan's mind couldn't remain stable any longer.
She couldn't understand: she had done nothing wrong, she had only spoken the truth. Why were these people slandering her?
Then it suddenly dawned on her and she said coldly, "I see now, you all think that since Young Master Xu is down on his luck, you can bully anyone related to him."
"Humph! I don't care what you think, but you have to pay up today! My one hundred thousand yuan, you must get it for me even if you have to borrow from Xu Hao! Isn't he rich? Isn't he a big shot? Then let him lend it to you!" the beggar-pants man said with a cold laugh.
In his heart, he was almost laughing out loud. Initially, he was merely trying to intimidate Guo Lan, never genuinely expecting her to produce that much money.
But now that Guo Lan had connections to Xu Hao, though they were weak, with Xu Hao's wealth, surely he could spare a little more than one hundred thousand just like that, right?
Furthermore, he wasn't afraid of Xu Hao coming after him. Setting aside whether Xu Hao could even move right now, even if he could, so what?
He could easily seek the Wu family for help, convinced that they would be more than willing to get involved. After all, it was a prime opportunity to suppress Xu Hao. The Wu family would certainly not mind crushing Xu Hao one more time.
Having thought through the implications, he felt even more at ease and excited about the one hundred thousand being within his grasp, to the point where he even started fantasizing about how to spend it. He'd never had one hundred thousand to his name before!
However, at this moment, Guo Lan was filled with frustration. She couldn't believe the beggar-pants man was still fixated on the matter, insisting that she owed him one hundred thousand yuan—a nonexistent debt.
Where would she get the money to pay him?
Besides, she was determined not to give it to him!
"It's only right to repay what you owe!"
"It's only right to repay what you owe!"
"Xu Hao is so wealthy, go and find him. Let him just hand over some cash to you."
The crowd began to berate Guo Lan, urging her to pay back the money immediately.
Seeing that Guo Lan had no intention of repaying, the beggar-pants man grew bold and glanced at the phone in her hand. He sprang forward and snatched the phone from her hand by force.
Panic struck Guo Lan's heart, and she shouted, "He's stealing my phone! He's stealing my phone! Give it back to me now!"
But another man blocked her way as she tried to rush the beggar-pants man.
With the phone in his hand, the beggar-pants man uttered with amazement, "Wow, the newest phone from Xiaomi, retailing at three to four thousand yuan. You can afford such a phone, yet claim you don't have the money to repay me? Do you have any conscience at all?" Chaptersource:MyVirtualLibraryEmpire(*).
The crowd continued to accuse Guo Lan, driving her to the brink of tears.
Inside Guo Lan's arms, Qian Youyou was fuming as well, but she was too young, and no one listened to her.
Flipping through Guo Lan's phone contacts, the beggar-pants man quickly found a number saved as "Young Master Xu." He chuckled and said, "Looks is the one. I'm going to call Xu Hao right now. If he still has any kindness left for you, he should help you. Otherwise, I guess he won't give a dime, and you can't blame me for using some tough measures then."
Guo Lan's teeth were gritting with anger upon hearing his words.
But the beggar-pants man didn't care and was about to dial Xu Hao's number.
Just then, a voice cold as the deep winter suddenly rang out, "Were you planning to call me? Don't bother, I'm already here."