"Lingling, you must save your father!"
Zhong Yaowen's face, etched with terror, clutched at his daughter's dress hem! Tears cascaded from his aged eyes, his voice hoarse beyond measure, his entire body trembling incessantly.
"If I don't pay back the money, they'll really chop off my hand, or even take my life!"
Staring at her father, who knelt before her in a tearful mess, Zhong Lingling felt completely drained and powerless. She couldn't even take care of herself; how was she to help her father?
She closed her eyes, and crystalline tears shook loose, like pearls slipping off a broken string, feeling as if her world was collapsing.
Her father had amassed a huge gambling debt, and the creditor threatened to chop off his hand if he didn't pay back within three days.
As the only daughter of Zhong Yaowen, even if she resented her father's incompetence and felt furious and impatient, how could she possibly just sit by and do nothing?
"What do you want me to do? You know very well that I make just over a thousand yuan a month!"
"The richest man in F City is seeking a wife for his son, Xiang Yimo. A few days ago, I submitted your photo to a matchmaker, and I just got good news—they've selected you. I knew my daughter, so beautiful, would definitely make it!" Zhong Yaowen wiped his tears, his voice filled with excitement as he spoke.
It seemed as if this was an extraordinarily honorable matter!
"Xiang Yimo? That sickly young master? Rumors say he's practically a dead man. Dad, are you really my biological father? If you are, how can you bear to marry off your own daughter to someone who's nearly dead!" Zhong Lingling's every word trembled.
Her voice was hoarse.
Xiang Yimo, bedridden all year long, what difference was there between marrying him and marrying a dead man?
Because he was so ill and bedridden, Xiang Yimo's father, Xiang Zongyin, believed the words of others, saying that if they found a bride for his son, it would bring them joy and possibly heal his illness.
"Lingling, I don't want this either, I am of course your father. But now, Dad really has no other way. You don't want to lose Dad, your only relative, right?"
The room fell silent, Zhong Yaowen awaiting Zhong Lingling's final response.
He looked expectantly at the somber-faced Zhong Lingling.
What was she to do? How did it matter if the man was wealthy, when he was so ill that he was practically on his deathbed?
Moreover, she already had a boyfriend!
Even though that man, Ji Wuyuan, had vanished for over half a year without a word, leaving without saying goodbye, she had no idea where he had gone or why he left.
But for more than half a year, there wasn't a day she didn't think about him, not a day she didn't wait for him!
Now, with such a crisis at home, could she continue to hold onto her desires and wait for the silent return of Ji Wuyuan?
"Lingling, don't underestimate Xiang Yimo's weak appearance; there's a line of maidens waiting to marry him. Now, Xiang Zongyin himself has chosen you out of tens of thousands of photos. If you don't seize this opportunity, there will be no way to repay the debt I owe!"
Indeed, her father was absolutely right.
Although Xiang Yimo was sickly and frail, his father had wealth, and the young ladies willing to marry him could form a queue longer than a dragon.
If she didn't give an answer soon, she would miss the last chance to pay off her father's debt.
"The Xiang Family is willing to offer a hefty dowry that's more than enough to cover Dad's gambling debts. I swear, once the debt is cleared, I will never gamble again, else I'll chop off my own hands!"
"Let me think it over!" Zhong Lingling's tone finally softened.