Xiao Fei's eyes widened in shock as she stared at Xiang Wan through the livestream. She couldn't get a word out.
Her mind was a mess. What had she wanted at the beginning? She was seeking revenge on her husband, hoping for a divorce settlement that would at least leave her with something, so she wouldn't walk away with nothing.
She hadn't worked in years since getting married, completely detached from the workforce. She had two younger brothers, and her mother couldn't help with taking care of her daughter. She knew she'd have to find a job to support herself and her child.
She had thought the worst-case scenario was leaving the marriage empty-handed. But now the streamer was telling her she was carrying over five million in debt.
How was that even possible?!
Xiao Fei began to stammer in panic, shaking her head furiously as she desperately denied it. "There must be some mistake! How could I have taken out any loans? I never touch that kind of thing!"
"Think carefully," Xiang Wan urged.
But Xiao Fei continued to shake her head, denying it again and again. "No way! I couldn't have taken out a loan."
Viewers in the chat started speculating:
"Could her husband have secretly taken out loans using her ID?"
"That's possible."
"But don't you need the person's signature for a loan?"
"Don't be so sure. In some shady places, they somehow manage to get 400-500k loans using just your ID without you knowing. The money's spent by someone else, but guess who's left to pay it back? The poor soul whose name is on the ID."
"Scheming, shady men! Her husband must have done it. Ladies, keep your eyes open! Never let your husband or boyfriend know your ID, bank card, or account details. They'll ruin you and leave you high and dry!"
"Speaking from experience here, ladies. My ex-boyfriend took out a 200k loan in my name, then ghosted me when he couldn't pay it back. Now I work three jobs just to pay it off. 200k could have been a down payment on a house in our small town!"
"Oh my gosh! Speaking of this, I have to tell you about my love-struck friend. She was so afraid I'd ruin her 'happily ever after' that she didn't listen to my warnings. She took out a 500k loan to help her boyfriend start a business. Now the business failed, the boyfriend is missing, and she's working with her elderly parents to pay off the debt."
"I'm married with a two-year-old, and my husband's trying to start some business too, even though he has no real skills. He's been bugging me to take out a 150k loan for him. I refused, and now he's giving me the silent treatment at home, trying to pressure me. Well, I won't budge. If this marriage can survive, fine. If not, whatever. But I'll never let him scam me out of my money."
"Girl, stay woke!"
"I've been married for three years and saved up 600k. My parents and husband don't know about it. My husband borrowed money from every relative he could for house renovations, but I didn't put in a single cent. I'm just here for the companionship!"
"You can lie to me, but you can never lie to my money! The only ones I'll spend it on are my kids and my parents."
"That's nothing! I dated a guy for three years, and when we started talking about marriage, he told me his family was poor and couldn't afford a thing. My mom set the bar really low, asking only for the basics—three gold items and 88k in a dowry, which would even include all the wedding expenses. But then he had the nerve to ask me to take out a 100k loan for him, saying we'd pay it off after the wedding. I told him to get lost. Now I'm married to someone from a well-matched family, with 300k in dowry, and we have a beautiful daughter. Thank goodness my ex didn't marry me."
"It's not just husbands—watch out for your own father, too! My dad's chicken farm hit a rough patch, and he asked me to take out a 200k loan to help him. When it was time to repay it, he flat-out refused, saying he didn't have the money. He told me to just let the loan default. He didn't care if it wrecked my credit or ruined my future!"
"Let this be a bloody lesson to everyone: Don't lend money, don't co-sign loans, and don't take out loans, or you'll end up in misery," one of the comments warned.
In the chat, viewers were sharing horror stories about borrowing and lending, treating loans like a plague. They desperately offered personal experiences to warn others, especially the women, not to fall into the same traps. Otherwise, they'd be stuck in debt for life, unable to crawl out of the pit.
Xiang Wan could only remind Xiao Fei, "Did your husband start a business at some point?"
Xiao Fei nodded, clearly remembering. "Yes, my husband's family is quite wealthy. A few years back, my in-laws made a lot of money investing in real estate. The villa we're living in now was bought by them, and they have some savings. My husband didn't have much financial pressure, so from the time I met him, he's always been starting businesses. He opened a bubble tea shop, a hotpot place, a spicy noodle joint, and even a paper mill. None of them lasted long, though."
Xiang Wan wasn't interested in the long list of businesses Xiao Fei's husband had tried. She was only focused on helping Xiao Fei figure out where all that debt came from. "It must be the paper mill. Did he ask you to take out a 500k loan to help with the factory's cash flow issues?"
Xiao Fei suddenly remembered and nodded. "Yes, that did happen. But he paid it back! I was there with him at the bank when we signed off on the final repayment. I personally signed the contract."
If Xiang Wan couldn't see the truth through her ability to read fate, even she might have been fooled by Xiao Fei's husband's facade. "You did go to the bank, but are you sure the person who handled your case was really a bank employee?"
Xiao Fei's face darkened. "Wait, are you saying... the bank manager was someone my husband hired to stage the whole thing?"
Xiang Wan nodded. "That's one way to look at it."
"Unbelievable! What a scumbag!"
"He even went as far as to stage an act! If he used that level of cunning for good, instead of constantly scheming against the wife who bore his children, wouldn't that be something to be proud of?"
"You think someone without a conscience can suddenly develop one?"
"But even if that's true, it still doesn't add up," Xiao Fei said. "My husband only took out 500k in loans under my name. So why are you saying I have over two million in debt?"
Xiang Wan explained, "There's more than one bank that offers loans. Your debt includes, but isn't limited to, high-interest loans, online gambling debts, payday loans, underground small loans, and… nude loans."
"I don't quite get it, but I'm shocked. How could someone tricked into taking out loans unknowingly end up providing nude photos for a loan company?"
Xiang Wan sighed. "Who says nude photos have to be ones you took yourself? Your husband, the man who shares your bed, has had plenty of opportunities to take pictures and videos of you. You know that, right, Xiao Fei?"
Xiao Fei's face turned deathly pale. Those intimate moments she had shared with her husband in their bedroom had now become weapons he used to betray her.
"Scumbag! Scumbag! Scumbag!"
"Wait, is this even possible? Where is Xiao Fei from? I get that shady online loans operate outside the law, but how could a bank process a loan without the person being there? That's illegal, isn't it?"
Xiao Fei's lips trembled as she whispered, "My in-laws… before they retired, they were high-level executives at the local bank…"