Chapter 189: It's Too Late to Call Me Big Brother Now
For the first time in his life, Henry held the hand of a stranger, a girl, and it felt a bit strange. Bella's hand was soft, and her fragrance did elicit some response from Henry's body, but he couldn't shake the feeling that she was a student version of Victoria. Even if she didn't end up working as a prostitute, she might still be destined to cheat on her husband in the future.
Despite these thoughts, Henry held Bella's hand firmly, hoping to give her strength and perhaps change her outlook on life after resolving this issue.
The four thugs behind them blocked their way back. With Bella in between, Ivy noticed their path was blocked and whispered to Henry, "Uncle, those guys are following us."
Henry glanced at her and saw her looking at him seriously, seemingly unaware that calling him "Uncle" was inappropriate. Despite her calm exterior, she was clearly panicking; otherwise, she wouldn't have called Henry "Uncle."
First impressions matter, and Ivy had saved Henry's number as "Uncle" in her phone. In her moment of panic, "Uncle" naturally came to mind.
Henry smiled and continued walking forward, holding Bella's hand.
Bella clung to Henry's hand, trembling more with each step.
The guys who got beaten up yesterday were ahead of them. The leader from yesterday pointed at Henry and whispered something to the older guy next to him. This older guy, who looked about the same age as Sean, around twenty-five or twenty-six, had a cigar in his mouth and a cocky, who-the-hell-are-you look on his face.
As Henry and the girls approached, the older guy didn't even glance at Henry. He asked the guy who got beaten up yesterday, "Which girl owes us money?"
The guy pointed at Bella, who instinctively tried to hide behind Henry.
The older guy snorted, flicked the ash from his cigar dramatically, and said, "Don't you know that debts must be repaid?"
Bella, hearing this, immediately let go of Ivy's arm and grabbed Henry's hand with both of hers, pressing her small chest against his arm. This soft touch filled Henry with a surge of heroic spirit!
At that moment, Henry had no impure thoughts, only a single idea: to protect the weak.
"Big brother," Henry said calmly, "Debts should indeed be repaid, and a reasonable amount of interest is acceptable, but the interest shouldn't be too high."
The guy who got beaten up yesterday snapped, "It's too late to call him big brother now!"
He gestured to his buddies behind him.
"Hmm?" The older guy glanced at him, then took a couple of puffs from his cigar, pretending to notice Henry for the first time. "Little brother, how do you propose we settle this?"
Henry replied, "She only borrowed 5,000 yuan, and it hasn't even been six months. You wouldn't agree to bank interest rates, so how about 5,500 yuan?"
The guy who got beaten up yesterday sneered, "5,500 yuan? Are you kidding me?"
The older guy waved his hand to silence him and said to Henry, "From your accent, it sounds like you're planning to pay her debt?"
Henry nodded.
"Alright!" The older guy gave Henry his phone number, saying it was the same for WeChat, and told Henry to transfer the money.
The other thugs were puzzled but remained silent.
Henry saw that the older guy's WeChat name was Owen, thinking it was a nickname, but it turned out to be his real name. It seemed his father was a football fan!
As Henry was about to transfer the money, Ivy suddenly said, "Wait! Show us my friend's IOU."
Despite her nervousness, Ivy had the presence of mind to ask for the IOU, showing she was a smart girl.
The guy who got beaten up sneered at Ivy, but Owen told him to take out the IOU.
Reluctantly, the guy complied and handed the IOU to Owen, who crumpled it and threw it at Bella.
The paper ball fell to the ground, and Bella didn't dare pick it up.
Ivy picked it up, unfolded it, and showed it to Bella, who nodded.
Ivy then looked at Henry, indicating the IOU was genuine.
Henry transferred the money to Owen and said, "Thank you, big brother."
After receiving the notification, Owen looked at Henry and said, "Got it."
Bella, hearing this, quickly pulled on Henry's hand, ready to leave. Owen then asked, "This girl's debt is settled, but what about ours?"
Henry smiled, having anticipated this move. Otherwise, they wouldn't have agreed so easily.
His buddies understood now. With the interest so high, if they pushed too hard and the police got involved, it wouldn't end well for them.
Owen wasn't talking about the loan anymore but the beating his buddies took yesterday, leaving Henry in a difficult position.
Henry smiled, "Let's settle their debt first and let them return to school."
Owen shook his head, "If I'm not mistaken, the girl on the far right is your girlfriend, right? You're standing up for your girlfriend's friend. Unless you meet our conditions, we'll have to take your girlfriend as collateral."
Owen had deduced that, although Bella was holding Henry's hand tightly, the composed Ivy seemed more like Henry's girlfriend.
If Bella were Henry's girlfriend, he would have intervened long before last night.
Ivy blushed, wanting to retort, "Who is his girlfriend?" but held back.
Her first thought wasn't that she liked Henry but that if these guys thought Henry was her boyfriend, they wouldn't dare mess with her again if Henry dealt with them today.
Henry asked, "How much do you want?"
Owen took a puff of his cigar, "Yesterday, you beat up eleven of my brothers. I won't extort you. One thousand per brother, totaling eleven thousand."
What the hell?
They initially asked Bella for four thousand, and now they wanted eleven thousand, claiming it wasn't extortion?
Ivy snapped, "Eleven thousand? Why don't you rob a bank? And our classmates were hurt worse than your guys yesterday. What about that?"
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