Chapter 7

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The audience remained silent while Alice still felt guilty about her brother.

At this moment, there was a lot of pain and confusion in Thompson’s heart.

He did not know when his wife had asked her brother for money, nor did he understand why Alice had asked her brother for money. He knew nothing of it.

It was all Thomson’s fault. He used to be a powerful businessman and could have anything he wanted. Money was never his worry.

However, he was eventually so sick of living that life that he wanted to return to an ordinary life instead.

His life became so ordinary that he wanted to cut himself off from that luxurious life he once led. He felt that he had enjoyed too much of the finer things in life.

Hence, he had no intention of presenting himself as rich.

Not to mention money, but he was even more ordinary than those in the most ordinary working class. He enjoyed his life so much that he could not care less about money anymore. 

He had even forgotten that no matter what kind of life he wanted to live, money was the most basic survival need.

This was what made Alice feel distressed. Although her family was not particularly rich, they were very well-to-do. Her parents had a four-wheeled drive and two houses. 

With these living conditions, Alice’s parents did not expect a lot of her other half, as long as he could support their daughter and give her a happy life.

In fact, this request was not difficult to achieve.

As long as Alice told Thomson what her parents asked of him, he could easily appease them. After all, the main point was that Alice and Thomson were in love.

Alice preconceived from Thomson’s life that he was not a rich man and could not meet the parents’ requirements. Hence, that was why Alice’s parents assumed that Thomson was not worthy of their daughter and tried to stop them from seeing each other.

Thomson would be at a loss for words if he knew about this.

With his ability, he could use all kinds of ways to achieve these requirements. For example, he could say he won a lottery or that his boss valued him so much that he was given a promotion and a raise.

The ways were too simple.

Regardless, Alice’s parents had already regarded Thomson as a poor man who could not provide their daughter any future.

Suddenly, the host approached the two of them.

Having heard Alice’s conversation with her brother and found out that she had already borrowed money from him once, he thought this story would make a hot topic that could increase the viewership ratings.

Therefore, the host asked Alice, “Your brother mentioned in the call that you had already borrowed money from him once. What was the reason for that?”

The host’s words immediately grabbed the audience’s attention. They were also very eager to know the reason.

Alice looked at Thomson’s puzzled expression, and because she did not want to embarrass him further, she replied, “It’s nothing. I invested in something a while ago and the capital was a little insufficient, so I borrowed some money from my brother.”

However, that was not on her mind at all. She looked at the countdown instead and realized that time was ticking away, yet there was still no progress.

If they did not get the prize money, she would not only lose the competition but her and Thomson’s bright future as well. 

At this thought, Alice could not care less. She ignored the host and lowered her head to look through her contact list. For the sake of getting the money, she made one phone call after another.

“Hello, is this Mary? This is Alice. I’ve encountered some problems with my investment recently, so I was thinking if I could borrow some money from you? Please believe me. I’ll return it to you in a few days.”

“Is this Lily? I’ve encountered some problems, and I wanted to ask if you’d be able to help me?”

“Uncle Mike, I want to ask you for a favor.”

“Alice, you’re too late. My friend’s daughter just borrowed 50,000 dollars from me today because of school. I really don’t have any money now. I’ll call you in a few days when I have that money, okay? I’m a little busy, but I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Ah, I just went to the mall to buy a bag today. It cost me a month’s salary, and you know I don’t have the habit of saving money. When I get paid next month, I’ll definitely help you with this.”

“I’ve warned you before. When you have money, you have to learn how to manage your finances and invest. Don’t just spend and not think about saving. Look at you now! I’ve just placed my money in an investment agency, so there’s nothing I can do to help now.”

“Alice, the two of us are good sisters. Ever since you got together with that Thomson, I’ve advised you more than once not to date a pauper like him. You’re so beautiful, your family is well-to-do, and you used to have many handsome men pursuing you. I really don’t know what you see in Thomson. Sigh, it makes me sad.”

With time, Alice made more and more phone calls.

People said all kinds of things and gave all sorts of reasons and excuses, but in the end, none of them were willing to lend her money.

However, that was not the worst of it. Some people even added insult to injury. If they were unwilling to lend her money, then so be it, but they even took this opportunity to criticize Alice. Listening to it made the audience’s blood boil, but Alice just ignored all of it and kept making the phone calls.

Some of the audience could not stand it any longer.

“Who are these people? If they want to lend her the money, then do it. If they don’t want to, then don’t. Just say it and leave it at that. Don’t waste her time.”

“This shows the ugly side of friendship. When a friend encounters difficulties, they hide as far away as possible. I feel embarrassed for this woman.”

Some of the audience could not believe that Thomson, as a man, would allow a woman to do all the work. They could not stop mocking him.

“He’s crossing his arms and watching his wife suffer. Sigh, how is he considered a man?”

“What kind of attitude is this? It’s as if his lover’s anxiety is none of his business. Is he always this cowardly? Sigh, I really feel bad for this lady. He’s not worth your time and effort.”

Thomson felt very uncomfortable too. 

He did not like to see his wife put in such a difficult position, but he was also in a difficult position.

There were so many phone numbers in his contact list, but none of them were appropriate for him to call. 

Alice flipped through the address book again and again before finally, her gaze stopped at her father’s name. With a tap of her finger, she dialed the number.

Mr. Gates, who was in the office building, had just finished his meeting. He asked, “Did anyone call me during the meeting?”