Achieving A Happy Ending With The Tragic Female Lead [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 55

Lin Nanyue was afraid her grandmother would ask more questions, so she stepped forward to distract her. “Grandma, why didn’t you bring your phone when you went out? I couldn’t find you at all.”

Her grandmother pointed to the groceries she had just set down. “I knew you were coming back, so I went to the market to get some vegetables and even bought a fish. Look, I’ll make fish soup for you both at noon. I forgot the phone and left it there. I’ll definitely remember next time.”

Having lived in this small town her whole life, Grandma had never learned the ways of modern mobile payments; she still preferred carrying cash when going out.

Midway through her sentence, Grandma suddenly thought of something and asked the two of them, “Have you had breakfast yet? I can cook something for you. How about some noodles?”

Hearing this, Lin Nanyue and Su Mi quickly declined, stating they were already full.

As for how they were full, they couldn’t and didn’t dare, say.

Lin Nanyue took the vegetables her grandmother bought into the kitchen to wash them, while Su Mi was left behind to chat with her.

Grandma asked her several questions. Upon learning that Su Mi worked as a university professor, her originally kind face gained a few more hints of respect, she was delighted that her granddaughter had made such a friend.

Su Mi rarely saw the elders in her own family, so she had very little experience interacting with seniors. It was mostly Grandma asking and Su Mi answering. As Grandma grew more talkative and happy, Su Mi became slightly stiff.

In the end, it was Lin Nanyue calling her grandmother away into the kitchen that temporarily rescued her.

Now free, Su Mi didn’t squeeze into the tiny kitchen. She originally wanted to take out her phone, but remembered she had left it charging in Lin Nanyue’s room upstairs. Instead, she wandered out into the courtyard.

The sky seemed a bit darker than before, looking as though a storm was brewing.

From her angle, she was facing the kitchen window. She could see Lin Nanyue inside, head bowed, talking to her grandmother, while Grandma looked quite worried.

After a while, as if sensing something, Lin Nanyue looked out the window and met Su Mi’s eyes. The gloom on her face vanished instantly, and she gave her a smile.

Su Mi saw her say something to her grandmother before washing her hands and walking out of the kitchen toward her.

“If you’re bored, you can sit in the living room, or go to my room?” Lin Nanyue said with a smile.

“Either is fine.” Su Mi felt that staying anywhere was much the same; what mattered was where she was.

Hearing her answer, Lin Nanyue suddenly burst out laughing. Su Mi gave her a calm look. “What are you laughing at?”

“Professor Su, were you always this easygoing?” Previously, when Lin Nanyue looked at the rumors, true or false, about Professor Su, there was only one thing everyone agreed was genuine.

And that was that Professor Su was not easy to talk to, regardless of whether you were a man or a woman.

But Su Mi was clearly unaware of this reputation. “Why do you say that?”

Lin Nanyue took out her phone, wanting to show her Professor Su’s reputation in the outside world.

Just as she unlocked it, a WeChat message popped up. The sender was labeled “Mom,” and several messages came in a row.

The smile on Lin Nanyue’s face vanished instantly. She pursed her lips and withdrew her hand, hesitating before clicking the messages.

“If you don’t want to look at them now, then don’t,” Su Mi added after a thought. “Or give it to me, and I’ll look for you.”

Ultimately, Lin Nanyue didn’t give it to her but opened the app herself.

They were several consecutive voice messages.

Before this, out of respect for her privacy, Su Mi deliberately stepped away to go upstairs and retrieve her own phone.

Lin Nanyue watched Su Mi’s back disappear around the corner of the stairs before clicking the voice messages.

“Yueyue, Yueyue, hurry… come help your father and brother! Those people have come to the door…”

“Those people are so fierce, come quickly, Mama is scared.”

“This is your father and brother, just do it for Mama, okay?”

“Yueyue, Mama is begging you…”

Hearing these messages, Lin Nanyue’s face turned pale. Her fingers gripped the phone so hard they turned white.

Su Mi, who had returned with her phone, came back to Lin Nanyue’s side. Seeing her poor complexion, she asked, “What happened?”

Lin Nanyue looked up at her, appearing hesitant. “Professor Su, do you want to visit the market here? I’ll let Grandma take you, it’s just…”

Su Mi’s expression suddenly turned cold as she called her by her full name. “Lin Nanyue, were the words I said last night for nothing?”

Lin Nanyue immediately fell silent, but the worry on her face was becoming harder to hide.

Seeing this, Su Mi took a deep breath, filled with a trace of helplessness. She tried her best to control her emotions and tone: “Didn’t I say that if anything happens, you can tell me? We can find a solution together.”

Lin Nanyue felt guilty seeing her like this. As if making a decision, she gave a self-deprecating smile: “Just now, Grandma was worried whether my father and brother would get into more trouble, and now something really has happened…”

“I might not have told you in detail, but I have a father who is a gambling addict.” Lin Nanyue couldn’t help but bite her lip. “My mom just messaged me. The debt collectors have gone to the house for money.”

“Do you want to go over and see?” Su Mi asked directly.

“I… I’m worried about my mother,” Lin Nanyue’s voice lacked confidence. “Her health isn’t good, I’m afraid she’ll be too frightened.”

“And you won’t be frightened if you go?” Su Mi frowned.

Lin Nanyue argued softly, “I’m not that fragile.”

Su Mi: “If you want to go, fine. I’ll call the police now and go with you.”

“We can’t call the police,” Lin Nanyue said, shaking her head. “The police can’t really do anything about this kind of thing. At most, they’ll be detained for a few days, and then they might retaliate even harder next time.”

Furthermore, she felt that Professor Su, who had lived in a glamorous world since childhood, must never have seen this kind of urban chaos. She didn’t know if a newly established relationship could withstand such a shock.

Su Mi saw her hesitation. Such a reaction was normal, after all, they had only recently opened up to each other. The most direct way to gain someone’s trust was through actual action.

While they were talking, Lin Nanyue received a few more messages from her mother.

Lin Nanyue hurriedly played them near her ear.

“Yueyue, your father has no other choice. He’s bringing those people to find you now. Are you at your grandmother’s house?”

“Yueyue, please reply.”

If Lin Nanyue had been somewhat calm before, she was truly panicked now.

Lin Nanyue couldn’t help but send a voice message back: “Grandma is still here! Do you really want to drag her into this too?”

Su Mi heard the content of the message this time. Her voice was steady and calm: “If those people are on their way, then the most important thing right now is to let Grandma leave first.”

Lin Nanyue knew she was right. She stood in place, forcing herself to calm down, then turned into the house to find her grandmother.

A moment later, Grandma came out, wiping her hands on her apron. “…If you want to eat it, I’ll go buy it. You and Teacher Su stay at home. Teacher Su, go inside and rest.”

Su Mi smiled and nodded to her.

Lin Nanyue forced a smile as she saw her grandmother out of the courtyard, not returning until she had disappeared down a small path.

“The shop I sent Grandma to is at the very edge of town, in the opposite direction from where they are coming.”

In short, Grandma would not encounter them on the road.

Su Mi curled her lips and praised her: “Very smart.” As she spoke, she raised her hand and checked the time on her watch.

Lin Nanyue, praised like a child, was in no mood to savor the affection. She was still worried, thinking about telling Professor Su to hide as well, but she felt those words would definitely upset her, so she didn’t speak.

Su Mi caught the whole scene.

Su Mi’s fingers ran through her long black hair, gently patting her head. “It’s okay. I’m here.”

They stood at the door waiting. Soon, they saw a black business van driving up from not far away. The driver parked horizontally right on the small platform in front of Grandma’s house, the tires making a piercing screech against the ground.

When the car door opened, a tall, thin man got out first. Then, Lin’s father and brother were pushed out of the car. Both staggered several steps before finding their footing.

A sycophantic smile was on Lin’s father’s face, but the moment he turned and saw Lin Nanyue, it turned into something distorted. He pointed at her and said, “Brother Liu, this is my daughter. She’s a student at C University and works in the big city now. If you want money, you can find her! If all else fails, I can even use her as collateral!”

He spoke as if his daughter were nothing more than his property.

Lin’s brother echoed, “Right, my sister has money and she’s beautiful.”

Lin Nanyue was already used to this and had long been immune to such words, her face showed little expression.

Su Mi’s face, however, grew colder, and her gaze toward the Lin father and son was practically frozen.

The man called Brother Liu finally got out of the car. Unlike the typical image in movies, this Brother Liu was dressed in a suit and tie. His face didn’t look fierce, but his narrow eyes made one’s skin crawl when he stared.

“What are you saying? We are a legitimate company, we don’t do that kind of business.”

Despite his words, his eyes didn’t stop sizing up Lin Nanyue.

“Little sister, it’s only natural to pay back what you owe. We didn’t force your father and brother to borrow, right? You decide how to settle this.”

Just as Lin Nanyue was about to step forward, Su Mi pulled her back.

“Whoever borrowed it is the one you should find,” Su Mi said indifferently. “The fingerprints and signatures on the loan contract should clearly state who the borrower is.”

The tall, thin man sneered. “We understand that logic, too. But if the old man can’t pay, then naturally we look to his kids. If no one can pay, that’s fine too, we have some new contracts here you can look at. There’s always a way.”

Su Mi: “So, you aren’t willing to listen to reason?”

The debt collectors acted as if they had just heard a joke and sneered:

“Hey, are you planning to call the police? Whatever. We haven’t stolen or robbed anything. Even if the police come, they can’t do anything to us.”

They spoke with utter fearlessness.

However, this pride didn’t last long. Brother Liu, who hadn’t spoken much, suddenly turned his back to take a phone call.

When he turned back, the playful smirk on his face was gone. He patted the people beside him, signaling them to grab the father and son and put them back in the car.

“Brother, what’s going on?”

“Just do what I say. Why ask so many questions? Do you want to ask the police what’s going on when you’re in a police car later?”

Hearing Brother Liu say this, the lackeys didn’t dare say another word and scrambled to catch the two.

The confused Lin father and son showed looks of terror.

“Wait, Brother Liu! Brother Liu, listen to me! My daughter really has money, she can give it to you!” Seeing Brother Liu unmoved, Lin’s father suddenly turned to Lin Nanyue with a look of murderous resentment. “Lin Nanyue, you heartless beast! Can’t you see your father is in trouble?!”

Foul insults poured out endlessly, even drawing a few neighbors out to peek.

The first thing Lin Nanyue did when she heard those words was look at Su Mi. She didn’t want Professor Su to hear this. But in the next second, she felt her ears covered by a pair of warm hands.

She looked up into Su Mi’s slightly lowered gaze and saw her mouth the words:

Don’t listen.

Lin Nanyue’s eyes grew hot; she was clearly the one who wanted the other person not to listen.

The Lin father and son were eventually stuffed into the car. Once the door closed, most of the noise was muffled, and the world suddenly became much quieter.

Brother Liu walked over and said with a smile, “I’m sorry. I just thought about it, and we were indeed in the wrong. Of course, we should go to the person who owes the money. We definitely won’t trouble anyone else besides the two debtors again. Sorry for the scare today. How about I host a dinner for you both to clear up this misunderstanding?”

Su Mi didn’t even turn her head. “Since it was a misunderstanding, let it end here. Please leave.”

Brother Liu clearly understood the hint to leave. He didn’t say more, turned around, and sat in the passenger seat.

The group left as quickly as they had arrived.

Lin Nanyue hadn’t even reacted, but she knew Su Mi must have had a hand in this.

She grabbed Su Mi’s hands that were still over her ears and asked anxiously, “What did you do? You didn’t help them pay the debt, did you?”

Su Mi laughed softly. “Do I look like a philanthropist?”

Lin Nanyue pressed, “Then what happened? Why did they leave so suddenly?”

Su Mi was silent for a moment, as if thinking about how to explain.

“First, I have to tell you that I investigated your family situation beforehand without your permission, so I know a few things. I was already contacting people before this happened, and the negotiation just succeeded.”

In reality, the resources belonged to Su Mi’s parents’ generation. Since she currently wasn’t involved in the family business and held no real power, she had simply borrowed her parents’ influence to ask for a favor.

Organizations that can survive in broad daylight usually have some form of protection. If you peel back the layers, you might find some very influential people.

Fortunately, the help Su Mi wanted was a minor matter that wouldn’t affect many people’s interests. Moreover, it was a favor, so the other party agreed much faster than she had imagined.

In the original plot, it was the male lead who helped Lin Nanyue pay off the debt. This only fueled the greed of the Lin father and son, making their subsequent borrowing even more reckless, which eventually became the final straw that broke Lin Nanyue.

What Su Mi did was cut off the source.

After explaining, Su Mi added, “This is what I told you before. I might have a side of me you don’t know. Do you find me scary for prying into your life like this?”

From a rational standpoint, Lin Nanyue felt she should find such behavior scary and invasive.

Su Mi surely had excuses she could have used, yet she spoke so frankly.

And aside from shock, Lin Nanyue couldn’t find much trace of anger.

It’s over… Lin Nanyue thought, pursing her lips. It seemed she, too, was a “love brain.”