Chen Cheng raised an eyebrow, wearing a wicked smile, "Borrowing money is possible."

"But why should I?"

"We don't really have any relationship, do we?"

If Jiang Nansun didn't know what he was thinking by now, she might as well just bang her head against a block of tofu and die.

He was just lusting after her body. Jiang Nansun's pretty face flushed red, "I... I will pay you back."

"Heh," Chen Cheng scoffed, "How will you pay me back?"

Jiang Nansun immediately lifted her chin, full of ambition, "I, I won't pursue my PhD. I'll start working as soon as I graduate next year."

As she spoke, Jiang Nansun felt a bit guilty, "Before graduation, I, I can also work part-time."

Chen Cheng smirked, "Do you know how much the annual interest is on twenty million?"

"Even at a discount, based on the benchmark interest rate, it's 900,000 a year."

"What will you use to pay that back?"

Jiang Nansun fell silent, biting her lip in embarrassment.

She couldn't very well say, 'Just don't charge me interest,' could she?

Chen Cheng watched her flushed face, his lips curling upward as he continued to stir the pot, "Besides, I don't think twenty million is enough to redeem your family's house and solve all your problems."

"Your dad, your mom, and you—none of you have ever had a proper job or earned money in your lives."

"The future is the real problem. Do you think you can support your family and pay me back at the same time?"

Looking at his unbridled gaze and mocking expression.

Jiang Nansun became annoyed, "Stop talking sarcastically."

Chen Cheng chuckled; teasing a pretty girl was truly an addictive thing.

Jiang Nansun glared at him, puffing out her cheeks. If looks could kill, Chen Cheng would have died a hundred times over.

After a long while, Chen Cheng reined in his smile, lifted her chin with his hand, and gave her an ambiguous look, "Woman, why don't you just submit to me? Follow me from now on, and I guarantee you'll live in luxury, enjoying the pampered life of Princess Jiang where you're waited on hand and foot."

Jiang Nansun didn't pull away; she widened her eyes, "What do you mean?"

Chen Cheng smiled, "Being kept, of course. What a direct invitation to be kept."

"Little lazy pig, your brain isn't working too well now, is it?"

Being kept? When it came down to it, Jiang Nansun still swallowed nervously.

Although she had tacitly accepted their abnormal relationship the day before yesterday.

But with Chen Cheng pointing it out so directly, Jiang Nansun couldn't quite keep her composure.

Jiang Nansun blushed, "Then do I have to be at your beck and call from now on? And I can't get jealous? In public, do I have to avoid suspicion and keep a safe social distance from you?"

Chen Cheng shook his head, "You don't need to keep it that safe."

"You know my limits; when we're together, I can't guarantee safety."

Jiang Nansun didn't quite catch what he meant by the first sentence.

But at the second, she blushed, rolled her eyes at him, and pouted, "Oh, what time do you think it is? You're still thinking about that dirty business."

"What do you mean 'dirty business'?" Chen Cheng was immediately displeased. He pulled her back into his arms, leaned in close to her lips, and chuckled, "Come, let this master show you whether it counts as dirty business or not."

With that, he kissed Jiang Nansun on the lips. Before long, the two were entangled together.

After hearing Jiang Nansun's explanation, Zhu Suosuo returned to the room to check on Old Madam.

She also knew that Jiang Nansun had gone out to borrow money.

In the end, Zhu Suosuo couldn't help herself; she put on her clothes and went out.

She wanted to ask Chen Cheng to borrow some money to help her good friend in an emergency.

Who knew... Who knew... By the time she arrived by taxi, entered the password to get into the courtyard, and walked to the villa's foyer, she heard faint, seductive sounds.

The sounds seemed to be coming from the living room.

She took a few steps back, looked through the window, and Zhu Suosuo was completely stunned.

She saw her good friend, Jiang Nansun, sitting facing the back of the sofa.

"Nansun~" Zhu Suosuo called out instinctively, then immediately reacted and slipped into a spot where she couldn't be seen from inside.

Jiang Nansun heard the voice, turned her head to look, then looked back at Chen Cheng, her face flushed and her eyes hazy.

"Did you call me?" Chen Cheng shook his head, "You must have misheard."

"Is that so?" Jiang Nansun frowned slightly. Chen Cheng rolled his eyes at her and patted her, "Focus, aren't you afraid of falling?"

"Oh~" Jiang Nansun's blush deepened, and she muttered softly.

Standing outside the door, Zhu Suosuo was almost crying from anxiety. Even if she were stupid, she had realized by now that Nansun had come here to borrow money.

But how could he be like this? Isn't this taking advantage of someone in a desperate situation?

Zhu Suosuo couldn't hold it back; tears began to fall drop by drop.

She didn't know how long she cried, but she noticed that her good friend Nansun was crying too.

This bastard didn't even know how to be gentle.

In less than an hour, Zhu Suosuo's legs went numb from waiting, and her legs gave out, causing her to sit on the ground.

Hearing the two of them go upstairs, Zhu Suosuo left the courtyard, crying and laughing at the same time.

Gently closing the courtyard gate, Zhu Suosuo stood under the courtyard wall, looking at the lit room on the second floor, and muttered, "This is good too; it's better than letting Nansun hang herself on that crooked tree called Zhang Anren."

As she spoke, a smile appeared on Zhu Suosuo's tear-streaked face, "At least, she doesn't have to worry about money anymore."

A flush rose on Zhu Suosuo's face, "And I can fight side-by-side with Nansun in the future."

As she thought about it, Zhu Suosuo felt a sudden poetic urge coming on. She immediately pressed her legs together and glanced toward the direction of Jiang Nansun's house at the end of the alley.

She blinked, squeezed her legs together, and ran over with small, quick steps.

Another forty-plus minutes passed.

Jiang Nansun lay on Chen Cheng's chest, her eyes hazy, breathing out hot air.

Chen Cheng's lips curled up slightly, "Is it still 'dirty business'?"

The blush that had just faded slightly from Jiang Nansun's face surged back to her cheeks.

But she had no strength to speak; she gathered her remaining energy, lifted her arm, and pinched him with the lightest possible force to show her protest.

Chen Cheng burst into laughter, and Jiang Nansun sulked, puffing out her cheeks.

Isn't it said that girls are just a bit inexperienced the first time?

And afterwards, it's 'only the ox that gets tired, never the field that gets plowed'?

But... what about me... what's going on? Jiang Nansun was too embarrassed to say it out loud.

She gave a flirtatious eye-roll at the smug Chen Cheng.

After laughing for a while, Chen Cheng reined in his smile, frowned slightly, and said, "For this matter, you need to follow my advice."

Hearing that he was going to talk about serious business, Jiang Nansun immediately perked up, lifted her chin, and looked at the Great Handsome Guy.

"First, you want twenty million, and I'll give it to you."

"However, you cannot redeem your family's house."

"It can only be used to pay off non-bank debts."

Jiang Nansun widened her eyes, "Why?"

Chen Cheng smiled, "It's that simple. If I solve the debt for your dad, your old life will remain unchanged."

"How long do you think he can refrain from gambling?"

Chen Cheng had already told her about this issue before; Jiang Nansun's face immediately stiffened.

She sighed, "Then we're just going to give up on our house?"