CHAPTER 543: CHAPTER 538: XU HE’S PANIC

Qin Qin sighs silently upon hearing that Fang Pingying gave birth to twins, then she feels that she lost her composure and smilingly looks at Fang Pingying, saying, "I really couldn’t tell, I thought you weren’t married."

Fang Pingying responded with a smile, "I’ve been married for several years already."

Since Qin Qin had found out that Fang Pingying was already married with children, she no longer had any other expectations regarding Fang Pingying, and started chatting with her about children, recounting stories from when Tingting was young.

Fang Pingying found the old lady quite talkative, devoid of the delicate airs usually found in wealthy families or the habit of disliking others. She was quite willing to keep the old lady company in conversation.

Sitting aside, Liu Fengsheng didn’t speak a word, but inside, he felt extremely disappointed.

The reason he had brought Fang Pingying to his home today, of course, the most important matter was about Fang Pingying’s loan request. But there was also a small hope he harbored, to let his family meet Fang Pingying and leave a good impression on them.

Initially, Fang Pingying had clarified their relationship very seriously, then she specifically mentioned that she was already married and had children, even purposely not bringing up the fact she had divorced. He could see Fang Pingying’s intention was basically to draw a clear line between them.

Yet, disappointed though he was, certain feelings once rooted within the heart are hard to eradicate, and Liu Fengsheng wasn’t the type to easily retreat upon encountering setbacks, especially not in matters of the heart.

After coming to terms with it, a slight smile crept over his lips, and he joined in the conversation between Fang Pingying and Qin Qin.

About half an hour later, Liu Fengsheng’s father, Liu Shilang, came downstairs.

Liu Shilang, of average build, had features somewhat resembling Liu Fengsheng, but he carried an intense seriousness and imposing aura, truly befitting a significant figure.

After descending the stairs, he surveyed the living room, his voice edged with severity, "Liu Fengsheng, you asked me to wait for you at home today because you had business matters to discuss, is loitering around laughing with a group of women what you meant by business matters?"

"Father, it’s business," Liu Fengsheng responded with some embarrassment to Liu Shilang’s words, coughed dryly to signal Fang Pingying to join him, then introduced her, "This is my friend, she’s interested in acquiring a piece of land and urgently needs funds."

Fang Pingying slightly bowed to Liu Shilang, greeting him simply, "Chairman Liu, hello."

Liu Shilang hadn’t expected that the friend mentioned by Liu Fengsheng would be a woman. His sharp gaze swept over Fang Pingying, then he said, "Come upstairs to talk."

Liu Shilang spoke very succinctly and decisively.

Once upstairs, he had Fang Pingying show him the loan documents, assessed the risk, and gave the typical answer any other bank would give, limiting how much she could borrow due to risk concerns that couldn’t be shouldered by any single individual.

In fact, after knowing that Liu Fengsheng was taking her to see his father, Fang Pingying didn’t hold much hope for the loan to be approved.

She didn’t know why, perhaps because she felt Liu Fengsheng never really considered her a friend, and she didn’t want to owe him favors.

She’d rather turn to others, trying different banks multiple times.

Thus, she wasn’t disappointed, but merely smiled faintly at Liu Shilang, then took back her documents, saying, "Uncle Liu, thank you for your trouble today."

After bidding farewell to Liu Shilang, she also said to Liu Fengsheng, "Brother Liu, thank you for today as well, I should be going."

With that, she prepared to take her leave.

But Liu Fengsheng called out, "Wait, Pingying."

Then, hurriedly to Liu Shilang, he said, "Dad, I mentioned her situation to you yesterday. Given her current assets and the land she wants to develop, borrowing another hundred thousand or so isn’t too big of an issue, otherwise, I wouldn’t have specifically brought her here for your help."

Liu Shilang seemed lost in thought, staring at Liu Fengsheng for several seconds with a complex expression in his eyes, but Fang Pingying sensed that Liu Shilang’s mood wasn’t too bad.

Sure enough, after a while, Liu Shilang glanced at Fang Pingying and said, "Did I say I wasn’t going to help? I meant under normal circumstances; Miss Fang is just being too impatient."

He glanced down at Fang Pingying’s documents again, then looked up at her and said, "Here’s what we’ll do, Miss Fang, prepare a business plan for the land you wish to develop, bring it to my bank first thing tomorrow morning, and I’ll give you my response after reviewing the plan."

"Alright," Fang Pingying felt more reassured this way, with proper business procedures, and immediately agreed, "Thank you for your help, Uncle Liu."

Liu Shilang briefly advised her on what to focus on in her business plan, and then Fang Pingying stood up to leave, "Then, Chairman Liu, Brother Liu, I’ll leave now. I still need to prepare the business plan."

Liu Fengsheng instantly stood up, "Shall I go back with you?"

Fang Pingying shook her head in refusal, "No need, it’s the weekend, Brother Liu, you should just stay home and keep your parents company. I can find my way back alone."

Seeing that Fang Pingying insisted, Liu Fengsheng did not press further, escorting her out of the neighborhood and hailed a cab to see her off.

In the taxi, Fang Pingying sarcastically laughed to herself, mocked her own belated realization; she had always considered people as friends, but they probably had been wary of her all along.

Or perhaps, Liu Fengsheng didn’t harbor those thoughts, but regardless, Fang Pingying didn’t like the sensation of being deceived.

Even if, like Li Aihua thought, there was potential for development between her and Liu Fengsheng, this incident made her feel that there was no future prospects, especially since she had never had any thoughts about Liu Fengsheng in the first place.

Without overthinking, she simply went straight home.

While Fang Pingying was busy in her eventful household, the Luo Family were looking distinctly troubled.

And the person most troubled was Xu He.

Counting the days, it had been over ten days since she was due for her period. Initially, she wasn’t too concerned, as this had always been irregular for her, sometimes early, sometimes late.

But what frightened her was that ten days had passed, not only had her period not arrived, but for the past two mornings, she felt an inexplicable severe nausea.

Even though Xu He had never been pregnant or had children, she often heard people talk about these symptoms, and given her past experiences, she was panicky, fearing that she might be pregnant with the baby of a high-interest loan shark.

Based on the timing, she could gather that if indeed she was pregnant, then the child could only be the high-interest loan shark’s, as she and Luo Zhiming hadn’t been together for at least a month recently.

With the family constantly arguing over debts, it was troubling enough without her having to deal with this situation.