The Past

Feeling like her mother misunderstood the situation, she quickly corrected, "No, it's not like that. It's just a hypothetical situation. Would it help if I said I was asking on behalf of a classmate? She said she was raped and feared her boyfriend would hate her. Do you think he would?"

Shen Xi looked up at her mother expectantly.

Lu Shan was taken aback. A possibility formed in her mind when she remembered what Shen Xi had said about Jiang Xue owing a debt. Could those loan sharks have foisted that debt on Shen Xi? Panicking, Lu Shan pressed for an answer, "Xixi, you... You aren't talking about yourself, are you?"

"No, no! I'm not," Shen Xi denied in an instant.

Lu Shan remained skeptical. She took a deep breath and said to Shen Xi, "Xixi, tell me the truth. Is someone blackmailing you?"

Shen Xi was at a loss for words, not knowing how to respond to Lu Shan's abrupt question.