Gu Xiyan looked troubled and bit her lip as she said, "Linglong sold her shares in the Face of Jade Group to my grandfather, receiving over ten million yuan. After using that to pay off her father's gambling debts, there should have been more than one million yuan left over, enough to live quite comfortably, but..."
Mu Jinyu's expression darkened slightly as he cut in, "But that one million yuan was gambled away by her dad again? Lost it all?"
Gu Xiyan nodded slightly, her complexion looking poor, "She's sunk so deep, she gambled away all of the remaining money. I feel like I've really let her down."
Mu Jinyu asked, "Didn't her father gamble before?"
Gu Xiyan furrowed her brow and replied, "He did, but his addiction wasn't as severe as now. He's been deceived and ruined by my grandfather, and now he can't escape from it."
Mu Jinyu nodded slightly, understanding Gu Xiyan's thoughts, and said, "So you feel very guilty and want to help her, right?"
"Yes." Gu Xiyan pursed her lips with a sense of helplessness, "The most important thing is, she's now out of money, and her dad still wants to gamble. He's even forcing her to marry a sixty-year-old nouveau riche for some betrothal gifts to keep on gambling. He has really lost his mind, always believing he can turn his luck around..."
"That's just too much," Mu Jinyu said, his brows furrowing instantly upon hearing Gu Xiyan's words.
Mu Jinyu hadn't interacted much with Yu Linglong, but he thought that with her looks, she could totally marry into a good family.
Forcing her to marry an awful sixty-year-old, that was truly a waste of her.
But now, her father had gone mad with his gambling addiction. Knowing that no wealthy, handsome men or rich second-generation heirs would be willing to cover his debts, only older, nouveau riche men would be willing to offer a large dowry to take his daughter off his hands.
Seeing Gu Xiyan's distressed look, Mu Jinyu thought to himself that, for her sake, he couldn't just ignore Yu Linglong's plight.
With a light sigh, Mu Jinyu asked, "Are they still in Haojiang?"
"No," Gu Xiyan shook her head and said, "They've already returned to River City. After all, the nouveau riche her dad knows are all in River City. Who could he know in Haojiang? Even if he did, who would take on that role of a fool?"
"If they're back in River City, then the matter will be much easier to handle."
Mu Jinyu nodded lightly and then asked, "When is her dad planning to sell his daughter?!"
"It's happening tonight!" Gu Xiyan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, her voice grave.
"No wonder you're like this tonight," Mu Jinyu realized, then asked, "Have you eaten?"
"I haven't felt like eating, why?" Gu Xiyan asked with curiosity.
Mu Jinyu said, "If you haven't eaten, let's grab something on the way. We should head over to see Yu Linglong first and help her out of this mess."
Gu Xiyan's expression relaxed considerably, and she replied, "Okay."
All day long, she had been thinking about how to help Yu Linglong. Although she was now the CEO of the Jinyu Group, and Mu Jinyu's woman, she had hardly any money of her own, her salary had not yet been paid, and she couldn't bring herself to use Mu Jinyu's money to cover Yu Linglong's debts. She had been struggling with how to help Yu Linglong.
Even so, she thought that if Yu Linglong was destined to be sold by her father for the betrothal money, rather than to a sixty or seventy-year-old wreck, it might be better to be sold to Mu Jinyu.
After all, Mu Jinyu was also young and handsome.
It's just...
This approach was too awkward.
And Mu Jinyu might not be willing.
Now that Mu Jinyu had agreed to help, she immediately felt a sigh of relief. Although she didn't know how Mu Jinyu would help Yu Linglong, she believed he could pull it off.
As for not having eaten, that wasn't even considered a problem.
Mu Jinyu was unaware of Gu Xiyan's thoughts. He went back to the room, told Wen Rou to rest first, and then left the neighborhood with Gu Xiyan, heading to Yu Linglong's home.
During the drive, Mu Jinyu asked Gu Xiyan to stop the car, found a random restaurant by the roadside, and bought her a portion of fried noodles to tide her over. He suggested they could have a proper meal together after settling Yu Linglong's troubles.
Gu Xiyan quickly finished eating and they hit the road again.
Yu Linglong's home was located in a high-end apartment complex in River City's Southern District. Her father wasn't wealthy and had sold his own place at a low price to get money for gambling, eager to get the cash as soon as possible.
Yu Linglong's apartment was bought with her own earnings. When her father wanted her to sell it for cash, she refused, which was why she still had a place to stay upon her return to River City.
Mu Jinyu had also asked Gu Xiyan why Yu Linglong would be so obedient to her father.
Gu Xiyan explained that Yu Linglong's mother died in a car accident a long time ago and her father had raised her since she was young. He treated her so well that he didn't mind his own hardships; he just didn't want his daughter to lose out to anyone else.
Thus, even though her father was only in his fifties, he looked almost like he was in his seventies.
Therefore, Yu Linglong was very grateful to her father. After earning money, she was very filial to him, buying him almost anything he wanted.
And Father Yu, who had endured hardships for most of his life, was initially not used to such indulgence but began to let himself enjoy a better life after realizing it was his daughter's way of showing filial piety.
Then, he became accustomed to spending money lavishly and, after getting to know some people, he learned to live a life of luxury and excess.
Whenever he wanted money, he would ask Yu Linglong for it.
Although Yu Linglong felt this wasn't right, she also considered how her father had suffered for most of his life for her sake and now it was time for him to be happy and content.
And so, despite earning a considerable amount, Yu Linglong's living conditions became increasingly strained. She would have been fine with that, but unfortunately...
Father Yu was swindled by Gu Zhengxin. What started as casual, leisurely gambling spiraled into a serious addiction at Haojiang Casino. He didn't care how much money he borrowed from friends, believing his next bet would surely turn his luck around.
As a result, he lost over ten million yuan. Initially, he didn't care since his daughter had money.
In the end, Yu Linglong had to sell her company's shares to free him from his debts.
After escaping that trouble, he regretted his actions. But when the urge to gamble struck again, he became desperate to win back what he lost through gambling and then vowed to quit for good.
He started selling off properties and even asked Yu Linglong to sell her apartment. Naturally, she refused. After Father Yu lost all his money, he lured Yu Linglong back to River City under the pretense that he would quit gambling for good. But once back in River City...
He had become so obsessed with gambling that he contacted a nouveau riche who had once offered a dowry of one million yuan if his daughter would marry him. He was preparing to force Yu Linglong into marrying the man.
Yu Linglong, of course, was unwilling, so Father Yu knelt down and threatened her with his life, talking about his hardships, how he had raised her all by himself, how difficult and unbearable it had been.
What else could Yu Linglong do?
Driven to madness, she gave up fighting and agreed to her father's demand.
"It's really hopeless."
Upon hearing Gu Xiyan's words, Mu Jinyu shook his head slightly and commented.
It was unclear whether he was referring to Father Yu or to Yu Linglong.