"Who are you people?"

Seeing the aggressive men barging in, Chen Yinuo instinctively pulled Ye Youyou behind her and frowned as she asked.

"If I told you we're here to distribute wealth, would you believe me?"

The leader of the group sneered as his eyes roamed over Chen Yinuo.

"You're here for Ye Chen, aren't you?"

Under the leader's gaze, Chen Yinuo unconsciously took a step back.

The leader didn't answer her question. Instead, he smirked coldly and turned to Ye Chen.

"College boy, you thought ignoring our calls would make us go away? You're overdue by an entire week. Including interest, it's 270,000 yuan now. Time to pay up!"

"He owes you 270,000 yuan?"

Chen Yinuo couldn't believe it as she pointed at Ye Chen and turned to the man.

"That's right. You're his wife, aren't you? So, as his wife, shouldn't you help your husband shoulder the burden?"

The leader gave her a wicked grin, stepping forward toward her.

"If you dare lay a hand on my wife, I swear I'll take you down even if it kills me!"

Seeing the man move toward Chen Yinuo, Ye Chen grabbed an empty beer bottle from the floor and roared with all his might.

At that moment, memories from his past life played vividly in his mind.

In his previous life, this exact debt collection incident marked the start of his descent into darkness.

That day, he had cowered like a beaten dog, silently watching as Chen Yinuo was harassed. He didn't dare say a word.

By the end, beaten bloody and kneeling, he begged for mercy, and they reluctantly granted him an extension of one week to repay the debt.

After the debt collectors left, he, who had always refused to divorce, finally signed the divorce papers Chen Yinuo presented.

But faced with a debt of 270,000 yuan, even a hundred weeks wouldn't have been enough for him to scrape that amount together.

A week passed in the blink of an eye, and just as he was about to pack up and flee, the collectors caught him before he could even leave.

What puzzled him for half a year afterward was that, after giving him another savage beating, the debt collectors let him go.

Not long after, Chen Yinuo remarried a bald, middle-aged corporate executive, taking Ye Youyou with her.

This pushed Ye Chen into utter hatred. He believed the divorce was just an excuse for her to run off with someone rich!

It wasn't until six months after Chen Yinuo and Ye Youyou died alongside that bald man in a fire that Ye Chen learned the truth.

Back then, the debt collectors had called Chen Yinuo, threatening to kill Ye Chen if she didn't pay up.

Desperate to save him, Chen Yinuo had borrowed money from the bald executive, her longtime pursuer, agreeing to marry him in return for the money to pay Ye Chen's debt.

After the remarriage, however, the man's abusive and controlling nature surfaced. His violent outbursts even dragged four-year-old Ye Youyou into the nightmare.

In utter despair, one night Chen Yinuo drugged the man's drink with sleeping pills and set the house on fire, perishing in the flames alongside Ye Youyou.

Ye Chen only learned all this six months later. Only then did he realize the truth—that it was him, his selfishness and recklessness, that had destroyed his wife and daughter.

If not for saving him, Chen Yinuo wouldn't have sought help from that man. If she hadn't borrowed money, she wouldn't have married him. And without that marriage, the tragedy would never have happened.

Now, fate had given Ye Chen a second chance, taking him back before all the tragedies began. He swore not to let history repeat itself.

"You think waving a beer bottle around scares anyone? Do you seriously believe debtors are kings?"

The leader stopped his advance toward Chen Yinuo, his face dark with fury, and marched toward Ye Chen.

"Teach him a lesson. Let's remind this punk how to behave before we talk about the money!"

At his command, the gang of thugs launched a vicious assault, punching and kicking Ye Chen.

Though Ye Chen in his previous life had trained himself in combat after gaining success, becoming formidable even against seasoned fighters, his current body was weak and frail from years of neglect. Even with all his skills, his physical condition left him defenseless.

"Don't hurt my daddy! Stop it, you bad people! Stop hitting my daddy!"

Seeing her father being beaten, Ye Youyou cried out, her voice breaking with sobs.

Had Chen Yinuo not held her tightly, the little girl would have rushed over.

Meanwhile, Chen Yinuo's face twisted into a cold sneer.

Instead of feeling pity, she felt satisfaction watching Ye Chen get beaten.

"Serves him right. He deserves this—every bit of it!"

CRACK!

BANG!

Suddenly, amidst the chaos, Ye Chen shattered the beer bottle he had been clutching. Holding the jagged edge, bloodied and battered, he lunged at the leader.

One arm locked around the man's neck, the sharp glass pressed against his carotid artery.

"Stop! Everyone, stop right now!"

The room froze as the leader, now a hostage, yelled in terror.

"Calm down, Ye Chen! Brother, let's talk this out, okay? Don't do anything rash! This is a lawful society—murder carries the death penalty! Please, calm down!"

Ye Chen ignored the man's desperate pleas, paying no mind to the blood trickling from his forehead.

"Give me one more week," Ye Chen growled, his voice hoarse. "One week, and I'll pay you back every penny, principal and interest!"

"Just put down the bottle, and we can talk, alright? Calm down!" the leader pleaded.

"I said, one more week!" Ye Chen pressed harder, the glass piercing the man's skin and drawing a thin trickle of blood.

"Alright, alright! One week! You have one more week! I swear!" The leader shouted frantically.

Hearing this, Ye Chen finally let go. Though their agreement was only verbal, Ye Chen, knowing how such men operated, chose to trust their word.

"Boss Biao!"

"Boss Biao!"

The gang rushed to their leader's side.

"Get lost!"

Clutching the shallow cut on his neck, the leader shoved his men aside.

Pointing at Ye Chen, he gritted his teeth.

"You've got guts, kid. Fine, you've got one more week. But if I don't see the money then, not even the gods can save you!"

With a wave of his hand, the group of debt collectors left as quickly as they came.

In the now-empty room, only the bloodied Ye Chen, the cold-faced Chen Yinuo, and the sobbing Ye Youyou remained.