As expected.

After Mya finished the call, her face turned pale, and she trembled as she said to me, "Jimmy, something terrible has happened! Abel called and demanded I go to the KTV to serve drinks, or else he'll shorten the repayment period to tonight.

"Abel's a scumbag who's capable of anything. What if he..."

As she spoke, she started to cry.

"Jimmy, look how pitiful she is. Hurry and mortgage the house to Abel!"

Chris urged hastily.

I sneered internally, thinking, 'You piece of trash, it's easy to be generous when it's not your own money, huh?'

"Yeah, yeah, just hand over the house deed to Abel, and maybe he'll let me off tonight."

Mya chimed in as well.

Look at how eager they are. This isn't about testing me; they're just trying to ruin me.

Of course, now is not the time to flip the table.

I took a deep breath and nodded, saying, "Fine, I'll go get the deed, and we'll go talk to Abel together."

After I said that, I noticed a faint smile on Mya's lips.

I couldn't tell if she thought I had passed her test or if she thought I was just an idiot.

But Chris' sneaky grin was definitely one of schadenfreude, as if he couldn't wait for me to get hit by a car so he could take my place and openly be with Mya.

In my past life, I was completely in the dark, played like a fool.

Now, everything was going as I planned.

Abel's KTV was the most luxurious and famous in the city.

Someone like me, an ordinary office worker, could never dream of entering a place like that. But Mya walked in like she was at home, and the staff greeted her with respect.

In my previous life, I was so blinded by love that I didn't even notice the obvious abnormality.

"Mr... Mr. Ryan."

When Mya saw Abel, she acted like a frightened little rabbit, trembling and not daring to lift her head.

In my past life, at this moment, I quickly shielded Mya in my arms and shouted at Abel, "If you have a problem, come at me!"

But instead of gratitude, I got a brutal beating and Abel's lasting resentment.

This time, I remained indifferent.

Instead, Chris stepped forward with concern and shouted at Abel, "What kind of man are you to bully a woman? Is that what a real man does? We're only talking about a few million here, my cousin will cover it."

Men understand men best.

I knew Chris was trying to show off in front of Mya, but he was pushing all the responsibility onto me.

What Chris didn't know was that Abel hated loudmouths the most.

"Alright, let's have a proper talk, then."

Abel glanced mockingly at Chris before pretending to order his men to take Mya away, then turned to me and asked, "So, how are you going to handle the debt?"

"I only have 20,000 dollars on me."

As soon as I said that, Abel narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing in them.

The thugs nearby also began to glare icily.

Chris shuddered in fear and yelled at me, "Cousin, didn't we agree to sell the house?

"What are you waiting for, stop dragging it out!

"If I were you, for Mya's sake, I would've handed over the deed to Mr. Ryan long ago."

With that outburst, Abel frowned slightly.

I sighed and said, "You think I'm like you, owning a 200-square-meter fully paid, unfinished house? My place is mortgaged, and if Mr. Ryan takes it, I'll be paying off a 30-year loan."

Abel's face darkened as he coldly threatened. "If you don't come up with the money, I'll have no choice but to send Mya to work in a bar."

"Th-th-that..."

I pretended to be troubled and turned to Chris, saying, "Why don't you help out first? Mya will surely remember your kindness."

"And you wouldn't want her to suffer, right? The kind of people in those bars are twisted."

In my previous life, Abel had said the same thing, and I had kneeled on the spot, signing a contract to sell myself just to save Mya.

Now, I'll leave that pit for Chris to fall into.

As far as Abel's concerned, Chris and I are family. As long as someone's willing to pay off the debt, he'll consider it a passed test.

Chris hesitated, but in the end, he agreed.

Abel immediately pulled out a prepared contract, tossed it to Chris, and said playfully, "Sign it."

Chris picked it up and widened his eyes. "A contract to sell myself?"

"You think one house is enough to cover it?"

Abel sneered and asked.

"Why should I sign? If anyone's signing, it should be my cousin..."

Chris got flustered and shouted again, but before he could finish, Abel slapped him.

"Why are you yelling? What's with the loud voice? This is my turf!

"I've had enough of you for a long time, you know that?"

In my previous life, that slap had been for me, just because I cried out too loudly while begging for mercy.

Only now did Chris realize who held the power. He quickly knelt before Abel and begged. "Mr. Ryan, please, show some mercy! Can't we avoid signing this contract?"

Abel sneered in disdain.

The bodyguards standing by, knowing exactly what to do, pinned Chris down and beat him senseless.

Chris, having always lived a pampered life, screamed in agony, blood spilling everywhere.

"Please, stop! Stop, sirs!

"I'll sign! I'll sign everything!"

Soon enough, Chris caved.

I kept my head slightly bowed, fighting to suppress the smile tugging at my lips. I felt no sympathy at all.

The only reason Chris was willing to sell his house was to win Mya's favor, probably because she had told him she was the daughter of a wealthy family.

And besides, when I was tortured in my past life, Chris had been quite pleased.

After the contract was signed, I supported Chris as we walked out of the room, only to run into Mya head-on.

"What happened to Chris? How did he get hurt like this?"

Mya was shocked, her eyes filled with concern and pity.

"He sacrificed himself for us, not only mortgaging his house but also signing a contract to sell himself."

I pretended to feel guilty as I said this.

"What?"

Mya's eyes widened in fury, and she angrily scolded me. "How could you let Chris take on your problems? What kind of cousin does that?"

"It was voluntary, and besides, he's helping you pay off your debt. What does this have to do with me?"

I shrugged.

"You... you're crazy!

"Chris, let's go. I'll take you to the hospital."

Mya furrowed her brows and glared at me before dragging Chris away.

I watched them as they walked away.

My lips curled into a smile, hands in my pockets, as I happily went home to sleep.

In the middle of the night, I was woken up by some rustling sounds. Peeking through the door crack, I saw Mya and Chris hugging each other.

"Chris, you suffered during the day, so tonight, I'll make it up to you," Mya whispered tenderly.