"I say...what do you want to do?" Mr. Jonathan uneasily shifted his body, making the loose parts of the chair creak as they rubbed together.
The young man smiled at him, "No need to be nervous, Mr. Jonathan, this is just a routine procedure, you know, just like whenever you want to do sothing, there’s always soone asking why you want to do it. It doesn’t an anything, it’s just a procedure, but a necessary one."
As the young man spoke, he had already opened the docunt bag and took out the papers, checking them as he continued to ask questions like, "Mr. Jonathan, can you confirm that you are in a conscious state right now?" "Can you simply calculate... the result of these numbers?" "Are you aware of your rights?" and so on.
After finally answering a series of questions, the young man took out his business card and handed it to Mr. Jonathan, "Mr. Jonathan, this is my business card, I’m here today to communicate so issues with you on behalf of the Sabin City branch of Golden Exchange Bank..."
Mr. Jonathan picked up the card and looked at it, vaguely sensing that sothing bad was happening. He nodded.
"Mr. Jonathan..."
In the ti that followed, Mr. Jonathan began to experience symptoms of panic, tinnitus, and dizziness. He felt as if his head was getting bigger and that the whole world couldn’t contain it. As the young bank officer continued speaking, his head felt ready to explode at any mont!
Through this extrely painful process, he understood the young man’s aning: because he violated the loan contract with Golden Exchange Bank, the bank decided to terminate their lending relationship and recover all loans and the interest generated during the lending period.
Put simply, the bank discovered that Mr. Jonathan no longer had enough funds to pay back the money he owed, so now the laws of the Federation granted the bank the right to auction off Mr. Jonathan’s assets.
The officer was rely following orders to inform Mr. Jonathan that, apart from this apartnt, he had nothing left, including his factory, his products, and his dreams, all of which would be legally auctioned off to repay the bank loan.
What does it feel like when your blood pressure rises? Maybe many people don’t know, Mr. Jonathan didn’t know before either.
However, at this mont, he understood.
It felt as if there was a high-pressure pump inside his body, continuously pumping blood up to his head, with each surge threatening to blow his blood vessels apart at any mont.
There were serious auditory hallucinations in his ears, and he vaguely heard his wife, almost thirty years younger than him, making false accusations against his capabilities in the dia.
He heard his deceased father calling him from not far away, asking him what he was clinging to and why he wouldn’t leave together.
His vision also started to blur, increased eye pressure due to high blood pressure made his eyes swollen and unclear.
The only thought left in his mind was that he was finished.
Decades of life, a lifeti of dreams, the persistence up to this point, completely gone!
Looking at the bank officer in front of him who began to distort and deform, a destructive and self-destructive impulse brewed in Mr. Jonathan’s heart, making his expression terrifyingly fierce. He wanted to kill the young man who ruined his good morning and then jump off the building to end this excruciating life!
Just as he clutched the pen on the table, ready to do sothing he never thought he would ever do, he suddenly froze.
The tinnitus and auditory hallucinations quickly disappeared, his blood pressure was rapidly falling, he rubbed his eyes, then slapped his face, looking at the bank officer sowhat ferociously, "What the hell did you just say?"
The bank officer calmly stepped back a bit, "I just said, if we go through regular judicial procedures to auction your assets, the proceeds might not be enough to cover what you owe the bank, and the bank might enforce sending you to work at certain companies to repay this portion of the debt."
Mr. Jonathan shook his head, "No, that’s not it, I seed to hear you say sothing else..."
The officer imdiately showed an understanding expression, "Our conversation ends here, can I turn off the recording device?" He nodded at Mr. Jonathan, showing a kind smile, and made a listening gesture by his ear.
Mr. Jonathan imdiately understood, "I think so, our conversation is over."
After turning off the recording device, the young officer said to him, "I just ntioned that Mr. Lynch is very concerned about these local businesses about to be liquidated. I heard he’s planning to acquire so businesses to help the owners settle their loans with the bank, maybe this is your chance."
He looked aningfully at Mr. Jonathan, who at this point completely disregarded the implications of the officer’s words and hurriedly asked, "Is it the Mr. Lynch that everyone knows?"
The young bank officer nodded while packing up his things, "The one you ntioned, the young leader, Mr. Lynch."
"Listen, although I’m a bank employee, I don’t wish for anyone to be unfortunate, it does no good."
"I’ve seen your assets; in good tis they might be worth sothing, but now, they’re not even half of what you owe the bank. Even if you sell these things, you still owe a large sum to the bank."
"You’ve lost your factory, lost your hope, the future looks bleak..." The bank officer looked at Mr. Jonathan, paused his work, "You can’t resist the bank, I know their thods well. Instead of being burdened by this huge debt for life, why not try your luck with Mr. Lynch?"
Thinking from the victim’s perspective for the victim, this thod easily gains the victim’s approval, at least Mr. Jonathan thought so, finding the young officer not as annoying.
But he was also puzzled, "But look at now, will Mr. Lynch see ?"
The officer looked him up and down, agreeing sowhat, "Indeed, not great..." he said, pulling two ten-dollar bills from his pocket, "Consider it a loan from , you can thank , and I accept your thanks."
"Life is hard enough already, I just don’t want anything tragic to happen because of this!"
At that mont, Mr. Jonathan felt the human world was full of truth, goodness, and beauty, and love!
Later, Mr. Jonathan took a bath and rented a suit from the streets—in areas where the poor lived, so people specifically engaged in this business, renting out clothes that weren’t really high-end in a daily format to so poor people.
People always have luck, or encounter things related to good luck, such as receiving interview notifications from big companies or universities, but they lack even a set of clothes that isn’t entirely decent, just passable.
At such tis, they can rent a set of clothes from these people that absolutely don’t fit, but at least appear decent enough on the surface.
This was the most embarrassing ti ever for Mr. Jonathan, showing up outside a luxurious villa wearing a suit with a greasy collar that had been worn by countless others.
He had never felt so out of place with such a lifestyle, and the cold wind blowing from the nearby lake slowly brought him out of so unrealistic fantasy.
Now, he was thinking about what the officer told him, to sell the factory to Mr. Lynch, try to get rid of the bank’s debt, and then find a job or start a new business, start a new life, and say goodbye to the past.
In the morning he had thought Mr. Anderson was stupid, but now, he again thought Mr. Anderson was smart, at least he had already started a new life, while he was still struggling.
After waiting about five minutes or so, a servant appeared before him, dressed in attire that made Mr. Jonathan feel ashad of his outfit, "Mr. Lynch is waiting for you in the side room, please follow ..."
Lowering his head, he followed the servant, passing through those luxurious rooms, the slap of reality against idealism had numbed him a little.
Finally, he t Mr. Lynch.
Lynch was on the phone, and when he saw Mr. Jonathan, he gestured towards the door behind him before looking at him.
Just one look and Mr. Jonathan understood that Mr. Lynch was asking him to step aside a bit; politely, with a very understanding and ingratiating smile, suppressing the helplessness inside, he bent slightly and walked out of the room.
He never realized he had done so; he thought he would never bend in his life.
He wasn’t sure how long it was, maybe three or five minutes, or a little longer before the door opened, and turning his head, he saw Lynch, as youthful as on television, brimming with energy.
"Mr. Jonathan, I apologize sincerely, there was a very important call earlier, and I had to impolitely ask you to leave, I hope you can forgive my rudeness."
Lynch’s language, deanor, smile, what he said made people feel as if they were bathing on a sunny hillside in spring, running gently down the slope, the difference didn’t require much effort to run, the breeze brushed against the face, dispersing the chill of winter, blowing into the heart, dispelling the gloomy haze...
In an instant, a smile appeared on Mr. Jonathan’s face, humbly bowing slightly, reaching out both hands to grasp Lynch’s tightly, having a prominent figure like Mr. Lynch apologize for his behavior to him, this was sophistication!
"I am honored to be received by you, Mr. Lynch!" he said, with so gratitude that preserved his dignity and an indescribable sense of sigh.
In contrast, Lynch stood tall, his upright spine like a towering pillar, with a polite, formal smile, slightly lowering his eyelids, looking down upon a person old enough to be his father, speaking in a very ordinary tone, "You are too kind, Mr. Jonathan!"
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