Chapter 5
Edward Quan ·
“Ms. Zhang, you forged a signature to charge three hundred and eighty thousand yuan to someone else’s account.”
“This is more than a simple civil dispute.”
My aunt panicked. “I’m his aunt!”
I shot back, “Does being his aunt give you the right to forge a signature?”
Her lips turned pale. “I thought… I thought he was the owner.”
The employee reminded her, “We told you the signature didn’t look right and offered to call Manager Lin to confirm. You were the one who stopped us.”
Manager Lin’s voice was cold. “You can either pay the bill or we can call the police.”
My aunt was completely terrified. “I don’t have that kind of money.”
Manager Lin nodded. “Then call the police.”
My aunt waved her hands frantically. “No, no, no!”
At the mention of the police, the relatives burst into an uproar.
“I’m not eating anymore. That bill has nothing to do with me.”
“I didn’t even order Moutai.”
“I haven’t eaten this crab. Take it back, take it back!”
My aunt cursed furiously. “You’re the ones who ordered all of it!”
“You drank the Moutai, and you packed the king crabs to take home!”
My cousin-in-law had had enough too.
“Last year, when my husband lost thirty thousand yuan gambling, I went back to my parents’ home to borrow money for him.”
“Today, you were more enthusiastic than anyone about eating at this banquet.”
My aunt fired back at once. “Then who put that king crab in your mouth?”
My cousin-in-law flushed with anger. “You told me to eat it!”
“I told you to eat, and you couldn’t control yourself?”
The scene descended into chaos.
My younger cousin held the baby, his face red.
“Enough!”
“This is so humiliating!”
He looked at my aunt, his voice trembling.
“Mom, this is all because you bragged.”
“You’ve brought shame on the whole Li family.”
My aunt tried to cry again. “I only did this for Haohao’s one-month celebration!”
My cousin laughed coldly.
“One-month celebration?”
“Is this what a celebration looks like?”
“This is a banquet where the guests are here to collect a debt!”
In the end, Manager Lin had the dining hall doors closed.
He looked at all the relatives.
“Twenty minutes.”
“Return the gift boxes and pay for what you ate.”
“Everyone else can sign an agreement.”
“Either cooperate, or wait for the police.”
At the mention of the police, the relatives who had been so aggressive moments earlier immediately backed down.
Someone said, “We were tricked too. Why should we have to pay?”
The employee pointed to the security cameras.
“You ate the food and took the gift boxes.”
“Unopened boxes can be returned. You’ll need to pay for the banquet food you ate.”
The person still wasn’t satisfied. “But we didn’t know she forged the signature.”
Manager Lin answered calmly, “You still ate the food.”
“If you refuse to pay, we’ll see you in court.”
The relatives immediately lined up to return the gift boxes.
“Forget it. Let’s return the boxes and pay for the meal so we can go home.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“I’m never going to another one of Zhang Guilan’s gatherings.”
In the end, the bill was recalculated.
The relatives managed to cover two hundred thousand yuan.
The remaining one hundred and eighty thousand fell on my aunt’s family.
Manager Lin took out an agreement.
“Ms. Zhang Guilan, this agreement sets out a repayment plan for the remaining one hundred and eighty thousand yuan. Please sign.”
My aunt’s face went white. “I’m not signing.”
Manager Lin picked up his phone. “If you don’t sign, you’ll be coming with us to the police station today.”
My aunt’s hand trembled so badly she could barely hold the pen.
“One hundred and eighty thousand…”
Suddenly, she turned and glared at me with hatred.
“This is all your fault!”
My expression remained calm.
“You were the one who signed.”
She tried to lunge at me, but my younger cousin stopped her.
“Mom, enough.”
After that day, the Li family fell into complete chaos.
My cousin-in-law packed her things as soon as she got home.
“I want a divorce.”
My younger cousin chased after her, his eyes red.
“You’re asking for a divorce now?”
She gave a cold laugh. “We can’t go on living like this.”
“When you were eating king crab, why didn’t you say it was your mother who ordered it?”
My aunt stood nearby, crying.
“Daughter-in-law, you can’t leave.”
She hugged the baby.