I Start with a Mysterious Island-Chapter 111: I Have Never Seen Such a Shameless Person

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: I Have Never Seen Such a Shameless Person

If Lin Li continued to drift forward on the bamboo raft, there was a high chance it would crash into the reefs.

Even with a bamboo pole to control the raft and try to avoid the reefs, maneuvering it like that would take a lot of energy.

After a quick mental calculation, he figured it would be better to just go ashore and travel on foot than to exhaust himself trying to steer the raft around the rocks.

Besides, the shore opened into a wide, empty field, and the terrain was much easier to traverse than the forest from before.

A moment later, Lin Li used the bamboo pole to guide the raft to the riverbank.

THUMP.

The raft bumped against a large rock on the bank, making a dull sound.

After getting ashore, Lin Li didn’t abandon the raft he had made. He bent over, placed his hand on it, and with a mere thought, the raft vanished before his eyes.

’I’ll put it away for now. I might need it again later. If I just get rid of it, I’ll have to waste time making another one if I need a raft in the future.’

After storing the raft on the Mysterious Small Island, Lin Li glanced up at the massive sun, which was about to dip below the horizon.

’It’ll be dark soon. I’ll call it a day. I’ll get up early tomorrow and continue exploring this world.’

With another thought, Lin Li, who had been standing on the riverbank, vanished in an instant.

Not long after Lin Li vanished—less than half a minute, perhaps—an enormous Mutant Beast burst out from the tall grass.

It rushed to the spot where Lin Li had disappeared and sniffed at the ground with its large snout. It confirmed the scent of its prey was right here, but now, there was no trace of it.

ROAR...

It let out a disappointed roar, then the enormous Mutant Beast left the riverbank to search for prey elsewhere.

......

SPLASH...

Water gushed from the faucet. In moments, the washbasin in the sink was half-full.

One moment, Lin Li was exploring the unknown Otherworld. The next, he was on his apartment balcony, washing the pants, shoes, and socks that he had dirtied that morning when he fell into a pond in the Otherworld.

’All done.’

After hanging the clean laundry to dry on the balcony, Lin Li turned and went back inside.

The sky outside was darkening, with only the last traces of the sunset remaining on the horizon.

The streetlights had already flickered on, casting a dim, yellow glow to illuminate the passersby.

RING RING RING...

Lin Li had just finished his laundry and walked inside from the balcony. He was about to order some takeout when he pulled his phone from his pocket, only to see a call from Su Yue.

"Hello?"

"Lin Li, have you eaten dinner yet?"

"Not yet! I was just about to order some takeout."

"Eating takeout too often isn’t good for you. You should cut back..."

"Yeah, I know. Is there a reason you called?"

"You gave me that big bag of vegetables yesterday, right? As a thank you, I’d like to treat you to hot pot at my place. Want to come over?"

Lin Li had always been a huge fan of Su Yue’s cooking, so he would almost never turn down an invitation from her.

He just hadn’t expected her to invite him over for a meal so quickly.

"Okay, I’ll be right over."

"Great, come over soon! I still have a few ingredients to wash, so I’m going to get started on that."

’I just got back from that unknown Otherworld, and I haven’t even changed out of my camo yet!’

After hanging up with Su Yue, Lin Li hurried into the bathroom for a quick shower and a change of clothes.

’Oh, right! That big bag of beef meatballs I brought home from the hot pot place yesterday is still in the freezer. I can bring some of those over.’

Lin Li, who was about to leave for Su Yue’s place, stopped in his tracks and turned towards his kitchen.

He grabbed a plastic food bag, opened the freezer, and filled it halfway with beef meatballs.

As Lin Li closed the freezer door, he suddenly heard a commotion outside his apartment.

......

A middle-aged woman stood in front of the door to the apartment next door, number 602.

DING DONG...

The woman rang the doorbell. A moment later, a pleasant voice, tinged with annoyance, answered from inside the apartment.

"Didn’t I make it clear on the phone, Sister-in-law? That 300,000 I lent you was the last time I’m helping you. Please, just go home."

"Xia Qing, please, just help us one last time! Zhou Qiang’s wedding is just around the corner. If we don’t sort out the housing situation, his girlfriend is going to break up with him," Wang Haiyan pleaded through the door.

"’One last time, one last time’—that’s what you always say. I’m not falling for it again.

Since your husband had the gall to take the 300,000 I lent you and gamble it all away, he can deal with the consequences himself.

Just go! I’m not lending you another cent. You can figure out Zhou Qiang’s housing situation on your own!" Xia Qing said angrily to the woman outside her door.

Xia Qing had only found out yesterday that Zhou Dazhuang had secretly taken the 300,000 yuan she’d lent them and gambled it away.

When Wang Haiyan had told her on the phone that the 300,000 yuan she had lent them had been completely lost to gambling, Xia Qing had been furious.

’How could people like that exist? I helped them out of the kindness of my heart, lending them money for their son’s down payment, and he dared to secretly take that money and gamble with it.’

’Fine, if you want to take my money and gamble, go right ahead! It’s not like I ever expected you to pay it back anyway.’

’But to have the shameless audacity to call me about it and try to borrow even more money...’

’Where in the world does that happen? It’s absolutely ridiculous.’

"Xia Qing, please, just help us one last time! Zhou Dazhuang knows he was wrong. He’ll never do it again.

For the sake of your late husband, please, just help the nephew he doted on one last time! I’m begging you..." Wang Haiyan said, crying. This time, she was truly desperate.

Wang Haiyan herself had never imagined that her own husband, Zhou Dazhuang, would dare to embezzle the money meant for their son’s down payment and gamble it away.

She had previously asked Zhou Dazhuang if the money Xia Qing agreed to lend them had come through, but he had repeatedly lied to her, claiming Xia Qing hadn’t sent it yet.

Zhou Dazhuang kept up the lie until their son’s wedding date drew near. Realizing he couldn’t hide it any longer, he finally confessed to Wang Haiyan that he had embezzled their son’s down payment money to gamble.

When Wang Haiyan heard the news, she was thunderstruck. Her mind went completely blank.

She couldn’t believe Zhou Dazhuang could be such a scoundrel, that he would dare to embezzle and gamble away the money for his own son’s down payment.

After chewing Zhou Dazhuang out, a desperate Wang Haiyan could only pin her last hopes for her son’s marriage on Xia Qing, which had led to the current scene.

She had originally thought that by throwing all shame to the wind—crying, begging, and making a scene—she could borrow more money from Xia Qing. She never expected that Xia Qing had seen right through them and was now refusing to lend them a single cent, no matter what.

Next door, in apartment 601, Lin Li stood just inside his own door holding the half-bag of beef meatballs, a look of complete astonishment on his face.

He had overheard the entire conversation between Xia Qing and Wang Haiyan.

’So Xia Qing’s husband passed away... No wonder I’ve only ever seen her and her daughter coming and going. I’ve never seen her husband.’

......