Chapter 532: 0530 Turns into a Spring Breeze
"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 something, there’s always someone asking why you want to do it. It doesn’t mean anything, it’s just a procedure, but a necessary one."
As the young man spoke, he had already opened the document 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 some 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 something bad was happening. He nodded.
"Mr. Jonathan..."
In the time 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 moment!
Through this extremely painful process, he understood the young man’s meaning: 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 merely following orders to inform Mr. Jonathan that, apart from this apartment, 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 moment, 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 moment.
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 media.
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 lifetime 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 something 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 somewhat 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 seemed to hear you say something else..."
The officer immediately 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 immediately understood, "I think so, our conversation is over."
After turning off the recording device, the young officer said to him, "I just mentioned that Mr. Lynch is very concerned about these local businesses about to be liquidated. I heard he’s planning to acquire some businesses to help the owners settle their loans with the bank, maybe this is your chance."
He looked meaningfully 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 mentioned, the young leader, Mr. Lynch."
"Listen, although I’m a bank employee, I don’t wish for anyone to be unfortunate, it does me no good."
"I’ve seen your assets; in good times they might be worth something, 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 methods 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 method 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 me now, will Mr. Lynch see me?"
The officer looked him up and down, agreeing somewhat, "Indeed, not great..." he said, pulling two ten-dollar bills from his pocket, "Consider it a loan from me, you can thank me, and I accept your thanks."
"Life is hard enough already, I just don’t want anything tragic to happen because of this!"
At that moment, 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, some people specifically engaged in this business, renting out clothes that weren’t really high-end in a daily format to some 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 times, 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 time 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 some 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 ashamed of his outfit, "Mr. Lynch is waiting for you in the side room, please follow me..."
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 met 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, demeanor, 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 some 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!"