Forced Marriage to Repay a Debt

At three in the morning, the phone rang like a death knell. Liu Xianglian stared at the flashing “Dad” on the screen, her fingers stiff. It was his eighteenth missed call, and she could hear glass shattering in the background.

“Xianglian... They’re going to break Dad’s legs... They’re going to take you to settle the debt, too...”

The blood in her veins froze.

Five years. She had waited tables and scrubbed toilets in the city, worked her way up from waitress to clothing-store manager, and finally saved enough for a down payment. Her fiancé Zhang Hao’s engagement ring was still on the bedside table

“How much do you owe?”

“E-eighty thousand...”

Xianglian’s head rang. On her monthly salary of eight thousand, it would take sixteen years to pay it off if she spent nothing at all.

“Dad, wait for me.”

She packed her bags in three minutes. She didn’t wake Zhang Hao or leave a note. She knew that once she left, the wedding would be off for sure.

But she had no choice.