Summer's Rose

Chapter 22: Insufficient Funds

"Why are you barging into my house and moving things around?" Rachel demanded as she watched workers in uniforms taking her belongings out of the house.

"Are you Miss Rachel?" one of them asked.

"Yes."

"Then it’s correct. This is Mr. Alvin's order. He also asked me to tell you that he is simply taking what belongs to him. Furthermore, Mr. Alvin says that after the divorce, you will not get a single penny from his assets."

"We’ve been married for over a decade, and he’s just throwing me out with nothing?" Rachel gripped the worker’s arm in anger.

"Miss, I’m just here to deliver a message. Please don’t make things difficult for me."

…

"Excuse me, ma'am, your bank card balance is insufficient."

Rachel froze for a moment before taking the card from the cashier. "Sorry, let me try another card."

She pulled out another card from her bag and handed it over.

"Sorry, ma'am, this card also has insufficient funds."

Rachel muttered a quick "Sorry," and pulled out yet another card, but once again, the balance was insufficient. She could feel the cashier's gaze shift, now tinged with a bit of contempt. "I’m sorry for the trouble. Can I pay in cash?"

"Okay."

Rachel rummaged through her bag for what felt like forever, finally producing two bills—a five and a ten. She placed the money on the counter. "Sorry, I don’t want these anymore."

"Don’t have the money, yet you still come here to waste people’s time?" a woman behind her muttered.

Rachel didn’t turn around. She bit her lip and continued walking forward. She finally understood what Alvin meant by "don’t regret it." Her cards had all been frozen, and the servants in her house had been dismissed.

She glanced at her watch. It was already nearly 11:30 AM, and Ran would be finishing school soon. The family’s chauffeur used to pick him up, but now, she had to do it herself.

"Mom." Ran ran toward her and threw himself into her arms.

Rachel patted his head. "Did you have to wait long?"

"No," Ran held her hand, "Mom, where is the driver uncle? Isn’t he coming to pick us up today?"

Rachel hesitated before replying, "The driver isn’t here. Let’s take the bus together, okay?"

Ran had never taken a bus before, but he gripped her hand excitedly. "Okay!"

Since it was rush hour, the bus was packed. Rachel held tightly to Ran’s hand as they were jostled by the crowd. Several times, she almost lost her grip on the handrail and nearly fell.

"Mom, it’s so crowded. Can we not take the bus next time?" Ran asked.

"Okay, next time, mom won’t take you on the bus," Rachel replied, but she felt helpless. Her cards were frozen, and she had no money left in her wallet.

She had been spoiled by Zhou Heng and never needed to cook. After marrying Alvin, they had hired staff to take care of everything. She had never learned to cook.

"Is it good?" she asked as Ran took a bite of the noodles.

"It’s good, but did you forget to put salt in it?" Ran said, looking at her.

Rachel ran to the kitchen and brought the salt shaker, sprinkling a little into his bowl. "Mom didn’t cook very well, so just bear with it for now."

Ran nodded obediently. "Okay."

After sending Ran to school, Rachel searched through every drawer at home, but she couldn’t find a single bit of cash. All the valuable items had been taken by Alvin.

She found an old bag she had brought with her from the time Zhou Heng bought it for her. She hadn’t used it in a while, thinking it was outdated, and had just stuffed it in a drawer.

She decided to go to a luxury resale shop.

"Excuse me, miss. What would you like to sell or buy?" the clerk asked.

Rachel took out the bag. "This."

"Please wait a moment, I’ll bring someone to appraise it," the clerk said.

A salesman soon came out from the back. He took a look at the bag and said, "This model can be resold, but it won’t fetch a high price."

Rachel asked, "How much can you offer?"

The salesman held up two fingers.

"Twenty thousand?"

"Two thousand."

"How is that possible? This bag was worth several thousand when I bought it."

The man smiled politely. "Miss, you know this is an older model. It's out of style, and the brand has released many new products since then. Not many people are buying this old style anymore, and your bag has also lost its shape and shows significant wear. I’m offering this price because I personally like to collect these kinds of bags. If you went to another shop, they wouldn’t offer you even close to this amount."

Rachel hesitated, considering her situation, before finally agreeing. "Fine."

"Would you like cash or something else?" the salesman asked.

"Cash, please."

...

Just as Rachel was leaving the store, a woman in sunglasses, red lipstick, and a high-fashion red dress walked toward her. The woman carried a limited-edition Hermès bag and wore ten-centimeter-high heels.

"Well, if it isn’t our Miss Rachel, what are you doing coming out of a second-hand luxury goods shop? How did you end up like this?" Fang Ting removed her sunglasses, revealing a beautiful and stunning face.

Rachel had once talked about marrying a rich husband, and later, she had married the man Fang Ting liked.

Then, Rachel had left Zhou Heng and married a wealthy man, while Zhou Heng never remarried.

Fang Ting had always despised Rachel, seeing her as someone who was eager for wealth but pretended to be high and mighty.

Rachel gripped the bag in her hand tighter. "No need for Miss Fang to worry. I’m doing just fine," she said, walking past Fang Ting.

Fang Ting looked at Rachel’s back with a smile. Rachel looked haggard, and her dress was wrinkled, clearly outdated. It seemed like she wasn’t doing as well as she let on.

Back home, Rachel collapsed on the couch, feeling numb.Alvin had taken everything, and even frozen her bank accounts. He seemed intent on driving her to the edge.

She sat there, burying her face in her knees, her quiet sobs filling the room.

No matter what, she had to take care of Ran ran. He was the only reason she kept going, her only source of strength and motivation.

Suddenly, Zhou Heng’s words echoed in her mind—how he promised to always treat her well, and Zhou Nan, who had begged her not to leave him.

Zhou Nan.

She still had a son, Zhou Nan.

Rachel made a decision. She would find a way to visit Zhou Nan at school. No matter what, he was still her child.