Chill with us!
***
After waking up, Hu Tao immediately got out of bed and changed into her regular clothes.
Her butt no longer hurt after yesterday's beating, thanks to Fischl's ointment that was applied to the injuries caused by Yomite's hand.
She knew she went far after yesterday's prank, and had even been reprimanded for it but there was nothing she could do other than to apologize again and again.
She deserved it.
Yomite wouldn't accept her halfhearted apologies so easily anyway, so Hu Tao decided to apologize properly once he came back.
Still, she was delighted he was so worried about her...
But for now, she had other things to do.
Visiting the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor was one of them.
And the debt related problem...
At any point in time, she could have told Yomite about it and let him deal with it himself but she felt a little too guilty about leaving this kind of matter to him.
Thirty million Mora was a large sum of money, and even if he had plenty of money himself, she couldn't just ask him for something like this.
She didn't want to burden him with her own problems, and didn't want him to think she was using him for money or something along those lines.
Not to mention, it was her sole responsibility as the ex-director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor to make it prosper, and it wasn't right for her to take his money from him, even if they were lovers.
There were still two months remaining till the deadline, before her Funeral Parlor would be closed down by the government officials.
If only she had the funds to pay off all the debt before then...
But that didn't seem possible yet.
She had already donated 10 Million Mora from her own budget, and they somehow managed to get 5 million more, but there was still the huge sum of 30 million that she needed to settle as soon as possible.
"Should I tell Yommie I want to do quests again? Would two months be enough to pay for it? Should be enough, right?"
It seemed like an impossible task to her but Yomite always knew how to solve any issue in such a short amount of time.
"I'm finally here."
She sighed as she opened the main gate of the funeral parlor, finding herself at the entrance of the main building, where a woman clad in black was as if, waiting for her.
Hu Tao approached the Ferrylady wearing a black dress, who smiled warmly at her, "Welcome back, Director! How are you on this fine afternoon?"
Hu Tao gave her a gentle smile back, "Hello, Ferrylady." After thinking for a moment or two, she replied, "You're quite spirited today, I've never seen you so lively and cheerful like this since the day you joined our parlor."
The lady in front of her chuckled, "Ah, well, It's indeed a great day today! Esteemed secretary Ganyu was here today, to further inform us about the debt."
Hu Tao nodded slowly at this, once again feeling a slight pain in her heart.
She really wished she could have paid her debt earlier, but...
There was no way she'd allow Yomite to do it either.
"Director Hu, it doesn't seem like you're aware, but the debt has already been fully paid off!" The woman exclaimed happily, as if she'd read Hu Tao's mind.
Hu Tao's eyes widened, and she could hardly believe what she'd just heard.
"...Huh? How?" She asked, looking genuinely confused.
The Ferrylady looked around to make sure no one could hear her, and leaned towards her ear, whispering, "Your boyfriend came earlier and paid it all off in one go, even gave us 60 million Mora to stabilize ourselves and pay the employees! How amazing is that!"
The Ferrylady had been working in the Parlor for over 4 years. She wasn't in need of money, she simply loved the quiet atmosphere near the Parlor.
She and her family were both well off, so money wasn't an issue.
At some point, she heard about the debt and due to that, her pay got lower, but she understood why it happened and accepted it.
Helping people was above simple matters such as currency.
She loved it here and even if the pay wasn't what it used to be, she planned to stay here till the end.
Hence when that man paid the debt off and ensured that the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor would be prosperous in the future, her usual calm manner changed into complete excitement.
"..."
Hu Tao stood there, staring blankly at the ground while trying to process the information, unable to say anything.
"Yomite...was here?"
"Yep! He talked to the esteemed secretary Ganyu and handed her Mora in the coin pouches! That settled the debt! At most, there would be some paperworks afterward but that's not an issue...Are you alright?" The Ferrylady asked, concern written all over her face, seeing how lost she was.
Hu Tao's eyes started watering slightly; she hadn't realized that she'd actually cried until she felt the tears running down her cheek.
She covered her mouth and tried to stop the crying, but she failed, and sobbed uncontrollably.
"Shh, don't cry. Please..." The Ferrylady cooed softly, hugging her small frame in an attempt to comfort her.
"After what I did... yesterday...he still...gave away 90 million Mora..."
"I'm not sure what happened but he must care deeply about you. He looked very angry when he arrived. It seems like he heard about the news somewhere and immediately arrived to resolve it."
*Hic*
Hu Tao tried hard to hold herself together but her emotions overcame her and soon, she broke down completely.
She cried into the Ferrylady's arms, letting everything she wanted to hold back flow freely through her cries.
So many emotions ran through her body. Happiness, relief, surprise, gratitude.
"Yomite...he paid off our debt..." She whispered softly.
"Are you alright?"
Hu Tao blinked several times and tried to compose herself.
"Oh...it's nothing, it's just..." She sniffled, wiping her eyes dry. "I never even told him about it...this feels a bit...surreal..."
"That's understandable!" The Ferrylady said with a smile.
"We're all happy for you, Director Hu! Come inside and celebrate with us!"
Before she could reply, the Ferrylady pulled her inside the funeral parlor and everyone crowded the entrance, making her feel awkward.
"Ah! Director Hu! Welcome!"
"Director Hu! How was your day?"
"Greetings, Director Hu!"
She took a deep breath, calming herself down and smiling as warmly as she could.
"Everyone, please give me a second!"
They all nodded and moved aside, allowing her to enter.
A few moments passed, during which she noticed everyone staring straight ahead, clearly waiting for her to start talking.
She cleared her throat, trying to gather her thoughts and began speaking once more.
"Thank you all for giving me this chance. I promise I'll try my best to make everyone here feel as loved and appreciated as I know they deserve. We've had some ups and downs in the last few years, but it's all over now! This parlor will only flourish! If it weren't for you all, we wouldn't be here today. Thank you! Everyone, please enjoy yourselves today!"
The group cheered enthusiastically at the Director's words.
It was a banquet for the entire staff of the parlor, and it was the highlight of their days.
"Let's make the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor great again!"
"""Yes, Director Hu!"""
With that, everyone turned around and went back to chatting and laughing, while Hu Tao smiled happily at the crowd.
