Chapter 354 - Trap Hanxi

"Manuel!" Federico scolded his son. "Have you lost your mind?!"

"Clearly, my friend. Manuel has lost it," commented Stefano. 

"I don't understand your actions - "

"Please, just… Just let me be, father. I am old enough to handle my company shares," Manuel interrupted Federico. 

Even Alice helped settle down their parents that Federico gave up, saying, "You will not ask help from me after this. Remember that, Manuel."

"Dad, me and Alice, we hurt Bella and her boyfriend. We are merely making up for it. Please, rather than losing our friendship. Let us show them our sincerity. Selling my shares is the best way I can make up for it," Manuel explained. 

"That is a really good offer. I would bite that if the banks were open at night. Tsk, tsk. Manuel, did you really intend to sell those shares?" Salvatore asked before shaking his head towards the end. 

Hearing Salvatore's words, Manuel turned to Hanxi and said, "I know you probably don't have the money with you - " 

Manuel cut off himself with a single laugh, saying, "I don't know when you'll end up getting the money, but here is my offer… If you cannot give me the 4.8 Million Dollars as payment before this day ends, I can still give you the shares but there is a corresponding 10% interest each month, until the full payment."

Hanxi did not respond. However, he was not being rude or evasive either. 

"Now you are a man of honor, I know that you would not want to take money from Isabella's family so I will include that in our contract that all the money should only come from your own pocket," He then turned to one of Isabella's cousin. "Marco here is a lawyer and can help me draft the contract."

"Wow! that is a really good offer, Hanxi. With the shares you have, you can earn as much as three hundred thousand dollars a month. Surely you can pay back the money," said Alice. "What do you think, Hanxi?"

Isabella's eyes squinted at the two, she wondered it if was really possible to pay back the money in time, but before she could analyze the whole situation, she heard Hanxi say, "Okay. I agree. Lay-out the terms properly before I sign any document."

"Hanxi?!"

"It's okay, Bella. I think it really is a good deal." Hanxi showed a poker face all throughout, trying to hide his eagerness over the deal. 

Manuel gave a smirk before saying, "Okay, very good. Oh, and one last thing. The last part of this agreement would be, if you cannot pay me back in one year, you are to give me back the 2% shares plus the money you owe me…. with interest."

"What?! That is cruel!" Isabella reacted. 

Even Salvatore and Stefano gave their individual shocking stare at Manuel.

"Think about it this way, Hanxi. You will better fight for it if you have a deadline," said Manuel.

Federico finally realized what his children were doing. They were aiming to trap Hanxi in a debt instead of truly giving him a chance to earn a decent living. 

While it's true that the maximum income from 2% of shares can go up to three hundred thousand dollars, that has not happened in the last five years. Competition in the banking industry was already tough. Hanxi would end up in a hole that he could not climb out of. 

"I don't think you should agree to this, Hanxi," Stefano said. 

Turning to Isabella's father, Hanxi said, "It's fine, Sir. I want to prove to you I can make your daughter happy and Manuel is giving me the opportunity."

Hanxi extended his hand to Manuel, saying, "Thank you for this rare chance."

Marco, Isabella's cousin, eventually prepared the contract from inside the house. 

Isabella and her family tried to talk Hanxi out of signing the contract, but he firmly said that his decision was final. 

"It's fine, dad. Let him take the deal," said Isabella. She figured if Hanxi did not have the money, he could get it the next day. She was certain that if he did not have his own, Andrea would lend him a hand.

When Isabella's cousin handed out the contract, Hanxi made sure to read what he needed the most. 

Upon receipt of payment amounting to 4.8 Millon Dollars on March 3, 2019 [Date of today], all parties consider the sale  fully paid. 

He quickly signed the papers and handed the copies back to the Marco saying, "Please seal it for formalities."

Hanxi then stood up and said to everyone, "Excuse me, let me just get the money from my wallet." 

He walked out of there expressionless, confusing even Isabella. She tried to come along with him but he asked her to stay behind. 

Alice and Manuel began to laugh. Even Federico could not help but think that Isabella's boyfriend was very stupid to fall into the trap. While they were laughing at Hanxi, the Riccis saw their true colors. 

Stefano and Salvatore were both disappointed at their old friend and especially at Manuel and Alice. Federico could not even reprimand his children. Individually, they were thinking of ideas to help Hanxi out but after only fifteen minutes, Hanxi came back carrying five black briefcases with him. 

"Hanxi?" Isabella's eyes widened, seeing him hold one briefcase in his arm, and two each in his hands. 

"Pfft! What is that?" Manuel asked. "4.8 million paper cuts?"

Alice went hysterical after her brother's sarcasm. Together with Manuel they laughed and laughed until they heard Hanxi say, "It's a million dollars each case. You are free to count them."

Hanxi placed all the briefcases on the table on top of each other. He then took out a pen and handed it to Manuel, saying, "Please sign the acknowledgment form at the back, confirming the receipt of 4.8 Million Dollars. You can have the two hundred thousand dollars as a tip."

Federico paused for a moment, feeling his heart raced. Manuel also frowned at Hanxi's statement, but he refused to believe it. He asked, "You are kidding me. Right?"

Hanxi shook his head. He cleared out the table and opened the briefcase one by one. He placed each one for them to see and when they realized he was telling the truth, Hanxi asked, "Now, who will count?"

"I'll count the money!" Isabella quickly volunteered. 

"And me!" Another cousin of Isabella offered help. 

Silvia Lombardi suddenly was gasping for air. She called out for help, "Water. I need water!"

Alice, Manuel, and Federico were in a state of shock. 

"You - You are joking. You could not possibly have this kind of money!" Manuel suggested. 

"Here. This is my withdrawal slip from this morning at Milan Commerce Bank. It has my name on it as the account holder. I was planning on buying a car here in Italy so I took out the money in advance, but as it turns out, I ended up buying shares from one of the biggest banks in Italy," said Hanxi with a grin on his face. 

Once again, he handed the pen and reminded Manuel, "Don't forget to sign the acknowledgment form."

Everyone's eyes were on him, he had no choice but to sign it. He had already done so in the full contract itself. 

Still refusing to believe his fate, Manuel took one bundle of one hundred dollars and flipped to each one. He felt his throat dry up and his heart aching.

Soon his breathing became labored. He quickly turned to Alice and shouted, "Alice, how  - how could you."

Alice was holding her hair up with her hands, watching the counting of the money. She heard her brother blame her for everything before her senses awakened. She yelled back saying, "Why me? This was your plan!"

"No! It was your plan from the start! You told me specifically to trick him to buy the shares!"

"What? This was your idea, not mine!" Alice said back, shocked at her brother suggesting it was her plan.

For minutes, they blamed each other until Federico finally stopped them. "Shut up! Shut up! Let's go home, now!"

Federico looked at Salvatore and Stefano for a second, but no other words escaped his mouth. He simply walked out. His wife and daughter soon followed. 

"Manuel?" Hanxi called out, seeing he was also about to leave. 

"What?!!!" Yelled Manuel. 

"Don't forget your money and your tip."

"What tip?!" Isabella yelled. She took out the bundles amounting to two hundred thousand dollars and said, "I'm not giving you any tip."