Chapter 284 - 282: A Lost Cause

Xu Yue closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her beautiful eyes surged with disappointment and anger. "That idiot actually sold me out!"

"Calm down and call him first," Yang Xun said, handing her the phone. "Ask him where he is. Don’t tell him we already know."

Xu Yue took a deep breath, dialed the number, and put it on speaker.

The phone rang three times before it was hung up.

She called again. This time, it was disconnected after just two rings. On her third attempt, the phone had been turned off completely.

Xu Yue’s grip on the device tightened, her knuckles turning white.

"I’ll have Zhou Yuan look for him," Yang Xun said, taking his phone back and sending Zhou Yuan a message.

Less than ten minutes later, Zhou Yuan called back.

"Xun, I found something. There’s a company in Zhonghai City called Meiyan Biotechnology that focuses on high-end skincare products. The boss is named Cheng Ye.

"You asked me to investigate Xu Feifan earlier, and I just so happened to find out that he went to an underground casino a few days ago. He and Cheng Ye of Meiyan Biotechnology entered one after the other. They didn’t sit at the same table, but Xu Feifan suddenly had money. I think they made a deal in private."

Yang Xun had put the call on speaker, allowing Xu Yue to hear everything.

Xu Yue’s face paled for a moment before settling into an icy calm—a composure born of absolute, utter disappointment.

"Where is Xu Feifan now?" Xu Yue asked.

Zhou Yuan paused for a second. Knowing this was Yang Xun’s wife, his tone became exceedingly respectful. "Xu Feifan has been spending all his time at the casino since he got the money. He’s already lost half of it."

"We’re going to the casino," Xu Yue said, standing up abruptly. She gritted her teeth. "I want to ask him face-to-face what he was thinking, selling out his own family’s company for a paltry sum of petty cash!"

In the elevator, Xu Yue leaned against Yang Xun’s shoulder. She didn’t cry; she merely stood there in silence.

"Don’t be angry, honey. A person like that isn’t worth it," Yang Xun comforted her softly.

Xu Yue nodded, but her heart felt like ice.

The car soon arrived at the casino. Yang Xun held Xu Yue’s hand as they marched inside with imposing momentum.

The casino’s lights were as resplendent and dazzling as ever, but the clamorous noise seemed to dim the moment Xu Yue stepped into the hall.

Scanning the room, Yang Xun quickly locked onto a figure at one of the gambling tables.

Xu Feifan was wearing a gaudy shirt with the top two buttons undone and a cigarette dangling from his lips.

A towering stack of chips sat in front of him. Beside him sat a scantily clad young woman who was practically glued to his side. She was holding a piece of watermelon by her fingertips, feeding it to him.

As Xu Yue walked over, Xu Feifan had just won a hand and was throwing his head back in laughter, the sound exceptionally grating amidst the casino’s din.

"My luck is off the charts today! Hahaha!"

"Feifan, since you’ve won so much, you have to share some with me!" the woman cooed flirtatiously.

In high spirits, Xu Feifan pulled the woman into a kiss, then pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and stuffed it down her cleavage.

"I knew you were the best, Feifan."

The two of them were so overly affectionate it looked as if they were itching to put on a steamy live show right in front of everyone.

Xu Feifan didn’t care in the slightest as he frantically placed his bets. But right at the peak of his smug complacency, he turned his head and saw Xu Yue.

His laughter hitched in his throat, and the chips in his hand fell onto the table with a CLACK.

The woman beside him, completely oblivious, tried to shove another piece of watermelon into his mouth. Xu Yue slapped her hand away. The watermelon dropped to the carpet, rolling a couple of times.

"Stand up." Xu Yue’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried a chilling edge that made the surrounding gamblers subconsciously glance over.

The smile on Xu Feifan’s face completely froze. He tried to muster a fawning expression, but before he could even speak, Xu Yue raised her hand and slapped him.

SLAP!

The sound was sharp and clean. The surroundings instantly fell dead silent.

The woman next to him shrank back in fright, assuming Xu Yue was a wife here to catch her cheating husband.

"Xu Yue, are you crazy?!" Xu Feifan stood up, clutching his cheek. His sudden movement sent the chips on the table clattering with a CLINKING crash. "I’m your brother, and you hit me in front of all these people?"

"I don’t have an idiot brother like you! You don’t deserve to be my brother!"

Xu Yue’s voice was devoid of inflection, but the look in her eyes sent a chill down Xu Feifan’s spine.

Knowing exactly what he had done, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. He subconsciously took a half-step back, only to have Yang Xun grab him by the collar from behind.

"Move," Yang Xun said, dragging him toward the exit.

Xu Feifan struggled, but Yang Xun’s grip was ridiculously strong, making it impossible for him to even find his footing.

Dragged all the way across the casino hall, Xu Feifan looked like a dog being carried by the scruff of its neck.

"What are you doing? Let go of Feifan!" the woman screamed, chasing after them for a couple of steps before stopping. She clearly hadn’t figured out what was happening to Xu Feifan and was afraid of getting herself into trouble.

Once outside the casino doors, Yang Xun shoved Xu Feifan into the backseat of the car and got in himself. Xu Yue sat in the passenger seat, never once turning back to look at him.

On the drive back to the Xu Family Villa, Xu Feifan cursed non-stop in the backseat.

"What gives you the right to grab me!

"Xu Yue, I’m your brother! You hit me in public and gave me zero face!

"I’m going to call the police! This is false imprisonment!"

The car remained completely silent. Neither Yang Xun nor Xu Yue paid him any heed. Glancing at that flushed red face in the rearview mirror, Yang Xun merely sneered inwardly.

Upon arriving at the Xu family’s home, Yang Xun got out, yanked Xu Feifan from the car, and dragged him all the way into the main hall.

Xu Yue had walked ahead to the altar where her parents’ memorial tablets were enshrined. She lit three sticks of incense, then turned around to look at Xu Feifan, whom Yang Xun had forced to his knees on the floor.

"Kneel properly," Xu Yue said, her voice very light.

Xu Feifan stiffened his neck with extreme reluctance, about to push himself up from his knees.

Yang Xun slapped him on the back of the head. It wasn’t too forceful, but it was enough to make his knees slam solidly back onto the floor.

"How did Mom teach you when she was alive?" Xu Yue began. There was no anger in her voice, only an exhaustion so profound it was suffocating. "She said you were the eldest son, and the burden of the Xu family would rest on your shoulders in the future.

"But what did you do? When the company was given to you, you found it too troublesome and refused to manage it. You said you only wanted an easy life.

"Fine, so I managed it. I carried the burden. All you had to do was be the eldest young master of the Xu family.

"I gave you living expenses, gave you a car, and gave you a house to live in. When you said you wanted to play around, I never once stopped you.

"But of all the things you could do, you absolutely shouldn’t have betrayed me. Do you even know what it is you sold this time? It was the blood, sweat, and tears I spent nearly a year working on! I was going to rely on that new product to turn the Xu family around and give you an even more carefree life, but you ruined everything!"

Seeing that Xu Yue was genuinely furious, Xu Feifan kept his head down. His shoulders trembled slightly, but he kept his jaw clenched tight and said nothing.

"Xu Feifan, you aren’t just a hopeless case—you’re a downright parasite!" Xu Yue cursed, panting heavily.