"What are you doing? Didn't your son want the house here for marriage? Why is it suddenly about his life being in danger?" Liu Zhen asked coldly.
After realizing her elder brother's true nature, she had no trust left in him. She thought he was spouting nonsense and making up stories.
However, the next moment, Liu Quan said, "Little sister, we lied to you. Xiaopan doesn't have a girlfriend at all, and he doesn't want this house for marriage. The reason we're doing this is because he owes a huge gambling debt!"
"A huge gambling debt?" Liu Zhen's brows furrowed. "Is what you're saying true?"
"Little sister, the three of us in our family have knelt before you. Do you think I would still lie to you?" Liu Quan said with difficulty. "Xiaopan, why don't you tell your aunt yourself."
"Aunt, what my dad said is true. It's all my fault. I was set up and fell into a trap, and now I'm addicted to drugs. I owe an astronomical sum," Liu Xiaopan said with a choked voice.
"An astronomical sum? How much?" Liu Zhen asked. She swallowed as if preparing herself.
"This much..." Liu Xiaopan held up two fingers.
"Two million?" Liu Zhen asked cautiously, but as soon as she said it, she knew she had underestimated. After all, with Liu Quan's family's financial strength, two million, while a significant blow, wouldn't be impossible to come up with, nor would it endanger their lives.
As expected, Liu Xiaopan shook his head.
"Then twenty million?" Liu Zhen thought she had guessed correctly this time, but Liu Xiaopan shook his head again.
"It's two hundred million." Liu Xiaopan didn't wait for Liu Zhen to guess and directly stated the amount of the gambling debt.
"Oh, my heavens!" Liu Zhen clutched her chest, almost losing her balance and sitting down on the ground. Fortunately, Chen Xiao was quick and supported his mother.
"You little brat, how could you incur such a huge gambling debt? Two hundred million..." Liu Zhen felt her breathing become difficult, as if a mountain was pressing down on her chest.
"Aunt, please don't scold me. I know I was wrong... I was out of my mind then, misled by villains, which led to this grave mistake," Liu Xiaopan mumbled with his head down.
Hearing this, Chen Xiao felt a surge of doubt. If Liu Xiaopan was misled by villains, what was their purpose? Chen Xiao suddenly thought of a possibility, and it felt increasingly likely. That villain was after him!
"But you owe so much money, what's the use of wanting a villa here? A villa can't be sold for such a high price!" Liu Zhen's question was almost the same as Chen Xiao's, and he also wanted to know the answer.
"I don't know about that," Liu Xiaopan shook his head blankly. "Anyway, my creditors said that as long as I can get a house in Shanhai Yipin, that two hundred million debt will be cleared!"
"Aunt, I beg you, please save me!" Liu Zhen fell silent, offering no comment. Her gaze drifted to Chen Xiao, wanting to see what her son would say.
At this moment, Chen Xiao was certain that the people opposite were after him... or rather, after Shanhai Yipin! Therefore, the identity of this person must not be simple!
Chen Xiao narrowed his eyes and asked, "Liu Xiaopan, I'm asking you, as a small employee, your annual salary is at most less than two hundred thousand. Where did you get the capital to owe two hundred million... Tell me the truth, or don't expect me to help you!"
Liu Xiaopan's face turned red and white, and finally, he stammered, "They said you're doing very well now, and they know I'm your cousin, so they took good care of me in every way and gave me a lot of face."
"In the beginning, they took me out to eat and drink, gaining my trust. Then they lured me into gambling. At first, it was just small bets for fun, but then it got bigger and bigger. When I ran out of money, they lent it to me... Over time, I owed more and more. I wanted to win back, so I borrowed more money, but the more I borrowed, the more I lost, and the more I owed."
"In the end, I owed two hundred million in gambling debts. They said if I didn't pay, they would kill me and throw me into the river to feed the fish."
"But with so much money, even selling my parents wouldn't be enough to pay it back, so they gave me another option: get a house in Shanhai Yipin..."
After hearing Liu Xiaopan's words, Chen Xiao immediately asked, "Who are they?"
"They are people from an underground casino. The leader is called Er Maozi," Liu Xiaopan said immediately.
"Er Maozi? Underground casino?" Chen Xiao frowned slightly and immediately called Qi Tianhu.
"Old Qi, let me ask you, is there someone named Er Maozi in Jiangcheng who runs an underground casino?"
Qi Tianhu immediately replied, "Yes, Boss Jiang. Isn't he your man?"
"My man? Who says he's my man? I don't know him at all!" Chen Xiao's voice was tinged with displeasure. He thought, how could this Old Qi just blurt that out? If Er Maozi was his man, wouldn't he know?
"Ah?" Qi Tianhu was greatly alarmed and immediately explained nervously, "Boss Jiang, Er Maozi said his good buddy is your cousin. We also checked, and your cousin Liu Xiaopan is indeed always seen with him, so we believed it to be true..."
Chen Xiao sighed helplessly, "You've all been tricked. I don't know him at all!"
One had to admit, this Er Maozi was quite cunning. First, he approached Liu Xiaopan under Chen Xiao's name, and then used Liu Xiaopan's relationship with Chen Xiao to intimidate Qi Tianhu. And Qi Tianhu would certainly not verify such a small matter with Chen Xiao. If it weren't for today's events, Chen Xiao would probably have remained in the dark.
"Damn it, this Er Maozi has guts! He dares to impersonate your man, Boss Chen! I'll go flatten his establishment and cripple him right now!" Qi Tianhu said angrily. He hadn't been this angry in a long time, because he hadn't encountered anyone who dared to anger him in a long time.
Chen Xiao's face was grim. He continued, "I'll handle this. You don't need to get involved." The matter was far more complicated than it appeared on the surface. Er Maozi was just the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface, there must be others.
After hanging up the phone, Chen Xiao grabbed Liu Xiaopan by the collar and lifted him up, saying coldly, "Come on, take me to the casino!" Then his gaze fell on Liu Quan and Hu Lan. "You two, come out with me too!"
Liu Quan and his wife immediately followed. Liu Zhen also wanted to go, but Chen Xiao stopped her. "Mom, you should get some rest. Don't worry about this matter."
"Alright then, be careful," Liu Zhen said somewhat dejectedly.
Seeing that Chen Xiao was finally willing to help, Liu Quan breathed a huge sigh of relief. As they walked out, he said sarcastically, "We are family after all. Chen Xiao, you still have some conscience and didn't abandon us in our time of need!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Xiao turned around and kicked him to the ground. "Who the hell is family with you? Have some shame!"