Chapter 523: Jiang Yixia and Lu Fan Take a Late-Night Walk and Confide in Each Other!

“Who brought him into the game?” Lu Fan asked. His tone was light, but every word was clear and sharp.

Liu Wei stood up and smiled. “And you are?”

“His brother-in-law.” Lu Fan looked at him, his tone flat. “I heard my brother-in-law lost some money, so I came to take a look.”

Liu Wei’s smile faltered. “It’s just friends messing around. A little friendly betting to spice things up, you know.”

“Thirty thousand yuan is a ‘little betting’?” Lu Fan smiled. It wasn’t a cold smile, but it still sent chills down their spines.

Liu Wei opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words.

Lu Fan sat down in a chair. He picked up the deck of cards on the table, flipped over two, and put them back down. Looking up at Liu Wei, his tone was as casual as if they were chatting about the weather. “Which of you three came up with this?”

Liu Wei stayed silent.

Chen Haopeng kept his head down, his fingers tapping lightly against the tabletop. Next to him, Wang Leihai’s chubby face flushed a deep red as sweat beaded on his forehead.

“I asked you a question.” Lu Fan’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an oppressive weight that made it hard to breathe.

Chen Haopeng was the first to speak, his voice lacking confidence. “Sir, we were just playing around. We didn’t mean anything by it.”

Lu Fan looked at him without saying a word. Under that intense gaze, Chen Haopeng lowered his head.

Standing up, Lu Fan walked over to Jiang Ming and patted his shoulder. He then turned back to Liu Wei, asking calmly, “How much did my brother-in-law lose in total?”

“Thirty thousand…” Liu Wei’s voice was much smaller now.

“Where’s the money?” Lu Fan asked.

Liu Wei looked at Chen Haopeng, then at Wang Leihai. The three of them exchanged glances, but no one moved.

Lu Fan smiled. It was a faint expression, like he was watching a boring play. “Chen He,” he called out.

Chen He stepped forward, pulled a bank card from his pocket, and placed it on the table.

“There’s fifty thousand on this card.” Lu Fan looked at Liu Wei, his tone unhurried. “Is it enough?”

Liu Wei’s expression changed, and he hurriedly waved his hands. “Sir, it’s not about the money…”

“Then what is it about?” Lu Fan interrupted, his eyes turning icy. “You set up a scam to con my brother-in-law, and now you’re telling me it’s not about the money?”

Liu Wei’s legs began to tremble.

Chen Haopeng stood up and forced a smile. “Sir, it’s a misunderstanding. It’s all a misunderstanding! We’ll return the money. Every single cent.”

“You think returning it is the end of it?” Lu Fan looked at him calmly. “You set up an illegal gambling ring. According to the Public Security Administration Punishments Law, you’re looking at detention and fines. Do you want me to call the police right now?”

Wang Leihai’s chubby face instantly drained of color, his voice shaking. “Sir, we really didn’t know he was your brother-in-law! We were just playing, we didn’t mean to scam him…”

Lu Fan ignored him and turned to Jiang Ming. “Did they force you to play?”

Jiang Ming thought for a moment before shaking his head. “No. They just kept urging me to.”

“How many times?” Lu Fan asked.

“Every time I lost, they urged me to keep playing,” Jiang Ming answered truthfully.

Lu Fan nodded. He looked back at Liu Wei, his tone light. “Hear that? Urging him to play every time he loses. If that’s not a scam, what is?”

Sweat broke out on Liu Wei’s forehead. His lips trembled, but he couldn’t utter a single word.

Chen He stepped forward, gathered the loose cash on the table, and counted it. He turned to Lu Fan. “Mr. Lu, it’s less than two thousand.”

Lu Fan smiled, a hint of mockery in his expression. “Over thirty thousand lost in total, yet there’s barely two thousand on the table. You guys ran this scam pretty clean.”

He stood up and looked at Liu Wei, his tone regaining its calmness. “I’ll give you two choices. One, return the money, and I won’t pursue this any further. Two, I call the police right now, the three of you sit in a cell for a few days, and when you get out, you still have to return the money. Take your pick.”

Liu Wei, Chen Haopeng, and Wang Leihai exchanged terrified looks.

“We’ll return it! We’ll return it!” Liu Wei nodded frantically, clumsily digging into his pockets for cash. Chen Haopeng and Wang Leihai quickly followed suit.

The three of them scrambled for a long time, scraping together just over twenty thousand yuan. They were still short a few thousand.

“We’ll get the rest together for you by tomorrow,” Liu Wei said, his voice dripping with sycophancy.

Lu Fan shot Chen He a glance.

Chen He stepped forward, collected the money on the table, and counted it. “Mr. Lu, they’re short eight thousand.”

Lu Fan looked at Liu Wei, his tone flat. “Deliver it to this address before noon tomorrow.” He pulled a business card from his pocket and placed it on the table. “If you’re a minute late, I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

Liu Wei took the card with both hands, bowing and scraping. “Absolutely! It will definitely be delivered tomorrow.”

Without sparing him another glance, Lu Fan turned and patted Jiang Ming’s shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Jiang Ming kept his head down and followed behind him. Jiang Yixia glanced at Jiang Ming; she wanted to say something but swallowed her words.

The four of them left the card room and got into the car. Chen He started the engine, and the vehicle headed toward the city center.

It was quiet inside the car; no one spoke. Jiang Ming sat in the back seat with his head down, looking like a child who had done something wrong.

Jiang Yixia sat next to him. Having held it in for the entire drive, she finally snapped. “How old are you? You’re in your twenties and you’re still getting conned? Losing a few hundred playing mahjong is one thing, but thirty thousand on Golden Flower? Where is your brain?”

Jiang Ming kept his head down, not daring to utter a single word.

“Anyone could see they were setting you up. Could you really not tell?” The more Jiang Yixia spoke, the angrier she got. “They let you win the first time to give you a taste of victory, then slowly bled you dry, urging you to keep playing every time you lost. Isn’t this an obvious pig-butchering scam?”

“I know I was wrong, Yixia,” Jiang Ming said, his voice muffled.

“You know you were wrong? What good does that do? If it weren’t for Lu Fan, do you think you would have made it out of there today?”

Jiang Ming fell silent.

Sitting in the front, Lu Fan glanced at Jiang Yixia through the rearview mirror and smiled. “Alright, stop scolding him. He just doesn’t understand how sinister people can be.”

“Doesn’t understand? He’s in his twenties and he still doesn’t get it?” Jiang Yixia’s voice was still loud, though her tone softened slightly. “Lu Fan bought you a car and arranged a job for you, and this is how you repay him? By gambling out on the streets?”