Chapter 371: A Test for Him

Cheng Ye was panting heavily in anger. With trembling hands, he picked up his phone, scrolled to an unsaved number, and dialed.

It rang for a long time before someone finally answered.

Xu Feifan’s knuckles were slightly white as he gripped his phone. It felt as if a wad of cotton was stuffed in his throat. “President Cheng, I’m already working at the company now. Yueyue is willing to give me a chance, so I can’t…”

“Can’t what?” Cheng Ye’s voice came through the receiver, unhurried and calm. “Can’t betray your sister anymore? Xu Feifan, since when did you become so loyal and righteous?”

Xu Feifan’s face burned with humiliation. He didn’t reply.

Afraid of angering Xu Feifan, Cheng Ye softened his tone. “I’m not forcing you to do anything heinous. I just want the Xu Family’s formulas, not Xu Yue’s life.

“Think about it. Xu’s Beauty Industry should have been yours to begin with. You are the eldest son of the Xu Family. When your father passed away, you were the one who should have inherited everything.

“But what about your sister? She took the company, made you a figurehead, and brushed you off with a meager monthly allowance.

“If she finds out you’ve racked up so much gambling debt outside, not only will she refuse to help, but she’ll completely kick you out of the Xu Family.”

Xu Feifan’s fingers tightened their grip. A thin layer of sweat seeped from the palm holding the phone. Cheng Ye’s every word felt like it was stepping on his most painful nerve, so precise that it left him nowhere to hide.

“I heard you’ve been working quite hard at the company lately.” Cheng Ye’s tone carried a teasing, half-smiling amusement. “Running around the market, pulling in clients, doing sales under the scorching sun, getting ordered around like a dog… You’re the eldest young master of the Xu Family. Do you really need to stoop so low?

“As long as you get your hands on the formulas, I’ll pay off all your gambling debts. Not only that, but I’ll also help you take the position of power in Xu’s Beauty Industry.

“When that time comes, Xu Yue will be the one bowing her head. She’ll be the one walking on eggshells around you, not the other way around.”

Xu Feifan closed his eyes for a moment. He thought of the looks people gave him while he was out doing sales these days. He remembered the faces of those who had once fawned over him, yet now treated him as if he were invisible. He also remembered the tone Xu Yue had used in the office that day when she told him to “work hard”—it was gentle, but carried a distant alienation, as if separated by a pane of glass. He had clearly tried his best, yet in the eyes of others, he was still just a useless piece of trash.

“Let me think about it,” he said, his voice low.

“Alright, I’ll give you one night to consider.” Cheng Ye’s tone remained unhurried. “But let me remind you, some opportunities never return once missed. You know better than I do what will happen if your debts keep piling up with compound interest.”

The call disconnected.

Xu Feifan stood frozen in place, maintaining his grip on the phone for a long while. He slowly lowered his hand, turned off the screen, and stared at his exhausted, conflicted reflection in the black glass. Then, he turned and walked toward the elevators.

The next morning.

Xu Feifan stood at his workstation in the marketing department, a stack of client files waiting to be sorted in front of him. His gaze fell on the papers, but he didn’t absorb a single word.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a message from Cheng Ye: “Have you made up your mind?”

He stared at the text for nearly two minutes before typing back: “I can agree, but I’m just a regular employee in the marketing department right now. Getting the formulas is too difficult.”

Less than ten seconds later, Cheng Ye’s reply arrived. “You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll arrange someone to assist you.

“My person will drug Xu Yue. When the time comes, all you have to do is go into her office and take the things.”

Xu Feifan didn’t reply again and turned off his phone screen. A moment later, he stood at the corner of the corridor, his gaze fixed on the tightly shut office door. His expression was complicated, as if something was constantly tearing at his heart. After standing there for nearly two minutes, he finally took a step and walked toward Xu Yue’s office.

The door wasn’t fully closed, leaving a narrow crack. He raised his hand and knocked gently twice, but there was no response from inside. Panic seized him, and he shoved the door open.

The first thing he saw was Xu Yue lying pale on the sofa. Memories of the past quickly flashed through his mind. Because he and Xu Yue were close in age, they often played together as children, and their bond was the strongest. But once they started school, Xu Yue proved to be a genius girl. Meanwhile, he, bearing the title of Xu Yue’s older brother, was constantly ridiculed.

Back then, Xu Yue had smiled and said, “Feifan, don’t worry. Even if you don’t know how to do anything in the future, I’ll provide for you.”

She said it, and she truly did it. But he had been a disappointment, always causing trouble for his sister. Thinking of this, Xu Feifan rushed over, grabbed Xu Yue, and shook her vigorously.

“Yueyue, wake up!”

Seeing that Xu Yue remained unconscious, Xu Feifan broke into a panicked sweat. He grabbed her arm, intending to carry her on his back. “Yueyue, don’t be afraid. I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Just then, Xu Yue slowly woke up. Her expression was somewhat dazed. “Feifan, what are you doing?”

“Yueyue, you’re awake! Does your head hurt?”

“I’m a little dizzy. What happened to me?”

“Someone drugged you! It wasn’t me, I swear. Listen to me, Cheng Ye contacted me yesterday,” Xu Feifan explained anxiously.

Xu Yue’s expression remained perfectly calm as she motioned for him to continue.

“He told me to steal the Ninghua Cream and Repair Cream formulas, saying that as long as I got them, he would help pay off my gambling debts.” Xu Feifan’s voice was hoarse and dry, sweat pouring down his face from anxiety. “I agreed to it at the time, but I never intended to go through with it.

“You’re my biological sister. No matter how much of a bastard I am, I could never hurt you.”

The office fell silent for a few seconds. Xu Yue looked at him, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

After a long while, she finally spoke. “Cheng Ye has approached you several times already, hasn’t he?”

Xu Feifan froze, instinctively asking, “How… how did you know?”

“Because you aren’t the only one Cheng Ye has approached.” Xu Yue stood up and walked to the window, turning her back to him. “He also reached out to people in the R&D department and the marketing department. He thinks Xu’s Beauty Industry is still a disorganized mess that he can pry apart with just a little money.”

She turned around, her gaze falling on his face. “So, I was also making a gamble. I gambled on whether you would be the same as before this time.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the lounge door was pushed open. Yang Xun and Xu Qian walked out, smiling as they looked at him. Xu Feifan looked utterly bewildered. He stared at them, then looked back at Xu Yue.

“I guessed early on that Cheng Ye wouldn’t give up on using you, so this was a test,” Xu Yue explained. “If you still chose to betray the Xu Family for your own selfish desires, I would have severed all ties with you. Luckily, you didn’t disappoint me.”

Xu Yue let out a sigh of relief, a trace of warmth finally surfacing in her eyes.