Chapter 7

Chapter 7

There's more?!

Shen Dongqing was shocked. Just how much stuff had Zhang Feiyu and Zhou Jiayi pulled off?!

Shen Dongqing suddenly remembered the dark circles under Zhou Jiayi's eyes he had noticed earlier. At the time, he figured she was just feeling the heat from the online backlash, but now it seemed she was worn out from all the work they'd been doing.

Liang's father's heart ached terribly at having to fork out so much money at once. But seeing the good reviews from his fans, he felt a bit better—at least he'd locked in his public image, and he'd be able to rake in even more later.

Liang's father decided to find some promotional accounts to promote himself as soon as the livestream ended. Since he'd already spent the money, he needed to get the most bang for his buck.

Just then, another person walked over, looking dead serious. Liang's father automatically asked, "How much?"

"Two million."

Hearing that number, Liang's father's head snapped up. How much?

"How could you possibly have loaned him that much money? No way!" Liang's father refused to believe it.

"This is money Liang Xuan siphoned off from the company account. If Liang Xuan can't pay it back, we'll have no choice but to go to the police," the person replied.

Hearing this, Shen Dongqing finally understood what Zhang Feiyu meant by "bigger." Compared to the earlier debts, which ranged from a thousand to ten thousand, this was definitely big.

And with an embezzlement that big, if he couldn't pay it back, Liang Xuan would be looking at prison time, right?

Shen Dongqing automatically wanted to look up the law on this, but then noticed the comment section was just as stunned by the number, with people starting to explain.

"Embezzling two million from a company is a huge amount. If he can't pay it back, the sentence would be pretty heavy—probably around three years."

"It also depends on what the money went toward. If it went to daily expenses, around three years. If it went to illegal stuff like gambling, then three to seven years."

So the sentencing actually depended on what the money was used for. Shen Dongqing felt like he'd picked up a little piece of knowledge.

But Liang Xuan owed so much—what had he even done with it?

Shen Dongqing wasn't the only one asking that question. Everyone who heard that number couldn't help but wonder. The amount was way too big; normal spending could never add up to that.

Just as Liang's father's mind went completely blank, his phone rang. He answered without thinking and heard Liang's mother sobbing hysterically on the other end.

"Honey, something terrible happened! All the money in the card is gone! I need to call the police! I've been scammed! It must have been that phone call earlier that drained my money away..."

If Liang Xuan's embezzlement hadn't been exposed, Liang's father might not have thought of him. But at this moment, hearing his wife's cries, he snapped, "Is Liang Xuan there with you? Put him on the phone!"

Liang's mother was confused, but she handed the phone over to Liang Xuan.

"Dad..." Liang Xuan barely got one word out before his dad started yelling through the phone.

"You little brat! Did you mess with the money in your mom's card? And the company money you stole—what did you blow it on? The company came looking for you! Two million! And I haven't seen you eating well or drinking well—where did it all go?"

"Honey, are you out of your mind? How could it be Xuanxuan? He..." Liang's mother's voice trailed off as she remembered when Liang Xuan had asked for her phone. After that, he'd seemed a little off.

Under his mother's disbelieving stare, Liang Xuan's body trembled uncontrollably. He tucked his head into his chest, not daring to look at her.

"Where did you spend the money? Tell me! Tell me! Why did you do this?" Liang's mother grabbed at Liang Xuan's clothes, sobbing, her eyes full of confusion and despair.

The sound carried over to Liang's father's end. He could barely keep up his loving-father act anymore. Looking at the company exec who'd come to collect the debt, he shook his head and said, "I can't deal with Liang Xuan's mess. If you want the money, go talk to him."

"Mr. Liang, please reconsider. Before we came, we consulted with lawyers. If we decide to report this to the police, Liang Xuan will get at least three years. If it's more serious, it could be up to seven years. Liang Xuan is still young. If he does seven years in prison, his whole life will be ruined."

The company exec thought Liang's father didn't get how serious this was, so he spelled out the consequences. Before coming, they had done their research—Liang Xuan was the only child in the family, and the Liang family had a house and a car, so there was a good chance the debt could be repaid.

But Liang's father turned a deaf ear. Looking at the discussions in the livestream, he directly shut it down. Even if his persona collapsed, there was no way he was paying this money. For the future, he could part with tens of thousands, but two million? No way. Liang Xuan wasn't worth that much to him.

"Liang Xuan is done for. His dad looks pretty cold-hearted—he probably won't help pay off the debt," Zhang Feiyu said, having somehow sidled up next to Shen Dongqing, letting out a sigh.

"Couldn't it just be a moment of hardness?" Shen Dongqing felt that Liang Xuan's father's coldness might only be temporary.

"You don't understand. I watched his livestream earlier. This guy—how should I put it—he's putting on an act, but his act has a cost. The earlier people who came were only asking for tens of thousands in debt. For the sake of face, he could still pay. But this last one is too much. He can't bear to part with it, and he can't afford it either—unless he sells the house and car and the whole family goes into debt."

Of course, the main thing was that Liang Xuan was already in deep trouble. He might go to prison anyway. Even if this matter was resolved, he still had the intentional injury charge hanging over him, which would land him at least three years inside. So Liang Xuan's value had dropped significantly.

"But even if his dad won't save him, his mom might try. Just don't know how much she can come up with."

Liang's mother should have been able to come up with a decent amount, but Liang Xuan had already used up her money. Even if she wanted to save him, she probably couldn't.

Hearing Zhang Feiyu's analysis, Shen Dongqing realized that Liang Xuan's fall into this desperate situation was entirely self-inflicted.

Netizens were also stunned by this drama.

"Has anyone tallied up how much this Liang Xuan owes in total?"

"Based on the numbers his dad revealed earlier, plus what's come out now, the jackpot is piling up to around 3 million."

"Initial suspicion is gambling. There's no other way he could have spent that much."

"I thought he was just a vindictive guy who hired a prostitute. Turns out this guy has all kinds of baggage. That girl really dodged a bullet by breaking up with him."

"I have a dark theory. This guy went after his ex—could it be that he knew he couldn't repay the company money and would go to prison, so he figured a few more years didn't matter, as long as he could destroy his ex-girlfriend?"

"Too bad the girl doesn't have an account. I really want to suggest she take a bath with pomelo leaves to wash off the bad luck, then go burn some incense at a temple. Dating a boyfriend like this is pure disaster."

"Dating a boyfriend like this isn't just a dark chapter—it's a criminal record."

"The theory above is really dark, but the more I think about it, the more it fits."

"Seriously, what was he thinking? She's still his ex-girlfriend. How could he be so vicious?"

"His mentality must have collapsed. Even without the intentional injury charge, if he couldn't repay the debt, Liang Xuan was definitely going to prison. Coming out of prison, he'd have no future—a world apart from his current life. Then he thinks about his ex's bright future, and resentment builds up."

Shen Dongqing sucked in a breath as he watched the comments. If what the netizens speculated was true, Liang Xuan was rotten to the core.

Good thing Liang Xuan would be going to prison soon. Otherwise, Zhou Jiayi would be in danger.

Seeing that Liang's father truly wasn't going to help, the company exec didn't press further. Instead, he went to find Liang Xuan directly. After all, he was the one who embezzled the funds. If no one helped him, he'd have to repay it himself.

With this big drama coming to an end, Shen Dongqing thought for a moment and decided to close his livestream.

Although this stream hadn't been particularly long, it had plenty of content.

Zhang Feiyu felt that all his goals for this session had been achieved—even exceeded, thanks to Liang Xuan being such a terrible person. He chatted with the viewers for a bit and was about to close his stream too.

But remembering that he and Shen Dongqing had been streaming together, Zhang Feiyu was about to let Shen Dongqing know when he noticed that Shen Dongqing had already closed his stream. He was a bit impressed by Shen Dongqing's natural talent for livestreaming.

"?" Meeting Zhang Feiyu's approving gaze, Shen Dongqing was completely confused. What had he done? It looked like he was about to be praised by Zhang Feiyu.

As mealtime approached, after the livestream ended, the three of them decided to find a restaurant and have dinner together.

Hearing Shen Dongqing's question, Zhang Feiyu was silent for a moment, then asked doubtfully, "Didn't you close the livestream because you wanted fans to spread the word about this broadcast more?"

"???" Shen Dongqing's brain hadn't even processed it.

The two exchanged glances, and seeing Shen Dongqing's overly innocent eyes, Zhang Feiyu realized he had stumbled into doing the right thing.

Well, being lucky was part of being capable, he guessed.

Zhang Feiyu explained that if a livestream had no major talking points, staying on air could cultivate a habit in fans of watching, but if it had viral moments, closing the stream after the matter concluded would have a better effect.

People all have a natural urge to share—once they learn something interesting, they can't wait to tell others, and that word-of-mouth helps promote the streamer.

He mentioned that a lot of his own fans had started following him because of clip compilations.

Shen Dongqing pulled up the system panel and saw his Fame Points climbing even faster than during the livestream.

This proved Zhang Feiyu's point—after the stream ended, netizens couldn't suppress their urge to spill the tea and were spreading the gossip far and wide.

During the meal, Shen Dongqing asked about the whole affair, and Zhang Feiyu and Zhou Jiayi didn't hide anything, explaining it all.

It turned out that when Zhou Jiayi discovered Liang Xuan had hired a prostitute, she went through his phone and stumbled upon his gambling debts, though she hadn't yet known about the embezzlement of company funds.

At the breakup, Zhou Jiayi deliberately didn't mention this, not wanting trouble, but when the Liang family caused her problems, she naturally decided to cause Liang Xuan some in return.

After Zhang Feiyu learned about it, he and Zhou Jiayi talked it over and went to find Liang Xuan's colleagues and friends, discussing how to get the Liang family to repay the money.

In the end, the company found out, noticed something was off with Liang Xuan, and discovered he had embezzled company funds for gambling.

Shen Dongqing looked at Zhang Feiyu and Zhou Jiayi with admiration.

Zhou Jiayi waved her hand and said, "Actually, even if I hadn't blown the whistle on this, their company would have found out soon enough."

Speaking of which, Shen Dongqing showed Zhou Jiayi the speculative comments he had seen earlier.

"That person has a good read on people—I guessed the same thing too," Zhou Jiayi smiled. "But before, I just wasn't on guard. If Liang Xuan tries anything after getting out of prison, I'll be waiting for him."

"She signed up for a Sanda class, and her coach says she's very talented," Zhang Feiyu added. He genuinely admired Zhou Jiayi—contacting people during the day and practicing kickboxing at night, her stamina blew him away.

Seeing Zhou Jiayi in this state, Shen Dongqing was also pleased. Knowing Liang Xuan's personality, he'd probably want to see Zhou Jiayi worried and anxious because of what he did, but now, Zhou Jiayi would only keep getting better.

As the three ate, public opinion online was also shifting rapidly.

Originally, because the Liang family kept smearing Zhou Jiayi, some people were half-skeptical of the allegations but still thought Liang Xuan was a decent man pushed to the edge. However, once Liang Xuan's debts were exposed, many began questioning the Liang family's claims.

You're saying Zhou Jiayi's a gold digger, but based on the bills the Liang family previously provided, to dig out three million, how long would that take?

Someone also noticed that Liang Xuan had only joined the company less than half a year ago, and Zhou Jiayi had been working for about the same time, never late or early, with no expensive items to show—so where did the money go?

And Liang Xuan's online gambling wasn't exactly a well-kept secret—when he won, he couldn't help bragging to friends, and before he lost money, those friends even thought he was impressive for making easy cash.

Previously, netizens just hadn't dug deep, but now that they did, Liang Xuan's online gambling was immediately exposed, along with his flashy posts on a burner account after winning, showing off his partying and living it up.

"He said he spent so much on his gold-digger girlfriend, but it all went on himself."