At the same time, Yang Chen had already sent Qin Xi and Xiao Xiao back to the Qin family compound.
As soon as the family of three entered the door, they were greeted by the aroma of food.
"Xi'er, why are you back so late? I finished cooking a while ago. Go wash your hands, and I'll heat up the dishes." Zhou Yucui was unusually attentive, immediately picking up the dishes to warm them.
After the morning's incident, Zhou Yucui had been uneasy all day, afraid that her two daughters would stop giving her money.
Before her daughters got off work, she had personally prepared a table full of dishes.
"We've already eaten outside," Qin Xi replied coldly before heading upstairs.
"Xi'er, I made so much food. What are we going to do if you don't eat it? Just have a little, at least!" Zhou Yucui hurriedly said.
But Qin Xi ignored her, taking Xiao Xiao back to their room.
Soon after, Qin Yi also returned home. In the past, she would always cheerfully call out, "Mom, I'm back!" as soon as she arrived.
But today, she didn't say a word. When Zhou Yucui called her to eat, she didn't even bother to respond and went straight to her room.
Zhou Yucui's expression darkened with anger, but thinking about the monthly allowance her daughters gave her, she had no choice but to suppress her rage.
At that moment, Yang Chen came out after washing his hands. Looking at the table full of dishes, he smiled and said, "Mom, your cooking is the best. Just the smell alone is amazing!"
Yang Chen then went to the kitchen. When he came back out with a large bowl of rice, he found that all the dishes on the table were gone. Zhou Yucui was dumping the last plate into the trash.
Seeing this, Yang Chen's lips twitched.
He wasn't actually hungry—he just wanted to use the opportunity to ease tensions with his mother-in-law. But his goodwill had been treated like garbage.
"Mom, why did you throw all the food away?" Yang Chen asked with a smile.
Zhou Yucui glared at him fiercely. "I'd rather feed my food to the dogs than let you eat it."
With that, she snatched the bowl of rice from his hands and dumped it into the trash before walking away.
A surge of anger rose in Yang Chen's heart. Zhou Yucui's actions were nothing short of an insult.
But thinking of Qin Xi and Xiao Xiao, he had no choice but to suppress his anger.
"Probably no matter what I do, the contempt she holds for me in her bones will never go away."
Yang Chen smiled self-deprecatingly and headed upstairs.
"Did Mom give you a hard time again?" Qin Xi asked.
Yang Chen shook his head with a smile. "Not at all!"
"Don't lie. I can tell something's wrong." Qin Xi rolled her eyes at him.
Yang Chen just smiled and didn't explain further.
At that moment, Qin Xi's phone suddenly rang.
As soon as she answered, she heard a familiar voice: "Xi'er, come to Bu Ye Cheng quickly to save me! If you don't come, they're going to cripple me!"
"Dad, what's wrong?" Qin Xi's face paled in panic.
"Are you Qin Dayong's daughter? Your dad owes Bu Ye Cheng five million, plus another million to a guest. If we don't see the money to redeem him within half an hour, you can prepare to collect his corpse!" A strange voice suddenly cut in.
After saying this, the other party hung up.
"What happened?" Seeing Qin Xi's stunned expression, Yang Chen quickly asked.
Qin Xi's eyes reddened as she spoke: "My dad is at Bu Ye Cheng. He owes six million. They said if we don't go to redeem him within half an hour, they'll kill him!"
Yang Chen's eyes narrowed slightly. Although he wasn't sure what Bu Ye Cheng was, the name suggested it was some kind of entertainment venue.
"This doesn't make sense. How could my dad suddenly owe so much money? But where am I supposed to get five million to redeem him?" Qin Xi was on the verge of tears, her face full of panic.
Yang Chen asked, "Has Dad been acting unusual lately?"
"Lately, he either doesn't come home or comes back drunk."
Qin Xi continued, "But he wasn't like this before. After retiring, he stayed home reading the newspaper every day. How could he suddenly owe so much money?"
Yang Chen didn't know much about Qin Dayong, but hearing Qin Xi's explanation, he sensed something was off.
"Yang Chen, do you think my dad might have been kidnapped?" Qin Xi asked fearfully, recalling the voice on the phone.
"Unlikely. If he were really kidnapped, they wouldn't have told you to go to Bu Ye Cheng to redeem him."
Yang Chen shook his head and reassured her, "How about this—you stay home with Xiao Xiao. I'll go to Bu Ye Cheng."
"Yang Chen, I..."
Before Qin Xi could finish, Yang Chen interrupted, "Don't worry. I'll bring Dad home safely."
"Thank you!" Qin Xi bit her lip. "Be careful!"
Yang Chen smiled and turned to leave.
Watching his retreating figure, Qin Xi's tears began to fall uncontrollably.
Only at this moment did she realize that, without her noticing, Yang Chen had become the first person she thought of whenever she encountered trouble.
"Mommy, don't cry!" Xiao Xiao, seeing Qin Xi's tears, reached out her chubby little hands to wipe them away.
Qin Xi hugged Xiao Xiao tightly. "Mommy won't cry."
Twenty minutes later, a black Volkswagen Phaeton parked at the entrance of Bu Ye Cheng.
"I'm here to redeem someone," Yang Chen announced as soon as he entered.
"Who?"
"Qin Dayong."
"Follow me."
A middle-aged man in a suit glanced at Yang Chen before leading him upstairs.
When the elevator reached the top floor, the doors opened, and a cacophony of noise greeted them.
Seeing the scene in the hall, Yang Chen understood why Qin Dayong had suddenly owed six million.
The spacious hall was filled with dozens of gaming tables, each surrounded by a crowd of people.
At the very back, a man lay on the ground—Qin Dayong.
He was covered in footprints, his face bruised and swollen.
Seeing this, a cold glint flashed in Yang Chen's eyes.
Yang Wei and Fang Yue were also in the crowd. When Yang Wei saw that Yang Chen had come alone, he frowned and glanced disapprovingly at Fang Yue.
Fang Yue pouted. "Brother Wei, I didn't expect Bu Ye Cheng to interfere either."
Yang Wei snorted but said nothing more.
"Brother Qiang, he says he's here to redeem Qin Dayong," the man who had brought Yang Chen upstairs whispered to a bald man.
The bald man, a cigarette dangling from his lips and cards in his hand, gave Yang Chen a cursory glance before turning his attention back to the game.
"Haha, this round is mine!" the bald man suddenly laughed, sweeping all the chips on the table toward himself.
"Dad!" Yang Chen walked over and helped Qin Dayong up from the ground.
When Qin Dayong saw it was Yang Chen, he immediately pleaded, "Yang Chen, hurry up and pay them back, or they'll break my legs!"
Clearly terrified, Qin Dayong hid behind Yang Chen, his face full of fear.
"Dad, don't worry. As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you," Yang Chen said softly.
"Kid, since you're here to redeem someone, pay up quickly and take this deadbeat away," the bald man spoke up.
Yang Chen looked at him calmly. "Money isn't an issue. But before that, let's talk about you beating up my dad."