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Xue Chen showed no excitement or joy. He merely replied calmly, "Boss Fan, you've lost quite a bit, haven't you?"

"Heh, this operation makes me a good deal of money every year, but it's nowhere near enough to hurt me." The man said, "I, Fan Tianwen, can afford to lose. This casino is yours."

As the man finished speaking, one of his lackeys placed the documents in his hands before Xue Chen. "Sign here."

"What if I said I didn't want any of this? What if I came to talk business with you instead—would you believe me?" Xue Chen smiled as he looked at the man across from him.

Hearing Xue Chen's words, Fan Tianwen frowned. He truly did not believe that this young man, who clearly did not look like he came from an ordinary family, would want to do business with someone like him from the underworld. "Mr. Xue, let's not beat around the bush."

Xue Chen took a document directly from his bag. "I want you to investigate someone. As long as you help me settle this matter, I won't take a single thing from this place. I'll even give you one hundred thousand yuan."

Though Fan Tianwen was from the underworld, he was still a clever man. Otherwise, he would not have taken control of most of S City's underground world. He opened the document and looked over its contents. "Do you want me to take care of him in one go?"

"No. I prefer taking revenge myself." Xue Chen's eyes were filled with coldness and killing intent. He wanted everyone who had dared cause his parents' deaths to pay the price.

"Fine." Fan Tianwen agreed readily. "In that case, I'll take this job. How would you like this handled, Mr. Xue?"

"I want everything on Yu Jiaqi, past and present, delivered to me before noon tomorrow. Any problem with that?" Xue Chen said flatly.

"Of course not." Fan Tianwen answered without hesitation. "I'll dig up what kind of people his ancestors were for eighteen generations if I have to."

"Good. Then I'll await your good news." Xue Chen said nothing more and left empty-handed.

"Boss, that kid is way too arrogant. Want me to find someone to teach him a lesson?" One of Fan Tianwen's lackeys glared at Xue Chen's departing back and spoke indignantly, looking as though he were filled with righteous fury.

"You want to try?" Fan Tianwen turned and shot him a glare, frightening him into shrinking back immediately. "No, Boss. I was just joking."

"Just joking? Don't underestimate that kid. Who doesn't have their legs shaking when they see me? Yet he remained completely calm under pressure. If nothing unexpected happens, he'll definitely become somebody important in the future. I have no grudge or feud with him, so why make an enemy of him?" Fan Tianwen greatly admired Xue Chen's conduct. He could tell that Xue Chen was not someone willing to remain beneath others.

Xue Chen, who had walked out of the bar, did not know Fan Tianwen's assessment of him. As he walked along the bustling street and looked at the aged high-rise buildings around him, he suddenly felt as if he had been separated from this world by a lifetime.

"Is there still a place for me in this world?" Watching the cars pass by and the hurried crowds on the street, endless melancholy welled up in his heart. How wonderful it would have been if he had been reborn a week earlier and could have stopped his parents from going to Hainan.

"Xue Chen—Xue Chen..."

Just as Xue Chen sank into thought, an urgent and familiar call reached his ears. He looked up and saw that it was his neighbor, Lin Ran.

Before he could figure out why Lin Ran had suddenly appeared here, Lin Ran was already panting heavily as he said, "What were you doing out so late at night instead of staying home? Where did you go?"

"I wasn't in a good mood, so I just walked around. Did you need something from me?" Xue Chen did not want to drag him into his own affairs, so he answered blandly, revealing no emotion.

"Ah..." Lin Ran sighed. "I was going to come see you today, but when I knocked on your door, you didn't answer for ages. I got worried, so I called some classmates and came out to look for you." As he spoke, he scratched his head awkwardly.

"You were afraid I might do something stupid?" Xue Chen said lightly. Still, warmth flowed through his heart. So there really were people in this world who cared about him.

"Yeah!" Looking at Xue Chen, Lin Ran seemed to notice something. He asked in confusion, "What's wrong with you? Your second uncle and aunt have been awful these past two days. They wouldn't let us come see you.

Xue Chen... I need to tell you something. Don't blame me, okay? Some time ago, my aunt came back from abroad and brought me a camcorder. I don't know what I was thinking that day, but I stuck its camera to a cabinet in your house."

"What did you record?" Xue Chen asked.

"You should come back with me and watch it yourself. My mom asked me to tell you not to trust those people. She's heard them secretly cursing your parents several times, and cursing you too." As Lin Ran went on, he felt that speaking ill of others like this was not very appropriate, so his voice grew quieter and quieter.

"Okay." Xue Chen had not expected that just when he needed it, someone would hand him exactly what he wanted. If Lin Ran had recorded what they said, he would not need to trouble himself.

"Xue Chen, you really don't need to be so pessimistic. You also don't have to think of them all as family. You're already an adult now. Once you go to college, you'll meet more people who care about you. Xue Chen... aren't you angry?" Lin Ran had no idea what to say along the way, so he clumsily tried to comfort him. Yet Xue Chen's face remained expressionless, which felt rather strange.

"Some people are alive, yet already dead. Some are dead, yet still alive. There's no need to keep irrelevant people in your heart." After saying that, Xue Chen headed toward the Lin Household.

Lin Ran was somewhat baffled by Xue Chen's words, but seeing that Xue Chen did not wish to say more, he stopped asking. He caught up with him and entered the residential complex, where they happened to run into several classmates who had come out to look for him.

Although Xue Chen's attitude was somewhat cold and far different from his usual gentleness, no one said much. After all, he had just lost his parents and had not yet recovered emotionally. Once they learned that he had merely gone out for a walk, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where have you been, child? You scared Uncle Lin and me half to death." Just after the two parted ways with their classmates, Lin Ran's mother pulled Xue Chen into a hug. "Don't worry about your Household's affairs. Uncle Lin will take care of them."