My Ares Son-in-Law

"These old men and women got all red-eyed when they heard about a 20% annualized return. They were willing to take out their life savings and invest it, thinking they could make a fortune. But what happened? They couldn't even get their principal back. They deserved it!"

Hearing this, a middle-aged woman in a floral shirt and curly hair immediately leaned over, a smug look on her face saying, "I knew it all along," and whispered:
"Let me tell you, this is a classic Ponzi scheme! The people at the beginning are making money off the people at the end, and it's bound to collapse sooner or later!"

My daughter warned me a long time ago that these high-yield investment schemes are all scams and I shouldn't touch them. Look at me, I didn't invest a single penny, and now I feel so much more at ease!

As she spoke, she pointed in Zhou Fenfang's direction, her tone carrying a mixture of sympathy and schadenfreude:
"I heard from the people next to me that the woman in the red dress invested over eight million yuan, putting in all her family's savings, and some of it was borrowed money. Tsk tsk, now look what happened, she's lost everything, she's quite pitiful."

More than eight million?

Xiao Chen's brows twitched slightly.

He knew that Zhou Fenfang had made a lot of money and gained a lot of benefits through the Zhou family's connections over the years, but he never expected her to be so greedy as to invest all her savings and even borrowed money into this scam.

The proverb "greed knows no bounds" perfectly describes someone like her.

He didn't linger, lifted his foot, and slowly walked into the crowd.

The clamor of slogans and discussions rang in his ears, but it did not affect his steps at all; he continued to walk steadily and calmly.

"Zhou Fenfang".

Xiao Chen's voice wasn't loud, but it had a unique penetrating quality, clearly reaching Zhou Fenfang's ears amidst the noisy crowd.

Zhou Fenfang was shouting enthusiastically through a megaphone until her throat was practically hoarse. When she heard someone calling her, she turned around impatiently, her face still showing lingering anger.

But when she saw that the person was Xiao Chen, the anger on her face froze instantly, and then she collapsed, her eyes filled with disgust and impatience, as well as a hint of barely perceptible embarrassment.

"Why are you here?" She put down the small megaphone in her hand and asked in a harsh tone, "Did Keying send you? Did she send you to pity me?"

"Hmm." Xiao Chen didn't say much, just responded softly, his expression remaining calm, showing no emotional fluctuation despite her harshness.

Zhou Fenfang pursed her lips, clearly not holding out any hope for Xiao Chen's arrival.

In her eyes, although Xiao Chen was capable, he was just a young man with no background or status, and he couldn't help her at all.

She turned her head, picked up the megaphone again, and continued shouting slogans, completely ignoring Xiao Chen as if he didn't exist.

Xiao Chen wasn't annoyed. He just stood quietly beside her, his hands in his pockets, watching her hysterical state and the angry accusations from the elderly men and women without saying a word or trying to stop them.

After watching for a while, he slowly spoke, his tone calm but carrying an undeniable power: "How much did you bet?"

Zhou Fenfang paused, her fingers tightening around the small megaphone, her expression becoming complex and difficult to decipher—a mixture of anger, regret, and a hint of unspeakable embarrassment.

She remained silent, offering no reply, clearly unwilling to bring up the number that had caused her such embarrassment.

Xiao Chen didn't urge her, but just looked at her quietly, his eyes calm, yet carrying an unavoidable sense of pressure.

A few seconds later, he asked again, his tone still calm, but with an added air of authority: "How much did you throw?" Zhou Fenfang finally couldn't hold back any longer. She abruptly put down the megaphone, squatted down, and buried her face in her hands, her voice muffled, filled with deep sobs and regret:

“Eight million seven hundred thousand… It’s all the money I’ve saved up over many years, plus the money I borrowed from relatives and friends… Now, it’s all gone…”

Xiao Chen's pupils contracted slightly, his fingertips unconsciously rubbed his pocket, and a barely perceptible ripple flashed in his eyes.

8.7 million.

For an ordinary family, this is undoubtedly a huge sum of money that can completely change their lives. It is an amount that they may not be able to save even if they save every penny in their entire lives, not to mention that Zhou Fenfang borrowed money from all her relatives and friends.

"When did you submit the report?" His voice remained calm, but it carried a subtle hint of melancholy.

“Three months ago.” Zhou Fenfang’s voice grew softer and softer, her head buried deeper, her fingertips tightly gripping the hem of her clothes, her tone full of regret.

"At the time, the salesperson touted this investment as incredibly attractive, saying there was a limited-time exclusive promotion with an annualized return of up to 25%, and that there were only a few spots left, urging me to act quickly."

I... I just wanted to earn more money so I could help Keying more in the future. In a moment of confusion, I invested all my money..."

As she spoke, her voice suddenly choked, her throat tightened, and her eyes instantly reddened. She struggled to hold back her tears...

That was not only her life savings, but also the confidence she wanted to leave for Zhou Keying, but now it's all gone.

Xiao Chen paused for a moment, his gaze falling on her slightly trembling shoulders, his expression complex.

He knows Zhou Fenfang too well.

This woman is snobbish, mean-spirited, gossipy, and always bossing him around. But her affection for Zhou Keying is genuine.

Over the years, she has subsidized her niece both openly and secretly, always thinking of Zhou Keying first when there are good things, and never letting Zhou Keying suffer any injustice, even if it means suffering a loss herself.

"Now you know it was a scam?" he said slowly, his tone devoid of sarcasm, only a hint of gentle reminder.

Zhou Fenfang abruptly wiped her eyes, forcing back the tears that were about to fall. Her voice hardened again, carrying a hint of resigned anger:
"Nonsense! Everyone's run away, the company's empty, what else could it be but a scam? If I'd known it was a scam, I would never have invested any money!"

As she spoke, she suddenly seemed to remember something, abruptly raised her head, looked Xiao Chen up and down with suspicion and disdain in her eyes, and her tone became sharp: "You're not here to help me get money, are you? Don't waste your time."

Xiao Chen didn't speak, but just looked at her quietly, his eyes calm and expressionless.

Zhou Fenfang scoffed, her tone becoming even more sarcastic:
"Alright, alright, I know you can fight, you're skilled, and you can take care of a few thugs, but that's a completely different thing from fighting!"
The company's been completely emptied out, the boss ran off with the money and disappeared. Who are you going to call? Do you think you can drag him back from the ends of the earth?

She waved her hand impatiently, turned around, picked up the small megaphone from the ground again, took a deep breath, and began shouting slogans in a hoarse voice, her anger mixed with a sense of powerless despair.

Xiao Chen stood behind her, watching the white banner with black lettering flutter in the wind.

The words "Give me back my hard-earned money" were fluttered in the wind, the gaze somber and unreadable, yet the atmosphere around him subtly shifted. (End of Chapter)