Chapter 154 Contradiction

When Mother Zhao spoke, the immediate reaction of the Zhao relatives was to look toward Father Zhao.

"Big Brother, aren't you going to say something?"

Father Zhao glanced at them for a few moments, shook his head, and said, "There is nothing for me to say here."

"Big Brother, what do you mean by that?"

"I mean exactly what I said. I have nothing to say."

During last year's New Year, the atmosphere at home couldn't have been better, but this year, Father Zhao felt a headache coming on just looking at them.

"You should all leave first."

The Zhao relatives exchanged glances with one another. One of them, feeling annoyed, demanded on the spot, "What are you playing at? Don't forget, you were the one who asked us to come here."

"Exactly, you're the one who told us to come, and now you've changed your mind and are chasing us away. And to think we still call you Big Brother—is this how you act like an older brother?"

"Those who know would say you're calling him Big Brother; those who don't would think you were calling him Father. Causing such a chaotic uproar right on New Year's Day—truly, this is the only kind of thing you lot are capable of doing." Mother Zhao could no longer suppress her temper, her words laced with heavy sarcasm.

"What do you mean by that?" Immediately, a member of the Zhao family aimed their hostility at Mother Zhao. "Li Hui, let me tell you something: anyone here has the right to speak except you, Li Hui."

Standing on the steps, Zhao Fan was infuriated. "Who do you think you're telling has no right to speak here? Dad, it's gotten to this point and you're still not saying anything?"

Father Zhao's expression turned ugly. "Will you all just shut up? The ones who have no right to speak here are you lot. This is my home, and she is your sister-in-law."

His own home, yet why would the mistress of the house have no right to speak?

If Father Zhao had previously hesitated out of consideration for fraternal bonds, the moment the matter touched upon Mother Zhao, all hesitation instantly vanished.

"That's enough, don't stay here any longer. It's getting late, hurry up and go back."

"Big Brother, didn't you say—"

"What did I say?"

When Father Zhao lost his temper, the Zhao family members were actually stunned into silence. A few minutes later, they all departed in anger.

Presumably plotting something further, they simply left one by one without uttering a single harsh parting threat.

In the span of barely ten minutes, the villa fell completely silent. Father Zhao cautiously edged his way over to Mother Zhao.

"Um, Hui'er."

Mother Zhao turned her head away. "Go clean up."

"Ah, right."

Father Zhao took the initiative to gather things and start cleaning.

Zhao Fan pressed his fingers against his temples, ultimately saying nothing, and walked back to the nearest room to tidy up.

As soon as he started cleaning, however, problems emerged. Putting aside the broken items in the room, the crucial issue was that things were missing.

On the first day of the Lunar Year, the red envelopes that Father Zhao and Mother Zhao had given to Zhao Fan only had their empty shells left, and the paper on which he had jotted down his wealth-generating strategies after his rebirth had also vanished.

The moment he discovered this, Zhao Fan's expression shifted drastically.

Damn it, something disastrous is going to happen!

"Xiaofan, how is it over on your side? Xiaofan, what's wrong?"

Zhao Fan said, "Mom, the money in my drawer, along with the plans I made earlier, have all been taken."

The money wasn't the main issue; the critical thing was the material Zhao Fan had written down. He didn't dare to imagine what would happen if those contents were leaked.

Mother Zhao was no fool; within seconds, she grasped the gravity of Zhao Fan's words and spun around to run outside.

"Old Zhao, Old Zhao!"

Father Zhao responded, "What is it?"

"Xiaofan's money-making plans have been stolen!"

"What?"

"I said, Xiaofan's written plans have been stolen! They were stolen by your family members!"

By this point, Father Zhao no longer dared to say a word. He bolted toward the door at a dead sprint.

"I'll go after them."

Zhao Fan appeared timely in the living room. "Dad, just call them directly and tell them to come back."

At the same time, Zhao Fan dashed outside.

Judging by the pace, the group of Zhao family members should not have left the residential compound yet.

Father Zhao frantically ran back to make calls to those who had left.

Meanwhile, on his way toward the main gate of the compound, Zhao Fan pulled out his phone, brought up the property management's number, and dialed, instructing them to notify the security guards at the entrance to intercept the group before they could leave.

By the time Zhao Fan reached the front gate, the large contingent of the Zhao family was being blocked and was still entangled in a dispute with the security guards.

"Why on earth won't you let us out?"

"Bah, guard dogs certainly know how to bite."

"Get out of the way and let us pass."

"..."

Zhao Fan's face darkened. With this level of noise, he figured they wouldn't have heard Father Zhao's phone call anyway.

In fact, Father and Mother Zhao were hurrying toward the gate from the other direction.

"You people stop making an unreasonable fuss here. Let me tell you, the reason you're being stopped is because the home of the person who brought you inside has had items stolen—do you understand what that means? You've been caught stealing someone's property!"

The security guards and the Zhao family were locked in an endless argument, neither side yielding an inch, creating a scene that could only be described as bustling.

Zhao Fan fell silent for a few minutes before approaching as if nothing were amiss.

The moment he drew near, he was spotted by those on the outer fringe.

"Zhao Fan is here."

With those words, the attention of the entire Zhao family shifted away from the security guards, and every single one of them fixed a death stare on Zhao Fan.

"Was it you who slandered us for stealing?"

"Zhao Fan, do you have any conscience? We are your elders, and you dare slander us like this?"

"Get your father over here. Make your father come right now!"

Amidst the clamor and shouting, Zhao Fan maintained his outward calm. "I'm sorry, but you aren't important enough for me to summon my father. Exactly who was in my room just now?"

Even as Zhao Fan asked the question, he had already locked his gaze on a few specific individuals.

He clearly remembered who had been lingering near his door when he pushed it open.

Under Zhao Fan's steady gaze, the few people he had singled out slowly stepped backward.

"Come on, Cousin, do you really have to be so petty? There's nothing valuable in your room anyway, was it really worth chasing out here to accuse us of stealing?"

"Since I chased you down to say something was stolen, it means someone genuinely stole something. Or do you honestly think I would come up with a lie that falls apart at the slightest touch?"

In an instant, everyone fell silent. Was there truly someone among them who had stolen something?

Amidst the silence, Zhao Fan swept his gaze around the circle. "To be honest, as relatives, I have no desire to make things ugly. One word: if you return it now, we'll let bygones be bygones. But if I have to search you myself, don't blame me for ignoring family ties and making things humiliating for you."

Zhao Fan made his stance clear, waiting for the Zhao family to give him an answer.

Who would have thought that after waiting ten minutes—even long enough for Father Zhao to catch up—he still wouldn't get an answer from anyone.

Father Zhao's face was dark. "Why are you still deadlocked with them here? Call the police immediately!"

He had intended to bring the Zhao family along nicely, but this bunch refused his leadership because they preferred to resort to outright theft instead.

"Big Uncle, what are you saying? How can you call the police?"

"There's no need to involve the police over family matters."

"That's right, that's right. Hey, whoever took the stuff, hurry up and hand it over."

"Quickly now, even children throwing tantrums need to have some limits."

Amidst this flurry of urging, a young man hiding deep within the crowd finally revealed himself. He pulled out a small, crumpled paper parcel while muttering incessantly under his breath.

"It's just taking a few hundred bucks from you, it's not like you're broke, is it really worth making such a federal case out of it?"

Zhao Fan recognized that the paper wrapping the money was the exact sheet on which he had written his business plan. Hearing the young man's words, he fell into a speechless silence. Had this fellow truly not bothered to read the contents written on the paper?

"You may all leave now."