A Substitute Bride With Multiple Identities
Chapter 213 Xia Ran Collapses!

Chapter 213: Chapter 213 Xia Ran Collapses!

Fu Xiao’s face looked terrible, and he found it difficult to speak.

These days were the darkest of his life.

A few days ago, pressured by Fu Shuqin to marry Xia Ran, whom he was unwilling to marry, he felt so depressed that he went to the casino with his dubious friends to squander and vent.

Initially, he indeed won quite a lot, the money in hand alleviating his anxiety.

But the more he gambled, the bigger and more frantic the bets became.

By the time he came to his senses, he had not only lost all his assets but had also gambled away two branches in Jingcheng and his dividends from the Fu Family Corporation.

Fu Xiao panicked, instinctively trying to assert his authority as the third master of the Fu Family, hoping the casino would back down and refuse to take what he had lost.

But the casino was not at all intimidated by him. Instead, they had their thugs beat him up and gave him a three-day deadline to surrender the items he gambled away.

But how could he possibly control the two branches in Jingcheng?

Fu Xiao couldn’t make decisions on behalf of those two branches. He subconsciously wanted to find Fu Shuqin, hoping she would clean up his mess like she used to.

But before he could reach out to Fu Shuqin, the casino grew impatient and contacted the people at the Fu Family Corporation, who then informed her, angering her so much that she had to be rushed to emergency care.

Seeing that Fu Shuqin could not help him, he could only begin to avoid the debt collectors from the casino.

After hiding for a week, he couldn’t stand it anymore and secretly snuck into the Xia Family home.

The Xia Family had so much money, they could surely help him pay off part of it.

The thought of the casino’s threat to sever his limbs if he couldn’t pay his debt terrified him.

He took a deep breath, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at Xia Ran and stretched out his hand, pleading urgently, "Don’t ask questions, just give me all the money you have on you! Hurry!"

Xia Ran frowned, "I’ve been locked up at home by my dad for a week now, and he froze my cards. I don’t have any money."

Fu Xiao grew irritable, his expression twisted as he took two steps closer to Xia Ran, "You can’t be out of money! My mom prepared a billion-dollar dowry for you! Give me that dowry money!"

Xia Ran looked at the haggard and irate Fu Xiao in front of her, belatedly sensing something was terribly wrong, feeling unsettled but still trying to remain calm on the surface.

"Calm down. That dowry money is for the baby, Fu Xiao. If you need money, you should ask the Fu Family. They give you more in dividends each year than my dowry money," she said.

She paused for a moment, deliberately softening her voice, "Besides, if you’re asking me for so much money, you need to tell me what you need it for, right? How can I give it to you without knowing?"

Fu Xiao frowned deeply, hesitated, and finally, his voice hoarse, he said, "I gambled a few times outside and owe the casino some debt."

Xia Ran felt a buzz in her mind, as if she had been harshly struck with a hammer, leaving her dazed and disoriented.

Debt! Gambling debt!

Fu Xiao had accrued gambling debts outside!

Gambling debts are a bottomless pit wherever they exist!

Most alarming to her was that Fu Xiao, having incurred gambling debts, did not turn to the Fu Family but came to her instead. Just how enormous was the debt he owed?

Xia Ran’s voice trembled slightly, "How much do you owe?"

Fu Xiao hesitated, then spoke vaguely, "Not much, just around a dozen billion."

"A dozen billion?!" Xia Ran’s tone instantly rose.

Isn’t that a lot?!

Xia Ran’s breathing was rapid, and her heart was about to stop. Without thinking, she turned around, "Even selling the Xia Family wouldn’t raise that much liquidity! No! We can’t get married! I’m going to call off the wedding!"

Fu Xiao was panicked.

If Xia Ran didn’t marry him, where would he find the money to pay his debts?

If the casino came after him, wouldn’t he end up with his hands and legs chopped off?

Fu Xiao suddenly lunged forward, clamping Xia Ran’s neck from behind with his elbow, his eyes bloodshot, "I don’t agree! Xia Ran, you’re already tied to me! You can’t escape!"

He was ruthless, revealing the look of a desperate fugitive, "If you don’t give me the money, I’ll strangle you right now! If I’m ruined, I won’t let you off easy!"

Xia Ran let out a short cry, her neck tightly clamped by him, making it difficult to breathe.

She was terrified and desperately slapped Fu Xiao’s arm, managing to say with difficulty, "I’ll give you the money! Let me go first, if I die, you won’t benefit either."

Fu Xiao, with a gloomy face, let go of Xia Ran, who then clutched her neck, gasping for fresh air.

Fu Xiao pressed on aggressively, "Give me the money!"

"I only have five hundred thousand on me; the rest is with my dad." Xia Ran, after catching her breath, tried to remain calm, soothing the emotionally explosive Fu Xiao, "Take the five hundred thousand for now to tide you over; I’ll ask my dad for the rest and transfer it to you later."

Xia Ran pursed her lips, her eyes gleaming calculatingly, she looked at Fu Xiao and said, "But my money is merely a drop in the bucket for you. If you want more, you’re going to have to find Fu Yanhe."

Before Fu Xiao could respond, she continued, "If you go directly to Fu Yanhe, he definitely won’t give it to you. You can go to Shen Yanhe, you know, women tend to be soft-hearted, and you are Fu Yanhe’s uncle. Cry poverty to her, and she might just help you."

Fu Xiao thought it over, feeling that Xia Ran’s words made sense.

Even if there had been some unpleasantness between him and Shen Yanhe before, so much time had passed, she had probably forgotten about it all.

As Fu Xiao contemplated seeking out Shen Yanhe, his face nevertheless scorned, "Don’t think about getting rid of me. I tell you, unless my mother agrees, you can’t call off the wedding! You’ll still have to help me pay off this debt after we’re married!"

Xia Ran, containing her anger, stiffly nodded, "I understand."

"No later than three days, three days from now, I want to see ten billion in my account! Otherwise, I’ll cause havoc for your Xia Family! You won’t have peace!"

After his threatening words, Fu Xiao took Xia Ran’s card, gave her a new phone number and bank account number, and left without looking back.

Only when he was gone did the frightened Xia Ran finally relax. Her legs were as soft as cotton candy, and she collapsed onto the floor, her abdomen still aching slightly.

Before she could get up and find Su Lan to tell her about the situation, the phone that had fallen to the ground rang.

Xia Ran picked up the phone and answered the call. Fu Yu’s voice, slightly urgent, came through, "Xia Ran, you’ll never guess what I’ve discovered!"

"I’m telling you, my brother died in that car accident a long time ago! The Fu Yanhe now is an impostor who’s taken over!"

Xia Ran’s vision darkened, her pupils dilated suddenly, her body trembling, she could barely hold the phone, "What-what did you say? Fu Yanhe, he’s already dead?"

"Yes, I saw my mom lighting incense for my brother. Plus, don’t you think he’s been acting strange since the car accident? He loved you so much before, how could his feelings for you just disappear after the accident?"

Fu Yu’s words struck Xia Ran like thunder, making her tremble so much that she could hardly hang onto her phone.

That meant... all these days, she’d been pleasing an impostor?

And she’d lost her virtue to Fu Xiao, an old man.

And just now, she’d been threatened by that old man!

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