Chapter 235: No Ifs

“Uncle… Uncle Le, please let me explain, I…” Le Fangyun pleaded, seeing the fury in Le Zhengsheng’s eyes.

But before he could finish, Le Zhengsheng cut him off.

“Did you or did you not do what was just described?”

“I… I…”

Though he didn’t want to admit it, Le Fangyun knew that he had only been able to deceive Le Zhengsheng before because the mayor hadn’t specifically investigated him. There was no way he could fool the mayor of Jinghai City.

Given the current situation, if he didn’t admit it now, the investigation would soon reveal everything, and he’d be in even deeper trouble.

Seeing Le Fangyun’s hesitant and guilty expression, Le Zhengsheng understood that Lin Xiao’s accusations were entirely true. He let out a laugh filled with anger.

“Alright, very well. From today on, you are no longer part of the Le family. You are not allowed to use our family’s name. The Le family cannot afford to be disgraced by you.”

Hearing this, Le Fangyun’s face turned to one of complete despair. His legs gave out, and he nearly collapsed to the floor.

Before Le Zhengsheng’s arrival, Le Fangyun’s family, although wealthy, was just an ordinary affluent family, not notable in Jinghai City. It wasn’t until Le Zhengsheng acknowledged them as part of the Le family, even though they were distant relatives, that their status rose quickly due to the immense influence of the Le family from the capital.

They even competed with Li Yunxi’s family, the wealthiest in Jinghai City.

But now, being expelled from the Le family meant returning to their original status, if not facing complete ruin.

Their rapid rise had undoubtedly trampled on many interests, but others had held back due to the Le family name.

Now that their protective cover was stripped away, backlash was inevitable.

Realizing this, Le Fangyun’s whole body trembled, and he collapsed to the floor like a pile of soft mud.

Le Fangyun showed no reaction even when Le Zhenglan announced his dismissal from Distant Group. He knew he was finished, and not just himself, but his family too.

At this moment, as he looked at Lin Xiao, an overwhelming sense of regret filled his heart.

If only… if only he hadn’t offended Lin Xiao during the racing event at Panlong Mountain.

If only… if only he hadn’t sent people to teach Lin Xiao a lesson at Longhua Mall.

If only… if only he hadn’t tried to frame Lin Xiao at the police station.

If only…

Countless “if onlys” flashed through his mind. If he hadn’t provoked Lin Xiao, he might still be enjoying his life as one of the top young elites of Jinghai City, surrounded by people eager to please him. But now, everything was lost.

Yet, he forgot that Lin Xiao had given him chances. Lin Xiao hadn’t paid much attention to Le Fangyun, but Le Fangyun assumed Lin Xiao was just a small fry and repeatedly provoked him until he finally pushed Lin Xiao too far.

It’s true what they say: people who court disaster will find it.

No one paid attention to Le Fangyun’s regret. If regret were useful, there would be no need for justice. Life doesn’t have “if only.”

“Alright, alright, everyone disperse,” Le Zhenglan waved off the gathered security guards at the door.

“Yes, Ms. Le.”

After the security guards left, Le Zhenglan glanced at Le Fangyun, who was slumped on the ground, and said, “Let’s go. Just seeing him annoys me.”

She had never liked Le Fangyun. She had suspected that he used the Le family name to bully others, but she hadn’t realized he was so bold as to collude and frame others, completely lawless. And framing Lin Xiao, of all people, made her even more furious.

“Alright,” Le Zhengsheng nodded. He didn’t want to see Le Fangyun either.

As for Lin Xiao and Ning Xi, they had no objections, so everyone prepared to leave the room.

At this moment, as if remembering something, Le Zhenglan turned to Lu Pengbo, whose face had become quite grim.

“You’re with Brilliant Aya, right?” she asked.

“Yes… yes… Hello, Ms. Le, I’m Lu Pengbo from Brilliant Aya Limited.” Lu Pengbo quickly nodded, his face filled with flattery.

When Le Zhengsheng entered the room, Lu Pengbo had already sensed that something was off. Events unfolded as he had anticipated. Le Fangyun had completely lost his standing.

Le Fangyun’s downfall didn’t concern him much since their relationship was purely based on mutual interests. The key issue was that all his connections in Distant Group were through Le Fangyun.

With Le Fangyun out of the picture, his sales channel at Distant Group was effectively cut off. Normally, this wouldn’t be too pressing, but he was currently competing with Ning Xi for that crucial sales channel.

Moreover, the fact that Lin Xiao, the little bodyguard he tried to curry favor with to please Le Fangyun, knew Ms. Le of Distant Group made him even more anxious.

He feared that Distant Group might side with Ning Xi, which would spell his end at Brilliant Group.

So, hearing Le Zhenglan address him, Lu Pengbo quickly responded, afraid of angering her.

Le Zhenglan said, “You were the one cooperating with Le Fangyun, right?”

“Yes, Ms. Le. I represented Brilliant Aya Limited, and Le Fangyun represented Distant Group in our collaboration,” Lu Pengbo nodded, though puzzled. This matter couldn’t be hidden; a simple check would reveal it.

“Alright, from now on, you won’t be handling Distant Group’s cooperation.”

“What? Ms. Le, why? We’ve always had a very pleasant collaboration,” Lu Pengbo hurriedly protested.

“Pleasant? Sure, I bet you’ve been quite generous in your offerings to Le Fangyun, so of course it’s been pleasant,” Le Zhenglan sneered.

She had already heard rumors about Le Fangyun’s embezzlement within the company, but she had refrained from addressing it out of respect for her brother. However, hearing that Le Fangyun had become so brazen and seeing that her brother now knew the truth about him, Le Zhenglan no longer felt the need to hold back.

“Ms. Le… I don’t know what you’re talking about?” Lu Pengbo stammered, his voice shaky.

“You don’t know?” Le Zhenglan laughed coldly, then turned to Le Fangyun, who was still slumped on the floor. “Le Fangyun, you’d better come clean about everything. If you do, I won’t pursue the embezzlement charges against you. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Le Fangyun, who had been in a daze, immediately snapped back to reality upon hearing Le Zhenglan’s words.

Though Distant Group was a Le family enterprise, embezzlement within the company carried serious criminal liabilities. It would mean not only the recovery of the embezzled funds but also potential imprisonment.

“Aunt Le… Yes, he did bribe me to manipulate product prices, and we split the profits fifty-fifty,” Le Fangyun admitted.

Despite his despair, his mind remained clear. Being expelled from the Le family meant losing everything, but keeping silent could mean jail time.

“How much profit?”

“Ten million!”

Even though Le Zhenglan had been prepared for a large number, this amount still shocked her.

While ten million wasn’t a huge sum for someone of her stature, the fact that Le Fangyun had embezzled so much in less than six months was staggering. This amount was only half of the total, meaning Distant Group had directly lost twenty million, not to mention the intangible brand damages, which could total over a hundred million.

“Do you have anything to say now?” Le Zhenglan asked Lu Pengbo coldly.

“Ms. Le…”

By now, Lu Pengbo was in complete panic. It wasn’t Le Zhenglan he feared—after all, even though she was the president of Distant Group, she had no direct authority over him since he was part of Brilliant Aya Limited.

What he feared was Ning Xi. Ning Xi was Wan Caixuan’s close confidante. Now that she knew about his betrayal, he was done for.