290: Dad, please.

"Su Cha, you'd better think this through! This borrowed money—if you lose, it's lost. Don't think you won't have to pay it back just because you're my Younger Cousin Brother! When the interest starts compounding, your whole family—your dad, your mom, your wife and kids—will all go down with you!"

"Your family will be ruined and your lives destroyed. Don't say I didn't warn you!"

Atapong deliberately emphasized the words "family ruined, lives destroyed," speaking slowly and heavily, as if casting a curse.

Faced with Atapong's threats and intimidation, Su Cha did not back down.

He took a deep breath and glanced at Lei Jun.

Lei Jun still stood there, her posture upright, her profile appearing somewhat ethereal in the play of light and shadow.

She didn't look at him; her gaze seemed to rest on the cards on the table, or perhaps drifted somewhere further away.

Yet, from her silence, Su Cha drew a strange sense of confidence.

She was the one who had shown him the hope of a comeback. At this moment, he had no choice but to trust her.

He turned back to meet Atapong's malicious gaze, filled with a determination that even surprised himself.

"Atapong, I know exactly what I'm doing. Where this money came from and what happens if I lose—I know better than you do!"

"But today, I simply will not lose! So, I'm going to play this out with you until the very end!"

Su Cha's declaration, carrying the momentum of someone burning their bridges, reignited the emotions of the onlookers.

Sympathizing with the weak and loathing the overbearing is an instinct for most, especially after the unsightly performance Atapong and his wife had just put on.

"Good! That's some backbone! Damn, Atapong's face makes me sick! I really hope this Lei Jun can win, to vent some frustration for Su Cha and for those of us who can't stand him!"

"Go Su Cha! Hang in there! Go head-to-head with them until the end! With people like that, the softer you are, the more they bully you! You have to be tough!"

"Sigh, he's got backbone, but what about the consequences? Online Loans are no joke. Atapong might be a bastard, but he's telling the truth. If Su Cha loses, this family is really in trouble. With Wenchalong being such a coward, can he handle anything?"

"He'll have to handle it even if he can't! They've been pushed into a corner! Are they supposed to just watch Atapong shit and piss all over them and still force a smile? Anyway, I support Su Cha! Losing would be tragic, but at least he'll lose while standing tall!"

"Lose while standing tall? You call losing everything 'standing tall'? You lot just love watching a spectacle! But then again, it's better not to associate with a relative like Atapong anyway. After today's scene, all sentiment is gone. Even if Su Cha gives up, his life won't be any better later. Might as well... take a gamble."

"Exactly! Look at how Atapong treated his Eldest Uncle just now. Is that how a human behaves? It's better to cut ties with a relative like that!"

Atapong was furious as he listened to the discussions around him.

These paupers—how dare they support Su Cha? What do they know!

"Bang!" Atapong slammed his fist onto the card table, making the chips clatter.

He pointed at Su Cha, his eyes bloodshot with rage.

"You dog! I gave you a way out, and you spat on it, didn't you? You really want to go down in flames with me today?!"

Su Cha flinched at the slam, but immediately straightened his back and slapped the table just as hard, his voice even louder and more resolute than Atapong's: "Yes!"

He looked around, his gaze finally landing on his father's pale, terrified face, before snapping back to Atapong. With reddened eyes, he roared.

"It started when you forced my dad to drink that glass! It started when you humiliated us in public! It started when you didn't even treat us as human beings! We've been at each other's throats since then! Today, this isn't over!"

The roar was like a long-suppressed volcanic eruption, carrying endless humiliation and resentment, leaving the courtyard in a temporary silence.

Atapong's father, Songphong, turned his spearhead toward his habitually cowardly elder brother.

"Big Brother!"

Songphong shouted at Wenchalong, who had been shrinking at the edge of the crowd, trying to minimize his presence.

"Listen to that! Look at what your son is saying! 'Going down in flames'? We're all family; how can he say such things! Is this the 'good son' you've raised?"

He wanted to blame the issue on Wenchalong's poor parenting to shift the focus.

Everyone's gaze instantly focused on Wenchalong.

Wenchalong was already timid and fearful; his younger brother's shout made him shudder in fright.

Seeing Wenchalong's utterly pathetic state, the malicious fire within Nala, which had been temporarily calmed by Atapong's look, flared up again.

She didn't dare curse Atapong directly anymore, but venting her rage on this pushover Eldest Uncle was effortless, and it allowed her to strike at Su Cha as well.

"Heh!"

"Su Cha, your family really doesn't know their place! You've dug out your funeral savings and even took out Online Loans! You must be tired of living!"

"Your whole family is truly going to be ruined this time! Don't come crying to us for help then! We won't be able to do a thing!"

These words were like knives, stabbing deep into Wenchalong's heart.

His already strained nerves were on the verge of snapping.

The phrase "family ruined, lives destroyed" was his deepest fear.

He jerked his head up, the color drained from his face, and looked at Su Cha with eyes full of despair and pleading.

"Su Cha! My son!"

Wenchalong cried out with a sob.

"Don't... don't go on like this! Dad's begging you!"

"You... you apologize to your Older Male Cousin! Lower your head, give in a little, okay? Let's stop gambling! Let's see if we can... see if we can get some of the stakes back, and we'll just drop it! Let's just drop it! Okay?"

Wenchalong's display of extreme cowardice instantly provoked strong disgust from the onlookers.

"Holy crap! This father... I'm speechless! His son is fighting for his life out front, and he's undermining him from behind? Apologize? Would Atapong return the money just because he apologized? He's dreaming!"

"No, what is Wenchalong thinking? Has he lost his mind? Atapong has already trampled all over him and cursed him out, yet he's still thinking of apologizing and making peace? How spineless can you be!"

"He's been kneeling for so long he can't stand up anymore! He might have a bit of a temper at home, but in front of outsiders—especially someone richer and more powerful like Atapong—he's just a dog wagging its tail! Too bad they won't even necessarily throw him a bone; they'll just give him a couple of kicks!"

"This makes me so angry! Truly furious! What can a father like this do besides drag his son down? If Su Cha hadn't been provoked by his dad's cowardice, he might not be fighting this hard!"

"Yeah, with that temperament, he deserves to be bullied! People like Atapong specifically pick on pushovers like him! If Su Cha hadn't toughened up today, the two of them would have been played to death by Atapong!"

"Can't he see it? Atapong doesn't treat them as relatives at all! 'Family'? Family my ass! Atapong made it perfectly clear just now! Wenchalong is just lying to himself!"

Seeing Wenchalong's cowardice, Nala became even angrier; her accumulated rage finally found an outlet.

She didn't care about seniority or respect; in her eyes, a useless coward like Wenchalong didn't deserve any respect at all.