Chapter 294 — A Painful Choice

Seeing that Yang Ce had already gone far ahead, Tian Yan gritted his teeth and quickly followed after him.

Having settled the Sun family, Zhang Jinguo came running over again to see whether Yang Ce needed anything. Even now, Zhang Jinguo's heart was still pounding up and down. He thought to himself that Mr. Yang was truly formidable after all—he had been scared out of his wits when he saw him captured earlier, but thank goodness that had been a ruse to lure the enemy. Now it looked as though Tian Long had still lost.

"Open the door," Yang Ce said, glancing at Zhang Jinguo and giving him the order.

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Jinguo hurriedly opened the door before Yang Ce and then said:

"Mr. Yang... Young Master Tian, please..."

Zhang Jinguo had finally figured it out: Yang Ce was actually on the same side as Tian Yan. What a mess this was—and the one locked inside was the Young Master Tian's own father.

But these were not matters Zhang Jinguo could fathom, and when it came to affairs of that level, the less he knew the better. The more he knew about the business of those above him, the worse it was for Zhang Jinguo.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Tian Long raised his head slightly. He had never imagined he would lose—and lose at Yang Ce's hands, no less. He was unwilling to accept it, yet there was nothing he could do.

Seeing Yang Ce come in, Tian Long said coldly, "What are you here for now? Kill me or torture me, do as you please. There's nothing to say between you and me."

"Heh. Tian Long, you and I have nothing to talk about—but before you die, is there no one you'd like to see?" Yang Juehuan's voice was calm, yet it carried a chill that made Tian Long deeply uncomfortable.

Tian Long froze on instinct. He was going to die? Before he died, of course he wanted to see his two sons... but would Yang Ce ever agree to such a request?

Tian Yan, who had just been about to step inside, halted mid-stride at Yang Juehuan's words, the expression on his face going still. He had known all along that Yang Ce and the Sun family would never let his father off, and that the likeliest end was death in atonement.

But hearing Yang Cenbin say it out loud threw Tian Yan's heart into turmoil once more; he did not quite know how to face it.

Yang Shuoxuan sensed something amiss behind him, glanced back at Tian Yan, and said, "Donghua, come in. Some things must be faced in the end."

Tian Yan's face fell. He nodded and stepped inside. Seeing Tian Long trussed up on the floor gave him a bitter feeling—yesterday his father had stood high above all, masterminding everything; today he was a prisoner. And yet, who was there to blame?

"Dad..." Tian Yan stole a careful glance at his father on the floor. There was truly so much he wanted to say, but with the words at his lips, he could not think of how to begin. Yes—he truly did not know what to say. He truly did not.

"Donghua, don't be sad..." Seeing it was his son, Tian Long's expression softened. "There's an old saying: the victor is king, the loser a bandit. Your father admits defeat. To think that in the end I could not outplay this young pup... truly shameful..."

"Dad, how can you still be so stubborn at a time like this?" Tian Yan grew angry at his father's words. "Have you still not realized that you were wrong from the very start?"

"Wrong?" Tian Long laughed at himself. "This world has never had any absolute right or wrong. What people call right and wrong all starts from their own position—it's selfish!"

"And aren't you selfish?" Yang Cenbin could not help but cut in with a cold laugh.

"Yes, I am selfish! Every man for himself, and the devil take the hindmost!" Tian Long did not deny it—he owned up to it. "I'm selfish, that's true, but I don't believe what I did was wrong! I was planning for Tian Yan's future—what wrong did I do? I did nothing wrong!"

"Dad, you still don't understand. My future is something I carve out for myself, not something you give me." Tian Yan sighed. "And I don't need you to do this..."

"Don't need it? Hah! Let me tell you—once Sun Lin and I are in our coffins, what will your standing in the Sun family be? Do you even know? Will they trust you the way they trusted me? What will you do then?" Tian Long gave a cold snort. "Tian Long, you're wrong," said Yang Xutang. At last he understood why Tian Long had resolved to betray Sun Lin—it was for the future.

Since ancient times, a new ruler brings a new court; the saying goes that one dynasty does not employ the men of the last. Tian Long feared that once Sun Jie and Sun Zhiwei held power, they would squeeze Tian Yan out—and so he had struck first.

"I'm wrong? How am I wrong?" This time Tian Long laughed instead of growing angry. Tian Yan said he was wrong, and now this Yang Ce had to chime in as well.

"The Sun family's holdings—I honestly don't think much of them. The enterprise I have in Africa is a hundred times that, at least. Sun Jie included—she'll be coming out with me in the future. So who will be left to manage the Sun family's holdings in Donghai?" Yang Ce gave a cold laugh. "Use that pig brain of yours and think. Sun Zhiwei is hopeless—he couldn't be propped up if you tried. Among the friends I trust, besides Zhang Bin, who else is there? Only that son of yours, Tian Yan, who is a hundred times cleverer than you! I'll hand the Songjiang business to Zhang Bin. As for who gets the Donghai business—think it through yourself." At these words, not only Tian Long but even Tian Yan was stunned. Tian Yan had never imagined Yang Ce would say such a thing, nor that Yang Ce would entrust the business to him to manage.

What kind of trust was this? Tian Yan's nose stung at once. He had never thought he occupied such an important place in Yang Lanxu's eyes, that Yang Ce would entrust something so important to him.

"Ha? You can say anything you like now!" Tian Long recovered from his brief astonishment and burst out laughing. "No matter how gloriously you dress it up now, it's useless! Anyone can fire a shot after the battle's over! If you'd had this idea, why didn't you say so earlier? Besides, what use is your promise? Will Sun Lin still dance to your tune?"

Tian Yan, however, pressed his lips together, somewhat unconvinced. Because he knew that Yang Yanzhou's words always counted; Yang Yongjin was not one to make empty promises.

Sure enough, Tian Yan had been right—Yang Ce spoke.

"First, Tian Long, I can tell you plainly: what I've just said is no hindsight."

Yang Ce looked at Tian Long and said, word by word, "You are you, and Tian Yan is Tian Yan. Father and son are not the same, and I will not take my anger at you out on him. So what I said still stands! Before I leave, I will hand all of Donghai's affairs to Donghua to manage."

Tian Long had not expected Yang Ce to say such a thing. That Yang Ce could still make such a promise under these circumstances seemed to Tian Long utterly incredible—but he said nothing, only listened as Yang Ce went on, waiting to hear what else he had to say.

Tian Yan could no longer hold back his emotions. His eyes stung, and he said, "Boss..."

"...I don't want anything..."

Yang Jiyan waved a hand, signalling Tian Yan to say no more and simply listen:

"Second, as to whether Uncle Sun agrees—I can tell you for certain that if he knew the assets I hold now were ten or a hundred times what he has, he wouldn't care about any of this!"

"Ten or a hundred times?" Tian Long's eyes went wide. He could not bring himself to believe Yang Ce truly had so much money. The Sun family's assets were, after all, worth at least a hundred million—ten or a hundred times that, how much would that be?

"Of course, ten or a hundred times is only a figure of speech," Yang Linyue said mildly.

Tian Long breathed a sigh of relief. Just as I thought, he told himself, it can't be that much. Still, the boy can certainly talk big. But no sooner had the thought crossed his mind than Yang Jiyan spoke again.