635: Chapter 635 The Bai family may be poor, but they cannot be lowly!

Hand over their positions, and only get dividends?

Doesn't that mean casting the two of them from heaven into hell?

What is the point of dividends?

It is not nearly as satisfying as having the freedom to control resources!

But facing Ye Chen...

What could they do?

Ye Chen waited for a moment, raising an eyebrow.

"Why are you both silent?"

"If you don't speak up, how am I supposed to know if you have objections?"

"If I don't know you have objections, I'll just assume your silence means consent."

Bai Sanlong's face stiffened.

Consent?

Is this what they call consent?

This is clearly forcing a duck onto a perch; it's holding a knife to someone's throat and forcing them to sign!

But he only dared to curse this in his heart.

Bai Sanlong took a deep breath and lowered his head.

"Do I have a choice?"

Ye Chen looked at him and smiled.

"No choice."

"Not only do you not have a choice, but you also have to cooperate with me in an act."

Everyone was dumbfounded.

Bai Sanlong suddenly looked up, asking cautiously: "Cooperate... act in what?"

Bai Chi also perked up his ears, his gaze fixed intently on Ye Chen.

Ye Chen crossed his arms and spoke slowly.

"It's very simple."

"Keep the people from the Kunlun Ruins steady."

"All their movements, including when they assemble, how many people they assemble, how they plan to strike, and what other forces are involved behind the scenes..."

"You must tell me everything."

Bai Sanlong's pupils contracted sharply.

"You want me to be a traitor?"

Ye Chen tilted his head and corrected him: "Not a traitor, an undercover agent."

"Is there a difference?"

"A huge difference."

Ye Chen looked at him seriously.

"A traitor betrays their own people; an undercover agent risks their life for their own people."

"Are you one of my people right now?"

Bai Sanlong: "..."

He was choked speechless.

Ye Chen continued.

"Think about it, has the Kunlun Ruins Bai family ever treated you like a human being?"

"In their eyes, you are just a dog."

"A dog that comes when called and is chased away when not wanted."

"When they're happy, they toss you a couple of bones; when they're unhappy, they don't even want to waste the effort to kick you."

"What do you get by fawning over them like this?"

Bai Sanlong's expression flickered.

Ye Chen didn't stop; his tone remained calm, but every word felt like a needle pricking Bai Sanlong's heart.

"But I am different."

"I don't need you to fawn over me, nor do I need you to grovel."

"If you cooperate with me, I will give you dividends and let you and your son live with dignity."

"If you don't cooperate..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the father and son, Bai Sanlong and Bai Chi.

"The dividends will be gone, and you'll have to go pick through trash under the bridge for me."

"By then, everyone in the capital will know that the former head of the Bai family and the young master are sleeping on the streets and begging."

"The picture of that is exciting just to think about."

Everyone present: "..."

What a ruthless way to destroy someone's spirit!

Bai Sanlong's face turned completely black.

As black as the bottom of a pot.

Bai Chi's face was white, as white as paper.

Under the bridge?

Picking through trash?

Begging on the streets?

Just thinking about that image made Bai Chi feel dizzy, his vision going black.

He, Bai Chi, the young master of the capital's Bai family, was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, pampered, catered to, and fawned over wherever he went.

Let him go pick through trash under a bridge?

That would be better than killing him!

Bai Sanlong's chest heaved violently, as if a breath was stuck in his chest, unable to come up or go down.

He stared fixedly at Ye Chen; his eyes held anger, unwillingness, and humiliation.

But more than that, there was fear.

He did not doubt for a second that if Ye Chen said it, he would do it.

This madman was capable of anything.

After a long silence, Bai Sanlong finally spoke.

"I... will cooperate."

Bai Chi turned his head sharply, looking at his father in disbelief: "Dad!!!"

"Do you really want to sleep under a bridge?"

"I don't want to..."

"Then shut up!"

Bai Sanlong shouted sharply, his eyes rimmed with red.

Do you think I want to?

Do you think I am willing?

But do we have a choice?

He took a deep breath and looked at Ye Chen.

"I will cooperate with you."

"But you have to promise me one thing."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow: "Speak."

Bai Sanlong gritted his teeth: "After it's done, leave my son a way to survive."

Bai Chi was stunned.

He hadn't expected that the condition his father proposed wasn't for himself, but for him.

Ye Chen looked at Bai Sanlong and shrugged.

"Don't worry, I'm not a serial killer who wants to kill everyone."

"As long as you cooperate, you both can live well and collect your dividends."

Bai Sanlong closed his eyes and let out a long breath.

It was as if he had let go of something, or perhaps he had resigned himself to his fate.

Ye Chen nodded with satisfaction and turned to look at Madam Bai.

"Madam Bai, from here on, the affairs of the Bai family are left to you."

Madam Bai stared blankly at Ye Chen.

She had been at odds with her brother for five years and had never been willing to return, let alone dream of one day taking over the Bai family.

Yet, today, she had inexplicably not only returned, but also avenged her younger sister and even directly taken control of the Bai family.

Good heavens.

Every second felt like a dream!

Madam Bai came back to her senses, looked at Ye Chen, and spoke solemnly.

"Ye Chen, thank you."

"If it weren't for you, not only would my sister be in trouble, but we might not have even been able to enter the doors of the Bai family."

Ye Chen waved his hand, looking nonchalant.

"Madam Bai, you are too polite."

"Shanshan is my disciple, and since you are Shanshan's sister, we are family."

"There is no need to stand on ceremony between family."

He paused, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted, and a smile rippled in his eyes.

"And look, haven't you returned?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Bai couldn't help but smile.

This guy... why does it feel like he's acting so distant from her?

Has he forgotten the time she offered a high price to poach him, or even hinted at her feelings for him?

However... come to think of it, she had indeed returned.

Five years ago, she and her sister had left this house in disgrace, carrying disappointment in their hearts.

At that time, she thought she would never step through this door again in her life.

She didn't expect that five years later, not only would she return, but she would return as the "new head of the family."

Fate is truly a strange thing.

Madam Bai collected her thoughts, turned around, and her gaze fell upon Bai Sanlong.

That face, which in her memory used to be high-spirited and arrogant, was now filled with defeat and unwillingness.

His eyes flickered, as if avoiding something.

Madam Bai looked at him and asked: "Big brother, do you still remember what Father used to say?"

Bai Sanlong shuddered, and a scene involuntarily appeared in his mind—that year, he was still young, and Father was still alive.

On a summer evening, the father and son were sitting in the courtyard of the old house; the evening breeze blew through the grape trellis, and the sound of cicadas filled their ears.

Father was holding a purple clay teapot, leaning on a rattan chair, his tone calm.

"Sanlong, what has our Bai family relied on to stand in the capital for so many years?"

"It relies on backbone."

"It relies on not bowing our heads, not bending our waists, and not looking at others' faces."

"Remember, the Bai family can be defeated, but we cannot kneel."

"The Bai family can be poor, but it cannot be base!"

At that time, he was young and arrogant, thinking Father's words were too old-fashioned and conservative.

Thinking about it now... every word was a truth Father had summarized over a lifetime.

But he had forgotten it all.

Madam Bai watched the changing expressions on his face, feeling a complex mix of emotions.

She gave a bitter smile and spoke slowly.

"Father said we should carry forward the Bai family, but not by compromising and begging for pity."

"Especially..."

She paused, looking directly into Bai Sanlong's eyes.

"The Bai family inside the Kunlun Ruins."

Bai Sanlong's body shuddered again, as if something had struck his heart.

The Kunlun Ruins Bai family.

That was the main branch of their secular Bai family, an existence everyone looked up to.

When Father was alive, the Kunlun Ruins Bai family had also sent people to recruit them, offering various generous conditions.

But Father had refused them all.

He said, the Bai family is the Bai family; the capital's Bai family is not anyone's vassal.

Prosperity and wealth obtained by kneeling are not as good as a life of poverty lived standing tall.

At that time, he didn't understand, thinking Father was an old stubborn, holding onto the old almanac.

Now he understood.

But what was the use of understanding?

He had been kneeling for too many years; calluses had worn onto his knees, and he could no longer stand straight.

Bai Sanlong closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"Second sister, you are right."

"I remember every word Father said."

"But..."

He opened his eyes, looked at Madam Bai, his eyes rimmed with red.

"I can't go back."

Madam Bai looked at him and shook her head gently.

"No, you can go back."

"As long as you are willing, starting from today, stand back up again."

"No need to kneel to anyone, no need to look at anyone's face."

"Live with dignity and integrity."

"Together, we will make the Bai family bigger and stronger."

Bai Sanlong was stunned.

He stared at Madam Bai for a long time, as if confirming whether she was telling the truth.

Madam Bai did not dodge, just looked at him calmly.

In that gaze, there was no mockery, no disdain.

Bai Sanlong's Adam's apple bobbed, his lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.

Because.

When he helped the Kunlun Ruins Bai family and agreed to capture his own third sister, some things were already past the point of no return.

Ye Chen crossed his arms, leaning against the door frame, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted.

"Alright, there will be plenty of time to catch up later."

"For now, let's get down to business."