"You..." Chen Yuan looked at Ye Tian, his own confident appearance making him smile as well, "What you said, of course, is fine. Let’s just sit down in the living room and discuss this matter properly."
"There’s one more condition."
"I want to see Bai Yanwu. Although I trust Master Chen’s character, and that he wouldn’t trouble a woman, I can’t say the same for all of your subordinates."
Chen Yuan looked at Ye Tian, sensing that this man really was a tough nut to crack. He had underestimated him before. When his elder brother had spoken of him, he hadn’t taken it seriously, but now he was starting to regret it.
Waving at his people behind him, Chen Yuan then said to the trio including Ye Tian, "Please come inside so we can discuss this properly."
"Okay!" Ye Tian, without waiting for Guo Bin to react, had already gone inside with Yu Xiao. Guo Bin, having no other choice, followed.
Chen Yuan was a man of substance, unlike Zhang Qiang’s ostentatious show of wealth, and different from Xiao Yi’s modesty. One could tell from the arrangement of the room that he was someone who cared about the quality of life but did not indulge in excess luxury. Even Yu Xiao felt this way, feeling like Chen Yuan’s home was a scaled-down version of her own, both filled with an elegant sense of history, weighty but not showy.
"Master Chen has quite the taste, no offense, but you far surpass your brother," Ye Tian said to Chen Yuan. "I still think that if you were the boss, it would be thoroughly deserved."
"Seniority matters," Chen Yuan replied.
"Yes." Ye Tian nodded. In fact, Chen Yuan was very clever. Ye Tian liked dealing with such people, but also despised having them as opponents.
A moment of silence was thankfully broken when Bai Yanwu was brought in, more accurately, supported as she came in. Her eyes seemed to lack focus, and her body seemed to lack strength.
"Master Chen, what’s going on? Miss Bai doesn’t seem to be in the good shape you mentioned."
"Miss Bai’s relationship with you, Ye Tian, is well-known to all of us. Today, you managed to break into my home wanting to take someone away, so of course, I had to be cautious. If Miss Bai were free to move, wouldn’t that be troubling for me?"
"Master Bai is very prudent," Ye Tian said, glancing at Bai Yanwu, making sure she wasn’t injured by a hand knife.
"Alright, now that you’ve seen her, can we discuss what you were talking about? This Guo Bin is Xiao Yi’s subordinate, seemingly one of his capable men. Can you really represent him? You’re not trying to deceive me, are you?" Chen Yuan didn’t believe that Xiao Yi was now out of harm’s way; his information indicated that Xiao Yi was still unconscious. Could it be that Ye Tian wanted to take over his power?
Chen Yuan was silently calculating in his heart. He had heard about this man from Chen Guang, he was close to Li Guang’s son, perhaps that’s how he managed to ride Li Guang’s coattails. Their biggest fear was the collusion between officials and the underworld, but he absolutely couldn’t admit defeat. Looking at the interaction between Guo Bin and Ye Tian, it seemed was something Ye Tian came up with on the fly, not something that had been arranged with Guo Bin in advance.
"I think you’re quite aware of Xiao Yi’s condition by now, so we won’t hide it from you. The man you sent did a fine job; that bullet almost took his life, and even if he wakes up now, what could he do?"
"I still don’t quite understand. I don’t think Guo Bin would leave his old boss to join you so easily?"
"Guo Bin?" Ye Tian turned his head to look at the man glaring at him with rage, "If Xiao Yi were to die, he should be in a position to take over more so than Zhang Qiang. I think, Master Chen, you wouldn’t like it if your opponent was the ruthless kind like Zhang Qiang, would you?" Ye Tian’s eyes, however, were like a Pale Eagle locking its prey, fixed intently on Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan said nothing on the side, but Guo Bin could no longer keep his composure.
"Ye Tian, is this how you agree to collaborate with me?" Guo Bin choked Ye Tian by the neck.
The most confused by all this was Yu Xiao. Just a moment ago, they seemed to be in sync, so why were they fighting now? Even if she couldn’t understand it, Yu Xiao couldn’t let Guo Bin hurt Ye Tian.
"Yu Xiao, don’t do it!" Ye Tian, distracted, stopped Yu Xiao while his own face turned red, Guo Bin was going all out.
"Ye Tian, do you think you’re still a man, doing this?"
"Well then! How do you know for certain that Xiao Yi will survive?" Ye Tian asked Guo Bin. The most update n0vels are published on novel[f]ire.net
"He won’t die!" Guo Bin didn’t believe it.
"Whether he lives or dies, it’s not up to us to decide. Let me ask you, if Xiao Yi died right now, do you think you could stabilize the gang on your own?"
"I..." Guo Bin was rendered speechless by Ye Tian. Indeed, he couldn’t do it. Not to mention whether Zhang Qiang would accept him, even the rest wouldn’t agree to have a parachuted leader like him.
"That’s the point. You can leverage external help," Ye Tian pulled Guo Bin’s hand from his neck.
"Your words, not just Guo Bin, even I am in the dark about what you actually want?" Chen Yuan was clear in his heart that Ye Tian had come to show allegiance today, and claiming to look for Bai Yanwu was just an excuse.
"Really, why would you pretend to be confused when you clearly understand? As a senior, not to mention a person like me who doesn’t understand the rules of your world, even Guo Bin, even Xiao Yi themselves would respectfully address you as ’Master Chen’ when they see you." Ye Tian glanced at Yu Xiao, then again at Guo Bin.