“Would mom be willing to see you compromise on everything for money?”
Perhaps it was the alcohol talking—Bai Yang’s words slipped out, and he regretted them as soon as he said them.
Bai Liu’s already furrowed brow instantly tightened even more, and she looked at him coldly: “You think I’m making you compromise for money?”
Bai Liu put her hands on her hips and stared at him with an ugly expression: “Bai Yang, use your brain. I don’t oppose your charity collaborations, but keeping this set meal has no benefits for you whatsoever. Even if this Manager Guo hadn’t come today, I would have had you find an excuse to remove it sooner or later.”
“Why?”
Now Bai Yang was truly angry: “How much we can donate is one thing, but isn’t the most important part making sure everyone remembers what happened in this house?”
This little brat still doesn’t understand!
Bai Liu bit her teeth, her hands on her hips gripping so hard they nearly crumpled deep wrinkles into her perfectly ironed skirt.
“You little shit, you’re taking on too many things. You want people to remember the victims killed by Hu Wei, and you also want them to remember Lin Xiufen! Bai Yang, have you realized there’s a conflict of interest between the two? For the victims’ families, Lin Xiufen is also a murderer’s accomplice. You’re donating money to both sides with one charity set meal—do you know what a huge liability you’ve created for yourself?”
“I…”
A chilly night breeze blew over, scattering the remaining alcohol from Bai Yang’s mind. He suddenly realized: “But even if I don’t do the charity set meal, I still have to open the store for those elderly people, so you’re asking me to abandon the victims’ families…”
Bai Liu glared at him fiercely: “Have you abandoned them? This case couldn’t have been solved without you! You know when I first got this property, that Hu guy kept making excuses. If you hadn’t insisted, I wouldn’t have pressured him to meet you, and none of what followed would have happened! You did the hardest part of everything, understand? Compared to finding the truth, paying money is the easiest thing. Now that everything’s come to light, tell me—how much can you compensate them with money from selling set meals? Or do you really want to act like a child throwing a tantrum against Guan Yinli, letting them have no legal responsibility and not even pay an extra cent?”
Perhaps because of her anger, Bai Liu’s face was white as paper as she spoke her next words one by one.
“Yang Zi, I didn’t want to make you a bad person. It’s just that when facing opponents much stronger than you, you need to mature a bit, at least not leave any vulnerabilities… Didn’t you always ask me why I wouldn’t let you tell people that Huangliang Yimeng was named after mom? I’ll tell you now—because the timing isn’t right. Neither of us has grown strong enough wings yet. Once you openly bring up mom, people will dig into our family’s dirty laundry, which means you’ll likely have to completely tear off the mask with Bai Yiming publicly, letting everyone know that man in our house is a beast who abandoned his wife and child. Yang Zi, I haven’t fully taken over the Bai family yet. The Bai family’s reputation affects the Bai family’s stock price, and the Bai family’s stock price affects Huangliang Yimeng’s future. Do you understand?”
After this speech, Bai Yang was completely stunned, while Bai Liu seemed utterly exhausted. She sighed softly and placed her sweaty palm against her brother’s cheek.
“All these years I’ve protected you—you’ve never encountered anything like this. But that doesn’t mean you won’t in the future. Now you’re Boss Bai of Huangliang Yimeng. These things, you need to think them through yourself from now on.”
After that, Bai Liu hastily told Han Sha to “pay more attention from now on,” then got in her car and left without another word, leaving only Bai Yang standing dazed in the night wind.
“Boss, you’re done for. A woman like your sister isn’t easy to placate.”
At this moment, Han Sha, having watched the drama unfold, gave a lukewarm summary of the evening’s events. Looking down, he saw—
Less than three minutes after the argument, Bai Yang was already urgently composing an apology message to Bai Liu.
“…”
“…You really have no backbone, boss.”
On the way back, Bai Yang sent seven or eight messages to Bai Liu in succession. Not one got a reply.
Looking at the completely silent chat interface, his heart gradually grew cold. Recalling the obvious disappointment on Bai Liu’s face when she left, he regretted it so much he wanted to jump off Yu Jiang’s elevated highway right then and there.
He clearly knew—from childhood to adulthood, how much hardship had Bai Liu endured standing in front of him that he couldn’t see.
If Bai Liu hadn’t worked hard to prop up Bai Family Hot Sauce, abandoning so-called “principles” to work hands-on under their father, he might not even have had the chance to pursue his dreams.
And despite all that, he had thoughtlessly accused Bai Liu of compromising everything for money.
“What should I do… would showing up with cake to kowtow help?”
The car was still stuck in traffic, and Bai Yang had completely wilted, curling up into a small ball of yarn in the back seat, heartbroken.
Obviously, the alcohol was still somewhat affecting his emotional regulation system.
Seeing this, Han Sha couldn’t help rolling her eyes: “Boss, you really shouldn’t drink anymore. I’ve seen people who can’t handle their liquor, but I’ve never seen someone who gets unlucky every time they drink.”
At this, Bai Yang just stared blankly out the car window: “Is my head just full of cake batter? How could I say such things to my sister…”
Han Sha laughed: “Having some basic self-awareness is good, but boss, there’s no regret medicine in this world. Since your sister won’t acknowledge you right now, you might as well think carefully about what she told you.”
“…So you also think my sister was right, don’t you?”
Bai Yang snapped back to attention. As the rush of anger faded, his thinking ability slowly returned.
Han Sha snorted with laughter: “Though I don’t want to admit it, your sister was right. When I had you do that charity set meal, it was because the Number 29 case hadn’t been solved yet—you had to appease the victims’ families then… Times change, boss. You need to learn that in this world, many things don’t move people just because you give—especially when money’s involved.”
“So what’s this vulnerability my sister mentioned…”
“The Number 29 case caused such a stir—Guan Yinli Real Estate couldn’t possibly have no responsibility. The fact that the victims chose not to sue obviously means someone worked behind the scenes… In other words, at least for the victims’ families, their attitude toward Guan Yinli should have already softened. If you want to oppose Guan Yinli, they might not necessarily stand with you.”
With just a few sentences, Han Sha laid out the stakes clearly. Bai Yang’s heart chilled: “You mean Guan Yinli has already given them compensation privately?”
“Of course—that’s their confidence in asking you to remove the menu. In this situation, if you stubbornly refuse them, you’re essentially cutting off the possibility of the victims’ families getting another generous public compensation. Though you didn’t mean it that way, if this news reaches them in the future, how do you think they’ll view you?”
In the dim car interior, seeing Bai Yang’s expression growing increasingly ugly, Han Sha said flatly: “Greed knows no bounds. When interests are involved, human nature can be terrifying. Boss, maybe Bai Liu’s intention is exactly the opposite of what you think—she hopes you can stay away from all this ‘money’… Whether it’s compensating victims or securing Lin Xiufen’s future living expenses, the money involved is too complex. Having Guan Yinli pay is the best option. On one hand, you don’t get dragged into this muddy water. On the other, so what if Guan Yinli gets some publicity? Getting publicity means they can’t back down—people will supervise their payments… That’s the price these people have to pay.”
“…”
Finally, Bai Yang completely understood the logic here.
But it was too late.
Words spoken were like sugar poured into a pot. Thinking of Bai Liu’s pale face not long ago, he slumped back against the car window, hopeless.
“What should I do… I really am not cut out for business… I was actually planning to have my sister attend the branch store’s opening ceremony…”
Halfway through speaking, Bai Yang’s eyes were already welling up with tears.
Han Sha: “…”
Only now did she understand why in the employment contract Bai Liu had given her, there was a special item for “childcare.”
This was much more troublesome than actual childcare.
…Whatever.
After mentally reciting her salary several times, Han Sha finally pulled a pack of tissues from her pocket and handed them over.
“You’re a mature boss now—you should know that tonight’s Hongmen banquet was just the beginning of a series of troubles.”
Han Sha said helplessly: “Removing a notarized charity menu isn’t easy, boss. To avoid gossip, even without your sister present, you’ll have to personally attend Guan Yinli Real Estate’s press conference to handle the handover.”