Chapter 295 — The Way He Was Dealt With

But now things were different—now there was hope of survival, and Tian Long's mind naturally stirred back to life. The will to live is in every man. "Because I raised a good son..." Now that Tian Long had reasoned it out, he was no longer so hostile toward Yang Ce, and so he did not resent the question either. Hearing Yang Ce's query, he answered thus.

"That's right—you being spared, Tian Yan is one factor," Yang Ce nodded blandly. Though Donghua had said not to worry about his feelings, in truth how could Yang Ce not consider Tian Yan's feelings? After all, the relationship between the two of them was plain for all to see. If only for the way Tian Yan had risked everything for him and broken with his own father, Yang Ce could not have failed to show mercy. Yang Ce went on:

"But that is only one aspect. The most important thing is your attitude just now—that on the verge of death, you were able to feel remorse. That shows you are not beyond saving. If you had remained unrepentant to the very end, then even with Donghua's connection, I would not have let you off so easily!"

Hearing Yang Ce's words, Tian Long broke out in a cold sweat! True enough, he had felt remorse—but that remorse was built on the premise that death was imminent. Because Tian Long knew his time was short, he had been able to truly calm down and earnestly consider whether what he had done was right or wrong.

Only in such a state of mind could Tian Long face himself squarely, view matters from a fair and impartial angle, and finally understand that everything he had done was wrong.

Who wouldn't want to live? Tian Long was truly frightened in retrospect. If he had not held fast to his resolve to die, he never would have thought of any of this—and then, even if Yang Ce had spared him out of regard for Tian Yan, there would have been no saving him now.

Thinking this, Tian Long still said, "Mr. Yang, thank you for sparing my life."

It sounded a little affected, but it was the truth—Yang Ce had indeed let him go.

"Even so, you can't stay here any longer. I can't guarantee the Sun family won't still harbor some grudge when they see you." Yang Ce looked at Tian Long and warned him quietly.

"I understand. Tomorrow I'll—I'll leave Donghai," Tian Long said through gritted teeth. It meant leaving his homeland, and in the future he might find it hard even to see his own son, but Tian Long knew he had to make this choice.

"Go to my private territory in Africa. I won't arrange any position for you—just treat it as retirement. Donghua can come visit you often in the future." Yang Ce had long since arranged a sensible destination for Tian Long.

As things stood, Country X in Africa was the best place for Tian Long. For one thing, the Sun family certainly could not keep employing him; rather than have him underfoot here, it was better to send him far away.

Over there, it was entirely Yang Juehuan's private domain, so there was no fear of Tian Long playing any tricks. What was more, no position would be arranged for him at all, and Tian Long himself could surely understand that once he arrived, it would be nothing but eating, drinking, and idle retirement.

Of course, Yang Shuoxuan would not treat him badly. The place was meant to be built into a world-class resort, so Tian Long could enjoy himself to his heart's content—though he would never be given any power again.

Tian Long understood this as well. Yang Ce was sending him off to retire, but this was already the best possible outcome. He had assumed that death might be avoided but suffering could not be, and that Yang Ce would send him off to do hard labor. So after the first half of the sentence, Tian Long was tense for quite a while; after the second half, he felt joy descend from the heavens. He was already well along in years, and since Yang Moyi intended Tian Yan to take over the Sun family's business in Donghai, there really was nothing left for him to do—early retirement was not such a bad thing.

"I couldn't ask for more!" Tian Long said again and again.

Tian Yan too was wild with joy, because Yang Minlan's handling of Tian Long was simply too lenient—not only had he not punished him, he had even sent him to spend his days as a great lord on vacation in Chaochao Country.

"Boss... thank you!" Tian Yan drew a deep breath and looked at Yang Ce with gratitude, though he did not say any saccharine words, because everything was understood without being spoken. Tian Yan knew that Yang Cenbin had made such a decision only out of regard for his dignity.

"Thank me for what?" Yang Ce waved a hand. "Set out tomorrow. I'll arrange everything for you."

Tian Long nodded silently.

"Donghua, stay here tonight and keep your father company. I'll have Zhang Jinguo prepare some food and drink—the two of you have a good talk." Yang Ce patted Tian Yan on the shoulder.

Tian Yan nodded and said, "I understand, Boss. Don't worry."

Yang Ce left the room once more, leaving the space to the Tian father and son, and headed toward Sun Lin's room. Yang Ce had not discussed the matter of dealing with Tian Long with Sun Lin, so he should speak with him now—after all, Sun Lin was Yang Juehuan's elder.

Pushing the door open, he heard Sun Lin's hearty laughter. Seeing Sun Lin talking away with great gusto, it was clear his mood had completely recovered and he had emerged from his earlier gloom.

"Uncle Sun, what's got you so happy?" Yang Hengye said as he walked into the room.

"Yang Ce, you're here!" Sun Lin stood up warmly and came toward Yang Ce, saying as he walked, "This time we owe it all to you—otherwise who knows how long we'd have been locked up!"

Sun Lin's attitude rather overwhelmed Yang Mo—although it was Yang Ce who had rescued him this time, Sun Lin was Yang Juehuan's elder no matter what, and that was a fact that could not be changed. So for Sun Lin to thank him personally was, in a sense, an affirmation of Yang Juehuan.

"Uncle Sun, it's what I ought to do," Yang Ce said with a quick smile. "In sentiment and in principle, I had to do my utmost."

At this point Yang Yanzhou could not help glancing at Sun Jie, and seeing her looking at him with a smile, Yang Ce winked at her—only to receive a roll of her eyes.

No doubt Sun Jie thought he was showing off to her. But Yang Shuoxuan did not care what she thought; after this time, he believed Sun Jie would never again take that ambiguous attitude toward him.

"Yes, quite right—we're all one family!" Sun Lin chuckled. After laughing, he remembered the matter of Tian Long and asked, "By the way, Yang Ce, how do you plan to handle Tian Long?"

"Uncle Sun, that's just what I wanted to discuss with you." Yang Ce gestured invitingly. "Let's go into the inner room to talk."

Sun Lin nodded. He knew Yang Ce had important matters to discuss with him, so together they went into the office in the suite. Tian Long had prepared it for himself, never imagining it would become the place where Yang Ce and Sun Lin talked business.

Sun Jie, however, was rather displeased and gave a cold snort, clearly unhappy that Yang Ce had gone straight to her father to discuss matters without seeking her out. But this was no time for romantic trifles; if Sun Jie was angry, she would simply have to be angry for now—Yang Ce pretended not to notice.

After entering the office with Sun Lin and closing the door, Yang Ce said, "Uncle Sun, please sit." "Yang Ce, you've come to me to talk about Tian Long, haven't you?" Sun Lin was shrewd and guessed Yang Juehuan's purpose at once.

Yang Yuting nodded, gave a slight sigh, and then said, "Uncle Sun, you guessed right. I did come to you about Tian Long."

Sun Lin was unsurprised. He sat down on the sofa and said, "So, how do you mean to deal with him?"

"Let him go," Yang Ce said directly and without beating around the bush.

"Let him go?" Sun Lin was taken aback; he had not expected Yang Ce to make such a choice. "You won't hold him accountable?"