Ye Tianfan squinted his eyes and said, "An alliance with the Qin Family? You want me to be the negotiator?"

Long Yuqing nodded reluctantly. She was well aware of the deep-seated resentment between the Long Family and the Qin Family. If she were to step forward, neither Qin Ruomeng nor Qin Wujue would collaborate with the Long Family. Not only that, they might even take advantage of the Long Family's decline to annex it.

So Long Yuqing could only come to plea with Ye Tianfan, asking him to mediate.

"The Qin Family definitely won't collaborate with us. You're the only one who can make Qin Ruomeng change her mind. I hope you can step in and help me negotiate."

Long Yuqing's expression was somewhat troubled, her silver teeth biting her red lips. It was clear that asking Ye Tianfan for help took a lot of determination.

"Doesn't it feel unpleasant to ask for help?" Ye Tianfan raised an eyebrow, glancing at Long Yuqing.

Long Yuqing gave a helpless smile.

This smile seemed somewhat bleak,

and when it appeared on Long Yuqing's face, it made her seem even more pitiable, always capable of instantly evoking sympathy and a protective urge.

The feeling of asking for help truly is unpleasant in this world; if there were any way around it, who would want to demean themselves and ask others for help?

"This time, I truly need to ask for your help." Long Yuqing stood up and, surprisingly, gave Ye Tianfan a respectful bow.

This made Ye Tianfan momentarily stunned.

To make Long Yuqing, the underground queen of Jiangzhou City, bow to him.

It showed how difficult this situation really was for her.

This deep bow contained so much bitterness and hardship that perhaps only Long Yuqing herself could truly understand.

At such a young age, as a single woman, she had to support the entire Long Family alone. She had no external support, unlike Qin Ruomeng, who had a grandfather as the family's support. Whenever Qin Ruomeng faced difficulties, Qin Wujue would always be there to help without any conditions.

But Long Yuqing had no such help.

The Long Family had only her to rely on. No matter what challenges she faced, she had to grit her teeth and push forward because the Long Family depended solely on her! If she fell, the Long Family's banner would fall with her.

During her time at the helm of the Long Family for over a decade, she experienced so much of life's harsh realities, betrayal by family elders, external pressures... All these forced Long Yuqing to endure burdens not meant for someone of her age. It taught her what it means to mature, to be responsible, and to take charge.

For the Long Family, Long Yuqing had done many things that required humility.

All along, Long Yuqing had put on a façade of carefree strength. To outsiders, she seemed like the very successful underground queen, but how many struggles she faced that would be unbearable for ordinary people, only Long Yuqing knew in her heart.

Seeing Long Yuqing suddenly bow, Ye Tianfan quickly said, "Yuqing, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that I can't get out right now."

Tears shimmered in Long Yuqing's eyes,

"You can deceive others, but can you deceive me? Can this prison truly hold you? You can leave anytime you want."

Ye Tianfan shook his head helplessly.

"Yes, I can leave anytime, but how I leave is very important!"

After a moment of contemplation, Ye Tianfan said coldly, "If I leave today, I'd be a wanted criminal nationally! I can't tarnish the Ye Family's name."

Long Yuqing bit her lips and said, "Then what about a month from now? In a month, you'll be executed. What will you do then? Embrace death?"

Ye Tianfan shook his head and said, "I haven't thought of a good solution yet; let's wait and see."

"I understand."

Long Yuqing sighed deeply, slowly stood up from her chair, and with a mix of disappointment and hopelessness, walked towards the exit of the visitation room, murmuring to herself, "Ye Tianfan, why did Qin Ruomeng meet you first and not me, Long Yuqing?"

This was a question Long Yuqing had asked herself countless times. Why did Qin Ruomeng seem to have everything from birth, while she had to bear the entire Long Family's weight from the moment she was born?

Tired.

Long Yuqing just felt very tired.

Especially with the Long Family's current crisis, that sense of helplessness and powerlessness made Long Yuqing feel immensely frustrated.

The Qin Family has Qin Wujue; Qin Ruomeng can rest easy.

But what about the Long Family?

As Long Yuqing walked out of the prison, she suddenly felt dizzy. The glaring sunlight made her dizzy, and Lin Xiaofeng, who was waiting at the door, quickly stepped forward.

"Miss Long, how are you? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No." Long Yuqing weakly waved her hand and said, "From today, I will take full control of the Lin Group. I will use it as the foundation to start the counterattack! Notify the Li Family and tell Li Wenxiong to be ready to mobilize funds to support me at any time."

Long Yuqing's words immediately changed Lin Xiaofeng's expression. The biggest difference between the Long Family and the Qin Family is that the Qin Family is unified, while the Long Family is very dispersed. The Long Group, as the operator behind the scenes, controls more than a dozen medium-sized corporate enterprises, with Lin Group and Li Group being among them.

So even if Fang Zaitian defeated the Long Group, he couldn't simultaneously destroy all other businesses under Long Yuqing's control.

At this time, Lin Xiaofeng's face was full of difficulty, and his hesitant demeanor made Long Yuqing furrow her brows.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Xiaofeng sighed and said, "The Li Family... The Li Family has already withdrawn their shares. Just yesterday, the Li Group formally signed a cooperation agreement with the Imperial Group. They..."

"What?"

At the most crucial time, the Li Family's company actually betrayed them!

This was undoubtedly a thunderbolt from a clear sky for Long Yuqing.

Lin Xiaofeng quickly supported Long Yuqing and whispered, "Miss Long, you've been close to Ye Tianfan recently, and Li Wenxiong's son, Li Zexi, was once disciplined by Ye Tianfan, so... they..."

Long Yuqing nearly fainted, rubbing her temples with her right hand, then glanced at Lin Xiaofeng and said coldly, "What about your Lin Family? If you also want to leave the Long Family, I, Long Yuqing, won't stop you!"

Lin Xiaofeng's face changed drastically, and he quickly said, "Miss Long, the achievements and scale the Lin Family has achieved in Jiangzhou City are entirely because of your secret support. We, the Lin Family, remember this kindness."

Before finishing, Lin Xiaofeng opened the car door and helped Long Yuqing inside, then said, "Rest assured, Miss Long, our Lin Family is not ungrateful. Even if we have to stake everything, the Lin Family will unconditionally support you. At worst, we'll restart from scratch!"

Lin Xiaofeng's words warmed Long Yuqing's heart slightly. Amid the series of setbacks she had faced recently, this was the first bit of comfort she received.

Despite Lin Xiaofeng's usual carefree demeanor and appearance of a wealthy playboy, when it came down to it, he was someone willing to fight with honor and loyalty.

"Let's go, drive, to the Li Family!"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.