A chill instantly spread over the second man's entire back upon hearing Ying Chen's question.
"I... I... didn't..." he stammered.
Ying Chen interrupted him directly, "I don't like hearing 'didn't' or 'no.' You just need to tell me if you agree or disagree."
"After all, with so many people here, killing them one by one would be troublesome. I'm in a hurry."
_Swish!_
Not just the second man, but everyone present changed their expression.
In the past, if Ying Chen had rashly come to the Li family and said such things, no Li family member would have believed him.
They might have even burst into laughter.
But now, not a single Li family member doubted him!
This was because Ying Chen had not hesitated to kill Li Fengcheng, the founder and leader of the Li family, without a second thought. How could he possibly show mercy to the remaining pawns?
If Ying Chen said he would kill, he would definitely kill!
"I... agree!"
"A hundred, a thousand, ten thousand times, I agree!"
The second man, still quick-witted, immediately changed his tune.
He even moved to Ying Chen's side, adopting the posture of "From now on, I am your loyal lackey."
The crowd watched his fawning behavior, their teeth itching with anger.
They knew that he had been the loudest one shouting just moments ago.
Yet, he was now the most thorough in his surrender!
However, anger aside, faced with a choice between life and death, there was no room for pride.
Everyone fell into deep thought.
After a moment, a man stepped forward. "When I was in college, I published a paper on gender equality. I've always firmly believed that what men can do, women can do just as well! Women can hold up half the sky!"
"Who decreed that the position of family head can only be held by a man? Ancient times had Empress Wu and Lady She Tai. Are we in the 21st century regressing? Preposterous! Laughable!"
"I resolutely support Ruoting becoming the head of the Li family! Anyone who opposes me will have to step over my corpse! I will also be practicing my ideals and making a sacrifice for equality!"
Indeed, when one sheds all shame, they are invincible.
This guy even invoked the slogan of equality, which no one had expected.
"Not bad, I have my eye on you. What's your name?"
Even Ying Chen looked at the man with approval and asked.
The man scurried over to Ying Chen, bowing and scraping, and replied, "Reporting to Mr. Ying, my name is Li Chaoqing. Vigorous and youthful, representing the most malleable and potential-filled young force of the Li family."
It had to be said, Li Chaoqing was very eloquent.
In one sentence, he declared his stance.
"Most malleable" meant he was willing to change for Ying Chen. Whatever Ying Chen wanted to shape him into, he would become.
"Most potential" also indicated his value. He wasn't some good-for-nothing wastrel; he had potential and could be entrusted with important tasks!
"I'll remember you," Ying Chen nodded.
He had indeed noted down Li Chaoqing's name.
Ying Chen did not believe that Zhuang Ruoting could truly secure the position of Li family head with mere bravery.
Once Ying Chen left and his lingering aura faded from the hearts of the Li family members, Zhuang Ruoting would face immense risk.
Therefore, by selecting a few capable individuals and binding them to Zhuang Ruoting's chariot, they could assist her at critical moments.
Seeing that Ying Chen remembered his name, Li Chaoqing was overjoyed.
He rubbed his hands and whispered into Ying Chen's ear, "Boss, among everyone here, the others are not to be feared. As long as the three sons of Li Fengcheng are dealt with, everything will be fine. Then everyone else will be begging you for forgiveness..."
"Is that so?" Ying Chen asked, glancing sideways at the three sons of the Li family.
The three sons of the Li family seemed to sense something and looked at Ying Chen with tense expressions.
"You three..." Ying Chen beckoned to them.
"The first two who came over will be considered as them abandoning darkness for light and surrendering with merit."
"The one who walked over last will be the perpetrator of this incident and accept punishment."
"After all, someone has to take the fall for trying to welsh on my five billion, right?"
_Swish!_
The faces of the three Li family sons changed simultaneously.
They looked at each other.
They all seemed unwilling.
They were so close to success, yet now they had to hand over the position of family head to an outsider.
And a woman at that!
"Brother,"
The second and third sons looked at their elder brother.
As if waiting for his command.
As if, with just one order from their elder brother, they would follow him to the death!
The elder brother pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "What did they say just now? 'As long as you're brave enough, even a ghost can take maternity leave.' Then let's be bold! Let's..."
However, before the elder brother could finish speaking,
He realized that the second and third sons were no longer beside him.
As he was pondering, both of them had walked towards Ying Chen!
Seeing their actions, the elder brother was furious.
He had never imagined that these two brothers would be so shameless and despicable!
"We two are willing to serve Mr. Ying as our master and help Ruoting manage the Li family together!"
The second and third sons bowed in unison towards Ying Chen and said in unison.
Ying Chen glanced at them indifferently and said, "Not together, but follow orders. Understand?"
The two hesitated for a moment, then nodded resignedly, "Understood."
They had originally hoped for joint management rights, but it seemed they wouldn't even have basic dignity.
From now on, they could only be "servants."
However... compared to their elder brother, even being servants was far better.
Thinking this, the two of them looked at the eldest son of the Li family with schadenfreude.
The eldest son of the Li family, however, had not yet recovered from the shock and anger of being betrayed by his two brothers.
He remained standing there.
The famous saying, "As long as you're brave enough, even a ghost can take maternity leave," still echoed in everyone's ears.
Ying Chen looked at the eldest son of the Li family with a sneer, "You probably won't have a chance for maternity leave. How about I give you funeral leave instead!"
Before he finished speaking, Ying Chen instantly appeared beside the eldest son of the Li family.
His fingers like pincers, he gripped the eldest son of the Li family's head.
The eldest son of the Li family was terrified, his face full of dread.
His body trembled like a sieve, letting out mournful cries, "No... don't kill me... I... I also agree..."
But Ying Chen was unmoved, calmly spitting out, "The greater your ambition, the greater the risk you must bear. Since you harbored the ambition to swallow my five billion bet, you must be prepared to pay with your life."
"So, rest in peace and go on vacation!"
With that, Ying Chen's fingers tightened abruptly!
There was no terrifying sound of a head exploding, nor the gruesome scene of blood and gore splattering as one might imagine.
There was only an extremely faint cracking sound.
But the more it was like this, the greater the impact it had on everyone!
Because everyone could clearly see how the eldest son of the Li family's head cracked bit by bit!
Because everyone could clearly feel how the eldest son of the Li family's life essence drained away little by little!
This feeling of shared fear made everyone present shudder with cold!
As if they were the next target!
_Thump!_
_Thump!_
In the blink of an eye, the entire living room was filled with people kneeling.
Everyone was trembling, begging for mercy, "It has nothing to do with us, it has nothing to do with us... We supported Ruoting becoming the family head from beginning to end!"
"It was only because we were forced by our elder brother's tyranny that we had to oppose her!"
"We implore sir to see the truth!"
Poor eldest son of the Li family, even in death, he had to take the blame.
So much so that his corpse twitched, as if it were about to reanimate.
Ying Chen looked at the densely packed crowd kneeling on the floor with a half-smile, not bothering to expose their clumsy excuses.
He simply waved his hand, "Since you all support her, what are you waiting for? Go and welcome your new family head!"
The crowd hesitated.
Upon seeing the corpse of their elder brother lying there with his eyes wide open in death, they all shivered instantly.
They quickly turned towards Zhuang Ruoting.
"Greetings, Family Head!"
The synchronized greetings echoed repeatedly in the living room.
Zhuang Ruoting looked at everyone with a mixture of shock and bewilderment, as if she couldn't believe she had actually become the head of the Li family.
She clenched her fist, her long fingernails piercing her palm. The intense pain told her: this was not a dream! It was real!
She had indeed, incredulously, ascended to the position of Li family head!
"Everyone... please rise."
After a long while, Zhuang Ruoting finally spoke.
After speaking, Zhuang Ruoting didn't know what else to say and looked pleadingly at Ying Chen.
Ying Chen smiled slightly, "Why are you looking at me? You are the Family Head. Didn't you say you were fully qualified to sit in this position? Then prove it to me, prove it to everyone."
"If you are truly qualified, I believe these people will wholeheartedly follow you; if you are not qualified, I will select a suitable candidate again in a year."
"I hope you don't disappoint me."
Hearing Ying Chen's words, Zhuang Ruoting felt immense pressure.
This meant that within a year, she had to deliver a satisfactory performance!
Otherwise, she might be ousted!
"Of course, all the Li family members will cooperate with you during this year. Anyone who deliberately causes trouble will suffer the same fate as the eldest son of the Li family."
"Don't think that you'll be fearless once I leave Hong Kong. Don't forget, there are no fences between Hong Kong and the mainland; I can come anytime. Not to mention, He Chongxu will be stationed in Hong Kong in the future to monitor the world for me."
"You won't even need me to act personally to kill you!"
Ying Chen cast a deep look at everyone, warning them.
Finally, his gaze fell directly on the second and third sons of the Li family.
It was clear that these words were specifically directed at them.
The second and third sons of the Li family wore long faces and said, "Mr. Ying, please rest assured, even if we had ten times the courage, we wouldn't dare to have second thoughts. We only hope that if Ruoting is truly unqualified after a year, you can give us a fair chance to compete."
"That is natural," Ying Chen nodded.
The second and third sons of the Li family were instantly overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly, "With Mr. Ying's word, we are reassured! Thank you, Mr. Ying! Thank you, Mr. Ying!"
Since even the second and third sons said so, how could any other members of the Li family dare to have an opinion?
And so, Zhuang Ruoting achieved a meteoric rise overnight, becoming the new head of the Li family!
All that remained was for it to be announced in the newspapers tomorrow, informing the entire island.
Before that, however, there was one more thing to do.
There was a banquet that specifically required the Li family head to attend.
Previously, the eldest son of the Li family was preparing to attend as the family head.
Now that the family head had become Zhuang Ruoting, only she could attend!
It was believed that when the time came, it would shock everyone's jaws!
Especially certain people!