Chapter 414

Inside the office.

"You're the leader; what you say goes." Yu Mingyuan stared at Li Mingsheng blankly. "I have no objections. I'll leave first."

"Brother Yuan!" Su Tianyu immediately got up, wanting to say a few words of persuasion.

"It's fine." Yu Mingyuan waved his hand with a smile and left the room.

Inside, Su Tianyu sighed and looked at Lao Li.

After a brief silence, Lao Li slowly got up and walked to the window, slightly wearily, saying, "The Tongji Association gave me a lot of support, but I also gave you a very good platform for development. Our relationship is so close, but after Anze Cheng landed in Dragon City, he never contacted me actively, nor did he show any attitude."

Su Tianyu was silent.

Lao Li turned to look at Su Tianyu, "At such a critical moment, not taking a stance is, in itself, a stance, right?"

"Right." Su Tianyu nodded without hesitation.

"I can understand Mingyuan's personal emotions, but I think the timing of his dealing with Gu Baisun, coupled with Anze Cheng's attitude, doesn't seem like a coincidence." Lao Li spoke succinctly, "You go talk to him. Let's be frank. Is the closeness of our relationship determined by Gu Baisun, or by other factors?"

Lao Li's words were already very direct. With his political acumen, he wouldn't really be unaware of Anze Cheng's attitude. So, he believed that Yu Mingyuan's performance today wasn't just because of personal hatred.

Su Tianyu was silent for a long while. "Okay, I'll talk to Brother Yuan."

"Go." Li Mingsheng waved his hand.

Su Tianyu turned and walked to the door, looking back at Li Mingsheng, who looked haggard and had graying temples, and said concisely, "Teacher, I will always understand your difficulties, always."

These words gave Li Mingsheng, who had been through many battles, goosebumps all over his body.

In the past, Su Tianyu had never addressed Li Mingsheng as "teacher." He had always called him "leader."

On this day, at this moment, Su Tianyu's calling him "teacher" was not bootlicking, but a very heartwarming gesture.

Li Mingsheng was slightly stunned, then grinned and replied, "Heh, you've had it rough too, kid."

"I'm leaving." Su Tianyu pushed the door and left.

…

Ten minutes later.

Gu Baisun appeared in Lao Li's office, his clothes still stained with the blood that splashed on him when Niu Feng was injured.

"You're making moves right under my nose. You're quite bold." Li Mingsheng sat on the sofa, picking up his teacup. "Do you think that now that you're in power, I wouldn't dare to touch you?"

"No." Gu Baisun replied honestly, "I just want to live."

Li Mingsheng slowly raised his head, looking sharply at Gu Baisun. "You want to live, or do you want to take advantage of the situation to rise?"

Gu Baisun was silent for a moment, then bent down and sat opposite Li Mingsheng, saying in a steady voice, "Leader, I'm having a hard time just trying to survive. Do I have the energy to consider taking advantage of the situation to rise?"

Li Mingsheng was silent.

"Why did Brother Wei help me? It's because I had already dug the pit to bury myself, and I showed it to him. He pitied me, and out of consideration for his mentorship with my father, he decided to save my life." Gu Baisun's tone was full of helplessness and helplessness as he continued, "Killing Zhang Ming, was there any other option besides cutting off my own arm? Of course there was. I could have sniped him inside the stevedore association! I wouldn't have had to take two bullets, leader! But if he had died at the conference site, Tan Hengqiang's two regiments outside would have rushed in at any moment and used this as an excuse. The 1,600 members of the stevedore association, as well as the elders and the district chairmen, would not have accepted this result. Because we seized the position of chairman by killing someone. Whether it's me or Brother Wei, we have no credibility after taking office, and the stevedore association will be divided. There will be a group of people who support us, and there will definitely be a considerable number who support Tan Hengqiang!"

Li Mingsheng lit a cigarette, listening quietly to Gu Baisun's words.

"I know your difficulties, so I want to do things as well as possible. Even if my arm is completely broken, I'll accept it. Because I want to live, I want you to be able to look at me at a critical moment, remember what I've done, and save my life. It's that simple." Gu Baisun's voice trembled slightly. "It's so difficult for me to just survive. What am I considering about riding the wind and soaring? No matter how well I, Gu Baisun, do, can I be as important as Yu Mingyuan and Su Tianyu in your heart? Can I be worth a word from them?! Probably not, right?"

Li Mingsheng looked at him. "You're very clear-headed."

"Leader, I know what you want to ask." Gu Baisun was silent for a long while, then sighed and replied, "As far as I'm concerned, my father is gone… I definitely can't get over it, but by killing Yu Jinrong, I, as a son, did what I had to do. I don't think there's anything wrong with what I did. Even if things were to happen again a hundred times, I would still do the same. But once it's done, it's done. A life for a life. No one owes anyone anything."

"You want to tell me that you can let it go?" Li Mingsheng asked.

"If I don't let it go, what can I do? Do I have the ability to kill Su Tianyu, or do I have the ability to kill Yu Mingyuan and then kill the twenty-odd gunmen who participated in the murder of my father that night?" Gu Baisun said very realistically, "With you in Dragon City, I can never talk about taking advantage of the situation to rise. To say something disrespectful, if you weren't here, would I even need to deal with Yu Mingyuan and Su Tianyu?"

Li Mingsheng took a deep breath of his cigarette.

"That's my attitude, leader." Gu Baisun replied.

"I want to place four people in the stevedore association." Li Mingsheng didn't say anything more, only replied in an irrefutable tone, "One to take charge of finance, one to take charge of personnel, one to take charge of organizational coordination, and one to take charge of government liaison. Any problems?"

"No." Gu Baisun replied.

Li Mingsheng pointed at him. "The key to resolving this matter isn't with me, nor is it with Su Tianyu! You decide what to do in the future."

"I understand!" Gu Baisun replied through gritted teeth.

"That's it. You can go." Li Mingsheng waved his hand.

Gu Baisun got up and bowed to Li Mingsheng. "Thank you, leader!"

Li Mingsheng didn't respond. Gu Baisun turned and left.

…

Downtown.

Su Tianyu sat in the car and dialed Yu Mingyuan's number. "Hello? Brother Yuan, come out and chat!"

"…Forget it. Let me be quiet and calm down." Yu Mingyuan sighed and refused.

"Then what do you mean? Are you cutting ties with me?" Su Tianyu asked.

"I said, I just want to be quiet!"

"Where are you?" Su Tianyu asked.

"I'm at the association."

"Wait for me. I'll come find you." Su Tianyu replied in an undeniable tone, hung up the phone, and instructed Hou Guoyu, "Go back to the association."

…

Outside the district.

Anze Cheng walked with his hands behind his back in the military compound, turning his head to ask the chief of staff, "Is it over?"

"It's basically over. The voting results are out. Gu Baisun was elected. Tan Hengqiang didn't send troops to engage in armed conflict immediately, which means he's going to compromise." The chief of staff replied.

As soon as Anze Cheng heard this, he immediately perked up. "Quick, get me my phone. I'll give Lao Tan a call!"