Liu Xiliang, while crying, pounded his chest: "Mom! I’m sorry! Mom! I was wrong...I was wrong..."

Liu Ximing’s eyes turned red. He quickly stood up; he needed to leave here immediately. He couldn’t bear his brother’s cries, which washed away his facade of hypocrisy and exposed his ugliness to the daylight.

Liu Ximing knew who he should talk to. In the incident of their mother’s suicide, Ding Si was not an important figure at all; the one who orchestrated and planned everything was Xu Chunliang.

Since Xu Chunliang appeared, this matter gradually slipped out of control under his influence. Initially, Liu Ximing didn’t pay much attention to Xu Chunliang, just a young man who had just entered society, who became deputy town mayor merely because of his background and connections.

But now he realized that Xu Chunliang had already made three strategic moves today: ordering the halt of construction at Huannian Health and Elderly Care Hospital, stopping the Da Heng Group Weishan Island Division from opening for business, and now he was free to deal with the two of them.

Liu Ximing was baffled as to how their mother’s diary and farewell letter ended up in Xu Chunliang’s hands, becoming a weapon for his fatal strike.

Today’s coordination meeting was clearly a trap. Xu Chunliang had set the snare, finding ways to provoke the two brothers, and ultimately Liu Xiliang couldn’t hold back his anger, punching Ding Si and landing them both in a completely passive situation.

The problem must be solved by the person who created it, and only Xu Chunliang could resolve this matter.

When Liu Ximing mustered up the courage to go to the town government to find Xu Chunliang, he heard that Xu Chunliang had gone to the hospital to visit Ding Si, so he hurried to the hospital.

Ding Si was resting inside the observation room. When he saw Xu Chunliang enter, he immediately beamed with joy.

Xu Chunliang closed the door behind him: "President Ding, how can you be so happy after being beaten?"

Ding Si said, "No pain, no gain." He gave a thumbs-up to Xu Chunliang: "Mayor Xu, brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

Xu Chunliang glanced at his nose: "How does it feel?"

Ding Si said, "With my temper, I could beat those bastards to death."

Xu Chunliang said, "I meant your nose."

Ding Si’s nose was pinched and broken by Xu Chunliang’s hand. The two had agreed on this plan before the coordination meeting. Relying solely on the diary to make the Liu Brothers yield was unlikely. The tactic of provocation and self-sacrifice were both conceived by Xu Chunliang. Although the plan was good, ensuring Ding Si would suffer only minor injuries after the Liu Brothers retaliated required Xu Chunliang’s control.

Ding Si was now almost superstitious about Xu Chunliang. As long as Xu Chunliang said it, he was willing to cooperate. Xu Chunliang also promised him that it would just hurt a bit on the day, and he could fully heal within a week.

Ding Si said, "Liu Xiliang was too tough-handed!"

The two laughed.

There was a knock on the door from outside. Liu Ximing walked in carrying fruit.

Xu Chunliang wasn’t surprised by his arrival at all, greeted him, "Lawyer Liu is here!"

Liu Ximing addressed Mayor Xu and placed the fruit on the bedside table, saying to Ding Si, "President Ding, I’ve come to see you."

Ding Si said, "I’m fine, just a broken nose."

Liu Ximing said, "President Ding, my brother has been emotionally unstable these past few days..."

"Unstable? Feeling guilty? You two heartless brothers, if King Yan doesn’t take you, the law will."

Liu Ximing said, "President Ding, what do you want to do?"

Ding Si said, "What do I want to do? What else can I do? In this society ruled by law, I’d like to beat you two up, break your legs, but I can’t. I can’t make the same mistake as Liu Xiliang."

Liu Ximing said, "He realizes he’s wrong now, and he’s very regretful. He wants to make it up to you."

Ding Si said, "Spare me that nonsense. Isn’t it just because you’re afraid I’ll send him in, so you want to gain my forgiveness? I know this all too well. I may not be a lawyer, but I’ve broken the law, and I’ve learned from it. My understanding runs deeper than yours."

Xu Chunliang stood by the window looking at the scenery outside, as if the conversation between the two had nothing to do with him.

Liu Ximing said, "President Ding, my brother acted on impulse. Please, be gracious and give him a chance."

"I gave you chances. Did you give your mother any chance? Just answering a phone call, just a call could have given her the courage to live, but you didn’t answer. You caused your mother’s death. I’ll tell you this, let Liu Xiliang be ready for prison. If I let you off, even Heaven wouldn’t stand for it."

Liu Ximing said, "President Ding, it’s better to resolve enmities than to maintain them. Why escalate to mutual destruction?"

Ding Si said, "I hate nothing more than unfilial people. Don’t threaten me with mutual destruction; let it be mutual destruction. I’ll take responsibility for what I must, but you won’t escape the punishment you deserve."

Xu Chunliang said to Ding Si, "I’m leaving now."

Liu Ximing turned around and glanced at the closed door. He realized that continuing to talk with Ding Si wouldn’t lead to any results, so he quickly chased after Xu Chunliang. Ultimately, solving the issue depended on Xu Chunliang.

Just as Xu Chunliang stepped out of the observation room, Liu Ximing rushed up to him: "Town Mayor Xu, please hold on."

Xu Chunliang ignored him and kept walking forward. Liu Ximing jogged after him and caught up just as Xu Chunliang reached his Audi. Gasping for breath, he said, "Town Mayor Xu, I want to discuss something with you."

Xu Chunliang raised his wrist to check the time. Liu Ximing glanced at his watch, immediately thinking that this guy might be a bit too flashy. A young official who just started working, wearing a watch worth tens of thousands — wasn’t he afraid of being reported? Of course, Xu Chunliang wasn’t showing off. He was implying he didn’t have much time to waste on nonsense, signaling Liu Ximing to get the hint.

Liu Ximing said, "Town Mayor Xu, could you speak to President Ding and see if we can negotiate a solution?"

"What does this have to do with me?"

Liu Ximing said, "My brother already realizes his mistake. People should pay for their impulsive actions, but if President Ding insists on pursuing criminal charges, the price he pays will be too severe."

Xu Chunliang replied, "And what could be more severe than losing your biological mother?" He looked at Liu Ximing with disdain. This pair of brothers wasn’t deserving of sympathy; not only did they drive their mother to her death, but they also wanted to take advantage of their mother’s tragedy. Ding Si was right — these two were worse than pigs and dogs.

Liu Ximing said, "Town Mayor Xu, we’ve thought it over. We agree to send our parents’ bodies to the funeral home. Some of our demands were indeed excessive, and we’ll reconsider. I only have one brother."

Xu Chunliang sarcastically remarked, "And you only have one mother."

Liu Ximing said, "I admit, we didn’t handle it well. But everyone has their moments of stubbornness."

Xu Chunliang didn’t have time to listen to his nonsense and opened the car door, ready to leave.

Liu Ximing said, "Town Mayor Xu, we are sincere."

Xu Chunliang said, "If the old lady hadn’t left a diary and a will, you might not be so sincere. Read the diary properly and think more about the kindness she showed you. When you were young, you probably weren’t like this. What you do next is entirely up to you."

Xu Chunliang drove away.

Liu Ximing breathed in the air mixed with dust and exhaust fumes, feeling somewhat suffocated. He had lost the will to continue fighting.

Pei Lin, upon learning about the halt to the Healthy Elderly Care Hospital project, became so angry she felt dizzy. Xu Chunliang truly embodied the saying that "the son is a wolf from Zhongshan; once successful, he becomes arrogant." How long had it been since he left Changxing? And now he’s already turning against them. He’s a new official setting the metaphorical fire, targeting his own people first.

Seeing Pei Lin’s poor complexion, Wu Fajun proactively added some hot tea to her cup.

Pei Lin felt somewhat flattered and quickly stood up to receive it.

Wu Fajun said, "President Pei, just sit down; you’re not in good health."

Pei Lin’s face flushed a bit. This fellow knew everything about her. She would be living in his shadow for quite some time.

Wu Fajun poured himself a cup of tea and sat down on the sofa away from Pei Lin, smiling at her. In this world, he was probably the person she hated the most. If she had the chance, would she try to harm him? Thinking this, Wu Fajun actually found it quite interesting.

Pei Lin said, "Dingli Construction was recommended by Xu Chunliang. Previously, he was the one responsible for the Healthy Elderly Care Hospital project. If he dares to make the first move, we’ll dare to retaliate. Accountability! Playing like this, isn’t he just shooting himself in the foot?"

Wu Fajun took a sip of tea and said, "Actually, Xu Chunliang isn’t exactly targeting us. He’s also shut down Da Heng’s sales office this time. He’s playing a balancing act — fifty strokes for each side."

Pei Lin said, "He clearly knows we took the fall for Da Heng, yet he still does this. If this isn’t targeting us, then what is?"

Wu Fajun said, "If he only punished Da Heng and not us, others would say he’s biased. Punishing us is just for show. That’s his cleverness. Frankly, we’ve been at a standstill anyway. There are still more than ten days until the fifteenth of the first lunar month. As long as we resume work within this timeframe, the impact on us shouldn’t be significant."

Hearing this, Pei Lin felt a bit more balanced internally.

Wu Fajun said, "He wants us to come up with specific rectification measures."

Pei Lin said, "The incident happened on the construction site; the contractor must be held responsible. All our losses should be covered by the contractor."

Wu Fajun thought to himself that Ding Si was Xu Chunliang’s man. If Pei Lin went down this road, it would be like openly slapping Xu Chunliang in the face. However, he couldn’t be bothered to remind Pei Lin. He was happy to just watch them clash. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Pei Lin asked, "Are the Liu Brothers still causing trouble?"

Wu Fajun said, "Liu Xiliang has already been arrested, so the two of them have quieted down a lot."

"Arrested?"

Wu Fajun nodded and recounted the events.

Pei Lin first thought that Xu Chunliang must have used some tactics. Liu Xiliang was likely set up. This proved that Xu Chunliang was ruthless in achieving his goals. Although she spoke tough, the truth was, she wasn’t bold enough to become sworn enemies with Xu Chunliang.