Chapter 30: Confrontation

Gao Yi was Wu Long's man. After being beaten this badly, Wu Long was sure to step in and cause trouble.

At that point, even if Li Xue were to sacrifice herself to atone, she might not be able to save the Li Group.

In the end, the Li Group would be unable to escape the grim fate of being acquired by the Yuelong Group.

Jiang Hong's expression shifted repeatedly as he heard this. He truly had no idea what Lu Yi was talking about.

'Do young people nowadays lay it on so thick even when they're just being polite?'

Just as he was about to ask for more details, he saw Mu Lin slowly approaching from the fire escape door.

Oh... Jiang Hong's eyes lit up. He was about to walk over and greet Mu Lin, but then he saw Mu Lin place a finger to his lips in a hushing gesture.

Jiang Hong paused. 'What's going on here?' he wondered. But since it was a request from Mu Lin, he figured he might as well comply.

'He's a talented young man held in high esteem by Lin Tian. I should listen to his requests.'

When Lu Yi saw Mu Lin approaching, he snapped, "Why did you come from over there? Didn't I say we were to line up to welcome President Jiang's Group and Team Leader Gao?"

Jiang Hong was terrified. 'Lu Yi, you've got some nerve!' he thought. 'Mu Lin is someone that even the likes of Lin Tian and his son, Lin Jin, treat with utmost courtesy. And here you are, shouting at him the moment he appears.'

'How many lives do you think you have to waste like this?'

Jiang Hong quickly interjected, "There's no need for such ceremony! Director Lu, I'm not some bigwig. You don't have to be so demanding!"

But Lu Yi just laughed. "President Jiang's Group, you are a person of noble character, I'm truly impressed. But let me tell you, you can't be polite with trash like him, or he'll start acting up."

Hearing Lu Yi call Mu Lin trash made Jiang Hong's scalp tingle. 'If Mu Lin is trash, then what does that make Lin Tian, who treats him as a guest of honor? The king of trash?'

He didn't dare to respond and could only manage an awkward, accompanying smile.

Lu Yi continued, "President Jiang's Group, let me tell you a joke about our company. The engineering department has a 'Special Engineering Team' filled with do-nothing, second-generation rich kids just waiting to collect their inheritance. And this guy? He's the deputy leader of those princelings. To put it bluntly, he's a hopeless good-for-nothing!"

Jiang Hong found this even more unbelievable. 'You have a living deity right here, and not only does the Li Group fail to worship him, you actually stick him in a position like that? It's absurd.'

HR Director Sun He, who was sticking close to Lu Yi's side, added with a sneer, "To be honest, this special project team only has seven people—oh, with Mu Lin, that makes eight—yet they burn through six hundred thousand a month in salaries with absolutely zero output! They get free money for doing nothing. It's completely absurd!"

"And President Li's constant indulgence and protection of them is one of the reasons we have so many safety hazards."

Jiang Hong was even more confused. 'Everyone in the industry knows the Li Group builds quality properties, right? A president like Li Xue, who's constantly visiting construction sites to oversee quality, is a rare breed. Since when did people start saying she was lax about safety hazards?'

Li Xue walked toward the entrance, followed by another group of mid-level managers. Her expression was grim. The managers in the elevator with her hadn't given her any respect.

She was usually very strict with them; now that she was losing her grip on power, they were lashing back hard.

She spotted Gao Yi. He was covered in injuries and looked completely demoralized. It seemed the bodyguards hadn't shown him any mercy last night.

Li Xue felt a surge of satisfaction, but satisfaction was one thing. Offending Gao Yi like this would likely make the crisis much harder to resolve.

The middle-aged man standing in front of Gao Yi must be President Jiang's Group. 'I should still go say hello,' Li Xue thought. 'After all, for now, I'm still the president of the Li Group.'

But then she saw Mu Lin standing beside Jiang Hong, and her heart leaped into her throat.

'Mu Lin, please don't do anything reckless,' she pleaded internally. 'If he offends Jiang Hong too, then we'll have absolutely no hope of a comeback.'

"Mu Lin, get over here!" Li Xue snapped.

Mu Lin glanced at Li Xue and calmly walked over to her.

Li Xue met him and whispered harshly, "Don't cause any more trouble! Things are chaotic enough as it is!"

'I'm trying to help you, for crying out loud,' Mu Lin thought. 'If you can't appreciate it, fine. I can't be bothered with you!' He then blended into the crowd of mid-level managers, but his outstanding presence made him stand out like a crane among chickens. It was impossible for him to go unnoticed.

Li Xue walked briskly to Jiang Hong's side and extended her flawless hand.

"Hello, President Jiang's Group. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Li Xue, the president of the Li Group."

Jiang Hong did not dare to slight her and quickly shook her hand. "The pleasure is all mine!"

The absurd stunt Gao Yi had pulled yesterday had left Jiang Hong feeling like he was sitting on pins and needles. He hadn't slept a wink all night.

So, he had brought Gao Yi here first thing in the morning to offer a sincere apology. Whatever Li Xue decided to do with Gao Yi was fine by him.

But before Jiang Hong could bring up what happened yesterday, Lu Yi spoke up. "Miss Li Xue won't be president for much longer."

A sharp glint flashed in Li Xue's eyes. "Lu Yi, let me tell you something. Nobody will think you're a mute if you just keep your mouth shut! As long as the board of directors hasn't made a decision to replace me, I am the president of the Li Group, and you will follow my orders!"

So domineering. From within the crowd, Mu Lin couldn't help but nod in approval. 'That's the Li Xue I know. That's my wife!'

Jiang Hong could also see it now. Li Xue and Lu Yi were at each other's throats, sparks flying between them.

'Combined with Lu Yi's earlier statements, it's clear he's trying to pin some blame on Li Xue to force her to resign. That explains it.'

A chill ran down his spine. 'I was just chatting and laughing with Lu Yi. In Mu Lin's eyes, he won't think Lu Yi and I are in cahoots, will he?'

'How can I explain this to Mu Lin?' For a moment, Jiang Hong grew extremely anxious.

Lu Yi was so angry his fists clenched, his knuckles letting out a sharp CRACK. With outsiders present, openly challenging Li Xue's authority would reflect poorly on him.

If he was too overtly aggressive now, people would gossip when he eventually took over as president, assuming he had orchestrated her downfall.

Even though that was exactly what he was doing, Lu Yi cared more about his reputation. He wanted to secure the presidency in a way that looked legitimate and honorable.

Still, Lu Yi currently had the upper hand and plenty of tricks up his sleeve. His eyes shifted, and he said:

"I'm sorry, President Li. I misspoke. I apologize. But, have you figured out how you're going to explain this to President Jiang's Group? With so many projects experiencing quality issues, simply saying you'll take full responsibility isn't going to cut it. Team Leader Gao is here as well. Is there anything you'd like to say to him?"

'Quality issues again!' Jiang Hong still hadn't figured out what these "quality issues" they kept mentioning were all about.

"Here, I'm a little confused. Mu Lin, could you explain it to me?" Jiang Hong asked, deliberately looking at Mu Lin.

Although Jiang Hong's official position wasn't high, his current role could decide the very survival of the Li Group. No one dared to question his authority at this moment.

Since he had asked Mu Lin to answer, no one else had the courage to interject.

Mu Lin said, "It's like this. Many of the Li Group's projects have developed serious quality issues, which has made it difficult to collect payments. With the Li Group's current cash flow, the company will go bankrupt and fall apart in less than a month."

"And Director Lu here has proposed reporting this to the board of directors. He wants President Li to take responsibility and step down from her position as president!"

Jiang Hong thought for a moment and immediately understood. 'What else could it be?' He turned, grabbed Gao Yi, shoved him forward, and kicked him in the rear.

"You can explain this yourself!" Jiang Hong said, his face stern, showing no mercy.

Li Xue took a visceral step back as Gao Yi approached. She was remembering what had happened last night. Even after a full night, the shadow of the event hadn't faded; in fact, the morning's meeting had only made it worse.

Not only had Gao Yi been disciplined by Jiang Hong last night, but as he was leaving, he was also brutally beaten by thugs that Wu Long himself had called in. Now, he had no safe harbor left in Anhua City.

All he wanted now was to apologize quickly and then flee, to leave this place of painful memories behind.

"President Li, President Li, I was wrong! I was thinking with my dick, I was possessed, I'm the one who came after you!"

Wu Long's hand was undoubtedly behind this incident, but even with ten thousand times the courage, Gao Yi wouldn't dare name him.

He kowtowed repeatedly, fresh blood streaming down his forehead. Combined with the injuries covering his body, it was a truly pitiable sight, enough to make anyone who saw it weep.

Li Xue froze in place. She didn't understand what had happened or what could have possibly transformed Gao Yi into this state overnight.