Chapter 1 The Hotel in St. Paul

　　Hou Guoyu parked the car in front of the hotel, and Su Tianyu got out.

　　Hou Guoyu looked at the somewhat haggard Su Tianyu and asked, "Sixth Master, want to grab a bite?"

　　Su Tianyu waved his hand. "No, I'm going back to sleep. You should rest early too."

　　"Okay, then I'll go park the car," Hou Guoyu nodded.

　　"Okay, I'll go up first."

　　The two separated, and Su Tianyu returned to his room.

　　After entering the room, Su Tianyu didn't turn on the lights. He just sat wearily on the sofa near the window, lit a cigarette, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

　　In the quiet room, smoke filled the air, the cigarette butt glowed, and the ash gradually piled up on the cigarette.

　　After half an hour, Su Tianyu smoked five or six cigarettes in a row, but still couldn't dispel the negative emotions in his heart. He took off his coat and walked to the bathroom.

　　After taking a shower, Su Tianyu walked out in his bathrobe and plunged onto the bed, not even wanting to adjust his body position, just wanting to rest quietly for a while.

　　Obviously, today's conversation with Wu Han was very unpleasant. However, this unpleasantness was not because of Su Tianyu, nor was it Wu Han's problem, but simply because the two sides had different positions.

　　From Wu Han's perspective, he represented the interests of the Hua District. It was understandable that he wanted to stabilize the situation and build up the association.

　　Wu Han persuaded Su Tianyu to compromise, not to support Huo Dongsheng, but simply because the latter had already convinced Old Wu. So, as far as the Hua District was concerned, they didn't have a better choice.

　　Wu Boxin's influence was there, and if they wanted to expand the remaining Chinese groups in the organization, he was indispensable.

　　Therefore, considering this point, Su Tianyu didn't harbor any resentment towards Wu Han.

　　Wu Boxin took a liking to Lao Li's team, and there was nothing Wu Han could do.

　　Thinking of this, Su Tianyu felt a headache and some unwillingness. He was also thinking about countermeasures.

　　"Knock, knock, knock!"

　　Just then, there was a knock on the door.

　　Su Tianyu sat up, moving his stiff body, and whispered, "Who is it?"

　　There was silence outside the door for a while, and then a voice finally sounded.

　　"It's me." It was Yu Mingyuan's voice.

　　Su Tianyu was slightly stunned, got up, put on his slippers, walked to the door, turned on the light, and then opened the door.

　　Yu Mingyuan stood outside the door, holding two bottles of red wine.

　　"What's going on?" Su Tianyu looked at Yu Mingyuan, feeling somewhat surprised.

　　"Have a couple of drinks and chat?" Yu Mingyuan broke the silence, raising the two bottles of red wine in his right hand and gently shaking them at Su Tianyu.

　　"..." Su Tianyu paused for two or three seconds, then nodded, "Okay, come in."

　　He opened the door wider, and Yu Mingyuan walked into the room with the red wine. The room smelled of smoke, and the ashtray was full of cigarette butts.

　　Closing the door, Su Tianyu said as he tightened the belt of his bathrobe, "Sit down."

　　Yu Mingyuan walked to the sofa and put the red wine on the coffee table next to him, then sat down.

　　Su Tianyu sat opposite Yu Mingyuan, while Yu Mingyuan stared out the window somewhat uneasily. The two men were silent for about three or four minutes before Su Tianyu took the initiative to break the awkward atmosphere. He picked up a pack of cigarettes and handed it to Yu Mingyuan, "Want one?"

　　To be honest, the two hadn't been alone together like this for several years, and there was a sense of estrangement.

　　"I don't smoke anymore." Yu Mingyuan waved his hand and picked up the phone next to him. "What, I'll have the hotel send up some snacks."

　　"Okay," Su Tianyu nodded, took back the cigarette pack, and took one out for himself. He looked at Yu Mingyuan and slowly asked, "Why did you think of coming to me so late?"

　　"Couldn't sleep," Yu Mingyuan put down the phone receiver. "I'm worried about the association."

　　"Did you talk to Qiqi today?"

　　Yu Mingyuan looked up and replied, "I was just with Qiqi. She sent you a message, but you didn't reply... I saw Hou Guoyu parking downstairs, so I thought I'd come up and chat with you."

　　Su Tianyu nodded, and the two chatted casually.

　　The hotel was quite efficient. In less than ten minutes, a waiter pushed a cart to deliver the food.

　　Yu Mingyuan took the initiative to stand up, reached out to pick up the snacks, and took them to the table by the window. Su Tianyu also got up and took out two wine glasses from the cabinet next to him.

　　The two sat by the window, and Yu Mingyuan fell silent again. He opened the red wine, poured it into two glasses, and then gently pushed one of the glasses to Su Tianyu. Su Tianyu picked up the glass and saw Yu Mingyuan also raising his own glass.

　　The two looked at each other. Without a word, they gently clinked glasses and then each took a drink.

　　A sip of red wine went down, slightly sour.

　　Su Tianyu put down his glass, picked up his chopsticks, and took the initiative to say, "Eat, I'm hungry."

　　"Yeah, eat." Yu Mingyuan also began to eat.

　　The two took a few bites and drank a few more glasses of red wine. Soon, their faces were slightly flushed.

　　Yu Mingyuan stared at Su Tianyu, guessing what Su Tianyu had encountered. He was silent for a moment, put down his glass, and looked at Su Tianyu and asked, "...Did it not go well with Wu Han?"

　　"Not well," Su Tianyu shook his head.

　　Yu Mingyuan frowned. "What does Wu Han mean?"

　　Su Tianyu sighed. "He advised me to accept it, but I don't want to."

　　Yu Mingyuan thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, "If you don't accept it, will it affect the other operations?"

　　"You mean... the Panama City side?"

　　"Yes!"

　　Su Tianyu waved his hand. "No, including our arms business, it won't be affected. Wu Han just wants to persuade me to cooperate. He doesn't have any malicious intentions."

　　"That's good." Yu Mingyuan picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of chicken in his mouth.

　　The two ate some snacks and drank two more glasses of wine. Under the influence of alcohol, their faces became even redder.

　　Yu Mingyuan refilled Su Tianyu's glass and said, "Let's withdraw... The Hua District's attitude is already clear. Wu Han is now supporting Wu Boxin... Wu Boxin, that person... it's impossible for him to change his position now. Continuing to stay here is meaningless."

　　"Ah, I'm not reconciled." Su Tianyu looked out the window, his eyes slightly blurred. "I've spent so much effort, and lost so many brothers... The thought that this operation will eventually be stolen by someone else makes me feel very uncomfortable. To be honest, I'm really disgusted."

　　"Who can be reconciled?" Hearing Su Tianyu's words, Yu Mingyuan lowered his head and said in a hoarse voice, "I don't want to give up either... In the beginning, we just wanted to make more money and do something with the association. But what happened? My father died, I watched my father-in-law go in, helpless, and hurt Xiaorou, and divorced her... I killed people who should be killed, and people who shouldn't be killed. Confused, I put my whole life on it."

　　Yu Mingyuan picked up his glass, stared at the crystal-clear red liquid inside, and whispered, "So... whoever gets in my way will have to die."