Chapter 618: Seeking Help
Watching Ge Dongxu walking alongside Secretary Chen and Governor Sang as they all entered the elevator together, Sun Yuncheng truly understood, at this moment, that in Ge Dongxu's eyes, he was nothing but a buffoon, utterly beneath notice. It was ridiculous how he had repeatedly belittled and mocked Ge Dongxu, feeling good about himself, even deliberately glancing at Ge's bicycle below him through the car window just moments ago.
After Ge Dongxu and the others left, the lobby was completely quiet.
After a while, Deputy Director Yu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked towards Fang Ting with a shaken expression, asking, "Director Fang, that person just now..."
"Deputy Director Yu, some things are better seen than discussed. Asking too much might not be good. Let's go to the private room to talk about the education funding difficulties in Golden Mountain County," Fang Ting said.
Being such a high official, Deputy Director Yu was naturally sharp-witted and immediately understood that Ge Dongxu was not someone he should be discussing, promptly nodding repeatedly, "Director Fang is right, is right. Let's go to the private room to talk about the education matters in Golden Mountain County."
Hearing this, Xue Liang finally snapped out of it, hurriedly called Lu Ming, and then spoke to Fang Ting and Deputy Director Yu, "Director Fang, Deputy Director Yu, please, this way to the upper floor."
As for Sun Yuncheng, Xue Liang wasn't about to bother with him at this time.
Fang Ting and Deputy Director Yu nodded, and then specifically addressed Lu Ming, "Director Lu, please join us."
If it had been before, Xue Liang would have found Fang Ting's and Deputy Director Yu's treatment of Lu Ming unbelievable, but now it seemed perfectly normal.
Thus, the four of them headed towards the elevator together, not mentioning Sun Yuncheng at all, as if they had completely forgotten him.
Sun Yuncheng stood alone in the lobby, feeling an urge to burst into tears.
Once, he had been so splendid, so full of zest.
Especially returning to Golden Mountain County, that was like a triumphant homecoming, celebrated with personal banquet invitations and toasts from the county leaders.
But now, even the Deputy County Mayor of Golden Mountain, Xue Liang, dared to ignore his presence outright.
Sun Yuncheng stood alone in the lobby for a while, watching Lu Ming and the others approaching the elevator door, when suddenly he clenched his teeth and hurried after them.
Seeing Sun Yuncheng catching up, Xue Liang and Deputy Director Yu both frowned slightly, their eyes clearly showing disdain.
As for Lu Ming and Fang Ting, their expressions were more complex.
"Director Fang," Sun Yuncheng caught up and pleaded with Fang Ting, "you must help me, you must."
"I warned you just now, but you didn't listen. Now you want my help. You saw what just happened. Tell me, how can I help you? Moreover, it's not that I want to criticize you, Sun Yuncheng, but I've met Director Ge a few times. I know what kind of person he is. The fact that you could even have a conflict with him really makes me question how you handle things?" Fang Ting looked at Sun Yuncheng, recalling how all these years he had visited his parents during the holidays, and even visited him in the Provincial Capital, which left him with mixed feelings.
"It's my fault, my bad! I shouldn't have listened to my son's words, leading me to misunderstand Director Ge and get into a conflict with him. I will surely educate my son well when I return. Director Fang, you must help me," Sun Yuncheng pleaded repeatedly.
Seeing Sun Yuncheng's pitiful appearance, Lu Ming initially felt a slight pity, despite the pleasure. However, hearing Sun Yuncheng's words now, that slight pity completely vanished.
Even now, trying to use his son as an excuse, without truly confronting his own mistakes, Lu Ming had completely lost all respect for Sun Yuncheng's character.
"Is this really just about your son?" Fang Ting asked.
Sun Yuncheng stammered in response.
"You'll have to figure it out yourself!" Fang Ting, serving as the secretary beside the governor, naturally possessed unmatched skills in observing and understanding people. Seeing Sun Yuncheng's demeanor, his face immediately darkened as he spoke.
What a joke, to think that Sun Yuncheng still dared to harbor any hope at this point. Did he really think Director Ge was easy to deal with? Did he really think that Fang Ting, as the governor's secretary, could sway Director Ge?
Having said this, Fang Ting and his companions entered the elevator, and the elevator doors slowly closed, leaving Sun Yuncheng outside.
"This Sun Yuncheng!" Fang Ting shook his head and sighed inside the elevator.
Seeing Fang Ting shake his head and sigh, the others could not help but sigh as well.
In the midst of their sighs, the elevator reached the third-floor restaurant.
The four of them exited the elevator and were led by a waiter to a private room.
"Director Lu, you should be aware of what exactly is going on between Sun Yuncheng and Director Ge, right? Can you talk about it?" Once seated in the private room, Fang Ting still had some lingering thoughts of past favors with Sun Yuncheng, prompting him to ask.
"Speaking of which, the conflict between Sun Yuncheng and Director Ge has a lot to do with me and my son..." Lu Ming hesitated for a moment and then roughly recounted what he knew, including the incident where Sun Yuncheng had complained to a teacher at school.
Given the state of their relationship today, Lu Ming naturally could not conceal or speak well of Sun Yuncheng anymore.
"This Sun Yuncheng! I never expected him to be so upright and humble before me, only to act so arrogant and vengeful behind my back," Fang Ting said, clearly annoyed upon hearing this.
"Just before Director Fang and Director Yu arrived, Director Lu took the initiative to greet Sun Yuncheng in the lobby, but he blatantly ignored him!" Xue Liang added, noticing Fang Ting's annoyance with Sun Yuncheng and recalling how the latter had shown no consideration for his hometown connections.
Hearing this, Fang Ting's expression naturally soured further.
"It's all in the past, there's no use bringing it up again," Lu Ming waved his hand and said.
"Right, right, let's not talk about Sun Yuncheng. Director Fang, let me toast to you, thank you..." As Lu Ming spoke, Xue Liang realized that tonight's focus should not be on Sun Yuncheng but on the funding issue for the education in Golden Mountain County, and quickly raised his glass.
"Comrade Xue Liang, I have to criticize you. The guest of honor tonight is Director Yu. Like you, I am from Golden Mountain and we are both working hard for the education issues in Golden Mountain County. You should be toasting Director Yu first," Fang Ting said with a smile.
Xue Liang was momentarily stunned, then quickly responded with a smile, "Right, right, Director Fang is also our host tonight; my mistake. I'll impose a penalty drink on myself."
As he spoke, Xue Liang indeed imposed a penalty drink on himself.
"Director Fang, you're not being fair in the way you handle things. You're indirectly saying that the leadership at the Education Department hasn't done their job well enough that even the governor's secretary has to personally intervene. Tell us, what exactly is the situation with Golden Mountain County, and how much funding do we in the department need to contribute to help?" Director Yu observed Xue Liang imposing a penalty drink on himself and then toasting, smiling wryly as he spoke.
With Director Yu's involvement tonight, not to mention Lu Ming's, he would undoubtedly take the education issues of Golden Mountain County seriously no matter what.