Even in early summer, the weather outside is just as hot and humid, not much better.

But getting some fresh air is always more comfortable; at least the slightly tense atmosphere weakened considerably as the space expanded.

In the garden behind the city hall, Tang Shuang walked silently, keeping parallel to Xu Shi, her head down, lost in thought.

She remained silent for a while, as he was not one to feel awkward. He didn't even pay much attention to Tang Shuang herself, but instead gazed at the garden before him with a sense of melancholy.

It doesn't feel as refined as a quill pen...

However, this was to be expected. If the city hall were built to be more extravagant than those of the conglomerates, then Night City would truly be turned upside down.

Just then, Tang Shuang suddenly sighed deeply as if she had made up her mind, looked up at him, and said earnestly, "...Thank you, Xu Shi."

"Um?"

Her voice was barely audible, and Xu Shi didn't hear it clearly for a moment.

"I said, thank you, Xu Shi."

Tang Shuang repeated herself, her eyes filled with sincerity.

Then she gave a self-deprecating laugh, "Don't you think I'm ungrateful? I owe you such a huge favor, but I haven't shown any appreciation at all. I almost got into an argument with you just now..."

"If you put it that way yourself, I won't think it that way anymore."

Xu Shi came to his senses and smiled back, "As for gratitude and such... don't think too much about it. It's just because you're suitable. To put it more bluntly, it's called each getting what they need."

Even if you say that, it's still a huge favor to me.

Tang Shuang shook her head. "This is the highest level that an ordinary person can reach in their lifetime, apart from conglomerates, right? If it were someone else, they would be considered to have backbone if they didn't kneel down and kowtow to you twice. Why would they defy you and confront you like I did?"

"Thinking about it this way, I should be even more grateful to our Chairman Xu for his magnanimity."

There was no sarcastic tone in his words; it was clear he was speaking from the heart.

"This isn't the first time some people have disagreed with me; I'm used to it."

Xu Shi waved his hand, indicating that she didn't need to worry. "Besides, this position will be yours sooner or later. Even if I don't make a move, I can't change it. To put it modestly, I just accelerated the process."

Really?

Governor Tang asked a question in return.

"Why isn't it real?"

Xu Shi retorted, "You know yourself, in the past few years, the public opinion polls in Night City have consistently shown that you are at the top."

"But that's not the decisive factor."

Tang Shuang blinked. "Let's not even talk about how long Yue Chizheng can stay in the position of governor if nothing happens. Even if he really retires and steps down according to the normal procedures, countless people will try their best to climb up to him, won't they?"

Xu Shi neither confirmed nor denied this statement.

From some perspectives, Tang Shuang does indeed have many competitors—the city hall is not just a few people, but also a very large system. Even though she removed Yue Chizheng this time, it has implicated many others.

However, those people were simply beneath his notice, but for Tang Shuang, it was indeed an issue she couldn't escape having to consider.

Even without this incident, her chances of competing for the position would have been extremely slim. There's no way around it; this girl has a straightforward personality, and within the inspection bureau, they call her a "tiger mom" or a "living Yama." Not to mention other functional departments, interpersonal relationships are her weakness, or rather, she simply doesn't care about them.

Say whatever you want.

Even so, now that everything has settled down, he is not worried. "Anyway, the result is good. I can only feel at ease if you take on the position of governor."

"Oh? Didn't some people just say that if I didn't agree, they would come and experience the thrill of being in power themselves?"

Hearing him say that, Tang Shuang suddenly felt like laughing and couldn't help but tease him.

"Forget it, I'd rather be a hands-off boss than suffer like this."

Xu Shi denied all of his jokes.

That's the logic. No matter how hard you try, he won't actually do it. Wouldn't that be like losing the watermelon to pick up a sesame seed? Even putting a puppet on it wouldn't work. You'd still have to operate it from behind the scenes. It's not much different.

"So I'm the one who has to suffer, right?"

Tang Shuang's smile gradually faded, and her tone became serious. "Do you know what Xu Shi is like? Actually, this is also my biggest contradiction."

"Um?"

"I know this is a good outcome, for both you and me. Putting everything else aside, I have always harbored ambitions to become governor."

Governor Tang pulled him to sit down by the flower bed. "And I'm confident that I can do a better job as governor than that old bastard Yue Chizheng."

“But I can’t be as ruthless as you, only pursuing results. I used to think that no matter how difficult it was, I would strive for it with integrity.”

She continued with her lament, "Instead of things like now, where they even have to fabricate a charge to arrest Yue Chizheng."

In a sense, this can be considered taking a shortcut, right? Even if she was completely unaware of this beforehand, being pushed along by Xu Shi is proof that she is qualified to join the game.

But can a dream that doesn't come true as expected still be considered a dream?

For Tang Shuang, this was by no means the case; otherwise, she wouldn't have reacted so angrily when she received this windfall, because it was dishonorable.

So you're blaming me?

Xu asked with great interest.

"No, this is my own problem."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!