Chapter 385: 381. It

Lotnikov took a deep look at Zhang Ran, and in the end, without saying a word, he took his people and left directly.

He was not someone who couldn't afford to lose; all the previous anger, humiliation, and madness were things he had feigned.

His goal was to make Zhang Ran believe that he truly dared to kill Zhang Sicheng at that moment.

But once the matter was seen through by Zhang Ran, he stopped pretending, as it had no meaning.

Watching Lotnikov's retreating figure, Zhang Ran said to Nikolayev beside him, "No wonder you have only barely managed to keep their family in check for so many years; with a person like this, it is indeed difficult to suppress them."

Nikolayev gave a bitter smile, "Actually, even I thought he had truly gone a bit mad before; now it seems I was also deceived by him."

It was not that Nikolayev had never suspected it in the past, but as time passed, such suspicions gradually vanished.

It was simply that Lotnikov had disguised himself too well and was too immersed in the act; there were even moments when he himself felt he could no longer control his own thoughts.

"How did you discover it?" Nikolayev asked curiously at this moment.

Logically speaking, Zhang Ran should have known much less than he did; how did he discover that Lotnikov was feigning madness?

Zhang Ran said softly, "Lotnikov's hands, especially the finger hooked on the trigger, were actually trembling the whole time. Why? That is because he needed to put on a show for everyone to see, and if he were truly mad, he shouldn't have failed to fire a single shot."

Yes, if Lotnikov had fired a single shot, even if it were just into the air or at Zhang Sicheng's leg, Zhang Ran would not have been so certain.

From the very beginning, Zhang Ran felt that Lotnikov was bluffing, and later, as he kept provoking Lotnikov, he was actually testing him.

Because Zhang Ran did not believe Lotnikov was a true madman!

Just as he said, a true madman could not have led the Lotnikov Family to its current status.

Being able to stand firm under the Nikolayev Family all this time!

Since he was not a madman, then he absolutely would not dare to kill Zhang Sicheng!

On this point, Zhang Ran had absolute certainty!

Subsequent events also proved that his guess was correct.

"Zhang Ran, this time it was our oversight; rest assured, I will give you an explanation," Nikolayev said sternly.

Zhang Ran nodded and said, "Handle it as you see fit."

Inside a hotel, Yu Xingmin frowned as he looked at his phone; until now, he still hadn't figured out where exactly the problem had occurred.

In his view, this incident was somewhat bizarre!

He understood Nikolayev's meaning: cooperation should still proceed, but he would absolutely not negotiate with Yu Mingcai.

This also caused his plan to fall through.

But what exactly had Yu Mingcai done?

Based on his understanding of Yu Mingcai, he shouldn't have been messing around or saying anything inappropriate regarding such a matter.

Previously, he had even analyzed with Yu Mingcai how to speak after meeting Ilya and how to approach Nikolayev.

Furthermore, in his view, Yu Mingcai was a very steady person; even if there were some mistakes in the negotiation, it was impossible to have angered the other party.

But judging from Nikolayev's phone call, it must have been that Yu Mingcai provoked the person to such an extent for things to turn out this way; what exactly happened in between?

An hour later, Yu Mingcai returned to the hotel and was called over by Yu Xingmin as soon as he arrived.

Yu Xingmin stared at Yu Mingcai and took a deep look, saying, "Tell me, what exactly happened? Why would Nikolayev call to demand a change of personnel for the negotiations!"

Yu Mingcai actually hadn't thought about coming to stir up trouble; having reached his level, he already knew that such matters would absolutely not lead to any irreconcilable conflicts just because of a few words from him.

However, he also hadn't expected that Nikolayev would call personally and state with a firm attitude that the personnel should be changed.

Yu Mingcai remained silent.

Yu Xingmin became somewhat angry, "Do you know that I already had to swallow my pride to secure this opportunity for you? This was clearly meant to let you claim the credit, but now you don't even want to give me an explanation?"

Yu Mingcai looked at Yu Xingmin's angry face, and after a long while, he said, "If I say it wasn't my fault, would you believe me?"

Yu Xingmin looked at Yu Mingcai, "Then what is the reason? You and Ilya didn't have common ground? A conflict broke out?"

Yu Mingcai opened his mouth, and finally sighed, saying, "You know Yu Qingwan, right?"

Yu Xingmin didn't know why he was bringing up Yu Qingwan at this time; of course, he knew Yu Qingwan, it was just that they had basically never met, and he had heard some things about her before.

"Qingwan secretly pledged her life to someone back then and even got pregnant. My father, in a fit of rage, drove her out of the house, ignored her, and even... set up obstacles for her in some places, which eventually led to Qingwan overworking herself and passing away from illness," Yu Mingcai said in a low voice.

Yu Xingmin did not speak; he wanted to know what exactly Yu Mingcai was trying to say.

"You know my current situation in Chang City, right? Then do you know why this is?" Yu Mingcai said.

"Isn't it just that you and the leadership team in Chang City have a disagreement in opinion? Could there be some hidden story in this?" Yu Xingmin frowned and said.

Local governments do not need to report every situation upwards, especially since such matters are basically internal consensus, so even Yu Xingmin was not very aware of the inside story.

Yu Mingcai sneered, "What disagreement in opinion? I have already worked in Chang City for so many years; if there were a disagreement, it would have happened long ago. Why wait until now?"

"Then tell me, what is the reason? Is it related to Qingwan?" Yu Xingmin asked.

Yu Mingcai nodded and said, "Qingwan's partner from back then has returned. In his eyes, we are the ones who caused Qingwan's death; at the very least, we bear an unshirkable responsibility for Qingwan's death."

"Who is he? Does he have such great power?" Yu Xingmin took a deep breath and said.

He felt a bit of a headache now; he had originally thought it was official business, which he might have been able to manipulate, but now it seemed this was a family matter. Once it was like this, even he would find it difficult to intervene.

Moreover, if it got out, Yu Mingcai would also be on shaky ground and would not receive any sympathy or support.

"You know the Zhang Ran System, right?" Yu Mingcai asked again.

Hearing this term, a bad premonition suddenly welled up in Yu Xingmin's heart.

"I know, what does that have to do with that person?"

"Qingwan's partner back then was Zhang Ran, who is the so-called leader of the Zhang Ran System! And I discovered that the Zhang Ran System should not only exist in Huaxia; if I am not mistaken, this Nikolayev Family should also be a member of the Zhang Ran System, otherwise they wouldn't have done this," Yu Mingcai said in a deep voice.