Chapter 276 - Lu Chen - Becoming the City Leader(3)
Lu Chen sat there awkwardly while wondering why he was having this kind of conversation on the roof and with a dangerous man.
When the man heard his answer, he glanced at the teenager with raised eyebrow and chuckled.
"You have a good eye there." He nodded his head approving with Lu Chen"s answer. "That old man is always loud and energetic. But he is indeed a reliable person when the situation calls for it."
Lu Chen stayed silent unsure of how to respond to that.
"But I guess, amongst everything, his best redeeming quality is that he has a good eye for people."
Lu Chen continued listening.
"Sometimes, he would often make rash decisions that one would surely get nervous or doubt whether he was really sure about it. But always, at the end of the day, that old man always proves that it was the best decision that he made."
The man suddenlt sat up and crossed his legs. Pulling out another stick of cigarette, he lit it with a lighter and started smoking. Lu Chen subconsciously distanced himself from him after getting a whiff of the smoke. He didn"t like the smell of smoke ah.
"So when that old man chose you to be an heir, I was full of doubts."
Who wouldn"t? Compared to the man beside him, he looked like a scrawny kid that would instantly be knocked out cold if he was punched using those bulky arms of his.
"But looking back at that old man"s confidence when he introduced you to me directly, then I guess he meant he has already seen something in you that made him a.s.sured that you could do the job."
Lu Chen"s brows furrowed. "Me?"
Him? The job of being a City Leader of the Most Violent place on earth where laws doesn"t exist?
"Afraid?"
"Who wouldn"t be?" Lu Chen honestly replied. It was useless to play cool and unbothered when they"re talking about a life and death position.
"Scared of the underworld? Well, it"s natural. If you go there looking so weak, I could already imagine that you"ll be dead within five minutes after stepping into that place."
Lu Chen didn"t dare to imagine that scene at all.
He felt more annoyed and frustrated. He was suspicious that the point of this conversation was to convince him to accept Old Yang"s proposal.
"Why does it have to be me? Why do you need to choose a normal person like me when Old Yang have you and his other men who are surely much stronger?"
He was genuinely curious. Ever since Old Yang offered that City Leader position to him, he couldn"t wrap his head around it after thinking about it for the past week. Wasn"t it normal to offer that kind of big and dangerous position to someone who are stronger and more reliable than him who could be considered an ant if compared to the people from that underworld city?
It was like he was offering a cheese to a lactose intolerant person. It was too conflicting.
Instead of answering him, the man threw back a question, "Do you think a person only needs to be strong to become the leader?"
"Of course being strong isn"t enough. A person should also be smart and wise enough to make decisions while considering the consequences. And definitely an ability to lead people."
"Is that a textbook answer?"
"No, that"s what I learned from observing my superiors at work." Lu Chen replied.
All his observations of what qualities a leader should have is based from his experiences after working with two different superiors for half a year. Their restaurant manager could be considered a terrible boss and leader who only knows how to scold and order people while his convenience store boss manager may not be smart enough, but he is definitely a model leader in some sense.
"Then why don"t you try out that old man"s offer?" The man looked at Lu Chen as if he was going to give him some challenge.
"Why wouldn"t you?" Lu Chen didn"t back down and threw the question back at him.
The corner of the man"s lips lifted when he heard Lu Chen"s words. Oh, cheeky.
"Because a.s.sa.s.sins never lead people. Don"t you remember what I said before? We work if we get paid or because of a cause. But we never lead. Not part of the requirements."
"..."
He has a point.
"a.s.sa.s.sins work under someone. We work for Old Yang right now, but who knows. Why don"t you become our future boss ah?"
Lu Chen"s forehead creased as he answered, "No, thank you."
"Being strong can be developed. I heard you"re a genius so that makes you smart, and probably wise enough since you think too m.a.t.u.r.e for your age. So why not give it a shot?"
Lu Chen: "...."
Why does he sound like he was tricking him into buying some insurance ah?
No, rather than that. Why was he trying to convince someone like him to accept Old Yang"s offer when they don"t even know each other.
But before Lu Chen could answer him back, the man suddenly stood up.
"Time"s up. I need to go to my next work now."
Then without waiting for Lu Chen"s opinion, he grabbed him by the collar, hoisted him up in the air before throwing him on his shoulders like a sack. He suddenly leapt off to the next roof with lower height and continued jumping here and there unt they"ve reached the ground. He put him back on the ground.
While Lu Chen was still a bit shaken and dizzy from that momentary wild adventure, the man gave him a final glance.
"Give old man your answer after you"ve seriously thought about it."
Then he turned his back and started walking away. Lu Chen stood there for a few seconds watching him disappear into the darkness.
He looked behind him and saw the exit of the alley. The lights from the busy street streaming in the gaps, brightening the dark alley he was in. Lu Chen silently stood in that place as he thought deeply about something before walking out and returning to the dorms.
After that, their conversation disturbed Lu Chen"s thoughts for the next few days. He couldn"t understand why he was suddenly considering the offer after that conversation, but somehow, at the back of his mind, there was a voice that was whispering to him to jump and leap into that fate.
It was truly a mystery.
The chairman only glared at him before walking away. He was baffled at first but he recalled how Old Yang blockmailed him into clarifying the issue the other week so he must have been very uncomfortable that a student knows his dirty secrets but he was not allowed to do anything to him.
Lu Chen had a foreboding that his university life would become more difficult in the next few years.
While walking, the images that he saw flashed back in his mind. To think that such a high-profile person like the chairman was a very dirty person behind the scenes, it was truly disgusting.
He couldn"t help but wonder. The professors and staff that looked so kind and angelic in front of the students, truly, how much percentage of them have different faces when they turn their back?
To think that world was this disgusting and dirty... it was truly an eye opener.
The next day, Old Yang appeared before him again and took him out for a cup of tea.
"Have you thought about it?" The old man asked in a knowing tone.
Lu Chen immediately knew that it was he who sent that man to him the other day.
He stared at the warm teacup in his grasp and rubbed his finger on the edge of the cup. He silently stared at it for a full minute before speaking.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Old Yang nodded.
"Is it truly because of my parents" grace?"
He knew that the old man would understand what he was talking about.
"Partially, yes. But not entirely. I"m not as reckless to entrust an a.s.sa.s.sin organization and the entire underground world to someone whom I knew who wouldn"t be able to handle the position."
"Then of all people, why pick me?"
"Because you have it." The old man looked at him straight in the eyes. "Your d.e.s.i.r.e to grow and win, a straight back who wouldn"t bend to anyone and a pride who holds onto his morals and principles no matter what pressure comes before him."
A very poetic but deeply meaningful answer. Lu Chen"s breath hitched at the unexpected praise he received.
He didn"t know that Old Yang was holding him with such a high regard.
"So are you ready to accept it?" Old Yang had a small smile om his face as he raised his teacup closer to him.
"....Yes."
The sound of two warm teacups clinked into each other, a small action that sealed the deal between the old man and the eighteen-year-old Lu Chen.