“Secretary-General Reed, why are you favoring the city steel plant?” Facing John Reed’s questioning and threats, Brian Sullivan did not show the slightest weakness, his eyes sharply fixed on him, as if getting into a fight was nothing serious to him at all. “When Director Andrew Grant was the factory director, the city steel plant made 300 million yuan in profit a year; it’s only been three years since Director Andrew Grant was transferred to the city, and look at what a mess the city steel plant has become. As a pillar enterprise of the city, Mayor Brooks has always been puzzled by how quickly the city steel plant has declined. Secretary-General Reed, you also came from the city steel plant—can you understand why it has declined so rapidly? Isn’t the answer obvious enough after seeing this investigation report?”

Brian Sullivan’s words were like a steel spear stabbing straight into John Reed’s heart, making his chest ache with sharp pain.

It was both anger and shock.

John Reed hadn’t expected Brian Sullivan to know so much about the city steel plant’s situation, but he was even more worried that there were other complicated factors behind Brian Sullivan’s words…

Saying these things was like finally spitting out the tangled mess that had been stuck in his chest for years.

He had joined the city steel plant right after graduating from university at twenty-two, devoting the best seven years of his youth to this factory. Watching it be taken over by a bunch of parasites and rapidly decline from its peak, how could Brian Sullivan not feel resentment in his heart?

And it wasn’t just the city steel plant. Donghua City had more than 300 state-owned enterprises, and in recent years, eighty to ninety percent of them had fallen into losses. The few remaining ones were only struggling to make a meager profit.

Unfortunately, even when he saw these things before, no matter how angry he felt, he had no chance to vent or change anything.

On the contrary, because he had no background or power, no matter how capable he was, he still had to let people like Monkey Clark and Big Mouth Harris, these incompetent juniors, ride roughshod over him.

Now, as the secretary to Standing Committee member and Deputy Mayor Mark Brooks, saying these words—even if it couldn’t immediately change the situation at the city steel plant—at least let him vent a lot, and Brian Sullivan felt much more at ease.

Even if he were dismissed from public office tomorrow, being able to give Big Mouth Harris a good beating and say what he wanted so freely, Brian Sullivan felt it was worth it.

Seeing John Reed so angry he couldn’t speak, Brian Sullivan knew his words had indeed intimidated him.

Seeing that he had temporarily overwhelmed John Reed with his momentum, Brian Sullivan turned and saw Little Lily and his cousin-in-law still standing at the door, looking on with pitiful eyes.

Her sleeve was half torn, exposing her thin arm, her snow-white skin as flawless as white porcelain. But the whiter and more delicate her skin, the more glaring was the bloody scratch left by the doorknob.

Brian Sullivan’s heart ached, and he glared at Big Mouth Harris, who was about to get up: “You’re a grown man—do you have the nerve to hit a little girl again?”

Brian Sullivan’s eyes flashed with menace, making Big Mouth Harris, who was struggling to get up, shudder and freeze in place, not daring to stand.

In the blink of an eye, Big Mouth Harris’s face had swollen up, covered in blood, looking both ridiculous and terrifying.

Brian Sullivan was worried that Little Lily, wearing torn clothes, would attract strange looks if she took the bus home.

At this moment, Brian Sullivan couldn’t bear to see his younger sister Little Lily suffer any more humiliation. He took off his jacket, walked over and handed it to her, saying, “What happened to your brother Ethan Foster will be further investigated by the city. You two should go home and wait for news.”

Little Lily looked like a frightened little deer. So much had happened these days that, even if she wanted to face it bravely, she just couldn’t.

Looking at the jacket offered by this big brother in front of her, although there was a familiar and reassuring concern in his eyes, her heart was sensitive and easily hurt at this moment, making her look uncertainly at Eric Bennett standing beside her.

Little Lily’s expression made Brian Sullivan’s heart ache, and he could only silently call out in his heart: Little Lily, I’m your brother!

“Then I’ll take Ethan Foster’s sister and cousin-in-law out first?” Eric Bennett didn’t take the jacket from Brian Sullivan, and seeing that Brian Sullivan had nothing else to say, he led Little Lily out.

Brian Sullivan withdrew his hand bitterly: indeed, he was just an outsider. If he tried to show concern, it might even be mistaken as representing the city’s hypocrisy or ulterior motives.

“Thank you, Secretary Sullivan.” It was cousin-in-law Grace Brooks who bowed and thanked him as she left.

Looking at Grace Brooks’s haggard oval face and her graceful figure as she turned to leave, Brian Sullivan felt an even deeper bitterness at the sense of becoming strangers from now on. But as Little Lily was about to leave, she turned back and gave him a grateful glance, which comforted him a lot.

The little girl was like a wounded animal, so sensitive now. He could only hope she would become strong and get through these days…

Chapter Four: Who Can Endure Without Complaining

John Reed had wanted to use the authority of the Secretary-General to suppress Brian Sullivan, but to his surprise, Brian Sullivan was immune to both soft and hard tactics, leaving him with no way to deal with this troublemaker.

Originally, John Reed could have reported the matter directly to Mark Brooks. No matter what, Standing Committee member and Deputy Mayor Mark Brooks could still keep Brian Sullivan in check. Even if there was favoritism, he wouldn’t allow Brian Sullivan to cause such chaos at the city steel plant.

However, John Reed hadn’t expected Brian Sullivan to be so aggressive, and with his words directly targeting the management of the city steel plant, the situation left him no choice but to think more deeply.