Chapter 159: Estrangement and Fissures

Originally, today’s plan was to throw out a false temptation to create a rift between Sun Tan and Wu Shuai.

In fact, from Li Mu's perspective, as long as Sun Tan brought this matter up to Wu Shuai—even if he shifted all the blame onto Li Mu—their relationship would inevitably change. After all, putting oneself in Wu Shuai's shoes, anyone would feel chilled to the core knowing that even if Li Mu orchestrated the whole thing, Sun Tan was willing to sacrifice him for the sake of profit.

However, after thinking it over carefully, Li Mu found a wonderful opportunity: the laptop procurement assistance organized by the Student Assistance Group.

If his estimation was correct, Sun Tan must have been tempted by his proposal today. Although 30% of the company wouldn't solve all his problems, it was at least a huge step forward, so he certainly wouldn't refuse. Therefore, tomorrow would undoubtedly bring news of Wu Shuai stepping down from the student union. And since tomorrow happened to be the day the Student Assistance Group distributed the laptops to the students, there was plenty of room for maneuver to stir up some trouble.

Li Mu formed two hypotheses in his mind.

Hypothesis A: Sun Tan is loyal enough to Wu Shuai that, although he asks Wu Shuai to temporarily leave the student union for the sake of 3321, he will still give Wu Shuai his due share of the profits.

Hypothesis B: Seizing the opportunity to direct public anger, Sun Tan ruthlessly kicks Wu Shuai out of the picture. If that happens, Wu Shuai will end up with nothing.

Regardless of whether tomorrow plays out as Hypothesis A or Hypothesis B, Li Mu was prepared to have Zhao Kang make the first move. They would directly expose the dark secrets of the Student Assistance Group on the Yishao Pond forum and other Renmin University online forums, pointing the finger squarely at Sun Tan. They would catch Sun Tan completely off guard!

Originally, all these tasks would have been fronted by Wu Shuai. As it turned out, whether the situation unfolded according to Hypothesis A or Hypothesis B, Wu Shuai's temporary departure from the student union was inevitable. The moment Wu Shuai stepped down, Zhao Kang would throw himself into directing public ire at Sun Tan. Stripped of his shield, Wu Shuai, Sun Tan would inevitably lose his footing.

What would Sun Tan do then? His Student Assistance Group would suddenly face skepticism from all directions, not to mention the students who had just spent thousands of yuan on new computers under the impression that the Student Assistance Group had saved them money. How would they feel if they found out that the group had actually made a massive profit off their backs?

Although Li Mu hadn't yet seen the machines the Student Assistance Group provided to the students, judging by the character of Sun Tan and Wu Shuai, and their greedy tactics as labor brokers, he could guess most of it. They would undoubtedly squeeze as much profit out of these machines as possible. Having spent so many years in the internet industry and having been scammed in hardware step by step himself, Li Mu knew he could just look at a sample machine briefly and immediately figure out what tricks they were pulling.

Once the Student Assistance Group faced a crisis of credibility, Sun Tan would most likely choose to sacrifice the pawn to save the chariot—sacrificing Wu Shuai to protect himself. A bitter dog-eat-dog fight would likely ensue. Whether they turned on each other tomorrow or not, Li Mu had even better shows prepared for these two birds. So what if they were student union executives? Act arrogant enough, and you'll still get struck by lightning.

***

Wu Shuai was very concerned about whether Sun Tan would settle his due share of the money after tomorrow's laptop distribution. The computer distributor was a connection of Sun Tan's. Earlier, the students who had ordered machines through the Student Assistance Group had each paid a deposit of five hundred yuan, and all this money was currently with Sun Tan. Furthermore, once the distributor received the full payment, they would send over a commission of twenty to thirty thousand yuan. Sun Tan's original plan was to divide the money only after all the funds were collected. Right now, Wu Shuai couldn't help worrying whether Sun Tan might just kick him to the curb like this.

Facing Wu Shuai's question, Sun Tan gave him a definitive reply: "Don't worry, the money will be split just like we agreed before. Once all the funds arrive, we'll divide it together."

Wu Shuai relaxed. Since Sun Tan had said so, he surely wouldn't screw him over; after all, he had always honored his past promises.

Yet Sun Tan had his own secret calculations. His words just now were merely a delaying tactic. Once he announced Wu Shuai's departure from the student union tomorrow and wrapped up the laptop distribution, he could easily claim that the distributor wouldn't settle accounts until next Monday. After stalling for a few days, he would turn on Wu Shuai, and the money would be safely in his own pocket. Plus, with Li Mu helping him stir up public outrage, it was a completely flawless plan.

Sun Tan wasn't the least bit worried that Wu Shuai would turn against him after the double-cross, because he knew Wu Shuai didn't have the guts. At Renmin University, with his backing, Wu Shuai could act like a big shot in the student union and the hometown association, pulling in over a hundred thousand yuan a year. Without his backing, Wu Shuai wouldn't dare let out a single fart. Otherwise, Wu Shuai knew what kind of fate awaited him if he ever angered him.

Clueless, Wu Shuai still felt he had received plenty of consolation. In any case, thirty-five thousand yuan would soon be in his pocket—a huge sum of money. With it, he could buy many things he liked and hook up with plenty of women who caught his eye.

The next day, Li Mu didn't receive Sun Tan's call until noon. Sun Tan told him to check the Yishao Pond forum, saying that Wu Shuai had officially posted his resignation from the student union there.

Li Mu checked his computer. Indeed, Wu Shuai had published a post on the Yishao Pond forum stating that, due to personal reasons, he was stepping down from the Renmin University student union starting today. Quite a few people had replied beneath the post: some expressed reluctance to see him go, some said the Student Assistance Group would lose a major pillar without him, and others claimed that without him, everyone would lose out on tangible benefits, calling it a great loss for the students of Renmin University.

Li Mu picked up his phone and called Sun Tan, asking in an unfriendly tone, "Senior Sun, are you playing games with me?"

Sun Tan hurriedly asked, "How am I playing games with you? Didn't you want Wu Shuai to quit the student union? He has resigned voluntarily now!"

Li Mu let out a cold snort and said solemnly, "My exact words yesterday were that he should *get lost* from the student union! Get lost! Not some mild, peaceful resignation! You knew very well that I have a deep grudge against him, yet you deliberately arranged such a smooth transition for him, and even hired a bunch of shills to restore his reputation in the comments. Who are you trying to brush off?"

With a hint of anger, Sun Tan retorted, "Aren't you going back on your word? Yesterday we agreed he would step down. Even if you said 'get lost,' did you really expect me to beat him to the ground and roll him out of the door?"

Li Mu chuckled coldly, "Heh. Wonderful, just wonderful. You people from big cities really know how to play. Fine, since you put it that way, I have no objections. You win."

Without missing a beat, Li Mu added, "I promised you yesterday that upon registering the company, I would give you a 30% stake. Well, today I'm going to register a company called Three Three Two One. Let's call it 'Beijing Three Three Two One Technology Co., Ltd.' You'll hold a 30% share in this company. However, I must make one thing clear: what you asked for yesterday was a 30% share in the *Three Three Two One* company, not a 30% share in the 3321 website!"

As soon as Li Mu said this, Sun Tan panicked, and his lingering anger instantly vanished into thin air. "Li Mu, don't be like this! That's not playing fair. We had an agreement. Resorting to a child's playground tricks like this is completely unreasonable, isn't it?"

Li Mu sneered coldly, "What's unreasonable about it? You're allowed to be shady, so I'm allowed to be shameless! I'm telling you, if Wu Shuai's matter gets such a gentle and smooth transition, then our agreement goes the way I said: the 3321 website will never have a damn thing to do with you. Use whatever tricks you have left, Master Li is ready for them!"

Hearing Li Mu's fierce tone, Sun Tan felt no anger at all—only deep vexation.

What vexed him was that he had known all along that Li Mu held a grudge against Wu Shuai and wanted to exact sweet revenge. But looking at the resignation statement Wu Shuai had posted, alongside the stream of obvious shills praising him in the comments, he knew it looked indefensible. Wu Shuai handling it this way meant Li Mu would never feel a shred of satisfaction. Right now, Li Mu held all the cards; if he wasn't happy, everything fell through.

After thinking it over, Sun Tan hardened his heart and gritted his teeth. "Fine! I'll make sure to give you a satisfactory resolution to this matter!"

Li Mu didn't say another word and hung up the phone directly. Inwardly, however, he felt like singing out loud. This move forced Sun Tan to humiliate Wu Shuai. And since Sun Tan had already taken the first step, he wouldn't dare back out now; he could only bite the bullet and push forward. No matter how much he tried to explain himself to Wu Shuai before publicly humiliating him, the rift between the two of them was now set in stone.

Li Mu sneered internally. *I'll let the two of you tear each other apart first. When that batch of laptops arrives this afternoon, I'll have the whole school tear into both of you!*

***

After hanging up on Li Mu, Sun Tan immediately called Wu Shuai and cursed as soon as the line connected, "Damn it, that bastard Li Mu is completely unreasonable!"

A flicker of joy crossed Wu Shuai's heart, and he hurriedly asked, "What's wrong, Brother Tan? Did he screw you over? Did he change his mind at the last minute?"

For Wu Shuai, nothing would make him happier than seeing Li Mu brutally play Sun Tan for a fool. If that happened, Sun Tan would surely hate Li Mu to the bone, losing his reason and exacting reckless revenge. At the same time, Sun Tan would undoubtedly abandon the idea of making him quit the student union. Not only would he suffer no losses, but he would also get to watch the two of them become mortal enemies—the best of both worlds.

However, what Wu Shuai didn't expect was for Sun Tan to say, "It's not that Li Mu changed his mind. It's that he's extremely dissatisfied with the way you resigned."

With that, Sun Tan repeated Li Mu's exact words.

When Wu Shuai heard that Li Mu wanted him to "get lost" from the student union, he was so furious his lungs felt ready to burst. Yet almost instantly, a wave of resentment toward Sun Tan welled up inside him as well.

What was this supposed to mean? I am your loyal subordinate who has followed you faithfully for over two years, and now, for the sake of your own interests, you're willing to completely disregard my life and death? Someone tells me to get lost from the student union, and just to save your own skin, you're actually willing to let me get lost? Where am I supposed to put my face? How am I supposed to hold my head high at Renmin University from now on?

Yet what felt most stifling was that, despite his growing resentment toward Sun Tan, Wu Shuai didn't dare show it. He could only ask in a muffled voice, "Brother Tan, what do you think we should do?"

Hesitating slightly, Sun Tan deliberately feigned the struggle of making a difficult choice over the phone. After a long silence, he sighed and said, "Brother, it looks like I'm going to have to wrong you for a bit."

Wu Shuai's heart instantly turned half-cold. After all that hesitation, Sun Tan still intended to sacrifice him. In truth, Sun Tan had already made up his mind to sacrifice him from the start; putting on an act of hesitation and reluctance was utterly meaningless.

"Brother Tan, whatever you decide to do, your little brother supports you..." As Wu Shuai said these words, his heart was bleeding.

Upon hearing this, Sun Tan immediately declared, "Good brother, later I'll post a statement saying you were expelled from the student union for violating regulations. My wording might be a bit harsh, so don't take it to heart. Once this whole thing goes through, your brother here will definitely not treat you unfairly!" *(To be continued.)*

*(Note: Translator's note omitted in accordance with the strict instructions to output only the English translation of the story text with no extraneous elements.)*