After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

At the topping-out ceremony of the Jinshuiwan project, colorful flags and people were everywhere.

All the prominent media outlets in Yunzhou City were present. However, the most eye-catching were the several interview vehicles parked directly in front of the stage, bearing the logos of "Provincial Television Station" and "China Economic Herald." The cameras mounted on the vehicles made the deputy director of the Municipal Party Committee Office in charge of the scene break out in a cold sweat; he knew that today's ceremony was of an extraordinary scale.

In the center of the stage, Zhou Wenyuan, dressed in a dark Zhongshan suit, wore a warm smile that he had practiced many times, shaking hands with the leaders from the province. Every move he made exuded the air of a leader of a major city.

However, when Zhou Wenyuan occasionally glanced at the provincial TV station's camera, his gaze would darken.

Things have gone beyond his original plan.

As arranged by the Municipal Party Committee Office, Chen Pingfang, Guo Xiaojun, and several people from the command center were seated in the far right corner of the stage. This position not only offered a poor view, but also meant they were completely out of the camera's view.

Guo Xiaojun's face darkened. He leaned forward and said in a low voice, "Director, this is treating us like beggars. It's too much." Chen Pingfang simply patted Guo Xiaojun's shoulder calmly, signaling him to sit still.

Chen Pingfang's gaze swept past the crowd and landed on the large screen behind the stage, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Don't rush, the real show is just beginning."

The ceremony officially began at 10:00 AM.

The host, from the city television station, delivered her opening remarks with great enthusiasm. The implication was that the success of the Jinshuiwan project was entirely due to the wise leadership of the municipal party committee and the personal care of Secretary Zhou Wenyuan.

Amidst enthusiastic applause, Zhou Wenyuan smiled and calmly walked to the podium.

Zhou Wenyuan cleared his throat, opened the speech draft that his secretary had written and revised several times, and began his speech.

"Comrades, friends, the Jinshuiwan project, from the initial top-level design to the personal deployment of every key node..."

Zhou Wenyuan's voice resounded throughout the venue through the sound system. He spoke about the city's development strategy and his own ideas, never mentioning "me" and "the municipal party committee," and portraying himself as the sole contributor to the Jinshuiwan project.

In the audience, Wang Jian, deputy director of the provincial television station, frowned. Li Weidong, the station chief of the *China Economic Herald* next to him, also put down his pen. They exchanged a glance, both understanding each other's meaning. They were there to report the real story behind the "Yunzhou Speed," to report on the hardships of the frontline construction workers, not to listen to a leader give a personal report.

The atmosphere at the scene began to get a little strange. Some local officials who knew the inside story couldn't sit still anymore, and their expressions became somewhat awkward.

As Zhou Wenyuan's speech reached its climax, he began, "Faced with numerous difficulties in the project's progress, on behalf of the Municipal Party Committee, I solemnly promise to everyone here..."

Just then—

"Sizzle!"

A piercing crackling sound suddenly rang out, and the large screen behind him, which was displaying red celebratory slogans, went black instantly.

The venue erupted in chaos. Everyone assumed there was a problem with the equipment.

Zhou Wenyuan's speech was interrupted. He turned around unhappily, his brows furrowing. The host on stage turned pale and shouted into his earpiece, "Backstage! What's going on backstage? Switch to backup signal immediately! Quickly!"

However, her calls went unanswered.

Before anyone could react, the black screen lit up again.

What appeared on the screen was a line of large characters—

Day and Night at Jinshui Bay

Then, a powerful background music started playing. Before anyone could react, a series of images began to play.

Zhou Wenyuan's speech stopped. He turned around in surprise, staring intently at the unfamiliar title on the screen, his smile freezing on his face.

The host was completely stunned, standing there with the microphone in hand, not knowing what to do.

All eyes in the thousands of people in the room were fixed on the large screen. The entire venue fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.

The very first shot of the documentary surprised everyone.

It was a stormy night when the project had just started. The camera was shaky, and there was mud and water everywhere. Chen Pingfang, soaked to the bone, stood at the edge of the foundation pit that could collapse at any moment, shouting in a hoarse voice to a group of workers who were also covered in mud, directing the rescue efforts.

The scene changes.

In the brightly lit conference room, Chen Pingfang argued heatedly with several gray-haired experts over a technical parameter, banging loudly on the blueprints on the table.

Next shot.

After working continuously for 72 hours, the technical problem was finally solved. Just as dawn broke, an exhausted Chen Pingfang, without even going back to the break room, fell asleep in a chair in the conference room. The camera gave him a close-up profile, revealing his sunken eye sockets and stubble on his chin.

All the scenes were very realistic, even somewhat disheveled. Although there was no narration, they were very impactful.

These images stand in stark contrast to Zhou Wenyuan's earlier remarks about "top-level design" and "personal deployment."

"Holy crap! This is the real deal!"

In the guest seats, Wang Jian's eyes lit up, and he immediately stood up from his chair.

Li Weidong was even more direct, pushing aside the table in front of him and yelling at the camera crew not far away, "Quick! Stop filming the podium! Find that person on the screen! All cameras, aim at him!"

After a few seconds of silence, all the media reporters present realized what was happening.

"brush--"

A sound.

Dozens of cameras and hundreds of lenses suddenly turned around, bypassing the empty podium and the stunned leaders on the stage, frantically searching through the crowd for the person who had appeared repeatedly in the documentary.

Finally, all the flashes and cameras were focused on the young man who had been sitting quietly at the very edge of the stage.

At that moment, Chen Ping became the focus of the entire audience.

Zhou Wenyuan, who had just been speaking, was left standing on the podium. His voice and his prepared remarks became nothing more than laughable background noise in this documentary, and no one paid him any attention anymore.

"Awesome!" Guo Xiaojun's eyes were red, and he clenched his fist and swung it forcefully in the air.

Not far away, Xiao Yuhan stood in the crowd, watching Chen Pingfang surrounded by reporters, and finally understood.

She finally understood what Chen Ping meant when he said, "Let him handle it, the bigger the better."

Zhou Wenyuan set up the stage himself, but ended up letting Chen Ping take the lead role.

On the podium, Zhou Wenyuan's face turned from red to green, then from green to white. He gripped the speech manuscript tightly with both hands, his knuckles drained of color from the excessive force. The edges of the paper were twisted and deformed from his grip.

He listened to the constant clicking of camera shutters, watched as everyone in the audience turned their backs to him, and saw that the young man who should have been an extra was now enjoying all the glory that should have been his.

He knew he had lost.

They suffered a crushing defeat, a complete and utter loss.

He became a huge joke.

Staying here for even a second longer is like being slowly tortured to death.

Zhou Wenyuan could no longer endure this public execution. He crumpled his speech into a ball, turned around without a word, and, under the astonished gazes of countless people, walked off the stage with stiff steps, looking disheveled.