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

2:30 PM, backstage at the Municipal Government Press Conference Hall.

The corridor was a mess, with people from the propaganda department running around carrying documents, and camera cables tangled on the floor.

Chen Ping stood in front of the process sheet, checking each item one by one, his brows slightly furrowed.

Several propaganda officials nearby were huddled together talking quietly, but they immediately fell silent when they saw Chen Pingfang approaching.

"Is there a problem with the process?" Chen Ping stopped in his tracks.

A young cadre looked away and stammered, "No, no problem, it's just... someone from the media team was added at the last minute, and we're coordinating seating arrangements."

"Who did you add?"

The young man looked to the deputy minister behind him for help, but the deputy minister glared at him fiercely, so he had no choice but to swallow his words.

Chen Ping's heart skipped a beat. He didn't ask any more questions and turned to walk towards the lounge.

Xiao Yuhan was sitting in front of the mirror, and the makeup artist was touching up her makeup.

She stared at herself in the mirror, her fingertips digging so hard they almost sank into the edge of the table, her knuckles turning white.

Chen Ping approached and lowered his voice: "Mayor Xiao, something's not right."

Xiao Yuhan looked at him in the mirror, her eyes icy: "I know."

She took a deep breath and had just straightened her collar when a burst of laughter came from the corridor.

"Mayor Xiao, are you ready?"

Wang Jianzhong strode into the lounge, followed by his secretary, Li Ming. Wang Jianzhong wasn't wearing a suit, only a dark jacket, which made him appear very approachable.

Xiao Yuhan turned around, forcing a smile: "Mayor Wang, you've arrived."

"Of course I have to come!" Wang Jianzhong said with a smile, sitting down on the sofa. "How could I not support such a big event?"

He winked at Li Ming, who immediately asked all the irrelevant people to leave.

Only four people remained in the lounge.

Wang Jianzhong personally poured Xiao Yuhan a glass of water and handed it to her, saying in a familiar tone, "Xiao, you don't look too well. Are you under too much pressure?"

Xiao Yuhan took the water glass, but didn't drink it.

"fine."

"Young people have energy, that's a good thing." Wang Jianzhong leaned back on the sofa, then changed the subject, becoming earnest, "When I first started reforming, I was just like you, always thinking I could solve all the problems in a day."

He paused for a moment, his gaze falling on Xiao Yuhan's face.

"But I later realized that taking too big a step can easily lead to trouble."

Xiao Yuhan's hand holding the water glass tightened slightly at the fingertips.

Wang Jianzhong acted as if he hadn't seen it, and continued to say to himself, "Do you know? Back then, several of the people who worked with me on reforms were radicals, and they were very capable."

"What a pity..." Wang Jianzhong sighed. "Later, one by one, those people got into trouble. Some were transferred, and some were taken down directly."

"In this position, stability is more important than anything else."

Xiao Yuhan's expression turned even uglier.

Chen Ping stood to the side without saying a word, but his eyes remained fixed on Wang Jianzhong.

Wang Jianzhong suddenly lowered his voice, a threatening look in his eyes.

"Take Lin Weiguo from Yunzhou, for example. You've probably heard of him, right?"

Xiao Yuhan paused for a moment.

"Old Lin's abilities are undeniable, but he's too prone to getting stuck on trivial matters," Wang Jianzhong said slowly, his tone calm. "He's always dwelling on those old grievances, making himself unable to eat or sleep."

"Tell me, why bother with all this?"

He raised his head and stared straight at Xiao Yuhan.

"And what happened? A car accident, and he was gone."

Xiao Yuhan swayed, her face turning pale instantly.

Li Ming, standing behind Wang Jianzhong, curled up a smug, cold smile.

The lounge was eerily quiet.

Just then, Chen Ping glanced at the clock on the wall and suddenly smiled, saying, "Mayor Wang, could you please take a look at the press release?"

He pulled a document from the folder and strode over to Wang Jianzhong.

Wang Jianzhong was interrupted, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, he took the press release, flipped through a couple of pages, and tossed it onto the coffee table.

"Xiao Chen, right?" Wang Jianzhong said with a forced smile. "It's good that young people are loyal to their masters, but sometimes you have to be more discerning and not go down the wrong path."

Chen Ping didn't reply, but simply nodded: "I'll go check the equipment at the front."

After saying that, he turned and left.

The hallway was still very noisy.

Chen Ping strode to the registration area and grabbed the media list.

Most of the list was printed, with only the last line being handwritten.

—Reporter: Zhang Tiezui, from the "Legal Focus" program of the provincial television station.

Chen Pingfang's pupils suddenly contracted.

Good heavens, so this was the trap waiting for us!

Zhang Tiezui! A notorious killer of officials in his past life, he specializes in asking questions on live broadcasts and trying to ruin officials. Several deputy directors have fallen into his hands.

"Who approved this person?" Chen Pingfang turned to ask the staff member next to him.

The other party stammered, "It was...it was Deputy Minister Liu from the Publicity Department who personally made the request."

Chen Ping didn't ask any more questions and turned to walk towards the front.

The lobby was filled with cameras and reporters. In the last row, a middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed glasses was looking down at his phone, a cold smile playing on his lips.

That's him, Zhang Tiezui.

Chen Ping took a deep breath, took out his phone, and quickly searched for a few keywords.

A few minutes later, he quickly jotted down a few lines in his notebook.

Then he turned around and strode back to the lounge.

Wang Jianzhong was still "persuading" Xiao Yuhan, speaking in a kind tone, but his words were barbed.

Chen Ping flung open the door, his voice booming with gratitude, "Mayor Xiao, Mayor Wang has gone to great lengths to support your work!"

Wang Jianzhong's hand, which was holding a teacup, froze in mid-air.

"They even managed to get Zhang Tiezui, the most difficult reporter to invite from the provincial TV station! Mayor Wang is trying to promote Yunzhou's reforms throughout the province and make it a model!"

Wang Jianzhong's smile froze on his face.

What does he want to do?

Li Ming suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with shock.

This kid's gone mad! He's putting Mayor Wang in a very difficult position!

Xiao Yuhan was taken aback at first, but then she instantly understood Chen Pingfang's intention and her eyes lit up.

Wang Jianzhong put down his teacup, gave Chen Pingfang a deep look, and his voice turned cold: "What Xiao Chen said is... interesting."

"Mayor Wang has always been visionary and supportive of reform. This time, he personally oversaw the event and even invited a top reporter from the provincial TV station. We must keep up with this level of commitment and scale!" Chen Ping continued without changing his expression. "We will certainly live up to Mayor Wang's high expectations!"

Wang Jianzhong stared intently at Chen Pingfang for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.

"Yes, truth cannot be revealed without debate."

He stood up, walked to Chen Pingfang's side, smiled and patted him on the shoulder, but the force of his pat was a little stronger.

"Young man, you're quite interesting."

The clock on the wall pointed steadily to three o'clock.

Wang Jianzhong turned and walked towards the door, with Xiao Yuhan and Chen Pingfang following behind.

The door opened, and a flurry of flashbulbs immediately went off.

Reporters immediately swarmed around, snapping photos incessantly.

Wang Jianzhong still wore a friendly smile and waved, but his eyes turned cold as he took those few steps toward the podium.

Xiao Yuhan took a deep breath and followed.

Chen Ping walked at the back, his gaze sweeping across the audience before landing precisely on Zhang Tiezui in the last row.

Their eyes met in mid-air.

Zhang Tiezui pushed up his glasses, and the cold smile on his lips became even more pronounced.