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

The provincial capital, Nanzhou City.

At six o'clock in the morning, sunlight pierced through the thin mist and shone on the glass of the high-rise buildings, casting a golden glow.

A black, older model Passat, kicking up dust from Qingyuan County, slowly drove off the highway and merged into the congested traffic.

Inside the car, Chen Ping held the steering wheel with one hand and rested his other elbow on the window, calmly watching the scenery rushing past outside. Unlike Qingyuan County, this place didn't have the smell of earth; there were only asphalt roads and lines of office buildings.

The first stop was the Organization Department of the Provincial Party Committee.

The process was quick, even excessively smooth. Li Ming, the director of the Second Cadre Division, personally received us. He was very gentle and polite, and handed over the files and letters of introduction in a businesslike manner.

"Comrade Pingfang, you are young and promising." Li Ming shook hands with a standard smile on his face. "The provincial capital's high-tech zone is the key to our province's economic development. The organization has entrusted you with such an important task, which is both a trust and a test."

"Thank you for the organization's trust." Chen Ping nodded without saying anything more.

He could sense that beneath Li Ming's politeness lay a sense of scrutiny and distance.

It was only nine o'clock in the morning when the formalities were completed.

Chen Ping drove his unassuming Passat and navigated to the Provincial High-tech Zone Management Committee.

It was a very modern twin-tower building, located in the heart of the new district, and it looked very impressive.

The Passat slowly drove towards the automatic gate of the management committee compound, where it was stopped by the security guard standing ramrod straight.

The security guard walked to the car window, saluted, but his eyes held a look of disdain.

"Comrade, who are you looking for?"

"Hello, my name is Chen Pingfang, the newly appointed deputy director of the management committee. I'm here today to report for duty." Chen Pingfang handed over his letter of introduction.

The security guard took it, glanced at it, and handed the letter of introduction back without any change in expression.

"Director Chen, I'm sorry, the management committee's parking lot is full today. Would you mind parking your car in the public parking lot across the street?"

Chen Ping glanced at the parking lot inside the courtyard. There were only a few dozen cars parked there, and there were still many empty spaces.

He didn't argue, but simply nodded calmly: "Okay."

Chen Ping deftly turned the steering wheel, parked the car in a roadside parking space, locked the doors, and walked towards the gate of the management committee.

Under the sunlight, Chen Pingfang's back was straight and his steps were steady.

The security guard at the entrance watched him walk in, pursed his lips, and whispered into the walkie-talkie, "He's in, on foot."

As Chen Pingfang walked into the spacious first-floor lobby, a young staff member wearing a name tag that read "Management Committee Office" greeted him with a professional smile.

"Are you Director Chen? My name is Zhang Chao, from the office. Director Hu and the others are in a meeting right now, so please let me take you to the office to rest for a bit."

"This is troublesome."

Zhang Chao led Chen Ping to the elevator and pressed the button for the 19th floor.

"Director Chen, your office is on the 19th floor. It has a great view, offering a panoramic view of our high-tech zone," Zhang Chao introduced enthusiastically.

The elevator doors opened, revealing a quiet, carpeted corridor. Zhang Chao led Chen Ping to the door of a room at the far end of the corridor, where a new sign hung: Deputy Director's Office (3).

Zhang Chao took out his key, opened the door, and a musty smell hit him.

The room was small and dimly lit. An old desk, covered in a thick layer of dust, stood by the window. Several cardboard boxes filled with old documents were piled in the corner, next to a broken chair and an old computer tower.

This doesn't look like an office; it's more like a storage room.

"Comrade Zhang Chao," Chen Pingfang's voice was calm, "is this my office?"

Zhang Chao's smile froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered: "Director Chen, I'm so sorry. The Management Committee is currently facing a shortage of office space, so we can only ask you to make do for now. We've already submitted a report, and we'll get you a larger office as soon as the new building is finished."

That sounds like a perfunctory response.

"Understood." Chen Pingfang didn't ask any more questions and went straight in, placing his briefcase on the dusty table.

"Well... Director Chen, you should rest first. I'll let you know after Director Hu and the others have finished their meeting." After saying that, Zhang Chao left quickly, as if he were fleeing.

The office door was gently closed.

Chen Ping looked around, his gaze sweeping over the cobwebs in the corner and the moldy wallpaper, his face expressionless.

He took off his coat, draped it over the chair, took out a pack of tissues from his pocket, and began to slowly wipe the dust off the table.

About half an hour later, Zhang Chao knocked on the door again.

"Director Chen, the meeting is over. Director Hu would like to invite you to the small conference room."

The No. 2 meeting room of the management committee was filled with smoke.

Seven or eight people sat around the oval conference table; they were all deputy leaders of the management committee and heads of various bureaus and offices. The head seat was empty.

As Chen Ping walked in, everyone's eyes fell on him, their gazes varied, but most carried a cold indifference as if it were none of their business.

A slightly overweight middle-aged man sitting next to the head of the table stood up, a smile plastered on his face.

"Come, come, let me introduce you all. This is our new comrade from the Provincial Party Committee, Director Chen Pingfang! Please give him a warm welcome!"

He is Hu Jinshan, the executive deputy director of the management committee.

The applause was sparse and perfunctory.

Hu Jinshan pointed to the empty seat in the main seat and said apologetically to Chen Pingfang, "Comrade Pingfang, it's really unfortunate. Director Lin Yaodong went to the provincial capital for an emergency meeting. Before he left, he specifically instructed me to convey the Management Committee's warm welcome to you."

The top leader "happened" to be in a meeting on his first day in office, which made it very clear that he was being intimidated.

Chen Pingfang smiled and nodded: "Director Lin's work is important, I understand."

"Good, Comrade Pingfang has a great sense of the big picture!" Hu Jinshan asked him to sit down, then cleared his throat. "We were just discussing the division of responsibilities within the management committee's leadership team. Comrade Pingfang has worked his way up from the grassroots level, has rich practical experience, and is a young and energetic cadre in our team. Capable people should be responsible for important tasks. After discussion among the team members, it has been decided that Comrade Pingfang will take charge of the follow-up projects of the 'Chip Spark Industrial Park'."

The moment the words "Chip Spark Industrial Park" were uttered, the air in the conference room fell silent.

Some of the deputy directors present were drinking tea with their heads down, some were twirling their pens, and one simply looked out the window, as if he hadn't heard anything.

Hu Jinshan, seemingly oblivious to the crowd's reactions, continued in an expectant tone, "The Chipfire Industrial Park project is our High-tech Zone's top priority project, and also a very challenging one. There were some problems before, and now we need a cadre like Comrade Pingfang, who dares to fight tough battles, to solve these problems. Comrade Pingfang, do you have confidence?"

All eyes were once again focused on Chen Pingfang.

This is an open conspiracy.

In front of everyone, this mess, involving billions of dollars and riddled with problems, was forced into his hands. This project had already caused two successive leaders to fail.

Refusing means disobeying organizational arrangements and being afraid to take responsibility.

To accept is to jump into a pit that someone else has dug.

Chen Ping met everyone's gaze with a peaceful smile on his face and slowly opened his mouth. His voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Thank you for the organization's trust, and thank you to all my colleagues for your high regard."

"I will follow the arrangements."

A hint of a smile flashed deep in Hu Jinshan's eyes.

After the brief meeting, Chen Ping returned to his office, which resembled a storage room.

He closed the door, shutting out the chatter in the hallway.

The room remained dimly lit, with dust floating in the air.

Chen Ping walked to his desk, his gaze falling on the corner. There, someone had quietly placed a thick stack of documents while he was away.

The top document is an official document with a red header, and the title is printed in bold black font, making it very eye-catching.

—Summary Report on Bank Loan Collection Letters for the Chipfire Industrial Park Project

Below are collection notices from major state-owned banks, local commercial banks, and trust companies. Each one is stamped with a bright red official seal, and each number is followed by a long string of zeros.

They lay there silently, like a mountain of paper, exuding the aura of death.

Chen Ping reached out and picked up the top payment reminder, his eyes scanning the numbers on it.

Then, a slight, unnoticed smirk appeared on his lips.