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

The next morning, as soon as Chen Ping entered the city government office, he sensed that something was wrong.

Colleagues who used to greet him now avoid him, huddled together in a corner talking quietly. As soon as Chen Ping approaches, they immediately fall silent, pretending to look at documents, but their eyes betray a strange look.

As Chen Ping passed by the break room, he overheard several female colleagues whispering among themselves.

"Have you heard? That new secretary..."

"Shh, keep your voice down, he's coming."

Chen Ping stopped and, through the half-open door, saw the group immediately disperse and quickly walk away with their cups in their hands.

This kind of silent exclusion is even more uncomfortable than being confronted directly.

Chen Ping frowned and strode towards his workstation.

He had just sat down when Guo Xiaojun rushed over in a panic and shoved his phone in front of him.

"Brother Chen, look!"

Chen Ping took the phone; on the screen was an anonymous post called "Yunzhou Gossip Circle".

The headline is jarring: "Shocking! New Secretary in City Government Office Climbed the Ranks Through Sexual Assault; Beautiful Deputy Mayor's Private Life is Immoral!"

A photo was also attached below.

The lighting in the photo is dim, as if it were taken at the entrance of a private room in a restaurant. Chen Ping is "supporting" a blushing Xiao Yuhan, and because of the angle of the photo, their posture looks particularly intimate.

The accompanying text was very offensive, implying that Chen Pingfang was Xiao Yuhan's kept man and that he got the position of secretary through connections.

Chen Ping stared at the photo for a few seconds and recognized it as the photo taken that day when he helped Xiao Yuhan at Wangjiang Restaurant.

The photo was clearly taken secretly, and the angle was specifically designed to mislead people.

"This post was published last night, and it's gone viral now," Guo Xiaojun said in a low voice. "I just went to the cafeteria and heard several groups of people talking about it."

Chen Pingfang didn't say anything and handed the phone back to Guo Xiaojun.

He already knew who did it.

The only people who were at the Wangjiang Restaurant at the time were able to capture this angle.

Yu Jiaojiao.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door.

The director of the First Supervision Office of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection walked in with two other people and went directly to Xiao Yuhan's office.

Everyone in the general affairs department stopped what they were doing and listened intently to what was happening.

The office door was tightly shut, and not a sound could be heard inside, but the atmosphere was extremely tense.

Ten minutes later, the disciplinary committee members left.

Xiao Yuhan stood at the door, coldly seeing them off, then turned to look at Chen Pingfang.

"Chen Pingfang, come in."

Chen Ping stood up and went into the office.

As soon as the door closed, Xiao Yuhan leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

"Someone from above used that photo to make a fuss, saying that I have problems with my lifestyle and demanding that I suspend some of my work to cooperate with the investigation."

Her voice sounded tired, but it was still so strong.

Chen Pingfang remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"This is too underhanded." Xiao Yuhan opened her eyes, her gaze filled with anger. "If this matter isn't thoroughly investigated, no one will believe in the reforms I implement later."

Chen Ping nodded.

This is Wang Jianzhong's method. He doesn't deal with you openly; instead, he focuses on your personal conduct, using all sorts of online rumors and the disciplinary committee's investigation to make sure Xiao Yuhan can't do anything.

"Mayor Xiao, give me some time," Chen Pingfang said.

Xiao Yuhan looked at him, neither agreeing nor refusing.

Chen Ping turned and left the office. Just as he reached his workstation, his phone suddenly vibrated.

It was another text message from that mysterious number.

"The IP address of the photo is with the Finance Bureau. The angle of the shot was from a blind spot in the corridor of Wangjiang Restaurant, but the dashcam could capture the whole scene. The license plate number is Yun A·88XXX."

Chen Ping stared at the text message for a few seconds, then his gaze darkened.

This mysterious person not only knew who did it, but also knew exactly where the evidence was.

He didn't have time to think about who the other person was and immediately headed to the parking lot of Wangjiang Restaurant.

……

At noon, the canteen in the municipal government office was crowded and noisy.

Chen Ping had just sat down with his tray when Wang Hao and a few others deliberately walked past him, raising their voices on purpose.

"Oh dear, some people are just amazing. They can live off women without batting an eye. How can those of us who work ourselves to the bone compare to their skills in bed?"

People around him laughed, and all eyes fell on Chen Pingfang.

Yu Jiaojiao was also not far away, with a smug sneer on her face, waiting to see Chen Ping make a fool of himself.

Chen Ping paused for a moment while picking up food with his chopsticks, then slowly put them down.

He took out a voice recorder and a cell phone, suddenly stood up, and spoke loudly enough to be heard throughout the entire cafeteria.

"Section Chief Wang, since you're so concerned about the leader's private life, and since we're all here, let's get to the bottom of this 'gold digger' situation."

The once noisy cafeteria suddenly became quiet.

Wang Haocheng was taken aback for a moment, then scoffed, "What? You want to give an acceptance speech?"

Chen Ping ignored him, walked to the large advertising screen on the cafeteria wall, and connected his phone to it.

The screen lit up and started playing a high-definition video.

The video was taken by the dashcam and is very clear. Xiao Yuhan almost fell because she wasn't walking steadily in her high heels, and Chen Pingfang simply reached out to steady her arm. Once Xiao Yuhan regained her balance, Chen Pingfang immediately took a step back, maintaining a safe distance.

The time displayed in the bottom right corner of the video is exactly the same as the time displayed in the photo.

The truth is clear.

That photo was clearly taken at a deliberately chosen angle.

People in the cafeteria started talking about it.

Chen Ping didn't give them time to react. Pointing at the large screen, he loudly asked, "Wang Haocheng, Yu Jiaojiao! The video proves Mayor Xiao's innocence. But I want to ask you, you are also officials. Instead of finding out the truth from a fake, secretly taken photo, you're spreading rumors in work groups and online, ruining the deputy mayor's reputation. Are you trying to obstruct the investigation of idle land?"

His voice grew colder and colder.

"Is it because you have foul mouths, or is there a problem with your character? Or is someone instructing you to do this in an attempt to undermine the municipal party committee's decision?"

These few words changed the nature of the matter. It went from being gossip about men and women to a political frame-up.

The cafeteria fell into a deathly silence, which was then broken by an even more heated discussion.

Those who were just mocking Chen Pingfang are now looking at Wang Haocheng and Yu Jiaojiao with contempt and fear.

Wang Haocheng's face was deathly pale, and he was covered in cold sweat, unable to utter a single word.

Yu Jiaojiao was so startled that she dropped the spoon in her hand, making a crisp sound.

The director of the Discipline Inspection Commission happened to be eating in the cafeteria. He had already put down his chopsticks and was staring at Wang Haocheng with a gloomy expression.

Chen Ping put away his phone, turned around, and left the cafeteria.

There was complete silence behind him.

……

In the afternoon after things calmed down, Xiao Yuhan convened a departmental meeting.

During the meeting, she remained expressionless throughout, and even harshly criticized Chen Pingfang for a document with a problematic format in front of everyone, her tone more severe than ever before.

"Chen Pingfang, don't make this kind of basic mistake again."

After the meeting, everyone felt that Chen Pingfang was going to be in trouble, and they avoided him whenever they saw him.

Chen Ping returned to his workstation alone, unconcerned about being ignored by others.

My phone vibrated; it was a WeChat message from Xiao Yuhan, containing only a few simple words: "Thank you, well done."