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

The screen was still lit, and Yan Qinghua didn't move.

He sat in that chair for almost ten minutes before picking up his phone and dialing his secretary's number.

"Go to the Industrial Energy Coordination Center and scan all the correspondence related to the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund in the archives. Give it to me today."

I hung up, picked up my teacup, and found the water was cold, so I put it down.

The old locust tree outside the window was pressed against the glass, not a single leaf trembling.

~

The plane landed at 2:40 PM.

Zhang Chao waited in the arrivals area for a full forty minutes, holding a freshly printed briefing in his hand, the edges of the paper still warm.

Chen Ping walked out carrying a briefcase, followed by eleven people with large and small bags of luggage. Song Yue walked at the front, his jacket collar turned up, looking down at his phone. His steps were slow but steady.

Zhang Chao handed over the briefing, his voice kept as low as possible.

"Director, something's happened at the center. Yan Qinghua had his secretary, Zheng Wei, bring four people from the Municipal Government's General Affairs Department in, saying they were there to 'assist with the management of archives.' They went into the archives room and the server room, and worked on the mainframes for about twenty minutes."

Chen Ping took the briefing, scanned two lines, folded it into his pocket, and didn't look up.

"Let's go back to the center."

Song Yue looked up, glanced at Zhang Chao, asked nothing, put his phone in his pocket, picked up his suitcase and followed.

~

At the entrance of the central building, the security guard pushed the door open sideways, twice as wide as usual.

On the third-floor corridor, the door to the archives room was open, and people were going in and out, carrying thick folders and walking very fast.

Zheng Wei, who was leading the team, stood in the middle of the corridor, pointed to a stack of materials and handed them out. The three people from the General Affairs Department took them one by one and carried them toward the elevator.

Chen Ping parked it at the end of the corridor.

Zheng Wei turned around, saw Chen Pingfang, paused for three seconds, tucked the materials under his arm, and took a step forward.

"Director Chen, you're back. We're here on the instructions of Vice Mayor Yan to assist with the file verification. All the paperwork is in order. Please take a look—"

He held up the stamped official letter.

Chen Ping didn't take it, but pointed to the side.

"The server room, are you inside?"

"They went in to check the data backup and archiving status of the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund project, which took about twenty minutes."

"OK."

Chen Ping walked around him, pushed open the door to the computer room next to the archives, went in, squatted down, found the main power switch at the bottom of the cabinet closest to the wall, put his hand on it, and turned it to the left.

The server's hum stopped. The screen went completely black, and the entire server room fell silent.

A young man was sitting in front of the terminal, lifted his hands off the keyboard, turned to stare at Chen Pingfang, and didn't move.

Chen Ping stood up and stopped at the door of the computer room.

"Put the materials you took out back now."

The young man pushed the chair away, stood up, and didn't move.

Zheng Wei followed in, his voice very low.

"Director Chen, Vice Mayor Yan has given clear instructions that these files should be filed through the Municipal Government's General Affairs Department. This is a proper procedure and there are no violations."

Chen Ping took out an official document from the side pocket of his briefcase, unfolded it, and handed it to Zheng Wei without saying a word, letting him read it himself.

The letterhead was from the Provincial Party Committee, the main text was less than three hundred words, and it was signed by Governor Zhou in his own handwriting, with a clear, vermilion seal.

Zheng Wei scanned the entire document from beginning to end, and the materials he was holding loosened a bit.

Chen Pingfang then spoke.

"Approval from the Provincial Party Committee for the Talent Special Zone. The core data and archives of this center are subject to both the State Secrets Law and the Talent Protection Regulations. Without the joint authorization of the National Audit Office and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, no local administrative unit may retrieve or transfer them on its own."

He paused for a moment, then finished speaking.

"You entered the server room today and came into contact with the terminal equipment of the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund strategic project. According to the filing regulations, this is classified as confidential contact."

Chen Ping put the documents away, looked up and called out.

"Zhang Chao."

Zhang Chao pushed the door open and came in, flipping open his notebook and screwing on his pen cap.

"All personnel information and operation records entering the computer room today have been registered and transferred to the center's security department for review in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State Secrets Law."

Zhang Chao responded, walked up to the young man, and spoke calmly.

"Name, employee number".

The young man stared at Zheng Wei, waiting for him to give him a signal.

Zheng Wei clutched the materials under his armpits tightly, feeling like something was stuck in his throat, unable to spit it out or swallow it down.

"Director Chen, we were acting under orders, not violating any regulations. This characterization..."

"The matter of determining the nature of the crime should be left to the review department."

Chen Ping picked up his briefcase and walked down the corridor. He stopped at the door of the computer room without turning back.

"Leave the materials. You may leave."

In the corridor, the eleven people dispersed from the elevator entrance, their large suitcases standing against the wall. Some were looking down at their phones, while others were leaning against the window frame, their expressions calm. They didn't even glance at the staff from the General Affairs Department who were carrying materials and quickly moving out.

Chen Ping stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned to speak to the eleven people.

"Let's go to the meeting room first; I have a few things to say."

~

In the conference room, Chen Ping spread a list out on the table, pushed it to the center, and placed the official approval document next to it.

"The list will be filed with the Provincial Party Committee's Talent Office later today. The eleven of you, as well as all members who will join the team in the future, will be under the dual protection of the Provincial Party Committee and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology within the framework of the talent special zone."

He placed his hand on the approval document and said his last words.

"If someone messes with you, I'll take care of it. If someone messes with the data in the center, I'll take care of it."

Song Yue leaned back in his chair, his gaze lingering on the two documents for a few seconds before speaking, his words brief.

"Who sent those people?"

"Executive Vice Mayor of the city."

Song Yue tapped his fingers twice on the edge of the table, then didn't ask any more questions.

The female researcher next to her spoke up directly.

"Can you handle it?"

Chen Ping put the list away and replied calmly.

"We held on today, didn't we?"

The female researcher pursed her lips and said nothing more.

~

Zheng Wei left the building, walked to the parking lot, and dialed a number.

The call connected, and he recounted what had happened, adding the most important sentence at the end.

"The materials of those who entered the computer room were confiscated. Director Chen said that the review process would be carried out in accordance with the State Secrets Law."

There was a silence on the other end for several seconds.

How many people did he bring back?

"Eleven, led by Song Yue, with twenty-three patents. The provincial party committee has approved them, and Governor Zhou personally wrote the document."

The other end stopped a little longer than last time, and let out a soft breath.

"understood."

The call was disconnected.

Yan Qinghua placed his phone face down on the table, leaned back in his chair, rested his fingers on the edge of the table, and stared at the old locust tree outside the window without moving.

The secretary stood by the door, bowing, and remained silent.

Yan Qinghua picked up his teacup, took a sip, put it down, and spoke in a very flat voice.

"Check when Governor Zhou and the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund started their dealings."

The secretary made a note of it, then left, gently closing the door behind her.

The office fell silent again.

Yan Qinghua turned his gaze from the locust tree to the inscription on the provincial party committee's red seal on the corner of the table, staring at it for two seconds.

He had spent twenty years in Nanzhou, and for the first time, he felt that there was someone he couldn't quite understand.

Yan Qinghua picked up his phone again, scrolled to a number, paused there, his finger on the dial button but not pressing it.