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

The pen stayed in the inner pocket the whole way. It took three hours to travel from the provincial capital to Nanzhou. The pen remained cool to the touch the entire time.

When Chen Ping pushed open the door to the Corefire Center, there were four people standing in the corridor.

These people do not belong to the center.

Chen Pingfang recognized the four faces. The director of the Municipal Housing and Construction Bureau was there. The director of the Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau was also there. The deputy director of the Municipal Natural Resources Bureau was standing. There was another person Chen Pingfang hadn't expected: Zhou Ming from the Municipal Finance Bureau.

Zhou Ming abstained from voting at the Standing Committee meeting six months ago. Before Yan Qinghua's downfall, Zhou Ming had no dealings with the Chipfire Center.

"Director Chen!" Zhou Ming was the first to run over. Zhou Ming stretched out his hand quite far. "I just happened to be passing by and wanted to check on the progress of Corefire Phase II."

The CoreFire Center is located at the easternmost edge of the High-tech Zone. It's a 20-minute drive from the city center. There's no convenient route that passes by it.

Chen Pingfang didn't expose Zhou Ming's lie. Chen Pingfang and Zhou Ming shook hands briefly. Chen Pingfang didn't use much force.

"Director Zhou, you're too kind. The second phase of the construction site is in the south. If you want to check on the progress, you can directly contact Zhang Chao."

Zhou Ming's hand froze. His smile remained. He moved aside, making room for the person behind him.

The director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau walked up. He handed over a file folder.

"Director Chen. We internally reviewed the planning approval for the second phase of Chipfire last time. It's all set now. This is the final draft with the official stamp."

This approval process had been stalled for two months. Chen Ping had followed up three times. The Housing and Construction Bureau kept saying it was in the process of processing. Now the stamp has been affixed, and the final draft has been delivered.

Chen Pingfang took the file folder. He didn't open it.

"Thank you. Just leave it on my desk."

Chen Ping walked steadily through the group of four people. He heard soft voices behind him; their tone was urgent.

Jiang Fan peeked out from the office.

"Director, seven groups of people have already arrived today."

Who are they?

Jiang Fan opened the register. He read out the names of seven units. All of them were leaders from municipal departments.

Chen Pingfang tossed the file folder onto the table. Chen Pingfang sat down.

"Anything else?"

"I have five more dinner invitations."

"Cancel them all."

Jiang Fan closed the registration book. Then she paused for a moment.

"Liu Yuejin has also arrived."

Chen Ping stopped flipping through the list.

"Where is he?"

"I'm sitting in the lobby downstairs. Liu Yuejin has been here for almost an hour. He didn't have an appointment. The receptionist asked him who he was looking for. He said he'd wait for you to come back."

Liu Yuejin is the head of the South District. Liu Yuejin is Yan Qinghua's man. The Hongtuyuan project was initiated by Liu Yuejin. Liu Yuejin once slammed his fist on the table with Chen Pingfang at a Standing Committee meeting.

After Yan Qinghua's incident, everyone in the South District Committee fell silent. They didn't speak at meetings, nor did they sign documents. Liu Yuejin, who had previously been avoiding people, even had the deputy district head attend South District meetings.

Liu Yuejin has been waiting in the lobby for an hour.

Chen Pingfang turned to the next page. He read two lines of text.

"Bring Liu Yuejin up."

Jiang Fan turned and left. Three minutes later, footsteps echoed in the corridor. The footsteps were heavy.

The door opened.

Liu Yuejin stood in the doorway. He had lost a lot of weight. His suit jacket hung loosely on his body. His tie was askew. There were more gray hairs at his temples.

Liu Yuejin saw Chen Pingfang. Liu Yuejin's lips moved.

"Come in and sit down."

Liu Yuejin walked to the chair. He didn't sit down immediately. He stood for two seconds. Then he buttoned up one button of his suit jacket.

Chen Pingfang realized that Liu Yuejin had come to admit defeat.

"Director Chen..."

"Sit down and talk."

Liu Yuejin sat down. The chair creaked. Liu Yuejin placed his hands, folded over his knees, and rubbed his thumbs together incessantly.

"Lie it flat. I bear responsibility for what happened at Hongtu Garden."

Chen Pingfang didn't speak. Chen Pingfang waited.

"Mayor Yan asked me to promote this project. I knew there were problems, but I didn't investigate. When the audit materials were submitted, I signed them and stamped them."

Liu Yuejin kept his head down. He looked at the tips of his shoes.

"I'll accept whatever the organization decides to do. I want to talk to you face-to-face about what I did at Hongtu Garden and what I didn't know about."

Chen Ping pushed the chair back. Chen Ping leaned back in the chair.

The office was quiet. There was the sound of pile driving outside the window.

"District Chief Liu, you want to explain yourself. I'll give you a chance."

Liu Yuejin raised his head.

"But not now. Nor with words."

Chen Pingfang opened the drawer. Chen Pingfang took out a stack of white paper. Chen Pingfang placed the paper on the edge of the table.

"Write a thorough self-criticism for Hongtuyuan. From project initiation to funding, every step you were involved in must be written down. The time, place, people involved, and signed documents must all be clearly stated."

Liu Yuejin's throat moved slightly.

"Deliver it to my office within three days."

Chen Pingfang stood up. Chen Pingfang walked up to Liu Yuejin. Chen Pingfang handed him the paper.

Chen Pingfang and Liu Yuejin lived very close to each other.

Liu Yuejin reached out to take the paper. His fingertips were trembling.

"There's one more thing." Chen Ping put it back on the table.

"Don't write platitudes in your self-criticism. Don't include statements about inadequate understanding. I want to see facts and figures."

Liu Yuejin stood up, holding the paper. He wanted to speak, but in the end, he only said one sentence.

"I see."

Liu Yuejin turned and walked out. He stopped just before reaching the door.

Lay it flat.

Chen Ping looked at Liu Yuejin.

"I shouldn't have slammed my fist on the table during the Standing Committee meeting."

The door closed. Liu Yuejin walked away. His footsteps were heavier than when he arrived.

Chen Pingfang sat back down in his chair. He continued looking at the list.

Jiang Fan came in again. He was holding a manila envelope.

"Manager. I just put this in the front desk mailbox. There's no name on it."

Chen Ping took it. The envelope was very thin. Inside were two sheets of paper.

Chen Ping pulled out the paper.

The first document is a photocopy of a personnel appointment and dismissal document. It bears the official seal of the High-tech Zone Management Committee. The document promotes three section-level cadres to deputy director level. The date of issuance is today.

Today is the last day of the public announcement period.

The second document is a handwritten whistleblower letter. The handwriting is messy, but the content is clear: Sun Zhaohui, deputy director of the High-tech Zone Management Committee, is up to no good. Before Chen Pingfang officially took office, Sun Zhaohui hastily promoted three relatives. Sun Zhaohui wanted to get the personnel in place before the new secretary arrived.

Chen Ping placed two pieces of paper on the table.

The ink on the red stamp wasn't completely dry yet.

Jiang Fan stood at the door. Jiang Fan was waiting for Chen Pingfang to speak.

Chen Ping glanced at the back of the whistleblower letter. The back was white.

Chen Ping put the paper back into the envelope. Chen Ping then locked the letter in the drawer.

"Go check if Sun Zhaohui is at the management committee today."

Jiang Fan is gone.

Chen Ping opened the drawer. He took out the black fountain pen. The pen was cool to the touch.

Chen Ping placed the pen on the table, the nib pointing towards the door.

The sound of pile driving outside the window stopped.

The phone at the front desk rang. Jiang Fan spoke on the other end. Jiang Fan's voice was very fast.

Jiang Fan ran back.

Jiang Fan pushed open the door. Jiang Fan's forehead was covered in sweat.

"Director, Sun Zhaohui is not in the management committee."

Where did they go?

"Organization Department." Sun Zhaohui, carrying the three documents, entered the Municipal Party Committee Organization Department building forty minutes later.