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

Su Qingwan.

Chen Ping flipped the statement over, placed it on the table, and pressed down on the corner of the paper with his thumb.

Fang Zhiyuan's wife caused a scene at the entrance of the Guangling Municipal Party Committee for two hours. The whistleblower letter pointed the finger at him for "colluding with foreign media to smear the local image." This charge is quite serious, but the angle of attack was extremely stupid.

Jiang Fan stood at the door, but did not come in.

"Regarding the contents of the complaint letter, has the gatehouse been demolished?"

"It wasn't demolished; it was sealed according to procedure and has already been transferred to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection."

Chen Ping folded the paper neatly and put it in the drawer.

"Investigate the author of this whistleblower letter. Fang Zhiyuan's wife only has a junior high school education; she couldn't possibly have written something like 'colluding with foreign media.'"

Jiang Fan nodded, turned around and left.

Chen Ping leaned back in his chair and parted the curtains a crack. In the distance, the lights of the Xinhuo Phase II project were still on, and the outline of the construction site's tower cranes was etched into the night.

Foreign media.

These four words are a soft nail within the system; they won't kill you, but they can draw blood. Even if the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection doesn't believe it, it has to follow procedures to investigate. The investigation process is exhausting, consuming the window of opportunity he had to push through the personnel reshuffle in Guangling.

The other side isn't retaliating; they're stalling for time.

Who are you trying to impress?

He put the question in his mind, locked the office door, and went downstairs.

The next morning at nine o'clock, people from the Third Investigation and Review Office of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection arrived at the High-tech Zone Management Committee.

Two people arrived. One was surnamed Wu, in his early forties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and carrying a brown kraft paper file folder. The other was younger and carried recording equipment. He looked for a power outlet as soon as he entered.

The cadre surnamed Wu placed the file bag on the table, opened the seal, and took out an inquiry outline.

"Comrade Chen Pingfang, we are just routinely checking some information, and we hope you can cooperate."

Chen Ping sat opposite him, resting his hands on the edge of the table, and nodded.

"Could you tell us about the 'foreign media' mentioned in the whistleblower letter?"

"So, in the past six months, has the Chipfire Center had any contact, cooperation, or information exchange with any overseas media organizations?"

Chen Ping opened his briefcase and pulled out a bound document from a hidden compartment. The cover was printed with the red masthead logo of the provincial newspaper.

"There were no foreign media outlets. The foreign media mentioned in the whistleblower letter is actually Su Qingwan, a reporter from the special features department of the provincial newspaper. Her interviews and reports were all registered with the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department, following a very formal process."

He pushed the document over.

"This is the 'Public Opinion Supervision Cooperation Framework' signed between the Chipfire Center and the Provincial Newspaper's Special Reports Department. It was approved by the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department last November, and the number is on page two. The framework includes the regular public release of environmental monitoring data, a media reporting mechanism for third-party laboratory reports, and a public opinion guidance plan for the progress of major projects."

The cadre surnamed Wu opened the document and started reading from the second page, scanning line by line. He paused for two seconds when he reached the fifth page.

"Where did all the test data come from?"

Chen Ping took out another document, an A4 sheet of paper clipped together with a binder clip.

"The third-party environmental testing report was issued by the Provincial Environmental Monitoring Center, which has CMA accreditation. All soil remediation data and water quality monitoring data for Phase I of Xinhuo can be found on the public platform of the Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment."

He untied the binder clip and showed the other party the first page of the report.

"The whistleblower letter accused me of 'tarnishing the local image,' but these data precisely prove that the Chipfire Center proactively discloses environmental information and accepts public oversight. Using the media to monitor the environmental compliance of industrial parks is a basic action of governing for the people, not a smear campaign."

The cadre surnamed Wu carefully put away the two documents and wrote a few lines on the interrogation record. The indicator light on the recording device remained on, casting a tiny red spot on the table.

"One last question. The whistleblower letter mentions that you had an 'improper exchange of benefits' with reporter Su Qingwan. Is that true?"

Chen Ping paused and tapped his thumb on the edge of the table.

"Su Qingwan is a reporter employed by the provincial newspaper, and her reporting activities are supervised by the Provincial Party Committee's Publicity Department. If the whistleblower has evidence, please provide it. If not, this accusation itself is false."

The cadre surnamed Wu closed his notebook, turned off the recording equipment, and stood up.

"Comrade Chen Pingfang, that concludes today's questioning. We will take the materials back for filing and will contact you again if needed in the future."

The two packed their things and left. Chen Ping remained seated until the footsteps faded into the end of the corridor before pushing his chair back half an inch.

The questioning ended, but the matter was not over.

The purpose of the whistleblower letter wasn't to find any results, but to get people from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection to appear in his office. This scene itself was a signal—someone was investigating Chen Pingfang. The management committee and people in Guangling were watching, and those who were still observing would reconsider the cost of taking sides.

Jiang Fan sent a message at 3 PM.

"We found it. The person who wrote the whistleblower letter is Xu Guangming, the second person in charge of the financial audit position in the High-tech Zone. He was transferred to the logistics support department by Sun Zhaohui last year and just resigned last month. A week before he resigned, he met with Fang Zhiyuan's wife at a teahouse in the suburbs of Guangling."

Chen Ping read the message twice.

Xu Guangming. The second person Sun Zhaohui planted in the auditing position, the one who signed off on the deal and was later transferred. His continued involvement in his former manager's work after leaving his position indicates that Sun Zhaohui's remaining influence wasn't completely eliminated just because he was taken away.

"Have you found out where Xu Guangming is currently staying?"

"Under investigation."

"Once you find out, don't alert him. Get his communication records and bank statements for the last three months, follow the proper channels, and get the disciplinary committee to cooperate."

"clear."

Chen Ping locked his phone and leaned back in his chair.

Sun Zhaohui's network is still in motion; its roots haven't been severed yet. The whistleblower letter is just the first move; there may be a second and a third. But each move will expose a clue.

Let them fight.

At 8 PM, my phone vibrated.

The number wasn't saved, but Chen Pingfang recognized the last four digits.

Su Qingwan.

When I answered the phone, the voice on the other end was very low.

"Director Chen, would it be convenient for us to meet tonight?"

Chen Ping paused for a moment.

"What is it?"

"It's not convenient over the phone. It's by the river, at the old dock, around nine o'clock."

It's over.

Chen Ping placed his phone on the table and stared as the screen went dark. Su Qingwan never made these kinds of calls at night; her professional habit was to follow the proper procedures to schedule interviews during the day, leaving a record of all conversations.

Tonight is unusual.

At 9:55, Chen Ping parked his car next to the stone pier at the entrance of the old wharf. There was no wind on the river, and the waves were extremely slow. The lights on the opposite bank were reflected on the water, forming shimmering vertical lines.

Su Qingwan had arrived and was standing by the stone railing at the very front of the dock, one hand on the railing and the other in her trench coat pocket.

Chen Ping walked over and stood next to her without saying a word.

Su Qingwan turned around and took out a USB flash drive from the inside pocket of her trench coat. It had a black casing and was about the size of a thumb.

"I had someone decode that hard drive, 074."

Chen Ping stopped in his tracks.

He never told Su Qingwan about that hard drive.

"Lin Yuanzhou contacted me." Su Qingwan handed over the USB drive. "He said you told him not to tell anyone, but the hard drive's encryption level is too high, and he can't crack it himself. So he contacted a friend of mine in Beijing who works in information security."

Chen Ping took the USB drive and held it between his fingers.

"How many were solved?"

"all."

Su Qingwan loosened her grip on the railing, took a half step back, and leaned against the stone pier.

"There are 73 documents inside, including records of technical parameter exchanges for silicon carbide epitaxial equipment, copies of purchase contracts, and three scanned copies labeled 'Veridian internal memos'."

Chen Ping turned the USB drive over and didn't put it in his pocket.

"I know the person who signed the purchase order is Yan Qinghua. Is there anyone else?"

Su Qingwan paused for nearly four seconds, the sound of the river water lapping against the stone walls of the dock filling the silence.

"have."

She lowered her voice and took half a step forward.

"The memorandum mentions an approval stage, internally codenamed 'Gate-7' by Veridian. The Chinese contact person for this stage did not sign Yan Qinghua."

Chen Ping pressed his thumb into the groove on the side of the USB flash drive, without moving it.

"Who is it?"

Su Qingwan raised her head, and the lights on the opposite bank of the river cast a blurry glow behind her. Her lips moved slightly, and she uttered a name.

"The current Director of the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology is He Hongru."

Chen Ping's fingers gripped the USB drive, his entire body seemingly nailed to the stone slab of the dock.