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

Internal paper used by the General Office of the Provincial Government.

Chen Ping locked his phone and put it in his pocket. As the car turned onto the East Ring Road and passed the west gate of the provincial government compound, a few lights were sparsely lit in the windows of the office building behind the iron fence.

The person who wrote the threatening letter walked the same corridor with him every day and drank water from the same water dispenser.

My phone vibrated again. It was Su Qingwan's second message.

"I'm working overtime until 11 PM tonight, can you come pick me up?"

Chen Ping glanced at the watch face; it was 10:07.

"Wait for me at the newspaper office entrance."

After sending this message, I dialed Qin Yu's number.

"Captain Qin, send two plainclothes officers to be on standby at the alley entrance west of the Nanzhou Daily office before 10:30. I'll send you the license plate number and location."

Qin Yu didn't ask why.

"receive."

He hung up. Chen Ping told the driver to turn around and head south along Zhongshan Road. He lightly tapped his fingers twice on the steering wheel cover. Fang Xudong was Luo Guodong's man and had worked under Han Zhiming for three months. It was most convenient for the special papers of the Provincial Government Office to flow out from the General Affairs Department.

But suspicion is not the same as evidence. It's too early to take action against anyone now.

At 10:38, the car stopped under the plane trees diagonally opposite the entrance of the Nanzhou Daily. Chen Ping turned off the lights and rolled down one window.

The lights were on on the sixth floor of the newspaper building, and Su Qingwan's office was at the east end of that floor. The night breeze carried the sweet, musty scent of sycamore blossoms, and the streetlights shattered the shadows of the trees on the ground.

Ten minutes later, the revolving door opened, and Su Qingwan walked out carrying a canvas bag. Her hair was casually tied in a ponytail, and she wore sneakers on the steps, her steps more relaxed than during the day.

Chen Ping flashed the headlights.

Su Qingwan looked up, quickly crossed the road, opened the passenger door, and got in.

"Have you heard about the paper testing?"

"I've seen it."

Chen Ping didn't start the car right away. He reached out and pulled her seatbelt over to fasten it. His fingertips brushed against the fabric below her collarbone. Su Qingwan turned her head slightly but didn't flinch.

"The provincial government office has exclusive access to this paper." Su Qingwan put her bag down at her feet, her voice low. "The person who wrote the letter is quite audacious, using their own unit's paper. Either they're stupid, or they did it on purpose."

"It was intentional." Chen Ping started the car, and the front of the car slowly merged into the traffic. "Using the internal document was his way of telling me that he was very close to me."

Su Qingwan turned her head and glanced at him.

Chen Ping didn't turn around, but stared at the rearview mirror.

After merging onto the main road of Zhongshan Road, he changed lanes twice, maintaining a moderate speed. In the rearview mirror, a dark gray Buick GL8 remained three car lengths behind, neither overtaking nor changing lanes.

Turn left onto Huancheng South Road.

The GL8 then turned left.

Turn right into Heping Lane. The narrow lane can only accommodate one car at a time, with old residential buildings on both sides, dim streetlights, and few pedestrians.

The GL8 stopped at the alley entrance for two seconds before following us in.

Chen Ping gripped the steering wheel, took out his phone with his right hand, and typed a message with one hand, sending it to Qin Yu.

"Dark gray Buick GL8, license plate number Su A·7K803, followed from the newspaper office to Heping Lane. Where is your man located?"

Reply in three seconds.

"Seal off the south exit of the alley immediately."

Su Qingwan glanced at the car in the rearview mirror and tightened the strap of her canvas bag around her fingers.

"Are you following me or me?"

"Not sure. But since they stuck to you as soon as you left the newspaper office, they're most likely after you."

Chen Ping stepped on the gas, increasing the car speed to 40 km/h, which was fast in the alley. The GL8 was left more than 100 meters behind, making it awkward whether he chased after it or not.

At the intersection ahead, Heping Lane merges into Jianshe South Road. Chen Ping didn't take the main road; instead, he turned the steering wheel and veered into a narrower side road on the right—an internal passageway of the textile factory dormitory area.

He had lived in Nanzhou for twenty years, and every alley in this old town was etched into his mind. The textile factory dormitory area was a pocket-shaped plot; you could enter from the east and exit only from the south. The southern exit faced the southern end of Heping Lane.

Qin Yu's plainclothes officers were blocking that exit.

GL8 hesitated for a few seconds before finally following the side road.

Chen Ping pulled the car over to the right at the corner of the dormitory building, turned off the engine, and switched off the headlights. He glanced back at Su Qingwan.

"Stay in the car, don't get out."

Su Qingwan nodded without saying anything more.

Chen Ping got out of the car. On both sides of the side road were old five-story buildings with bed sheets hanging on the balconies. Only one street lamp was still on, its pale light illuminating a small circle of the road.

The GL8's headlights swept over from behind the corner, slowed down, and stopped. The person in the driver's seat probably saw Chen Ping's car blocking the middle of the road and didn't dare to force their way through.

The engine was still running.

Two short, sharp sounds of car doors closing came from the south exit. Qin Yu's men had arrived.

Chen Ping walked a dozen steps along the wall and stood to the left of the driver's seat in the GL8. The car window was slightly ajar.

He raised his hand and patted the roof of the car twice, the metal shell making a dull thud.

The person in the driver's seat suddenly turned his head. He was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with a buzz cut, a thick neck, and a Bluetooth headset in his right ear.

"get off."

The crew-cut man reached his right hand toward the passenger seat, probably trying to reach for something. Before he could reach it, two beams of flashlight shone from the rear of the car, and Qin Yu's two plainclothes officers pressed themselves against the rear doors of the GL8 from either side.

"Nanzhou Public Security Bureau. Turn off the engine and put both hands on the steering wheel."

The crew-cut man froze for a second, then slowly put his hands back on the steering wheel, and the engine shut off.

The plainclothes officers opened the car door and dragged the man out of the driver's seat. A body search revealed he was unarmed, but a walkie-talkie and binoculars were found in the glove compartment.

Chen Ping took two steps back, took out his phone, and called Qin Yu.

"The person is under control. He's on a side street in the textile factory dormitory area of ​​Heping Lane. Come here."

Qin Yu lived not far away and arrived eight minutes later in an inconspicuous gray Santana.

He crouched down to examine the man who was being held on the ground, took out his work ID from his shirt pocket, and shone it on him with a flashlight.

"Head of Security at Hanxin Microelectronics. His surname is Lu, Lu Guangfei."

Hanxin Microelectronics.

Chen Pingfang's spine tensed up vertebra by vertebra. The company was run by Sun Heming's nephew. Sun Heming had served as deputy director of the Provincial State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission for eleven years, but two months ago he was transferred to a sinecure as deputy director of the Provincial People's Congress Education, Science, Culture and Health Committee. It was a demotion in name only; everyone could see it.

But his nephew's company is still operating.

"Lu Guangfei, who are you following?" Qin Yu asked, squatting on the ground.

Lu Guangfei turned his head away and remained silent.

Qin Yu took his phone out of his pocket and pressed the power button. The screen lit up; there was no password.

Qin Yu's hand stopped as he scrolled through the photo album.

He looked up at Chen Pingfang and handed him the phone.

The screen displays a photograph. The shot is taken from outside the window looking inwards, through the screen, so the image is somewhat blurry but still recognizable. In office 307, Chen Ping is sitting behind his desk, holding a pen, his face half-turned towards the window.

Filming time: 3:17 PM today.

It happened right after he returned to room 307 from the Secretary-General's office meeting.

Inside the provincial government compound, the north-facing windows face a flower bed and a fire escape that is accessible only to staff.

Chen Ping pressed his thumb on the screen, zooming in on the details of the photo inch by inch. In the lower right corner of the window frame, a small section of the photographer's sleeve was reflected in the light.

The dark blue fabric has a unique stitching pattern on the cuffs – double rows of concealed stitching with extremely narrow spacing.

The shirt Fang Xudong wore today had this kind of stitching on the cuffs.