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

There were only six words, with no signature or call record.

Chen Ping stared at the screen for three seconds, then put his phone back in his pocket and turned the car key. Before the engine had even warmed up, Chen Ping had already shifted into gear.

The old library of the Provincial Academy of Social Sciences is located at the end of Jianshe Road in the eastern part of the city. It's an old building from the 1990s, with most of the white tiles on the exterior walls peeling off. Chen Ping parked his car across the street, leaving the engine running. A cordon was set up at the main entrance, the orange plastic tape snapping in the wind. An A3-sized notice was posted on the gatepost: "Due to urban renewal and renovation needs, the library will begin demolition work next Monday."

Next Monday. Today is Thursday.

Chen Ping took out his phone and dialed Cheng Yuan's number.

"I've already made arrangements for the cassette tape."

Cheng Yuan acted swiftly.

"You sent someone?"

"Old Zhao from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection's Technical Office brought two people with him. They went in half an hour ago. It's the third-floor humanities and social sciences reading room, the seventh bookshelf, the third shelf from the left."

Chen Ping shifted the gear to neutral, and the engine returned to idle.

"Found it?"

Cheng Yuan paused for a moment.

"Found it. There really was a miniature cassette tape hidden in the spine of Volume II of 'Capital'. It was the kind used by the Panasonic RN-502C tape recorder, an old product from the 1980s."

"Can it be played?"

"Transcription is in progress. The tape is slightly damp, but the technical department says the sound quality of the core section is still recognizable. He Yongnian's original words, 'Old Zhou's meaning is that this matter must be resolved tonight,' are recorded very clearly."

Chen Ping rolled down the car window a crack. A cold wind from Jianshe Road blew in, carrying the smell of dust from the demolition site.

"Secretary Cheng, is it possible to initiate a reinvestigation based solely on this one tape and the criminal review case file number?"

"The tape alone won't do. But I've already sent someone to retrieve the file number 0037 from the Su Gong (Gengchen) Criminal Review."

"Are the files still there?"

"He's gone. The file retrieval record says that a person named 'Guo Zhen' took it on March 12, 2000. But there's no such person in the Public Security Bureau's personnel files at all. A non-existent policeman took away a criminal review case file."

Chen Ping closed the car window.

"This is actually a good thing. The record of the file transfer itself is evidence that someone was destroying the files, and the traces left by this action cannot be erased."

"I've compiled everything into a report," Cheng Yuan said. "Governor Liu has also reviewed it. He wrote a few words in his comments."

"Submitted to the Standing Committee."

The Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee meeting is scheduled for 9:00 AM on Saturday, two days from now.

The timing was carefully chosen. Saturday is a rest day, and adding an extra meeting requires the provincial party secretary's approval. Governor Liu went through the formal procedure with Cheng Yuan from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection to approach the secretary. The Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection has the authority to submit major case leads to the Standing Committee for review. The secretary had no grounds to reject the request.

At 8:50 a.m. on Saturday, Chen Ping followed Cheng Yuan into the Standing Committee meeting room on the third floor of the Provincial Party Committee building.

The oval conference table had thirteen chairs. The provincial party secretary sat in the center, Governor Liu was the first on his right, and Zheng Weiqing was the third on his left.

Chen Ping placed his nameplate at the end of the table against the wall, indicating that he was an observer and had the right to speak.

When Zheng Weiqing entered, he glanced at Chen Pingfang, but didn't stop and sat down directly.

The provincial party secretary opened the agenda.

"We've added an agenda item today. Comrade Cheng Yuan from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection has submitted a report on the reopening of the investigation into the massive loss of state-owned assets in the Gengchen year. The case involves a huge sum of money and is related to the recent audit of special funds for provincial government agencies. Secretary Cheng, please give your report."

Cheng Yuan stood up and walked to the front of the big screen.

A portable audio player was placed on the table, connected to the conference room's sound system.

"Distinguished members of the Standing Committee, I will first play a recording. This recording was made on the evening of November 17, 1999, on the third floor of the Provincial Academy of Social Sciences office building. The person who recorded it was Song Baiqing, then Deputy Director of the Administrative Division of the General Office of the Provincial Government. Please pay attention to the dialogue between three minutes and twelve seconds and four minutes and forty seconds."

Press the play button.

There was a hissing noise in the conference room at first, then a middle-aged man's voice came from the speakers, accompanied by the static from the old recording equipment.

"...Wash the thermos clean and put it back in the break room. Change his departure time on the attendance sheet to 5 p.m.

Another person interjected, their voice trembling, "Secretary-General He... this..."

The first person interrupted the conversation, speaking faster: "Don't ask so many questions. Old Zhou's message is that this matter must be resolved tonight. Finish your work, come to work as usual tomorrow, and pretend nothing happened. Do you understand?"

The recording stopped there. All thirteen people in the conference room remained silent.

The pen in the hand of the deputy secretary of the provincial party committee hovered above the notebook, the ink gathering at the tip into a drop before falling onto the paper.

Cheng Yuan turned off the media player.

"The first speaker in the recording, after comparison by the Provincial Public Security Department's voiceprint identification laboratory, had a 97.6% match with the archived voiceprint sample of He Yongnian, then Deputy Secretary-General of the Provincial Government Office. The 'Old Zhou' mentioned in the recording, combined with the personnel relationships and context at the time, points to Zhou Dingbang, then Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee."

Zheng Weiqing placed his hand on the table, tapped his middle finger twice abruptly, and then stopped.

"Secretary Cheng," Zheng Weiqing began. "Was the source and evidence collection process for this recording legal? How can the authenticity of a 25-year-old tape be guaranteed? More importantly, the events of the Gengchen year involve a wide range of issues. In the current social climate, wouldn't reopening the investigation affect the overall stability of the province's reform and development?"

Across the conference table, Governor Liu opened a folder, pulled out a piece of paper, and pushed it to the center of the table.

"Minister Zheng's concerns about stability are understandable. But I would like to show you some figures."

The paper listed three lines: From the year Gengchen (2010) to the present, the total historical bad debt of provincial high-tech industry supporting funds is approximately 13.8 billion yuan. Of this, approximately 10.9 billion yuan can be traced back to projects approved during Zhou Dingbang's administration. This involves approximately 19 companies that have been deregistered or are defunct.

"The whereabouts of 10.9 billion yuan of state-owned assets are unknown, and no one has questioned it for 25 years. If this is called 'stability,' then what are we stabilizing?"

Zheng Weiqing tapped the table again with his middle finger, but didn't reply.

The provincial party secretary turned to the last page of the agenda and glanced at everyone present.

"Secretary Cheng, what are your recommendations in the report?"

"It is recommended that the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, in conjunction with the Provincial Public Security Department, reopen the investigation into the case of the loss of state-owned assets in the Gengchen year. At the same time, a preliminary verification procedure should be initiated for the relevant personnel involved in the recording."

The secretary's gaze lingered on Zheng Weiqing's face for a second before shifting away.

"Let's vote. Raise your hand if you agree."

Nine hands were raised.

Zheng Weiqing's hand remained on the table. The remaining three standing committee members then raised their hands—twelve to one.

When the meeting adjourned, Chen Ping was the last to leave the conference room. A green light shone from the emergency exit sign at the end of the corridor.

My phone vibrated.

Cheng Yuan sent a message with only one sentence:

"Zhou Dingbang was admitted to the VIP ward of the Provincial Military Region General Hospital ten minutes ago. The diagnosis report states that he suffered an acute cerebrovascular accident. His family has submitted an application for medical retirement to the Provincial Party Committee."

Chen Ping stood in the corridor, his thumb resting on the screen, the green light illuminating the line of text that flickered on and off.

Retirement due to illness.

The 73-year-old former provincial party secretary collapsed on his hospital bed within ten minutes of the Standing Committee's vote.