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

In the dead silence, an elderly clerk in his fifties with thinning hair came to his senses.

His face quickly lit up with a smile as he jogged over from his seat, a pack of unopened Zhonghua cigarettes clutched in his hand.

"Little Chen... no, Secretary Chen!" The old clerk bowed, his face full of ingratiating smiles. "You're back! You must be tired from your journey! Let me pour you a glass of water!"

Chen Pingfang's gaze swept across his face, but he didn't say anything.

His gaze was indifferent, devoid of emotion, yet it froze the old clerk's outstretched hand in mid-air, and his smile vanished.

He awkwardly withdrew his hand, lowered his head, and retreated to his corner, not daring to utter another sound.

Chen Ping ignored these people and stood up.

He walked through the office area and went straight to the innermost workstation.

That's Sun Zhigang's spot.

There was still a half-finished cup of strong tea on the table, and the chair was askew, as if the owner had just gone out temporarily.

But everyone knew that the owner of this position would never return.

Chen Ping stopped in front of the table. He didn't sit down, but reached out and pulled out the top folder from a stack of documents on the corner of the table.

The folder's label reads "Opinions on Handling Follow-up Issues of the Jinshuiwan Project."

He casually flipped through a couple of pages, then turned and walked towards Zhang Wei.

Zhang Wei felt his heart pounding. He watched Chen Pingfang approach step by step, and his legs felt weak.

Chen Pingfang didn't say anything, but simply threw the document onto Zhang Wei's desk with a crisp sound.

Everyone in the office was startled.

"The mess left by Mayor Wang on the Jinshuiwan project, including related accounts, contracts, and meeting minutes, must all be found today."

Chen Pingfang's voice wasn't loud, but every word struck a chord in everyone's heart.

"So, everyone's working overtime tonight!"

He glanced around at the pale faces in the office.

"All of these things need to be compiled into a detailed report."

"If you don't see the report by eight o'clock tomorrow morning..." Chen Ping paused, his tone unchanged, "everyone, pack your things and go to the archives to contribute what you can."

The archives room—that place is like a retirement home within the city government compound. Once you're in there, you can forget about having any future.

The effect of this statement is obvious.

Inside the office, even the sound of breathing had disappeared.

No one dared to object, no one dared to complain.

Those troublemakers who used to complain about being old and tired are now keeping their heads down.

After a brief silence, the office was immediately filled with the sounds of drawers being pulled open, files being flipped through, and keyboards being typed. Everyone was working hard to keep their jobs.

Thus, the power of the General Affairs Section was transferred.

Chen Ping pulled up a chair and sat down in the far corner of the office. He didn't join in; he simply closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

In fact, his mind was racing.

He is sorting through his memories of his past life.

He already had a clear personnel chart in his mind among the people in the municipal government office: who were just sycophants, who had some ability but had chosen the wrong side, and who could be promoted for his own use.

Wang Jianzhong has fallen, but his influence remains.

The General Affairs Department must be thoroughly purged and replaced with our own people.

Time passed by, and the sky outside the window grew darker and darker.

Only the office of the General Affairs Department on the entire floor had its lights on.

Two o'clock in the morning.

Chen Pingfang, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

He stood up and began pacing around the office, checking everyone's work results one by one.

Every time he walked to a workstation, the person there would freeze in shock.

When he walked up behind Zhang Wei, Zhang Wei's back was completely soaked with cold sweat.

Chen Ping picked up the report that Zhang Wei had just printed out; the paper was still warm. He only flipped through three pages before his brows furrowed.

The report looks impressive and uses many charts, but the key data is vague and many responsible parties are obscured. It's clearly a bad habit developed from years of writing bureaucratic documents, and it's just a perfunctory job.

Chen Ping didn't say a word, took the report, and turned to walk towards the paper shredder in the corner.

As Zhang Wei watched his retreating figure, the color drained completely from his face.

"Secretary Chen... Secretary Chen..." He tried to plead, but his voice trembled and he couldn't finish his sentence.

Chen Ping ignored him.

He pressed the switch and fed the report that Zhang Wei had spent several hours working on into the shredder, page by page.

"Sizzle—"

The ear-piercing sound of shattering rang out in the silent night, vibrating everyone's nerves.

A dozen seconds later, the sound of shredding paper stopped.

Chen Ping turned off the power, turned around, looked at Zhang Wei, whose face was pale, and spoke in a calm tone.

"Redo it."

Zhang Wei swayed, almost sliding off his chair. Looking into Chen Pingfang's unfathomable eyes, he couldn't utter a single word, only nodding frantically.

After doing all this, Chen Ping didn't look at anyone else, picked up his coat, and walked straight out of the office.

After he left, the oppressive atmosphere in the office eased slightly. Several people slumped in their chairs, panting heavily, feeling completely drenched in sweat.

As Chen Ping walked out of the city government building, the cold midnight wind on his face cleared his feverish head considerably.

He stood at the entrance of the empty building, preparing to go to the parking lot to get his car.

Just then, a beam of light shone down.

A black Audi A6 stopped at the bottom of the lobby steps.

The license plate was very conspicuous.

City 002.

Chen Ping stopped in his tracks.

The driver's side window slowly rolled down, revealing the familiar face of Xiao Yuhan's personal driver.

The driver leaned out and gave Chen Pingfang on the steps an extremely respectful smile, his tone and attitude completely different from before.

"Secretary Chen, Mayor Xiao sent me to pick you up."

He opened the back door and very respectfully gestured for the passengers to enter.

"The mayor said he'd take you home."

……

Several figures stood motionless by the window of the General Affairs Section of the City Government Office, staring at the black Audi A6 parked below.

When they saw Chen Ping open the car door and get into the back seat, some people couldn't help but gasp.

"City 002...that's Mayor Xiao's official car!"

"The driver even opened the door for him himself..."

"Has his relationship with Mayor Hsiao deteriorated to this point?"

Those who had been thinking about how to make a fool of Chen Ping and how to deal with things perfunctorily now felt a chill run down their spines.

With Wang Jianzhong gone, Sun Zhigang was finished too; they thought the sky was falling for the General Affairs Department.

Now they realize that the sky hasn't fallen, it's just changed.

And this newly arrived Secretary Chen is the new person in charge.