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

His phone had been ringing nonstop for the past half hour.

First, Wang Defa called, saying something had happened at the manor, and that special police and disciplinary committee members had gone there. Then several trusted confidants called, all asking what to do. Finally, even several old connections in the province called, their implication clear—he was to figure it out himself.

Sun Chuanhong tossed his phone onto the coffee table and lit a cigarette.

Smoke drifted through the living room, obscuring his face and making his expression impossible to discern.

Li Shufen came out of the bedroom with messy hair and red, swollen eyes.

"Old Sun, what do we do now? Should we...?"

"Do you want anything?" Sun Chuanhong interrupted her, his voice calm. "Run? Where can you run to?"

Li Shufen opened her mouth, but couldn't say a word.

Just then, the sound of a car came from downstairs.

Sun Chuanhong stood up, walked to the window, and lifted a corner of the curtain to look down.

Five black sedans were parked neatly downstairs, all with license plates from the provincial capital.

The car door opened, and a dozen or so people dressed in dark Zhongshan suits got out. The leader was a middle-aged man in his fifties with a serious expression.

Sun Chuanhong knew that person.

The provincial discipline inspection commission secretary's surname is Zhou.

Sun Chuanhong dropped the cigarette in his hand to the ground.

"They're here."

His voice was very soft, but Li Shufen heard it clearly.

Her body went limp, and she slumped onto the sofa, covering her face and crying.

Sun Chuanhong ignored her, bent down to pick up the cigarette butt from the ground, and stubbed it out in the ashtray.

Doorbell rang.

It rang three times, neither too loud nor too soft.

Sun Chuanhong straightened his collar, walked over and opened the door.

Secretary Zhou stood outside the door, with four staff members from the Discipline Inspection Commission behind him.

"Comrade Sun Chuanhong," Secretary Zhou said calmly, "come with us."

Sun Chuanhong looked at him and remained silent for a few seconds.

"Could I change my clothes?"

"Can."

Ten minutes later, Sun Chuanhong changed into a dark suit, combed his hair, and put on a tie.

He walked out of the bedroom, glanced at Li Shufen who was slumped on the sofa, and said nothing.

"Let's go."

He followed Secretary Zhou out of the house. The elevator was quiet, with only the sound of the floor numbers changing.

The elevator doors opened, and a large crowd had already gathered downstairs.

They were all neighbors in the family compound; some were city officials, and some were family members.

Everyone stared at Sun Chuanhong, their eyes filled with surprise, fear, and simply amusement.

Sun Chuanhong walked through the crowd expressionlessly and got into the disciplinary committee's car.

As the car door closed, he glanced back at the building where he had lived for ten years.

Then she closed her eyes.

……

At 9:00 AM, at the Yunzhou Municipal Government.

Xiao Yuhan's office was packed with people.

Old Zhao and Guo Xiaojun from the Municipal Bureau were both there, along with several secretaries from the Municipal Government. Everyone was waiting for news.

Chen Ping sat on the sofa, holding the black leather ledger in his hand.

Chen Pingfang had already gone through the account book three times from beginning to end.

Every single account was meticulously recorded. The people involved were of very high rank, including city-level officials, provincial-level officials, and even several officials from central ministries.

But the last page of the ledger was torn out.

The tear is very fresh; it looks like it happened just a few days ago.

On the torn edge, a few blurry strokes can still be seen.

"...The master...instructed...fifty million..."

Chen Ping's finger lingered on those words for a long time.

The mysterious teacher has reappeared.

Moreover, this time it involves 50 million.

"Ping Fang, what are you thinking about?" Xiao Yuhan walked over and handed him a cup of coffee.

"Hmm, I'm thinking about this last page." Chen Pingfang looked up. "Why did Sun Chuanhong tear it out?"

"Afraid of exposing the person behind you?" Guo Xiaojun leaned over and asked.

Chen Pingfang shook his head. "If he were really afraid of being exposed, he would have burned the whole ledger. The fact that he only tore out this page means he has another purpose."

"Then why did he...?"

"He wants to use this page as his last bargaining chip, to leave himself a way out," Chen Ping said with certainty.

Xiao Yuhan understood.

Sun Chuanhong knew he was finished, and he wanted to use this last page to save his family's lives.

"Where is this page now?"

"I don't know." Chen Ping closed the ledger. "But it's definitely not in the manor. We've searched every corner."

Just then, Chen Ping's phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar number.

Chen Ping answered the phone, and a hoarse male voice came from the other end.

"Section Chief Chen, congratulations, you won."

Chen Pingfang's expression didn't change much, but he already knew who it was.

He recognized the voice.

Sun Chuanhong.

"How can you still make phone calls?"

"The people from the Discipline Inspection Commission were quite polite; they let me make one last call," Sun Chuanhong said calmly. "I want to make a deal with you."

"What kind of deal?"

"I know where the last page of the ledger is," Sun Chuanhong paused, "but I need you to promise me one thing."

"explain"

"Spare my wife and son."

Chen Ping did not answer immediately.

"Do you think you still have the right to negotiate?"

"I know I'm not qualified." Sun Chuanhong's voice finally showed a slight fluctuation. "But the people on that page are far more influential than me. If you want to continue investigating further, you have to get your hands on that page."

Chen Ping glanced at Xiao Yuhan, and Xiao Yuhan nodded.

"Okay, but you have to tell me first where that page is."

"Yes..." Sun Chuanhong's voice suddenly stopped.

Suddenly there was a burst of noise on the other end of the phone, followed by a busy signal.

Chen Pingfang's expression changed.

He immediately dialed the provincial discipline inspection commission's number.

"Secretary Zhou, what happened to Sun Chuanhong?"

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"He suffered a sudden heart attack and is being resuscitated."

Chen Ping hung up the phone, his face looking very unpleasant.

Guo Xiaojun asked cautiously, "Lie it flat? What's wrong?"

"Sun Chuanhong is in trouble." Chen Pingfang stood up. "And it just so happens to be at this critical juncture."

Just as he was about to reveal the secret, he suffered a heart attack.

What a coincidence!

Xiao Yuhan also realized what was happening: "You mean..."

"Someone doesn't want him to speak." Chen Pingfang's voice was cold. "That teacher is much more formidable than we thought."

The office fell silent immediately.

Everyone realized that they were not just dealing with one corrupt official, Sun Chuanhong.

Behind Sun Chuanhong is an even larger and more secretive organization.

At the heart of that organization was that mysterious teacher.

Chen Ping walked to the window and looked out at Yunzhou City.

The sun was shining brightly, but Chen Pingfang felt no warmth at all.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Ping turned around.

"I don't believe that Sun Chuanhong would fall without a backup plan."

Chen Pingfang said, "In the hour before he was taken away, the person he had the most contact with was his driver, Wang Defa."

Guo Xiaojun realized: "That torn-out ledger page is very likely in Wang Defa's hands."