Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

Sha Ruijin's lips trembled slightly.

"I've handed over my phone, what else do you want?"

"The real thing."

Tian Guofu closed the leather bag.

"It can prove that you are only in the spotlight, and it can also prove that there are real things being orchestrated behind the scenes."

Sha Ruijin stared at the red seal on the table.

The red stamp was perfectly round, but the fake parts were so numerous they were glaringly obvious.

After a while, he stood up and walked to the bookshelf.

There is a safe behind the bookcase.

He entered the password wrong the first time.

The second time, the latch clicked open.

Sha Ruijin opened the cabinet door, took out a few ordinary documents, and then lifted the bottom wooden board upwards.

The hidden compartment was revealed.

Inside was a red work memo book, its cover worn and unused, without a number or company name.

Sha Ruijin held it in his hand as if it were a piece of hot iron.

"This was left to me by my father-in-law."

Tian Guofu took half a step closer.

"Record what?"

"Work schedule, reception list, verbal instructions, and some abbreviations I don't understand."

Sha Ruijin placed the booklet on the table, but did not immediately let go.

"Secretary Tian, ​​I want political immunity."

Tian Guofu looked at him.

Sha Ruijin raised his head, his eyes red.

"I only endorsed things on the front stage; I never really interacted with those outsiders. I went to the venue, read the speeches, and took on the pressure, but I had no access to the connections behind the scenes."

Whether or not an exemption is granted is up to the organization to decide.

Tian Guofu opened the evidence bag.

"If you hand over this booklet, the report will clearly state your cooperation. If you continue to withhold it, the consequences will also be clearly stated."

Sha Ruijin gripped the red booklet tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

"I've called him Dad for so many years, and this is what he left me."

As soon as he said those words, he felt as if he had been stabbed by himself.

Tian Guofu didn't urge him.

Sha Ruijin finally let go.

The red booklet was placed into the evidence bag, the bag was sealed, and Tian Guofu signed his name on the seal.

"Comrade Sha Ruijin, every statement you make from now on must be recorded."

Sha Ruijin sat back down in his chair.

"I'll cooperate."

"Let's start with the term 'outsider'."

Sha Ruijin closed his eyes.

"That's what they call it internally. Local officials are in the limelight, but the real coordinators are outside the system. Drivers, service center staff, and frontline coordinators are all just messengers."

"Frontier Qin?"

Sha Ruijin nodded.

"I've only heard of this abbreviation. There's also Qingtaiheng."

Tian Guofu wrote down the two words, pressing his pen down heavily.

Twenty minutes later.

Special Case Office of Handong Provincial Department.

Lu Yike stood in front of the main table, her dark suit buttoned up to the top, her hair tied up tightly, and the key at her collar was covered by the fabric.

On the screen, Qi Tongwei was wearing a dark coat, his left arm was slinged across his chest, and his right hand was resting on the edge of the bed.

When the red memo book arrives, Lu Yike can first check the seal and then verify Tian Guofu's signature.

She put on white gloves and placed the booklet under the lamp.

"Chief Qi, the evidence is complete."

Qi Tongwei looked at the screen.

"Take photos of each page, read each page, and include the original words in the book."

Lu Yike turned to the first page.

The paper was yellowed, the ink was of varying shades, many words were covered with pencil, and there were small red checkmarks next to them.

"Qin Qianyan, 8 PM, side entrance of the Retired Cadres Service Center."

The recorder's pen immediately followed.

Lu Yike turned to the second page.

"Qingtaiheng, arrive in Handong, accommodation will be arranged separately."

She paused for a moment and took another picture of those three words.

On the screen, Qi Tongwei tapped on the bedside table.

笃.

"Highlighted".

Lu Yike continued flipping through the pages.

"After the March 3rd meeting, the name Qin Kewen will continue to be used."

In the task force room, several people looked up.

The driver mentioned this, that it was on the old phone, and that the Haizhou fragments also matched.

Now it has reappeared in my father-in-law's memo book.

Lu Yike's voice remained steady.

"A separate note on the same page states that the Qingdao-Taiwanese version remains unchanged, and Qin Qianqian relayed the message."

Qi Tongwei's gaze hardened.

"Take a clear picture."

Lu Yike pushed that page under the light.

White light shone on the paper, and the red checkmark and pencil writing entered the frame together.

The abbreviations become more frequent towards the end of the booklet.

Frontier Qin.

Qingtaiheng.

Post-March 3rd meeting scheduling.

The person in charge of contacting Haizhou withdrew from the scene.

Each line is short, yet it makes your back stiff.

Lu Yike turned to a page in the book.

A small work schedule was pasted on the insert, with the date March 3, 1998 written at the top.

Her finger hovered over the edge of the paper, not falling for a long time.

Qi Tongwei looked up.

"Director Lu?"

Lu Yike stared at the corner.

That column had a name she had seen since she was a child.

Lu Zhengping.

Next to the name, there is a red asterisk.

The description column for the asterisk has only five words.

The case has been deterred and the case has been withdrawn.

Lu Yike's eyes immediately reddened.

She didn't cry; she just pressed her gloves to the edge of the table and kept her breathing very low.

"Director Qi, my father's name is here."

Qi Tongwei on the screen sat up a little straighter.

His hospital gown collar was covered by his coat; he looked unwell, but his eyes were as steady as nails.

"Read the whole thing."

Lu Yike pushed that page under the lamp.

"Lu Zhengping, Haizhou Court, has been deterred and the case file has been withdrawn. Marked with an asterisk, follow up after the meeting."

No one spoke in the task force room.

Qi Tongwei's right knuckles rested on the bedside table.

笃.

Tian Guofu's voice came from the parallel line.

"The Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection has filed a report, and Comrade Lu Yike may temporarily leave his post for verification."

Lu Yike looked up.

"Secretary Tian, ​​I can still continue."

"If you can continue, the case can continue."

Qi Tongwei took over the conversation.

"But when others ask Lu Zhengping this question, they can't get the original meaning out of him."

Lu Yike looked down at the red asterisk.

She had seen her father write judgments, wipe his glasses, and cook noodles for her in the old kitchen.

But she had never seen her father and those five words together.

Qi Tongwei looked at her, his voice low.

"Director Lu, seal the booklet and keep the copies on file. Special approval granted for investigation involving terrorism. I have signed."

Lu Yike finished photographing that page and closed the red booklet.

She took off her white gloves, placed them in the evidence tray, and turned to pick up her coat.

Qi Tongwei tapped the bedside table one last time.

笃.

"Go home and ask your father for an explanation."

……

It's 11:30 p.m.

Lu Yike came out of the underground parking garage of the provincial government building, and drove towards the old city with her car headlights shining on the empty road.

She wore a dark suit jacket with the buttons neatly fastened, her hair was tied up, and there was a black document bag on the passenger seat.

There was only one photocopy in the bag.

That page in the red memo booklet.

March 3, 1998.

Lu Zhengping, Haizhou Court, has already deterred the withdrawal of the case file; follow-up will be conducted after the meeting.

The lights were still on in the Lu family's living room.

When Lu Zhengping opened the door, he was wearing an old gray sweater, glasses were perched on his nose, and he was holding a half-full cup of tea.

"So late?"

"hear a case."

Lu Yike changed her shoes but didn't sit down.

She walked to the tea table, opened the file folder, and took out the photocopy.

Snapped.

The paper made a crisp sound as it pressed against the glass of the tea table.

Lu Zhengping looked down.

The water in the teacup spilled out and splashed onto the web of his hand, but he didn't wipe it off.

He recognized those words.

He recognized that red asterisk.