Special forces soldier demobilization: Starting from the county government compound, a meteoric rise

There was no grand scene of clinking glasses and gatherings of all sorts of dignitaries as I had imagined.

The location for this victory celebration was chosen to be both remote and peculiar. It wasn't the gilded luxury private room at the county guesthouse, nor one of the brightly lit upscale clubs in the city, but rather an inconspicuous hole-in-the-wall restaurant by the county town's moat, a place so unassuming that even its signboard looked a bit greasy.

"Boss, another bottle of Erguotou! 56 proof, please!"

Xi Wanqing's slender hand, which usually held a fountain pen and reviewed weighty documents, was now slamming heavily on the chipped wooden table, making the peanuts in the plate jump a few times.

Liu Ming sat opposite her, looking at the woman who was clearly drunk, and shook her head helplessly.

He reached out and stopped Xi Wanqing's hand from reaching for the bottle, his brow furrowing slightly: "County Chief Xi, you've had too much to drink. This is already the second bottle."

"Don't call me county magistrate!"

Xi Wanqing abruptly shook off his hand. Her usually aloof and beautiful face was now flushed, like the sunset clouds scattered on the snow, breathtakingly beautiful and alluring.

She squinted her hazy, drunken eyes, pointed at Liu Ming's nose, her usual poise and authority completely gone, replaced by a rare girlish charm and... grievance.

"Here... there is no county magistrate, no subordinates. There is only... only Xi Wanqing, and... and Liu Ming."

She slurred her words and stubbornly poured herself another full glass of baijiu, the pungent smell of alcohol filling the small private room.

"Gou Tianming is down... Wang Bancheng is arrested... the sky has finally brightened in Qingyun County... isn't this something to be happy about? Huh? You tell me... shouldn't we have a drink together?"

Liu Ming looked at her, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

He knew that she wasn't just happy.

More than anything, it was an outpouring of emotions that had been building up for far too long.

As a parachuted-in cadre on temporary assignment, a young and beautiful woman, she came alone to this poor and remote place, facing a cunning and ruthless local tyrant like Li Yuankui, and the soldiers who outwardly obeyed but inwardly defied her. The pressure she bore was unimaginable to ordinary people.

"drink."

Liu Ming stopped trying to dissuade her, and instead picked up her own cup and clinked it against hers heavily.

"Let's do this for the dawn in Qingyun County."

"Dry!"

Xi Wanqing tilted her long neck back, like a hero from Liangshan, and downed the glass of strong liquor in one gulp. The spicy liquid rolled down her throat, choking her and causing her to cough violently, tears streaming down her face.

But as he coughed, the tears flowed like a burst dam, unstoppable.

She lay on the table, her shoulders heaving violently. What started as a silent sob turned into a suppressed whimper, and finally, into a wanton wail.

That cry contained so much grievance, so much helplessness, and a deep sense of despair.

Liu Ming didn't say anything, but silently handed over a few tissues.

He knew that at that moment, she didn't need comfort, she just needed a listener.

"Liu Ming...do you know her?"

As Xi Wanqing cried, she raised her head, her teary eyes filled with a broken light.

"Everyone envies me...envies that I'm the eldest daughter of the Xi family in the capital...envies that I hold a high position at such a young age...but...but who the hell wants to be this eldest daughter?!"

She suddenly grabbed the wine glass on the table and smashed it on the ground with a loud "crack," shattering glass everywhere.

"In their eyes... I'm not a person at all! I'm just... a commodity to be sold! A tool for political marriage!"

"For the sake of the family's interests... for the sake of a so-called political alliance... they're going to marry me off to... that second young master of the Zhao family, whom I've barely even met!"

The Zhao family?

Liu Ming's eyes narrowed slightly.

The Zhao family of the capital is a truly top-tier wealthy family, a level above the Xi family. No wonder Zhao Tai dared to be so arrogant in Ningzhou before.

"I don't want to... I really don't want to..."

Xi Wanqing cried like a helpless child. She reached out and grabbed Liu Ming's sleeve haphazardly, as if it were her only lifeline in the world.

"So I ran away... I applied to take up a temporary post in this godforsaken Qingyun County... I just wanted to prove to them that I, Xi Wanqing, can make a name for myself without relying on family or marriage! I can live a wonderful life on my own!"

"But...but it's no use..."

Her voice gradually faded, filled with despair.

"With Gou Tianming's downfall... my family called me yesterday. They said... that I've made enough of a scene... it's time for me to go back... the wedding date... the wedding date has already been set..."

In the end, she could no longer hold on and collapsed limply to the ground.

Liu Ming reacted quickly and grabbed her shoulder.

Xi Wanqing leaned into his arms.

Her body was burning hot, her soft, delicate body pressed tightly against Liu Ming's firm chest, her nostrils filled with the pleasant, faint scent of tobacco and the unique aroma of a man.

This sense of security made her completely let down her guard.

She buried her face in Liu Ming's chest, her tears soaking his shirt, hot and scorching.

"Liu Ming... I don't want to get married... I really don't want to get married... Please take me away... anywhere is fine... as long as we don't go back to the capital..."

She's talking nonsense.

But each word felt like a steel needle piercing Liu Ming's heart.

He had always thought that this woman was an indestructible iceberg.

Only now did he realize that beneath that thick layer of ice lay a heart already riddled with wounds, yearning for freedom yet powerless to break free.

She won the political struggle in Qingyun County, but lost to the birth she could not choose.

This damn fate.

Liu Ming looked down at the woman in his arms, who was already drunk and unconscious, yet still clung tightly to his clothes and refused to let go.

Looking at her furrowed brows even in her sleep, and the tear that hadn't yet slid down her cheek.

His gaze gradually deepened, becoming...incredibly resolute.

An unprecedented protective instinct grew wildly in his chest, like a wildfire spreading across the land.

He slowly stretched out his hand, the hand that had once held a gun, killed people, and had just brought down a deputy county head.

At this moment, however, she became incredibly gentle.

He gently stroked Xi Wanqing's long, smooth, black hair, his movements as gentle as if he were comforting an injured kitten.

"Go to sleep."

He whispered in her ear.

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried a power capable of shaking mountains, and a promise as heavy as gold that only a special forces king could make.

"Wanqing, don't be afraid."

"With me here, no one in this world can force you to do something you don't want to do."

"The Zhao family is no good."

"The Xi family is no good."

"Even the Heavenly King himself wouldn't do."