The night before the college entrance exam results were released, I redeemed my Peking University ad

Huang Dafa is gone.

To be precise, they escaped.

Two henchmen supported him from both sides, and the three of them, like three stray dogs scalded by boiling water, scurried back into the private room with their tails between their legs.

The moment the door to the private room closed, Huang Dafa slid down the door and sat on the floor, his body as limp as if all his bones had been removed.

"Mr. Huang... Mr. Huang, what's wrong? Who exactly is that kid?"

"Yeah, Mr. Huang, are we just leaving like this? Should we call a few of the guys...?"

"Call me 'Mom'!"

Huang Dafa suddenly looked up, his eyes red, his voice hoarse like a broken bellows:

"Do you guys even know who that is? Ji Bai! God Ji! The superconducting industrial park is just a matter of a word from him! I'm nothing but a fart in his eyes!"

The more he spoke, the more frightened he became, and the more frightened he became, the more he trembled, his entire body of fat shaking.

"It's over...it's all over..."

"I, Huang Dafa, have been a tyrant in Fucheng for twenty years. Today, I've kicked down the King of Hell like a door god..."

The two henchmen finally realized what was happening, and their faces turned completely pale.

"Mr. Huang... what... what will happen to us?"

"How is it?"

Huang Dafa gave a bitter laugh, a smile that looked more like a grimace:

"I fucking don't know! But it's definitely over!"

What happened later was exactly as Huang Dafa had predicted.

After that night, his phone was never quiet again.

First, Director Liu called, his tone icy, drawing a clear line: "Huang Dafa, from today onwards, your affairs have nothing to do with me. Don't call me again."

Then came a city leader who simply replied with four words: "Take care of yourself."

Then, several of the company's partners sent messages overnight, requesting an emergency shareholders' meeting.

The next morning, someone from the superconducting industrial park project office called to inform him that the qualification review for the "peripheral earthwork removal project" had not been approved, and the original cooperation agreement was void.

Later, I heard that Huang Dafa's company was investigated by relevant departments for issues such as falsifying qualifications, illegal subcontracting, and historical bribery.

Three out of seven real estate projects were halted, banks withdrew loans, partners absconded, and the brothers who had followed him through thick and thin in the early years scattered one by one.

Even some of the things they did in their early years were brought up again.

The weapons and cannons of Fucheng in the past were reduced to ashes in the face of a young man’s casual “Check it out.”

And all of this happened in the time it takes to eat a meal.

Of course, this is a story.

……

Let's return our attention to the restaurant.

After Huang Dafa left, the heat in the hall only increased, and all the diners were secretly glancing at the table by the window.

Some people thought the boy looked familiar, some thought the woman was stunning, and some even secretly took photos.

Li Mei, however, was completely unaware.

She just stared blankly at the boy opposite her.

Ji Bai remained seated, calmly turning the meat on the grill, occasionally placing a piece of meat into her bowl with his chopsticks, as if the phone call and the slap in the face from earlier were nothing more than swatting a fly while eating.

But Li Mei's heart is still pounding.

She had seen the hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress trope countless times in TV dramas. Whether it was a domineering CEO rescuing the female lead or a male lead standing up for her, she used to think it was cliché and wished she could fast-forward through it.

But now that it's her turn, she understands just how deadly this move really is.

Especially when that "hero" is Ji Bai.

The boy leaned back lazily, looking up at her with a smile: "What are you standing there for? Are you stunned by my handsomeness?"

Li Mei opened her mouth, wanting to say something in rebuttal.

But what came out of his mouth was a slight nod.

"Um."

This time, it was Ji Bai's turn to be stunned.

He knew he was handsome, of course, and he was used to Li Mei's hypocrisy.

This is the first time I've heard such a straightforward "hmm".

Ji Bai smiled and silently gave Secretary Li a thumbs up!

No wonder he's the chief secretary of the Senate, this is quite a feat!

In fact, Huang Dafa had already come into the sight of Secretary Li and his group when the first waiter approached Ji Bai's table.

At that time, Secretary Li was sitting in a black van across the street, with Huang Dafa's entire information already displayed on the laptop in front of him.

Huang Dafa, nicknamed "Dafa Ge".

He had a history of involvement in organized crime and has prior convictions for intentional assault and disturbing public order.

He later cleaned up his act, ran a construction company, and amassed a fortune of over 100 million yuan.

Today, I hosted a banquet for friends in a VIP room to celebrate their company becoming one of the contractors for the peripheral engineering of the superconducting industrial park.

Related relationships: Close ties with Liu from the Municipal Housing and Construction Bureau...

Secretary Li made a judgment in less than thirty seconds.

This person is too low-level to pose a real threat to Ji Bai.

Moreover, such opportunities to show off and be humiliated are not common.

Over the years, Secretary Li has seen too many people trying to curry favor, but a villain like Huang Dafa, who is adept at hitting landmines, has superb acting skills, and even comes with his own henchmen and fine wines, is a rare find.

He made a decision immediately: put it in.

Let Huang Dafa complete his "suicidal performance" and let Ji Bai put on a perfect act in front of the ladies.

At the same time, he contacted Huang Dafa's network of connections and made preparations in advance.

That's why Director Liu from Huang Dafa's side called in "just in time" right after Ji Bai hung up.

That's why Director Liu was able to accurately report Ji Bai's location over the phone.

That's called professionalism.

This way, Ji Bai's enthusiasm wasn't dampened, and the risks were controlled to the millisecond level.

At that moment, Ji Bai turned his head and looked through the floor-to-ceiling window at the black minivan across the street.

Across the street, their eyes met briefly in the darkness.

Ji Bai raised his hand without making a sound and gave a thumbs up.

Secretary Li saw this in the car, paused for a moment, and then grinned.

He didn't know why, but being given a thumbs-up by this young man made him even happier than if he had been promoted himself.

……

After dinner.

Ji Bai and Li Mei left the restaurant and walked slowly along the river without calling a car.

A night breeze blew in from the river, carrying a damp coolness that dispelled the smoky atmosphere and tension that had filled the shop earlier.

The two walked side by side, chatting idly.

Ji Bai naturally reached out and took Li Mei's hand in his own.

Li Mei's body stiffened slightly.

But this time, she didn't pretend to pull him away, nor did she glare at him reproachfully.

She simply lowered her head, letting her long hair cover her burning cheeks, and then gently clasped the boy's hand with her fingertips.

She had long known that her little schemes would be impossible to hide from this incredibly clever kid.

If it can't be hidden, then it won't be hidden.

The two walked slowly along the riverside path, their shadows stretched long by the streetlights and overlapped.

Looking at the individual floor tiles beneath her feet, Li Mei suddenly recalled the past.

She recalled that winter in her second year of high school when she caught a cold and her voice became so hoarse that she couldn't speak. She forced herself to finish two classes before completely losing her voice.

The next morning, there was a box of throat lozenges on her desk with a note on the packaging that read, "Drink more hot water and get less angry."

There was no signature.

She recognized the characters; they were Ji Bai's.

Later, during her senior year of high school, she was working late grading papers one night when she came out of the office and noticed a figure looming at the end of the corridor.

She was startled. When she got closer, she saw Ji Bai squatting in the stairwell feeding a stray cat.

The boy looked up and saw her, scratching his head sheepishly: "This cat doesn't eat during the day, so I'm giving it a little treat."

At that moment, she suddenly realized that this rascal who slept in class every day and drew turtles on exams was actually more soft-hearted than anyone else.

Looking back now, those fragmented moments, like pebbles polished by time, are inconspicuous, yet they have long filled every corner of her heart.

Perhaps things have changed since then.

Li Mei was lost in thought when she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"uh-huh…"