The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

Qin Min was so shocked she couldn't speak. After a long while, she finally asked, "You've been transferred back to your hometown?"

Chen Shi nodded heavily, feeling as if his head weighed a ton.

The two looked at each other and remained silent for a long time before Chen Shi spoke first, explaining the whole story.

Upon hearing this, Qin Min's eyes welled up with tears, and her voice trembled with sobs: "Is there no way to salvage this?"

Chen Shi shook his head with a wry smile.

Qin Min felt completely overwhelmed and slumped into a chair, only regaining her senses after a long while.

By this time, Chen Shi had already drunk three bottles of beer.

Qin Min looked at Chen Shi's red eyes: "Stop drinking. Can't you go find the director of the Public Security Bureau and tell him that this was arranged by the leadership, and that the wrongdoer should be held accountable. Let him go find them. What kind of behavior is it to make things difficult for a newly promoted police officer like you?"

Chen Shi smiled bitterly: "You're too naive. There's no logic to this world."

"I'm just a powerless low-ranking policeman, but the department head is someone I can see whenever I want."

"Is it really beyond repair?"

Chen Shi took out the transfer order from his bag.

"The formalities have been completed. You need to report to Fushan Town within a week."

Qin Min also picked up a bottle, gulped down half of it, then choked and coughed so hard she couldn't catch her breath.

Chen Shi quickly patted her back: "If you can't drink it, then drink less."

Chen Shi asked the owner to bring two cups. The barbecue was already cooked and placed in front of them, but neither of them had any appetite.

Qin Min picked up the beer bottle and poured it into a glass, drinking one glass after another until her face turned bright red.

Chen Shi was speechless. What's going on? I came here to seek your comfort, but it feels like you're the one who needs comforting.

He picked up the meat skewer and put it in his mouth. Usually, barbecue is delicious and you can smell the aroma from afar, but now it tastes bitter.

Neither of them spoke. The two sat silently, drinking continuously until they finished a whole case of beer.

Chen Shi called out, "Boss, another case of beer, please."

"Don't drink anymore." Qin Min's head was throbbing. She stood up and said, "I'm going back. I need to get to the bank early tomorrow for the regular meeting."

Chen Shi helped Qin Min up, saying, "You're drunk. I'll take you home."

"I'm not drunk, I'm perfectly sober, I can get home by myself."

Seeing that she was like this, unable to walk steadily, Chen Shi insisted on taking Qin Min back.

They hailed a taxi parked on the side of the road and got in.

"I don't need you to take me home. I'm not drunk; I can get back by myself."

"I'll take you back," Chen Shi called out to the driver in the front seat. "Driver, to Beautiful Home."

The two remained silent throughout the journey. As soon as they arrived at Beautiful Home, the driver stopped the car, and Qin Min covered her mouth, quickly ran out of the car, went to the trash can, and vomited uncontrollably.

Chen Shi quickly stepped forward and patted Qin Min's back. Seeing that she had stopped vomiting, he took out a tissue and handed it to Qin Min to wipe her mouth.

He went to the convenience store next door, bought a bottle of water, and handed it to Qin Min.

Rinse your mouth.

After vomiting, Qin Min felt much better. Her stomach had been churning violently earlier, making her feel terrible. It was the first time she had ever been drunk.

After rinsing her mouth, Qin Min asked, "When are you planning to go back?"

"I'll mail my things back tomorrow, cancel the lease, and go back home once everything's settled."

Chen Shi gently stroked Qin Min's hair: "Don't worry, it's only 500 kilometers. Once I earn enough money, I'll buy a car, and I can come up to be with you every weekend."

Qin Min didn't speak. The two looked at each other, and Chen Shi suddenly hugged Qin Min, but Qin Min pushed him away.

"Everyone in the neighborhood knows each other. If you see something inappropriate, you should go back. I'm going back now."

Qin Min turned and walked towards the residential area. Chen Shi watched Qin Min's figure until she disappeared before he took a taxi back.

When Qin Min returned home, her parents saw that her face was flushed and asked her if she had been drinking. They offered to make her a hangover soup.

She made an excuse that she had dinner with her colleagues, had a couple of drinks, and then went back to her room, saying that nothing was wrong.

Qin Min is an only child, raised with the care of her parents, and has never experienced hardship.

She lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. The more she tried to sleep, the more awake she became, without feeling sleepy at all.

My mind is filled with the image of Chen Shi, a tall boy who is 1.8 meters tall, with two dimples when he smiles, and he is very sunny.

But he was about to leave her and be transferred back to Fushan Town, a place she and Chen Shi had visited during the summer vacation.

It was summer vacation in 2007. Five hundred kilometers. She had never felt that far before. First, she took a train to the county town, then transferred to a bus. The mountain road was rugged and it took two or three hours to get to the town. Then she walked for more than an hour along the mountain road to reach Chen Shi's house.

She thought to herself that if she were trafficked here, she would have no chance of escaping without a local to guide her.

The mountains stretch endlessly, one after another, until they disappear from sight on the horizon.

She grew up in Yizhou and was used to the prosperity of the city. She could hardly imagine that there were such poor places in Donghai Province.

Chen Shi's parents were very honest. When they saw her coming, they didn't know where to put their hands and just kept smiling foolishly.

They slaughtered chickens and sheep to entertain her; it was the first time, apart from her parents, that she felt so valued.

When the villagers saw her arrive, they looked at her as if she were a fairy, surrounding her as if she were a work of art, whispering and pointing among themselves.

Chen Shi's family lived in three large brick houses, two of which were bedrooms. He had an older sister and an older brother.

My older sister is already married and has moved out. My older brother just got married not long ago. There are two rooms in the house. His parents live in one room, and his brother and sister-in-law live in the other. They can only live on the second floor, which is made of wooden planks, and they have to climb up the ladder.

Qin Min was too scared to climb up, so Chen Shi carried her up.

At night, mice would fight on the bed, which scared her so much that she couldn't sleep well all night.

The next day, she refused to sleep at home, so Chen Shi took her on a mountain road for more than an hour to Fushan Town, where they stayed at a hotel.

The countryside was completely different from what she had imagined. The countryside she saw on TV and in books was sweet and peaceful, but when you actually go there, you discover the hardships of rural life.

Chen Shi's home did not have running water; he had to fetch it from a place a kilometer away.

She went with Chen Shi to fetch water. Chen Shi could carry 100 jin (50 kg) of water, while she carried a teapot and walked a kilometer, which exhausted her.

The toilet was an open-air dry toilet. When I went to the toilet, I always felt like someone was watching me, and it gave me a chill down my spine.

What bothered her most was not being able to take a shower. In the hot and humid summer, she would feel uncomfortable all over and couldn't sleep at all if she didn't shower after sweating profusely.

There are no bathhouses here. If you want to take a bath, you have to wait until late at night when everyone is asleep and then sneak around.

Or you can go to the bathhouse in town to take a shower.

I thought to myself then and there that I would never come back to this place again.

I originally planned to stay for the summer vacation to experience a different kind of rural life, but after five days, I insisted on going back.

She refused Chen Shi's parents' offer to stay, and Chen Shi and his parents accompanied her to Fushan Town to take a bus.

After the start of the semester, she told Chen Shi that no matter what, she had to stay in Yizhou, the capital of Donghai Province, where there would be more opportunities.

Chen Shi shared this thought. He believed that studying was for the purpose of leaving the mountains, and there was no reason to go back. Otherwise, what would have been the point of studying hard for more than ten years?

After graduation, Chen Shi was admitted to the Provincial Public Security Department. She was so excited that she couldn't sleep all night. Her parents were also very happy when they found out and started planning a bright future for them.

But all of this turned into endless desolation when Chen Shi offended his superiors and was transferred back to his hometown.

Their family has no connections, so there's no way they can leave that place in their lifetime.

Qin Min loves Chen Shi very much, but she is not love-struck and knows how to make choices. Hesitation only leads to more trouble.

Once I figured out what I wanted, the pent-up frustration in my heart disappeared, and my pillow was already soaked with tears without me even realizing it.