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

Dong Xuexi fell into deep thought. Yes, I have nothing left to lose. In the end, what else is there to be afraid of?

With Chen Shi transferred, can Wang Zhikai take over as the head of the Education Bureau? This is what Dong Xuexi is worried about.

With Zhang Kaizhi and Gao Rong behind him, Wang Zhikai should be able to smoothly take over as the head of the Education Bureau.

After pondering for a long time, Dong Xuexi decided to take a big gamble, like buying a lottery ticket, hoping to win big with a small investment. If he won, he would have five million, completely turning his life around; if he lost, he would only lose two yuan, which would have no impact on his current life.

Dong Xuexi looked up at Lei Liangping, his gaze sharp, and said in a deep voice, "Principal Lei, is this Director Wang's intention?"

Lei Liangping nodded.

Dong Xuexi said in a low voice, "You're right. I have nothing left to lose. I'm going all out. I'll prepare the materials for my report and file a formal complaint against Chen Shi."

Lei Liangping breathed a sigh of relief and gently patted Dong Xuexi on the shoulder, as he was genuinely afraid Dong Xuexi would back down.

"Old Dong, you don't need to prepare any materials for the report, I've already prepared them for you."

Lei Liangping stood up, walked out of the private room, took his briefcase from the car, and came back.

He opened his briefcase and took out a stack of documents: "Old Dong, take these materials and organize them. Go to Mingzhou tomorrow morning. First, file a formal complaint with the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, then file a formal complaint with the County Commission for Discipline Inspection."

Dong Xuexi took the documents and looked at them carefully. There were three accusations. The first was that Chen Shi misused public funds for hedonistic purposes, spending over 500,000 yuan to build himself a KTV room. He also delayed paying teachers' performance-based salaries for two months. The second accusation was that Chen Shi instructed his associates—Yang Xiaobo, the director of the Party and Government Office, Xiao Guang, the deputy director, and his driver Yang Bin—to reimburse over 300,000 yuan in expenses in less than six months, treating the Education Bureau's public funds as his personal slush fund and squandering them recklessly.

The third point is that Chen Shi colluded with Donghai Zhencheng Group to build three key high schools, ensuring that Donghai Zhencheng Group won all three bids and receiving huge bribes in return.

Dong Xuexi put the materials away: "I'll go back and organize them now. Tomorrow morning in Mingzhou, I'll file a formal complaint against Chen Shi."

Lei Liangping was secretly delighted: "Old Dong, that's right. If I were you, I would have reported Chen Shi by my real name long ago."

The two left the restaurant and returned to the central school. Both of them lived at the school and did not bring their families.

Lei Liangping returned to his room, locked the door, checked the time (9:30 PM), took out his phone, and called Wang Zhikai.

"Old Lei, is everything settled?"

"Director Wang, it's done. The report materials have been given to Dong Xuexi. He'll go to Mingzhou tomorrow morning to the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection to file a formal complaint against Chen Shi."

"Very well, for the time being, we will not contact each other, and you should not pay any attention to Dong Xuexi."

"Director Wang, I understand."

After hanging up the phone, Lei Liangping was in a good mood. As long as Chen Shi was transferred from the Education Bureau and Wang Zhikai took over as the head, his position as deputy director would be secure.

When Dong Xuexi returned to his room, he felt something was off. He wondered what benefits he would gain from filing a formal complaint against Chen Shi.

The benefit was the promise Lei Liangping made to him. He then took out the report materials and read them carefully. None of the three points had any real evidence, so he couldn't bring down Chen Shi. Chen Shi would definitely retaliate against him.

Wang Zhikai was no match for Chen Shi. Chen Shi had Liu Youguang, Zhang Xiangdong, and an uncle who was the mayor behind him.

Wang Zhikai has no idea who is behind him, Zhang Kaizhi, or Gao Rong, or what their relationship is like.

Chen Shi's background is real, while Wang Zhikai's is fake. If you provoke Chen Shi, you will definitely be retaliated against.

Wang Zhikai can't protect himself, and he won't protect himself; he's treating himself as a pawn to be abandoned.

When Chen Shi came to the Education Bureau, he proposed rebuilding three key high schools in the county seat and closing three township high schools. This was not Chen Shi's idea, but Liu Youguang's.

The reconstruction of three key high schools has stalled, and Liu Youguang is even more anxious and upset than Chen Shi. He has offended the county party secretary, and he is sure to be dismissed from his civil service job. Even his wife will lose her teaching position.

Thinking of this, Dong Xuexi broke out in a cold sweat. He had almost fallen for Lei Liangping's trick; they had used him as a pawn.

Dong Xuexi reviewed his conversation with Lei Liangping that evening and came to a conclusion: he absolutely could not file a formal complaint against Chen Shi with the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection; doing so would be tantamount to courting death.

If I don't report Chen Shi, what should I do? I know Wang Zhikai and Lei Liangping's secret, and if I don't do what they ask, they won't let me off the hook.

Lei Liangping was his direct superior. In Laoyan Town, the emperor was far away and the mountains were high. Lei Liangping was like a local tyrant in the central school. It would be too easy for him to take revenge on him.

After much thought, by midnight, Dong Xuexi still hadn't come up with a solution. Just when he was at his wit's end, a sudden inspiration struck him. He took the materials for the report and went to find Chen Shi to report Wang Zhikai and Lei Liangping.

With this pledge of loyalty, one can cling to Chen Shi's coattails, and those who follow Chen Shi get promoted very quickly.

Now there's a problem: how do we explain the criticism we gave Chen Shi during the previous democratic life meeting?

After thinking for a moment, Dong Xuexi said that he deliberately made things difficult for Chen Shi in order to gain the trust of Wang Zhikai and Lei Liangping. It was Wang Zhikai and Lei Liangping who instigated him, and it was originally their doing.

Having figured all this out, Dong Xuexi lay in bed, unable to sleep, tossing and turning all night.

On the morning of July 8, Dong Xuexi took the earliest bus to Mingzhou.

He was afraid that Lei Liangping was secretly following him, so he did it for Lei Liangping's benefit. After arriving in Mingzhou, he took a bus back to Chunyang.

Upon arriving in Chunyang, Dong Xuexi returned home. The house had been uninhabited for a long time, and the living room was covered in dust. Huang Feng'e wanted to rent out the house, but Dong Xuexi disagreed.

His reason was that he wanted to return to Chunyang so he could have a place to stay.

The house is their home; if they rent it out, they lose their home.

At 10 p.m., Dong Xuexi called Chen Shi.

Chen Shi and Xu Pingan went out to eat. Just as they got home, the phone rang. Seeing that it was an unknown number, he hung up immediately.

Dong Xuexi waited for ten minutes and then called again. Chen Shi picked up the phone and saw that it was the same unfamiliar number that had called before. He answered it.

"Feed"

Upon hearing Chen Shi's voice, Dong Xuexi's heart raced, but he steadied himself and said, "Director Chen, this is Dong Xuexi."

Chen Shi said irritably, "What's wrong with calling me so late?"

"Director Chen, someone wants me to file a formal complaint against you with the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection. It's a serious matter. Could you please come to my home so I can give you a detailed report? My home is in a secluded spot where no one will be able to see us."

Chen Shi asked, "Are you in Chunyang?"

"Yes, I arrived this afternoon."

Chen Shi thought about it for a moment and realized that going to Dong Xuexi's house was not a good idea. What if Dong Xuexi was dissatisfied with him and deliberately tricked him into going to his house to take advantage of him? He would be in a passive position.

Dong Xuexi had a criminal record for physically assaulting Guan Ping last time.

"Dong Xuexi, are you afraid of being seen? I'll send you an address, come over."

Dong Xuexi quickly agreed.