Sent to the countryside, I turned the health center into a top-tier hospital.

Chen Ping turned his head to the side, facing Su Meng.

The bed was large, and the two of them were separated by a blanket, not too far, not too close, just enough for them to see Su Meng's face clearly.

The bedside lamp was still on, its dim, yellowish light shining on her face and revealing the smallest details.

Her eyelashes were long and trembled slightly when she slept, like a butterfly flapping its wings.

She had drawn her eyebrows, but they had faded, and the ends were slightly broken. She used to always say that her eyebrows weren't good and that she had to draw them every day.

His nose bridge was very high, his nostrils were flaring, and his breathing was not very even.

My lips are dry, with a thin layer of skin. The lipstick has long since been rubbed off, revealing the original color underneath, which is a bit pale.

He looked at her for a long time.

He had seen this face for over a decade—in university classrooms, on his bed in a rented apartment, in his bedroom at home, and in the lobby of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

He thought he had seen enough and wouldn't feel anything anymore.

But as he looked at that face, something seemed to be welling up inside him—not hatred, not resentment, not heartache, but something indescribable, mixed together, twisted into a knot.

He reached out, his fingers hovering two or three inches from her face, without touching her.

He wanted to touch her eyebrows, to smooth out her furrowed brow, but his fingers lingered in the air for a long time before he withdrew them.

Su Meng turned over so that she was facing him.

The blanket slipped down, revealing her shoulders.

Her hand emerged from under the covers and rested on his body, on his side, light as a leaf falling on water.

Her lips moved slightly, and she mumbled two words.

"Chen Ping."

The sound was very soft, almost inaudible, but every syllable was clear.

Just like before, just like when I called his name every day back then.

Chen Ping's body stiffened for a moment, then he didn't move.

Su Meng didn't wake up. After turning over, she sank back down, her breathing becoming deep and even again.

But she didn't remove her hand; it remained on his body, her fingers slightly curled, as if she were holding onto something and wouldn't let go.

Chen Ping lay there, motionless.

Something was burning in his chest, so hot that he wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to hide.

He wanted to turn over, get out of bed, and leave the room, but his legs wouldn't obey him, his arms wouldn't obey him, and he felt like he was nailed to the mattress.

He closed his eyes, and all sorts of random thoughts swirled in his mind: Su Meng in her school uniform, Su Meng burning porridge in the kitchen, Su Meng saying "take care" at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau.

The things were all mixed together, spinning and spinning, then slowly slowed down and dispersed.

Chen Ping didn't know when he fell asleep.

I was woken up by the sound of running water in the morning.

It wasn't the sound of a faucet, but the sound of a showerhead, a muffled gurgling sound coming through the wall.

Chen Ping opened his eyes. The light on the ceiling was still on, its white light blinding him, and he squinted.

The blankets were neatly folded, the pillows were properly arranged, and Su Meng was not in bed.

He was still wearing yesterday's clothes, all wrinkled, with a gray stain on his trouser leg that he didn't know when he had rubbed them on.

Chen Ping sat up, rubbed his eyes, and heard the sound of water coming from the bathroom.

The bathroom door was closed, but it wasn't a solid wood door; it was a semi-transparent frosted glass sliding door that couldn't be closed tightly, leaving a gap at the top.

The light shone through from inside, white and hazy. The moisture covered the glass with a layer of fog, but the fog was not thick, and the figures inside were faintly visible.

Chen Ping glanced at it only once before turning his head away.

He stood up, walked to the bedside table, picked up the bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and took a big gulp.

The water was cold, chilling him from his throat all the way down to his stomach, making him shiver.

He took another swig, put the bottle on the bedside table, stood by the window with his back to the bathroom, and looked out the window.

The curtains weren't fully drawn, and it was already daylight outside. The sun was out, shining on the glass curtain wall of the building across the street, reflecting light so brightly it was blinding.

The sound of water stopped.

A few minutes later, the door opened, and hot air rushed out, carrying the scent of shower gel.

Su Meng came out wearing a white bathrobe with a belt tied around her waist. Her hair was wet and draped over her shoulders, with water droplets dripping down her hair. The collar of the bathrobe was slightly open, revealing the lines of her collarbone.

Her face was washed, without makeup, fair and clean. The dark circles under her eyes were a bit darker than yesterday, from a hangover.

He saw Chen Ping standing with his back to him, looking outside.

Su Meng didn't say anything, walked to the bedside and sat down, drying her hair with a towel.

Chen Ping turned around, glanced at her, and then looked away.

He leaned against the windowsill, his hands in his pockets, looking somewhat lost.

"How much did you drink last night?" Chen Ping asked.

Chen Ping's tone was flat, without questioning or concern, as if it were just a casual question.

Su Meng paused in drying her hair. "I don't remember. I drank a mix of white and red liquor, and then I blacked out."

She placed the towel on the bedside table, looked up at Chen Ping, and said, "Thank you. If it weren't for you last night, I don't know what would have happened."

Although Su Meng was drunk, the moment she opened her eyes in the morning and saw Chen Ping, she could recall what had happened last night.

Chen Ping did not respond.

He looked out the window at the building, at the reflective glass curtain wall, and stared for several seconds before speaking, "Did Qi Guofu force you to drink it?"

Su Meng shook her head. "Not really. It was just a few colleagues having dinner and drinks together, including Xu Wenshan, who's always been against me."

We were just chatting casually when the conversation drifted to the topic of funding for the health center. Qi Guofu said that I had made the decision on my own and that there were procedural issues.

I told him the program was fine, and everyone who was supposed to leave had left. He said I was too young and didn't consider the consequences of my actions.

Then they urged me to drink, telling me to think things through more and ask for advice more often in the future, so I had a few more drinks.

"And then?"

"Then everyone else left, and Qi Guofu said he would take me. I got in the car and then I didn't know anything. When I woke up, you were right next to me."

She folded the towel and placed it on the bedside table, her voice lowering slightly. "He wasn't like this before. When I joined the Health Bureau, he was the deputy director. He mentored me, taught me, and helped me. But he's changed in the last few years. I don't know when he changed."

After hearing this, Chen Ping didn't know how to respond.

Men understand men best; nine and a half out of ten men can't resist the allure of a beautiful female subordinate flitting around in front of them.

The reason why some leaders don't take advantage of their beautiful female subordinates is because moral, legal, or even career-related constraints put psychological pressure on them, thus controlling their impulses.

Back then, Qi Guofu was just a deputy director, while Su Meng's father was the hospital director. She also got into the Health Bureau thanks to Xiao Lei's father, who was the vice mayor.

Qi Guofu didn't not want to do it back then, but he didn't dare to.

Now that he's become the bureau chief and Su Meng has just gotten divorced, his lustful nature has been rekindled.

"Don't assume everyone is a good person. Be wary of Qi Guofu from now on."

Chen Ping straightened up from the windowsill, walked to the bedside, and sat down in a chair.

Su Meng lowered her head and looked at the floor.

There was a water stain on the floor, a footprint I brought from the bathroom. It was wet and imprinted on the gray carpet, some dark and some light.

"You didn't hit him last night, did you?" Su Meng asked with some concern.

She wasn't afraid that Qi Guofu would be injured, but rather that Chen Ping would act impulsively and be arrested.

Regardless of the reason, assaulting a bureau chief will definitely get you arrested.