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

"I wanted to fight, but Cui Ying stopped me," Chen Ping said truthfully.

Upon hearing the name Cui Ying, Su Meng suddenly raised her head and looked at Chen Ping.

"She came last night too?" Su Meng was a little surprised.

Chen Ping simply nodded without saying a word.

Su Meng lowered her head slowly, looking somewhat forlorn. She hadn't expected that Chen Ping and Cui Ying had come together last night.

"If it weren't for me, we wouldn't have gotten into all this trouble over the funding."

Seeing Su Meng's expression, Chen Ping quickly changed the subject.

After hearing this, Su Meng looked up at him again and stared at him for several seconds.

He then walked up to Chen Ping, bent down, and looked into his eyes.

"Chen Ping, the allocation of funds isn't because of you, it's because the people of Siping Township need that money. Don't take on everything yourself."

Su Meng's tone was very serious.

Chen Ping looked up at Su Meng.

Seeing that Su Meng's bathrobe collar was slightly open, he quickly moved his gaze upwards to look at her face.

Perhaps it was because of the alcohol and the morning shower, but Su Meng's face was flushed and she looked very beautiful.

"So what are you planning to do next?" Chen Ping asked.

Since Qi Guofu failed this time, there will definitely be a next time.

It's not the theft itself that's scary, but the fact that Qi Guofu has his eye on Su Meng. It's likely that her future work will be very difficult.

Su Meng straightened up and pulled the collar of her bathrobe tighter.

I walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.

She looked out the window, the sunlight shining on her face. Her face, without makeup, looked younger than usual, but also more fragile.

"I don't know. Once Qi Guofu has made up his mind, he won't give up easily. Xu Wenshan is also pushing me from behind, so there aren't many people in the bureau on my side right now."

At worst, I can quit this deputy director position and go back to being a doctor. Those eight years at medical school weren't for nothing.

Su Meng chuckled as she spoke, but the smile was faint and carried a hint of self-deprecation.

Chen Ping looked at her, wanting to say something, but swallowed the words back.

He meant to say, "If you want to be a doctor, where will you go? The People's Hospital won't hire you. Su Wenzong is there, and the relationship between you and your father is also very delicate now."

But those words were too hurtful to say, so he swallowed them back.

Su Meng stood up, glanced at Chen Ping, and hesitated for a moment.

"I need to change my clothes."

Chen Ping paused for a moment, stood up, walked to the door, opened it, went out, and closed the door behind him.

The corridor was quiet; the carpet absorbed all the sound, and the wall lamps were on, casting a dim, yellowish glow.

He leaned against the wall by the door, his hands in his pockets, head down, looking at the tips of his shoes.

Su Meng stood inside, holding clothes in her hand, without moving.

She stared at the closed door for several seconds, and something in her eyes dimmed—not extinguished, but dimmed, like a lamp whose brightness had been turned down.

She took a deep breath, took off her bathrobe, draped it at the foot of the bed, and began to change her clothes.

The movements were neither fast nor slow, just like usual.

Her words just now were not meant to make Chen Ping leave.

Even if Chen Ping hadn't left, she would have changed her clothes in front of him.

After so many years of marriage, they are already intimately familiar with each other's bodies.

Although they were divorced, Su Meng did not mind Chen Ping looking at her.

But Chen Ping left, and he left very decisively.

The door opened.

Su Meng came out wearing a dark suit, her hair was combed and dried with a hairdryer, and she was draped over her shoulders.

She had light makeup on, and looked much more energetic than when she first woke up.

She was carrying a bag containing yesterday's trench coat, which was neatly folded.

"Let's go," Su Meng said.

The two stepped out of the hotel, the sun shining warmly on them.

The wind was much weaker than yesterday, and most of the sycamore leaves on the roadside had fallen, leaving only a few yellow ones hanging on the branches, swaying precariously.

Chen Ping took out his car key and pressed it; the lights of the white Porsche flashed twice.

Su Meng glanced at the car, said nothing, opened the passenger door and got in. Chen Ping got into the driver's seat, started the car, and the car slowly drove away.

There weren't many cars on the road, and neither of them spoke.

Chen Ping looked at the road ahead, while Su Meng looked out the window.

As Chen Ping passed the intersection, he glanced at her. She was looking out the window, seemingly at something, her profile shining brightly in the sunlight.

When he arrived at the apartment building, Chen Ping parked the car and turned off the engine.

There was a brief silence in the car, followed by the sound of the seatbelt buckle popping open.

Su Meng unbuckled her seatbelt, but didn't get out of the car immediately. She sat in her seat, placed her hands on her knees, and looked at the windshield in front of her.

"Would you like to come up and sit for a while?" Su Meng asked, as if she had mustered up her courage.

Chen Ping gripped the steering wheel, his fingers paused on it for a moment, and then he released them.

He shook his head.

"No, Cui Ying is waiting to use the car."

Su Meng glanced at him, smiled, nodded, opened the car door, and got out.

She stood beside the car, bent down and glanced at Chen Ping inside, "Be careful."

After saying that, without waiting for Chen Ping's reply, Su Meng straightened up, closed the car door, and turned to walk towards the building entrance.

The high heels clicked on the ground, neither too fast nor too slow.

Chen Ping sat in the car and watched her leave.

Su Meng's back was clad in a dark suit, her back straight, her steps steady, just like usual, showing no signs of being drunk last night.

Su Meng stopped at the entrance of the building, swiped her card, the door opened, she walked in, and the door closed.

Su Meng's figure disappeared behind the door. Chen Ping sat in the car, staring at the closed door for several seconds before starting the car.

The white Porsche drove out of the residential area and merged into the traffic.

Su Meng did not go upstairs, but stood in the lobby of the building, watching Chen Ping drive away through the glass of the building door.

Only after the car drove out of the residential area did Su Meng turn around and walk towards the elevator.

Chen Ping gripped the Porsche's steering wheel, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, his expression flat, revealing nothing.

Throughout the journey, several images kept flashing through his mind.

The way Su Meng called his name on the hotel bed, the collarbone exposed at the neckline of her bathrobe, and the seemingly casual tone in her voice when she asked, "Want to come up and sit for a bit?"

He stepped on the gas, the car lurched forward, then slowed down and continued driving slowly.

Although Su Meng tried her best to hide it, Chen Ping could still sense that Su Meng still had feelings for him.

But what about Cui Ying...?

Chen Ping shook his head vigorously, trying to shake Su Meng's image out of his mind.

But then Cui Ying appeared. He remembered that when Cui Ying said last night, "You don't need to explain, I'm not angry," her expression wasn't that she wasn't angry, but rather that she understood him, but that didn't mean she was happy.

He recalled the way she placed the keys on the bedside table when she said, "I'll leave the car for you." It was decisive and without hesitation, but it was too decisive, so decisive that it didn't seem like she really didn't care.

Chen Ping was very clear about Cui Ying's feelings for him, because Cui Ying never hid them.

But Chen Ping knew that he had neither the ability nor the courage to accept Cui Ying's feelings.

He drove the car into Cui Ying's residential area, parked it in front of the red brick villa, and turned off the engine.

Chen Ping sat in the car, not getting out immediately, because he didn't know if Cui Ying would question him, nor did he know how to face the questions from Cui Ying's parents.