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

In the end, lust triumphed over reason, and I mustered up my courage!

Fang Hai's dormitory door opened again.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ping and the others quickly held their breath.

This time, Fang Hai came out wearing a dark jacket, his steps light, as if he were walking on cotton.

He pretended to walk around the dormitory twice, hands behind his back, head tilted back, looking up at the sky, as if he were taking a walk to digest his food.

But his hands were shaking, shaking so badly that he couldn't hide it.

He finished his second lap, stopped, and looked around again.

nobody.

Only the sound of water, gurgling and splashing, came from Chen Ping's dormitory, one sound after another, like a cat's claws scratching at his heart.

He walked to the window.

First, he turned to the side, pressed his ear against the glass, and listened for a few seconds.

Then he turned around, pressed his face against the glass, and looked inside.

The gap in the curtains wasn't big, but it was enough.

He pressed his eyes against the window, one hand bracing against the windowsill, the other hand pulling out his phone, raising it, and aiming it at the crack.

He thought nobody knew.

He thought Cui Ying was taking a bath inside.

He thought he could get the shots he wanted to take tonight.

"What are you doing!"

Chen Ping's voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet night, it was like a pebble thrown into a pond, causing ripples to spread outwards.

Fang Hai jumped up.

The phone flew out of my hand, landed on the ground with a thud, the screen flickered, and then went black.

He turned around, his face ashen, his lips trembling, his glasses askew, hanging precariously from his ear.

Chen Ping stood in front of him, less than two steps away.

Cui Ying stood behind Chen Ping, clutching the hem of her clothes, her face expressionless.

Wang Tao and Liu Wei came from both sides, each holding a mobile phone with a lit screen that flashed red light, recording video.

Fang Hai's eyes widened like copper bells, looking at this person, then at that person, and finally landing on Cui Ying.

Cui Ying was dressed neatly and her hair was dry, showing no signs of having taken a shower.

His face turned from white to red, then from red to purple, and his lips trembled several times, but he couldn't utter a single word.

The door to Chen Ping's dormitory opened.

Li Fang came out, her hair wet and draped over her shoulders, water droplets dripping down her hair.

She was wearing a shirt, buttoned up tightly, and carrying a towel as she walked out, drying her hair.

She glanced at Fang Hai, her lips twitched slightly, but she didn't say anything and stood next to Cui Ying.

The moment Fang Hai saw Li Fang, he felt as if his spine had been removed, and he shrank by half.

He realized that it wasn't Cui Ying taking a bath, but Li Fang.

Cui Ying was outside, Chen Ping was outside, everyone was outside.

This was a setup, a setup specifically designed for him.

Wang Tao moved his phone closer, almost shoving the lens into Fang Hai's face: "Section Chief Fang, what are you doing peeking through someone's window so late at night? And filming with your phone? What are you filming?"

Fang Hai took a step back and bumped into the wall; he had nowhere to retreat.

He opened his mouth, the voice seeming to be squeezed out of his throat: "I...I was taking a walk...I heard the sound of water...I thought..."

"You thought?" Liu Wei sneered. "You thought Cui Ying was taking a shower? Section Chief Fang, what a coincidence that you thought that."

Wang Tao took his phone back, flipped to the recording he had just made, and played it from the beginning.

Although the scene was dark, Fang Hai's face was clearly visible against the window, and he was pointing his phone at the seam of the curtains. It was so clear that he couldn't deny it.

"Section Chief Fang, look how clear this photo is."

Wang Tao shoved the screen in front of Fang Hai's face. "Tell me, what do you think if I post this online, or show it to the leaders of the Municipal Health Bureau?"

Fang Hai's face turned white, as white as paper.

His hands were trembling, his legs were shaking, and his lips quivered several times before he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "What...what do you want to do?"

Wang Tao and Liu Wei took a step forward, clenching their fists, their knuckles cracking.

Fang Hai shrank back, pressed himself against the wall, and raised his hands as if to block something.

His glasses were completely askew; they fell off and hung on the bridge of his nose, but he didn't bother to pick them up.

"Don't...don't hit me..." Fang Hai's voice changed, becoming high-pitched and thin, unlike that of a man.

"Would I hit you?"

Wang Tao raised his fist. "A person like you would only make my hands dirty if I hit you. I'm calling the police and letting the police station handle it."

"A grown man peeking through a young girl's window and taking pictures with his phone—you know perfectly well what crime that is."

Fang Hai's legs went weak, and he slid down the wall, squatting on the ground with his hands covering his head.

His shoulders were trembling, whether from anger or fear, it was hard to tell.

"Don't call the police...don't call the police..." His voice was muffled, coming from under his arm. "Tell me, what do you want..."

Chen Ping then spoke.

He took a step forward, squatted down, and looked at Fang Hai.

The moonlight came up at some point and shone on his face, making the gauze on his forehead shine brightly white.

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

"Section Chief Fang, the plan has been approved. The health center has the final say on the funding. You sign it, and tonight's events will be considered as if they never happened."

Fang Hai raised his head and looked at Chen Ping.

His eyes held hatred, fear, and resentment, but even more so, helplessness.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

He knew he had no choice.

"Okay... I'll sign..." His voice sounded like it came from underground.

Chen Ping stood up, took out a proposal from his pocket, and handed it over.

Fang Hai took it, his hands still trembling. He took out a pen from his pocket, turned to the last page, signed his name, and wrote the date.

The strokes are crooked and twisted, like earthworms crawling across the paper.

Chen Ping put the plan away, stood up and looked at Fang Hai: "Section Chief Fang, get some rest."

Fang Hai got up from the ground, picked up his phone, and staggered back to his dormitory while holding onto the wall.

After taking two steps, my foot slipped and I almost fell. I grabbed the wall, regained my balance, and continued walking.

The door opened, then closed again.

The lights were off, and the curtains were drawn tightly shut.

The courtyard was quiet.

The moonlight spilled onto the ground, shining white, like a layer of salt.

Wang Tao was the first to burst out laughing, so much so that he squatted down on the ground and almost dropped his phone.

Liu Wei laughed along, laughing so hard he coughed.

Li Fang leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed, shaking her head with a smile.

Cui Ying stood next to Chen Ping, her lips curled up in a high smile, her eyes bright.

"Did you see his face?" Wang Tao laughed until tears streamed down his face. "It was as white as paper, and his glasses were askew, but he didn't even think to straighten them."

"The way he was squatting on the ground just now, didn't he look like a toad that had been stepped on?" Liu Wei clutched his stomach, laughing so hard he almost choked.

"Stop talking, stop talking, my stomach hurts." Li Fang laughed so hard she bent over.

Wang Tao finished laughing, stood up, looked at Li Fang, sized her up, and chuckled twice: "But speaking of which, Fang-jie, even though you're married, your figure is really..."