Me! A high-ranking official!

"Brother, this has nothing to do with him! I already have a plan!" Zhou Qingyan's voice was somewhat urgent, clearly trying to stop him.

"Let him come here!" The man's voice grew louder, carrying a sense of oppressive power emanating from someone accustomed to being in a superior position.

Zhou Qingyan's voice also became extremely calm and forceful: "Brother! This was specifically targeting me; he's just an ordinary person who got dragged into this!"

"Qingyan!" The man's tone instantly turned stern, as if it could penetrate radio waves, carrying an undeniable pressure.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone, broken only by faint breathing.

After a moment, Zhou Qingyan let out a helpless and suppressed sigh: "Come to Courtyard No. 3, Building No. 1, first floor."

After saying that, the call was immediately disconnected.

He stood there for a long time, listening to the busy tone on his phone.

Courtyard No. 3? His mind instantly flashed back to that day in the underground parking garage—the middle-aged man with an astonishing aura who had stepped out of a luxury car from the provincial capital.

Zhou Qingyan's brother actually came all the way to this small county town!

It seems that what happened last night and the relentless pressure from the mastermind behind the scenes have made the danger of this matter far beyond Zhou Qingyan's current control. She had no choice but to use the power of her family and ask her brother to step in and resolve the issue!

He took a deep breath and quickly composed himself. Since the other party had come in person, and judging from the conversation just now, Zhou Qingyan must have told her brother everything about that absurd night between the two of them, and even the pregnancy.

The imposing brother-in-law suddenly summoned him, the "perpetrator," over. What was his purpose? Did he want to confront him, or was he planning to kill him to silence him?

But no matter what, running away won't solve the problem; you'll eventually have to face it.

He straightened his shirt, walked out of the alley, and hailed a taxi on the main street: "Driver, to No. 3 Courtyard."

Courtyard No. 3 was formerly the family compound of the old county committee and county government. It was built decades ago. Although it looks a bit old, it was built with solid materials. Inside, there are rows of spacious and bright villas and detached courtyards with excellent greenery. Now, many retired leaders still live here. It can be regarded as a symbol of power in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the county town.

A dozen minutes later, the car stopped at the entrance of Courtyard No. 3.

It was rush hour, and the courtyard was quiet with hardly anyone around. He looked at the house number and quickly found Building No. 1, a ground-floor apartment with a separate courtyard. He walked up and gently knocked on the security door.

The door was quickly opened, and Zhou Qingyan stood behind it. She wasn't wearing formal attire today, only a loose-fitting home sweater. Her face looked somewhat pale and tired. She gave him a cold look, said nothing, and turned to walk towards the living room.

He went inside, closed the door tightly behind him, and followed Zhou Qingyan into the living room.

On the leather sofa in the living room sat a middle-aged man in his early forties. He wore a well-tailored navy blue jacket, had a square face, and exuded an air of authority. At that moment, his cold eyes were fixed on him.

He stood two meters away from the sofa, meeting the other person's scrutinizing gaze without flinching. From the other person, he could clearly feel the powerful aura and oppressive presence of a high-ranking official.

"Hello, I am Zhao Jianguo," he said in a deep voice, neither humble nor arrogant.

The man nodded slightly, showing no intention of letting him sit down, and suddenly cut to the chase: "You said someone is investigating your case files? How did you know that?"

He shook his head: "A friend told me."

"Friends?" The man sneered, seemingly dissatisfied with this evasive answer, and pressed on, "Now that they're pressing you, how do you plan to resolve this?"

He frowned slightly. This question was extremely pointed. How could a lowly clerk from the countryside with no background or resources fight against the big tigers in the province?

Instead of putting on a show of strength, he looked directly at the other person and said in a deep voice, "I am just an ordinary person with limited abilities. This matter is beyond my control."

The man's face instantly darkened, his brows furrowing. He seemed completely taken aback by Zhao Jianguo's straightforward and frank answer, which rendered some of his prepared remarks useless.

"Brother, I've already said, this has nothing to do with him! This is between me and that person!" Zhou Qingyan, who was standing to the side, suddenly interjected, his voice cold as he defended him.

"Qingyan!" The man turned sharply and said in a deep voice, "Whether it has anything to do with him or not is not for you to decide! In politics, even the smallest crack can lead to a dam breaking!"

Zhou Qingyan stood to one side, biting her lip and frowning, her chest rising and falling slightly, indicating that her inner emotions were extremely turbulent.

The man turned his head, his gaze sweeping across Zhao Jianguo's face like a knife, and slowly said, "I don't care whether you intentionally tried to curry favor or it was an unintentional mistake, but the fact is, someone is targeting Qingyan, and you are the only breakthrough they can make to breach her defenses!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jianguo nodded slowly involuntarily. Although it sounded harsh, this man's insight was extremely accurate, and he was absolutely right. As long as Zhao Jianguo existed, the other party had the possibility of digging out the truth from him.

Seeing that he did not refute, the man leaned forward slightly and said in a cold tone, "Qingyan, before coming here, I had carefully considered all the consequences of this matter. Now, there are only two paths to take."

He held up one finger: "First, you marry him immediately and become husband and wife in name only. As long as you get the marriage certificate, what happens that night will be a legal relationship between a man and a woman. Even if you get pregnant, it will be perfectly legitimate! This will happen naturally and will no longer be a political stain or weakness that the other party uses to attack you."

"Brother! This is impossible!" Zhou Qingyan suddenly raised his head and shouted angrily.

The man ignored Zhou Qingyan's resistance, his gaze turning coldly to Zhao Jianguo, and slowly raised his second finger: "Besides that, the second option is to let him die!"

Upon hearing this, the temperature in the entire living room seemed to instantly drop to freezing point.

Zhao Jianguo's eyes flashed suddenly, his muscles tensed instantly, and a hint of vigilance flashed in his eyes.

Zhou Qingyan frowned and stared intently at her brother. This time, surprisingly, she didn't immediately refute him. Instead, she clenched her fists tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.

The man looked at Zhao Jianguo as if stating an extremely simple truth: "He's dead. Naturally, this matter is completely dead, and there's no one left to investigate! With no one to testify against him, even if the disciplinary inspection department gets hold of the case files, anything without confrontation and investigation by the parties involved can be manipulated into a malicious frame-up!"

"At worst, I'll just quit being the county party secretary!" Zhou Qingyan finally couldn't take it anymore, slowly shook his head and shouted loudly, his voice revealing a rare hint of loss of control.