Me! A high-ranking official!

Faced with the man's threat, he composed himself, met the man's gaze, slowly nodded, and retorted calmly, "I know my own limitations. I don't need you to remind me. I also hope that after this matter is over as soon as possible, we never have to see each other again for the rest of our lives!"

The man seemed somewhat surprised by Zhao Jianguo's attitude—not only not obsequious, but also barbed—and then gave a contemptuous sneer: "You've got guts, just as you wish!"

After saying that, the man turned around and opened the door without any hesitation, then strode away.

With a bang, the door slammed shut, leaving only Zhao Jianguo and Zhou Qingyan in the large living room.

The atmosphere suddenly became extremely strange. Zhao Jianguo looked at Zhou Qingyan sitting on the sofa, his mind in turmoil. What was going on? Only one night had passed, how could things have suddenly deteriorated to the point where they had to resort to such an absurd method to salvage the situation?

Zhou Qingyan seemed to sense his probing gaze, turned her head away in disgust, reached for a glass of cold water on the coffee table, and, trying to suppress the humiliation and irritation in her heart, gulped down a large mouthful.

However, the water had just been swallowed.

"Wow!"

Zhou Qingyan's expression suddenly changed drastically. He abruptly covered his mouth, and before he could even put down the cup, it fell onto the carpet. He stumbled to his feet, rushed to the bathroom, slammed the door open, and vomited violently over the toilet.

"Are you alright?" He instinctively walked over quickly.

Just as she reached the bathroom door, she heard Zhou Qingyan, enduring the pain of acid reflux, roar almost in despair, "Get out! Don't look at me!"

He paused, watching her trembling back due to morning sickness and extreme emotional fluctuations, sighed helplessly, and silently retreated back to the living room.

He listened to the agonizing retching sounds coming from inside, shook his head, and walked to the window to light a cigarette.

I vomited for two or three minutes before the sound of flushing water came from inside.

After a while, Zhou Qingyan washed her face with cold water and walked out of the bathroom, her face as pale as paper. She slumped weakly onto the sofa, grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth, and her once clear eyes were now bloodshot. Looking at Zhao Jianguo, her voice was hoarse and filled with deep weariness and indifference: "Since you're going to get that marriage certificate, you probably have the right to know what kind of mess you've gotten yourself into."

Zhou Qingyan gave a self-deprecating sneer and slowly said, "That person just now was my own brother, and the person who has been secretly targeting me and trying to kill me is a member of the same compound where I grew up. He... has always wanted to be with me."

He listened silently without interrupting.

"But I have no feelings for him. His ruthless nature disgusts me." Zhou Qingyan's gaze became distant and cold. "My father died early, and my mother is an extremely strong and capable woman. In her eyes and the other elders in the family, this kind of marriage between equals is the best outcome for us. But I have never agreed to it. Fortunately, I have never had any other relationships, so we have always lived in peace."

Zhou Qingyan gritted her teeth: "During my two years in the provincial capital, I became a little close to a leader because of work. That madman thought that the reason I rejected him was because I had some interaction with him. He was so angry that he bribed someone to come up with such a despicable method as putting drugs in my food!"

"He originally planned to take advantage of the drug's effects, when I was delirious, to have sex with me, film it, and then use that to pressure my mother into marrying him! But... he had everything planned, but something went wrong, and in the end..."

Zhou Qingyan glared fiercely at Zhao Jianguo, gritting her teeth as she said, "In the end, it's you, you bastard, who got the better deal!"

Hearing this, he finally connected all the causes and consequences, and felt a wave of fear. It turned out that the unexpected turn of events that night was actually a way to avoid a long-planned and vicious trap!

"He failed. After realizing the situation was out of control, he went completely mad and became a rabid dog that bites people." Zhou Qingyan continued coldly, "Later, the disciplinary committee's surprise investigation of you, that witness who suddenly appeared, was all his doing. He wanted to find something on me by following the clues from you."

"But this is Linshui County after all, not his territory. For some reason, his investigation encountered resistance and could not be carried out in depth, which gave us a chance to catch our breath and forge divorce certificates."

Zhou Qingyan took a deep breath, his eyes becoming extremely serious: "But now, he's somehow discovered a flaw, realizing he can't completely bring me down at the city and county levels. So, he's spared no expense in using the provincial level's resources, directly bypassing higher authorities to obtain the most credible evidence! He no longer cares about marrying me; he's doing everything he can to destroy me!"

"My mother is currently at a crucial stage in her promotion. I absolutely cannot allow any scandals to become ammunition for my political enemies, otherwise, my mother will be affected, and the entire family will be implicated."

He was secretly alarmed upon hearing this.

So that's how it is! Is this the kind of love-turned-hate dynamic that exists in the elite circles? If you can't have her, you'll destroy her? Just how twisted, obsessive, and obsessed is this person with Zhou Qingyan, or rather, how much do they crave to control her, to go to such lengths to destroy a family that's about to be promoted to vice-ministerial level?! And then I remember Zhou Qingyan saying that the other party encountered resistance during the investigation and couldn't delve deeper. Could it be because of the people behind Du Yu?

He hesitated for a moment, looking at the strong woman in front of him who had been forced to compromise for the sake of her family, and couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure you really want to go get the marriage certificate with me? Have you thought it through?"

Zhou Qingyan looked at him with disgust, as if he were an idiot: "Do I have any other choice? What else? Wait to die?!"

He was momentarily speechless, glancing at Zhou Qingyan's still flat stomach, swallowed hard, and asked almost involuntarily, "Then... what about the child?"

Zhou Qingyan's brows furrowed instantly, and she looked at him warily: "What do you mean by asking this?!"

He hesitated for a moment, then forced himself to ask, "Now that we're legally married, it's all right. Should we... have the baby?"

"Impossible!!!" Zhou Qingyan jumped up from the sofa like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and was furious.

He sighed inwardly. In fact, he knew subconsciously that it was impossible, but just a moment ago, when he heard about getting a marriage certificate and being legitimate, he couldn't help but have a sliver of unwarranted hope.

Although this whole affair started absurdly, and although this woman was high and mighty, she was, after all, his own flesh and blood! If only the Zhao family could have such a powerful bloodline...

But he knew that this was ultimately just wishful thinking on his part.