Qi Tongwei at the start: Not relying on Liang Lu, but winning by a single move against Heaven.

When Chen Yang pushed the door open and came in, Qi Tongwei was packing his luggage.

During her years at university, she entered this door countless times, delivering meal tickets, daily necessities...

The dormitory supervisors all recognize her; they smile whenever they see her and never stop her.

She put on makeup and wore a light pink dress today, looking very feminine.

As usual, she didn't come empty-handed; she was carrying a bag of apples.

"Are you leaving already?"

She placed the apple on the table, her voice soft and somewhat forlorn.

Qi Tongwei folded a shirt and stuffed it into his bag.

"It's not decided yet, let's get started packing."

Chen Yang sat down at the writing desk, watching his busy back, and slowly spoke.

"You're just going to accept that? Go to that godforsaken place without even electricity?"

Qi Tongwei paused slightly, didn't respond, and continued packing his luggage.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Chen Yang frowned slightly and bit his lip.

"I've made up my mind. I'll go see my dad in a bit and ask him to think of a solution. Even if we can't keep you in Jingzhou, we can't let you go to Yanshan Town."

Qi Tongwei turned around and looked at her.

He had a smile on his face, a smile that was somewhat complicated.

"Chen Yang, thank you. But please don't trouble Uncle Chen any further."

Chen Yang was stunned, his face filled with disbelief.

Qi Tongwei's reaction was beyond her expectations.

She thought that Qi Tongwei, while not necessarily moved to tears, would at least be extremely grateful.

But instead of thanking him, he refused.

"What do you mean? Do you have another way out?"

Qi Tongwei put the canvas bag aside, a smile playing on his lips.

He considered using Chen Yanshi to break the deadlock, but after much deliberation, he rejected the idea.

Chen Hai and Chen Yang graduated at the same time; one was assigned to work in the capital, while the other went to work in the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Jingzhou.

As the head of the Handong Procuratorate, Chen Yanshi has exhausted his political resources.

Forcing Qi Tongwei into a position would not only fail but also draw criticism.

After all, balance is paramount in officialdom. If Chen Yanshi takes up all the available spots, what about the others?

He pulled up a chair and sat opposite Chen Yang, his face filled with gratitude and his voice calm.

"For my sake, he'd make Uncle Chen arm wrestle with Liang Qunfeng? What will everyone think of him?"

"Openly opposing the organization's decision for personal gain is disregarding the overall situation and showing a lack of understanding of the rules."

He paused slightly, his voice becoming serious.

"If you force Uncle Chen to do this, he'll become a laughingstock in the officialdom of Handong!"

Chen Yang opened his mouth, but remained silent for a long time.

She knew in her heart that Qi Tongwei was right.

After a long silence, Chen Yang looked up at Qi Tongwei, his voice trembling slightly.

"Tongwei...are you with Zhong Xiaoai?"

Qi Tongwei was taken aback, and sighed inwardly, thinking that what was coming could not be avoided.

He didn't say anything, but took out a cigarette and slowly lit it.

Seeing that he had tacitly agreed, Chen Yang continued to speak, his voice slightly choked.

"Have I been bad to you these past few years in college? Don't you understand my feelings? How could you be with her...and what am I to you then?"

Qi Tongwei took a deep drag of his cigarette, his voice slightly hoarse.

Qi Tongwei's feelings for Chen Yang are complex: a sense of indebtedness, reluctance to part, and, most of all, regret.

"Chen Yang, I understand your thoughts. But, you're going to Beijing while I'm being sent to the countryside... the gap between us is too big. I don't want to hold you back."

He paused slightly, looked up into Chen Yang's eyes, and his gaze was sincere.

"I'm sorry, I've let you down. Let's compromise and still be friends."

Chen Yang stared at him, mouth agape.

She came to save their relationship, but ended up receiving a judgment instead.

Four years! She silently gave her all for four years, and all she got in return was "Let's still be friends"?

Without any hysteria, Chen Yang remained silent, two streams of tears slowly flowing down his face.

"Qi Tongwei, you'll regret this!"

Chen Yang didn't press the matter, leaving the two of them with some dignity.

She walked out of the dormitory and closed the door casually, with little force, making a soft sound.

The soft sound struck Qi Tongwei's heart, and his shoulders trembled.

The dormitory door closed, and with it, the softest part of Qi Tongwei's heart also closed.

He sat in the chair, staring at the apple in front of him for a long time.

Four years of mutual support and companionship, how can we really just laugh it off?

But he had no choice; this path was destined to be lonely and he had to walk it alone.

……

Lu Xiaoman is an office worker in the Organization Department of Bianxi Province. This is her second year working in the border region.

She sat back down at her workstation, carrying a box of newspapers and letters.

She had to sort out the newspapers and letters from each department and deliver them there, doing this every day.

She did this job for half a year, and her movements were very nimble; it had become muscle memory.

Suddenly, she let out a soft exclamation, and the sorting work stopped.

She stared blankly at a brown paper envelope in her hand; it was a letter of self-recommendation.

She had seen countless letters in the past six months, but this was the first time she had ever received a letter of self-recommendation.

"Director Zhang, I received a letter of self-recommendation. Which department should I submit it to?"

"A cover letter? Let me see..."

Director Zhang was also taken aback. He walked over and took the kraft paper envelope.

"Sent from Handong University... by Qi Tongwei..."

He touched the thickness of the envelope; it wasn't thin, at least five or six pages of paper.

He hesitated for a moment, then muttered something under his breath.

"This is the first time I've seen a self-recommendation letter... There are people who volunteer to come to Bianxi? Shouldn't this be under the jurisdiction of the Works Department?"

He underestimated the situation as he casually opened the envelope.

But after only a couple of glances, his expression turned serious.

Qi Tongwei, male. Political affiliation: Party member.

A graduate student at Handong University of Political Science and Law, president of the student union, and ranked first in his department upon graduation...

Zhang Deming's expression grew increasingly serious, and his brows furrowed involuntarily.

He served as the office director in the Organization Department for five years.

This resume would be extremely rare in Bianxi.

He skimmed through the text and continued reading.

The next document was an application to support the border regions, written earnestly and clearly.

Finally, a copy of a recommendation letter was also attached.

The signature was prominently displayed as Gao Yuliang, the head of the Department of Political Science and Law at Han University.

After quickly glancing at the document, Zhang Deming swallowed hard and carefully put the letter back in its place.

He was already starting to regret it, regretting why he had been so impulsive as to open the letter.

He placed his self-recommendation letter on the table and looked at Lu Xiaoman.

"Take this letter to the Intellectual Property Office... If they refuse to accept it, take it back."

He paused briefly, then added another sentence.

"Don't sort the newspapers yet, make a separate trip, and make sure you don't lose any!"

Lu Xiaoman had already realized the seriousness of the problem from his expression.

She nodded, picked up the letter of recommendation from the table, and walked out.

Six days later! The bombshell that Qi Tongwei sent out—his self-recommendation letter—finally went off.

Half an hour later, Liu Deyou, the director of the Intellectual Property Affairs Department, personally reported to Minister Ma Dehua.

"Minister Ma, that's the situation. The Intellectual Property Office's opinion is to make an exception and hire him."

After reading the self-recommendation letter, Ma Dehua gently took off his reading glasses and spoke in a low voice.

"This is rare! Such a promising talent, he should at least be able to start in a prefecture-level city... and he actually volunteered to support the border regions."

"Comrade Deyou, I agree with your opinion. We can make an exception and hire him."

Liu Deyou paused for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"How should this process be handled? He's a graduate of the Department of Political Science and Law at Handong University, so he should be assigned by Handong Province... It's not in accordance with the rules for us to accept him directly."

Qi Tongwei's letter of self-recommendation did indeed cross the line.

He made a minor but significant mistake—reporting to a higher-level authority without proper authorization.

Ma Dehua nodded, pondered for a moment, and then slowly spoke.

"This matter has significant political implications. A student union president from Wuhan University voluntarily went to support the border regions... He deserves to be set an example, and could even be included in internal reports."

He paused slightly, then finally made the decision.

"The procedures still need to be followed. Here's what we'll do: send a letter to the Organization Department of Handong requesting his arrival. Since Qi Tongwei wants to come and support the border region, we'll take him from the west!"

......

Organization Department of Handong Province, Minister's Office.

Zhou Xiaochuan stared blankly at a document that had just been faxed from Bianxi Province.

The content is simple and straightforward.

Qi Tongwei volunteered to support the border region, and the Organization Department of Bianxi Province agreed to accept him and asked Handong to release him.

Zhou Xiaochuan lit a cigarette and shook his head with a wry smile.

Release him? Liang Qunfeng personally oversaw Qi Tongwei's assignment, so how could he be released?

They won't release him? How should we respond to the Organization Department of Bianxi Province? Should we say that Qi Tongwei is a key candidate for development?

Which key trainee was assigned to a remote, desolate grassroots judicial office?

Zhou Xiaochuan took a deep drag of his cigarette and rubbed his temples.

Qi Tongwei is quite a character.

This whole charade is clearly meant to sow discord between Liang Qunfeng and the Organization Department of Handong County.

He remained silent for a long time, then sighed and dialed Liang Qunfeng's number.

"Secretary Liang, I have something I'd like to report to you. Do you have time?"