Nominal: Starting with an entrance exam for a PhD in Economics at Peking University

Zhao Lichun and Sha Ruijin shook hands.

"Comrade Ruijin, you've worked hard," he said. "The situation in Handong isn't that complicated, but it's not that simple either. Let's communicate and discuss our ideas more."

There's nothing wrong with the wording of this sentence, but there's something in its meaning, like a rope that's neither too tight nor too loose.

Sha Ruijin grasped his hand and said calmly, "Thank you for your guidance, Elder Zhao. We will do our job diligently in Handong."

"well."

The Coaster started.

Sha Ruijin stood on the steps, watching the convoy drive away until the taillights disappeared around the corner before turning his gaze away.

Tian Guofu stood next to him.

Neither of them spoke.

After a moment, Sha Ruijin said softly, "Compile a list of who that Zhou-surname attendant has been in contact with these past few days."

"It's already being organized," Tian Guofu said.

Sha Ruijin hummed in agreement and turned to go inside.

-

At the same time, on the sixth floor of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, in the interrogation room.

This was an ordinary room, with white walls, gleaming floor tiles, and a window two meters off the ground, letting in only a sliver of pale sunlight. Two paper cups sat on the table, one near Liu Xinjian and the other in front of Hou Liangping.

Liu Xinjian sat opposite me, looking thinner than he had been two weeks ago. His cheeks were sunken, and there were dark circles under his eyes. But he was sitting fairly upright, with his hands on his knees, not slumped over.

Hou Liangping opened the documents in front of him but did not speak immediately.

He spent a full three minutes just looking at Liu Xinjian, doing nothing and saying nothing.

This is his habit. Before speaking, he uses silence to pressure the other person, wearing down any remaining hope or defensiveness in their heart before you even open your mouth.

Liu Xinjian did not avoid his gaze.

For the first three days after he arrived, Liu Xinjian would look away whenever he saw Hou Liangping.

But now, he was looking him straight in the eye.

This made Hou Liangping vaguely feel that something was wrong.

He turned to a page of materials and pushed it forward: "Comrade Liu Xinjian, this is part of the fund flow we have verified. Let's start our discussion from here today."

Liu Xinjian glanced down at the paper but didn't touch it.

"I've seen this," he said calmly, as if he were talking about someone else's business. "I acknowledge these sums of money."

Hou Liangping raised an eyebrow slightly: "Recognize what?"

"These transactions were handled by me," Liu Xinjian said. "I admit to making decisions that violated regulations and abusing my position for personal gain."

He pushed another document over, an analysis of the oil and gas group's procurement payment. "The flow of that 50 million in service fees is now clearly traced. Part of it went into the Shanshui Group's account, and the other part—"

"That part is also my responsibility," Liu Xinjian interrupted him. "I signed off on the decision at the time, so I bear the primary responsibility."

Hou Liangping stopped.

He took the document back, folded it carefully, put it aside, and looked at Liu Xinjian again.

"Comrade Liu Xinjian," his tone changed, no longer a routine formality, but with a hint of warmth, "you're a smart man. How many years have you worked at the oil and gas group? How many years were you Secretary Zhao Lichun's secretary? I know all of that."

He paused.

"That fifty million, not all of it is yours, right?"

Liu Xinjian's eyelids twitched, but he quickly regained his composure: "Director Hou, I'm just a hands-on worker, managing projects at the oil and gas group. I handle a lot of money, and some things weren't handled properly. What you've said, I'll take responsibility for."

"What you should acknowledge," Hou Liangping repeated, "and what about what you shouldn't acknowledge?"

"There's nothing I shouldn't acknowledge."

Hou Liangping opened another document, which was a chart of fund flows, densely packed with arrows, with several nodes marked "to be verified" at the end.

"Comrade Liu Xinjian," his tone softened, even bordering on gentle, "you've seen all our work in the two weeks since you came in. I'm not here to persecute you; I'm here to get to the bottom of things. If you take the blame yourself, that's your responsibility alone; but if there are others involved, and things aren't sorted out, it won't be good for anyone. You understand what I mean."

Liu Xinjian remained silent.

Hou Liangping sensed something was wrong. But he took a deep breath and continued pressing down:

"We've already uncovered some information about the upstream situation. I won't say who it is, but you know in your heart. If you speak up now, it's considered leniency for confessing; if you don't, and the higher-ups are caught, it will be seen as voluntary concealment, which is a different matter altogether."

Liu Xinjian stared at the table, his body trembling slightly.

At that very moment, there was a soft knock on the door – one light knock, two heavy knocks, and three knocks in total.

Hou Liangping frowned but ignored him.

But the person knocked again, three times in total, the rhythm a pre-arranged code signal—it was urgent.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the irritation rising within him, stood up, and said to Liu Xinjian, "Think about it, I'll be right back."

As he walked out of the interrogation room, the officer leaned over and whispered something in his ear.

Hou Liangping's expression changed.

He stared at the officer for two seconds, then lowered his voice and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Confirmed. From 1:00 AM to 1:20 AM yesterday, the entire interrogation room, including the building's surveillance system, went black. All the footage was playback from the same time yesterday. We suspect someone contacted Liu Xinjian and said something to him."

Hou Liangping stared at the floor and fell silent.

He wanted to lash out at the officer in front of him, but an immense, invisible pressure washed over him, leaving him speechless.

I never expected that even the disciplinary committee could be infiltrated.

But upon closer reflection, it makes sense.

He waved for the officers to get back to their work and returned to the interrogation room.

Liu Xinjian remained seated, picked up the paper cup, calmly took a sip of water, and put it down. He seemed more relaxed than before; the struggle of making a decision was gone.

Hou Liangping stared intently at him: "Liu Xinjian, are you playing me?"

Liu Xinjian raised his head and looked at him calmly.

Suddenly, he parted his dry, chapped lips and gave a meaningful smile.

The smile vanished almost instantly.

"Director Hou," Liu Xinjian began, his tone calm, "I've thought through what you asked earlier. Those accounts were my responsibility; it was a mistake in my decision-making, my greed. It has nothing to do with anyone else. I will cooperate with the investigation, actively return the embezzled funds, and strive for leniency."

That's just cliché.

Clean, complete, and flawless, like a pre-memorized answer key.

Hou Liangping raised his eyes and looked at him.

That door, which was just a hair's breadth away yesterday, is now shut shut again.

He stood up, walked to the door, opened the interrogation room door, and called in a staff member from the Discipline Inspection Commission: "Continue taking notes."

He came out and stood in the corridor for a while, suppressing the fire layer by layer.

He took out his phone, ready to report the situation to Tian Guofu.

As soon as the call connected, Tian Guofu's voice came from the other end.

"Ryohei."

"secretary."

"I happen to have something to tell you. Let's put things on hold with Liu Xinjian for now."

Hou Liangping paused for a second, his voice trembling with something: "Secretary, if we pause now, the outside lines could very well be cut. And—"

"I know," Tian Guofu interrupted him, his tone calm but authoritative. "Let's pause for now. Proceed with Liu Xinjian's case based on the verified parts. I have other arrangements for the rest."

"Secretary," Hou Liangping gripped his phone, his voice lowered, "someone made unauthorized contact with Liu Xinjian last night and even hacked the surveillance cameras. Our internal—"

"I know," Tian Guofu said. "Liangping, I'll handle this. You should stop for now."

There was a few seconds of silence.

Hou Liangping stared at the white wall at the end of the corridor, his hand gripping his phone tightly until his knuckles turned white.

"Okay. So, what should we do with Liu Xinjian?"

"Continue to detain him, but do not conduct a trial for the time being."

Chapter 183 Role Reversal

Gao Yuliang's office is on the fifth floor of the provincial party committee's comprehensive building.

In this building, Sha Ruijin was on the sixth floor, while Gao Yuliang and the other standing committee members were on the fifth floor. Xiao Gangyu had been here many times before and was familiar with every step and every corridor, so he didn't need to look at the path when walking.

I've just been coming less often lately.

To be precise, they have been coming to Handong less often since Sha Qitian and his two companions arrived.

He went up to the fifth floor, nodded to a secretary who was coming towards him in the corridor, stopped at the door of Gao Yuliang's office, straightened his collar, and knocked lightly twice.

"Please come in."

Upon entering, there is a small office, which is the office of Luo Xuejun, the chief secretary. Everyone who wants to see Gao Yuliang must go through him first.

Next to Luo Xuejun's desk was a door that led to Gao Yuliang's office.

Xiao Gangyu took the initiative to greet Luo Xuejun and called him by his name to show closeness: "Xuejun, busy?"

Upon seeing Xiao Gangyu enter, Luo Xuejun immediately stood up: "Director Xiao, you've arrived. The Party Secretary is waiting inside!"

After saying that, Luo Xuejun got up, knocked on the door twice, and then pushed it open: "Secretary, Director Xiao is here."

Gao Yuliang sat behind his desk, a stack of documents spread out in front of him, a pen in his hand, looking at something sideways without immediately looking up.

"Secretary Yuliang."

"Honyu is here, have a seat." Gao Yuliang put down his pen, looked up, took off his reading glasses, gently placed them on the table, and gestured with his chin towards the chair opposite him. "Sit down and let's talk."

Xiao Gangyu sat down in the chair, but didn't rush to speak. He first glanced at Luo Xuejun.

Gao Yuliang understood and waved to Luo Xuejun, "Xiao Luo, go ahead and do your work."