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

Even Chen Yang, who works in Beijing, was not able to attend.

At such a crucial yet frustrating moment in his life, he saw this person, who came from a humble background but was more outstanding than him, chatting and laughing with his teachers, looking completely at ease.

He didn't want to endure it any longer.

He felt that he no longer needed to tolerate such a sycophantic nobody.

At this moment, Qi Tongwei was nothing more than an insignificant soldier under his father-in-law's command, an uninvited guest who shamelessly fawned over him.

I want to expose his pretense in public, make him lose face, and slink away with his tail between his legs!

A surge of pent-up frustration and an urge to prove something welled up inside Hou Liangping. He chuckled, his voice no longer low, carrying a clear hint of mockery:

"Senior Qi, there's no point in pretending anymore now that we've come this far." He glanced around at the stares he was receiving, seemingly enjoying the feeling of being the center of attention. "Which of the leaders from the Economic Commission present today wasn't personally invited by my father-in-law? Surely... my father-in-law wouldn't personally invite you? Does he even know who you are?"

Qi Tongwei shook his head slightly in his heart; the timing was about right.

He wanted to tease the overly arrogant junior a bit more, to get him to spew out even more offensive remarks, and to solidify the labels of "bullying others" and "shallow and arrogant" even further.

Unexpectedly, the other party was so impatient, and things escalated to this point with just one sentence.

We can't increase the stakes any further.

If Hou Liangping had made a bigger fool of himself, the Zhong family would have been too embarrassed and would inevitably have taken their anger out on him. The current level is just right.

Anyone with eyes to see could tell that Hou Liangping was a smug and arrogant "phoenix man" who relied on his power to bully others, while Qi Tongwei, who only offered one explanation from beginning to end and maintained restraint and politeness throughout, was an innocent "white flower" who was humiliated.

He was just about to speak, to say, "I came here with Deputy Director Han Shen," to put an end to this little farce.

At the entrance of the banquet hall, a burst of hearty laughter and greetings approached from afar.

Led by Zhong Zhengguo and Han Shen, a group of people escorted a kind-faced and dignified old man into the room—the very same man who was the head of the Economic Commission.

Han Shen, with his sharp eyes, spotted Qi Tongwei standing by the table of Hou family relatives and friends. He immediately smiled and waved, his voice loud enough for half the banquet hall to hear:

"Tongwei, come here! The director just mentioned you." He turned to the chief director and Zhong Zhengguo beside him and introduced them with a smile, "Director, this is Comrade Qi Tongwei from our Industrial Policy Department, whom you just mentioned."

"What a coincidence! He and Deputy Director Zhong's son-in-law are alumni of Handong University! I thought it would be nice for the young people to get to know each other better, so I brought him along to share in the joy and broaden his horizons."

Zhong Zhengguo also waved to Hou Liangping with a big smile: "Liangping, come here too."

The director smiled as he looked at the two young men who approached. His gaze lingered on Qi Tongwei for a moment longer before he nodded approvingly. Then he smiled at Zhong Zhengguo and said, "Handong is truly a land of outstanding talents! Young Qi is an excellent talent that Handong has sent to our Economic Commission, and young Hou is an even more promising young man with a bright future. The future belongs to them. I think we old guys should make way for you young people sooner rather than later!"

Qi Tongwei smiled modestly and bowed slightly: "Director, you flatter me. We still have a lot to learn."

Hou Liangping, who was also praised as an "outstanding talent" and "young prodigy," stood in front of his father-in-law and the chief director, but his face was pale and he could no longer muster a smile.

Chapter 46 Aftermath

Who among those present wasn't a shrewd and worldly-wise person? Hou Liangping's momentary loss of composure had already been noticed.

Zhong Zhengguo remained calm and composed, maintaining the demeanor of the host, and said gently to Hou Liangping, "Alright, Liangping, go backstage and see how Xiao Ai is preparing. The distinguished guests have all arrived, and the ceremony should begin."

Hou Liangping responded with a low "Yes," and turned to walk backstage.

That once spirited and upright figure now revealed a hint of stiffness and dishevelment.

Qi Tongwei knew that this was not the time for him to show off, so he remained silent.

After the head of the department, Zhong Zhengguo, Han Shen and other leaders took their seats at the main table, he quietly greeted Han Shen, then quietly returned to the table with his colleagues from the Economic Commission, lowering his eyes and head, looking obedient as if waiting for the ceremony to begin.

The directors and bureau chiefs at the table glanced at him almost imperceptibly, exchanged a few knowing looks, and lowered their voices, creating a somewhat subtle atmosphere.

The entire wedding ceremony was streamlined and proceeded step by step under the guidance of the emcee, exuding a restrained warmth.

Upon closer inspection, however, the smug groom occasionally revealed a subtle hint of absent-mindedness, lacking genuine relaxation.

Midway through the ceremony, Zhong Zhengguo invited the head of the department to give a speech, but the head of the department smiled and waved his hand in refusal.

After the ceremony was completed and the food was served, the head chef raised his glass to toast the newlyweds and all the guests. After taking a sip, he excused himself, saying he had work to do.

The people at the main table naturally accompanied them to see them off, all the way to the hotel entrance.

The banquet dishes were not luxurious; they were mostly home-style dishes that looked a bit refined, but you could tell the chefs were exceptional once you tasted them.

Later I heard that the restaurant's head chef had specially invited his master—a retired master chef of state banquet caliber—to come out of retirement and take charge of the cooking.

After the banquet, the guests left one after another.

Zhong Zhengguo stood at the door with his newlyweds, smiling and shaking hands with each guest to say goodbye, making polite remarks such as "I haven't been able to entertain you well" and "I'm sorry for neglecting you."

When it was Qi Tongwei's turn, he sincerely praised, "The dishes today are absolutely delicious. I wonder which master chef they invited? When I get married in the future, I'd like to shamelessly ask Senior Brother Han for help and see if I can get that chef to come."

Zhong Zhengguo and Han Shen both laughed upon hearing this, saying repeatedly, "Well said, well said! The young man has good taste!"

---

After seeing off the last guest, the hotel entrance returned to tranquility.

Zhong Zhengguo's perfect smile remained unchanged as he turned to the newlyweds who were accompanying him and said gently, "Come in with me."

He led the two into a small, empty lounge and closed the door behind him.

The indoor lighting is soft.

Zhong Zhengguo walked to the window, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, lit one, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled.

The bluish-white smoke rose in wisps in the quiet space, blurring the expression on his face.

He was already fully aware of the minor incident before the ceremony, and every event that happened at his daughter's wedding was under his conscious or unconscious scrutiny.

Hou Liangping's Adam's apple bobbed as he broke the silence, his voice urgent and apologetic: "Dad, I..."

Zhong Zhengguo raised the hand holding the cigarette and stopped him.

He didn't look at Hou Liangping, but turned to his daughter, his tone as calm as if he were asking about the weather: "Xiao Ai, did you and Liangping, this senior Qi, Qi Tongwei, have any conflicts or grudges with each other in school before?"

Zhong Xiaoai was puzzled by her father's sudden seriousness and private conversation, and was even more confused by what he said: "A contradiction? No. Senior Qi is a few years ahead of us, and he even led our research group when he was in graduate school. He's always taken good care of us juniors. Liangping, right?" She subconsciously looked at her husband, seeking confirmation.

Hou Liangping felt a lump in his throat.

He couldn't very well reveal the dirty secret he had made in Handong—his attempt to help Cai Chenggong "buy" inside information about Qi Tongwei with money.

He wanted to make up a few things about other matters, but his wife had already said that she had "always taken good care of him." More importantly, under Zhong Zhengguo's calm yet all-seeing gaze, he simply didn't have the courage to lie to her face.

He always felt a little intimidated when he met his father-in-law.

He could only grit his teeth and force himself to say, "No... no. But Dad, about today's matter..."

Zhong Zhengguo interrupted him again, his tone still unreadable: "Okay, I understand."

He stubbed out his cigarette, which he had only taken a few puffs of, in the ashtray, picked up his coat from the back of the chair, and put it on deftly.

"You two should live your lives well." He said this, his gaze lingering for a moment on his daughter's worried face, then sweeping over his son-in-law's undisguised panic.

Without saying another word, he turned around, opened the door, and left without looking back.

The sound of footsteps gradually faded into the empty corridor.

Zhong Xiaoai was somewhat bewildered by her father's sudden action.

She prepared backstage, and throughout the subsequent ceremony, toasts, and meals, no one mentioned the small confrontation at the door to her.

The fact that her father specifically mentioned "Qi Tongwei" at this moment clearly indicated that something had happened that she was unaware of.

“Liangping,” she turned around, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, “what exactly happened? Why did Dad suddenly ask about Senior Qi?”

Hou Liangping's face flushed red and then turned pale. He was filled with resentment, but he knew he couldn't hide it, so he simply recounted how he had "invited" Qi Tongwei to leave his seat before the ceremony.

Upon hearing this, Zhong Xiaoai's face first showed astonishment, then surged with anger: "Hou Liangping! Today's occasion is hosted by my father and our Zhong family! How could you not even understand the situation before trying to drive away my father's colleagues?"

"He...wasn't he sitting at the table with my relatives and friends at the time?" Hou Liangping still tried to defend himself.

"You can't just kick him out like that!" Zhong Xiaoai said angrily. "Even if he sat in the wrong seat, there won't be a place for him when the banquet starts. He'll be the one who gets embarrassed! Why are you in such a hurry to stand up for yourself? What are you trying to prove?"

"I...I'm just afraid he'll succeed in his goal and use our wedding to curry favor with us!" Hou Liangping's voice rose as well.

"Does he need to?!" Zhong Xiaoai found it unbelievable. "He's Deputy Director Han's junior brother! He was brought to the wedding banquet openly and legitimately! Even if he came on his own, Hou Liangping, Senior Qi helped you a lot back in school, right? Why do you have such a strong prejudice against him?"

Hou Liangping was most afraid of his wife asking about this, so he quickly changed the subject: "Okay, okay, let's not talk about this anymore. I don't think Dad... is that angry."

These words, if left unsaid, only fueled Zhong Xiaoai's anger, her voice trembling slightly with rage:

"Not that angry? My dad is furious! What kind of person do you think my dad is? Does he think he'd bang on the table and yell like a commoner when something happens? With his workload and the things he has to deal with, if he were like that, he wouldn't be able to do anything but yell all day long!"

She stared at her husband and said, word by word, "When he encounters a stupid person doing a stupid thing, he never wastes his breath on them. He just labels that person as 'useless'."

"From now on, this person will never get any real opportunities or resources from him again. Understand?"

Cold sweat broke out on Hou Liangping's back instantly, and his voice was a little dry: "No...no way? Dad...he's family after all..."

"How could he not!" Zhong Xiaoai's eyes reddened with anger. "We just got married! And at my dad's wedding, you used his influence to drive away a guest he personally invited—even if you didn't mean it, what does that show? It shows that you act impulsively and without considering the consequences! In the future, when faced with more complex situations and greater interests, how can he dare to train you and entrust you with important matters?"

“I…I didn’t know he was invited by Dad…” Hou Liangping tried to grasp at this straw.

"That just proves you're stupid!" Zhong Xiaoai said mercilessly. "You act rashly without even finding out the basic background information. What else is that but stupidity?"

She forced herself to calm down, frowning as she pondered: "Dad just asked us specifically if we had any conflicts with Qi Tongwei... What does he mean by that? Tell me your conversation again, word for word! Don't embellish it or hide anything!"

Under his wife's sharp gaze, Hou Liangping dared not try to be clever anymore and could only recount in detail how he had started the conversation, how Qi Tongwei had responded, and how he had made sarcastic remarks.

After listening, Zhong Xiaoai's face turned even paler, and she murmured, "It's over... From beginning to end, his replies were watertight, his posture was upright, and there wasn't a single flaw. Dad asked us if we had any conflicts because he wanted to confirm whether Qi Tongwei came today with the intention of escalating the conflict and deliberately embarrassing you. Now... the answer is obviously no. The fault lies entirely with you."

Hou Liangping panicked and said urgently, "Then...then go and explain to Dad! Just say...say that Qi Tongwei and I have always been at odds, and that he did it on purpose!"

Zhong Xiaoai looked at him as if he were an idiot: "Hou Liangping, are you really stupid or just pretending? This kind of shirking of responsibility and bringing personal conflicts into the open might work on ordinary people who have no connections or ability to communicate with their superiors. But what about Qi Tongwei? He has connections with Deputy Director Han, and he might even have caught the eye of the head director! If he exposes this, how will our Zhong family face anyone?"

After being repeatedly attacked, Hou Liangping became enraged and blurted out, "Your family! Your family! You keep talking about your Zhong family! We're one family now!"

"A family?" Zhong Xiaoai sneered, her heart filled with disappointment and exhaustion. "A family wouldn't do something so stupid that would bring shame to the whole family and embarrass my father!"

The joyous red makeup of their wedding was still fresh, but in the cramped lounge, the newlyweds had the most intense argument they had ever had since they met.

---

There's nothing new under the sun, especially in places like national ministries where shrewd people congregate. Any little thing can spread and escalate at an astonishing speed.

The conflict that occurred at the wedding in the morning, which wasn't really a conflict, had become common knowledge among the middle and senior-level cadres of the Economic Commission by the afternoon.

Within a week, the entire Economic Commission building will likely be filled with this assessment: Deputy Director Zhong's son-in-law is arrogant, bullies others, and, to make matters worse... is blind to talent.

At that time, the term "phoenix man" was not yet popular, but the image that people had in mind was roughly the same.

Ruan Lingling was at home giving her final check of the luggage she had prepared for the closed-off campaign when she also heard about the turmoil through her own information channels.

While folding clothes, she couldn't help but gossip with her husband, who was a deputy director at the Ministry of Civil Affairs: "Hey, tell me, Deputy Director Zhong is such a shrewd and capable person, how come he picked out such a... tsk."