The moment Gu Jingchuan turned to leave, he cast a deep glance at Su Ningyue, but the young woman didn’t even lift her head.
Liu Zhenyu quickly signaled for Su Ningyue to say a few words to Gu Jingchuan. Su Ningyue was completely baffled, but constrained by her superior’s authority, she could only say to Gu Jingchuan, “Director Gu, take care.”
Gu Jingchuan nodded at Su Ningyue before getting into the car. Yang Haodong then closed the door and walked around to the driver’s seat to start the vehicle.
Watching the young woman’s figure grow smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror, Gu Jingchuan, seated in the back, withdrew his gaze. The young woman still had a nominal boyfriend for now, so he needed to make a thorough plan.
Yang Haodong, who was driving attentively up front, finally understood why the Director had insisted on coming to the tax bureau. So it turned out his interest lay elsewhere—though it seemed that young woman was quite intimidated by the Director.
After Gu Jingchuan left, Su Ningyue could no longer hold herself together. She went to ask Director Liu for leave and happened to run into Feng Mengna coquettishly clinging to him.
She quickly turned around. “Sorry, I’ll come back later.”
Feng Mengna sneered, “Stop right there. What are you running for?”
“Mengna, shut up.” Liu Zhenyu scolded her. Now that Su Ningyue was his golden goose, she couldn’t be wronged in the office. “Ningyue, did you need something from me?”
“Director, I’m feeling a bit unwell and would like to request some leave.”
Liu Zhenyu didn’t dare refuse. “Go to the hospital and get a check-up. The unit will cover it.”
Su Ningyue was a bit surprised by his attitude, as he was usually extremely stingy.
“No need. I’ll just go home and rest, that should be enough.”
Feng Mengna watched Su Ningyue’s retreating figure—always seducing men. She said to Liu Zhenyu with dissatisfaction, “Director, why are you suddenly so nice to Su Ningyue? Are you interested in her?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. She’s already taken.” Liu Zhenyu quickly stopped her. “And from now on, you need to be careful too. You can’t just cause trouble for her, or else I won’t be able to protect you either.”
Feng Mengna caught the hidden meaning and asked in a daze, “Are you saying…”
“That’s right. Director Gu has his eye on her. None of us can afford to offend him.”
Feng Mengna’s face turned pale and then red. Damn Su Ningyue, what incredible luck you’ve stumbled upon.
Back at home, Su Ningyue curled up in bed and fell asleep, until she was woken up by her phone ringing. The room was pitch dark. She sat up, turned on the bedside lamp, and picked up her phone—it was Yanyan calling.
“Hello, Yanyan.”
“Ningning, what’s wrong with your voice? You sound so weak.”
The sensitive Lin Xiyan immediately noticed something off about her best friend. “Are you on your period?”
“Yeah, I just took a nap, so my voice is a bit hoarse.”
Su Ningyue admitted it directly, got up, put on her shoes, and drank some hot water. Her abdomen immediately felt warm and cozy.
Lin Xiyan suggested, “Why don’t I come over and keep you company? I’m worried about you being alone in your rental place.”
“Yanyan, no need to come over. I’m not in pain anymore.”
The two of them lived quite far apart, and Yanyan still had an early class tomorrow. It would be too tiring for her.
Lin Xiyan confirmed repeatedly, “Really? You’re not lying to me?”
“I took the afternoon off and came home to sleep. I’m really fine now.”
Su Ningyue suddenly remembered the matter with Gu Jingchuan. “Yanyan, did you know? That man we ran into at the hotpot restaurant that day turned out to be the new leader at the Finance Bureau. He came to our unit today, and I was completely stunned at the time.”
“Ah?!”
Lin Xiyan’s surprised voice came through the phone, “Things got that dramatic?”
“Yeah, it was just that much of a coincidence.”
“Ningning, did he give you any trouble?”
Su Ningyue thought back to Gu Jingchuan’s attitude today—he had actually helped her out of a tight spot.
“No, he didn’t. He just had me pour him tea. He drank seven or eight cups in total. Turns out he likes bitter buckwheat tea too.”
Lin Xiyan once again marveled at Ningning’s innocence. A bureau chief like him had seen every fine tea there was, and the fact that he’d done her the honor of drinking that many cups—if she didn’t think he had some ulterior motive toward Ningning, she wouldn’t believe it. Still, Lin Xiyan had no intention of calling it out; it would only add to Ningning’s worries.
The two chatted for about half an hour before hanging up.
Back at the Finance Bureau, Gu Jingchuan immediately had Yang Haodong investigate Su Ningyue’s background, especially regarding her boyfriend.
Yang Haodong looked taken aback. “Bureau Chief, that girl has a boyfriend, so you…”
“They’ll break up sooner or later.”
Gu Jingchuan’s words were full of unwavering determination. Yang Haodong couldn’t help but sweat on behalf of that so-called boyfriend—daring to be a rival in love against the bureau chief was a one-way ticket to doom.
Two hours later, Yang Haodong brought back a thick stack of documents, and Gu Jingchuan began flipping through them seriously.
Su Ningyue was from a small county town under Linjiang City. Her family ran a steamed bun shop. Business had been decent in earlier years, but with the competition growing over the past two years, they could barely make ends meet. She also had a younger brother in his senior year of high school, an excellent student, and the siblings were very close.
Gu Jingchuan greedily gazed at the photos of the young girl from childhood to now—from a shy little bud into a delicate, blooming flower.
When he flipped to the back and saw the photo of the man, Gu Jingchuan’s face instantly turned dark. That face was an eyesore to him—mediocre looks, mediocre job. He wasn’t worthy of the young girl.
Gu Jingchuan tore off the last page and tossed it into the trash bin, then locked the rest of the documents away in his safe like treasure.
He admitted he was jealous, his heart sour with envy.
A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. Gu Jingchuan looked toward the entrance, composed himself, and said calmly, “Come in.”
Almost at first glance, Yang Haodong noticed the shredded paper in the trash bin—it was too conspicuous. He discreetly averted his gaze and said in a gentle tone, “Bureau Chief, the Director of the Education Bureau is here to see you.”
“Show him in.”
Yang Haodong turned and had only taken two steps when Gu Jingchuan called out, “Wait.”
“Bureau Chief, is there anything else?”
“Take the trash out with you. No—just replace the bin entirely.”
Yang Haodong knew exactly what was going on. This was the first time he’d seen the bureau chief act so childish; he really had fallen head over heels.
He swiftly picked up the trash bin and left.
“Secretary Yang, why are you carrying a trash bin? Let me take it.”
Besides him, there were four other core staff members, all answerable only to the bureau chief.
Yang Haodong declined the offer of help. This was the bureau chief’s privacy, and as his work secretary and personal secretary combined, he had to keep the bureau chief’s secrets safe.
“Secretary Yang’s acting a bit odd.”
One of them rubbed his chin in thought, while another reminded him, “Drop it. We still have a mountain of work to finish.”
Working under the Director came with a generous salary, but the workload was truly intense, and it required a certain level of resilience to pressure. The Director had exacting standards and tolerated no mistakes—otherwise, a scolding was the least you could expect.