No. 1 Lingshan Road, Provincial Party Committee Compound. 10:30 PM.
The solemn and imposing office building was quiet at this moment, with only a few offices still lit.
The secretaries working overtime in these offices were all moving very quietly, deliberately lowering their voices, because the large office at the far east end of the fifth floor was also lit.
This was the office of Provincial Party Secretary Fang Hongda. The office was filled with smoke, the air quite stale, even with the windows open. Fang Hongda wasn't a heavy smoker, but when he was thinking, he would unconsciously smoke one cigarette after another.
In the outer room sat Guan Weiping, Deputy Director of the Provincial Party Committee Office and Fang Hongda's personal secretary. He looked worried; Fang Hongda had gone straight into his office after attending the Propaganda Department's dinner, appearing preoccupied.
Guan Weiping had been working for Fang Hongda for three years. Three years ago, Fang Hongda was parachuted from the General Office of the Central Committee to become the Party Secretary of Southeast Province. At that time, Guan Weiping was just an ordinary deputy-section-level secretary in the First Secretariat. Being chosen by Fang Hongda to be his personal secretary was like a windfall for Guan Weiping. Without any connections, he was naturally devoted to Fang Hongda. Fang Hongda was also generous in promoting him; shortly after arriving at his post, Guan Weiping was appointed as the director of the First Secretariat. Of course, this was to be expected, as the entire First Secretariat served the Provincial Party Secretary, and the Secretary's chief secretary in the First Secretariat always had absolute authority.
However, less than two years into his tenure as director, Fang Hongda promoted Guan Weiping again to the position of Deputy Director of the General Office, still in charge of the First Secretariat, thus smoothly resolving the deputy director-level issue. This made Guan Weiping feel extremely grateful, and he always remembered Fang Hongda's kindness and became even more cautious in his work.
In Guan Weiping's memory, even when Fang Hongda faced numerous difficulties at the beginning of his tenure, he rarely showed any sign of distress. Guan Weiping was very aware of the powerful background behind Secretary Fang; the Fang family was one of the top political families in all of China. The patriarch of the Fang family had served as a national leader for over thirty years, with disciples and former subordinates all over the country. Even though the patriarch had relinquished his high-ranking position a few years ago, his influence was still undeniable.
Therefore, although Fang Hongda had a difficult start in Southeast Province, he quickly gained control of the situation. Especially in the past year, Secretary Fang's prestige in Southeast Province was unparalleled. So Guan Weiping hadn't seen Fang Hongda so preoccupied in a long time.
Guan Weiping quickly reviewed the recent major tasks in his mind, confirming that there was nothing that should cause Secretary Fang such great concern.
Could it be something from above…?
Such a thought flashed through Guan Weiping's mind, but he quickly suppressed it. How could he presume to know about matters at that level? Guan Weiping hesitated for a moment, then stood up. He listened intently at the door of the inner office to make sure Fang Hongda wasn't on the phone, then gently knocked and went inside.
The smoke in the room caused Guan Weiping's brow to furrow imperceptibly. He walked to Fang Hongda's desk, picked up a teacup, poured out the now-cold tea, replaced the tea leaves, brewed a fresh cup, and gently placed it on the desk.
After quietly completing these tasks, Guan Weiping glanced at Fang Hongda, intending to advise the secretary to smoke less, but hesitated.
Just as Guan Weiping was about to leave the office, Fang Hongda exhaled deeply, stubbed out his cigarette heavily in the ashtray, and looked up, calling out to Guan Weiping:
"Weiping!"
Guan Weiping immediately stopped, turned back to the desk, and respectfully looked at Fang Hongda, awaiting his instructions.
"Go check Chen Yang's file... the one Elder Bai just took on this afternoon. Uh... it's not urgent. Just take some time in the next couple of days to look into it. Also, be careful not to draw attention to it; just inquire indirectly," Fang Hongda said in a deep voice.
"Yes, Secretary!" Guan Weiping didn't ask any more questions, readily agreeing before turning and leaving Fang Hongda's office.
After Guan Weiping left, Fang Hongda stood up and walked to the window, staring blankly at the dark night sky. Seemingly calm, his heart was in turmoil. In fact, the moment Chen Yang went on stage for the competition that afternoon, Fang Hongda had a question mark in his mind. Later, after seeing Chen Yang up close at the banquet, Fang Hongda was even more certain. If they weren't related by blood, the two couldn't possibly look so alike.
Chen Yang and a young Han Lingfei were practically identical. Han Lingfei is the eldest son of the second generation of the Han family, another prominent clan. He currently serves as the political commissar of the Beijing Garrison Command, a deputy commander of a major military region, and holds the rank of lieutenant general.
Old Master Han and Old Master Fang belonged to opposing camps in their time, and both rose to national leadership positions after the founding of the People's Republic of China. However, their differing political ideologies have led to a persistently tense relationship between the Fang and Han families. Several outstanding members of the second generation are also secretly vying for power.
Recently, it's rumored that Old Master Han's health is failing, and a special care team has been stationed at his home, ready to provide emergency care at any time. Logically, it's estimated that he only has a few months left. The Han family, presumably for this reason, has been making numerous moves recently, some of which have genuinely impacted the Fang family's interests.
Fang Hongda's first reaction upon seeing Chen Yang was that Chen Yang must be a blood relative of Han Lingfei, and possibly even his son.
This is something Fang Hongda should take seriously.
If Chen Yang is Han Lingfei's son, there's only one possibility—he's an illegitimate child. Although keeping mistresses is an open secret in this circle, and having an illegitimate child isn't considered particularly outrageous, Han Lingfei is different. He's been developing his career in the military, and the military is always sensitive about lifestyle issues. A well-handled investigation could even end Han Lingfei's career.
Therefore, if it's confirmed that Chen Yang is Han Lingfei's illegitimate son, it will still have some impact on Han Lingfei and the entire Han family. At the very least, if the Han family wants to protect Han Lingfei, they must make compromises in other areas, which would alleviate some of the pressure on the Fang family.
However, Fang Hongda hesitated for a long time. The reason was simple: Chen Yang was now Master Baiyan's newly accepted disciple, and Master Baiyan was a close friend of Fang's grandfather. If the old man found out that Fang Hongda was using his old friend's disciple to attack political opponents, he would definitely be furious. Although Fang Hongda was a provincial party secretary, he still felt a sense of dread when facing his father.
But in the end, Fang Hongda still decided to investigate Chen Yang.
People from political families are generally resilient, and Fang Hongda would never allow himself to let such a golden opportunity to strike at his opponent slip by.
Fang Hongda habitually pulled out a Panda cigarette, lit it, took a deep breath, and muttered a very awkward phrase to himself:
"I hope the final result isn't what I hope for!"
...
Fang Hongda was currently on his way to the bar, unaware that he was already on the radar of his third uncle from his previous life. Fang Hongda had mentioned it at the banquet, and Chen Yang had initially taken it to heart, but after being interrupted by Leng Junfei, he was preoccupied with asking his teacher for calligraphy and had completely forgotten about it.
Arriving at the bar before closing time, Chen Yang felt a little embarrassed to see the boss, Zhou Weiqiang, because he had taken too many days off recently. However, Old Zhou was very understanding and showed no displeasure, chatting with Chen Yang for a while before letting Su He leave early.
On the way back to school, Su He, usually quiet and reserved, became much more lively. Usually, Chen Yang did most of the talking, while Su He listened quietly with a smile. Tonight, however, Su He talked incessantly, and Chen Yang became the listener.
This was all because of the afternoon's competition. Su He herself only won a silver medal, which didn't excite her much. It was Chen Yang who won the gold medal, and even performed brilliantly in the final tiebreaker, successfully defeating Yan Huiming and becoming Master Bai Yan's last disciple. This made Su He incredibly happy.
What was Master Bai Yan's status in the national calligraphy and painting world? An absolute titan! Chen Yang had actually become his disciple? Su He still felt a sense of unreality.
"Chen Yang, wait for me downstairs for a bit, okay? I'll go upstairs and get your prize money for you! I'm really a little worried about leaving so much money with me." Su He tilted her head slightly, looking up at Chen Yang, her youthful ponytail trembling gently, making her look playful and cute.
The prize money for this competition was quite high. Qiankun Group, being wealthy and generous, always offered substantial sums. The gold prize was 10,000 yuan after tax, the silver prize was 5,000 yuan, and the bronze prize was 3,000 yuan. Chen Yang had to attend a banquet, so after receiving his prize money, he handed it directly to Su He.
"Why are you keeping this? You can keep it for yourself!" Chen Yang said nonchalantly.
"That won't do!" Su He stopped and looked at Chen Yang seriously. "How can I just take your money? What kind of person would I be?"
Chen Yang looked at the serious-faced Su He with a wry smile, affectionately patted her ponytail, and said with a wry smile:
"Fine, fine! Give it to me! Little girl, if you don't leave soon, the dormitory will close! Do you want to climb over the iron gate again?"
Su He stuck out her tongue, chuckled, gave a smug snort, and quickly walked ahead of Chen Yang.
Upon reaching the dormitory building, Chen Yang had just finished a cigarette when he saw Su He emerge with a black plastic bag. Chen Yang quickly tossed aside his cigarette and hurried to meet her.
"Here! Take care!" Su He smiled and handed the bag to Chen Yang, adding impatiently, "Remember to deposit it in the bank tomorrow; it's not safe to keep so much cash around."
With that, Su He turned and walked back into the dormitory building.
"Wait!" Chen Yang weighed the bag in his hand and realized something was off. He quickly opened it and, sure enough, besides a bundle of unopened ten thousand yuan, there was another stack of money, at least four or five thousand yuan.
Chen Yang held up the stack of money, looking at Su He with a half-smile, and asked:
"Tell me! What's going on here?"