NOVEL NEXT Chapter 338: 338 Silently
Qian Peng, this guy, studied Public Affairs Management. His major was quite good, and his academic performance was impressive.
But he was really hopeless when it came to love, and he knew too much about his girlfriend's death. As a college student, he even seemed to have a sense of justice in his bones, feeling compelled to pursue the real murderer, uncover the truth, vindicate his girlfriend, and provide legal justice to her parents back in her hometown.
That was his initial attitude.
But after he accompanied his girlfriend's body to the funeral home and was about to return to university, plainclothes officers started following him. He confronted them, "Why are you following me? I'm not a criminal. I'm a victim too. You are infringing on my rights."
The plainclothes officers explained, "Cut the talk. We are here to protect you because the latest analysis suggests your girlfriend might have been killed out of revenge, given the many boys chasing after her. You're likely targeted out of jealousy. We are genuinely considering your rights. Isn't this for your own good?"
Qian Peng was instantly silenced.
Back at school, he dared not make any fuss because the plainclothes officers again warned him that his girlfriend's death was disgraceful. Publicizing it would tarnish her reputation and disrespect the deceased. Understand?
With that, Qian Peng backed down.
The next morning, the university president found him, already aware of his girlfriend's tragic fate, but promised to keep it confidential. He urged Qian Peng not to publicize it nor make malicious speculations, otherwise, his prospects as an excellent student and vice-chair could be jeopardized and he might not graduate.
Damn it, Qian Peng felt suppressed again. Studying for four years and not graduating would be worse than death.
The next afternoon, the university president accompanied a deputy director in charge of the matter to meet Qian Peng at an upscale teahouse outside the school.
The deputy director laid out the entire truth without evasion. Qian Peng was devastated, unable to believe his girlfriend was involved in such activities and that her death was an accidental manslaughter without any intent to kill.
However, after a moment of calm, Qian Peng requested to meet the suspect, hoping for a fair judgment from the law and a legal compensation for his girlfriend. He had done the calculations; at least 1.5 million in compensation, and the person responsible must serve jail time.
This young simpleton, you'd call him naive, yet he knew a bit of something. Say he's knowledgeable; still, he was a fool for love, prone to emotional turmoil.
When an offer of 5 million in compensation for his girlfriend and various other conditions were laid out, Qian Peng was silenced again.
By the way, Zhang Hongyang promised that as long as Qian Peng kept quiet and agreed with the accident story, he would top this year's City Organization Department's selection and be assigned to Shadong County, the most promising county in Yangzhou, as the secretary to the county head. Additionally, as compensation for his emotional distress, he would receive 1 million, essentially hush money. The main goal was: a student in public relations, becoming a secretary to a county head, needed to be sensible and tactful for a promising future.
Damn, Qian Peng, hailing from an ordinary family with parents who were merely fruit vendors, faced with such conditions, all his convictions and pursuits appeared utterly pale and he surrendered.
And swiftly, he learned to be deceitful. While accompanying his girlfriend's parents and younger brother to the funeral home, he wept profusely, lamenting her hard life balancing studies and tutoring English, cursing her bad luck and the unfairness of fate.
Once things settled down, hearing that County Head Zhang of Shadong personally came to the city to pick him up, letting him intern at the Shadong County Government Office, he was extremely grateful and began to express his loyalty, promising to follow the ambitious County Head Zhang and strive hard.
Zhang Hongyang secretly found it amusing, cursing this fool as being quite the character. But seeing his academic performance, this guy wasn't stupid; he had good professional competence and was a relevant major. Maybe he'd cultivate him.
Thus, under the absolute crush of power and money in Yangzhou, Zhang Hongyang resolved a human life on his hands, satisfying all parties, quietly and without fuss. It didn't affect his grand presence in Shadong County and even got him a seemingly decent secretary—Qian Peng!
And Liu Zhizhong, he couldn't have imagined Zhang Hongyang had stirred up such a mess. That night, he was simply enjoying life with Zhao Han.
The next morning, with no meetings at the City Government, Zhang Yue Xing finally had time to calmly review some trivial documents.
While she was annotating, Liu Zhizhong came in with a few other documents and took the opportunity to mention Du Yuesheng's intention to marry Lu Yuqing.
Zhang Yue Xing, her head lowered to the documents, didn't notice for a while that Liu Zhizhong was still standing outside her desk, as orderly as a primary school student.
She couldn't help but smile faintly, a blush on her face, "Why aren't you leaving? Don't you know I'm not quite myself these days?"
"Hehe, I know! Today, I've prepared a sea salt pack for you. Take it home, microwave it for three minutes, and apply it to your lower abdomen before sleep, it's very soothing and comfortable."
"Really?" Zhang Yue Xing was slightly surprised, her heart warmed, "Will it help?"
"Definitely, it's especially good for women during this time."
"Alright then, put it in my car after work."
"Sure, hehe…" Liu Zhizhong nodded with a grin, still not leaving.
"Is there something else? Something big?" Zhang Yue Xing's expression turned serious, scrutinizing him.