The Tempting Road to Becoming an Official

According to the normal plot,

Hong Qian's surprise attack on Zhang Cheng would not be swallowed by Zhang Cheng, who would definitely engage with Hong Qian's men in a real fight.

Then there would be a large-scale bloodshed.

The city would initiate an accountability mechanism.

As the first responsible person in Changming County at the time, Li Duming would either be dismissed or demoted. Whichever it was, there was no good outcome for Li Duming.

Sun Shenru, who was on a research trip outside, would return to Changming County to take charge at the earliest opportunity.

He would successfully resolve this bloody event.

Without Li Duming's obstruction,

and with Lv Yifeng's support from the city, it was not impossible for Sun Shenru to move up a level and assume the top position after this event.

It was just a pity,

Chen Fang saw through the plan from the start.

Working together with Zhang Cheng, they set a trap within a trap.

In the end, Hong Qian lost both his wife and his soldiers, while Zhang Cheng acquired the Changxi Lanting property at a very low price, making a hefty profit.

After this farce,

another blunder immediately followed.

Jin Zhan received a call from Hong Qian claiming many people had died. He quickly blacklisted him, trying to disassociate himself from the incident, then immediately reported the "good news" to Sun Shenru.

After receiving the news, Sun Shenru was so excited that he couldn't fall asleep, laughing out loud three times before calling Lv Yifeng in the city to explain the whole situation.

With a clear intention of taking credit.

Lv Yifeng was also overjoyed upon hearing the news.

He immediately ordered the Wen'an City Public Security Bureau to dispatch overnight to Changming County for "clean-up" operations.

The city's Public Security Bureau deployed ten police cars to Changming County, but the local police were puzzled, for they had heard nothing about any bloodshed that evening.

The city bureau was not convinced.

They rushed to the sales center and Tiancheng Group's office building.

Despite the chaos,

there were no traces of bloodshed at the scene.

The city bureau returned with their heads hung in shame.

When Lv Yifeng learned of this, he was so angry he almost spat blood, and he called Sun Shenru to scold him fiercely.

Sun Shenru was also at a loss.

He quickly sought to verify the facts.

Only then did he realize that his plan had fallen through completely.

At that moment, if he had wings, he probably would have flown straight back to Changming County just to slap Jin Zhan's face.

This battle caused no earth-shattering events or cries from the spirits, and few common people even knew of it, but for Li Duming, he had narrowly survived a heart-stopping crisis.

If not for Chen Fang's early preparations,

Li Duming's tenure as County Party Secretary would have likely come to an end.

Three days later,

Sun Shenru got off the train at Wen'an City station.

Just as he walked out of the station exit, a young man approached and asked, "Excuse me, are you County Chief Sun?"

Sun Shenru did not recognize the young man in front of him and asked with a frown, "Who are you…"

"County Chief Sun, hello. I am the secretary of Vice Chairman Mei; the leader sent me to pick you up. He wants to have a talk with you."

Vice Chairman Mei?

Mei Jun!

On hearing this name, Sun Shenru was struck with a chill.

He followed the young man into a car.

The car quickly left the train station.

However, it did not head toward the city area but drove towards the increasingly remote countryside.

Sun Shenru did not ask any questions.

After driving for roughly half an hour,

the car stopped in front of a hospital.

Wen'an City's 102nd Hospital!

This hospital was famous in Wen'an City because it had another name, Wen'an City Mental Hospital.

The young man who had been there earlier hurriedly got out of the car and opened the door for Sun Shenru, saying, "County Chief Sun, our leader is waiting for you inside."

Guided by him,

Sun Shenru was taken to the hospital's garden.

In the middle of a pavilion, a middle-aged man was waiting.

Sun Shenru recognized him; it was Wen'an City's Political Consultative Conference Vice Chairman, Mei Jun.

"Vice Chairman Mei, hello,"

Sun Shenru bowed slightly, extending a greeting.

Mei Jun nodded and, pointing to the stone bench in front of him, said, "Sit down."

Mei Jun, at 58, was the Vice Chairman of the Wen'an City Political Consultative Conference. At 56, he had been transferred from his position as member of the Wen'an City Committee, Standing Committee member, and United Front Minister.

Sun Shenru had just sat down.

When Mei Jun spoke slowly, "I've heard about the incident in Changming County. It was your doing, wasn't it?"

"Vice Chairman Mei, you misunderstand. I had absolutely nothing to do with that matter."

Upon hearing this, Sun Shenru was startled and quickly retorted.

Mei Jun laughed coldly and said, "I haven't even specified the incident, yet you're claiming it wasn't your doing. Isn't this the very case of 'thou dost protest too much'?"

Sun Shenru was embarrassed.

Just as he was about to argue, Mei Jun raised his hand and said, "Alright, no need to explain. I've already inquired around. The matter with Hong Qian, it was all orchestrated by you. How does it feel now? Are you burning with rage inside?"

Since his ruse had been uncovered.

There was no longer any need for Sun Shenru to hide.

Seeing that he remained silent, Mei Jun said, "I've also learned another piece of news. The failure of Hong Qian's operation was entirely due to one person."

"Who?"

Sun Shenru asked eagerly.

Mei Jun said, "Chen Fang!"

"Chen Fang? Him? That seems unlikely."

Sun Shenru was clearly skeptical.

Mei Jun smiled and said, "Ever since my son was admitted to this hospital, I've had people keep an eye on Chen Fang. This incident was all anticipated by Chen Fang, and he was the one who tipped off Zhang Cheng."

"Damn ungrateful Chen Fang, just wait until I deal with him!"

Sun Shenru muttered to himself.

Seeing him so angry,

Mei Jun said, "We share the same goal in this matter."

"What do you mean, Vice Chairman Mei?"

"It's simple. I want to deal with Chen Fang, and so do you. In this matter, I will help you."

"How does the leader plan to help?"

Sun Shenru asked.

Mei Jun gave a slight smile and said, "I am old; the help I can offer is limited. Thus, you tell me how I can assist you. I only want one outcome: to ensure that Chen Fang never gets ahead in this lifetime."

"How has your son been doing lately?"

Sun Shenru asked with feigned concern.

Mei Jun paused, then stood up and said, "Come with me."

Under Mei Jun's lead,

the two took the elevator to the top floor of the 102 Hospital.

Then, they walked to the very end of the corridor.

At the door of the ward,

a young man was on guard.

Seeing Mei Jun approach, he promptly opened the door.

As the two walked in, the sound of singing and dancing came from inside.

What appeared before their eyes was a large glass wall.

Mei Jun said, "Rest assured, this is one-way glass. We can see inside, but they cannot see outside."

Sun Shenru looked out and saw a living room lavishly decorated, complete with a sofa and television set.

In the center of the room, Mei Shikang, wearing a patient's gown with a cloth blindfold, seemed to be playing a game of hide-and-seek.

The objects of his pursuit were four young women dressed in nurses' uniforms, some hiding behind the sofa, some next to the television; in short, their every move was in plain view from outside.

"Are you all hidden? I'm coming now,"

Mei Shikang said lewdly before plunging toward the sofa.

The first nurse didn't manage to hide in time and was immediately caught by Mei Shikang.

The nurse quickly covered her mouth with her hand as if she was trying to suppress her voice.

Mei Shikang tore off the upper buttons of the nurse's uniform and began to knead her chest, guessing as he did, "It's Lili, isn't it? It's Lili, right?"

The girl in front of the television giggled, covering her mouth and saying, "No, you're wrong."

"Wrong?"

Mei Shikang was taken aback.

Then with a swift movement, he tore open the nurse's uniform of the captured woman,

and pinned her directly onto the sofa.

At that moment, Sun Shenru outside noticed that underneath the nurse's uniform, the woman was actually not wearing anything.