Urban Soldier Young Master

"Dad... Dad, I..."

Chang Xin's eyes kept darting around, struggling to squeeze out a few words, while the cold sweat on his forehead increased.

He wanted to lower his head, but Chu Ge grabbed his hair and yanked it upward, his other hand clutching Chang Xin's face, forcing him to meet the piercing, unfathomable eyes of the founding leader in the giant photo.

"Chang Xin, under these eyes, you'd better first ask your own conscience, think carefully about the party spirit you've long since forgotten, maybe even mocked as a joke. Seriously recall those hypocritical faces you once despised, even detested, and then decide if you're going to tell the truth. It's up to you."

If it were usual, even if Chang Xin wouldn't be disrespectful to any leader outwardly, he would be secretly scoffing, thinking of such words as foolish. Moron.

However... at this moment, he felt that those eyes facing him were so sharp, piercing into him like two swords, making his body tense, his breathing grow progressively harder, even his heart seemed to stop beating.

Yes, there was a time when he too had a heart of innocence, had some naive dreams. When did this heart become like this? When did he start scornfully dismissing his childhood ideals?

Under the gaze of those eyes, with Chu Ge's icy interrogation echoing in his ears, Chang Xin suddenly wanted to cry, his eyes unknowingly reddening. Even though Chu Ge released his grip on him, he still didn't move, staring dazedly into those eyes.

"Chang Xin! Speak to your father!"

Noticing Chang Xin's hesitation, Chang Shao'en's heart skipped a beat. Despite not wanting to believe it, given the current situation, it seemed Chu Ge's earlier words were not baseless!

Suddenly hearing his father's reprimand again, Chang Xin shuddered violently, instinctively turning his head to see Chang Shao'en pointing at him, his finger trembling constantly. He finally began to break down, "I... actually, I am..."

Hearing these words, Chang Shao'en instinctively held his breath; Chu Ge frowned slightly. It seemed Chang Xin was indeed incited by someone else, and the truth was about to surface.

"Knock, knock."

Two knocks sounded at the door, followed by someone pushing it open, interrupting Chang Xin's words. Chen Zhihao entered with a bottle of wine.

"Mr. Chu, pardon the interruption, this bottle of wine is..."

Chen Zhihao started cheerfully but then took in the scene in the room, stopping mid-sentence, his heart filled with surprise and uncertainty. He hadn't expected that just delivering a bottle of wine would lead him to witness such a scene.

What... is going on? Did Chu Ge hit Chang Xin?

This couldn't be real, right? Despite everything, Chang Xin was a national cadre, and Chang Xin's father was right there; could Chu Ge really be so brazen to lay a hand on him? And Chang Shao'en just stood by, watching his son get beaten like this?

"Ahem, sorry, wrong room, Mr. Li, please continue."

Chen Zhihao coughed twice, awkwardly and apologetically smiling, deliberately mentioning a fictitious "Mr. Li" to dissociate himself, placing the bottle on the floor, and turning to leave.

Even though he had countless questions, now was clearly not the time to explore them.

Watching Chen Zhihao close the door, Chu Ge felt at a loss for words. Why did Chen Zhihao have to come right at this moment?

Chang Xin's gaze also fell on the door, his heart churning tumultuously. He was pondering the same question as Chu Ge, with only one difference: he suspected Chen Zhihao's appearance at this moment was no coincidence!

He was just about to confess, and then Chen Zhihao walked in. How could such a coincidence occur in the world?

In reality, it was truly just a coincidence, but in Chang Xin's extremely paranoid state, he couldn't help but think otherwise.

"Chang Xin, continue talking!"

Chu Ge and Chang Xin both had their attention diverted by Chen Zhihao, but only Chang Shao'en's gaze remained fixed on Chang Xin. No matter what, he had to uncover the truth.

"I..." Chang Xin hesitated for a moment, eventually just letting out a bitter laugh and lowering his head, "I have nothing more to say, I've already said everything I should."

Not telling the truth might cost him his position, at most losing his freedom for a while, but telling the truth, he might even lose his life, or worse, not even know how he died!

Now he's calmed down a bit, and he obviously knows how to weigh these pros and cons.

"You, you, you..."

Chang Shao'en was furious, striding to Chang Xin's side, pointing at him thrice with a trembling finger, then raising his hand to slap Chang Xin hard again.

"Will you speak or not!"

"Dad, I'm telling the truth..."

"Slap!" Another loud slap landed, "For god's sake, do you think your father is an idiot?"

Chang Shao'en was genuinely angry, the swear words slipping out.

Chen Zhihao is such a big shot that he not only arranged for Chu Ge to have this "Jia Yi" private room, but even personally came to deliver wine to Chu Ge. Could it be that Chang Xin still doesn't understand what this represents?

His son is usually pretty sharp and clever, so why is he so muddled now? Why hasn't he tried to be honest with Chu Ge yet and seek leniency?

Chang Xin bitterly smiled to himself. Inside, he was unspeakably stifled but could only hang his head in silence. He was pretending to be a pig not afraid of boiling water now, knowing his father wouldn't really kill him, so whatever happens, happens.

Chu Ge observed Chang Xin's expression and guessed something, sighed slightly, and turned to walk toward the door. Since Chang Xin wasn't saying anything, staying here any longer was pointless.

"Mr. Chu! Mr. Chu, wait!"

Chang Shao'en was about to continue slapping Chang Xin when he suddenly noticed Chu Ge about to leave. He hurriedly chased after him, anxiously grabbing Chu Ge's arm, "Mr. Chu, rest assured, I'll make sure my son gives you an explanation today!"

Chu Ge smiled faintly, just about to say something when his phone rang again.

Chu Ge looked down at the hand tightly gripping his arm, "Minister Chang, excuse me, I need to take this call."

Chang Shao'en's hand finally loosened bit by bit, his trembling fingers clearly expressing his inner reluctance.

However, just as he let go, a thought arose in his mind.

Since things had already developed to this point, he might as well completely throw caution to the wind. Taking advantage of Chu Ge fumbling for his phone, he quickly took two steps forward and blocked the door of the room.

Chu Ge looked at the screen, and it was another unfamiliar number. He glanced at Chang Shao'en, who was blocking the door with a pleading look on his face, and felt a tinge of unwillingness in his heart. Ultimately, he didn't leave the room, answered the call, and sat down on a nearby chair.

"Is this Chu Ge?"

A man's voice in his fifties or sixties came from the receiver. Chu Ge found it somewhat familiar, but for the moment couldn't recall where he had heard it before.

Chu Ge paused slightly, while Chang Xin remained standing like a wooden puppet, with his head down. Chang Shao'en's pupils suddenly shrank, his eyes filled with fear.

Because the room was so quiet, even though Chu Ge hadn't activated the speakerphone, the voice was faintly audible. Chang Shao'en's heart leaped to his throat, clinging to a sliver of hope as he prayed silently.

He had to have misheard. He must have misheard. This... this must be a mistake caused by his nervousness leading to an illusion.

"Ah, it's me."

"Heh heh, I'm Mu Chongyi. I'd like to meet with you today. Do you have time?"

As this voice traveled through Chu Ge's phone into Chang Shao'en's ears, any hope he had was completely shattered. He felt his scalp go numb, his vision darkened, and even as he tried to support himself against the wall, he collapsed to the ground with a "thud," almost fainting from shock.

Secretary Mu actually contacted Chu Ge himself, rather than having his secretary or driver do it? And he used a negotiating tone? My God, this can't be real, this, this, this can't be real...

If Chang Xin hadn't been in a state of buzzing ears and hadn't heard any of this, his reaction might have been similar to his father's.

Unfortunately, right now, not only were his ears failing, but his mind was also blank. He didn't even notice his father had collapsed, so he just stood there like a walking corpse, with his head down.

"Uh..." Chu Ge's lips twitched, inwardly cursing at the situation.

If it were most people, receiving a personal call from the Secretary of the Provincial Committee and being invited with such a tone, there would generally be two possible reactions: either flattered or anxious.

However, Chu Ge's feelings at this moment were of deep resignation, so much that he felt a headache coming on.

There was no need to ask; he knew that Mu Chongyi wanted to meet him to discuss yesterday's events, which also involved his relationship with Mu Lingshan.

Being in the hotel room with Mu Lingshan late at night and claiming they were just pure friends? Even ghosts wouldn't believe that!

After hesitating for a moment, Chu Ge spoke loudly into the phone, "Hello?"

This "hello" obviously made Mu Chongyi on the other end pause, with no response for a couple of seconds.

"Hello? Can you hear me? Hey? What's wrong with the signal? Hello? Can you hear me when I'm talking?"

Pretending as if there were signal issues, Chu Ge hurriedly hung up when he heard a voice again, then turned off his phone.

Although this tactic lacked sophistication, in his urgent situation, he couldn't think of a better idea, so this was his only option.

If possible, he truly didn't want to meet with Mu Chongyi.

Whew...

Chu Ge watched as the phone screen went black and exhaled slightly, but when he raised his head, he suddenly froze, his heart jolting sharply, and his brow furrowed deeply.