Guide to Rising to Power as a Wife in Beijing's Elite Circle

She turned and walked out of the alley.

As I passed a small shop, a woman in her fifties was picking vegetables at the entrance. When she saw Chen Nuo, she paused.

"Young lady," the proprietress suddenly spoke, her voice soft, "would you like to buy water?"

Chen Nuo understood and walked over: "Buy one bottle."

As she paid, the proprietress lowered her voice and said, "The family you just went to... their surname is Li. An old man died there, along with his two sons. The old man died of anger, the eldest son died in a car accident, and the youngest son... committed suicide."

"Suicide?" Chen Nuo was shocked.

"They say it was suicide," the proprietress said, her eyes darting around, "but everyone in the neighborhood knows... that's not what happened."

"That is..."

The proprietress shook her head, refusing to say anything more. She just sighed, "Girl, take my advice, don't get involved in this. You can't control it, and you can't film it. Those people... you can't afford to offend them."

"Who are they?" Chen Nuo pressed.

The proprietress stopped talking and continued picking vegetables with her head down.

Chen Nuo knew he wouldn't get any more information out of him.

She walked out of the convenience store with her water, stood on the dirty street, and looked at this forgotten corner of the city.

Why was the old lady afraid?

Why are the neighbors afraid to speak up?

Why did two sons die in accidents and one commit suicide?

This is no longer a simple forced demolition.

Chen Nuo took out his phone, intending to call Fang Jingxiu, but hesitated for a moment and then put it down.

He told her to see for herself and think for herself.

She took a deep breath and decided to walk around some more.

The urban villages are small, but very chaotic.

The illegally constructed shacks were crammed together, and electrical wires tangled overhead like spider webs. Children played in the mud by the roadside, their clothes filthy; an old man sunbathed, his eyes vacant.

Chen Nuo walked to the village entrance, where there was a bulletin board.

The bulletin board was covered with various notices, community events, policy announcements, and a faded urban village renovation project planning map.

The planning map is beautiful, with high-rise buildings, green belts, and commercial centers.

It stands in stark contrast to the current state of desolation.

Chen Nuo stared at the picture for a long time, and suddenly noticed the small print in the lower right corner: Yongzhou City Investment Group.

She took out her phone and took a picture.

As she turned to leave, a voice came from behind her: "Miss."

Chen Nuo turned around and saw the middle-aged man from before. He had followed her out at some point and was standing not far away.

"Uncle?" Chen Nuo walked over.

The middle-aged man looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before whispering, "Aunt Li's youngest son... didn't commit suicide."

Chen Nuo's heart pounded: "That's...!"

"He was beaten to death." The middle-aged man's voice was low. "In the middle of the night, someone broke into the house and forced him to bang his head against the wall. The next morning, he was gone. The police came and said it was suicide, suicide by banging his head against the wall."

As he spoke, his eyes reddened: "That kid was only twenty-two, just graduated from university, and came back to take care of his father. How could he commit suicide?"

Chen Nuo gripped his phone tightly, his fingertips turning white.

"Who is the developer?" she asked.

The middle-aged man shook his head: "I don't know. I only know that he has a very powerful background. The demolition team said he's a relative of a city leader."

A relative of a city leader.

These seven words weighed heavily on Chen Nuo's heart like a boulder.

She recalled what Fang Jingxiu had said: "He's a big shot in Yongzhou. If things get out of hand, it won't do him any good."

It turned out to be the case.

They weren't ordinary developers; they were relatives of important figures.

Therefore, forced demolitions are permissible, people can be killed, and things can be suppressed.

Because power protects them.

"Young lady," the middle-aged man looked at her, his eyes filled with despair but also a glimmer of hope, "if you really can film it... then film it. Let the outside world know what happened here."

He paused, then added, "But you have to be careful. Those people... they really do kill."

After saying that, he turned and left, his back hunched, and soon disappeared into the alley.

Chen Nuo stood there, motionless for a long time.

The wind blew by, stirring up dust from the ground and hitting her face.

She suddenly understood what Fang Jingxiu meant by "authenticity." It wasn't the pity of looking down from a high place, but stepping into the dust and feeling that despair, that powerlessness, that suffocating feeling where even anger was overwhelmed by fear.