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

Jingjing Development and Reform Commission.

As soon as those five words were uttered, the room fell into an eerie silence.

The fierce look on the man in the suit froze instantly, replaced by a look of surprise and uncertainty. It wasn't the awe that ordinary people feel when they hear the name of a high-ranking official, but a more complex look, mixed with vigilance and calculation.

He stared at Chen Nuo, looking her up and down again: "Who...is your boyfriend?"

Chen Nuo noticed the change in his eyes.

Not right.

When ordinary thugs hear that an official has come from Jingjing, their first reaction should be panic, fear, and running away as fast as possible.

But the man's reaction... was confirmation.

He was trying to confirm who the official was and to determine the level of threat.

"Fang Jingxiu," Chen Nuo said, staring intently into the other man's eyes.

The man in the suit's pupils suddenly contracted.

He subconsciously took a half step back, a subtle movement that betrayed the shock in his heart; he knew the name.

Not only do they know it, but they also know the weight of this name.

The two men holding steel pipes next to them also panicked. They exchanged a glance, their grip on the steel pipes loosening and tightening again.

Chen Nuo's heart suddenly tightened.

No, this is absolutely wrong.

If it's a typical forced demolition dispute, and the thugs hired by the developer are involved, they should immediately back down and beg for mercy upon hearing the name of the director of the Jingjing Development and Reform Commission.

What they should fear is officials, and power itself.

But the three people in front of them seem to be afraid of... Fang Jingxiu.

They are assessing the specific risks associated with the name and whether this matter will reach the higher-ups.

This means that the people behind them are at a high level, at least those who can be associated with the concept of the Jingjing Development and Reform Commission.

They might even be from the industry themselves.

This is not an ordinary forced demolition; it is a systematic purge with a protective umbrella.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on the man in the suit's forehead, but he still forced a smile: "You...you say it's true? Who is Director Fang? Why would he be interested in someone like you..."

"Should I call him?" Chen Nuo interrupted him, taking out her phone. "Let him talk to you himself?"

This was a test.

The man in the suit turned pale.

His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go."

"Leave?" Chen Nuo took a step forward, blocking the doorway. "We haven't finished talking, why are you leaving?"

She was now completely in the zone.

Fang Jingxiu had taught her that when the other party showed weakness, she should press on relentlessly; when the other party tried to escape, she should cut off their escape route.

"You're not here for money," Chen Nuo said firmly, each word like a nail. "It's to silence them. No, something even more thorough: to make this family disappear from the world legitimately."

She picked up the "Voluntary Transfer of Guardianship Agreement" from the ground and waved it: "Send the child to an orphanage in another city, change his name and identity, and never let him know his true identity. The old lady signed a suicide pact, so even if she dies, it will be voluntary. What a clever move."

The man in the suit's eyes darted around: "You...you're talking nonsense!"

"Whether I'm lying or not, you know in your heart." Chen Nuo stared at him. "But the people behind you know even better: if Fang Jingxiu reports this to the higher-ups, to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, do you think your boss will protect you?"

The three characters "Central Commission for Discipline Inspection" are like the final, heavy hammer blow.

The man in black standing to Chen Nuo's left moved, his movements as swift as a snake hunting its prey.

He grabbed Chen Nuo's hair and yanked it backward. Chen Nuo gasped in pain as he was pulled backward, exposing his neck.

The cold touch was applied to the carotid artery.

It is a knife.

It's not an ordinary folding knife; it's a specially made tactical dagger, its blade gleaming with a faint blue light in the dim light.

"Don't move." The man's voice was close to her ear, cold and hoarse. "Move again, and I'll cut you off."

It all happened so fast, in just two or three seconds.

The man in the suit was also stunned, then turned around and hissed, "What are you doing?!"

"Boss," the man in black sneered, his grip on her hand remaining firm, "she says she's Fang Jingxiu's woman, and you believe her?"

"I……"

"I don't believe it," the man in black interrupted him. "Even if she were, so what?"

He leaned close to Chen Nuo's ear, his voice like a viper's hiss: "Miss, you say you're Director Fang's girlfriend, then let me ask you, where is Director Fang now?"

Chen Nuo gritted his teeth and remained silent.

"In Jingjing, right?" the man in black continued, "more than a thousand kilometers from Yongzhou. And you are here now, all alone, in this dilapidated house."

He pressed the blade down slightly.

Chen Nuo felt a stinging pain as his skin was cut open, and warm liquid flowed down his neck.

is blood.

"It's so chaotic here," the man in black's voice grew colder, "it's an urban village, full of thugs, the security is terrible. What if you, a young girl from out of town, were to get beaten to death by the villagers, or accidentally fall into some uncovered well... who knows?"

The man in the suit turned pale: "Are you crazy?! If Fang Jingxiu investigates..."

"Investigate? How?" The man in black scoffed. "Cremate the body, scatter the ashes, and there'll be no way to prove anything. We'll just insist we never saw her, and who can prove she was ever here?"

He paused, then said in a sinister tone, "Boss, things have come to this point. Let her go, and we're all finished. Kill her, and there's still a glimmer of hope."

Chen Nuo's heart was pounding wildly.

She could feel that the man's hand holding the knife was very steady. He was a professional, not an ordinary thug. He was someone who specialized in doing these dirty jobs.

She has to save herself.

Her hand reached into her down jacket pocket and found the alarm. Without batting an eye, she pressed it once, twice, three times.

"What are you pressing?" the man in black noticed keenly.

He suddenly ripped open Chen Nuo's pocket, and the alarm fell to the ground, emitting a rapid "beep beep" sound.

"Damn it!" The man in black's eyes hardened. "You're asking for it!"

The blade slashed downwards with a sudden force.

A sharp pain struck.

Chen Nuo felt as if his neck had been branded by a red-hot iron, and warm liquid gushed out, instantly staining the collar of his white down jacket red.

She instinctively covered her neck, but blood gushed out from between her fingers, and she couldn't stop it no matter how hard she tried.

The world began to spin.

She saw the man in the suit's terrified face, saw another person try to stop her but be pushed away by the man in black, and saw the old woman struggling in the chair, making muffled whimpering sounds.

Footsteps.

Hurried, heavy footsteps rushed in from outside.

The man in black glanced back, his eyes hardening. He raised his knife, the second strike about to fall…

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

The man in black was sent flying, crashing into the wall before sliding down limply. The knife in his hand fell to the ground with a crisp clang.

Two bodyguards rushed into the house, their movements too fast to see clearly. One subdued the other two in an instant, while the other rushed to Chen Nuo's side.

"Miss Chen!" It was the voice of bodyguard Xiao Wu, tinged with rare panic.

Chen Nuo tried to speak, but only a hoarse, gasping sound came from her throat. Blood was still gushing out, and she could feel her life rapidly slipping away.

Xiao Wu tore off a sleeve from his shirt and pressed it forcefully against her wound. The fabric was quickly soaked with blood.

"Make a call!" Xiao Wu yelled to his colleague, "Call Director Fang! Quickly!"

Another person had already dialed the number, their voice urgent: "Boss, something's happened! Miss Chen is injured! In a village in Yongzhou city, a knife wound, her carotid artery may be ruptured... Yes, she needs emergency medical attention..."

Chen Nuo's consciousness began to blur.

She saw Xiao Wu's face moving before her eyes, saw the dilapidated beams of the roof, and saw the pale light filtering through the cracks in the wooden planks.

I could hear sirens, both far and near.

Then, she heard Xiao Wu shout into the phone, "Boss, Ms. Chen has fainted! She's lost too much blood!"

Brother Xiu...

She tried to call his name, but no sound came out.

Darkness surged up like a tide, drowning out all sound and all light.

In her final moments, she seemed to hear Fang Jingxiu's voice on the other end of the phone. It was distant and indistinct, but a tearing, unprecedented panic pierced through the distance and stabbed into her heart.

"Chen Nuo—!"

Then, the world went completely dark.