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

At 7:20 PM, on the 16th floor of the National Development and Reform Commission building, in the office of the director.

The lamplight cast a soft shadow on Fang Jingxiu's focused profile.

He was reviewing a final report on the list of pilot cities for new energy battery recycling, the nib of his pen scratching across the paper.

The document contained serious content and complex data, but upon closer inspection, one could see that Director Fang, known for his cold and meticulous demeanor, always had a faint, yet persistent, smile at the corner of his mouth.

The smile was faint, like ripples left by a gentle breeze on a lake, yet it lingered there stubbornly, and no matter how hard he tried to calm his mind and focus on the policy provisions and the balance of interests before him, he could not completely erase it.

The video footage from Secretary Qin's phone that afternoon kept flashing through my mind. She stood in front of the camera, a slight scar on her neck, her eyes clear and firm, her logic progressing layer by layer, resolving those malicious questions one by one.

Pride, satisfaction, and a touch of something indescribable...

heart.

He wanted to call her immediately, to hear her voice, to compliment her, and even... to share his feelings like any other couple.

But rules are rules.

Having just finished a high-level coordination meeting that was exhausting and involved significant national interests, his mind was still filled with strategic maneuvering and unresolved issues. Making a phone call at this moment could easily lead to emotional outbursts and excessive dopamine secretion, which would affect the absolute calmness and rational thinking required to handle the mountain of official business that lay ahead.

Fang Jingxiu forcibly shifted his gaze from his personal cell phone on the corner of the table and returned it to the signed documents.

He picked up the long-cold strong tea and took a big gulp. The bitter taste stimulated his taste buds, and he tried to suppress the inappropriate excitement in his heart.

After processing several more urgent documents, it was completely dark outside. Fang Jingxiu finally took off his glasses, rubbed his sore temples, and let out a long sigh of relief.

He stood up and stretched his neck and shoulders, which were stiff from sitting for a long time; his bones made a slight cracking sound.

Then, he put his suit jacket back on the back of the chair, carefully buttoned it up, and straightened his shirt collar and cuffs. The man in the mirror returned to his usual meticulous, calm and reserved Director Fang image, with only a hint of soft light in the depths of his eyes revealing the warmth beneath the iceberg.

He picked up his briefcase and walked out of the office.

Secretary Qin was already waiting outside. When he came out, he immediately followed.

The elevator descended, occasionally stopping at other floors where colleagues or leaders from other departments were leaving get off work. Upon seeing Fang Jingxiu, everyone greeted him.

"Director Fang, have you just finished?"

"Director Fang, today's meeting has been quite long. Thank you for your hard work."

"Jingxiu, regarding the new energy sector, our company has a preliminary idea for next week and would like to discuss it with you first..."

Fang Jingxiu nodded in response to each one, his tone gentle but maintaining a distance, his face displaying a standard, slightly weary professional smile.

The elevator space is small, but the topics of conversation often contain hidden meanings.

Someone brought up his father, General Fang Zhenguo's, recent activities with apparent concern, their words seemingly probing for the Fang family's next move.

Some people also subtly mentioned that Old Liu had asked about you not long ago, implying that the topic of the marriage alliance had not yet faded.

Fang Jingxiu's answer was watertight.

Regarding his father, all that was said was that his health was still good and he was still following his old habits;

Regarding the Liu family, the conversation was lightly touched upon by the fact that Old Master Liu was a senior who had always cared for the younger generation, without elaborating further.

In official circles, especially in such informal but sensitive semi-public settings, every word can be over-interpreted, so one must be extremely cautious.

Stepping out of the building, a cold wind hit my face.

The black Audi A8L was already parked quietly in its designated parking space.

Secretary Qin quickly took two steps and opened the back door of the car.

Once inside the warm car, isolated from the outside chatter and prying eyes, Fang Jingxiu finally relaxed, leaning back in the spacious and comfortable leather seat and rubbing his cheeks, which were stiff from forcing a smile.

The car smoothly drove out of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television and merged into the still-lingering traffic of Jingjing's evening rush hour.

Only then did Fang Jingxiu finally pick up his personal phone, which he had deliberately neglected all night, unlock it, find the familiar fox icon, and dial the number.

The phone rang only twice before it was answered.

Chen Nuo's clear, slightly languid voice came from the other end of the line, amidst some background noise: "Hey, Brother Xiu?"

Hearing her voice, the smile that Fang Jingxiu had suppressed all night finally spread across his lips without restraint, and even his voice softened a few degrees: "Director Chen, are you done with your work? I'm already on my way home."

"Oh my, Director Fang, you're so busy, finally you've decided to leave work?" Chen Nuo's voice carried a hint of playful teasing, then she changed the subject, her tone becoming sweet and charming, "Could you pick me up on your way, little Fang?"

Fang Jingxiu could almost picture her blinking her eyes, her face saying, "I'm a good girl, I just need help."

His smile deepened as he slowly replied, "It's on my way."

He paused, then lowered his voice, "I'm driving. If I want to pick you up, any direction is on my way."

A soft, suppressed laugh came from the other end of the phone, like a feather tickling Fang Jingxiu's heart.

However, this tender moment was shattered by a highly discordant third party.

Secretary Qin, sitting in the passenger seat, was so engrossed in the quiet of the car that his ears were practically perked up and pressed against the back of the seat.

Fang Jingxiu caught a glimpse of Secretary Qin's eager expression, but he still had to maintain a facade in front of his subordinate: "You've got some nerve, Chen Nuo. So disobedient? Who told you to face those reporters alone? Do you know how serious the consequences will be?"

His words sounded more like a venting of lingering fear: "If I hadn't arranged for people to suppress the hype and divert attention beforehand, do you think you could have escaped unscathed? You would have been drowned in their spittle!"

Chen Nuo paused for a second on the other end of the phone, then replied in a tone that was a mix of coquetry, dependence, and self-righteousness: "Well, I knew my boyfriend would help me solve it, didn't I?"

Her voice softened, and she began to skillfully shower him with compliments, "My boyfriend is the most amazing person in the universe! He's Fang Jingxiu, the youngest director with real power at the National Development and Reform Commission! Anything can be settled with just a little effort from him! Those small fry are nothing compared to him!"

As it turns out, even the most mature, stable, and powerful man cannot resist the perfectly timed admiration and flattery from his sweetheart, especially the kind of praise that is a little cunning yet reveals complete dependence.

With a little bit of child psychology involved.

Men, it's effortless.

Fang Jingxiu felt a warm current, accompanied by a slight shiver, rush from his spine to the top of his head. His lips curled up uncontrollably again, and all seriousness and reprimands were thrown to the winds.

He managed to keep his voice steady and coughed lightly, "Don't do that next time. If you really want to deal with it, you can call Secretary Qin in advance and have him arrange for two security personnel to block the reporters first, then you can leave calmly. The reporters are emotionally unstable, and the scene is chaotic; I'm afraid they might accidentally hurt you."

He finally voiced his deepest concern: not that he was afraid she would say the wrong thing, but that she would suffer physical harm.

Chen Nuo sensed the undisguised concern in his tone, her heart softened, and she stopped joking, saying seriously, "I know. But I had a moment of madness and thought... I can't always hide in the background. I have to learn to deal with things on my own, I can't always live under your wing. Brother Xiu, you said it yourself, some battles I have to fight myself."

Fang Jingxiu remained silent on the other end of the phone.

In that moment of silence, even the air seemed to freeze. He could clearly hear his heart pounding faster and the sound of something deep within him being gently touched.

It was a feeling of relief and pride, but also a very subtle sense of loss that even he himself hadn't noticed.

A few seconds later, he gave a low "hmm," his voice regaining its usual calmness, but with an added seriousness: "Then you handled it well. You were sensible, intelligent, and knew how to escape the trap others had set."

Upon receiving his formal affirmation, Chen Nuo's voice immediately perked up again, tinged with a hint of pride: "Thank you for the compliment, Master Fang! Then...shouldn't your disciple reward you properly tonight?" She deliberately emphasized the word "reward" softly and slowly, leaving room for endless imagination.

Fang Jingxiu's heart skipped a beat. Before he could react, he heard Chen Nuo on the other end of the phone add in an even more ambiguous tone, almost as if whispering in his ear, "How about... a master-disciple role-play?"

With a "boom," Fang Jingxiu felt a surge of heat rush to his cheeks and ear tips, and his fingers holding the phone froze.

Master-disciple play?!

What...what is all this?!

Young people these days...

What are you thinking about all day?!

He could almost feel Secretary Qin's back, which suddenly stiffened as she desperately suppressed her curiosity and shock in the passenger seat.

"Director Chen," Fang Jingxiu said through gritted teeth, his voice low and filled with anger and helplessness, "this is called repaying kindness with enmity."

"Oh, don't say that," Chen Nuo grinned like a sly fox. "A reward is still necessary. Master Fang taught well today, and the apprentice learned quickly, shouldn't we... um, have a deeper exchange of learning experiences?"

Fang Jingxiu's ears turned bright red from her explicit yet playful words, and the car's heater suddenly seemed to become too hot.

He glanced at Secretary Qin, who appeared to be sitting upright but whose ears were practically perked up like radar, and on a sudden inspiration, he deliberately raised his voice a little and said into the phone, "Okay, I'll stop here for now. It seems Secretary Qin needs to speak with me."

His original intention was to find an excuse to end this embarrassing conversation and, incidentally, to give Secretary Qin, who was eavesdropping, a warning.

Unexpectedly, no sooner had he finished speaking than Secretary Qin, who had been pretending to be deaf and dumb while actually eavesdropping the whole time, was perhaps too engrossed in the gossip and hadn't quite caught up in it, or perhaps out of some strange sense of loyalty that he couldn't let the director misunderstand that he was interfering with his love life, suddenly turned around and loudly clarified in a clear and upright voice:

"Director! I wasn't looking for you! Ms. Chen Nuo! Please feel free to talk! Talk freely!"

The car fell into a deathly silence.

Fang Jingxiu: "..."

Chen Nuo paused for a second on the other end of the phone, then burst into an uncontrollable, silvery laugh: "Pfft... Hahahaha! Brother Xiu, you failed at showing off, didn't you?"

Fang Jingxiu's face turned completely dark.

He took a deep breath and, speaking in a chillingly calm tone to Chen Nuo, who was laughing uncontrollably on the other end of the phone, said, "Yes. It seems that Secretary Qin's work has been too easy lately. I'll have to come up with some new tasks for him when I get back tonight."

Then, he gave a cold glance at Secretary Qin, who had realized what a stupid thing she had done, her face turned deathly pale, and she wished she could bite her tongue off.

Secretary Qin inwardly wailed: "My damn mouth! My damn ears!"

"Okay, that's all for now. I'll be there soon. We'll talk when we meet." Fang Jingxiu decisively ended the sweet yet absurd phone call, tossed the phone aside, closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and unconsciously rubbed his throbbing temples.

But he couldn't suppress the helpless yet doting smile that quietly bloomed in the dimly lit carriage.

The car smoothly navigated the neon-lit streets, heading towards the Broadcasting Building.

Inside the carriage, the director was trying to calm his racing heart, which had been aroused by his girlfriend, and was also considering whether he should reward the disobedient little fox first, or scold the talkative and gossipy Secretary Qin when he got back tonight.

Hmm, perhaps we can do it at the same time?