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

At 4:17 a.m., Fang Jingxiu was awakened by his phone vibrating.

This is a habit he has developed over many years: he always keeps his phone on his bedside table while sleeping, always on vibrate, and always wakes up at the first ring.

The nature of the National Development and Reform Commission's work requires him to be on call at all times, but a call at this time is usually not a good thing.

He glanced at the screen and saw it was Shen Rongchuan.

Chen Nuo was still fast asleep, lying on her side next to him, her breathing even and long.

One of her arms was draped over his waist, and the plain ring on her ring finger reflected the faint light filtering in from the window in the darkness.

She was exhausted last night; the late-night conversation after returning from Vivian Chow's office seemed to have drained all her energy.

Fang Jingxiu gently moved her arm away, his movements so light that he did not disturb her.

He picked up his phone, stepped barefoot onto the floor, and silently walked out of the bedroom, through the living room, and to the French windows.

The city was still shrouded in darkness, a few scattered lights in the distance like weary eyes, barely open in the gloom. He pressed the answer button, his voice low: "Speak."

"I found it." Shen Rongchuan got straight to the point.

Fang Jingxiu remained silent, gazing out at the deep night sky, awaiting further instruction.

"The Bai family's activities aren't just limited to money laundering and surrogacy." Shen Rongchuan paused for a moment, "They've built a platform."

"What platform?"

"A dark web platform," Shen Rongchuan said. "It's called... Angel Paradise."

Fang Jingxiu's fingers tightened silently as he gripped his phone.

"What's inside?" he asked. He already had a vague idea of ​​the answer, but he needed Shen Rongchuan to tell him himself.

"They are children." Shen Rongchuan's voice was as cold as ice. "They range from a few months old to teenagers. Some were abducted, some were sold, and some were even rented out by their own parents."

The night outside the window seemed even darker.

Fang Jingxiu closed his eyes, then opened them again.

"It's not prostitution," Shen Rongchuan continued, a rare hint of disgust in his voice. This man had seen too much darkness; there were few things that could arouse his disgust.

"It's something even more outrageous. It's a membership system, with membership fees starting at $100,000. The content... is live-streamed. Users can make requests for the content, and the platform will customize it accordingly."

Fang Jingxiu remained silent for a long time.

He raised him like that savage child from the Elf Province before. At the time, he thought that was the bottom line.

Now he knows there are no limits.

"Where's the evidence?" he asked, his voice as calm as if he were discussing the weather.

"Zhu Anqiang has already infiltrated," Shen Rongchuan said. "He's using the identity of a wealthy businessman in Southeast Asia, can afford the membership fees, and his background can't be traced. The platform has no suspicion about him."

"Have him keep a close eye on things," Fang Jingxiu said. "It would be best if he could record evidence. Videos, audio, transaction records—the more complete the better."

"Understood," Shen Rongchuan replied, then paused before asking the question, "What about those children... should we save them?"

Fang Jingxiu did not answer immediately.

He stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the city skyline appear and disappear in the night.

The morning breeze seeped in through the cracks in the window, carrying the coolness of early autumn, and blew on his body, which was only wearing a thin nightgown.

Should we save them?

Those children, those who were trafficked, sold, and used as content for others to watch and humiliate, are suffering the deepest malice in the world in some place they don't know.

If he has the ability to save them but chooses not to, then what kind of person is he?

but……

He remembered many things.

I recalled my father's words as he tapped the table with his old military belt in the study: "Jingxiu, you must remember, you are first and foremost a son of the Fang family, and only then yourself. Every decision you make affects more than just yourself."

I'm reminded of Vice Chairman Pan.

I think back to my position.

The youngest director of a department at the National Development and Reform Commission, the Fang family's future hope, and Chen Nuo's only support.

If he makes a wrong move, if he offends someone he shouldn't, if someone gets hold of something against him.

Will those people let him go?

Will they let the Fang family off the hook?

Will they let Chen Nuo go?

will not.

He knows the rules of this game all too well.

Some enemies, if you offend them, you must completely crush them.

If you can't kill it, you'll suffer a backlash.

The forces behind Angel Paradise are not just the Bai family.

The Bai family is just a window, a front desk.

The real power behind it all lies with those who are willing to spend $100,000 a year on custom content.

These people are scattered all over the world; they include politicians, tycoons, and hidden powerful figures who hold countless resources.

They are the true pillars of this paradise.

If he were to rescue them now, it would be tantamount to declaring war on those people.

Is he ready to fight this battle?

No.

At least not now.

What he needs is evidence of the Bai family's crimes, a bargaining chip that can uproot the Bai family in one fell swoop, not a righteous expedition that is doomed to fail.

"Never mind." He heard his own voice, as calm as a stagnant pool.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Shen Rongchuan's tone held a hint of complex emotion, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Fang Jingxiu said, each word seemingly forced out of his throat. "Zhu Anqiang's mission is only one: to keep an eye on the Bai family's evidence. Especially their direct involvement in child abuse. As long as we film someone from the Bai family appearing on camera, we need to film them doing the work themselves, we need to film things that could directly send them to jail."

He paused, his voice growing even colder:

"Ignore everything else. Don't touch it. Don't expose it."

Shen Rongchuan was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Understood."

"Also," Fang Jingxiu added, "tell Zhu Anqiang that if he exposes himself while saving people, I will personally teach him what regret is."

This is a threat, and it's also a fact.

Zhu Anqiang is the knife in his hand. If this knife breaks because of a moment of weakness, it won't just be Zhu Anqiang who dies.

"I will pass on the message to him," Shen Rongchuan said.

The phone hangs up.

Fang Jingxiu held his phone, standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, motionless for a long time.

Outside the window, the night was gradually fading. The eastern horizon began to take on a very faint grayish-white hue, the coldest time before dawn.

He remembered what he had just said.

Don't worry about it.

Three words have determined the life and death of many people.

Those children, those children who are suffering inhuman torture in some dark corner, do not know that they were once just one decision away from being saved.

They didn't know that a man, sometime before dawn, chose to push them away and remain in the darkness.

Fang Jingxiu closed his eyes.

He recalled a question Chen Nuo had once asked him: "Brother Xiu, do you feel like you've changed?"

He did not answer at the time.

Now he thinks that if she asked him again, he would probably say, "I haven't changed. I'm just becoming clearer about what I should and shouldn't do."

He was never a kind person.

Having spent so many years navigating the treacherous waters of officialdom, he had witnessed the fates of far too many kind-hearted people.

Those people are soft-hearted, soft-handed, and soft-eyed; in the end, they all become stepping stones for others to climb higher.

Those who were merciful to their enemies, revered the rules, and respected life, ultimately had their lives trampled underfoot by others.

He doesn't want to become that kind of person.

He needs power. Not for power itself, but to protect those he wants to protect.

Father, Mother, the Fang family, and...

Chen Nuo.

The girl who was still fast asleep in the bedroom, the girl who became more awake after experiencing Tang Hai's schemes, the girl who wore the plain ring he gave her on her ring finger.

She needs him to live, needs him to stand on high ground, needs him to have enough strength to shelter her from the wind and rain.

If he offends the wrong people today because of a group of strangers, who will protect her tomorrow?

nobody.

That's how cruel the rules of this world are.

You can't protect everyone; you can only choose to protect those you care about most.

And those children...

He took a deep breath and banished the thought from his mind.

It's not that I don't care. It's that I can't care.

I can't afford to care.

Fang Jingxiu stood in front of the French windows for a long time, until the sky began to lighten.

He turned and walked back to the bedroom.

Chen Nuo was still asleep, in almost the same position as before, except that his brows were slightly furrowed, as if he was having a restless dream.

One of her arms was still draped over the spot where he had just been lying, as if she were searching for something.

Fang Jingxiu sat down by the bed and looked at her.

The morning light filtered through the gaps in the curtains, casting soft shadows on her face.

The scar on his neck had faded to almost nothing; it was a mark of his guilt for failing to protect it.

He reached out and gently brushed away a stray strand of hair from her forehead.

Chen Nuo stirred in his sleep, his brows relaxed a little, and his lips moved slightly, as if he were calling his name.

A complex mix of emotions suddenly welled up in Fang Jingxiu's heart.

There is tenderness, heartache, and guilt.

There was also a hint of protectiveness, almost obsessive, that he himself was unwilling to admit.

This woman was the one he chose.

From the moment he decided to take off the pinky ring, he knew that he would spend the rest of his life protecting her, supporting her, and bringing her to his side.

For that, he would do anything.

This includes not rescuing those children.

This includes, when necessary, personally pushing others into the abyss.

This includes becoming someone she may never fully understand.

He lowered his head and placed a very light kiss on her forehead.

The kiss was so light, almost imperceptible, as if afraid of disturbing her dream.

"Wait a little longer, Chen Nuo," he whispered in her ear, his voice so low it seemed he was speaking to himself. "Soon... you'll be able to go up."