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

Chapter 164 Substituting One Thing for Another

At two in the morning, only a desk lamp was lit in the study.

Chen Nuo sat in front of her computer, the dense numbers and documents on the screen having been organized into a clear chain of evidence.

The Black Cross's donations were found to have unusual destinations, fraudulent project outsourcing, connections to private accounts, and traces of overseas assets. Each item has a traceable source, and each transaction has a timeline.

That's enough to get Director Yao imprisoned.

But she didn't move.

She just stared at the document for a very long time.

Occasionally, the sound of cars driving by on their way home at night drifts in from outside the window, distant, like another world.

In this small study, she was all alone, and a powder keg about to explode.

Zhou Huimin's words from that day were still echoing in her mind.

"Xiao Chen, you need to understand, I can only go up after you've gone up."

Yes.

If Director Zhou wants to get up there, he needs a stepping stone, a stone that can step on Director Yao.

And she, Chen Nuo, was the one who handed over the stone.

But the person who passes the stone may also be killed by it.

If Director Zhou successfully gets promoted, the documents she personally handed over will naturally make her a hero.

From then on, everything went smoothly. Director Zhou would remember this kindness, Fang Jingxiu would be proud of her, and her career path would become wider and wider.

But if...

What if Director Yao hadn't fallen from grace?

What if someone tipped off Director Yao beforehand, and he was prepared to turn around and bite back?

What if Director Yao wins the above game, and Vivian Chow doesn't go up?

The first one to die was Chen Nuo.

It wasn't a real death, but a death in the officialdom.

You'll be marginalized, transferred to a sinecure, left to languish in some deserted department, spending your days drinking tea and reading newspapers, watching your peers climb the ladder while you remain forever stuck in the same place.

Fang Jingxiu had experienced those days; for three years, he watched others get promoted while he remained stuck.

He pulled through.

What about her?

Fang Jingxiu can protect her and prevent her from being kicked out of the system. But he can't protect her from being marginalized.

In officialdom, there are too many ways to get rid of you. They might not do anything to you openly, but secretly put you on the sidelines, make you feel like you're caught in the middle, and force you to quit on your own because you can't take it anymore.

Those methods don't draw blood, but they hurt more than drawing blood.

Chen Nuo closed his eyes.

She thought of Shi Anping.

The department head who had been with her since her first day at the company.

I taught her how to review films, how to write reports, and how to distinguish which films could pass and which could not.

He doesn't talk much, but he's reliable and treats everyone with courtesy, especially her.

Director Shi is a good person.

There aren't many good people in this building.

But good people are sometimes meant to be sacrificed.

Chen Nuo opened his eyes and looked at the evidence on the screen.

An idea slowly took shape.

She needs a shield.

A person who handed over the evidence for her.

Success! The credit goes to Director Zhou, and she secretly benefits.

Even if she loses, the fire won't reach her; she can escape unscathed and might even extend an olive branch to Director Yao.

This idea is dirty.

she knows.

But that's just how officialdom is.

What Fang Jingxiu taught her was not to make her a saint.

"Think of the consequences before you act," he once said.

Now she has thought it through.

Do you know what the Chinese idiom is?

Substituting one thing for another.

Peach trees grow above the well, plum trees grow beside peach trees.

Insects bite the peach roots, and the plum tree dies in place of the peach.

Trees may stand in your place, but brothers may forget each other.

Plum trees were used instead of peach trees to withstand pests.

A small cost can secure a large amount of protection.

It is it.

Let Shi Anping be that plum tree, bearing the possible storms for her.

And her peach tree, hiding behind, waits to see the result.

It was successful, and she benefited.

If she loses, she can choose to side again.

Chen Nuo stared at those four words, unable to describe the feeling in his heart.

Director Shi was really good to her.

He helped her get familiar with the business, shielded her from some sarcastic remarks from the department, and even when she made her first mistake, he didn't say anything but silently helped her correct it.

He was a truly honest man who, despite living in this cannibalistic place for over twenty years, still retained a rare kindness.

But she couldn't be soft-hearted.

Fang Jingxiu told the story of Vice Commissioner Pan.

The old man who let the enemy go because he was soft-hearted, and whose whole family ended up in trouble.

She remembered the look in Fang Jingxiu's eyes when he said those words:

"To be soft-hearted towards the enemy is to be cruel to oneself."

Shi Anping is not an enemy.

But in this situation, there are no innocent people.

There are only chess pieces and the person playing them.

And she has to be the one making the moves.

Chen Nuo took a deep breath and began to devise specific plans.

We can't give Director Shi the evidence directly; that would be too obvious, and it would be discovered later.

He needs to discover it accidentally.

For example, mix the evidence with a bunch of ordinary documents and find a reason to let him find it himself.

Someone as meticulous as him will definitely look at it carefully.

Upon seeing this, knowing his personality, he would definitely report it to his superiors. Not to claim credit, but because he felt this matter was important and needed to be known by his superiors.

Who will he hand it over to?

Of course, it's Vivian Chow.

Because he was one of Director Zhou's men.

When Director Zhou sees the evidence, he will know who was behind it.

Clever as she is, she won't point it out, but she knows what's going on.

Success! Chen Nuo was the unsung hero behind it all.

If we fail, Director Yao's investigation will only lead to Shi Anping.

Shi Anping was dismissed, or worse.

Then that's none of her business.

What can she do then?

Is this an attempt to curry favor with Director Yao?

No, too hasty.

Let's wait and see.

Once Director Yao has settled in, find an opportunity to deliver a message, indicating that you are a newcomer, inexperienced, and simply following procedures, and that the evidence has nothing to do with you.

It could even be implied that Shi Anping's actions were too radical, and she had long felt that it was inappropriate.

Will Director Yao believe it?

I don't necessarily believe everything, but I won't delve into it too deeply.

Because he needs people, he needs people to do things for him.

She was just a newly hired junior staff member, insignificant, and he wouldn't bother to step on her.

At that time, she can still slowly climb up the ranks.

The path we take may not be what we expected.

Chen Nuo leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

This whole scheme of calculations was so dirty that even she herself felt like a stranger to it.

But that's just how officialdom is.

Either you die or I live.

How many years did it take Fang Jingxiu, and how many people did he step on, to climb to where he is today?

she does not know.

But she knew he must have made a similar choice.

She remembered the ring mark on his pinky finger.

I recall what he said:

"Wearing a pinky ring is a reminder to myself: don't harm others before you have the ability."

Now she has the ability.

So she started harming people.

This feeling is fucking awful.

At three in the morning, Chen Nuo went over the plan in his mind three times.

Vivian Chow won, and she followed suit.

Director Yao won, she... we'll talk about it later.

Chen Nuo stared at the screen for a long time.

She remembered Shi Anping's face.

That always-smiling middle-aged man spoke slowly and acted methodically.

Last week, I brought her some homemade pickled vegetables, saying that since Xiao Chen is alone in Beijing, she should eat more of the taste of home.

He will lose everything because of this evidence.

Job, future prospects, or even worse.

And she will use this as a stepping stone to advance her career.

Chen Nuo closed his eyes.

She recalled another statement Fang Jingxiu had made:

"How can you climb to the top of the mountain without stepping on the bones of others?"

Yes.

The mountaintop is only so high, and there are so many people.

If you don't step on others, others will step on you.

Tang Hai's case has already been proven.

She didn't want to be trampled on.

Therefore, the only option is to step on others.

She turned off the computer, got up, and left the study.

Fang Jingxiu was already asleep in the bedroom.

The lamp was still on, leaving light for her.

He lay on his side, breathing evenly, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he were thinking about something even in his dreams.

Chen Nuo quietly climbed onto the bed and snuggled into his arms.

He instinctively reached out and hugged her, his eyes still closed, and asked in a muffled voice, "Are you done?"

"Um."

"What time is it?"

It's three o'clock.

He frowned, pulled her closer, and rested his chin on the top of her head: "Sleep."

Chen Nuo didn't speak, but buried her face in his chest.

He had a faint scent of soapberry and a warm aura. It made her feel that she hadn't completely become another person.

But when she wakes up tomorrow, she'll have to start doing that thing.

That event that will change the fate of many people.

including herself.

The night outside the window remained deep.

Chen Nuo closed her eyes and slowly fell asleep in Fang Jingxiu's arms.

There was no Shi Anping, no Director Yao, and no Black Cross Society in my dream.

Many years ago, when she was in kindergarten, she wished, "I want to do great things in the future, and I want to bring the people around me with me!"

At that time, she didn't know that what is called a big deal is climbing up by stepping on others.

The next day was Sunday.

She went to her workplace.

The office building was quiet on the weekend, with only the occasional person on duty passing by.

She swiped open the office door, found the old files that needed to be reviewed, stuffed in the materials she had prepared in advance, and marked them with symbols that only she could recognize.

The whole process took less than ten minutes.

She stood at the door for a while before leaving.

The corridor was empty, with only the fluorescent lights humming softly.

She looked in the direction of Shi Anping's office and said to herself:

"Director Shi, I'm sorry."

Then turned and left.

She herself didn't know where this decision would lead her.

But she knew that from this day forward, she would no longer be the Chen Nuo who only knew how to investigate evidence.

She learned to scheme.

I've learned to use others as pawns.

I learned how to substitute one thing for another.

This was a lesson the officialdom taught her, and also the dirtiest one.