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

On the 28th day of the first lunar month, at the Yingchuan Building.

Chen Nuo sat in her office all day, waiting for Qin Yang's message. Her phone lit up countless times, each time with push notifications of news, work messages, and spam text messages.

There was nothing about Qin Yang, nothing about Fang Jingxiu, nothing at all. She stared at her phone screen until her eyes ached, until the light dimmed, until the footsteps in the corridor gradually faded away.

My phone suddenly vibrated.

It wasn't Qin Yang, it was Wan Baoguo. She hadn't contacted him directly for a long time. The last time they met was before the New Year, a businesslike, uninteresting meeting.

She answered the call. "Mr. Wan."

"Xiao Chen, is now a convenient time? Come to my office."

Chen Nuo's heart skipped a beat. "Okay, I'll be right there."

She didn't know why Wan Baoguo wanted to see her, but at this critical juncture, any slight movement made her nervous.

The corridor was long, and her footsteps were heavy. She reached Wan Baoguo's office; the door was ajar. She knocked three times.

"Come in."

Wan Baoguo sat behind his desk, a cup of tea in his hand. He wore a dark gray jacket over a white shirt, without a tie. "Sit," he said, gesturing to the chair opposite him.

Chen Nuo sat down, placed the notebook on his lap, and gripped the pen tightly.

"Xiao Chen, don't be nervous. It's not a bad thing."

Chen Nuo looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"I am Fang Si's person."

Fang Si, Fang Jingxiu. Is Wan Baoguo one of Fang Jingxiu's men?

Her mind raced, recalling how Zhou Huimin and Deputy Chief of Staff Yao had vied for the position of Chief of Staff back then. She had gone to great lengths to investigate Deputy Chief of Staff Yao's dirty laundry, hoping to help Zhou Huimin take the position.

In the end, it was Wan Baoguo who went up. She had always thought it was because Wan Baoguo was more senior and had a stronger background, and that she was just unlucky. Now she realized that it wasn't luck, but Fang Jingxiu's doing.

Wan Baoguo smiled as he looked at her stunned expression. "You didn't know? Fang Si practically handed me this position."

Chen Nuo shook his head.

"Back then, Vivian Chow used you as a tool, wanting to use you to get rid of Deputy Chief of Staff Yao. When Fang Si saw this, he said it wouldn't work. First, he probably felt he would lose face. He personally sent someone into the film industry to be subservient to someone else; he couldn't bear the thought. Second, you've always been used by Vivian Chow, being used as a tool by her to kill people at will; it would be difficult for you to surpass her. Fang Si said, then we need to find someone else. This person can't be Vivian Chow's person, nor can they be Deputy Chief of Staff Yao's person. It has to be his person."

He looked at Chen Nuo. "So, he chose me."

Chen Nuo's hands began to tremble. She recalled how many nights she had stayed up, how many reports she had written, and how much hair she had lost in order to investigate Deputy Chief of Staff Yao's misdeeds. She had thought it was all due to her own abilities and achievements.

Now she knows that all those scandals, those clues, and those perfectly timed coincidences were all arranged by Fang Jingxiu.

He made her investigate, made her fight, made her win. He made her believe that she had won on her own.

"Why?" Chen Nuo's voice was somewhat hoarse. "Why didn't he just tell me?"

Wan Baoguo put down his teacup. "Perhaps it's because he told you that he was afraid you wouldn't feel like you won. He let you win. What he wanted was for you to stand up on your own, not for him to help you."

Wan Baoguo continued, "Xiao Chen, I've been watching all along. Fang Si truly cared about you. When you joined Yingchuan, he helped me get promoted and took care of you. When you joined the project team, he had Huang Zeshan pave the way for you. When you investigated Liu Changhe, he had Shen Rongchuan secretly pass you materials. He had planned every step you took in advance. He was there to catch every fall you made."

He paused. "But he never lets you know."

She remembered Fang Jingxiu's words: "Just keep charging forward, I'll catch you below." That hasn't changed to this day; he's always been there for her. From the first day she joined Yingchuan until now, he's never let go.

She shed tears, and Wan Baoguo remained silent for a while.

Chen Nuo wiped away her tears, looked up at him, and said, "Director Wan, you didn't call me here today just to tell me this, did you?"

"Before the incident, Fang Si came to see me once." His voice lowered. "He said he might have to go in for a while. He told me to make sure you were protected."

Chen Nuo's heart clenched. "He already knew?"

Wan Baoguo nodded. "He knew. But he didn't hide, he didn't run away, he didn't find someone to take the blame. He chose the most dangerous path and threw himself into the game."

Chen Nuo looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"I asked him, 'Since you knew you would be going in, why didn't you take precautions beforehand?'"

He paused.

He said a lot. I remember every single word he said.

Wan Baoguo closed his eyes, as if recalling that afternoon. Sunlight streamed in through the window, illuminating Fang Jingxiu's face. He sat in the chair, relaxed, as if he had come to have tea and chat.

"Director Wan," Fang Jingxiu said in a low voice, "it's not for any particular reason, it's because Chen Nuo is beautiful, sensible, smart, and intelligent. I love her very much."

Wan Baoguo remained silent.

"But my family is my disgrace." Fang Jingxiu slowly circled his finger on the rim of his glass. "The Fang family has been in politics for five generations. They are a high-ranking family with many rules. They don't say it, but they've always hoped I would marry someone of equal social standing. I almost got engaged to the Liu family's daughter back then."

He paused.

"Later I met Chen Nuo. She didn't understand anything—nothing about officialdom, no rules, no intricacies of the Fang family. All she knew was that she liked me, and I liked her. That was enough."

"But I don't think it's enough." Fang Jingxiu's voice lowered, as if afraid of disturbing something. "I'm so much older than her. When she was twenty-two, I was twenty-nine. She had just graduated, while I had already been in the Central Economic Review Bureau for seven years. She was still a blank sheet of paper, while I had already been soaked in the dye vat."

He looked down at his hands.

"What have I done to deserve her?"

Wan Baoguo had known Fang Jingxiu for many years.

In his eyes, Fang Jingxiu will always be that young man standing on the stage, neither arrogant nor humble, neither hurried nor slow.

He had never seen Fang Jingxiu like this before—humble, insecure, and feeling inadequate.

"So," Fang Jingxiu looked up at him, "I've come up with this desperate measure: to get myself involved. To let Chen Nuo make the final move. This way, I can also resolve my family's prejudice against her, allowing her to confidently step into the Fang family home."

Are you sure she can understand that document?

"She was taught by me. She will definitely understand."

Wan Baoguo slowly opened his eyes and looked at Chen Nuo's tearful eyes.

"Today, I received a message from the Supervision Department. Fang Si has been officially found guilty of abusing his power. The charge is the irregular approval of the 'Preliminary Verification Opinion on the Flow of Funds for the Digital Transformation Project in Zhongzhou Province.' Abuse of power, embezzlement, and bribery. The whole matter requires someone to be pushed out to settle the score. Just like when Sun Wukong wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace, he had to take all the blame. Everyone implicated in this document will be kicked out by him. And he will take the fall for it all."

Chen Nuo suddenly looked up. "He didn't! He didn't do any of those things!"

"I know. You know too. The people in the Inspection Department know too. But they need someone. It has to be someone else, not Fang Jingxiu. Someone has to fill that hole."

She remembered the stack of documents Fang Jingxiu had left her, Huang Zeshan's documents, with Fang Jingxiu's handwriting on them, just a few words. She couldn't see anything amiss then, and she still can't now.

But she knew there must be something hidden inside. Fang Jingxiu wouldn't have left that document for her without a reason.

"Xiao Chen, I've told you everything. Now it's up to you."

"Director Wan, why are you telling me this?"

"Because Fang Si said that if he didn't come out immediately, he would tell you all this. He said you are the smartest woman he has ever met. You will definitely be able to understand that document. You will definitely find that way. You will definitely be able to rescue him."

He paused.

"He said that if he couldn't come out, he wanted me to say something to you."

Chen Nuo's voice trembled slightly. "What did you say?"

Wan Baoguo turned around and looked at her.

He said, "The person I've wronged the most in this life is you. The person I want to protect the most is also you. The person I can't bear to part with the most is still you."

Chen Nuo's tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. But she didn't cry out loud. She bit her lip, swallowing back each tear.

"Director Wan, I understand."

She knew Fang Jingxiu was waiting for her. Waiting for her to understand the document, waiting for her to find the right path, waiting for her to fill the hole. And then, to rescue him.

She suddenly remembered something Fang Jingxiu had said: "Chen Nuo, do you know what it means to be outside the game?"

Outside the game, it's not about jumping off the board, but about becoming a piece and placing yourself on it. Make your opponent think you've lost, think you're dead, think you can never recover.

Then, when your opponent is at their most triumphant, stand up from the board and overturn the entire game.

He loves her.

He loved her so much that he was willing to throw himself onto the chessboard, to treat himself as a pawn, and to give his life for her bright and honorable future.

He loved her. He loved her so much that he felt unworthy of her. He loved her so much that he felt he had no right to be with her. He loved her so much that he felt the person he had wronged most in his life was her.

Chen Nuo lowered her head, tears dripping onto the paper and blurring the words. She reached out to wipe them away, her fingertips stained with ink and tears.

"Fang Jingxiu, you bastard," she whispered. "You think you're not good enough for me? You think you're worthy of me? You think you've wronged me?"

She took a deep breath.

"But from the very beginning, I was just asking what I had done to deserve you."