After the breakup, I was taken in by a group of trendy young women.

Li Zhiqiang chuckled twice more on the other end of the phone.

"Do you remember that time in our senior year of high school when you climbed over the wall and tore your pants? I covered for you in front of the head teacher."

"I remember. So, the drink I owe you is doubled."

Li Zhiqiang sent me a phone call.

Lin Ye saved Section Chief Wang's number into his contacts and dialed it.

It rang three times before the other end answered. It was a middle-aged man's voice, with a slight local accent, his tone businesslike but not cold.

"Hello, this is Lao Wang from the District Land and Resources Bureau."

"Hello Section Chief Wang, I was introduced by Li Zhiqiang. I would like to inquire about the rental of that abandoned machinery factory in the east of the city."

"Introduced by Li Ke? Okay, okay, come over here. I'm in room 302 on the third floor. I happen to be in the office today."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Ye turned his head to look at the driver's seat.

Wang Xiaoying was still in the position where he had pressed her wrist, with her other hand on the steering wheel, her index finger unconsciously tapping the leather cover of the steering wheel.

She tilted her head to look at him.

"Your classmate is quite sentimental."

"The friendship forged during our senior year of high school when we climbed over the wall."

Lin Ye released her wrist and pushed open the car door.

The tiled floor in the lobby of the Land and Resources Bureau had just been mopped, and there was still a thin layer of water stains and a faint smell of disinfectant.

A woman in her fifties was sitting at the front desk, wearing reading glasses and looking at her phone. When she saw Lin Ye and Wang Xiaoying walk in side by side, she took off her glasses and looked them up and down.

Wang Xiaoying wore a navy blue suit, carried a briefcase, and her high heels clicked crisply on the tiles. Her pearl earrings gleamed softly under the fluorescent lights.

Lin Ye walked beside her, wearing a white shirt and trousers, sunglasses hanging from his collar, the curve of his lips just right—three parts politeness, seven parts confidence.

The receptionist swallowed hard and asked in a local accent,

"Which one are you looking for?"

Lin Ye said, "I've made an appointment to see Section Chief Wang."

The older sister picked up the landline, dialed the internal line, and shouted into the phone.

"Wang Ke, the boss you've been waiting for has arrived."

Then I pointed them to room 302 at the stairwell, and said to go up to the third floor, the third room on the right.

The corridor on the third floor was very long, and a small piece of the wall plaster had peeled off, revealing the grayish-white putty layer underneath.

The corridor was covered with various notices and land planning maps, and the air was filled with the smell of old paper and ink.

Lin Ye walked ahead, with Wang Xiaoying to his right. Their pace was perfectly synchronized, the heels and leather shoes tapping alternately on the terrazzo floor, producing a steady and even sound.

Several staff members carrying documents in the corridor saw the couple and simultaneously stepped aside.

Section Chief Wang's office was at the end of the corridor, with the door half open.

Lin Ye knocked on the door frame twice, and the person inside looked up.

Section Chief Wang was probably in his early fifties. His hair was sparse but neatly combed, and he was wearing a navy blue jacket that looked a bit worn from washing.

The desk was piled high with file boxes and blueprints, and in the corner sat an old computer with a yellowed screen, next to which was a thermos.

He looked up and saw Lin Ye and Wang Xiaoying standing at the door. He was stunned for a moment, probably not expecting that the "boss" introduced by Li Zhiqiang would be so young, and even more surprised that he would bring a beautiful woman in a suit.

Then he stood up, extended his hand, and spoke with a tone that was even more enthusiastic than on the phone.

"Introduced by Li Ke? Oh dear, Li Ke and I are old friends. Please have a seat."

He pointed to the two old sofas opposite his desk, their springs half-collapsed, then rummaged through a drawer and pulled out two disposable paper cups. He picked up a thermos and poured a cup of tea for each of them.

"No one's been asking about that area in the east of the city for a long time. Your Chief Li told me it's for a motorcade, right?"

Lin Ye sat down on the sofa, took the paper cup, and got straight to the point.

"Section Chief Wang, I won't beat around the bush. We want to rent the entire abandoned machinery factory and convert it into a racing training ground. No commercial development, no change of land use, no damage to the ground, and no structural alteration to the buildings. If there are any government regulations, we will comply."

He glanced at Wang Xiaoying.

Wang Xiaoying took out several sheets of A4 paper from her briefcase, which contained the materials she had prepared the night before: site usage description, preliminary planning scheme, and fire emergency plan framework.

Each major section has a bold Song typeface title, with sub-sections listed below, and even smaller dots below the sub-sections. The logic is so clear that it looks like it was taken directly from a government work report.

She placed the materials on Section Chief Wang's desk, pushed them in front of him, and spoke in a professional and composed tone.

"Hello Section Chief Wang, this is our preliminary plan. The site will be used for racing training and modification technology training, and will not be used for commercial real estate development or change the nature of the industrial land. We have prepared the framework for the simplified fire protection and environmental protection filings, which can be submitted at any time when we apply for the formal permit. We respect the government's guidance price for the rent and will not negotiate the price. We hope to sign a long-term lease of at least ten years."

Section Chief Wang paused for a moment while holding the thermos.

He put on his reading glasses and went through the materials from beginning to end. After he finished, he took off his glasses and put them on the table, remaining silent for a long time.

He had worked at this land bureau for over a decade and had seen countless developers come to discuss leasing land to build houses, logistics companies to lease land for warehouses, and driving schools to lease land for training grounds.

But all these people shared the same attitude: they thought it was too expensive and wanted it cheaper.

Their first question is always "Can we reduce or exempt taxes?" and their last question is always "Are there any subsidies or support policies?"

The young couple in front of him, one of them got in through connections, and the other had a proposal that was even better than a regular bidding process, and they refused to negotiate the price.

The young man's confident demeanor, sharp gaze, and articulate speech from beginning to end made him seem nothing like someone in his early twenties.

Section Chief Wang sighed deeply, picked up his thermos and took a sip of tea. Then he looked up at Lin Ye, then at Wang Xiaoying, and spoke in an extremely rare, candid tone, the kind he only used when speaking to a junior.

"Mr. Lin, let me tell you the truth. That land is idle industrial land. The government has wanted to revitalize it for a long time, but the location is too remote. Big developers don't want it, and we small tenants are afraid of the trouble. If you really want to build a training ground, I would be more than happy to pay rent to the government."