Official title: Refused to stay at the university, started his career in a rural town.

Three days after the awards ceremony.

Liang Qunfeng sat in his study, his reading glasses perched on his nose, flipping through a document in his hand.

The document, submitted by the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department, lists the list of outstanding grassroots cadres in the province this year, with Yang Fan's name appearing on the third page.

He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Another Handong University has emerged.

In Qingping Township, a remote mountain village, the average income per person was less than 200 yuan a few years ago, but now it has reached 4,800 yuan.

Apple bagging, mountain delicacies brand, and small-can tea—each of these is a solid achievement.

The award was presented personally by the governor, and Liang Qunfeng, sitting on the podium, could hear clearly how long the applause lasted.

Handong University.

These four words made him feel a little uneasy.

Being one of the top ten key universities in the country, it's no exaggeration to say that its students are all over the world.

From Beijing to local governments, from ministries to provinces and cities, alumni of Handong University are found in government agencies at all levels.

What's more troublesome is that this group isn't united by a powerful figure, but rather by an atmosphere—the old mentoring the new, the strong helping the weak, and passing on knowledge and skills.

There is no clear leader, and there is no need to pledge loyalty to anyone. As long as you have the belief in serving the people, you are one of us!

A spiritual community without a clearly defined faction is far more difficult to deal with than a faction with a clearly defined leader.

Liang Qunfeng had been operating in the political and legal field for decades, and he couldn't even count how many of his subordinates were students from the Department of Political Science and Law at Handong University; the vast majority of those he had connections with were also graduates of the Department of Political Science and Law at Handong University.

The strength of the Department of Political Science and Law at Handong University is evident, but it is only one of the thirteen departments at Handong University.

Liang Qunfeng closed the document.

Both sons have been settled, working in state-owned enterprises with stable incomes. And their daughter, Liang Lu? She's a teacher at Handong University, which sounds respectable, but her personality—

He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Lulu, come back tonight."

When Liang Lu entered the room, Liang Qunfeng was sitting on the sofa watching the news broadcast.

"dad."

Liang Qunfeng pointed to the sofa next to him.

Liang Lu sat down, still holding her bag.

She knew her dad too well—when he called her home, it was usually because something was wrong.

"How did you bully that student council president from Handong University, his name is Qi something?"

Liang Lu was taken aback.

He gripped the bag strap with his fingers.

Why would her dad care about something so trivial?

It all started with a simple phone call—she spoke to Director He of the school's personnel department and told him to hold back a student named Qi Tongwei during the job assignment process and make him suffer a bit.

Director He didn't refuse, saying "Don't worry, Teacher Liang," but then kicked him to Yantai Mountain.

"I just spoke to Director He of the Personnel Department," Liang Lu said, "saying I should put some pressure on Qi Tongwei."

"They didn't refuse, and I'm currently working as a judicial assistant at the Yantaishan Judicial Office."

Liang Qunfeng turned his head to look at Liang Lu.

"A graduate student, working as a judicial assistant in a judicial office?"

"What's your relationship with that Director He?"

Liang Lu's eyes widened.

"It's nothing, I just probably knew you were my father and went along with it."

Her tone was somewhat sharp: "He's a man in his fifties, do you think I'd have any other ideas about him?"

Liang Qunfeng slapped the armrest of the sofa.

"I told you not to get involved with that guy surnamed Li back then, but you insisted! Now you regret it?"

Liang Lu's face turned pale.

He twisted his fingers around the bag strap.

"I introduced you to someone, but you refused to go; you insisted on coming yourself, huh!"

"I didn't do anything to him," Liang Lu said, raising her voice by half an octave. "I just sent him to some remote, impoverished place to broaden his horizons, and he'll realize how good I am to him."

Liang Qunfeng stared at his daughter for a few seconds.

"I had someone inquire. They said the deputy section chief position has been held back by someone else. Did you put in a good word for it?"

Liang Lu frowned.

"I didn't. What's the point of me asking if I should suppress this? They're a graduate student; even if I suppress it now, they'll have to make it up later. What's the point?"

Liang Qunfeng tapped his fingers twice on the sofa armrest.

"Did you do this?"

"I don't know anyone at Yantai Mountain, how am I supposed to help them? And you're not even going to help me!"

Liang Qunfeng took off his reading glasses, looked past the frames, and stared at the ceiling for a long time.

Yantai Mountain, Yantai City.

Liang Lu had no acquaintances in Yantaishan and couldn't make any connections, but Qi Tongwei's deputy section chief position had indeed been suppressed for almost two years.

According to policy, a graduate student should receive deputy section-level benefits in their first year. But Yantai City is withholding this; who authorized this?

A person flashed through his mind.

Qi Tongwei's girlfriend, Chen Yang, is his father.

Some people are now saying that Chen Yanshi is the chief prosecutor of the Second Procuratorate of Handong Province.

Liang Qunfeng frowned slightly.

Surely not! Chen Yanshi is notoriously rigid and despises pulling strings and using connections.

He stopped his daughter from associating with Qi Tongwei because he looked down on Qi Tongwei's background—wouldn't it be a matter of using organizational means to suppress a young man?

It's hard to say.

Who can predict the human heart?

Liang Qunfeng snapped out of his thoughts and turned to look at Liang Lu.

"From now on, Qi Tongwei, don't use my name to do anything."

Liang Lu opened her mouth.

"After all, it's Handong University." Liang Qunfeng's tone was calm, but every word carried weight. "You understand things here."

Liang Lu put her bag on the sofa.

"You contacted me for no apparent reason today."

"I do want him! But I'm just a graduate student from Handong University, a student council president. Would I really go out of my way to openly ruin him? What good would it do me? It would be a waste of effort and I'd be doing you a favor! I am, after all, a professor at Handong University! I know the power and influence of Handong University!"

Her voice grew louder and louder, her eyes reddened, and she seemed very aggrieved.

Liang Qunfeng took a breath and lowered his voice: "It's good that you understand."

Liang Qunfeng suddenly asked, "Do you still keep in touch with your best friend, Teacher Wu?"

Liang Lu was taken aback.

"You mean Huifen? Yes, I do."

"Since you're such a good friend, why don't you invite her over for a visit?"

Liang Lu stared at her father for a long time.

Then she laughed.

His smile sounded a little forced.

"Okay, okay, you've really gone too far, Dad."

She stood up, picked up her bag, and slung it over her shoulder.

"I made a mistake and misjudged people, but I'm not stupid! Just say what you want to say, why play games with me?"

Liang Lu walked to the door, put her hand on the doorknob, and turned around.

"My dad is Liang Qunfeng, the deputy secretary of the provincial party committee. I've known this identity since middle school, and I've always known the weight those three words carry in Handong!"

The door closed.

Liang Qunfeng sat on the sofa, the news broadcast playing softly on the television.

He looked towards the door and picked up the teacup from the coffee table. The tea was cold and tasted bitter.

He didn't refill the water; he just held it there. Outside the window, the lights of Jingzhou shone brightly.