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

Gao Yuliang sat in the passenger seat, his hands on his knees, tapping his fingers together.

He is 38 years old this year, but he is already the head of the Department of Law at Handong University, with a high-level deputy director-general level salary.

At this age, sitting in this position means you're among the most promising young talents in the school. But what about those who go higher?

The law department cannot dominate among the thirteen departments of Handong University, and it does not have enough strength to support its rise to the position of president.

There are many students in the political and legal field, but that's due to historical reasons—in the first few years after the resumption of the college entrance examination, the law department did produce quite a few cadres.

But that was in the past. Now, school resources, higher-level attention, and the weight of subject evaluations are all tilted towards science and engineering.

The law department is just a facade, good for show, but if it really comes down to competing for the presidency, he wouldn't stand a chance.

Stay at the university? Even if you work your way up to retirement, the best you can hope for is a vice-principal.

There's absolutely no hope of him becoming the president. Han Dong University has at least three people qualified to become president, just from the science and engineering departments alone.

No matter how bright the signboard of the law department is, it won't shine on that position.

Going out? The department head is a high-ranking official, equivalent to a deputy director-general level official. According to convention, being transferred to another department would mean a demotion of half a rank, starting from the level of a division chief.

If you're lucky, you'll get a real position; if you're unlucky, you'll just be a researcher.

Moreover, at thirty-eight, he's a full-fledged department head—not young, but not old either.

Without powerful backing, and currently stuck at the hurdle of becoming a deputy director-general, one could be stuck for life.

Moreover, Gao Yuliang's expertise lies in political and legal theory; asking him to work in economics? That would be like the blind men and the elephant.

But what if you had a deputy secretary of the provincial party committee as a backer? Liang Qunfeng!

Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Handong Province, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice-Ministerial level, will arrive at his post in three years.

For more than three years, Gao Yuliang kept calculating this number in his mind.

Is that enough? From division chief to deputy director-general, there are people pushing for promotions, that's enough.

And then from deputy director-general to director-general?

How much influence will Liang Qunfeng retain after retiring?

Who did he offend?

Who's eyeing his position, waiting for liquidation?

These questions didn't arise out of thin air. Gao Yuliang has been in the political and legal academic circles for so many years and has seen too much of the power transfer within the system.

It's good to rest in the shade of a big tree, but if the tree is blown down by the wind, the people under it will be the first to be crushed to death.

But Liang Qunfeng's springboard is too big, so big that it makes people envious, and so big that it makes people worry—if he jumps up and doesn't stand firmly, falling down would be more than just breaking a leg.

"Yu Liang?" Wu Huifen's voice interrupted his thoughts as he was in the driver's seat. Gao Yu Liang turned his head.

Wu Huifen pushed up her glasses, her expression as calm as if she had just finished breakfast and gone out to buy groceries. "You seem to have something on your mind today!"

Gao Yuliang's lips twitched slightly. He could fool everyone else, but he couldn't fool Wu Huifen. "I'm thinking about what to say when I see Secretary Liang later."

Wu Huifen didn't expose him and continued driving.

Shortly after, while Gao Yuliang was still daydreaming about commanding the country, Wu Huifen, who was in the driver's seat, gradually slowed down and said softly, "Yuliang, we've arrived!"

The car stopped at the entrance of the provincial party committee compound, and Gao Yuliang got out.

Two armed police officers stood at the entrance, fully armed and standing ramrod straight. They weren't just standing there for show; they were truly motionless.

Gao Yuliang stood at the door waiting for Wu Huifen to come down, and looked up and glanced inside.

At the end of the road directly opposite the entrance, a car slowly drove out. The soldiers on guard snapped to attention and raised their hands in salute. The people inside the car didn't appear; the windows were closed. The car turned a corner and disappeared into the shadows of the plane trees. The soldiers lowered their hands and returned to their motionless stance.

Gao Yuliang stood still, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly.

Suddenly, a line from the Records of the Grand Historian popped into his mind: "Emperor Gaozu often traveled to Xianyang, surveyed the surroundings, and upon seeing the Qin Emperor, sighed deeply and said, 'Alas, a true man should be like this.'"

Upon seeing the canopy of Qin Shi Huang's carriage, Liu Bang remarked, "That's how a true man should act." Gao Yuliang, standing at the entrance of the provincial government compound, watched as an unidentified car drove out, and the soldiers at the gate saluted—he suddenly understood why Liu Bang had uttered that remark!

It wasn't that I envied the magnificence of Qin Shi Huang's chariot, nor the loyalty of the Qin soldiers to Qin Shi Huang; it was that I envied the power of the person inside the chariot to decide the life and death of all the people in the world simply by sitting there!

A single casual remark or an unintentional gesture from him can be interpreted in a hundred different ways.

This is what a man should do!

Gao Yuliang also expressed the same sentiment!

This scene before him fueled his even greater desire to enter politics.

It's good to educate children and cultivate talent in schools, but the power one can wield after entering politics might be even more appealing.

Wu Huifen dialed Liang Lu's number.

"Teacher Liang, we've arrived at the door."

After hearing something said on the other end of the phone, Wu Huifen hummed in response twice and hung up. "Teacher Liang is coming out to pick us up."

Gao Yuliang nodded, his gaze passing over the gate and looking towards the villas furthest inside the courtyard.

After a while, Liang Lu came out. Gao Yuliang saw that she was wearing a light purple dress, carrying a small bag, and wearing high heels, walking at a moderate pace.

Liang Lu said something to the soldier at the door, and the soldier saluted and stepped aside.

Liang Lu waved to Gao Yuliang and Wu Huifen. "Huifen! Director Gao! Over here!"

The three people walked through the gate and along the asphalt road.

Several cars were parked on both sides of the road. Gao Yuliang glanced at the license plates—they were all from provincial government agencies.

Looking at those people who were blocked outside the provincial party committee compound, Gao Yuliang suddenly felt a sense of pride.

Don't underestimate me just because I'm a small department head; I'm more capable than you big shots.

However, Gao Yuliang quickly suppressed this idea with his rationality; he was only a minor department head at the moment!

Gao Yuliang stopped in front of courtyard number three.

A detached two-story villa with red brick walls, white window frames, and a small yard in front with several osmanthus trees and a neatly trimmed holly bush.

It's not the kind of nouveau riche extravagance, but a profound sense of tranquility.

That sense of peace comes from the fact that, just by standing here, you know that the people living in this house, and the people living in the other houses in this courtyard, are deciding the fate of tens of millions of people in this province every day.

Liang Lu pushed open the small iron gate to the courtyard and smiled, urging the two of them to come in quickly, as their aunt had already prepared lunch.

Wu Huifen tugged at Gao Yuliang, who was still in a daze, and Gao Yuliang, snapping out of his reverie, quickly followed her inside.

As he stepped into the courtyard, he felt a familiar presence; the comforting feeling of returning home captivated him, as if—

This hospital feels special to me!