I slept with my sister's classmate, and she turned out to be my boss.

Wednesday morning.

Fang Zhiwen woke up before dawn.

He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.

Today is the day he decided to turn himself in.

His wife was still asleep and had no idea where he was going today.

He didn't wake her, but quietly got out of bed, got dressed, and went into the bathroom.

In the mirror, his face was pale, his eye bags were deep, and his hair was somewhat messy.

He washed his face, combed his hair neatly in front of the mirror, and changed into that dark blue jacket—

This is his favorite piece of clothing, which he wears to meetings, when going to the countryside, and when receiving leaders.

Today, he wore it to turn himself in.

As Fang Zhiwen walked out of the bedroom, he glanced back at his wife, who was still fast asleep.

She was curled up in the blanket, with only half her head showing, her hair spread out on the pillow.

He stood at the door for a few seconds, then gently closed the door.

The car was parked downstairs; it was a black Audi.

He opened the car door, got in, started the engine, and drove out of the residential area.

The Discipline Inspection Commission compound is located on the east side of the county town. It is a five-story building with white paint on the exterior walls and a national flag on the roof, fluttering slightly in the morning breeze.

Fang Zhiwen parked the car at the entrance, turned off the engine, sat in the driver's seat, and looked at the national flag.

He sat in the car for a long time.

Finally, he pushed open the car door and got out.

The gatekeeper of the county discipline inspection commission was an old man in his fifties.

He saw Fang Zhiwen walk in, looked up, and paused for a moment.

Fang Zhiwen is the Party Secretary of Liuhe Town and is considered a prominent figure in the county; the gatekeeper knows him.

"Secretary Fang? So early?"

"I'm looking for Secretary Liu."

The gatekeeper nodded, opened the register, and asked Fang Zhiwen to write down the visit record.

Registration complete.

Fang Zhiwen walked through the courtyard and into the building.

The corridor was quiet.

His footsteps echoed in the empty corridor.

The Discipline Inspection Commission's work rules were hanging on the wall, white background with red lettering, neatly arranged.

"Loyalty, integrity, and responsibility."

He stared at the six words for a few seconds, then continued walking forward.

Liu Zhiyuan's office is at the end of the corridor on the third floor.

The door was open, and Fang Zhiwen stood in the doorway, seeing Liu Zhiyuan sitting behind his desk, looking at documents.

He looked up and saw Fang Zhiwen, his face expressionless.

"Come in."

Fang Zhiwen went in and sat down opposite Liu Zhiyuan.

He placed the notebook he was holding on the table and pushed it in front of Liu Zhiyuan.

"Secretary Liu, this is my confession. All the problems in Liuhe Town are in here."

Liu Zhiyuan glanced at the notebook on the table but did not pick it up immediately.

He looked at Fang Zhiwen with a deep gaze.

"Fang Zhiwen, do you know what you're doing?"

"I know. I'll turn myself in."

Liu Zhiyuan stared at him for a few seconds, then reached for the notebook on the table and opened it.

He read it page by page, very slowly.

Liu Zhiyuan's fingers slowly slid across the pages, from the first page to the last.

Fang Zhiwen sat opposite him, his back ramrod straight, like a primary school student waiting for the teacher to correct his homework.

His face was expressionless, but his hands, resting on his knees, were trembling slightly.

Liu Zhiyuan closed his notebook, looked up, and stared at Fang Zhiwen.

"Did you write these materials yourself? Did anyone force you?"

"No. I wrote it myself."

"Do you know what it means to give me these materials?"

"I know. It means I can't go back."

Liu Zhiyuan remained silent for a moment.

"Fang Zhiwen, if these issues you wrote about are verified, they are not simply violations of discipline. Do you understand?"

Fang Zhiwen's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

"Understood. I will take responsibility for what I should take. I will serve the jail time I deserve."

Liu Zhiyuan stared at him for a few seconds.

He had worked in the county discipline inspection commission for so many years and had seen many people come to confess their problems.

Some were forced into it, some wanted to lessen their punishment, and some were genuinely remorseful.

Which category does Fang Zhiwen belong to?

He wasn't sure.

"Fang Zhiwen, do you have any evidence for what you've written?"

"Yes. Most of the evidence is mentioned in the materials. The originals of the transfer records, contracts, and acceptance reports are in the Liuhe Town Finance Office and the Economic Development Zone Office. There are also some in the safe in my office."

"Do the materials Zhou Min submitted match yours?"

Fang Zhiwen paused for a moment, then nodded.

"That matches. I also wrote down the ones that Zhou Min handled."

Liu Zhiyuan scribbled a few notes in his notebook, then stood up.

"Fang Zhiwen, the detention procedure was initiated the moment you stepped through this door."

According to regulations, we need to conduct a preliminary verification of your situation before deciding whether to formally file a case.

During the verification period, you cannot leave the designated area or contact the outside world. Will you cooperate?

Fang Zhiwen also stood up.

"Cooperate."

Liu Zhiyuan picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number.

"Director Hu, please bring some people to my office."

After hanging up the phone, he looked at Fang Zhiwen.

"Fang Zhiwen, is there anything else you want to say?"

Fang Zhiwen remained silent for a moment.

He remembered many things—

When I first went to Liuhe Town ten years ago.

Chatting with an old farmer in the courtyard of the town government;

Five years ago, when the project in the Economic Development Zone started, I stood on the construction site to cut the ribbon;

When the audit team arrived a month ago, I sat in the office all night, unable to sleep.

These images flashed through his mind like a movie.

"Secretary Liu, I have a request."

"you say."

"Could you please not tell my family about this? I'm afraid my wife won't be able to handle it if she finds out."

Liu Zhiyuan looked at him and remained silent for a few seconds.

"Fang Zhiwen, her family must be notified before she is detained. That's the procedure. But I will arrange for someone to talk to her properly and try to minimize the stress on her."

Fang Zhiwen lowered his head.

"Thank you, Secretary Liu."

There was a knock on the door.

Liu Zhiyuan said "Come in," and the door opened, with two people walking in.

A man and a woman, both wearing dark uniforms.

The man walking in front was in his early forties, not very tall, and had a serious expression.

Hu Yiwei, Director of the Third Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office of the County Discipline Inspection Commission.

"Secretary Liu."

"Fang Zhiwen has come to confess. Take him to the interview room and get the basic information first. Then proceed with the detention procedures."

Hu Yiwei glanced at Fang Zhiwen, his gaze lingering on his face for a moment before moving away.

"This way, please."

Fang Zhiwen followed him out of the office, down the corridor, and down the stairs.

The interview room was on the second floor, with a heavy wooden door and no windows.

Hu Yiwei pushed open the door, and Fang Zhiwen walked in.

The room was small, with a table and three chairs.

A Party flag hangs on the wall, with eight large characters written next to it—

"Confess and you will be treated leniently; resist and you will be treated severely."

Hu Yi pointed to the chair.

"sit."

Fang Zhiwen sat down in the chair.

Hu Yiwei sat down opposite him, and the female cadre sat next to him, opening her laptop to take notes.

"Fang Zhiwen, you came here voluntarily today. We welcome your willingness to explain yourself. However, according to procedure, we need to clarify the situation. Will you cooperate?"

"Cooperate."

"Alright." Hu Yiwei opened his notebook. "Tell me first, what violations and disciplinary infractions did you participate in during your tenure in Liuhe Town?"

Fang Zhiwen took a deep breath and then began to speak.

He spoke slowly, but every word was clear.

Starting with the first "other expenditure" in 2019, to Fang Zhiqiang's 17.5 mu of land acquisition, to Hongda Commerce's false contracts, to the fake acceptance reports handled by Qian Cheng.

He spoke one point after another, recounting one detail after another.

He spoke for nearly two hours without stopping.

The female cadre next to me was typing on her keyboard, and the clattering sound was particularly clear.

By the time Fang Zhiwen finished speaking, his voice was already a little hoarse.

"Do you have evidence for what you're saying?"

"Yes. Most of the evidence is mentioned in the materials I wrote. The originals are in the safe in my office, and some are in the Liuhe Town Finance Office and the Economic Development Zone Office."

Hu Yiwei scribbled a few notes in his notebook, then stood up.

"Fang Zhiwen, that concludes our discussion for today. We will carefully verify the materials you submitted. Starting today, you will be placed in a designated location. During your detention, you will not be allowed to contact the outside world or leave."

"Know."

Hu Yiwei glanced at the female cadre, who nodded and closed her laptop.

Hu Yiwei walked to the door, opened it, and said a few words to the people in the corridor.

Soon, two people walked in and stood on either side of Fang Zhiwen.

"Let's go."

Fang Zhiwen stood up and followed them out of the conversation room.

The corridor was quiet, and his footsteps echoed in the empty space.

As he passed by Liu Zhiyuan's office, the door was open, and he glanced inside.

Liu Zhiyuan was sitting behind his desk making a phone call, without looking up.

Fang Zhiwen continued walking forward, down the corridor, downstairs, and across the courtyard.

The national flag was still fluttering on the rooftop. He looked up at it for a moment, then lowered his head.

He got into the car and sat in the back seat.

There was a person sitting on each side, and neither of them spoke.

The car drove out of the Discipline Inspection Commission compound and merged into the traffic on the main road.

Fang Zhiwen looked out the window.

He had walked the main street of the county town countless times, and he was familiar with the shops on both sides, the traffic lights at the intersections, and the roadside trees.

He doesn't know if he'll ever see these things again.

……

Liu Zhiyuan sat in his office, with Fang Zhiwen's notebook spread out on the table in front of him.

He turned to the first page and started reading from the beginning.

Fang Zhiwen filled a whole notebook with neat handwriting, each stroke carefully written, showing that he took it very seriously.

Each entry includes the time, location, participants, and amount, written in great detail.

This wasn't written on a whim; it was prepared for a long time.

Liu Zhiyuan closed his notebook, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed a number.

"County Chief He, Fang Zhiwen surrendered himself to the Discipline Inspection Commission this morning."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"What did he confess?"

"The problems in Liuhe Town. The whereabouts of the 1160 million yuan special fund, Fang Zhiqiang's land expropriation compensation, the related transactions of Hongda Commerce, and the fake contracts and fake acceptance reports handled by Qian Cheng—all of them have been explained."

"Where's the evidence?"

He said most of them were in the safe in his office. I've already arranged for someone to retrieve them.

He Ying remained silent for a moment.

"Secretary Liu, let's not publicize Fang Zhiwen's surrender for now."

"I know. But what about Fang Mingyuan—"

"I'll handle it."

Liu Zhiyuan hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair.

Fang Zhiwen turned himself in, and the case in Liuhe Town has entered the disciplinary committee's procedures.

With the evidence and confessions secured, Fang Zhiwen has no way to escape.

But what about Fang Mingyuan?

Liu Zhiyuan thought for a moment, then opened his notebook and read it through from beginning to end again.

Fang Zhiwen wrote about Qian Cheng, Zhou Min, Hongda Commerce, and Fang Zhiqiang.

But Fang Mingyuan's name never appeared.

Liu Zhiyuan closed his notebook.

He knew that Fang Zhiwen was protecting Fang Mingyuan.

He Ying hung up Liu Zhiyuan's call, sat behind her desk, and stared at her phone screen.

Fang Zhiwen has turned himself in.

She had been waiting for this day for a long time, ever since the audit team entered Liuhe Town.

Now, Fang Zhiwen finally went in by himself.

She picked up her phone, scrolled to Chen Dapeng's WeChat, and typed a line:

"Fang Zhiwen has turned himself in. This morning, the county discipline inspection commission..."

After sending it, she stared at the screen.

Chen Dapeng quickly replied: "What did he confess?"

"The problem in Liuhe Town. 1160 million yuan, Fang Zhiqiang, Hongda Commerce, Qian Cheng—they've all confessed."

Where is Fang Mingyuan?

He Ying stared at the words and remained silent for a moment.

"Not mentioned."

Chen Dapeng remained silent for a moment.

"He's protecting Fang Mingyuan. This is sacrificing a pawn to save the rook!"

He Ying knew Chen Dapeng was right.

Fang Zhiwen turned himself in and confessed to all the problems in Liuhe Town, but he never mentioned Fang Mingyuan's name.

It's not that I don't know, it's that I don't want to say.

He risked his own life to save Fang Mingyuan's.

He didn't know if Fang Mingyuan could hold on outside, but he chose to believe in him.

He Ying put down her phone, stood up, and walked to the window.

The sky outside the window was gray and the clouds hung low.

She stared at the gray sky, with only one thought in her mind—

Fang Zhiwen has turned himself in, and Fang Mingyuan won't be able to hold out for much longer!