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

It was 8 p.m. in He Ying's office at the county government.

Zhou Deming arrived at He Ying's office wearing a jacket and carrying a canvas bag.

"sit."

He Ying pointed to the chair opposite her.

Zhou Deming sat down opposite her and placed the canvas bag on his lap.

He Ying looked at him but didn't urge him to speak.

Zhou Deming lowered his head, staring at the canvas bag on his knee.

His fingers repeatedly stroked the opening of the bag, as if making a final decision.

After a moment, he raised his head, his voice slightly hoarse.

"County Chief He, I've come today to hand over to you the things I've handled over the years."

He Ying nodded.

"you say."

Zhou Deming unzipped the canvas bag, took out a stack of old vouchers, and placed them on He Ying's desk.

The paper of the voucher was yellowed, the edges were curled, and there were mold spots on some pages.

It's clear that these receipts have been sitting there for quite some time.

"These are the original documents from 2019 to 2020. I didn't burn all of the ones Fang Zhiwen told me to burn. These are the originals, and the most important ones are all here."

He Ying picked up the top book and opened it.

The first page contains the payment voucher for 50 yuan – "Hongda Trading Co., Ltd.", "Economic Development Zone Road Repair Project", "Contract No. LH-2019-007". The attachments are still there, the contract is still there, and the acceptance report is still there.

Fang Zhiwen's signature, Qian Cheng's signature, and Zhou Deming's own signature are all on it.

The paper is yellowed and the ink has faded, but the writing is still clear.

He Ying flipped through a few pages, put down the voucher, and looked at Zhou Deming.

"Director Zhou, does Fang Zhiwen know about these things?"

"I don't know. He thought I burned them all. That night, I burned some in front of him. But I took these originals out beforehand and hid them at home."

Why did you keep these things?

Zhou Deming remained silent for a moment.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes were a little red.

"County Chief He, I worked in the finance office for twenty-three years. I handled every single account in Liuhe Town. I knew all the clean and dirty accounts. When Fang Zhiwen asked me to burn these things, I hesitated for a long time."

He paused for a moment.

"I don't want to leave him with any evidence. I'm afraid that one day he'll pin everything on me. I'm keeping these things as my shield."

He Ying looked at him, her gaze deep and intense.

Amulets—Zhou Deming is right, these things are his amulets.

With these things, Fang Zhiwen dared not push all the responsibility onto him.

Because Zhou Deming has evidence proving that Fang Zhiwen ordered him to do those things.

But now, Fang Zhiwen has turned himself in.

These things, which were once amulets, have now become evidence of crimes.

"Director Zhou, are you willing to publicly testify about these things?"

Zhou Deming fell silent.

He Ying did not urge him.

She knew the weight of this question.

Public testimony means that Zhou Deming will have to stand up and, in front of the Discipline Inspection Commission, the Procuratorate, and possibly the court, tell Fang Zhiwen's story in detail.

This also means that he himself cannot escape.

"County Chief He," Zhou Deming finally spoke, his voice trembling slightly, "if the organization needs me to step forward, I am willing."

He Ying looked into his eyes.

"Director Zhou, these documents also bear your signature. If you step forward, you may be held accountable."

Zhou Deming lowered his head and stared at the yellowed receipts on the table.

"I know."

His voice was soft, but firm.

"County Chief He, I've worked in the finance office for twenty-three years. I've signed what I was supposed to sign, and I've signed what I wasn't supposed to sign. I know what I've done. I don't ask to be exonerated, I only ask—"

He looked up at He Ying.

"I only ask that I no longer have to lie. I also earnestly request the organization's understanding and leniency in my punishment."

The office was quiet.

He Ying looked at him and remained silent for a few seconds.

"Director Zhou, since you have proactively confessed your problems, cooperated with the investigation, and are willing to testify, the organization will consider leniency. I will try my best to help you."

Zhou Deming's eyes reddened.

"County Chief He, thank you."

He stood up and picked up the canvas bag.

"County Chief He, I'll leave these things here."

"it is good."

Zhou Deming turned around and took two steps, then stopped and turned back around.

"County Magistrate He."

"Um?"

"I didn't dare say anything when Fang Zhiwen was outside. Only after he went in did I dare to take these things out. I'm not a good person, but I don't want to be Fang Zhiwen's sacrificial lamb."

He Ying looked at him.

"You won't."

Zhou Deming nodded, turned and left.

The moment the door closed, He Ying leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh.

The trees fell and the hozens scattered.

After Fang Zhiwen surrendered himself, Zhou Deming immediately came to confess.

Perhaps even more people will voluntarily go to the county discipline inspection commission...

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Su Wanqing pushed open the door and came in, followed by Chen Dapeng.

The two waited in the next office until Zhou Deming left, then they knocked on the door.

Both of them knew that Zhou Deming must have brought something important.

"sit."

Chen Dapeng sat down opposite He Ying, and Su Wanqing sat next to him.

Both of their eyes fell on the stack of receipts on the table.

Chen Dapeng recognized it—it was the thing he had found in the bottom drawer of the finance office in Liuhe Town.

He remembered the yellowed papers, the curled edges, and the faded ink.

"Zhou Deming left these things behind."

He Ying's voice was flat, revealing no emotion.

Chen Dapeng reached out and picked up the top book, then opened it.

The first page is the payment voucher for 50 yuan, with Fang Zhiwen's signature, Qian Cheng's signature, and Zhou Deming's own signature all on it.

His finger paused on that line of text.

"Are these the original documents?"

"The originals." He Ying leaned back in her chair. "He burned some of them in front of Fang Zhiwen, but he hid the real originals."

Su Wanqing picked up another book, flipped through it, and frowned.

"County Chief, with these materials, plus the documents submitted by Zhou Min, Qian Cheng's USB drive, and Du Jianguo's ledgers, the chain of evidence is complete. Fang Mingyuan—"

She didn't finish speaking, but all three of them knew what she wanted to say.

"Fang Mingyuan is still a little short," He Ying continued. "Fang Zhiwen is protecting him, and Zhou Deming's materials don't directly point to him. To take action against Fang Mingyuan, we need more direct evidence—evidence that proves he has a direct connection to this money."

Chen Dapeng remained silent for a moment.

He stared at the yellowed receipts on the table, his mind racing.

Fang Zhiwen was protecting Fang Mingyuan, Zhou Deming dared not write about Fang Mingyuan, and Qian Cheng did not directly identify Fang Mingyuan.

Everyone knew that Fang Mingyuan had a problem, but no one had direct evidence.

Fang Mingyuan hid himself too well.

"County Magistrate," Chen Dapeng looked up, "what if Fang Mingyuan runs away?"

He Ying looked at him.

"If he ran away, it means he has a guilty conscience. The disciplinary committee can trace his escape route back to find the assets he transferred, the overseas accounts he was connected to, and the people who helped him escape. These are all evidence."

"But he hasn't run away yet," Su Wanqing said. "That means he's still hesitating."

"He'll run away." Chen Dapeng's voice wasn't loud, but it was very certain. "Fang Zhiwen has turned himself in, Zhou Deming has submitted his materials, and the audit report has been copied to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. He has no way out. He's just waiting for an opportunity, or an excuse."

He Ying looked at Su Wanqing.

"Director Su."

"exist."

"Tomorrow morning, make a copy of Zhou Deming's materials and deliver it to Secretary Liu of the Discipline Inspection Commission. I will keep the original."

"it is good."

"Also, have someone keep an eye on Fang Mingyuan. Don't alert him; just find out when he leaves and where he goes."

Su Wanqing wrote it down in her notebook.

He Ying then looked at Chen Dapeng.

"Dapeng, how about you? Has Liu Zhiguo been acting strangely lately?"

Chen Dapeng thought for a moment.

"No. He's still the same as always, coming to and from get off work on time every day, and occasionally asking me a few questions about work. But he hasn't been talking to me much lately. We used to chat about random things, but now he doesn't say anything except about work."

He Ying frowned slightly.

Liu Zhiguo was Fang Mingyuan's man, and it was impossible for Liu Zhiguo not to know that Fang Zhiwen had surrendered himself.

He showed no abnormality; perhaps he was hiding himself well, or perhaps Fang Mingyuan told him not to move.

"Be careful of him." He Ying's voice turned serious. "If Fang Mingyuan really wants to run away, the last thing he'll do is probably get rid of the people around him. Liu Zhiguo knows too much about him; he won't keep them around."

Chen Dapeng's fingers tightened slightly.

"You mean, Fang Mingyuan will do something to Liu Zhiguo—"

"I can't say for sure. But you need to be careful. You're in the IT department, closest to Liu Zhiguo. If something happens to Fang Mingyuan, Liu Zhiguo will probably be the first to react."

Chen Dapeng nodded.

The office fell silent.

He Ying picked up the yellowed certificate on the table and turned to the first page.

Fang Zhiwen's signature, Qian Cheng's signature, and Zhou Deming's own signature are all on it.

She stared at the three signatures and remained silent for a moment.

"Director Su, do you think Zhou Deming is a trustworthy person?"

Su Wanqing thought for a moment.

"He came voluntarily, and he handed over the documents voluntarily as well. If he wanted to fool us, he wouldn't have produced the originals. By producing these things, he's essentially surrendering his life. I think it's believable."

He Ying nodded.

"But I've been thinking about what he said."

"What did you say?" Chen Dapeng asked.

He said, "I'm not a good person, but I don't want to be Fang Zhiwen's sacrificial lamb."

He Ying looked at Chen Dapeng.

"Fang Zhiwen's burial goods are not just Zhou Deming alone. Fang Mingyuan, Qian Cheng, Liu Zhiguo, and those people in the provincial capital are all burial goods. When Fang Zhiwen falls, they will all fall with him."

Chen Dapeng remained silent for a moment.

"County Chief, Fang Zhiwen has turned himself in, Zhou Deming has submitted his case, and the audit report is out. When will the Discipline Inspection Commission take action?"

He Ying thought for a moment.

"Secretary Liu said it would take time to verify the materials. It could be a week at the earliest, or half a month at the latest. But Fang Zhiwen has already been detained, and what about Fang Mingyuan—"

She paused for a moment.

"We can't wait for Fang Mingyuan."

Su Wanqing raised her head.

"County Magistrate, what do you mean—"

"He must be thinking of a solution right now—whether to resist, run away, or confess voluntarily? We can't give him too much time to think. The longer we drag this out, the more likely he is to run away."

"Then what should we do?" Su Wanqing asked.

He Ying remained silent for a moment.

"I'll think of a way."