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

At 2 p.m., Fang Mingyuan sat in his office, looking at the plane tickets he had booked on his phone.

Departure time: 8 PM three days from now.

Destination: Sydney.

From the moment he booked the plane ticket until now, he has never felt at ease.

It wasn't fear, but that feeling of being suspended in mid-air, neither here nor there.

He didn't know when things would happen in the city, or whether he could leave before they did.

All I know is that time is not on his side.

Just then, the phone rang. It was Zheng Hai calling, and he quickly answered it.

"explain."

"County Chief Fang," Zheng Hai said in a low voice, "the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection's car is on the highway. They're leaving at two o'clock, two cars, heading south."

"The Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection? In the south? Is the information reliable?"

"Confirmed. The news came from a driver friend in the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection. He said that Secretary Han was called to Secretary Liang's office this morning, and after returning, he had someone prepare a car, saying that he was going to the county. He didn't say where exactly, but the direction was south."

Fang Mingyuan's heart sank: to the south...

To the south are four counties: Qingshun County, Fangzhou County, Baoshan County, and Suli County.

Having been in politics for many years, he has developed a special sensitivity.

With all that's happened recently, several people around me have "gotten in jail."

His intuition told him that the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection's destination must be Qingshun County!

The target is him—Fang Mingyuan!

He closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fists.

The day has finally come.

"understood."

"County Magistrate Fang, you..."

"Stop talking."

The phone hangs up.

Fang Mingyuan put his phone on the table, his mind racing.

It takes one hour and twenty minutes to get from the city to Qingshun County via the expressway.

We set off at 2 PM and arrived in the county town around 3:30 PM.

It's 2 o'clock now, he has at most an hour and a half left.

What can you do in an hour and a half?

He's already packed his things.

My travel bag is always kept in the study, containing my passport, cash, overseas bank cards, USB drive, document bag, and a few changes of clothes. It's zipped up and leaned against the door.

He just needs to go back and get it.

It takes ten minutes to drive from the county government to my home, but after picking up my bag, it takes more than two hours to get to the provincial capital.

It will take at least 5:30 to get to the provincial capital.

He booked a flight for 8 p.m. three days from now, flying from the provincial capital to Sydney.

But the current situation is that the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection is already on its way.

They didn't give him time or the chance to change his flight.

I definitely can't take the flight anymore; going to the airport would be like handing myself over to them!

Now, we can only leave Qingshun County first, and then look for an opportunity to leave the country!

After making up my mind.

He opened his phone's contacts and found Fang Zhiwen's wife's number.

After Fang Zhiwen went to jail, he never contacted her, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't dare.

He didn't know what to say, and what good would it do to say it anyway?

Fang Zhiwen is already in jail; there's nothing he can do to help him.

He stared at the number for a few seconds, then typed: "I know about Zhiwen. Take care."

He read it twice to make sure he hadn't written anything inappropriate, and then pressed the send button.

After sending the message, he deleted it and also deleted the call log.

Then, he made a phone call to his wife.

"I won't be home for dinner tonight."

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

"Another round of overtime?"

"Um."

"Then take care of yourself."

"The same to you."

I hung up the phone.

He didn't say "I love you," he didn't say "I'm sorry," and he didn't say "I may never come back."

If he tells her, she'll ask why, and he won't be able to answer.

It's better to say nothing and let her think he's just working overtime.

After doing all this, he put his phone on silent, locked it in the drawer, and then got up and left the office.

After going downstairs, I entered the parking lot.

His car was parked in the innermost corner of the compound; it was a black Passat, no different from any other bus.

He opened the car door, got in, and started the engine.

As the car drove out of the county government compound, he glanced at the rearview mirror.

The gate slowly closed behind him. The old gatekeeper was standing next to the guard post, talking to a deliveryman, and not looking at him.

He knew this was the last time he would leave through that door.

When I arrived at the apartment building, I went upstairs and opened the door.

The living room was quiet; his wife was at work.

He went into the study, picked up the black travel bag by the door, unzipped it, and inspected it.

My passport, cash, overseas bank cards, USB drive, document bag, and a few pieces of clothing are all there.

He zipped up the bag, picked it up, and went out the door.

He paused at the corner of the stairs as he went downstairs.

He had lived in this building for over a decade, and he was familiar with every step, every wall, and every window.

He didn't know if he would ever be able to come back here again.

At that moment, he mentally rehearsed the escape route—

Take the highway from Qingshun County towards the provincial capital, and it takes a little over two hours to reach the provincial capital.

After arriving in the provincial capital, I did not go to a hotel or any place that required me to register my ID card.

He has a friend's vacant house in the provincial capital, in a residential area in the development zone, which has been uninhabited for a long time.

He could stay there for one night and then figure out where to go the next day.

To avoid being discovered, he didn't drive himself, but instead hailed a taxi on the roadside and went directly to the provincial capital...

The taxi drove onto the highway entrance ramp.

He glanced at the ETC lane at the toll station.

The barrier was raised, and the car passed through.

Fang Mingyuan glanced at the tollbooth in the rearview mirror. It grew farther and farther away, smaller and smaller, until it became a dot and disappeared at the end of the road.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief.

If the municipal discipline inspection commission arrives in Qingshun County at 3:30 PM and finds him absent, what will they do?

They can access surveillance footage, check his car, and look up his phone number.

But he wasn't driving, nor did he have his phone with him; he had vanished without a trace.

He couldn't help but feel proud of his own cleverness.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered Fang Zhiwen.

After Fang Zhiwen went in, I don't know what happened to him.

Did he ever imagine he would run away?

Will you blame him?

But he couldn't care less about that.

Now, there is still a sliver of hope in escaping.

He won't run away; he'll just wait for the municipal discipline inspection commission to come and take him away, seal off his office, and confiscate his home!

He didn't want to see that scene!

I don't want to "lose face"!

He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

He wasn't sure if he could actually escape.

But he knew this was his only chance.

Even if there's only the slightest glimmer of hope, he doesn't want to give up...