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

It's 11 p.m.

Lin Meijuan closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair at the beauty salon.

The phone rang.

She glanced down at the screen—Gu Huaiyuan.

He hesitated for two seconds before answering, his voice a little hoarse: "Feed?"

"Meijuan, where are you?"

"I'm still at the beauty salon."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone: "Wait for me, I'll come pick you up."

Lin Meijuan wanted to say "No need," but she swallowed the words back.

More than half an hour later, the light of car headlights came from the doorway.

The roller shutter was pulled up from the outside, and Gu Huaiyuan walked in.

He saw Lin Meijuan curled up in the chair, like someone whose strength had been drained.

He went inside and knelt down in front of her:

"Meijuan..."

Lin Meijuan looked up at him, then suddenly reached out and hugged him, sobbing:

"I'm scared... They came to check the accounts today, and they went through them very thoroughly..."

Her body was trembling slightly.

Gu Huaiyuan gently patted her back.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here for you."

Lin Meijuan didn't say anything, and cried even harder.

"Let's go home."

Lin Meijuan nodded: "Mm."

Gu Huaiyuan took her hand and led her out of the beauty salon.

More than half an hour later.

Gu Huaiyuan escorted Lin Meijuan back to her residence.

As soon as she entered the door, Lin Meijuan turned around and threw herself into his arms.

She stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

Gu Huaiyuan was stunned for a moment, then reached out and supported her waist.

The two kissed their way from the doorway into the living room, and then from the living room into the bedroom.

Clothes were scattered all over the floor...

Gu Huaiyuan gently pushed her down onto the bed, then pressed himself against her.

His kisses slid from his lips to his neck, and then back down to his shoulder...

After the passion fades...

Lin Meijuan leaned against Gu Huaiyuan's chest.

"Huaiyuan, are the people who came to audit the accounts today really tax officials?"

Gu Huaiyuan paused for a moment, then didn't lie to him: "Yes and no."

Lin Meijuan was stunned for a moment, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"They're from the tax bureau, but their audit is actually because of the disciplinary committee..."

Lin Meijuan's fingers tightened slightly.

"What about the Discipline Inspection Commission?"

"Um."

Gu Huaiyuan lowered his voice.

"They're already investigating..."

Lin Meijuan did not speak.

She could feel Gu Huaiyuan's heartbeat quickening.

He was no longer as calm as before.

"So what do we do?"

Gu Huaiyuan pondered for a moment.

"You should leave for a while. I'll arrange for you to go to Australia."

"How long will it take?"

"Let's talk about it after things calm down."

Lin Meijuan sat up and looked at him.

"What will you do if I leave?"

Gu Huaiyuan looked at her and reached out to stroke her hair.

"Meijuan, don't worry about me. I can only feel at ease when you are safe."

Lin Meijuan's heart sank; it seemed that leaving was inevitable.

"When are you leaving?"

"Within the next couple of days, the sooner the better. Any later, and I'm afraid it will be too late..."

Lin Meijuan looked at him without saying a word.

……

The next morning, when Lin Meijuan woke up, Gu Huaiyuan had already left.

There was a note on the bedside table.

She picked it up and glanced at it—

"I've booked your plane ticket. Departure time is tomorrow morning. Someone will pick you up when you arrive."

She put down the note, lifted the covers, and got out of bed.

Upon entering the bathroom, she loosened her belt, and her nightgown slipped down to her feet.

She looked at herself in the mirror, a perfect figure, but unfortunately lacking vitality, like a flower that had bloomed too long.

There was a faint hickey below her collarbone.

That was the mark of love left by Gu Huaiyuan.

She raised her hand and gently touched the hickey.

Then turn on the shower and let the gentle water flow over every inch of your skin.

With the warmth of the water, my body gradually regained its radiance.

She stood under the running water, but didn't scrub for long.

Simply let hot water pour down your head, flowing along your hair over your shoulders, and then down your back to your ankles.

The hickey was still there, but it had been washed away by the water and was no longer noticeable unless you looked closely.

After taking a shower, she returned to her bedroom and began packing her luggage.

I opened the wardrobe, took out a few pieces of clothing, folded them, and put them in my suitcase.

After packing, she looked at her suitcase.

A thought suddenly occurred to me—I didn't want to leave anymore.

If I leave, who will explain the bills owed to the beauty salon?

She took out her phone, scrolled to Chen Yang's WeChat, typed a line, and then deleted it.

I typed another line, then deleted it.

She didn't know what to say to her.

Chen Yang persuaded her several times to voluntarily confess her problems.

Because of Gu Huaiyuan's presence, she could never make up her mind.

The two first met at an exhibition.

At the time, she was a hostess.

During the dinner, she noticed that Gu Huaiyuan was eating at the same table as her.

She didn't know who had arranged it intentionally, nor did she ask.

The two exchanged some words during the meal.

Later, Gu Huaiyuan pursued her relentlessly, and the two got together.

Gu Huaiyuan doted on her and loved her very much.

The beauty salon was opened with Gu Huaiyuan's help.

He not only provided money and effort, but also helped her to pull strings.

Later, she found out that Gu Huaiyuan had a wife.

But she enjoys the feeling of being protected, cared for, and pampered.

She fell deeper and deeper into his arms and could no longer live without him.

Therefore, no matter how Chen Yang tried to persuade her...

She couldn't bear to take the initiative to explain Gu Huaiyuan's problems.

……

3 PM.

Meeting room of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection's case-handling team.

Hu Yuheng sat down in the main seat and got straight to the point:

"Lin Meijuan has booked a plane ticket; she'll be flying to Australia tomorrow morning at nine o'clock."

Liu Chang flipped through the documents in his hand: "We monitored her going to the bank this morning to withdraw a sum of cash, presumably to take it out with her."

"Where is she now?"

Hu Yuheng asked.

Liu Chang added:

"We haven't been able to detect her leaving the provincial capital; she should still be at her residence."

Hu Yuheng then asked, "Has she contacted anyone?"

Wang Zhi continued, "She sent Chen Yang a message this afternoon, the content of which we didn't monitor. But Chen Yang didn't reply, and she didn't send another message."

Hu Yuheng paused for a moment, then said, "That means she's still hesitating."

Chen Dapeng spoke up.

"Director Hu, if she really leaves, we will lose an important lead."

"The police are monitoring her movements. She can't leave."

"So when do we make our move?"

"Stop her when she gets to the airport. Let her go to the boarding gate and choose for herself."

"What if she didn't go to the airport?"

"That means she's thought it through."

Hu Yuheng stood up: "Liu Chang and Wang Zhi are in charge of monitoring her movements. Da Peng, you're in my group, wait for me at the airport tomorrow morning."

The three nodded: "Yes."

……

The next morning.

Lin Meijuan dragged her suitcase into the airport.

She stood in the departure hall and glanced up at the flight information on the big screen.

Her flight is currently in check-in.

She took a deep breath, dragged her suitcase to the check-in counter, handed over her passport, the staff member took the passport, swiped it in the system, and then looked up at her:

"Madam, I'm sorry, your passport is restricted and you cannot check in at this time."

Lin Meijuan was stunned: "What do you mean?"

The staff member said, "The system shows that your exit information has been flagged by the relevant authorities. You need to contact them first."

Lin Meijuan stood there, her palms starting to sweat.

Just as she was about to say, "Is there some mistake?", a voice came from behind her:

"Lin Meijuan".

She turned around.

Hu Yuheng and Chen Dapeng stood behind her.

Hu Yuheng showed his work ID: "I'm from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. There are some situations where I need your cooperation in the investigation."

Lin Meijuan stared at the work ID card for a long time without saying a word.

Then, she slowly lowered her head and loosened the handle of her suitcase.

She didn't struggle, nor did she ask, "How did you find me?"

She seemed to have known this day would come, but she didn't expect it to come so soon.

Hu Yuheng stepped aside to make way for him:

"Let's go. The car's outside."