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

Hu Yuheng stood in front of the whiteboard in the conference room, drawing several lines on the whiteboard with a marker in his hand.

On the left are the three characters "Bai Jiangfei", next to which is a note saying "Yang Xiujiang's nephew".

On the right is "Yang Xiujiang", and further to the right is "Gu Huaiyuan".

A dotted line extends upwards above Gu Huaiyuan's head, ending with a blurry question mark.

Hu Yuheng wrote a line of small characters inside: "Former Boss".

In the bottom right corner of the whiteboard, the four characters "Huarong Investment" that Chen Dapeng had just added were particularly eye-catching, with a question mark next to them.

There were five people in the meeting room.

Hu Yuheng, Liu Chang, Wang Zhi, Chen Dapeng.

There was also an old police officer who was seconded from the Criminal Investigation Department of the Provincial Public Security Bureau to assist in the case.

Chow Tai Fook, in his early fifties, is a man of few words but with a wealth of experience, and is known as "Master Chow".

Hu Yuheng turned around, put the marker back in the whiteboard tray, and glanced at everyone present:

"I've called everyone here today to put together several recent leads and examine them."

"Chen Dapeng, tell me about Bai Jiangfei's situation first."

Chen Dapeng opened his notebook and reviewed the information Lin Chen had found.

"Bai Jiangfei has been frequenting a bar called 'Night Color' in the provincial capital for the past few months, four or five times a month, with each visit costing more than 10,000 yuan."

There was a purchase of 47,000 yuan, but the payer was not him, but a company called "Huarong Investment".

He paused for a moment and projected the photo of the purchase record from his phone onto the conference room screen.

"Huarong Investment is registered in Beijing, and its legal representative is Liu Shijie."

This company participated in a real estate project in the provincial capital two years ago, but the specific project name cannot be found in public information.

Most importantly, the company's shareholder structure is unclear—it appears to be held by nominees specifically for accounting purposes.

After listening, Hu Yuheng turned to look at Lao Zhou:

"Old Zhou, could you provide some additional information about the situation in Beijing?"

Master Zhou nodded and pulled a piece of paper from the file bag in front of him.

"I made some inquiries through my old connections in Beijing. Huarong Investment's account transaction records show that in the past two years, there have been several large sums of money transferred from the provincial capital. The remarks column says 'consulting service fee' and 'project cooperation fee'."

He pushed the paper to the center of the table: "The specific account information and transaction records are still being verified."

The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.

Hu Yuheng picked up a marker, drew a circle on Huarong Investment, and then drew a line pointing to "Yang Xiujiang".

"Bai Jiangfei is Yang Xiujiang's nephew, that's a blood relationship. Bai Jiangfei's money comes from Huarong Investment, that's a financial relationship. Huarong Investment's money comes from somewhere in the provincial capital, that might be a deeper connection."

She put down her pen: "The 'former leader,' the Beijing company, Bai Jiangfei, and Yang Xiujiang—there must be a connection between these four points. The question is—where is that connection?"

Chen Dapeng stared at the whiteboard for a while, then spoke:

"Bai Jiangfei is Yang Xiujiang's nephew. The reason he spends money so ostentatiously is that the source is a Beijing company, not Yang Xiujiang's personal account."

This shows that Yang Xiujiang was deliberately severing his direct connection with the money.

He was supporting his nephew through an intermediary.

He paused for a moment: "That middleman channel is probably controlled by the 'old leader'."

Hu Yuheng looked at him: "You mean, the money from Bai Jiangfei's line, after going around in circles, ultimately ended up back with the 'old boss'?"

"This judgment is based on the existing clues. However, it cannot be completely confirmed; it is also possible that the company is controlled by someone Yang Xiujiang knows."

Bai Jiangfei is Yang Xiujiang's nephew.

Yang Xiujiang and Gu Huaiyuan are allies, and Gu Huaiyuan has a "former leader" above him.

If we connect this line completely—

Bai Jiangfei's money came from Huarong Investment, which in turn came from the provincial capital, ultimately leading to a fund pool controlled by the "old leader".

Bai Jiangfei's spending records are part of a complete chain of evidence showing the flow of funds.

Hu Yuheng remained silent for a moment, neither confirming nor denying:

"Where's the evidence?"

Chen Dapeng admitted, "Right now we only have consumption records and company registration information; we're still missing bank statements and a clear track record of the funds. If we can clarify the financial transactions between Huarong Investment and the provincial capital, this line of investigation will be complete."

Hu Yuheng nodded: "Then continue the investigation. For Bai Jiangfei, try to obtain more recent spending records. In Beijing, find channels to verify whether Huarong Investment has any direct financial dealings with the provincial capital."

She glanced at Lao Zhou: "I'm leaving this line in Beijing to you."

Master Zhou nodded: "Okay."

After the meeting, Hu Yuheng returned to his office, closed the door, and mentally reviewed the lines on the whiteboard.

She picked up the landline on the table and dialed Wang Qingquan's number.

The phone rang twice and was answered.

"Secretary Wang, the investigation team came across a few new leads today. We've traced the financial background of a Beijing company through Yang Xiujiang's nephew. We suspect this company has an indirect connection to our 'former leader'."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone: "Do you have concrete evidence?"

"Currently, we only have consumption records and company registration information, but no complete record of financial transactions. Bai Jiangfei's consumption records point to Huarong Investment, but several links are still missing in the middle."

"How do you plan to fill in these gaps?"

"On the one hand, we traced the source of remittances from Huarong Investment's accounts through provincial capital banks."

On the other hand, through connections in Beijing, Cha Huarong Investment's funds were channeled upstream.

We'll proceed along two lines simultaneously, striving to close the gap as quickly as possible.

Wang Qingquan remained silent for a while:

"Compile Bai Jiangfei's spending records and information about the Beijing company into a brief report and submit it to me first."

"Okay. I'll deliver it to your office before I leave work."

After hanging up the phone, Hu Yuheng turned on his computer and began organizing the information on Bai Jiangfei's case.

She first pulled up the photos of the spending records that Liu Hao had given her, and extracted the time, amount, and payer's name one by one, listing them in a table.

I then compiled the information about Beijing provided by Lao Zhou into the table and marked it "To be verified" next to it.

Before leaving get off work, she delivered the materials to Wang Qingquan's office.

Wang Qingquan quickly flipped through the folder and closed it.

"I'm going to see Secretary Han. There might be new arrangements tomorrow."

……

The next morning.

Wang Qingquan walked into Han Qiming's office and placed the materials on his desk:

"Secretary Han, we have a new lead from Hu Yuheng. Yang Xiujiang's nephew, Bai Jiangfei, is using money from a company in Beijing. This company may have an indirect connection with the 'old leader'."

Han Qiming opened the documents and read them through from beginning to end: "A company in Beijing?"

"The registered office is in Beijing, the legal representative is Liu Shijie, the shareholder structure is unclear, and it is suspected that it is a nominee shareholding."

This company participated in a real estate project in the provincial capital two years ago, but the specific project name cannot be found.

However, Bai Jiangfei's spending records show that his large purchases were made through this company.

Han Qiming closed the folder: "You marked 'lacking in financial transaction records' on the file?"

"Yes. Currently, we only have transaction records and company registration information; we're still missing bank statements and direct funding channels. If Bai Jiangfei's trail can fill this gap, it will cross and corroborate Gu Huaiyuan's trail."

Han Qiming was silent for a moment: "You'll come with me to the Provincial Party Committee. We need to do the same with Secretary Liang."

Twenty minutes later, the two arrived at Liang Hua's office.

Han Qiming placed the materials on Liang Hua's desk and gave a concise report on the latest developments:

Bai Jiangfei's spending records led to the source of his funds—a company in Beijing.

This company is connected to the "former leader," but currently lacks records of financial transactions, so a complete chain of evidence cannot be formed.

After reviewing the materials, Liang Hua did not immediately express his opinion.

He looked at it for a long time before speaking:

"Qiming, the provincial discipline inspection commission has already reached this stage of the investigation. How is the central discipline inspection commission doing in the same process?"

Han Qiming answered truthfully: "The first batch of materials was submitted last week."

The second batch of supplementary materials—the complete data from Fu Hongyuan's USB drive, the statements of Zhou Shuncheng and Fu Hongyuan, and the preliminary verification results of Lin Meijuan's accounts—have also been compiled and are ready to be submitted at any time.

Liang Hua thought for a moment and said, "Then report it. Although Bai Jiangfei's lead is newly discovered, it intersects with Gu Huaiyuan's lead, which will help complete the chain of evidence. Report everything that can be reported."

That afternoon, after returning to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection office, Han Qiming personally signed off on the second batch of submitted materials.

This batch is thicker than the first batch.

Attached were printouts of the data on the USB drive, signed pages of several key statements, and photocopies of excerpts from Lin Meijuan's beauty salon accounts.

In the list of attachments on the last page of the materials, he specifically added a line:

"Clues related to the Bai Jiangfei case - Basic information on Beijing Huarong Investment (see attached page for details)."

The attachment only included Huarong Investment's registration information and photos of Bai Jiangfei's spending records. At the end of the attachment page was a note:

"The records of fund transactions need to be improved, and we plan to continue to investigate."

The materials were placed in a file box, sealed, and delivered to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection by a designated person.

……

On the third day, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's reply returned to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

When Han Qiming saw the words "approved to file a case" on the reply, his gaze lingered on that line for two seconds before continuing to read.

The reply was brief and carefully worded, but every sentence conveyed the same message—

Gu Huaiyuan's case can be processed.

The approval included a list, and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection dispatched a special working group, which arrived in Jiangnan Province three days later to jointly investigate the case with the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Han Qiming put the approval document into the drawer, picked up the landline on the table, and dialed Wang Qingquan's number:

"The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has issued its approval. The working group will arrive in three days. Tell the special investigation team to prepare."

After hanging up, he called Liang Hua again.

"Secretary Liang, the approval has arrived. The working group will arrive in three days."

Liang Hua said, "I understand."

Three days later, at 9 a.m., the flight carrying the special task force from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection landed at the provincial capital's airport.

The two cars departed from the airport and drove along the highway towards the provincial discipline inspection commission compound.

Hu Yuheng and the entire investigation team stood at the entrance of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection building, waiting.

Chen Dapeng stood behind Hu Yuheng and saw two black cars stop at the entrance of the building.

The car door opened, and the first person to get out was a man in his early fifties, of medium build, wearing a dark gray jacket.

His name is Chen Yuanda, deputy director of the Twelfth Investigation and Review Office of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Chen Yuanda walked up to Hu Yuheng and extended his hand: "Director Hu, thank you for your hard work."

Hu Yuheng grasped his hand: "Director Chen, you must be tired from your journey."

The two shook hands briefly.

Chen Yuanda glanced at the people standing behind her, his gaze lingering on each of their faces for a moment before he looked away: "Let's go up first."

The task force vacated the original meeting room to serve as a temporary office for the working group.

Chen Yuanda sat in the main seat and scanned the people present:

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has decided to initiate an investigation into Gu Huaiyuan.

We're handling this case jointly, and I'm in direct charge.

On the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection side, Comrade Hu Yuheng is in charge, with other comrades assisting.

He opened the folder in front of him:

"I've already looked into the background of the case—I've reviewed the files on Liuhe Town, Nie Jianguo, Fang Mingyuan, Fu Hongyuan, and Lin Meijuan. There's also a key figure, Yang Xiujiang."

He looked up: "How much information has the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection already gathered about the relationship between Gu Huaiyuan and Yang Xiujiang?"

Hu Yuheng opened his notebook:

Yang Xiujiang's name appeared in Gu Huaiyuan's materials—

Fu Hongyuan confessed that Gu Huaiyuan asked him to go to Yang Xiujiang to coordinate the approval of a certain project in the provincial capital;

Zhou Shuncheng explicitly testified that Yang Xiujiang instructed him to find someone to retaliate against He Ying in Qingshun County.

Chen Yuanda nodded: "Then let's proceed along two lines simultaneously. Gu Huaiyuan's line will be the main attack, while Yang Xiujiang's line will advance concurrently."

He closed the folder and glanced at Chen Dapeng sitting in the corner.

Her gaze lingered on his face for a moment, then shifted away without saying anything more.

After the meeting, Chen Yuanda called Hu Yuheng aside:

"Any progress on Bai Jiangfei's side?"

Hu Yuheng shook his head: "Not yet."

Chen Yuanda said, "From now on, keep a close eye on this line. Bai Jiangfei is Yang Xiujiang's Achilles' heel."

Hu Yuheng nodded: "Understood."