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

Yang Xiujiang hasn't slept well for three days.

He sat in his office chair with a document spread out in front of him, having been flipping through it for over ten minutes without reading a single word.

Bai Jiangfei has been arrested, Gu Huaiyuan has been arrested, and the special task force is still in the provincial capital.

The phone screen lit up briefly.

He picked it up and glanced at it; it was a meeting notification sent by his secretary.

He read it but didn't reply, and put his phone face down on the table.

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, his mind replaying Zeng Zhiyuan's words—

"The earlier you cut off the cord, the longer you live."

But now it's not something he can just break off whenever he wants.

Bai Jiangfei went in, Zhou Shuncheng went in, Fu Hongyuan went in, Lin Meijuan went in, and Gu Huaiyuan went in as well.

He knew that among these people, someone would eventually speak up, someone would eventually betray him.

He was just gambling, gambling on how much the person who spoke up knew.

What stage has the investigation team reached in terms of the evidence they have?

But he knew he couldn't afford to gamble for too long.

Given enough time, the task force will surely find a way to get these people to talk...

He sat in the chair for a long time, then picked up his phone and found Zeng Zhiyuan's number.

After hesitating for a moment, I pressed the call button.

The phone rang several times before it was answered.

Zeng Zhiyuan's voice came from the other end of the phone; it was low and lacked his usual composure.

"Xiujiang."

"Old boss, Gu Huaiyuan has been arrested."

Yang Xiujiang's voice was a bit hoarse than he had expected.

"I could be next. You can't just stand by and watch me die..."

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

Zeng Zhiyuan did not answer immediately.

Yang Xiujiang could hear his breathing; it was very light, but the rhythm was off, as if he was also weighing something.

After a while, Zeng Zhiyuan finally spoke, his voice even lower than before:

"Xiujiang, it's not that I don't want to help you now. People from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection have already arrived in the provincial capital, and a special task force has been established. You know what this level means."

Yang Xiujiang gripped her phone tightly:

"My old boss, I've followed you for so many years—"

"I know."

Zeng Zhiyuan interrupted him:

"But now that things have come to this, there's nothing I can do. If you can still walk, figure it out yourself. Cut the wires as soon as possible."

The phone hangs up.

Yang Xiujiang gripped his phone tightly and sighed helplessly.

Zeng Zhiyuan said, "Break the thread as soon as possible if it can be broken."

But Yang Xiujiang didn't know where to begin.

Those who needed to be cut off have already gone in.

All his lines were connected to those people.

He put down his phone and continued sitting, starting to think about possible ways out.

"Run away?"

"It seems a bit late."

"Now that Gu Huaiyuan has been arrested, those people in the task force will definitely be keeping an eye on my whereabouts at all times."

Once I move...

I estimate the result will be similar to Gu Huaiyuan's...

……

In the study of Zeng Zhiyuan in Beijing.

After hanging up Yang Xiujiang's call, he did not put down his phone immediately.

Instead, he held it in his hand, looked at the screen for a while, and then deleted the call log.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes briefly.

He just said to Yang Xiujiang, "I have no choice."

That's the truth, but not entirely.

He had no way to help Yang Xiujiang escape, but he still had a way to protect himself.

This morning, he received an inside message—

Chen Yuanda, a member of the special investigation team, returned to Beijing. He didn't go through the official notification channels; he returned quietly and went directly to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Zeng Zhiyuan was unaware of the specific content of Chen Yuanda's report.

However, he guessed that unless it was a major issue, the task force would not have returned to Beijing to report in person at this critical juncture.

That question—

He had a bad feeling, and it was probably related to him.

He picked up the landline on the table and dialed a number.

The phone rang twice before being answered; it was Zeng Guosheng's voice on the other end.

"dad?"

"Guosheng, you should never enter the country again. Just stay abroad. You won't be coming back."

Zeng Zhiyuan's voice was very low.

"Don't ask why, and don't tell anyone that you spoke to me on the phone. Protect yourself."

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

"Dad, what happened?"

"Don't ask."

Zeng Zhiyuan did not answer his question.

"Just listen to me, don't enter the country. Bring your money and documents, and take care of everything that needs to be done."

Zeng Guosheng remained silent for a few seconds, and ultimately did not ask any further questions:

"Okay. I understand."

After hanging up the phone, Zeng Zhiyuan put the receiver back on the landline.

He sat at his desk without moving, his gaze fixed on the old-fashioned landline, as if he wanted to make another call, but then dismissed the idea.

He stood up, walked to the safe, squatted down, turned the combination lock a few times, took out the documents inside, flipped through them, and then divided them into two stacks—

He put one stack back in the safe and held the other stack in his hand.

I walked to the paper shredder in the corner of the study and stuffed the shredded papers in one by one.

The machine hummed for a while, and the scraps of paper fell into the recycling bag below.

He didn't look at the scraps of paper. After the buzzing stopped, he turned around and walked back to his desk.

He didn't know if these actions were effective.

But it has to be done.

Cutting and cleaning —

……

The next afternoon, Yang Xiujiang was reading documents in his office.

His phone vibrated, and when he picked it up, he saw a message from an unaddressed number.

He recognized the number—Wei Yuan.

The message contained only one line:

"Your old boss has told you it's time for you to leave."

Yang Xiujiang stared at that line of text for a long time.

He gave a bitter smile and muttered to himself, "My old boss still had a shred of loyalty left; he remembered to have someone tell me to leave quickly..."

He didn't reply, put his phone face down on the table, and glanced out the window.

The sky was overcast, as if it were about to rain.

He stood up, walked to the window, and opened it. The wind outside rushed in and felt a little cool on his face.

He stood there for a while, then closed the window again.

After thinking for a long time, he picked up his phone again and dialed Wei Yuan's number.

The phone was answered after three rings.

Wei Yuan's voice was low: "Did you see the message?"

"I saw it. Where to? What are the old leader's instructions?"

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

"The old leader didn't give any specific instructions; you can go wherever you want, as long as you don't stay in the country. You can still leave now. But if the provincial discipline inspection commission comes knocking, it will be too late."

Yang Xiujiang did not respond.

He had already contacted relatives in other provinces and had considered leaving the provincial capital temporarily.

But now the situation has changed—

Bai Jiangfei was arrested, Gu Huaiyuan was captured, and the task force is still keeping an eye on things in the provincial capital.

He wasn't sure if he would be watched immediately after he stepped out of that door, whether his car had been recorded, or whether his phone calls had been monitored.

He could step into a trap with every step he takes now.

"Let me think about it."

He finally said something.

After hanging up the phone, he sat in his chair without moving.

He looked out the window; the sky was getting darker, and the clouds were low, as if a downpour was imminent.

He didn't know how much longer he could hold on, but one thing was clear—

It's too late for him to leave now.

Zeng Zhiyuan told him to "cut the threads as soon as possible," but the threads were already broken, and he had nothing left.

From the moment Gu Huaiyuan was captured.

He had no other choice.

Unless, we could turn back time a few months...

But he knew it was just wishful thinking...