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

Thursday morning.

A letter was forwarded to us by the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection's Petition Office. It was unsigned, had no contact information, and the envelope was addressed only to "Special Case Team of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection."

After the staff of the petition office opened and registered the petition according to procedure.

The content found was not a report of a specific problem, but rather a "situation report"—

The gist is that "someone in the task force leaked case information to unrelated individuals."

The wording is vague, without naming names, or specifying the time, place, or people involved.

The statement only said, "Based on observations, this person has been frequently in contact with external personnel recently, posing a risk of leaking information."

That morning, the letter was forwarded to the task force.

After receiving the letter, Hu Yuheng read it once, but didn't make a fuss and locked it in a drawer.

In the afternoon, she mentioned it briefly at the case analysis meeting, her tone very calm, without naming names or referring to any specific incident:

"We recently received a report reminding us to pay attention to confidentiality regulations."

Just keep that in mind, and continue with work as usual.

Chen Dapeng was sitting at the back of the conference table. He didn't look up when he heard this, and continued to take notes on the key points of the meeting in his notebook.

Hu Yuheng did not mention who wrote it or who it was aimed at.

But he thought about his recent external contacts—

Lin Chen was the only outside friend he met during the investigation.

However, he did not mention this matter after the meeting.

After all, Hu Yuheng did not name names.

His initiative to ask seemed deliberate.

……

The next day, Hu Yuheng received a photo.

The photo was taken at night, so the lighting wasn't great.

But you can see the profiles of two people—Chen Dapeng and Lin Chen.

The two people sat in a corner of the bar, with wine glasses in front of them, seemingly engaged in conversation.

The photo was taken from outside the door, looking in through the glass window; it wasn't a sneak shot of the bar's interior.

Hu Yuheng did not immediately draw a conclusion when he saw the photo.

She first confirmed the authenticity of the photo.

Then they had someone check the filming time and location to confirm that it matched Chen Dapeng's usual activity patterns.

She didn't make a fuss or mention it at the regular meeting, but instead called Chen Dapeng to her office alone.

After the door closed, Hu Yuheng placed the photo on the table and pushed it in front of him:

"Who did you meet?"

Chen Dapeng glanced down.

I recognized the environment in the photo as the bar where I met Lin Chen.

Without hesitation, he said, "Lin Chen is my college classmate. He has nothing to do with the case; we were just friends meeting up for a chat."

Hu Yuheng looked into his eyes:

Do you even know what era we're in right now?

Chen Dapeng paused for a moment: "I know. But when I met with Lin Chen, I didn't reveal any details about the case."

He didn't lie, but he wasn't entirely telling the truth either.

He didn't tell Lin Chen the latest developments in the case, but he asked Lin Chen to help him investigate Zhao Yike's situation.

He didn't plan to tell Hu Yuheng until the results were in.

Because it's hard to explain...

Hu Yuheng remained silent for a moment, then put the photo away.

She didn't press further about what they talked about or why they chose to meet in the evening; she simply said:

"Be careful in the future. At this stage, anything that can be used as a pretext will be magnified."

Chen Dapeng nodded:

"I see."

He did not explain that Lin Chen had helped the task force investigate things in the past.

Lin Chen was indeed his friend, and he had indeed helped with peripheral investigations during the previous case investigation.

But those things are all in the past.

Moreover, there was no leak of core case files at the time.

He made no further mention of who took the photo or why it was placed on Hu Yuheng's desk.

Because he could guess—

The fact that the anonymous letter and the photo appeared in the same time window is no coincidence.

After Chen Dapeng left.

Hu Yuheng sat behind his desk for a while, then picked up the photo again and looked at it.

She recognized the name Lin Chen.

Chen Dapeng had previously crossed paths with Chen Dapeng during the peripheral investigation of the Liuhe Town case.

But she also knew.

Chen Dapeng is not the kind of person who would leak core information to outsiders.

He acts with discretion, and his performance during his time on the task force has stood the test of time.

She did not record this incident in the case file, nor did she report it to Chen Yuanda.

She put the photo in a drawer and did not continue to investigate its origin.

But she knew it in her heart.

The appearance of anonymous letters and photos suggests that someone is monitoring the movements of personnel within the task force or creating interference through external observation.

She doesn't plan to delve into it further for now, but she also doesn't intend to ignore it.

……

Meanwhile, Zhou Haibo chatted with Liu Chang for a few minutes during a break from work.

They were checking the page numbers of a document.

After verifying the information, Zhou Haibo didn't leave immediately. Instead, he asked a question as if in casual conversation:

"That friend of Xiao Chen, didn't he help the task force investigate things before?"

Liu Chang was organizing the documents at hand and didn't pay much attention to the issue.

"It seems so."

After saying that, he added:

"But that was in the past, it has nothing to do with the current case."

Zhou Haibo didn't press further, and smiled:

"I was just asking casually."

Then he returned to his seat, opened his notebook.

A line was written at the bottom of the day's record page:

"Chen Dapeng - Contact with external personnel - Lin Chen".

He didn't mark the specific time or write a conclusion; he simply noted down the information, then closed the notebook and put it in the drawer.

……

After get off work, as Chen Dapeng packed his things to leave the office, he glanced in Zhou Haibo's direction.

Zhou Haibo was also packing his things, his movements unhurried and slow, just like usual.

Chen Dapeng withdrew his gaze, said nothing more, picked up his coat, and walked out of the office.

He recalled what Hu Yuheng had told him that afternoon—

"At this stage, anything that can be used as a pretext will be amplified."

He also recalled the photograph and the timing of the anonymous letter.

He wasn't sure what the specific connection was between these things, but he knew someone was watching him.

All he can do now is tighten his control over his interactions and prevent any unnecessary information from leaking out.

As for the investigation on Lin Chen's side...

He can only wait for Lin Chen to contact him first.

Back at his residence, he picked up his phone and dialed He Ying's number.

The phone rang three times before being answered.

"Sister Ying..."

"Dapeng, what's wrong?"

Chen Dapeng hesitated for a moment: "Sister Ying, I'm being watched..."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

"Dapeng, what happened? Tell me in more detail."

Chen Dapeng told He Ying everything about the anonymous letter, the photos, and Hu Yuheng's attitude.

After listening, He Ying remained silent for a while.

"Dapeng, the purpose of this is very clear: to mislead the task force..."

Chen Dapeng hummed in agreement: "I know. So, Director Hu didn't investigate the matter further; she probably guessed the other party's intentions."

"Don't be distracted. Just focus on your work. I trust Director Hu's judgment is sound."

She paused for a moment, then added.

"Take good care of yourself."

Chen Dapeng hesitated for a moment, but still voiced his guess.

"Sister Ying, a new person recently joined the task force. They used to work in the case hearing room, and I suspect..."

He Ying paused for a moment: "You suspect there's something wrong with this person?"

Chen Dapeng truthfully stated, "I noticed that his behavior was somewhat strange, but I have no evidence and cannot be certain..."

He Ying thought for a moment and then reminded him, "Dapeng, don't show him too much attention, lest you alert him. Just observe him secretly. Given enough time, he might reveal his true colors."

"Okay, I understand."

Chen Dapeng responded.

He thought for a moment, then asked another question.

"Sister Ying, how's work lately? Are you busy?"

He Ying chuckled softly on the phone.

"You want to ask me when I'll be free to go to the provincial capital, right?"

Chen Dapeng's intentions were exposed, and he felt a little embarrassed.

"Sister Ying, I can't lie to you... I really... really want to see you."

He Ying chuckled.

"Let's wait until the weekend, I'll come to the provincial capital to see you."

Chen Dapeng was overjoyed: "Okay, I'll wait for you."