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

Wednesday afternoon.

Chen Dapeng was organizing case files when his phone vibrated.

He picked it up and saw that it was a message from Lin Chen:

"Are you free tonight? See you at our usual spot."

Chen Dapeng stared at the screen for two seconds.

Lin Chen rarely uses such a formal tone when sending messages; he usually just says things like "Let's go out for drinks tonight" or "Are you free?"

This time, he only said "see you at the usual place" without saying anything else, which means he had something to say, and it wasn't something he could say over the phone.

He replied with a single word:

"it is good."

……

After get off work, Chen Dapeng didn't linger in the office; he packed his things and left immediately.

When he arrived at the bar, Lin Chen was already sitting in a corner.

There was a glass of wine that I hadn't drunk much of in front of me, and a brown paper document bag next to me.

Chen Dapeng sat down opposite him, draping his coat over the back of the chair: "How long have you been here?"

"Not long after."

Lin Chen pushed the file folder in front of him.

"Take a look at this first."

Chen Dapeng didn't ask any further questions, opened the file bag, and took out the contents.

It was a few pages of printed materials, including company registration information, shareholder structure, summaries of fund transfer records, and some handwritten notes in Lin Chen's handwriting.

He turned to the first page and saw Zhao Yike's name appear in the shareholder list of a company. The shareholding ratio was not high, but it appeared in the related person column.

The second page is a summary of a company's cash flow, with several large transactions circled by Lin Chen.

When Chen Dapeng turned to the third page, his finger paused for a moment.

The page listed the registered address of a company that was in the same building as the construction company for the provincial capital project, though on a different floor, but with only a few digits difference in the address.

He turned to the fourth page and saw that Lin Chen had written a line next to it:

"The company's payment records to overseas accounts match the timing of the envelope records belonging to Li Xiushan."

Chen Dapeng finished reading those pages, put the materials back in the file folder, and looked up at Lin Chen:

"How did you find this information?"

"People from the Chamber of Commerce helped me look at some publicly available business registration information, and my friends at the bank retrieved some bank statement summaries."

Lin Chen paused for a moment:

"However, since it wasn't obtained through official channels, it can't be used as evidence, but the direction should be correct."

Chen Dapeng paused for a moment:

"Did anyone notice you were researching this?"

"This time I was more careful than before. I didn't ask Zhao Yike directly. I went around to the related companies and the construction company before I found out."

Lin Chen picked up his wine glass and took a sip.

"Nobody should have noticed."

Chen Dapeng nodded: "Thank you."

"polite?"

Lin Chen glanced at him:

"How's it going on your end? Is someone still watching you?"

"There's no new activity for now." Chen Dapeng put the file bag away. "But those two anonymous letters weren't written for nothing; someone is creating interference."

Lin Chen didn't press further, only saying:

Be careful.

The two sat for a while longer before Lin Chen stood up and said he was leaving.

Chen Dapeng didn't linger. After he left, he sat for a few more minutes, mentally reviewing the materials he had just seen. Then he paid the bill, took the document bag, and left the bar.

He didn't go straight home, but went to the office of the special investigation team of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

He spread the materials Lin Chen had given him on the table, and then pulled out the records he had previously compiled about Li Xiushan's envelopes and overseas accounts. He placed the two documents side by side for comparison.

He discovered that the financial chain was more complete than he had previously thought—

The funds for the provincial capital project went through several transfers before entering the accounts of companies associated with Zhao Yike.

Then, the funds were transferred overseas under the guise of project cooperation funds.

The receiving account matches the overseas account described by Li Xiushan.

Although a few official bank records are still missing as direct evidence.

However, the time, amount, and account information have already formed a preliminary correspondence.

He picked up a pen and drew a line on a blank sheet of paper:

Starting with the provincial capital project funds, draw an arrow pointing to Zhao Yike's company, and then draw another arrow pointing to an overseas account.

Then, he circled the name of Zhao Yike's company and wrote a question mark next to it.

After thinking about it again, he circled the name of the overseas account and wrote a line next to it—

"Matches with Lee Soo-shan's envelope record."

He stared at the picture for a while, then sent it to Hu Yuheng with a message:

"Director Hu, Lin Chen has found the financial transaction records of three affiliated companies under Zhao Yike's name."

One of the companies' registered addresses overlapped with the construction company's address for a project in the provincial capital.

Some of the funds from another company flowed into the overseas accounts mentioned by Li Xiushan.

I've prepared a financial chain diagram; I'll show it to you tomorrow.

Hu Yuheng replied with one word:

"it is good."

Chen Dapeng put down his phone, organized the materials on the table in chronological order, and put them into a new folder.

The cover reads "Zhao Yike - Preliminary Analysis of Funds Chain".

He leaned back in his chair, his gaze falling on the file folder on the table.

He had flipped through those pages several times, and the edges were slightly curled up.

He picked up a pen and added a line at the end of the financial chain diagram:

"To be supplemented - Records handled by Zhao Zhengping himself."

Then, he put the drawing in a folder, put it in a drawer, and locked it.

I glanced at the time; it was 10 p.m.

He thought for a moment:

"At this hour, Sister Ying should still be awake."

He picked up his phone and sent a message to He Ying: "Sister Ying, are you resting?"

He Ying did not reply to the message, but instead made a video call.

Chen Dapeng paused for two seconds, then immediately answered the call.

He Ying leaned against the headboard, holding her phone in front of her.

She was wearing a light-colored nightgown, her hair was pinned up at the back of her head, as if she had just taken a shower, with a few strands of hair still not completely dry at her temples.

"Sister Ying, you're still awake?"

"Just finished showering and was getting ready for bed."

He Ying adjusted the angle of her phone.

"And you? Why are you still in the office so late?"

"Lin Chen gave me some materials today, and I organized them."

Chen Dapeng didn't go into too much detail, but He Ying could tell something from his expression.

"Any new developments?"

"Yes. The direction of the funding chain for Zhao Yike is clearer now. But we're still missing the last link."

Chen Dapeng leaned back in his chair.

"The materials Lin Chen found match Li Xiushan's envelope records, but Zhao Zhengping's own handling records have not yet been found."

He Ying did not respond immediately.

She paused for a second or two, then asked:

"Did you have meal?"

Chen Dapeng was taken aback; he hadn't expected her to ask that.

"……not yet."

He Ying glared at him, her tone slightly reproachful:

"It's past 10 p.m. and you haven't eaten yet. Can't you organize the materials tomorrow?"

Chen Dapeng opened his mouth: "I was thinking of finishing this first..."

He Ying interrupted him: "You can put the ingredients aside for now, but you can't put your stomach aside. Go eat something now, and then go back to sleep."

Her tone was firm and uncompromising, but her voice was not loud.

Listening to her words, Chen Dapeng didn't feel controlled; instead, he felt a sense of security.

He lowered his head and chuckled, "Okay, I'll go now."

He Ying smiled at him, seemingly satisfied, and smiled knowingly.

"That's more like it. I'm hanging up now, get some rest."

Chen Dapeng said "okay," but his finger did not immediately press the hang-up button.

He Ying didn't hang up first either. The two of them were silent for a moment across the screen, as if they were both waiting for the other to put down their phone first.

Finally, He Ying spoke first: "What are you looking at? Go eat."

Chen Dapeng was a little embarrassed:

"Sister Ying, I want to see you a little longer."

He Ying burst out laughing: "What's so interesting about it?"

"Sister Ying, you've become even more beautiful in just a few days."

He Ying smiled, but deliberately glared at him: "Da Peng, you've learned to be glib now."

Chen Dapeng scratched his forehead, looking slightly embarrassed, and said:

"I...I'm telling the truth..."

He Ying's lips curved slightly.

"Okay, I got it. Go eat something now."

Okay. Goodnight, Sister Ying.

After the video call ended, Chen Dapeng put his phone on the table and sat for a while.

Then I stood up, turned off the office lights, locked the door, and went downstairs.

……

The next morning.

Chen Dapeng took the folder to Hu Yuheng's office.

He placed the folder on her desk and flipped to the page with the financial chain diagram:

"Director Hu, all the materials Lin Chen found are here."

The registered address of Zhao Yike's company is in the same building as the construction company for the provincial capital project, and the flow of funds matches the overseas account found in Li Xiushan's envelope.

Hu Yuheng looked down at the picture for a while.

His gaze lingered for a few seconds on the line that led from the provincial capital's project funds to the overseas account, then he looked up:

"This line is still missing Zhao Zhengping's own records of handling the case."

Chen Dapeng nodded: "I know. But the direction is clear."

Hu Yuheng closed the drawing: "Put it in the case file first, and we'll add more details later."

"it is good."

Chen Dapeng nodded, picked up the folder, turned around, and walked out.

Then, Hu Yuheng dialed Chen Yuanda's number.

The phone rang several times before being answered; the person on the other end seemed to be busy.

"Director Chen... has an important report to make."

"There are new developments in Beijing as well; I'll tell you in person when I get back."

Hu Yuheng didn't ask any further questions and simply replied, "Okay."