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

Thursday morning, Provincial Government Conference Centre.

The provincial economic work conference is being held here, and several people are sitting on the dais.

Liang Hua sat in the middle, with Zhao Zhengping sitting to his left.

The audience consisted of attendees from provincial government departments and various cities and counties; the meeting room was packed.

Occasionally, someone would look down and flip through materials, or occasionally someone would turn to the side and whisper a few words to the person next to them.

The meeting proceeded to the third item on the agenda—a speech by Zhao Zhengping.

He placed the manuscript on the table.

He glanced down at the manuscript and then began to read.

His voice was no different from usual, with a steady tone, moderate speed, and occasional pauses.

He only raised his head three times during the entire speech.

His gaze was fixed on a fixed point in front of him, and he did not make any eye contact with the people in the audience.

In the past, it was common for Zhao Zhengping to speak extemporaneously.

He has a habit of interacting with the audience when he speaks.

Occasionally, I would stop to observe someone's reaction.

But today, he didn't do it even once.

Chen Yuanda, as the head of the task force, also attended the meeting.

He observed Zhao Zhengping's posture, the frequency with which he turned his manuscript, and his expression when others were speaking.

Zhao Zhengping placed his hands on the table, his fingers motionless, leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed ahead, occasionally blinking.

From the moment you enter until the moment the meeting ends.

He didn't turn his head to speak to the people on either side.

When the meeting adjourned, Chen Yuanda did not rush to get up, but waited until everyone else stood up and walked out before moving.

He walked through the crowd and saw Zhao Zhengping walking towards the side door, accompanied by his secretary and two staff members.

He walked as fast as usual, his back straight, showing no signs of anything unusual.

But Chen Yuanda noticed that Zhao Zhengping walked very slowly down the steps, as if he was checking whether he had stepped firmly.

Years of experience in handling cases have taught him—

Before their downfall, high-ranking officials were often somewhat mentally unstable and in poor condition...

After returning to the task force.

Chen Yuanda wrote down several details about Zhao Zhengping in his notebook.

He doesn't plan to tell anyone for the time being.

He needs more information to determine Zhao Zhengping's true condition...

……

In the afternoon, Chen Dapeng received a call from Lin Chen.

Lin Chen's voice was very low:

"Dapeng, I have some news."

Chen Dapeng strode out of the task force office, and only spoke when he reached the end of the corridor:

"you say."

"I heard people in the business circle saying that people on Governor Zhao's daughter's side are inquiring about the progress of the case. It wasn't her asking herself, but through an intermediary."

Lin Chen paused for a moment, then continued:

"The source of the information is a real estate boss in the provincial capital."

He heard it through his connections in the Chamber of Commerce.

It is said that Zhao Yike asked someone to inquire about "what recent developments have occurred at the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection."

Chen Dapeng held his phone but didn't answer immediately.

Zhao Yike asked someone to inquire about the progress of the case.

This means she is already keeping an eye on the task force's movements.

She may not have been inquiring on behalf of Zhao Zhengping, but at this point in time, nothing happens in isolation.

Who was the middleman?

Chen Dapeng asked.

"I didn't find out his specific name, but I know he's a financial middleman in the provincial capital who has dealings with the Zhao family."

Lin Chen added.

"The information may not be entirely accurate, but the person who spread the news said that Zhao Yike sounded a bit anxious when she asked the question."

"Okay. I understand."

After hanging up the phone.

Chen Dapeng stood in the corridor for a while.

Then I went into Hu Yuheng's office.

The door was not closed.

He stood at the doorway and knocked on the doorframe:

"Director Hu, I just received a message that Zhao Zhengping's daughter, Zhao Yike, recently inquired about the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection's activities through an intermediary."

Hu Yuheng raised his head and put down his pen:

"Source of the information?"

"It came from the business district in the provincial capital, relayed by a friend. The source wasn't directly involved, but the person who spread the word said they heard it through connections in the chamber of commerce."

Hu Yuheng pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Okay, I understand."

After Chen Dapeng left, Hu Yuheng stood up and walked out of the office.

She arrived at Chen Yuanda's office door and knocked a few times.

"Come in."

Hu Yuheng pushed open the door and went inside.

"Director Chen, there's a new development."

Chen Yuanda glanced at her: "Please speak."

Hu Yuheng sat down opposite Chen Yuanda and repeated the message that Chen Dapeng had just relayed:

"Zhao Zhengping's daughter, Zhao Yike, inquired about the latest activities of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection through a financial intermediary in the provincial capital."

The source of the information is from within the business community; it's not direct evidence, but the information is important.

After listening, Chen Yuanda leaned back in his chair, his mind replaying Zhao Zhengping's unusual behavior at the meeting.

When the two are compared, some things begin to emerge.

"His performance at today's meeting was as follows: he read from a prepared statement the entire time, did not look up at the audience, and slowed down a beat when he went down the steps."

The fact that his daughter inquired about the provincial discipline inspection commission's activities at this time indicates that she was also testing the waters for him.

He knows the provincial discipline inspection commission is investigating, but he doesn't know how far we've gotten.

If we act now, he will feel that he made the right judgment.

If we don't move, he'll start to doubt his own judgment.

Hu Yuheng asked:

"So what do we do now?"

"Keep surrounding him. Let him take a step on his own; it's more effective than us pushing him."

You arrange for someone to continue monitoring Zhao Zhengping's daily activities, but not to make any approaching moves.

He takes notes on everything he does—going out, attending meetings, meeting people—but he doesn't get involved or have any contact with them.

Hu Yuheng stood up:

"Understood."

She turned and walked out of Chen Yuanda's office.

……

4:30 PM.

Chen Yuanda convened a short meeting with the special task force.

Hu Yuheng, Chen Dapeng, Wang Zhi, and Liu Chang attended the meeting.

Everyone sat around in the conference room.

Chen Yuanda skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point:

I attended the meeting this morning.

Zhao Zhengping's behavior was somewhat unusual; he read from a prepared script the entire time without omitting anything, and his steps slowed down a beat when he went down the steps.

In addition, his daughter, Zhao Yike, asked someone to inquire about the movements of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The fact that these two pieces of information are put together indicates that he already has some information about the task force.

He scanned the area:

"Next, the task force will maintain its current pace with Zhao Zhengping—no contact, no alerting him."

Continue recording daily activities, but avoid doing anything that might alert him.

After the meeting.

Chen Dapeng returned to his seat and mentally reviewed the content of the meeting.

Chen Yuanda said, "Don't do anything that might make him aware of it," meaning he would not give Zhao Zhengping any pressure signals, but let him judge for himself whether the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection was investigating him, and decide for himself whether to remain silent or speak up.

He picked up his phone and called He Ying.

The phone rang twice before being answered.

"Sister Ying, there's a new development today."

"you say."

"Chen Yuanda attended the provincial economic work conference today, and Zhao Zhengping behaved somewhat strangely at the meeting."

He read from his prepared remarks the whole time, without omitting anything, but he was a beat slow when he was going down the steps.

In addition, Lin Chen learned that Zhao Zhengping's daughter, Zhao Yike, had asked around about the movements of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Is the source of this information reliable?

"What's circulating in the business district isn't direct evidence, but the timing matches up. Director Chen judges that Zhao Zhengping is currently in a period of hesitation."

He Ying didn't reply immediately; after a while, she finally spoke:

"What if Zhao Zhengping doesn't take that step?"

Chen Dapeng paused for a moment:

"Then let's wait. Director Chen said he doesn't know how far our investigation has progressed, so he doesn't dare to move."

He will continue to hesitate as long as we don't push him.

He'll probably be even more nervous when he finds out we know about his daughter's attempts to get information.

"What if he decides to fight to the bitter end?"

Chen Dapeng paused for a moment: "Sister Ying, if he really decides to fight to the end—"

That means he chose a narrower path.

But that path will eventually be blocked by other evidence.

Once all the other lines have landed, whether he carries the burden or not will be irrelevant.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then He Ying changed the subject:

"Dapeng, this weekend, take me to meet your parents. This has been dragging on for too long."

Chen Dapeng paused for a second before reacting, then smiled and said, "Okay!"