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

That evening.

Zhao Zhengping was looking at materials in his study when an unknown number called.

After the call connected, the other party only said one sentence:

"The task force has entered that office building in the development zone."

Zhao Zhengping held his phone, not answering immediately, and only spoke after a few seconds:

"understood."

After hanging up the phone, he sat there, staring blankly at the ceiling, not moving for a long time.

He was wondering what was in that room.

He was wondering if the things he thought he had handled properly were still in their original places.

He left the study and went into the living room.

The wife is cooking dinner in the kitchen.

He stood there motionless, watching his wife's retreating figure...

At that moment, he felt a sense of warmth...

If only the daughter, son-in-law, and grandson were here too.

Just a little bit more...

Unfortunately, they are all abroad...

I wonder if we'll ever be reunited...

He suddenly made a decision!

His wife peeked out from the kitchen, saw him standing motionless in the middle of the living room, and asked:

"What's wrong?"

Zhao Zhengping shook his head: "It's nothing, you go about your business."

Then he went back into the study and closed the door.

He sat down at his desk, pulled open the bottom drawer, and took out the old document.

He didn't open it, but just held it in his hand. The edges of the paper had been turned over many times, and the corners were slightly curled up, soft and flimsy, with rough edges.

He looked down at the document for a long time, then put it on the table without putting it back in the drawer.

He knew about the things in that room, and some of them corroborated the document in his hand.

Once those things are unearthed, they can no longer be explained by "normal archiving".

Zhao Zhengping picked up his phone and found Hu Yuheng's number.

He had not contacted Hu Yuheng directly before.

He stared at the number for a long time before finally pressing the dial button.

The phone rang twice before being answered.

Hu Yuheng's voice carried a touch of professional composure:

"Hello, who is this?"

Zhao Zhengping held his phone:

"Director Hu, this is Zhao Zhengping."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Hu Yuheng's voice was a little lower than before:

"Governor Zhao, what's the matter?"

Zhao Zhengping remained silent for a moment before speaking:

"I would like to explain some things to the organization regarding the provincial capital project."

Hu Yuheng didn't press further, didn't ask "what's going on?" or "which aspect are you referring to?" He simply said:

"Sure. Will you come to the task force tomorrow morning, or do you need me to send someone over?"

Zhao Zhengping said, "I'll go over there."

……

The next morning, Zhao Zhengping arrived at the special investigation team of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

He didn't bring a secretary or a driver; he drove himself.

After registering at the entrance, he went upstairs and found the task force's office area according to the door number Hu Yuheng had given him over the phone.

Hu Yuheng wasn't waiting for him in the corridor; the office door was open.

When he reached the door, Hu Yuheng was sitting behind his desk. Seeing him arrive, he stood up and pointed to the chair opposite him:

"Governor Zhao, please have a seat."

Zhao Zhengping walked in and sat down opposite her, holding a file folder in his hand.

He didn't put it on the table; he held it in his hand.

Hu Yuheng didn't urge him, but sat up straight and waited for him to speak first.

after awhile.

Zhao Zhengping placed the file folder on the table, but without opening it, he spoke first:

"I signed some documents ten years ago during my time on a project in the provincial capital."

Part of it is a normal workflow, and another part—

I initially thought it was just a normal project archive and didn't look at the contents closely.

He paused for a moment:

"But I did approve and sign the documents in that room. There was an attachment to the meeting minutes with my annotations on it."

Hu Yuheng didn't respond, waiting for him to continue.

Zhao Zhengping opened the file bag, took out a copy of a document, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Hu Yuheng.

It was the same document he had flipped through many times in his study.

The annotation in the upper right corner that reads "Funding arrangements have been finalized" is clearly visible, and the handwriting is consistent with the one found in the office room yesterday.

"I brought this document to show that I am willing to cooperate with the organization's verification."

I acknowledge that I signed the document.

But I didn't know what happened to those documents at the time.

He paused for a moment:

"I hope the organization will consider my cooperative attitude."

Hu Yuheng picked up the copy, looked at it once, and then put it down without making any comment.

"Governor Zhao, we will verify the materials you provided according to procedure. I will also record your attitude truthfully."

Zhao Zhengping didn't say anything more and nodded.

He stood up, turned around, and walked out of the office.

After the office door closed, Hu Yuheng picked up the photocopy on the table and looked at it again.

Then he placed the original document on the corner of the table, picked up the landline, and dialed Chen Yuanda's number.

"Director Chen, Zhao Zhengping came to the task force this morning."

He submitted a copy of the meeting minutes appendix, which included his annotations.

He admitted to signing the documents, but said he didn't know their whereabouts at the time and hoped the organization would consider his cooperative attitude.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Chen Yuanda's voice came through:

"Is the document he handed over the same one we found in the office room?"

"The handwriting and content match. He brought a photocopy; the original is still in our hands."

Chen Yuanda did not immediately express his opinion.

After a while, he spoke:

"He came on his own initiative, which means he realized that we had found the room."

What he handed over was what he wanted us to see.

However, in his written statement, he did not admit that he knew the whereabouts of the documents, but only admitted that he had signed them.

He left room for maneuver in this regard.

Hu Yuheng did not respond.

Chen Yuanda continued, "Keep the materials for now, there's no rush. I'll go back to Beijing tomorrow to report the current status of the evidence to Secretary Song in person."

Hu Yuheng responded, "Okay."

……

The next day, after arriving in Beijing, Chen Yuan went directly to the office building of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

He didn't make an appointment in advance and went straight to Song Huai'an's office door.

The door was open, and Song Huai'an was reading documents. When he saw him appear in the doorway, he put down his pen.

"Come in."

Chen Yuanda went inside and gave a report on the recent progress of the case.

Then he turned to the explanatory material submitted by Zhao Zhengping:

"This was submitted by Zhao Zhengping himself yesterday. He admitted to signing it, but claimed to be unaware of the document's final whereabouts. We found an identical copy of the meeting minutes in the office building in the development zone; the original has been sealed."

Song Huai'an did not immediately express his opinion after hearing this.

He picked up the explanatory material, flipped through it, then put it down. His gaze lingered on the table for a moment before he spoke:

"What Zhao Zhengping is handing over now is a decision he made after weighing the options."

The fact that he came on his own initiative means he already knew he couldn't leave.

He paused for a moment, then continued:

"Leave the materials for now. We'll process them together once Sun Desheng's verification results are finalized."

Chen Yuanda nodded: "Understood."

He didn't linger any longer and turned to leave the office.

On the way back, he took out his phone and sent a message to Hu Yuheng:

"Secretary Song said that once Sun Desheng's verification results are finalized, they will be dealt with together. As for Zhao Zhengping, we should maintain the status quo for now and not put pressure on him."

Hu Yuheng replied: "Received."