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

The next morning, there was a knock on the door.

Chen Dapeng groggily opened his eyes and glanced at his phone—7:03.

Who's here so early?

He got up, put on a coat, walked to the door, and looked out through the peephole.

Chen Yang stood outside the door, holding a bag in his hand.

Chen Dapeng opened the door and stood there dumbfounded: "Sis? Didn't you leave last night?"

"I couldn't leave last night. I slept in a hotel."

Chen Yang walked in and placed the bag on the table.

"I brought you breakfast. I have to rush back after you eat; I have a meeting this morning."

Chen Dapeng glanced at the bag—it contained steamed buns, soy milk, and tea eggs.

"Sis, you didn't need to come so early..."

"I'm going that way anyway." Chen Yang sat down on the sofa, patted the seat next to him, and said, "Sit down, I have something to tell you."

Chen Dapeng sat down next to her, picked up a small steamed bun, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Chen Yang watched him eat, without saying anything immediately.

She only spoke after he swallowed the first bun.

"Dapeng, I contacted someone this morning."

Chen Dapeng looked up: "Who?"

"Director Gu of the Provincial Audit Office is the husband of my college classmate."

Chen Dapeng paused for a moment.

Provincial Audit Office.

"I thought about it all night. The things you have—the transfer records in Liuhe Town, the related transactions of Hongda Trading, the issues the audit team is investigating—if these things are kept in the county, the truth may never be found."

She paused for a moment.

"Because Fang Mingyuan has been operating in the county for more than ten years, his people are all over the place. Whether it's the audit bureau, the finance bureau, or the discipline inspection commission, he has people in all of them. He Ying's power is limited, and the number of people she can trust is even more limited."

Chen Dapeng remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"But if this matter reaches the provincial level, it will be a different story." Chen Yang looked at him. "If the provincial audit office gets involved, Fang Mingyuan's connections in the county will be useless. It will be very difficult for him to touch people in the province."

Chen Dapeng's fingers tightened slightly.

"Sister, do you mean—to have the Provincial Audit Office investigate Liuhe Town?"

"It's not just Liuhe Town." Chen Yang shook his head. "It's about investigating where that 960 million went. Investigating Hongda Trading. Investigating Fang Mingyuan's network of connections in the provincial capital."

She picked up the soy milk, inserted the straw, and took a sip.

"The Director Gu I know has worked in the Provincial Audit Office for over ten years. He's very capable and upright. If he's willing to help, there's hope for this."

Chen Dapeng remained silent for a few seconds.

"Sis, how are you going to tell him? You can't just say, 'My brother is investigating a deputy county head, can you help him out?'"

"Of course you can't say that." Chen Yang smiled. "What I told him was—I've heard some rumors that there might be problems with the use of funds in Liuhe Town, Qingshun County, and I asked them to keep an eye on it."

"The Provincial Audit Office has an annual audit plan and selects some counties and districts for special audits. If Director Gu can include Qingshun County in this year's audit plan, then it is normal audit work, not someone 'reporting' or someone 'helping'."

Chen Dapeng understood.

The older sister was looking for "the knife above" for He Ying.

This knife is not a person, it is the system.

The special audit conducted by the Provincial Audit Office is a legal procedure, and no one has special privileges in the face of this procedure.

No matter how powerful Fang Mingyuan was in the county, he couldn't stop the provincial audit.

"Sis," Chen Dapeng's voice was a little hoarse, "when did you start thinking about these things?"

Chen Yang smiled and said, "Last night, after you fell asleep, I couldn't sleep at the hotel and tossed and turned all night thinking about it."

"Then why didn't you tell me last night?"

"Because I wanted to first confirm whether Director Gu could help," Chen Yang said, leaning back on the sofa. "I called him at seven o'clock this morning. I explained the situation to him, and he said he would keep an eye on it."

Chen Dapeng was taken aback: "Seven o'clock? You're calling so early, won't they find it annoying?"

"Director Gu is an old acquaintance, so I won't stand on ceremony."

Chen Dapeng looked at her, and a wave of emotion welled up in his heart.

My sister said last night that she "tossed and turned all night thinking about it."

She was thinking about how to help him, how to help He Ying.

I'm thinking about how to move this matter from the county level to the provincial level, so that more powerful forces can get involved.

"Sister," his voice was a little hoarse, "thank you."

"Don't give me that. Dapeng—"

Her expression turned serious.

"You're my brother, I can't just watch you shoulder this alone."

Chen Dapeng opened his mouth, as if to say something, but couldn't say anything.

Chen Yang reached out and gently patted him on the head.

"Dapeng—you're not alone. You have me. If anything's wrong, tell me. Don't try to tough it out alone."

Chen Dapeng's nose felt a little sore.

"Okay, sis."

Chen Yang picked up the bag on the table.

"Alright, I'm leaving. I have a meeting this morning, I can't be late."

She walked to the door, put on her shoes, and opened the door.

Chen Dapeng stood up and followed behind.

"Sister, I'll take you there."

"No."

Chen Yang walked out the door, took a couple of steps in the corridor, and suddenly stopped.

"Dapeng".

"Um?"

"About you and He Ying..."

Chen Dapeng's heart skipped a beat.

"You'd better think this through." Chen Yang's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear. "The relationship between you two is more than just a superior-subordinate one."

Chen Dapeng's fingers tightened slightly.

"Sister, you..."

Chen Yang turned around and looked at him.

There was no reproach on her face, not even a serious expression.

She just smiled, the kind of knowing smile that comes from an older sister looking at her younger brother.

"I'm your older sister. Do you think I can't tell? Besides..."

She didn't say what came next, but her smile widened.

Chen Dapeng was stunned.

He stood at the door, looking at Chen Yang, his mind blank.

"Dapeng," her voice softened, "I don't object. But you need to think this through—she's six years older than you, she's your boss, and she's my classmate. Each of these relationships presents a hurdle."

She paused for a moment.

"If you've thought it through and feel you can overcome these hurdles, I won't stop you. But if you haven't thought it through yet, don't get yourself into this mess."

Chen Dapeng stood there, unsure of what to say.

Chen Yang glanced at him, then turned and left.

Chen Dapeng walked back to the sofa and sat down.

He stared blankly at the leftover breakfast for a long time.

Then he picked up his phone, scrolled to He Ying's WeChat, hovered his finger above the screen, typed a few words, and then deleted them.

He wanted to say, "My sister knows about us."

But he didn't dare to post it.

It's not that I'm afraid to tell her, it's that I don't know how to say it.

Perhaps his sister thought he only liked He Ying, but she didn't know what happened that night.

She didn't know that He Ying was his first woman, nor did she know that he was He Ying's first man.

Chen Dapeng didn't know how to tell his sister about these things, or even if he should tell her at all.

All he knew was that from that absurd night onward, some things were beyond redemption.

He walked out of the building and strode towards the county government.

My phone vibrated; it was a WeChat message from He Ying.

"The audit team will be investigating for another day. There might be some trouble with Fang Zhiwen, so keep a close eye on him."

Chen Dapeng replied with a single word: "Okay".

He paused, then added, "My sister went back to the provincial capital this morning. She said she'll continue to help us investigate there."

He Ying quickly replied: "Did your sister... say anything to you?"

Chen Dapeng looked at the line of text and hesitated for a few seconds.

She said she didn't object.

He regretted it after sending it.

He didn't clarify what he wasn't against.

How would He Ying interpret this sentence?

After about a minute, my phone vibrated.

He Ying only sent one word: "Oh".

Chen Dapeng stared at the word "oh" for a long time, pondering it.

Did she understand?

Still didn't understand?

Are you too embarrassed to respond?

Or were they pretending not to understand?