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

After returning from the coffee shop, Chen Yang did not rush to leave Qingshun County.

She stood by the window of Chen Dapeng's apartment, looking at the gray sky outside, holding her phone in her hand.

The screen displayed a message from the supervisor: "Annual leave approved, have a good rest."

She put down her phone, turned around, and looked at Chen Dapeng sitting on the sofa.

"I took annual leave."

Chen Dapeng was taken aback for a moment: "No need, I don't need you to take time off to take care of me."

Chen Yang walked over and sat down opposite him.

"I'm not comfortable with that. Besides, your evidence is all jumbled up. I'll help you organize it."

Chen Dapeng opened his mouth, as if to say something.

Chen Yang raised his hand to interrupt him: "Don't tell me you don't need to. The stitches on your lip haven't been removed yet, your ribs are still hurting, and you're sitting there worrying about those materials. Do you think I can't tell?"

Chen Dapeng didn't say anything more, lowered his head, and stared at his hands.

The abrasion on the back of my hand has scabbed over, and a corner of the dark red scab has curled up, revealing the pink new skin underneath.

Chen Yang stood up, walked to the table, and gathered the scattered materials together—copies of transfer records, lists of land expropriation compensation payments, a list of issues discovered by the audit team, and Chen Dapeng's handwritten notes.

She looked at each document carefully, flipping through each page several times.

"Have you organized these materials?"

"I've roughly categorized them." Chen Dapeng walked over and stood next to her. "Transfer records are one category, land expropriation compensation is another, and issues discovered during the audit are yet another."

Chen Yang nodded without saying anything.

She divided the materials into three stacks, took out a notebook from the drawer—it was Chen Dapeng's work logbook, with many blank pages still left—and began copying it page by page.

Chen Dapeng stood to the side, watching his sister's back.

She writes with her back very straight, the pen tip making a soft scratching sound on the paper, each stroke very carefully executed.

"sister."

"Um."

"When are you going back?"

Chen Yang didn't look up and continued copying: "No rush."

"What about your work situation—"

"I took annual leave." She looked up at him. "I just said that."

"But you—"

"Dapeng." Chen Yang put down his pen, turned to look at him, and said, "You currently have over a dozen documents, involving three different issues, spanning three years, and involving people from Fang Zhiwen to Fang Mingyuan and then to the network of connections in the provincial capital. Have you thought about how to use these documents?"

Chen Dapeng remained silent.

"You've been all alone here, beaten, followed, and watched like a lamb to the slaughter. The provincial audit office is coming soon, and these materials you have are crucial leads. If you can't even organize them properly, what are you going to give them?"

Chen Dapeng lowered his head.

"I'm not blaming you," Chen Yang's voice softened. "I'm saying—don't shoulder this alone. I'm not an outsider; I can help you with these things."

Chen Dapeng's nose felt a little sore.

"Thank you, sis."

"Don't give me that." Chen Yang turned around and continued copying. "Go get me a glass of water."

At noon, Chen Yang reclassified the materials he had organized and made a clear table of contents in his notebook.

Category 1: Funding issues in Liuhe Town. This includes 11.6 million yuan in transfer records, 500,000 yuan in vouchers from 2019, and information regarding the connection between Hongda Commerce and Zhao Zhiyong. The time, amount, handler, and destination of each transaction are clearly marked.

The second category concerns land expropriation compensation. This includes Fang Zhiqiang's 17.5 mu of land, 140 million yuan in compensation, and comparative data with other farmers. Chen Yang compiled Fang Zhiqiang's three-year land expropriation record into a table, making it easy to understand at a glance.

The third category: Issues discovered by the audit team. These include missing acceptance reports, removed supporting documents, and expenditures of 180 million yuan with only invoices and no contracts.

On the last page of his notebook, Chen Yang wrote: "To be supplemented—Fang Mingyuan's direct connection to the above issues, the provincial capital's network of relationships, and Du Jianguo's bottom line."

"Take a look."

She handed the notebook to Chen Dapeng.

Chen Dapeng took it and read it from beginning to end.

My sister's handwriting is very neat, every stroke is clear, and it is more than twice as good as his messy notes.

His finger paused when he saw the line "To be supplemented" on the last page.

"Sis, when did you learn to organize these things?"

Chen Yang sat across from him, picked up his water glass and took a sip: "In these years in the state-owned enterprise, I haven't learned much else, but I've certainly honed my skills in organizing materials. Every audit, every inspection, every report—I have to make sure the materials are crystal clear. Otherwise, the leaders won't understand, and you won't be able to explain them yourself."

Chen Dapeng nodded and handed the notebook back to her.

"Sis, what do you think we lack most right now?"

Chen Yang thought for a moment: "We lack evidence that Fang Mingyuan is directly related to these matters. Now all the clues point to Fang Zhiwen—Fang Zhiwen approved the money, Fang Zhiwen arranged the people, and the people handling the matter were Fang Zhiwen's subordinates. Fang Mingyuan can easily absolve himself of any responsibility and say, 'I didn't know my cousin was doing these things down there.'"

Chen Dapeng remained silent for a few seconds.

"Therefore, we need to find the financial connection between Fang Zhiwen and Fang Mingyuan."

"Yes." Chen Yang looked at him. "If it can be proven that a portion of that 1160 million yuan ultimately went to Fang Mingyuan, or that Fang Mingyuan's network of connections in the provincial capital was involved in the distribution of this money, then Fang Mingyuan will not be able to escape."

Chen Dapeng leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

"How do I check?"

Chen Yang picked up her phone and scrolled to a number: "I have a friend in the provincial capital's banking system. We're not very close, but we can talk." She glanced at Chen Dapeng, "I'll give it a try."

She stood up, walked to the window, and dialed the number.

The phone rang several times before it was answered.

"Brother Li, it's me, Chen Yang." Her voice was gentler than usual. "Long time no see, how have you been?"

A man's voice came from the other end of the phone. Chen Dapeng couldn't hear what he was saying, but he could hear his sister occasionally humming or saying "yes" in a slow and unhurried tone.

After a few casual words, Chen Yang's tone became serious: "Brother Li, I need your help with something. Could you help me trace the flow of some funds? An account in the provincial capital... Yes, I don't need anything official, I just want to get an idea... I know it's inconvenient for you, but if you can help..."

She remained silent for a while, listening to the person on the other end of the phone.

"Okay, okay. Thank you, Brother Li. I'll treat you to dinner another day."

After hanging up the phone, she turned around and looked at Chen Dapeng.

He said he'd try. But he's not sure he'll be able to find it.

Chen Dapeng nodded: "It's okay if you can't find it. At least you tried."

Chen Yang walked back, sat down on the sofa, picked up his water glass, and took another sip.

"Dapeng".

"Um?"

"If the provincial audit office comes, what do you plan to do with these things you have?"

Chen Dapeng thought for a moment: "Should we just hand it over to the audit team?"

"No," Chen Yang shook his head. "You're not a formal member of the audit team; you're a liaison. Giving it directly is against procedure. Besides, some of the materials you have were obtained privately, not through official channels. If the audit team asks, you won't be able to explain it."

"What should we do then?"

"Go through He Ying," Chen Yang said, looking at him. "She's the county head. When the audit team comes, she has the authority to provide materials to them. You organize the materials and give them to her, and she'll hand them over in the name of the county government. This way, it's compliant with regulations, and you don't have to deal directly with the audit team."

Chen Dapeng remained silent for a while.

"Sis, what else did you talk about with He Ying when you met?"

Chen Yang glanced at him, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

"What do you want to ask?"

"I just want to know—"

He paused for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Want to know if she's serious about you?"

Chen Yang finished speaking for him.

Chen Dapeng did not deny it.

Chen Yang leaned back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

She said "yes." Just one word, without hesitation.

Chen Dapeng's heart skipped a beat.

She also said she didn't regret it.

"Sister," his voice was a little hoarse, "you don't object?"

Chen Yang turned to look at him.

"What's the point of my objecting?"

Chen Dapeng remained silent.

"I know your temper all too well." Chen Yang shook his head. "Once you've made up your mind about something, not even nine oxen could pull you back."

She paused for a moment.

"Now that you like someone, what good would my objections do?"

Chen Dapeng lowered his head and stared at his hands.

"sister."

"Um?"

"Thank you."

Chen Yang reached out and patted him on the head.

"Don't give me that. Go and rewrite those materials, and make sure your handwriting is neat. The audit team needs them when they come."

Chen Dapeng stood up, walked to the table, sat down, opened his notebook, and began copying.

Chen Yang picked up his phone and sent a message to He Ying.

"Yingying, I'm with Dapeng. His injuries are much better, so don't worry."

He Ying quickly replied, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I helped him organize the materials; they'll come in handy when the audit team arrives."

"I saw it. He just took a picture and sent it to me. It's very well organized."

Chen Yang looked at the words and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"That's right. When have the materials I compiled ever been incomplete?"

He Ying sent a smiley face.

Chen Yang put away his phone, walked over to Chen Dapeng, and watched him copy the text.

His handwriting is still not neat enough, but it's much better than before.

"Over here." She pointed to a line of text in the notebook, "The amount is wrong. It's 1160 million, not 960 million."

Chen Dapeng was stunned for a moment, looked down and saw that he had indeed written it wrong.

"You're so careless," Chen Yang shook his head. "You even copied it wrong."

Chen Dapeng smiled sheepishly and took a pen to correct it.

Outside the window, the sky gradually darkened.

Chen Yang opened the refrigerator and glanced inside—there were still some of the vegetables he had bought yesterday.

She took out pork ribs, green peppers, and eggs, tied on an apron, and began to cook dinner.

The kitchen was filled with the sounds of running water, chopping vegetables on the cutting board, and sizzling oil.

The aroma wafted from the kitchen and filled the entire house.

Chen Dapeng sat at the table and continued copying.

He finished copying the last page, put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and watched his sister's busy figure in the kitchen.

He looked at it for a long time, then lowered his head, turned to a new page, and continued writing.

What he wrote was: "Sis, no matter what happens, I won't let you down."

After writing it, he looked at the line and felt he was being too sentimental, so he tore it off, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the trash can.

Then he turned to a new page and carefully copied down the numbers.

Chen Yang's voice came from the kitchen.

"Dapeng, the pork rib stew is ready, come and bring it over."

"They're here."