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

Nine o'clock in the morning, Liuhe Town.

Two black cars drove into the town government compound.

Team Leader Meng got out of the first car.

He wore a dark suit today, without a tie, but looked much more formal than when he was at the county audit bureau.

The gaze behind the silver-rimmed glasses was calm as usual, but that calmness concealed a sense of oppression that made people afraid to look directly at him.

Behind him followed six audit team members, each carrying a laptop bag, who walked into the building in a line, like a wall rushing towards him.

Fang Zhiwen stood at the entrance of the building, forcing a stiff and forced smile.

He wore a dark blue jacket today, his hair was neatly combed, and he looked energetic.

But there was a faint bluish tint under his eyes.

"Team Leader Meng, welcome, welcome."

He went up to her and extended his hand.

Team Leader Meng shook hands briefly, without exchanging pleasantries: "Secretary Fang, I apologize for bothering you. We need a larger conference room; we may need to stay here for a few days."

"Everything is ready. The large conference room on the third floor. Team Leader Meng, this way please."

Fang Zhiwen turned to the side and made a "please" gesture, then walked ahead to lead the way.

His steps were steady and light, giving him a very calm appearance.

The door to the large conference room on the third floor was open.

Bottled water, fruit, notebooks, and pens were already laid out on the long table, and a printed welcome message was placed in front of each seat.

Team Leader Meng glanced at the items, said nothing, and sat down in the main seat.

The audit team members took their seats in unison.

Fang Zhiwen sat opposite Team Leader Meng, his hands clasped together on the table, his knuckles slightly white.

His gaze swept over the audit team members, lingering on each person's face for less than half a second before quickly shifting away.

Team Leader Meng took a document out of his briefcase, placed it on the table, and did not look at it.

"Secretary Fang, we are starting a special audit of Liuhe Town today. We need your town to provide all financial documents, ledgers, and statements for the past five years, as well as contracts, acceptance reports, and payment vouchers for all key projects."

Fang Zhiwen's smile froze for two seconds.

"Team Leader Meng, the past five years? According to convention, audits usually cover three years, right? When our county audit team came last time, they covered three years."

Team Leader Meng looked at him through his silver-rimmed glasses, his gaze like a blunt, yet heavy, blade.

"Secretary Fang, conventions are conventions, and rules are rules."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a nail driven into the table.

"I'm in charge of the provincial audits."

The air in the conference room froze instantly.

Fang Zhiwen tapped his finger lightly on the table.

The smile was still on his lips, but its curvature had completely changed—"Secretary Fang, you're not discussing this with me, you're telling me the result."

"Team Leader Meng, I'm not discussing this; I just want to clarify the scope of the audit so we can cooperate better."

"The scope of the audit is clearly stated in the notice. If Secretary Fang didn't see it clearly, you can read it again." Team Leader Meng glanced at the young female auditor beside him, "Xiao Wu, show the notice to Secretary Fang."

The female auditor stood up, took a document from the folder, walked over to Fang Zhiwen, and placed it on the table.

Fang Zhiwen glanced down at it but didn't pick it up.

He looked up, and the smile on his face finally disappeared.

"Team Leader Meng, five years it is. Liuhe Town will fully cooperate."

His tone returned to normal, but that normalcy was a deliberately suppressed calm, like an undercurrent beneath the surface of water.

Team Leader Meng nodded and wrote a line in his notebook.

"Secretary Fang, we'll begin this afternoon. Please prepare the documents: arrange the accounting vouchers by year and month, and classify the contracts and acceptance reports by project."

Fang Zhiwen nodded and said nothing more.

He took his phone out of his pocket and glanced down at it—there were no messages on the screen.

He placed his phone face down on the table, looked up, and shifted his gaze from Team Leader Meng to the sky outside the window.

He felt the sky was very low today, so low that it was hard to breathe.

……

It was 11 a.m. in Fang Zhiwen's office.

The door was closed tightly, and the blinds were drawn, blocking out the sunlight.

Fang Zhiwen stood by the window, his back to the desk, holding his phone to his ear.

The call was connected.

"Brother, the provincial audit team has come to Liuhe Town."

"I know," Fang Mingyuan's voice came from the other end of the phone, unusually calm. "Meng Qingshan is leading the team personally?"

"He came in person. He demanded an audit of five years' worth of accounts in Liuhe Town. I said the usual procedure is three years, and he replied, 'It's a provincial audit, I'm in charge.'" Fang Zhiwen's Adam's apple bobbed. "Brother, he made his decision absolutely. He left no room for negotiation."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"If he wants to investigate, let him investigate. Have you cleaned everything up properly on your end?"

Fang Zhiwen's fingers slowly tightened on the window frame: "Zhou Deming burned them in front of me last night. All the original vouchers from 2018 to 2020 were burned. One fire, and only ashes remained."

"Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"I saw it with my own eyes. I stood there and watched him pour alcohol, set it on fire, and watch those papers burn to ashes page by page. I poked around in the ashes with an iron rod, but there was nothing there."

There was another two seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Where's the acceptance report? Where's the contract?"

"What needed to be supplemented has been supplemented, and what needed to be replaced has been replaced. There are no problems on the books. As long as no one voluntarily hands over anything, the audit team won't find any major issues."

Where is Zhou Min?

Fang Zhiwen's fingers paused for a moment.

"Zhou Min... I've asked Qian Cheng to keep an eye on her. She hasn't been doing too well lately, but nothing serious should happen. She's worked in Liuhe Town for so many years, she knows what she should and shouldn't say."

"Keep a close eye on her. Not just her, but everyone around you. The provincial audit team is coming; anyone could be the one to 'voluntarily hand over something'."

Fang Zhiwen's Adam's apple bobbed again.

"Brother, what if the audit team really finds any problems..."

"There are no 'ifs'," Fang Mingyuan interrupted him. "Just cooperate on your end and don't make any mistakes. I'll handle things in the provincial capital."

"Can someone surnamed Nie help?"

Fang Mingyuan was silent for a moment.

"Don't get involved in this matter. Mind your own business and the business of Liuhe Town."

The phone was disconnected.

Fang Zhiwen took the phone away from his ear and stared at the screen.

The call duration was displayed as two minutes and fourteen seconds.

In just two minutes and fourteen seconds, he staked the foundation of Liuhe Town built over ten years.

He walked back behind his desk, sat down, and opened a drawer.

At the very back of the drawer was a photograph—a picture of him and Fang Mingyuan taken five years ago.

The photo shows two people standing in front of a newly completed project site in the Economic Development Zone, with a newly built factory behind them.

Both of them were smiling, full of high spirits.

Fang Zhiwen stared at the photo for a few seconds, then closed the drawer.

……

3 PM, He Ying's office.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Fang Mingyuan stood in the doorway with his usual smile on his face.

"County Chief He, is this a convenient time?"

"County Chief Fang, please come in."

Fang Mingyuan walked in and closed the door behind him.

He Ying noticed that when he closed the door, his fingers lingered on the doorknob for a moment—he was making sure the door was closed properly.

Fang Mingyuan sat down opposite her and placed the unopened notebook on the table.

He Ying put down her pen, leaned back in her chair, and looked at him.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

Fang Mingyuan spoke first.

"County Chief He, did you invite the provincial audit team?"