The pushover offended a top-tier boss

The airport was bustling with people, and boarding information was being broadcast on a loop. Ye Zhenzhen stood at the security checkpoint, watching the hurried crowds, clutching her boarding pass in her hand, but her heart felt like it was being squeezed by something, something she couldn't quite grasp.

Someone called out to her that it was time for security. She glanced back; behind her were strangers coming and going, but he wasn't there.

After passing through security, she sat down in the waiting area, took out her phone, and saw a news push notification from Nanjing. The organization had clarified the matter regarding the defamation of Yang Guanyu, and the entire gang behind it had been apprehended.

In an instant, residents of Nanjing stood up to speak well of him, and the media began to sing his praises again, and his image returned to what it was before overnight.

How precise each step is!

Ye Zhenzhen stared at the screen for a long time before dialing Yang Guanyu's number. The phone rang twice before being answered.

"Zhenzhen." His voice was a little hoarse.

"Why did you want to harm Zhou Huaijin?" she asked directly.

"I didn't hurt him," Yang Guanyu said calmly.

"County Chief Yang, I didn't record this, and you don't need to worry about me keeping evidence. I just don't understand. He recommended you for the position of county chief; he was your mentor. Why are you repaying kindness with enmity? Is it just because of... me?"

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

Yang Guanyu's voice rang out, low and heavy, as if something was pressing down on him: "Zhenzhen, do you know how much injustice there is in this world? I studied hard for many years, full of enthusiasm to serve my hometown, but because I disdained to curry favor with the powerful, I was buried in obscurity in the countryside for so many years."

"If I had his background and connections, I could also marry the person I love and do what I want. What do I lack compared to him? But what about you? You choose him time and time again."

Ye Zhenzhen closed her eyes briefly. "Yang Guanyu, no matter how dissatisfied he was with you in personal matters, he never made things difficult for you at work. But you brought your personal grudges into your work, using the trust of the people of an entire county as a bargaining chip. In this respect, you will never be as good as him."

"How can you face those who trusted you? How can you face your deceased grandfather? I hope your conscience can be at peace."

She hung up the phone. The plane climbed rapidly, and the lights of thousands of homes outside the window grew smaller and smaller, like stars going out one by one.

The Zhou family in Beijing.

Zhou Chenyu stood in the living room, looking at her father on the sofa, her voice urgent: "Dad, Li Chengsen has been released, and now he's making increasingly aggressive moves. Aren't you going to take action?"

Zhou's father didn't look up. "Didn't he want to be an independent man who doesn't rely on his family? Let him shoulder the burden himself."

"Dad, he's your son."

Zhou's father was silent for a moment. "Make him divorce that woman."

Zhou Chenyu's voice turned cold: "Dad, Zhenzhen stayed in the interrogation room for three days and three nights without saying a single word that could harm him. A naive young girl, she withstood the pressure and said nothing. What more do you want?"

Mr. Zhou frowned slightly. "You also think I'm being too harsh?"

"I think it's better to give him more freedom than to let him live a life of shackles," Zhou Chenyu replied. "A capable man doesn't need to exchange his future for a marriage alliance."

She paused, then added softly, "Besides, I've already sent Zhenzhen abroad."

Mr. Zhou sneered. "Fine, you all help him plot."

Zhou Chenyu walked to his side, bent down, and softened her voice: "Dad, I know you won't abandon him. Why get angry with your own son? If he really gets brought down, it will affect everything, and our family won't have an easy time either."

Zhou Chenyu poured him a cup of tea, which calmed down Zhou's father somewhat. His son had been cold-hearted since childhood, but he had only this daughter, whom he had spoiled since she was a child, and she knew how to be considerate of her father.

His daughter was already exhausted from managing the family business. He didn't want her to marry into an arranged marriage, but due to unforeseen circumstances, she ended up marrying that good-for-nothing. He felt guilty about it, so he couldn't bear to scold her no matter what she did.

This is probably a father's bias; he always feels that his daughter is much more considerate, while his unfilial son will only forget his parents after getting married.

Father Zhou snorted: "Then let him suffer more and understand the importance of the family."

In the detention room, Zhou Huaijin ate his meal slowly and deliberately.

Ten days have passed since he was detained. Ten days of interrogation, one after another, but he remained calm and unhurried, able to eat and sleep well.

The investigators were utterly perplexed by his demeanor. Officials who came here before, regardless of rank, would usually be worn down and their mental state would crumble within three days; even the most cunning would eventually confess. But Zhou Huaijin remained as calm as a deep pool, no matter how much pressure was applied.

"Secretary Zhou, isn't life here a bit difficult?" someone asked, sitting down as if they were having a casual conversation.

"Not bad. The food is light, which is good for my stomach. I also have more time to rest than when I'm working, so I feel much more relaxed than usual." Zhou Huaijin put down his chopsticks, picked up his water glass, and took a sip.

The man choked for a moment.

"Ye Zhenzhen has already confessed everything. Lin Rui and Chen Zheng have also spoken up. Secretary Zhou, there's no point in you continuing to take the blame now."

"By the way, Li Chengsen of Dingxin Group, whom you framed, has also been released."

Zhou Huaijin leaned back in his chair, a slight smile curving his lips.

"Is that so? Then according to you, it's meaningless whether I plead guilty or not. So why are you wasting your breath arguing with me?"

We are now in a vacuum, an isolated island with no access to information, where every word we hear from the outside may be false.

He could only remain calm and conserve his energy, responding to any eventuality with composure.

"Do you know that the maximum penalty for multiple offenses is the death penalty?" the man reminded him.

Zhou Huaijin leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers lightly twice on the table.

"Oh, living is fine. Dying is good too. It doesn't matter."

They seemed completely unyielding, making it impossible to know where to begin.

When Ye Zhenzhen arrived in this unfamiliar place, everything was arranged perfectly. Her accommodation was safe, and someone cleaned and cooked for her.

But she didn't want to do anything. Every day she would hold her phone and scroll through the news, but there was no news, not a single message.

She told herself that no news was good news.

But she was still afraid. If Zhou Huaijin was really wrongfully imprisoned, how would such a proud and respectable man cope?

A few days later, Lin Zhi flew over from China to be with her.

Seeing Ye Zhenzhen's thin appearance, Lin Zhiqiang suppressed his heartache and took her out for a walk to distract her.

"Sisters, just think of it as a vacation. The scenery is so beautiful."

Lin Zhi pointed to the sea in the distance. They walked around the beach for a long time, the sea breeze carrying a salty, fishy smell.

Ye Zhenzhen, who had been keeping her head down, finally couldn't help but ask, "Zhizhi, is there any news from back home?"

Lin Zhi shook his head: "No. Our boss couldn't find out either."

"Zhenzhen, don't worry, it means everything is still being dealt with. This isn't a small matter; it involves many people, so it will definitely take time. You need to take care of yourself; look how thin you've become."

But Ye Zhenzhen looked at the food in front of her and still had no appetite.

Lin Zhi felt a pang of heartache and pushed the bowl towards her, saying, "Zhenzhen, eat something. You can't keep suffering like this. He brought you here so that you could get better."