Official statement: Tongwei is dead! You chose Ruijin, didn't you?

Jingzhou City South Children's Palace.

Li Dakang's black Audi quietly pulled up in front of the planetarium.

The former Party Secretary of Jingzhou City, who used to walk with a swagger and slam his fist on the table and curse, is now sticking his butt out, squinting one eye, and peering into a high-powered astronomical telescope.

Beside him, "Cosmic District Chief" Sun Liancheng stood with his hands behind his back, explaining to him in an extremely detached tone:

"Secretary Dakang, look, that's Betelgeuse in Orion, more than 600 light-years away from Earth. In the face of the vast universe, human power and desires are but a drop in the ocean."

"Vast, indeed very vast."

Li Dakang gave perfunctory replies, but cursed inwardly.

Vast my foot!

His mind is now filled with the boiling black pot in the provincial party committee compound.

In order to avoid getting tainted by the corrupt waters of the governorship and to demonstrate to the inspection team his "unambitious and indifferent" mindset, Li Dakang forced himself to become an astronomy enthusiast.

In the thunderstorm-prone area of ​​Handong, Li Dakang realized a truth: the safest political haven now is not the provincial party committee compound, but the Milky Way.

As long as I look up at the stars, you can forget about throwing mud at me.

While Li Dakang was trying to look up at the stars and wash away his political ambitions,

A thousand miles away in the capital, a conversation that could shake the very foundations of Handong was quietly taking place.

The central task force held talks at the site.

Zhong Xiaoai sat in a small, windowless conference room with a glass of cold water in front of her.

After several hours of back-and-forth, she no longer used the bureaucratic maneuvering of "Tai Chi" to defend her bottom line.

Now that the supervisory team has obtained the hard drive and recovered the data, it would be too simplistic for them to continue pretending to be ignorant.

As a high-ranking official's daughter who grew up in a privileged compound, Zhong Xiaoai understood the principle of "cutting losses in time" better than anyone else.

"I compiled the list," Zhong Xiaoai said calmly. "Before going to Handong, I gave it to Hou Liangping."

While taking notes, the officer on the other end of the line asked, "You clearly know that the list will instruct Hou Liangping to selectively handle cases, right?"

"Not only do I know, but he knows too."

Zhong Xiaoai picked up her water glass and took a sip. "When handling cases within the system, there's a hierarchy of importance. That list was the scope of his investigation. The Chen family, the Lingang project, and Wang Zonghui are the minefields that can't be touched; Gao Yuliang and Qi Tongwei are the greenlights that can be used as breakthroughs for political achievements. Everyone knows this without saying a word."

The official looked up and asked, "Since you both understand this implicitly, why are you requesting a meeting with Hou Liangping now?"

Zhong Xiaoai put down her water glass: "Because some people, if you don't see them again, it might be for a lifetime."

At 10 a.m., the team leader pushed open the door and walked in.

"Comrade Zhong Xiaoai, after consulting with your superiors, your request to meet with Hou Liangping has been approved in principle."

The team leader announced in a businesslike manner, "Video conference, audio and video recorded throughout. The rules are agreed upon beforehand: neither side may exchange codes or collude. Can you manage that?"

Zhong Xiaoai straightened her hair, her eyes cool and aloof: "Okay."

Half an hour later, the screen on the wall lit up.

In the video, Hou Liangping is sitting in a conversation chair at the Handong Provincial Party Committee Guesthouse.

Seeing the person on the screen, Zhong Xiaoai's heart sank uncontrollably.

Hou Liangping had become emaciated. His once meticulously combed hair was now a mess, and his face, which used to always wear a confident and even somewhat arrogant smile, was now just ashen.

That "I represent justice" spirit was completely drained by the supervisory team.

Hou Liangping spoke first, his voice hoarse like sandpaper: "Xiao Ai."

Zhong Xiaoai didn't respond to the address. She sat up straight and got straight to the point: "I've already reported the list to the organization. Stop trying to deny it on your end."

Hou Liangping stared at the screen, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace: "Xiao Ai, let me ask you a question. I came to Handong to clean up the yard for your Zhong family and Sha Ruijin... Did you know all this from the very beginning?"

Zhong Xiaoai didn't show any pain or struggle like in romance dramas; she simply looked at Hou Liangping calmly.

"Liangping, we're all adults here. In this industry, do some things really need to be made clear?"

"My dad sent you to Handong to clean the yard, not to dig up our ancestral graves. Do you really think you're some imperial envoy with a sword of Damocles?"

On the other end of the video call, Hou Liangping's breathing became noticeably rapid, and he gripped the armrests of the chair tightly with both hands.

"So, I'm just a tool."

Hou Liangping gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with despair. "You handed me the knife, put the 'anti-corruption hero' hat on my head, and watched me charge into battle in Handong like a fool."

"Once I've driven Gao Yuliang and the others to the brink of despair and caused a huge disaster, you can kick me aside and slap the divorce papers in my face while you're at it!"

"We are all tools, for the sake of the family, for the sake of the greater good."

Zhong Xiaoai mercilessly punctured his pride, "Liangping, don't try to make yourself sound so innocent. When you were given the list, didn't you notice anything fishy about it?"

You saw through me. But you were too eager for that achievement of "overthrowing Handong," and you were too eager to prove that you, Hou Liangping, were not a son-in-law who rose to power through the Zhong family.

You chose to numb yourself with the halo of "anti-corruption," and followed the script we gave you without question. Now that you've messed it up, who's to blame?

Hou Liangping was stunned, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

His biggest fig leaf was torn to shreds in front of the supervisory team by the woman he cared about most.

Zhong Xiaoai took a deep breath and played her final trump card: "Liangping, Ranran has his junior high school entrance exam next month. He asked me yesterday when his dad is coming back."