At the Pinnacle of Power: The Female Leader and Her Chief Advisor

Li Ping forced a fawning smile: "Secretary Lu, what instructions do you have for me?"

Lu Ming glanced at Li Ping and said with a smile, "Director Li, you flatter me. How could a mere secretary like me be qualified to give instructions?"

"I came here to see Zhou Lin. Oh, Mayor Yu sent me to see Zhou Lin."

Upon hearing that someone was looking for her, Zhou Lin hurriedly got up and went to the door: "Secretary Lu, you wanted to see me?"

Lu Ming nodded: "Pack your things, you'll be working with me from now on."

Zhou Lin was stunned and didn't react for a moment.

Li Ping understood, and asked in surprise, "Secretary Lu, what will Xiao Zhou be doing from now on...?"

Lu Ming said, "From now on, Zhou Lin will be Mayor Yu's secretary."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes turned to Zhou Lin, filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

This is truly a case of rising from humble beginnings to great heights; they were fortunate enough to be noticed by Mayor Yu.

Many people feel very unbalanced and want to ask, "Why?"

There are plenty of experienced people in the department who have worked there for three to five years, so why were they choosing Zhou Lin, a greenhorn who has only been there for less than six months?

According to seniority, how could it be her turn?

Of course, they only dared to grumble in their hearts.

After all, this was Mayor Yu's decision; who gave them the right to interfere?

"Xiao Zhou... oh, I should say Secretary Zhou, congratulations!"

Li Ping immediately changed his tune, grasped Zhou Lin's small hand, and said earnestly, "Secretary Zhou, you must work hard from now on and never let Yao Yu down for his trust and promotion!"

Zhou Lin, having recovered from her shock, nodded vigorously, her face flushed with excitement: "I will work hard."

"Alright, let's go."

After Zhou Lin packed her things, Lu Ming took her to the mayor's office.

The moment the two left, the department erupted in chaos.

"This young Zhou is really incredibly lucky, he actually got handpicked by Mayor Yu."

"Still calling him 'Little Zhou'? From now on, you'll have to address him respectfully as 'Secretary Zhou'!"

"Of course! Their future is limitless; how can we junior staff members compare?"

No matter how resentful they were, it couldn't change the fact that Zhou Lin had become the mayor's secretary.

"But speaking of which, doesn't Mayor Yu already have Secretary Lu? Why is he taking on another one?"

"Who says otherwise?"

"Can't you see that Mayor Yu is clearly trying to create a 'poisonous nest' situation? Right now he has two secretaries, but in the future, only one will remain!"

Li Ping cleared his throat and said, "Alright, alright, get back to what you were doing and stop gossiping."

He returned to his seat, took out his phone, and sent a message to Zhou Lin.

……

Zhou Lin followed Lu Ming into the office. Lu Ming pointed to the desk next to him and said, "You can sit next to me from now on. You can ask me anytime if you don't understand anything."

"Okay, Secretary Lu."

Zhou Lin put her things down and sat down, feeling extremely unreal, as if it were a beautiful dream.

She actually went from being a junior clerk to becoming the mayor's secretary.

Her eyes were drawn to the door of the mayor's office not far away. On the other side of the door, Mayor Yu was working inside.

Just then, the phone on the table suddenly rang. Zhou Rumeng snapped out of her daze, hurriedly picked it up, and gave Lu Ming an apologetic smile.

She was new to the area and was very careful in her words and actions.

Although she and Lu Ming are nominally both Mayor Yu's secretaries, there is a fundamental difference between them.

Because Lu Ming was the secretary of the previous mayor, Song Chuhe, and had served Mayor Song diligently for three years.

In terms of both experience and ability, she is far superior to a complete novice like her.

Therefore, we must treat this senior with respect.

She opened her phone and saw a message from Li Ping.

"Secretary Zhou, congratulations on your promotion! Are you free tonight? I'd like to treat everyone in the department to a celebration."

Li Ping used to call her "Little Zhou," but now that he's suddenly calling her Secretary Zhou, Zhou Lin can't help but feel a little smug.

In her opinion, Mayor Yu's selection of her from among so many people in the secretariat must have been based on her abilities and pragmatic work style.

In other words, in Mayor Yu's eyes, she was the most outstanding person in the secretariat!

"Zhou Lin, I'm going out for a bit. If anyone comes looking for Mayor Yu, remember to make a note of it."

"Okay, Secretary Lu."

Zhou Lin stood up to answer almost reflexively.

Lu Ming smiled and said, "We are both the mayor's secretaries, there is no difference in rank, so you don't need to be so polite and reserved."

"We'll be working together for a long time to come, so try to adjust to this new role as soon as possible."

Zhou Lin nodded vigorously: "Okay, Secretary Lu."

After Lu Ming left, Zhou Lin breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself, "This Secretary Lu is really easy to talk to."

At 3:20 p.m., Lu Ming arrived at the Chang'an District Government.

Feng Zhikun was greatly surprised to see Lu Ming come to find him.

He was very polite to Lu Ming, not only getting up to greet him but also personally making him tea and then offering him cigarettes.

Feng Zhikun was nervous and asked cautiously, "Secretary Lu, is there something you need from me?"

It's no wonder Feng Zhikun is timid; so much has happened in the last two days.

The entire officialdom is now buzzing with rumors that Zhu Chaoyang's downfall was orchestrated by Lu Ming, who has dirt on everyone in Songxi's officialdom!

Now that Lu Ming has come to find him without saying a word, anyone would be uneasy, fearing that they've gotten themselves into trouble.

"District Chief Feng, don't be nervous. I don't have anything to do. I just delivered a few documents to various bureaus and commissions and happened to be passing by, so I thought I'd stop by for a bit."

Lu Ming picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said with a smile, "District Chief Feng, but I do have something to discuss, I just don't know if you'd be interested."

Knowing that Lu Ming was about to get down to business, Feng Zhikun asked, "Secretary Lu, please speak."

"Zhu Chaoyang has been brought down; you should already know that, right?"

"Know."

"With his downfall, the position of deputy mayor has become vacant. I wonder if District Chief Feng is interested in this position?"

Lu Ming spoke in a relaxed tone, casually smoking a cigarette, but his eyes were fixed on Feng Zhikun.

Feng Zhikun was taken aback at first, then exclaimed in shock, "Deputy...Deputy Mayor?"

"That's right."

Feng Zhikun's heart began to race, and he even unconsciously straightened his posture.

He had no connections in officialdom, yet he climbed to the position of district head on his own merits, which can only be described as his ancestors' graves emitting auspicious smoke.

Without the help of a benefactor, his life would have remained the same.

But now, he seems to see hope again.

Suppressing his excitement, Feng Zhikun asked, "May I ask, Secretary Lu, is this your intention, or Mayor Yu's?"

Lu Ming was somewhat surprised, clearly not expecting Feng Zhikun to be able to analyze things so calmly in the face of such a huge temptation.

Instead of answering directly, he said, "District Chief Feng may not know that Mayor Yu has two secretaries!"

Feng Zhikun was indeed taken aback: "Two secretaries?"

Lu Ming nodded and said, "That's right, one is me, and the other is Zhou Lin, a newcomer in the secretariat. Mayor Yu just appointed her as his secretary today."

Feng Zhikun listened, his face showing a thoughtful expression.

Mayor Yu has two secretaries, which means that Lu Ming's position as secretary is very likely to be short-lived.

In other words, his visit to me today has nothing to do with Mayor Yu!

Since it wasn't Mayor Yu's idea, then it must be his own decision.

Feng Zhikun didn't understand why Lu Ming had chosen him.

And he spoke with such confidence, could he really be capable of pushing himself to the position of deputy mayor?

Lu Ming saw through Feng Zhikun's expression and understood what he was struggling with at a glance.

"It seems that District Chief Feng is not interested. In that case, I won't bother you any longer."