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

"Xiao Zhang, Director Pan has already told me about your situation."

"Starting tomorrow, you don't need to go to work. Just stay at the hospital and take good care of Auntie. You can come back to work once Auntie's condition stabilizes."

Zhang Yannan looked at Lu Ming in disbelief, her eyes welling up with tears as she said, "Thank you, Secretary Lu, I..."

Lu Ming waved his hand: "Hey, no need to thank me. This family member is seriously ill, so taking time off to stay with them is the right thing to do, no matter where you are."

"If Li Ping doesn't approve your leave, then he's the one with the problem. As for you, don't worry about it. If he asks, Director Pan will step forward and explain."

Zhang Yannan wiped away her tears and stood up again: "Secretary Lu, thank you, Director Pan, thank you."

Lu Ming raised his hand and said, "Alright, sit down and talk, sit down and talk."

"Xiao Zhang, I heard from Director Pan that Li Ping has harassed you, and more than once. Is that true?"

Zhang Yannan was taken aback, then realized why Lu Ming, with whom she had never had any dealings, would help her—it turned out he was there to deal with Li Ping.

She suddenly felt a little nervous and didn't know how to answer.

She was just a junior clerk who only wanted to work peacefully until retirement and didn't want to get involved in this kind of struggle.

Seeing her hesitation, Lu Ming spoke again: "Xiao Zhang, I'm sure you've guessed it, so I'll be frank with you. I really am going to deal with Li Ping."

"If you're willing to offer your help, I'll reserve this position as deputy director of the secretariat for you."

"Of course, if you don't want to, that's fine too. Don't worry about being suppressed by me again. I can assure you that once I deal with Li Ping, no one in the Secretariat will make things difficult for you anymore."

This time, Lu Ming didn't rely on deception or trickery, but explained the situation clearly to Zhang Yannan.

If she's willing to help, that would be best.

If you don't want to, that's fine too, Lu Ming has other methods.

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Yannan was torn between her inner thoughts and her own.

At this moment, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open again.

A waiter brought in five takeout meals and placed them on the table.

"Sir, your meal has been packed up."

"Thanks."

Lu placed the food in front of Zhang Yannan and said, "I know you're in a hurry to get to the hospital, so I won't take up any more of your time. Take this packed food with you to the hospital."

Looking at the food in front of her, Zhang Yannan was filled with mixed emotions and deeply moved.

Although she knew that this was most likely something Lu Ming did on purpose to win her favor.

Even so, she was still very moved.

"Thanks."

Zhang Yannan lowered her head, said thank you, and left with the food.

After she left, Lu Ming asked, "Director Pan, do you think she'll agree?"

Pan Bin thought for a moment and said, "I think it's unlikely."

Lu Ming chuckled and said, "On the contrary, I think she will definitely agree."

Seeing Lu Ming's certainty, Pan Bin asked curiously, "Oh? What makes you so sure?"

Lu Ming said, "Li Ping has harassed her repeatedly, and even made things difficult for her by refusing to grant her leave when her mother was critically ill. Now that she finally has a chance to get revenge, would you be willing to refuse?"

Pan Bin thought about it and felt that there was some truth to what he said.

"Secretary Lu, this is the information you asked me to compile."

Pan Bin took out a document and placed it in front of Lu Ming. It contained information about the five women in the secretariat who had been communicating with Li Ping in private.

Lu Ming picked it up, glanced at it briefly, and then put it aside.

The two continued eating, and only after they were full did they leave.

As soon as Lu Ming got into the car, he received a call from Su Ran.

"Brother Lu Ming, have you eaten yet?"

"I'm about to go."

Lu Ming had something to discuss with her, so he had deliberately saved room in his stomach. After reserving a table, he headed to the second event.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Su Ran had already ordered the food.

After they had almost finished eating, Lu Ming finally spoke up: "Help me investigate a few people."

Su Ran readily agreed. She loved it when Lu Ming asked her for help, as it allowed them to have more contact and their relationship to develop quickly.

Lu Ming handed the documents to Su Ran and said, "Investigate these women's husbands."

Su Ran was taken aback, her expression turning strange as she asked, "Investigate their husbands?"

"Um."

Although she was curious, Su Ran did not ask any further questions.

"Also, help me investigate Li Ping's wife."

"Li Ping? The one from the secretariat?"

"right."

Su Ran was initially suspicious, then raised an eyebrow and asked, "Brother Lu Ming, those women you just gave me, are they having an affair with Li Ping?"

Lu Ming said with some surprise, "That's quite a sense of smell!"

Su Ran proudly raised her chin and said, "I'm not a three-year-old. It's so obvious. If I still can't see it, I'd be too stupid!"

"Don't worry, Brother Lu Ming, I'll take care of this."

the next day.

Li Ping went to the restroom after leaving the office. When he returned, he saw that Zhang Yannan's workstation was empty, so he walked straight over to her.

Where is Zhang Yannan?

A junior clerk nearby replied, "She didn't come today."

"Didn't come?"

Li Ping's voice was noticeably louder and higher.

Pan Bin then spoke up, saying, "Xiao Zhang asked me for leave yesterday."

Li Ping squinted and said, "Asked for leave from you? How come I didn't know?"

Pan Bin chuckled and said, "Director Li is very busy with official duties. There's no need for you to handle such a small matter as taking leave personally."

Li Ping's voice turned cold: "Pan Bin, you're just a deputy director. Who gives you the right to boss people around in the secretariat?"

"I didn't approve the leave. Who gave you permission to grant it?"

"Does he really think he's something special?"

Li Ping's words were so offensive in front of everyone in the department, showing no respect for Pan Bin at all. Pan Bin's expression changed drastically, and he was utterly humiliated.

After finishing his rant, Li Ping stormed back to his office and called Zhang Yannan.

"Zhang Yannan, I'm ordering you to return to work immediately!"

"This leave application is invalid because I didn't approve it!"

"If you don't come back, then don't ever come back!"

Zhang Yannan was so angry that she was trembling. She hung up the phone and immediately called Pan Bin.

Pan Bin said, "Xiao Zhang, don't worry, I'll go find Secretary Lu right away. Wait for my call."

Pan Bin was even angrier than Zhang Yannan. After all, he was the deputy director, but Li Ping didn't take him seriously at all and even scolded him in front of everyone.

Pan Bin hung up the phone and immediately found Lu Ming, explaining the situation to him.

Lu Ming hadn't expected Li Ping to be so arrogant, really treating the Secretariat as his own territory.

"Call Zhang Yannan and tell her to come back immediately. Once she's back, she should ask Li Ping for leave. If he refuses, slap him across the face!"

"Let her smoke without worry, I'll take full responsibility for the consequences."

Pan Bin relayed Lu Ming's words to Zhang Yannan verbatim, and Zhang Yannan was greatly surprised.

"Slap him?"

"That's right, just smoke as much as you want, don't hold back, Secretary Lu and I will back you up."

"Okay, I understand."

Zhang Yannan hung up the phone, still feeling uneasy.

She didn't dare take his words seriously, thinking they were just something Lu Ming said casually.

Looking at her unconscious mother on the hospital bed, Zhang Yannan felt as if her heart was being torn apart.

I went to the hospital last night, and the doctor said it would probably be within the next day or two.

In this situation, Li Ping actually threatened him with the approval of leave?

Zhang Yannan wiped away her tears, went to the bedside to tidy her mother's hair, and then left the hospital...