Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

Sun Liancheng sat on a rattan chair on the enclosed balcony, not holding his usual copy of "Astrophysics," but a pen that was about to break from his grip.

On the small round table in front of me was an A4 sheet of paper with only the first two lines of text:

Application for resignation from the position of District Head of Guangming District.

The main lights were off inside; only a floor lamp in the corner of the balcony emitted a faint yellow glow.

Li Dakang's outburst at the petition office that afternoon burned too brightly, turning his grandson, Sun Liancheng, into a laughingstock throughout Jingzhou.

On his way back, even the security guard at the entrance of the residential area looked at him with a strange expression.

My phone vibrated on the table.

The call came from the director of the district party committee office, but Sun Liancheng did not answer.

Immediately afterwards, another tremor was heard, this time from a section chief in the Organization Department of the Municipal Party Committee.

Sun Liancheng muted the phone and placed it face down on the table.

The meaning is clear. The Organization Department doesn't want him to cause trouble for the city at this critical juncture, so they're implying that he should take the initiative and leave gracefully by submitting his own resignation, rather than being publicly dismissed by Li Dakang at the Standing Committee meeting.

"Decent".

Sun Liancheng gave a self-deprecating laugh, his voice hoarse.

He stood up and walked to the Celestron telescope, worth six figures. The lens cap had been removed, and the dark tube pointed directly at the night sky.

This was his only source of emotional support.

Outsiders say that Sun Liancheng is inactive, lazy in his administration, and has the world on his mind but never puts his feet on the ground.

But who would have thought that ten years ago he was also a passionate and technically skilled cadre?

He mentioned the "sponge city" concept, but Li Dakang said it was too expensive and that it would be better to use the money to build more industrial parks. He also worked on a digital government affairs solution, but Li Dakang thought it was too cumbersome and that on-site work would be faster.

In Jingzhou, where only GDP and the "Li style" matter, any suggestion that touches on scientific principles is dismissed as shirking responsibility.

Since doing more will lead to more mistakes, and doing nothing will prevent any mistakes, then let's not do it at all.

Sun Liancheng brought his eyes close to the eyepiece.

In his field of vision, a few bright stars were twinkling. Their timeless brilliance calmed his restless heart somewhat.

forget about it.

I'll hand in my resignation, go home to farm, and spend my time stargazing. There's nothing wrong with that.

"Ding-dong."

Doorbell rang.

Sun Liancheng's hand trembled slightly, and his brows furrowed.

Who would come at this time?

If it's a journalist, then don't blame him for being impolite. If it's someone from the Organization Department coming to urge you to resign, then let them take your resignation letter away.

Sun Liancheng dragged his heavy steps to the door, and without even looking through the peephole, he yanked the door open.

"I told you, the report is due tomorrow morning, you guys..."

The words were stuck in my throat.

The people standing at the door were neither bureaucratic officials from the Organization Department nor reporters carrying cameras and microphones.

He was a middle-aged man with a commanding presence.

The man was wearing a black casual jacket, no tie, and short hair; he looked very energetic.

He was carrying a plastic bag containing two bottles of Red Star Erguotou liquor and a bag of fried peanuts.

Although he wasn't wearing his signature general's uniform, Sun Liancheng had seen that face far too often on television news lately.

Especially those eyes; they were clearly smiling, yet they felt like a knife hidden in its sheath.

Sun Liancheng stood there, stunned, his mind tense up again after many years, his awareness of political sensitivity returning to its peak.

"Shen...Standing Committee Member Shen?"

Shen Zhong raised the plastic bag in his hand and shook it, the glass bottles clinking together with a crisp sound.

"I heard that District Chief Sun's house has the best stargazing spot in the whole district. Do you mind if I come over and get a view?"

Sun Liancheng subconsciously stepped aside to make way, his mind still a little dazed.

"No...no problem, please come in."

Shen Zhong didn't change his shoes and went straight in, heading directly to the balcony as if he knew the way well.

He placed the wine and peanuts on the small round table with the resignation letter written on it, his gaze sweeping over the paper.

"nice one."

Shen Zhong walked up to the telescope, reached out and gently patted the tube. "Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, this aperture is sufficient for viewing deep-sky objects."

Sun Liancheng closed the door and walked over, looking somewhat at a loss.

This guy is the hottest person in Handong Province right now. He just clashed head-on with the Zhao family gang and made Li Dakang look bad, so why is he suddenly showing up at the home of me, the district chief who's about to step down?

"Standing Committee Member Shen, if you want to inspect the work, you should go to the district committee..."

"It's after get off work hours now," Shen Zhong interrupted him, bending down to skillfully adjust the equatorial mount's markings. "Besides, I'm not here as a member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee."

Shen Zhong squinted one eye, leaned closer to the star-finding mirror, and adjusted the knob slightly with his finger.

"The atmospheric seeing is good tonight, perfect for viewing Antares."

Sun Liancheng was startled.

expert.

This technique, this terminology, is definitely not something you can fake.

"You... also like astronomy?" Sun Liancheng couldn't help but ask.

"Back in the army, before we had GPS, we had to rely on the stars to find our way. After looking at them so many times, I became interested." Shen Zhong straightened up and gestured for Sun Liancheng to come over and look. "Come on, take a look at this red supergiant."

Sun Liancheng leaned closer.

At the very center of the field of view, a bright star glowing red is clearly visible, and some blurry nebula material can even be seen around it.

This level of precision, which usually takes him half a day to adjust, was achieved by Shen Zhong in less than two minutes.

"Antares, the main star of Scorpius." A deep voice sounded from the side, devoid of emotion. "It looks big and bright, one of the most conspicuous stars in the night sky. But in reality, it's in the late stages of its evolution and could explode as a supernova at any moment."

Sun Liancheng stared at the red light without saying a word.

"It looks glamorous on the outside, but it's actually extremely unstable inside." Shen Zhong unscrewed the cap of the Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), and a strong aroma of liquor wafted out. "District Chief Sun, don't you think this is like Jingzhou right now?"

Sun Liancheng suddenly sat up straight and turned to look at Shen Zhong.

Shen Zhong found two glasses, filled them with wine, and handed one to Sun Liancheng.

"Li Dakang is like a massive gravitational pull." Shen Zhong leaned against the balcony railing, took a sip of wine, and let the spicy liquid slide down his throat. "Working around him is like dancing on the edge of a black hole's event horizon."