Gao Lingyue's meaning couldn't have been more obvious!
The moment Liu Fusheng's interview ended, he got up and left — so who was he here to see? It practically went without saying!
Could it be… Gao Lingyue had actually come just for Liu Fusheng?How was that even possible?
Zhang Zhenting's mind buzzed like a hornet's nest, cold sweat the size of beans rolling down his cheeks.
The other examiners, noticing his pale face, quickly gathered around."Minister Zhang, are you okay? Is it your heart again?"
Zhang Zhenting waved them off — he really had almost been scared into a heart attack.
After a moment, he steadied his breathing and let out a long sigh."I'm fine, just feeling a bit hypoglycemic… maybe I drank too much tea. Where's Minister Gao?"
"Minister Gao has already left."
Left…
Zhang Zhenting wiped his forehead again, already calculating how to handle this situation.
One of the examiners whispered, "Minister Zhang… about Liu Fusheng's score?"
"Do you even need to ask me that? What's wrong with you people — aren't you the examiners?" Zhang Zhenting gave a little shiver before slamming the table and roaring in anger.
The other examiners were dumbfounded.
Wait a second… weren't you the one who couldn't stand Liu Fusheng? Otherwise, why would we have gone to such lengths?
But Zhang Zhenting was still the deputy minister of the municipal Party committee's Organization Department, so no one dared say it aloud.
He got up and said, "I'm not feeling well — need to rest for a bit. You handle the rest."
Then he trotted straight out of the examination hall, hurrying to chase after Gao Lingyue.
This whole thing was far too strange. No matter what, he had to dig up some answers.
But by the time he got outside, Gao Lingyue's car was already pulling out of the courtyard.
A leader from the Liaonan City Organization Department, who had just come over after hearing the commotion, chuckled when he saw Zhang dripping with sweat."Minister Gao just got a phone call — must've been something urgent. He told me to let you know there's no need to see him off, just focus on the interviews."
An urgent call?
Zhang froze. Did I guess wrong? Was Gao Lingyue not here to see Liu Fusheng after all, but just happened to leave right after his interview because of that call?
His head was now completely scrambled.
The whole thing was a mystery, and Gao Lingyue was the kind of man who never let a single drop spill when he spoke — impossible to read.
Even so, Zhang no longer dared to quietly change Liu Fusheng's score to something low.
Better safe than sorry. Until he knew for sure, he'd just… watch.
Just then, Liu Fusheng strolled out of the building, hands in his pockets.
He had already checked his score in the waiting room earlier. Sure, the examiners hadn't dared give him an especially high mark, but combined with his top-ranked written test from the provincial exam, he was certain to pass.
His mood was excellent — he even gave Zhang a faint smile when he saw him.
To Zhang, that smile felt worse than being slapped across the face.
He glared at Liu with a cold, poisonous look, saying nothing but making his thoughts perfectly clear — if looks could kill, Liu would have been buried on the spot.
Liu's eyes hardened in return. As he walked past, he murmured, "I'd advise you not to mess with me — you'll regret it."
Zhang clenched his fists tight. If it weren't for all the Organization Department people around, he would've exploded on the spot.
Who the hell do you think you are, trying to pick a fight with me?
If you've got no connections, I'll crush you flat. If you do have connections, I'll just crush you indirectly. Either way — I'm not done with you.
At the home of retired Party secretary Li Hongliang
Liaonan's police chief, Li Wenbo, personally greeted Gao Lingyue at the door."Uncle Gao, my dad's in the kitchen — he's making chicken stew with mushrooms just for you!"
Gao smiled. "Still knows me best — always loved that dish."
Li Hongliang came out wiping his hands, laughing. "Back in the day, whenever I made chicken and mushrooms, you'd find some excuse to show up for dinner. You think I don't know you? Come, sit — I've got good tea too! Wenbo, you handle the rest of the cooking."
Wenbo took his father's apron and hurried into the kitchen.
The two old friends sat down on the sofa, sipping tea and chatting.
Gao grinned. "Old leader, you really dote on Wenbo — even after retirement, you moved back here to guard his back."
Li waved a hand. "Don't call me 'old leader' — we've been friends over thirty years. Call me 'old brother.'"
"Liaonan's waters run deep. I was born here, but back then I avoided building my own network to steer clear of conflicts of interest. Wenbo was parachuted in — he's my only son. If he sinks in some back alley, I'll never be able to hold my head up."
Gao's expression turned thoughtful. "So what's the story with this Liu Fusheng?"
Li smiled faintly. "He's got talent. Wenbo needs trusted people here. This time I invited you partly because I missed you, and partly so you could take a look at Liu — maybe give him a little cover."
Gao chuckled and let the subject drop, switching to old stories from their days in the provincial capital of Fengtian.
Before long, Wenbo emerged with a table full of dishes.
In the middle was a big clay pot, steaming hot with chicken stew and mushrooms.
Gao took a bite. "Brother, your cooking just keeps getting better! These mushrooms are more fragrant than the chicken!"
Li laughed. "Picked deep in the mountains — wild red mushrooms. You couldn't buy these in the market for any price."
Gao quickly took another bite. "No wonder — so good!"
Li grinned. "If you think it's delicious, then consider the favor of helping Liu Fusheng… repaid."
"Huh?" Gao blinked.
Wenbo chuckled. "Uncle Gao, those mushrooms were a gift from Liu Fusheng to my dad."
Gao smacked his lips. "Kid's got some sense — even knows you love red mushrooms… I noticed today that Zhang Zhenting from the Organization Department seemed pretty hostile toward him. Want me to step in and help him out a bit more?"
Li shook his head. "No need. Politics is about ability and perception. If he's a dragon, he'll fly; if he's a worm, he'll crawl. Zhang Zhenting will just be a whetstone for him."
Meanwhile, at Chunhua Publishing House, Liaonan City
Since Liu had chosen the official career path, business was no longer an option. Money and power — you could only safely hold one. Go for both, and you'd be heading straight for prison.
Still, politics needed money too.
In his previous life, Liu had read many bestsellers and occasionally written a bit himself. Yesterday, he had organized the beginning of a book from memory. Since he'd already passed the interview, he figured he might as well submit it.
Civil servants had very few legitimate ways to earn extra income. Writing books or trading stocks were among them. But Liu didn't even have the capital to trade stocks, so with ideas in his head, writing was the natural choice.
The publishing house's lunch break was long. The staff all looked relaxed — maybe even a little bored.
Liu walked in, glancing around. Not a single person paid him any attention. If it weren't for the fact that computers weren't common yet and online literature sites were unreliable, he wouldn't have bothered coming in person.
He waited a long while before finally hearing a voice behind him.
"Liu Fusheng? Is that you?"
He turned in surprise to see a petite, curvy young woman with big eyes.
"Zheng Xiaoyun? What are you doing here?"
Her smile lit up her face. "I'm an editor here! What about you? Why are you here?"
Zheng had been his high school classmate. They'd shared a subtle mutual attraction back then, but neither had ever said anything — Liu had been too self-conscious, convinced he wasn't good enough for her.
After all, his family's finances were tight — other classmates' weekly allowance was more than his monthly one.
Later, in college, he'd ended up with Zhang Wenwen, who strictly forbade him from having contact with any other female friends.
"I'm here to submit a manuscript," Liu said with a smile.
"A manuscript? Wow, so you're a writer now?" Zheng asked, curious.
"I'm taking the civil service exam… By the way, I heard you have a boyfriend now?"
It wasn't flirting — in his previous life, he remembered Zheng's unhappy fate. Her boyfriend was a rich second-generation who often abused her.
This beautiful girl had developed severe depression after marriage, and before the age of thirty, her young life had come to a tragic end.
Now that he'd been reborn, Liu hoped he could prevent that from happening this time.