Chapter 76 - 2#

“Someone from the Qiu family?” Wei Xiangjin frowned and thought for a moment. Qiu was the surname of the current leader. “I remember it’s not Qiu Yue. She was still young back then, and a girl, naturally not very interested in these things…”

“But isn’t that young master from the Yu family just the right age?” Gu Chenzhou said indifferently. “Of course, he is now a vice governor of a province.”

Yu Shuifeng’s son was now nearly forty, almost two generations apart from Gu Chenzhou and Wei Xiangjin.

Wei Xiangjin also understood what Gu Chenzhou wanted to say: “The Yu family has always been very low-key.”

“Used to being low-key,” Gu Chenzhou said. “Back then, when Yu Shuifeng hadn’t been designated yet, they were low-key to this extent—” He smiled. “Secretary Wang doesn’t want to move against the Yu faction? How is that possible! It’s just that he hasn’t found a place to bite. Politically, nothing can be found; the family has no flaws. Fabricating black material and fake cases also requires connections, time, and opportunity.”

These words truly ripped away the last layer of pretense.

“At this time…” Gu Chenzhou paused. “Petty fights are meaningless. With the status of Secretary Wang and that person from the Yu faction, it’s impossible for them to engage in petty fights. Once they move, they either lose or win.”

“Conversely,” Wei Xiangjin said, “the Yu faction is the same towards the Wang faction. Either politically, or through family, or by fabricating black material and fake cases.”

Gu Chenzhou: “…”

Wei Xiangjin: “…”

After a moment, Wei Xiangjin said, “We are really talking nonsense.” Everyone knew these things from the beginning; analyzing them again was the same as not analyzing them.

Gu Chenzhou looked at the Word document on the screen that he had opened countless times, read countless times, memorized countless times, and analyzed countless times, and finally said, “Seeking a cheat code that can predict the detailed future, max out my level, kill gods if they block me, and slaughter demons if they stop me…”

On the other end of the phone, Wei Xiangjin burst out laughing unceremoniously: “Daydreaming!” After laughing, he sighed with emotion to Gu Chenzhou, “You know, when you went abroad three years ago, you told me you wanted to develop abroad in the future and didn’t plan to return to China. I was heartbroken then, thinking I wouldn’t be able to see you often… Looking back now, the changes are really big.”

Gu Chenzhou didn’t remember this very well. He was stunned for a moment: “Did I say that?”

“It was drunk talk and angry talk, that time we drank together by the Taihai River before you went abroad,” Wei Xiangjin said. When Gu Chenzhou said this to him, it was after Gu Chenzhou got drunk. Plus, at that time, Gu Chenzhou was very unhappy with his family because of the birthday celebration matter. He just listened and let it go, didn’t mention it to him again, and didn’t tell anyone else. After all, for people like them, even if they didn’t go into politics, they wouldn’t go abroad to develop… That would indeed require great determination and sacrifice.

Gu Chenzhou thought back. He seemed to have a vague impression, or maybe not, but it didn’t matter anymore. He smiled, speaking with a double meaning: “Maybe only after truly experiencing it will you understand what you really want.”

This call with Wei Xiangjin ended there.

After the call, Gu Chenzhou closed the document that he couldn’t squeeze any more meaning out of no matter how much he looked at it. He sat at the computer desk, hands crossed and resting on the desk, thinking.

Wei Xiangjin wasn’t wrong just now. Starting from He Hailou’s whereabouts was indeed a bit far-fetched and baseless.

However… Gu Chenzhou’s eyes flickered slightly. Although it was a bit of a stretch, given the current timing and He Hailou’s consistent personality, it could still be confirmed that He Nanshan had finally made up his mind to restrain He Hailou, and it was a last-minute decision. Otherwise, Fang Yu wouldn’t have gone to the airport with He Nanshan first, then returned alone to watch He Hailou…

That evening, when the family was watching the news together, Gu Chenzhou mentioned this to Gu Xinjun.

Gu Xinjun didn’t show any particular reaction, only nodding slightly. At this time, the resources Gu Chenzhou used were naturally all given by him. Every document Gu Chenzhou received had been placed on his desk in its entirety. However, Gu Xinjun usually didn’t pay much attention to such small matters. Only when Gu Chenzhou felt it was important after reviewing it and mentioned it to him in his spare time would he mobilize other forces to investigate deeper.

At this time, few people far away in the capital would know that in a remote small city surrounded by mountains in Jiangnan, a police chief who was about to retire suffered a sudden myocardial infarction in his office. The deputy chief happened to be on the scene and immediately called for an ambulance, but unfortunately, by the time the ambulance arrived, the chief had stopped breathing.

Of course, even fewer people would notice that not long after, the deputy chief of that police station died in the line of duty during a major serial murder case.

Within half a month, memorial services were held successively for the police chief and the deputy chief. When the mayor and the municipal party secretary attended the memorial service, the municipal party secretary delivered a very heavy and mournful speech, and the families of the chief and deputy chief who died in the line of duty cried aloud several times.

Unfortunately, just a few days after this speech, a video sent to the discipline inspection and supervision department turned this heavy speech into a joke: The deputy chief’s sacrifice was not simple; it was a long-planned conspiracy. And the municipal party secretary who spoke at the deputy chief’s memorial service was a direct party to this conspiracy!

This case did not cause much of a stir nationwide, but it certainly shook the officialdom in the province where the city was located. And for some reason, the news was passed all the way up, from the city to the province, from the province to the capital, until it reached the ears of several big shots in the capital.

June 18, 2013

Thirty-seven days since Gu Chenzhou began to pay attention to He Hailou’s whereabouts.

Thirty-four days since He Nanshan returned from his visit to Nokampe.

Twenty-one days since the deputy chief incident occurred.

Only eighty-two days left until the opening of the National People’s Congress.

By this time, the second and third generations in the capital, and even some officials, had either left the capital or were staying honestly at home. No one was calling friends and companions to swagger through the capital anymore. As for those princelings with or without backing, with strong or weak backing, they all honestly put away anything that skirted the line. The very few who wanted to commit crimes against the wind were quietly dealt with by relevant departments before two days had passed.

June 19, 01:12 AM.

Gu Chenzhou fell asleep and then suddenly woke up with a start. He saw his door being opened and someone walking in from outside…

“Dad?” He sat up in bed, pressed his forehead to clear his head, and spoke.

The person who walked in nodded in the dark and pressed something on the wall. A few seconds later, the ceiling light in the room flickered and turned on.

“I have to go out for a bit.” Gu Xinjun, standing in the room, was already dressed. He said to Gu Chenzhou, “Stay at home tonight. Don’t go back to sleep yet; wait until I come back.”

“What happened?” Gu Chenzhou got out of bed and asked. He paused, then added, “That person’s matter?”

“A criminal case,” Gu Xinjun said.

It’s not strange for something to happen, nor is it a problem what happened. The problem is how it happened.

Gu Chenzhou had many questions, but in the end, he only said one sentence: “I understand.”

Gu Xinjun nodded, turned, and left in a hurry.

Gu Chenzhou stood in his room for a while, thinking about what Gu Xinjun had just said. He simply took his laptop, turned off the bedroom light, walked to the living room on the first floor in his pajamas, and waited quietly.

One hour, two hours, three hours.

The sky was very dark, like a large, opaque black cover, shrouding people, houses, the city, and everything on the earth inside.

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, Gu Chenzhou gradually felt sleepy. He put on a movie at random, turned down the volume, leaned back on the sofa, and watched it intermittently.

Four hours, five hours, five and a half.

The window seemed to be covered with countless layers of wax paper, which were then torn off layer by layer. With each sheet torn off, an inch of light shone in.

Gu Zhengjia, carrying his schoolbag, walked down from upstairs while putting on his clothes. Seeing Gu Chenzhou sitting on the sofa, still in his home clothes and with the computer on, he was stunned: “Big brother, you’re a bit late today?” Usually at this time, Gu Chenzhou should have already returned from his workout.

Having stayed up all night until now, Gu Chenzhou wasn’t tired anymore. He sat up straight and responded, “Getting ready for school?”

“Yeah, it’s about time.” Gu Zhengjia found it strange but didn’t delve into it. He went to the refrigerator to get a bottle of milk, then put the bread on the table into the microwave for two rounds…

At this moment, the sound of a key unlocking the outside door suddenly rang out.

Gu Zhengjia, who was in the kitchen, poked his head out and wondered, “Dad?”

Gu Xinjun nodded, walked past Gu Zhengjia, saw Gu Chenzhou in the living room, and said simply, “A major case, over in Yanghuai Province. The few who handled it already know.”

“The Yu faction must know too,” Gu Chenzhou said.

Gu Xinjun sat down on the sofa. “Yanghuai Province is the province where Secretary Wang stayed the longest. The former governor of Yanghuai Province was also a staunch supporter of Secretary Wang.”

“But a few months ago, the former governor of Yanghuai Province fell from grace due to a massive economic case,” Gu Chenzhou said. That matter had also caused a huge uproar a few months ago.

“The incident happened in this province,” Gu Xinjun said indifferently. “The new governor belongs to no one. If he wants to go further up, he needs an opportunity.”

“It is indeed a very good opportunity,” Gu Chenzhou said slowly. “This shows that when luck comes, even a city wall can’t stop it.”

“Dad, bro,” Gu Zhengjia, who had run over to listen at some point, finally couldn’t hold back and said, “You’re in your own home, can you speak plainly? It’s hard for listeners to guess when you beat around the bush!”

Gu Xinjun and Gu Chenzhou hadn’t specifically avoided Gu Zhengjia just now. Now that he interrupted, Gu Xinjun put on a stern face: “Aren’t you going to school? Why haven’t you left yet?”

“It’s still early,” Gu Zhengjia muttered, but he still shouldered his schoolbag and said, “I’m leaving first.”

“Dad,” Gu Chenzhou said finally after Gu Zhengjia left, “it’s about time we started the final step.”

Gu Xinjun didn’t answer. After a moment, he nodded slightly.