"If you're willing to tell me the truth, I think I wouldn't hold a grudge against you."

Just as the two were feeling sentimental,

a familiar voice came from nearby.

Almost simultaneously,

they both tensed up.

They looked toward the direction of the voice.

Behind a tree, a familiar figure appeared.

"Chen Fang, how come you're here?"

Ding Yuan asked, astonished.

The other person, Yu Zhengchuan, scratched his head and said, "I don't recall having a tail following me."

"I wasn't following you; I came here following him."

Chen Fang pointed at Ding Yuan with his hand.

Yu Zhengchuan chuckled and said, "Executive Ding, you can't blame me for this, it's your own fault for not hiding well enough."

Chen Fang walked a few steps forward, coming up to the two men.

He said to Yu Zhengchuan, "Of course, I had already seen through you as well."

"Impossible, I hid very well, how could you have seen through me?"

Yu Zhengchuan retorted.

Chen Fang smiled slightly and said, "Don't forget, I'm Chen Zhiguo's son. I have actually read all the letters he exchanged with you."

This statement

made Yu Zhengchuan freeze in his tracks.

His lively expression gradually settled into calmness.

He sighed deeply and said, "Alright, I admit I was a bit too self-confident."

Chen Fang hadn't lied.

From the first time Yu Zhengchuan mentioned his name, Chen Fang already knew who he was.

When Chen Zhiguo had come to practice medicine in Jinde County back in the day, he first met Yu Zhengchuan in a remote little mountain village.

At that time, Yu Zhengchuan's father had died of illness, his mother had remarried, and he, at nine years old, was living with his four-year-old sister and their grandmother.

The grandmother suffered from a chronic eye disease,

which rendered her almost blind—it was Chen Zhiguo who cured her.

Seeing that Yu Zhengchuan was smart and quick, with the aptitude for scholarly pursuits, Chen Zhiguo decided on the spot to sponsor his education.

Every August, Chen Zhiguo would send the tuition and living expenses for the year on time. It was thanks to this money that Yu Zhengchuan was able to attend university smoothly.

He wrote to Chen Zhiguo, his "father," every year, and Chen Zhiguo would write back to encourage and comfort him. It was under this dual support in both spirit and material needs and influenced by Chen Zhiguo that Yu Zhengchuan chose the profession of a doctor. In his eyes, he wanted to heal and save people, just like the "father" he was not related to by blood.

In his second year of university,

he suddenly stopped receiving letters from Chen Zhiguo. That was also the year Chen Fang turned eighteen, and Chen Zhiguo and his wife both passed away.

The past was painful to look back on.

While sorting through his father's belongings, Chen Fang found these letters in a box and learned of Yu Zhengchuan's name.

So, when Yu Zhengchuan first mysteriously appeared before him, he already knew the doctor's relationship with his father.

"So, was our first meeting arranged by you on purpose?"

Chen Fang asked.

Yu Zhengchuan waved his hands, saying, "That wasn't it. That day, I really was snooping around and you happened to bump into me by chance. You could say it was fate, hehe..."

As for the truthfulness of these words,

Chen Fang no longer wished to pursue the matter.

He turned to Ding Yuan and asked, "Don't you have anything to say?"

Ding Yuan's face was full of helplessness.

He simply sat down cross-legged on the ground and asked, "You said you followed me, so, did you already know my identity?"

Chen Fang smiled and said, "No, it was after today, when all my suspicions came together. That's also why I personally followed you today."

"Let's hear it, when did it start?"

Ding Yuan asked.

Chen Fang and Yu Zhengchuan also sat down cross-legged, forming a triangle with the three men.

Chen Fang looked up at the sky and said, "It started from when I was transferred to Jinde County, I guess..."

This transfer.

From the outset, Chen Fang sensed there was a problem.

After Chen Fang discovered Tan Yandong's death was connected to Sun Shenru, all leads came to a halt with the April 19th mine accident. Chen Fang wanted to continue the investigation, but Li Duming repeatedly advised him against delving any further.

Using the rationale of greater development opportunities in Jinde County, he tried to transfer Chen Fang there.

After Chen Fang made it clear he did not want to go.

Li Duming then released the lead on Tian Shaoguang.

This was a complete departure from his previous stance of not wanting Chen Fang to investigate further, which indicated that Li Duming's sole objective at that time was to transfer Chen Fang to Jinde County.

For a division-level official to be transferred across counties is no easy task.

Especially to a lucrative position in the Bureau of Education.

Regardless of whether Li Duming had that capability, it would not have materialized if the Jinde County Committee hadn't received help from behind the scenes.

Speaking of which.

Ding Yuan interrupted Chen Fang, asking, "Isn't Director Zhang Feng of the Organizational Department good friends with Li Duming?"

Chen Fang smiled and said, "Yes, but the position of Director of the Bureau of Education isn't something Director Zhang can decide alone, especially under the control of Xiao Xiao and Pan Youde. They absolutely would not allow a greenhorn like me to take that post. So, I'm convinced that someone else was pushing for my transfer to Jinde County behind the scenes."

After listening to Chen Fang's analysis, Ding Yuan sighed and said, "Right, it was my idea to transfer you to the Bureau of Education, but even if you had your suspicions, you couldn't have possibly guessed it was me, because from the start, I deliberately suppressed you."

Chen Fang nodded and said, "Right, at first, I didn't suspect you had an issue, not until Wang Miaofang's suicide case occurred."

"That case? What about it aroused your suspicion?"

Ding Yuan asked.

Chen Fang said, "After Wang Miaofang's suicide, the police quickly sealed off the scene. At that time, I thought to myself, 'Pan Youde really has far-reaching influence, being able to command the police at will.' However, when I went to Third Middle School to arrest Qin Shou, the police did nothing. I had the city bureau people come over as a precaution against the county bureau taking the suspect, but strangely, the county bureau didn't interfere with this matter. And I happened to know that Secretary Guan has a good relationship with you. Isn't that intentional?"

Of course.

After this incident.

Chen Fang's primary suspicion was that Ding Yuan promoted corruption within the educational system to profit from it, much like the questioning in the office today; all his conjectures pointed to this.

Furthermore, he had already figured out Yu Zhengchuan's identity.

Yet Yu Zhengchuan easily found the underwear left by Pi Shuang on the sofa in his home.

If Yu Zhengchuan wasn't previously informed, one might think he was extremely capable, but with prior knowledge, the human manipulation behind this act becomes quite apparent.

Combining these two points.

Chen Fang felt more and more that something was amiss.

Upon leaving the county government compound.

Chen Fang feigned departure but followed Ding Yuan closely.

He wanted to see who exactly Ding Yuan was going to meet.

When he arrived at the grove and saw Ding Yuan meeting Yu Zhengchuan.

All prior reasonable and unreasonable matters suddenly aligned.

After Ding Yuan spoke those words, Chen Fang decided to show himself.

"Then what do you think we're doing all this for?"

Ding Yuan asked.

Chen Fang shook his head and replied, "I don't know, but from what I just heard you saying, what you're doing and what Tan Yandong did seem to be the same thing."

Ding Yuan let out a long sigh.

He looked up at the sky.

He appeared lost in thought for quite a while before he finally said to Chen Fang, "Let me start by telling you a story."

"Okay."

Chen Fang nodded in agreement.

Ding Yuan's gaze gradually turned fuzzy.

As if he was recalling something.

The story dates back to the late seventies.

A young man from the provincial city and another from Dongshan City were both sent down to the countryside in Changming County.

The small town they came to was called Yangmei Town.

It was during the fervent movement of sending urban youths to the countryside that had lasted many years, with many city youths like the two men, devoting themselves to the tidal wave of building the nation.

The young man from the provincial city was named Chen Zhiguo, and the young man from Dongshan City was Ding Yuan himself.

At that time in Yangmei Town, there was another young man waiting.

That person was Tan Yandong.

No one knew that at the moment the three met, the gears of fate had already begun to turn…

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