"Zuxing, are you feeling hot?"

At this moment, Liu Jianyang noticed something odd.

Zhang Zuxing's forehead was, unexpectedly, beaded with sweat.

His heart sank.

Zhang Zuxing wiped off the sweat and said, "I just ran over here and drank some hot tea, thus the sweating."

"So, you are feeling a bit unwell."

Liu Jianyang patted him on the back.

Then, turning to Lin Shujie, he said, "Ah Jie, go get a towel."

"Oh, right away."

Lin Shujie hurried into the bathroom.

She moved so quickly because when she stood up, the soy milk had already started running down her leg, and if she didn't make a few quick steps, Liu Jianyang might have noticed.

Monday.

The customs building.

The regular meeting had concluded.

No sooner had Liu Jianyang returned to his office than his secretary came in, saying, "Director Liu, Director Chen is looking for you."

"Oh? Let him in."

After Liu Jianyang responded, just as he got up, Chen Fang walked in.

"Director Chen, please, come in, have a seat."

After warmly inviting Chen Fang to sit down.

Liu Jianyang was just about to express his concern.

Chen Fang said, "Director Liu, there are some matters I'd like to discuss with you."

That meant for the secretary to leave.

Liu Jianyang glanced at his secretary, nodded, and after the secretary closed the door on her way out, Liu Jianyang said with a beaming smile, "Comrade Chen Fang, are you encountering any difficulties at work? No problem, just tell me, and I'll help you resolve them."

Chen Fang spoke in a serious tone, "Director Liu, do you play chess?"

"Chess? Chinese chess? A bit, Comrade Chen Fang, do you want to play chess with me?"

Liu Jianyang asked, perplexed.

Chen Fang gave a slight smile and said, "Director Liu, you've played such a good move, and still, you say just a bit? Aren't you being too modest?"

"No, no, it's not modesty, it's the truth."

Liu Jianyang waved his hand as he spoke.

Suddenly, Chen Fang looked directly at him, his gaze sharp.

He said, "The conflict between me and Zuo Jiadong was arranged by you on purpose, wasn't it?"

As soon as he said this.

The smile on Liu Jianyang's face froze.

He paused, then with a chuckle said, "Comrade Chen Fang, what are you talking about? I'm having a bit of trouble following."

"If you don't understand, then I will make it clearer."

Chen Fang paused briefly, then continued, "First of all, it's that document with the errors. To tell the truth, at first, I wasn't suspicious, and I really thought that Director Lin had made a mistake. Now it seems, Director Wang's appearance at that time was deliberately meant for me to notice that document, or to say, for me to take notice of the name Xu Tingsong."

"Then, at Hai Pai Restaurant, we 'coincidentally' encountered the boisterous Xu Tingsong. We were just sitting in the private room having a meal, how could Xu Tingsong know we were there? Unless expectedly, someone wanted him to know."

"Following that, I had a conflict with Xu Tingsong, which then resulted in Zuo Jiadong's appearance. It's one thing leading to another, and while it all seems coincidental, after careful thought, I still found the flaw."

"What flaw?"

Liu Jianyang asked subconsciously.

He immediately felt he had misspoken, but since it was out, he did not correct himself.

Chen Fang smiled faintly.

He said, "When I went to Hai Pai Restaurant, Director Liu, you personally came to receive me, but on the way back, you left me to walk alone, because you knew that the person behind Xu Tingsong would show up."

After hearing all this.

Liu Jianyang scoffed and said, "Comrade Chen Fang, don't you think your imagination is a bit too wild? All I wanted was to treat you to a meal, why should I suffer groundless accusations?"

Seeing Liu Jianyang's reaction.

Chen Fang nodded, took a deep breath, and said, "Maybe I indeed overthought it. Fine then, I'll go reconcile with Zuo Jiadong. After all, there's no deep hatred between us. I'll just bow my head if necessary."

Having dropped this statement.

Chen Fang had just stood up.

Liu Jiayang said, "Wait a moment."

Chen Fang turned his head and asked, "What's wrong, Director Liu?"

At this time, Liu Jiayang had a somewhat dejected expression on his face.

Such a flawless plan was not meant to be seen through by anyone, and he was confident in that, yet Chen Fang had managed to crack it, leaving him in a difficult position.

If Chen Fang reconciled with Zuo Jiadong, then his own boasting about his achievements to his superiors would turn out to be nothing but a bluff.

At this point, other than admitting to it, he had no other choice.

Seizing the moment, he said, "I didn't expect Zuo Jiadong to do such a thing either, and I can only express my regret for the young girl who suffered the violation."

By uttering these words, he effectively conceded.

Then, with a feigned look of remorse, he said, "Comrade Chen Fang, I had no other choice. You see, our customs had been keeping an eye on Zuo Jiayong for quite some time, but the moment he arrived in Wen'an City, he got in cahoots with Ge Weijun. No one at customs dared to touch his case. It was only after hearing about your achievements that I decided to give it a try, and the purpose of doing so was all for the sake of cracking down on smuggling."

"So, I, Chen Fang, have become the knife in your hands to commit murder, right?"

Chen Fang asked.

Liu Jiayang waved his hands continuously, saying, "It's not like that. I trust your abilities, your courage, that's why I've planned it this way. If you blame me, I can't say anything. If you want to make amends with Zuo Jiadong, I won't stop you, but it's a pity for that girl who was ruined."

As he said these words, he stealthily observed Chen Fang's expression.

Chen Fang paused for a moment before saying, "Alright, since Director Liu has said so much, how about you hand over the Yujia Trade smuggling case to me to handle?"

"Yes, of course."

Liu Jiayang was overjoyed.

He quickly stood up.

At the doorway, he called out to the secretary outside, "Go and bring all the files on Yujia Trade smuggling case to Director Chen's office."

"Comrade Chen Fang, handing over this case to you takes a weight off my chest. You handle it however you want, and feel free to use any resources from the department."

Liu Jiayang said.

Chen Fang nodded and said, "Then I'll get to work."

"Good, Comrade Chen Fang, go ahead and be busy."

It wasn't long after Chen Fang left.

Zhang Zuxing and Lin Shujie arrived one after another at his office.

After repeating what had just happened, Liu Jiayang said cheerfully, "At first, I really thought this kid was smart, but I managed to dupe him easily. Our goal was to have him take over this case, and now that he has taken the initiative to do so, it couldn't be more perfect."

"Hahaha… It seems we overestimated him. There really are people in the world who are eager to be scapegoats."

Zhang Zuxing too burst into laughter.

It was evident that all three of them were in high spirits.

They had a sense of having been through a false alarm, yet feeling thoroughly exhilarated.

...

That evening,

At the exit of Wen'an City's train station,

Chen Fang was standing with his hands behind his back, anxiously looking around.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as a familiar figure emerged from the exit.

It was none other than Yang Xi, Chen Fang's classmate from the Party School.

Upon seeing Chen Fang, she also quickened her pace to meet him.

"Congratulations, congratulations, to our Comrade Yang on her promotion to district head," Chen Fang playfully said.

Yang Xi gave him a glance and said, "Stop it, this district head position is, after all, something you let me have."

Chen Fang immediately changed the subject, "You could have just told me on the phone, why did you have to make a trip here?"

Yang Xi's expression turned serious instantly as she replied, "It's not something I could say over the phone. Come on, let's find a quiet place to talk."

"How about going to my place?" Chen Fang asked.

Yang Xi let out a sly laugh and said, "I'm a divorced woman, lonely, empty, cold. Aren't you afraid that if I go to your place, I'll drain you dry?"

Chen Fang provocatively replied, "If that were to happen, it's still unknown who would drain who."

Yang Xi also appeared defiant.

She said, "Fine, let's cross swords as soon as we enter the door, and have a real fight."

"Who's afraid of who?"

Chen Fang said.

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