Chapter 8

Update Time: July 1, 2012

(Red tickets are not very encouraging; I haven't even reached six thousand votes yet. The plan to update three times today with nine thousand votes is impossible to achieve! Well, the next update will be at twelve o'clock. Also, thank you to Zhao Hu, Ri Tou Yi Pian Bai, Qi Shi Wu Suo Wei, Yi Jiu SFD, and other brothers for their enthusiastic support!)

Shen Huai, as the secretary of the vice mayor who is a member of the Standing Committee, was originally staying in the hospital for observation. However, he suddenly left the hospital yesterday and returned today to request readmission. The hospital naturally did not say anything and simply gave him another room.

Shen Huai had a big meal in the ward and slept until two in the afternoon. Although Shen Huai tried to avoid meeting Chen Mingde as soon as possible from the depths of his heart, it still made him feel strange that Chen Mingde had not called him at all by this time.

Although he had not reported his whereabouts to Chen Mingde since yesterday afternoon, from the tone of Ge Yongqiu in the morning, Chen Mingde should know that he had left the hospital yesterday and would go to the city steel plant with Ge Yongqiu today.

The fact that Chen Mingde had not tried to find him or instructed anyone to contact him was somewhat unusual.

The more he thought about it, the more strange it became, and Shen Huai could not sit still in the hospital. He quickly tidied up and drove back to the municipal government to check the situation. He thought to himself: what needs to be faced must be faced; hiding is not a solution. Moreover, to get his life back on track, he could only pin his hopes on Chen Mingde. It was not a good idea to avoid him.

Not only could he not avoid Chen Mingde, but he also needed to change Chen Mingde's perception of him. Only then could he reconcile with the Song family and strive for greater support from them in his political career...

On the way, Shen Huai pondered how to reconcile with the Song family. He thought that with such strong support from the Song family, he could achieve things he had never dared to think about before and reach heights he had never imagined.

Just as he drove into the courtyard of the municipal government, Shen Huai saw his direct superior, Deputy Secretary-General Zhou Yu, coming out of the building from a distance.

Zhou Yu hurried down the steps, her chest bouncing rhythmically, as if waves were undulating.

Seeing this, Shen Huai could easily understand why the previous Shen Huai, who could not get close to Zhou Yu, had a persistent desire that he could not let go...

In the cool afternoon of early autumn, Zhou Yu's cheeks and forehead were covered with sweat.

Her restless and irritable demeanor made her fair skin appear as if it were coated with a layer of powder, rosy and lacking the usual composure, as if something very serious had happened.

"Secretary Zhou, what happened in the city?" Shen Huai drove up and asked.

Zhou Yu was startled by Shen Huai's pale face and subconsciously frowned.

Although the man in front of her was still handsome, his face was pale from excessive indulgence, which made people uncomfortable. Especially his hollow and lifeless eyes, which exuded an indescribable evil aura—this was Zhou Yu's first impression of Shen Huai when he came to Donghua half a year ago, and it made her dislike him.

Over the past half year, Shen Huai had continuously harassed her, both openly and secretly, and his temper was irritable and arrogant, which made Zhou Yu despise him from the bottom of her heart.

In the past, Zhou Yu would likely have only nodded coldly and left, but seeing Shen Huai suddenly appear, she impatiently asked, "Where have you been? Secretary Ge said you returned to the city this morning?"

"I came back from the city steel plant, and my left shoulder started hurting again, so I went back to the hospital," Shen Huai fabricated a reason, which was mostly true, and he was not afraid of others checking his whereabouts. He then asked, "What exactly happened?"

"Don't ask too many questions. If you can drive, come with me to Nanyuan." Zhou Yu opened the car door and was about to get in.

"Secretary Zhou, Secretary Zhou..."

Someone called out from behind. Shen Huai turned his head and saw the driver of Mayor Gao Tianhe's car chasing out of the building.

Zhou Yu had already put one foot in the car, but her body was still outside the door. She turned to the driver and said, "Stay here and see if Mayor Gao needs the car. I'll go to Nanyuan with Secretary Shen first..."

If there were other cars available, Zhou Yu would never have chosen to ride with him. Shen Huai was even more convinced that something significant had happened in Nanyuan, which made Zhou Yu overlook her dislike of him.

Perhaps subconsciously, Shen Huai thought that whatever happened in the city was someone else's business and had nothing to do with him at the moment. He did not feel particularly nervous and was instead drawn to Zhou Yu's posture...

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From Shen Huai's perspective, he could see Zhou Yu's one foot stepping into the car, her body twisting from the hips. This posture made the brown, slightly elastic long pants she was wearing today fit tightly on her buttocks.

Zhou Yu's buttocks, which were full and round, were tightly stretched in front of Shen Huai's eyes—any man who saw this would be tempted.

Although Chinese women also pay attention to their figures, they generally lack exercise, so their hips tend to be narrow, and the curves from the waist to the hips lack softness and fullness.

This flaw was completely absent in Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu wore a well-fitted white shirt, and because her body was still twisted outside the car door, Shen Huai could see the round edges of her high, full chest. The shirt was pulled down and tightened at the waist, and the curve from the waist to the hips was perfectly full and mature.

Just by looking, one could tell that if one touched it, there would be a strong sense of elasticity.

Although Zhou Yu always tried to appear capable in her attire, her eyes were sometimes deliberately sharp, and she even wore a pair of black tortoiseshell glasses, her full and mature figure, bright face, and skin as white and tender as a young girl's severely undermined her image as a female official.

Shen Huai thought to himself: although the previous Shen Huai was a scoundrel, his taste in women was not bad.

When Zhou Yu got into the car and noticed Shen Huai staring at her, she became even more impatient, her eyebrows furrowing.

Her family background meant she did not have to flatter male officials or use her body to exchange for anything.

She knew that those seemingly upright officials had dirty minds and lecherous eyes. However, no matter how dirty their thoughts or how far from being virtuous their lives were, they would not break the rules and openly harass her.

Only this Shen Huai, who was so arrogant and even dared to touch her thigh while pretending to sleep, made her feel helpless. As long as he did not go too far, she could only avoid him from a distance.

After all, Chen Mingde was sent from the provincial government to replace Mayor Gao Tianhe, and without evidence of harassment, making a fuss would only make her look foolish.

Zhou Yu urged Shen Huai to drive quickly to Nanyuan, intentionally not telling him the truth, thinking to herself: let you touch me again, and I'll cut off your little thing and feed it to the dogs...

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When the car arrived at Nanyuan, Shen Huai saw that the city's No. 1 car had just turned in ahead of them.

The window of the No. 1 car was half open, and the stern face of Party Secretary Wu Haifeng was visible. His gaze swept over Shen Huai's eyes with unusual sharpness.

Shen Huai's heart was suddenly chilled, and he subconsciously thought that the big event in Nanyuan was related to him; otherwise, the Party Secretary, who usually had little to do with municipal government staff, would not look at him so pointedly.

The car stopped in front of Building 6 by Cuihu Lake in the depths of Nanyuan. A police car and an ambulance were parked in front of the building. Shen Huai and Zhou Yu got out of the car, and Party Secretary Wu Haifeng, who had already gotten out, was waiting for them on the steps of Building 6.

Wu Haifeng was a big, robust man with dark skin. His face was even darker, and with the deepening twilight, he looked as if a storm was about to break.

Wu Haifeng looked at Shen Huai and Zhou Yu as they approached and loudly reprimanded Shen Huai, "How do you do your job as a secretary? You should be with the leaders at all times on workdays. Why weren't you at Nanyuan when the incident happened?"

As the top boss of Donghua City, Party Secretary Wu Haifeng had high standards, but he still recognized the people around the members of the Standing Committee.

The city steel plant, as the largest state-owned enterprise in Donghua City, had complex interpersonal relationships that were no less intricate than those in the municipal government. Shen Huai had seen the ups and downs of life and various situations.

Moreover, the previous Shen Huai was also arrogant. His family background gave him a high starting point: having seen central leaders lose their temper and scold people, he felt that the Party Secretary's scolding was childish, and the difference in presence was significant.

Shen Huai was not intimidated by Wu Haifeng's scolding, but he was somewhat stunned, not knowing what serious matter had happened to Vice Mayor Chen Mingde.

Although Zhou Yu disliked Shen Huai, she could not push the responsibility onto him in the current situation. If she did not explain for Shen Huai, Wu Haifeng would later find out the details and see that she was intentionally trying to trip him up.

Zhou Yu, who was very competitive, did not want to leave a bad impression on Party Secretary Wu Haifeng. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and explained for Shen Huai:

"Four days ago, Mayor Chen led a team to inspect the city steel plant, where a fatal accident occurred. Secretary Shen was unfortunately hit by a falling worker and was injured. Mayor Chen specifically asked Secretary Shen to stay in the hospital for observation, so he was not with Mayor Chen when the incident happened. I just found Secretary Shen, and I haven't had time to tell him about the incident at Nanyuan..." Zhou Yu briefly explained to exonerate Shen Huai.

"Hmm." Wu Haifeng coldly hummed, his face still stern, and led the secretary into Building 6.

"..." Shen Huai hesitated to move.

Seeing Shen Huai standing there stiffly, Zhou Yu lowered her voice and said, "Mayor Chen returned to Nanyuan to rest at noon. He had a heart attack, and by the time he was discovered, it was too late to save him..." She glanced at Shen Huai's face and then stepped into Building 6.

Shen Huai felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He had pinned his hopes on Chen Mingde to get his life back on track and was still thinking about it this afternoon. He never expected to receive another blow so soon—Chen Mingde had died of a heart attack?

What the hell is going on?

Shen Huai was stunned for a while. It was not until Zhou Yu turned around in the building hall that he came to his senses and walked into Building 6.