253: Chapter 253 Zhong Xiaoai slapped Hou Liangping

Secretary Zhan Jingqi chuckled softly on the other end of the line, his laughter tinged with a hint of amusement. "Secretary Zhong, do you really want to know? If you truly have that kind of curiosity, why not come to me and sign a few non-disclosure agreements in person? Once you've signed them, you will naturally understand."

Secretary Zhong froze, then gasped.

Given his current Rank, he inevitably came into contact with a vast amount of state secrets daily, and his security clearance was already high enough to access information unreachable by most ordinary people. If this was something that even he had to sign additional agreements to know about, then it was likely at the level of "Dongfeng Express."

He couldn't help but curse inwardly: That idiot Hou Liangping truly didn't know how to spell "death."

At this point, no matter how unwilling he was, he had to accept it. The mess Hou Liangping had made was too big; if Secretary Zhan Jingqi really decided to make a federal case out of it, Zhong Family would face even greater trouble.

Secretary Zhong replied in a deep voice, "Then I don't want to know. I will arrange for Hou Liangping to leave the capital as soon as possible. I will also handle those two projects on my end."

"Very well. At five o'clock in the afternoon, our people will deliver Hou Liangping to the entrance of the Anti-Corruption Bureau. It would be best if Zhong Family could send someone to pick him up," Secretary Zhan Jingqi said.

"Understood." Secretary Zhong agreed sullenly. The two exchanged a few more meaningless pleasantries before hanging up.

Secretary Zhong took a long moment to calm himself and suppress his anger before picking up his phone to dial Zhong Xiaoai's number, instructing her to pick him up.

...

At five o'clock in the afternoon, Zhong Xiaoai was waiting at the entrance of the Anti-Corruption Bureau on time.

A black BYD sedan slid silently to her side and came to a steady stop with a squeak. The rear door was pushed open from the inside, and Hou Liangping was shoved out, stumbling as he stood by the roadside.

The door slammed shut immediately, and the black BYD didn't linger, driving off straight away and merging into the street traffic.

Shen Kang gripped the steering wheel, glanced at the figure on the roadside through the rearview mirror, and laughed, "I heard that the girl from Zhong Family is a great beauty, but she looks just average to me—nowhere near as good as our Xiaowan. Wheatfield, do you think people's aesthetic standards have degraded?"

Wheatfield couldn't help but laugh, "As long as a girl from Zhong Family is passably good-looking, people will call her a beauty. Your Li Xiaowan is top-tier even among flight attendants, so stop showing her off everywhere. Hou Liangping won't escape a tongue-lashing from his father-in-law when he gets home. Drive toward Donglaishun; I need to make a call."

As he spoke, he dialed Gao Qiqiang's number, "Old Gao, the matter is over. That kid is just brain-damaged; he's gone crazy wanting to make a merit. We've already taught him a lesson. I'll handle the loophole at the bank later. By the way, I have documents for two projects here; I'll send them to you in a bit. Our boss asked me to ask you if Qiangsheng Group is interested in taking over a portion... Alright... How could I let you pay for the meal... I'll treat you next time... Let's not stand on ceremony between us..."

After hanging up, Wheatfield narrowed his eyes, looking at the streetscape flying past the car window, and suddenly asked out of the blue, "Shen Kang, I've been working hard to climb up the ladder for over a decade. Do you know what I'm aiming for?"

Shen Kang chuckled, "Isn't it just to earn more for your wife so you have to kneel on the washboard fewer times?"

"Get lost." Wheatfield cursed, his gaze gradually becoming deep and profound. "I want to raise my security Rank as quickly as possible. That way, perhaps I can learn that answer one day sooner."

Shen Kang was slightly stunned, "What answer?"

Wheatfield gazed at the brilliant sunset glow in the west and said slowly, "I want to know whose hand it was that propped up 'Operation Sunset Glow' back then. I've worked for so many years and have never experienced such a perfect operation. It was so perfect that we didn't even need to intervene."

Shen Kang was silent for a moment, then nodded in deep agreement, "I want to know, too."

...

At this moment, Hou Liangping was already sitting in Zhong Xiaoai's car.

His eyes were unfocused, and his expression was still dazed and numb, as if he had just been released after ten years in prison. The anger Zhong Xiaoai had been building up the whole way was stifled by his appearance. She reached out and patted his shoulder gently, wanting to offer a word of comfort first.

But Hou Liangping shuddered violently as if electrocuted, shouting subconsciously, "Don't touch me! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

"Hou Liangping!" Zhong Xiaoai was startled and quickly raised her voice, "It's me! The matter is over; you're fine now!"

Hou Liangping turned his neck mechanically, his gaze lingering on her face for several seconds before he seemed to barely recognize the person in front of him. Immediately, his whole body trembled violently, and he burst into tears, "Xiaoai! They aren't human! They tortured me! Wuwuwu... I just wanted to investigate corrupt officials; I'm not a spy, I'm not a traitor... Wuwuwu..."

Watching him with his face smeared with snot and tears, Zhong Xiaoai tried desperately to keep her gaze from showing disgust. She pulled out a few tissues and handed them over, trying to soften her tone as much as possible, "It's alright. Everything has been cleared up. You aren't a spy, and you aren't a traitor. That's why they let you go."

"Xiaoai..." Hou Liangping took the tissues and wiped his face messily, his voice full of grievance, "Tell me, why am I so unlucky! Wuwuwu... I'm so unlucky! Since those things were classified, the bank should have hidden them well! They shouldn't have let me see them! This is all their fault; it's all their problem!"

Zhong Xiaoai felt a surge of anger rush to her head, wishing she could immediately point at his nose and scold, "You brought this on yourself! You deserve it!"

But she gritted her teeth and swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue, saying only coldly, "Calm down first. Dad told me to bring you over; he has something to ask you."

"Dad?" Hou Liangping's dull gaze suddenly brightened, and his expression turned abruptly frantic, "Yes, yes, yes, I must tell Dad! Those bastards, they tortured me day and night these past few days! I want Dad to stand up for me, to arrest them all, not letting a single one go! When I catch them, I will interrogate them one by one, interrogate them thoroughly, to see who exactly ordered them. I will dig deep; I will..."

Slap! "Get a grip!" Zhong Xiaoai could take it no longer and slapped Hou Liangping across the face.

"Ah!" Hou Liangping screamed, shrinking into his seat reflexively, "Don't hit me, I'll talk! I'll talk, alright? For the sake of my career, I didn't hesitate to dump my mentor's daughter and chase after the girl from Zhong Family! I actually didn't have much..."

At this point, he realized what he was saying and looked at Zhong Xiaoai, whose face was livid. He couldn't help but shiver and quickly said, "Xiaoai, they forced me to say that, it's not what I really think! You are the only one in my heart! You have to believe me!"

Zhong Xiaoai took a deep breath, her fists clenched tightly. After a while, she managed to suppress her anger slightly and said coldly, "Whatever you have to say, wait until we've seen Dad! Hou Liangping, I'm warning you, if you dare to spout nonsense again, I won't care about you anymore!"