120: Chapter 120 Thick but Not Cheap

The most depressed person was none other than Qin Ben.

He hadn't expected his father to be even more pragmatic, not even bothering to discuss his marriage prospects.

He just kept chatting and drinking with Zhou Wanqing and Su Nange.

At this dinner table, it seemed only the three of them were on the same wavelength.

Qin Ben couldn't understand it; it was one thing for his father, a department-level official, to fawn over a section-level official.

But why did he have to be so respectful to that brat as well?

As for Su Jianzhong, he now had to change his opinion of Su Nange.

He had severely underestimated the man before him.

How terrifying must a man be to dare to call the daughter of a provincial governor "Xiao Qing" to her face?

No wonder he hadn't cared from the very beginning how others viewed him.

Because he absolutely possessed the strength to act as he pleased.

But in reality, Su Nange had no such strength.

He was simply playing the "fox borrowing the tiger's might" game to perfection.

It seemed as if he was letting Zhou Wanqing play the "pig eating the tiger," but in the end, everyone realized that he himself was the most mysterious person.

Once a person has an air of mystery, no one dares to underestimate you anymore.

Therefore, when Su Nange and Zhou Wanqing were honest about their intentions for the evening earlier, Zhou Wanqing couldn't help but laugh and cry.

But one had to admit, someone who could come up with such a crafty idea was truly sharp-witted.

Although Zhou Wanqing didn't have any malicious interests, she felt inexplicably compelled to go along with him.

After all, Su Nange kept morally blackmailing her.

"You were the one who told me to treat Su Yao well, Zhou Wanqing. You wouldn't just stand by and watch me suffer, would you?"

However, the people present still underestimated Su Nange too much.

Just as Su Nange, Zhou Wanqing, and Qin Jiazheng were subtly discussing internal issues at City Investment, which then drifted to the quality of the current cadre team.

Su Nange suddenly asked, "Uncle, aren't you a professor in the Political Science and Law department at Qianjiang University?"

Su Jianzhong nodded.

Su Nange said to Director Qin, "Director Qin, why doesn't your public security system invite a political and legal expert like Yao Yao's father to take a look?"

"Hold some forums and lectures. Let the professor talk about sociology and public security studies. Combining theory with practice—wouldn't that greatly improve the quality of the cadre team?"

Director Qin thought about it, and it was a good proposal.

Regardless of whether it was useful, wasn't it a new work item he could initiate?

He quickly had another drink with Su Nange.

Su Jianzhong finally cast a look of gratitude at Su Nange.

Rather than thinking about relying on connections to get promoted to vice principal, what could be better than such valuable qualifications to make everything more logical and natural?

At this moment, Su Nange dropped a bombshell.

"Uncle, I'll mention this to Governor He when the time comes. He will definitely support it!"

At this point, not to mention the others, even Zhou Wanqing was shocked; could it be that she was also just a clown tonight?

Su Nange, are you really this good at acting?

Consequently, Su Nange really put on a convincing act, took out his phone, and sent a message.

He said he met Director Qin and Zhou Wanqing today and discussed this topic.

It was purely a personal, spur-of-the-moment idea, and he wanted to ask for the leader's opinion.

The other party actually replied.

"Xiao Su's proposal is good. I will seriously consider Xiao Su's suggestion."

No one would doubt the authenticity of this message.

Because the expressions of Qin Jiazheng and Zhou Wanqing already explained everything.

At this moment, Su Nange was acting exactly like a villain who had gotten his way.

He really wanted to stand up and shout loudly to everyone present: "Who else?!"

As a result, Su Jianzhong was so affected by the continuous twists of the evening that even after arriving home, he was still incredibly excited.

He verified with Su Yao once again, "Are you really on good terms with this Su Nange?"

Su Yao blushed and nodded.

"Dad, you've asked me several times already. He and I are... are doing quite well."

Su Jianzhong shook his daughter, "Good daughter, Dad really wants to thank you!"

Wang Pei still hadn't reacted, "Professor Su, that Zhou Wanqing, she really won't do anything to us, right?"

"She is the daughter of the top leader, after all. She shouldn't be that petty, right?"

Su Jianzhong, "Wife, haven't you figured it out yet?"

Su Jianzhong pulled Wang Pei aside, smiling as he continued to whisper, "You should just get ready to thank your daughter's good leader!"

"Why?"

"Why? Just think about it, was this dinner tonight really a coincidence?"

"This was intentionally arranged by Zhou Wanqing and that guy named Su Nange. It was to let us know to stop meddling in Yao Yao's marriage!"

"We are Yao Yao's parents, why can't we meddle?"

Su Jianzhong was speechless; sometimes a woman's brain was just too simple.

"You can meddle, but don't meddle blindly! Didn't Zhou Wanqing say she already introduced a partner to Yao Yao? Guess who it is?"

"How would I know?"

"It's that Su Nange from tonight! The two of them were cooperating with each other, not only to make us retreat but also to make Director Qin retreat!"

"Oh!" Wang Pei finally reacted.

"No wonder that Su Nange said he liked someone like Yao Yao. And when our Yao Yao heard it, she didn't react much. So, they had colluded long ago."

Su Jianzhong sighed, "That's right. Sigh, it's my fault for not realizing it sooner. Why would a woman so high above us want to acknowledge our daughter as a sister?"

"Yao Yao actually hinted at it to us long ago."

Wang Pei, "But that Su Nange is just a graduate from an ordinary school, I'm worried about Yao Yao..."

"Wife, you are confused! Don't listen to people's self-deprecating words. Why don't you listen to how Su Nange calls that person's daughter 'Xiao Qing'? If it were a normal relationship, would you dare to address her like that?"

"Didn't you see how tacitly they cooperated? Does it look like there's a class gap between them?"

"Then, Professor Su, you mean our Yao Yao has found a treasure?"

Su Jianzhong laughed, "I suppose so."

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Qin Jiazheng was somewhat helpless with his son, "You're not young anymore. Can you use your brain a bit more when you encounter things?"

"Sigh, this is also my fault for letting your path be too smooth all this time!"

Qin Ben was still somewhat unconvinced; he didn't want to give up on Su Yao.

"But, Dad, they teamed up to set a trap for me! Especially that Su Nange, he was always fanning the flames on the side!"

"And also, that Zhou Wanqing, she is clearly the daughter of that person, why didn't she explain it from the beginning? Wasn't she deliberately trying to make me embarrass myself?"

Qin Jiazheng shook his head helplessly, "Why would they need to clarify things from the start? Think about it yourself, which sentence did Zhou Wanqing say that was wrong?"

"And which sentence did Su Nange say that was wrong in advising you?"

"You've been in the Youth League Committee for so many years, how is it that your ability to read between the lines hasn't improved at all?"

"When you brought me up, they didn't care at all. Isn't that obvious enough?"

Su Nange dropped Zhou Wanqing off at home.

"Thank you, President Zhou, for your help today. It was a huge favor."

Zhou Wanqing chuckled, "It's nothing, your brain is indeed quite sharp."

"I didn't expect you to use my reputation to establish yourself in the company and secure the project."

"And now, you've used my reputation again to win over Su Yao's parents and drive away your romantic rival."

"To be honest, I'm even a bit impressed by your methods."

"It's just that your methods are truly despicable!"

Su Nange laughed, "President Zhou, that turn of phrase really caught me off guard!"

"But in this society, isn't achieving the goal the most important thing? Who cares about the process, right?"

"However, I still have to defend myself. I think being thick-skinned but not despicable, dark but not poisonous, and self-benefiting without harming others—that is the advanced way."

"You can't expect a young person like me to have reached that level of enlightenment yet, right?"

Zhou Wanqing looked at Su Nange with some surprise; her heart seemed to have been touched by Su Nange's words.

Su Nange's back disappeared into the darkness; he was like a clown in the night.

But the back of this clown gave people a feeling of being very tall and imposing.

Zhou Wanqing immediately went upstairs and took out that book, "Thick Black Theory," from the bookshelf.

On it, there was a summary she had written based on her own insights into the book.

"Round on the outside, square on the inside; wearing a Bodhisattva's face, with armor in the heart."

Then, Zhou Wanqing grabbed a pen and quickly added another sentence below that one.

"Thick-skinned but not despicable, dark but not poisonous, self-benefiting without harming others."

Su Nange drove back to the residential complex and parked the car.

He looked at the apartment in front of him.

It wasn't that he didn't want to change to a bigger house.

But this was something his father left him, and in his eyes, it was the best.

Just like the old house in Lu City, as long as it was still there, Su Nange would clean and renovate it.

However, just as Su Nange was about to walk back into the building, he noticed a masked man standing in the shadows not far away.

"Are you waiting for me?"

The masked man didn't answer, just giving a contemptuous smile that the other person couldn't see.

Under Su Nange's astonished gaze, a sharp bayonet from the opposite side was about to reach his eyes!