149: Chapter 149 What did you call me? I didn't hear you clearly.

Zhao Yang's hand, which was holding the teacup, paused slightly.

To serve as a secretary.

Zhao Yang knew the weight of those four words all too well.

It meant a clearly visible path to promotion.

An opportunity that countless people would fight tooth and nail for was now laid out right before him.

Zhao Yang had wondered many times how Sun Zhendong would promote him after taking office in Jianghan Province.

He just hadn't expected Sun Zhendong to be so direct.

This was trust, and it was also an expectation.

It was impossible for Zhao Yang to refuse, but he didn't show excessive surprise either. His tone remained neither humble nor arrogant as he said:

"It is my honor to be able to serve Uncle Sun."

Sun Zhendong looked at Zhao Yang and chuckled. "Then you'd better be careful. I never hold back when I criticize people."

Zhao Yang replied, "If a leader is willing to criticize, it shows that they still have hope for their subordinate."

Sun Zhendong pointed at Zhao Yang again with a gesture. "I don't know where you learned this cleverness of yours."

After a while, lunch was ready, and Sun Zhendong and Zhao Yang moved to the dining room.

Han Zhiyu said with a smile, "Sit down, everyone. Come and taste Nan Nan's cooking. I was just her assistant the whole time today."

Sun Zhendong sat in the head seat. He hadn't expected Jiang Nan to be so beautiful and such a good cook as well.

He praised her, "Little Jiang is quite something! Little Zhao will be very lucky in the future!"

To prevent Jiang Nan from feeling nervous, Zhao Yang immediately chimed in:

"My cooking isn't bad either; we are both lucky people. Besides, I can't let Nan Nan do all the work by herself."

With Zhao Yang's banter, the meal was quite harmonious.

When they were leaving, Han Zhiyu held Jiang Nan's hand and repeatedly urged her to visit often.

After leaving Villa No. 2, the two of them got into the car.

As Zhao Yang slowly drove the car out of the compound, he felt a faint chill coming from his right side.

He turned his head to look and saw Jiang Nan staring straight at him with cold eyes.

Did this girl figure something out? Sun Zhendong didn't say it explicitly!

Could it be Aunt Han? No, that's not right. Aunt Han shouldn't know that Jiang Nan had issued the inspection report.

Despite his inner guilt, Zhao Yang maintained his composure and asked:

"Wife, what's wrong?"

Jiang Nan's voice was cold. "Zhao Yang, did you know from the very beginning that Sun Zhendong was Sun Hongwei's father?"

Just as Zhao Yang was about to fabricate a lie, Jiang Nan continued her questioning:

"You put so much effort into helping Sun Hongwei just to get in touch with Sun Zhendong, didn't you?"

Zhao Yang stammered, "No... listen to my explanation..."

Faced with Jiang Nan's aggressiveness, Zhao Yang felt increasingly guilty.

Damn, how is this girl so smart?

Zhao Yang felt like he was made of glass in front of her, with absolutely no secrets.

When he first fell for her, her intelligence was brilliant; when they worked together to deceive Wang Lei, it was seamless.

Now, he wished Jiang Nan's brain were a little slower and her tongue a bit less sharp.

"I used to think you had such a sense of justice, that you were so fearless and spoke out for what was right—turns out it was all fake!"

Zhao Yang immediately broke into a cold sweat.

Even though it was the middle of winter, his back was slightly damp with sweat.

"No, Wife, don't get excited. You... you listen to me!"

Seeing two lines of hot tears rolling down Jiang Nan's face, Zhao Yang suddenly panicked.

He quickly pulled the car over to the side, stopped, and reached out to wipe away Jiang Nan's tears.

Jiang Nan dodged him. "Hypocrite, don't touch me!"

Zhao Yang immediately pulled his hand back. If this girl exploded, she could kick him right out through the window.

"Fine, I won't touch you, but please calm down and give me a chance to explain."

Jiang Nan looked at him coldly. A few minutes later, she stopped sobbing and pulled out a tissue to wipe her tears.

Seeing that she had calmed down quite a bit, Zhao Yang explained:

"I swear to heaven, I really didn't know Sun Hongwei had such a father at the beginning."

Seeing the obvious doubt in Jiang Nan's eyes, Zhao Yang immediately explained further:

"The Governor was in Donghai Province at the time. Even if I racked my brain, it would have been impossible for me to connect them."

At this point, Jiang Nan's gaze softened slightly.

Zhao Yang knew that this explanation alone wouldn't pass muster.

He had to find a suitable point in time and combine truth with fiction to get through this.

So, he continued to weave his story:

"Actually, I only got to know Uncle Sun after the Die-Casting Machine Factory case was halted.

"Secretary Gong took me to Governor Sun's place to report on the case. It was he who instructed me to continue the investigation, which is why I returned to Tongan to collect evidence.

"Otherwise, where would I have gotten the confidence to lead everyone in taking such a huge risk?"

In reality, the timing of his return to Tongan and Sun Zhendong's arrival in Jianghan Province to take office was off by a few days.

Zhao Yang was certain that Jiang Nan would never notice this detail.

Sure enough, Jiang Nan's gaze softened completely.

But she was straightforward by nature and wasn't willing to suddenly pivot to an apology. Instead, she complained:

"Why didn't you say so earlier? You made me worry about you for so long!"

Zhao Yang continued to explain, "I couldn't say anything. If word got out and Ji Hongwen used his connections in the province again, Governor Sun had just arrived and might not have been able to suppress it.

"So we had to have ironclad evidence in hand to ensure a total victory in one go."

Jiang Nan was a police officer, so she naturally knew that some things could not be casually disclosed.

She basically accepted Zhao Yang's explanation.

However, Zhao Yang knew that if he didn't leave himself some leeway, he might still get in trouble sooner or later.

He rubbed Jiang Nan's head. "In 'Whispers by the Hearth' by Wang Yongbin of the Qing Dynasty, there's a saying: 'Judge a person by their actions, not by their intent.' Have you heard of it?"

Jiang Nan nodded. "I know. 'Few are perfect when judged by their intent.'"

Zhao Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief. "To take it a step further, even if I had known Governor Sun from the start, so what?

"Did I use my influence to bully anyone? Among those who were arrested through my hands, was even one of them innocent?

"Did the mixed-ownership reform plan I came up with not allow Master Sun, Master Li, and the others to return to the factory as they wished?"

Jiang Nan finally stopped being angry and smiled through her tears.

"Fine, you're the most capable, alright!"

"If I weren't capable, how could I have won you over?" Zhao Yang leaned his head closer. "Nan Nan, how did you find out they were father and son?"

Jiang Nan leaned back to move away. "When I entered, I saw a photo of Sun Hongwei on the display shelf in their living room."

Zhao Yang sighed. "As expected of a police officer, your observation is truly meticulous. However..."

"However what?" Jiang Nan thought Zhao Yang was questioning her professional skills.

"You called me a hypocrite. I'm angry."

This was the first time they had quarreled since they met.

Jiang Nan also realized she had spoken too harshly and quickly apologized:

"I'm sorry, hubby, it was my fault."

Zhao Yang leaned closer. "What did you call me? I didn't hear you clearly!"

She really couldn't bring herself to say those two words again on command.

"Hmph, you're doing it on purpose!"

After a moment of hesitation, Jiang Nan whispered in his ear, "Hubby—"

The warm breath blew across his ear, and Zhao Yang's blood instantly rushed to his head.

He had only one thought now:

Forget picking out furniture slowly; just buy it all at once and move in together quickly...

Three days later, as usual, Zhao Yang was organizing materials in the Economic Division of the Policy Research Office.

Deputy Division Chief Liu Jianguo walked in and approached Gao Wenbo, speaking with a tinge of jealousy:

"Little Gao, not bad at all. Without a word, you've been promoted to Assistant Division Chief of the Development Planning Division of the Planning Commission. You must come back often to give us guidance in the future!"

Gao Wenbo's expression was calm, and a slight smile played on his lips.

"As long as Division Chief Liu needs me, I am at your disposal at any time."

The implication was that giving guidance was a piece of cake for him.

Zhao Yang shook his head with a wry smile. This guy really didn't give Liu Jianguo any face at all.

Before his smile faded, Division Chief Tian Jingfeng made a rare appearance.

"Zhao Yang, come here for a moment. Secretary-General Zhang wants to have a talk with you."

Zhao Yang knew that his position was about to change.

He estimated that next, Liu Jianguo's expression would be even more spectacular.