Official Career Storm

Chapter 1630

"Secretary Zhuang, something happened."

Secretary Zhuang was woken up in the middle of the night by this loud call, and the first thing he heard on the phone was this sentence.

This late-night phone call certainly wasn’t good news, and he was mentally prepared for that.

Yet, Director Hou’s words made his heart skip a beat.

Age was catching up; he couldn’t handle sudden scares.

He rubbed his chest and said tiredly, "Don’t be so alarmist."

Director Hou briefly explained the situation.

Although Secretary Zhuang was indecisive by nature, he wasn’t a fool.

Quite the opposite, he was very shrewd.

It was precisely because of his intelligence that he often overthought things, worried too much, and hesitated to make decisions on a single matter.

The decision to remove Hall Director Qi and Wu Qiangwei was Secretary Zhuang’s idea.

Otherwise, Director Hou wouldn’t dare to act alone.

At the time he made this decision, Secretary Zhuang saw no problem with it.

In his opinion, Pinghai City was part of Wu Province, making it more than reasonable for them to handle the case.

Who would have thought that the people from Nanjiang Province would act like bandits, taking people away unannounced?

They even alerted those officials who hadn’t been caught yet.

Wasn’t this reaction a bit too extreme?

"You continue to apprehend people first."

"They’ve all run away."

"Just because they ran, you’re not going to catch them?"

After a reprimand, Secretary Zhuang dug out Governor Li’s number.

"Old Li, you have the number of that Governor Lu from Nanjiang Province, right?"

"I’ll send it to Secretary Zhuang."

"No rush, let me brief you on the situation. There’s been an unexpected incident over in Pinghai."

Governor Li feigned ignorance and listened to him repeat the situation.

When he was done, Governor Li replied, "It’s still better if you contact them, Secretary Zhuang."

Secretary Zhuang interrupted again, "You should contact them. I still have other matters to handle."

Governor Li inwardly sneered, noting how Secretary Zhuang hadn’t called for a meeting or a vote when sending Director Hou to seize the opportunity.

Now that something happened, he wanted Governor Li to clean up the mess?

"Fine, I’ll make contact. But before that, we need to set a tone."

Secretary Zhuang pondered, "They must have some misunderstandings about us. Tell Governor Lu we appreciate Nanjiang Province’s assistance, and the case should be investigated jointly by the two provinces."

"But when it comes to publicity, they need to cooperate, with everything led by Wu Province’s publicity department."

"Alright." Governor Li hung up and called Lu Zhizhong.

Lu Zhizhong had already been awakened by a call from Song Guanchao and knew what had happened.

To be honest, he was truly surprised by Wu Province’s lack of propriety in this matter.

It was as if they had thrown away all semblance of dignity.

Seeing Governor Li’s call, Lu Zhizhong picked up.

Answering so quickly, Governor Li realized that Lu Zhizhong surely knew everything.

He let out a bitter laugh, "Governor Lu, sorry, Secretary Zhuang didn’t discuss this with me."

Lu Zhizhong chuckled, "Doesn’t Secretary Zhuang like to discuss everything in meetings? How did he become so decisive all of a sudden?"

Governor Li said, "Who doesn’t have a few personal agendas?"

Lu Zhizhong replied, "So, what’s Secretary Zhuang’s intention?"

Governor Li relayed Secretary Zhuang’s words verbatim.

After a brief contemplation, Lu Zhizhong stated, "To be honest, I now find it a bit hard to trust your Secretary Zhuang."

Governor Li sighed, "I understand."

"How about this, let Secretary Zhuang contact me." Lu Zhizhong said, "These words should come from Secretary Zhuang himself."

"Alright."

Governor Li also didn’t want to stay entangled in the mess.

About five minutes later, Secretary Zhuang made the call.

He didn’t mention Director Hou’s actions; this was the way things were at this level, a few casual words and you seal the deal.

"Director Hou’s expression was unclear, which led to unnecessary misunderstandings. Please ask them to come back."

"Okay, I’ll inform them."

After the exchange, the conversation shifted rapidly to Hall Director Qi and Wu Qiangwei.

The car in front pulled over, and the one behind followed suit.

Hall Director Qi and Director Liang got out of the car and walked over, as did Wu Qiangwei and Song Guanchao.

"Governor Lu just contacted me."

Hall Director Qi briefly explained the situation; Wu Qiangwei pondered for a moment, "Let’s return then."

Since Secretary Zhuang had communicated with Governor Lu, continuing to resist was unwise.

Both got into their cars and headed back to Pinghai City.

It had been a restless night for everyone.

On the way back, Song Guanchao sent a string of numbers to Wu Qiangwei.

Wu Qiangwei looked up, "What is this?"

"It’s the phone number of Inspector Huang Ronghua."

Song Guanchao said, "You can never be too cautious. Secretary Zhuang has a history, don’t completely trust him. If we go back, hand over the people, and he turns on us, we’d have no recourse."

Though the probability was low, any risk had to be mitigated.

Wu Qiangwei nodded slightly and dialed Huang Ronghua’s number.

The dial tone filled the line until the call connected.

Wu Qiangwei identified herself and invited Huang Ronghua to join the investigation.

Truth be told, Huang Ronghua owed them a favor.

Moreover, as an inspection team, they had legitimate grounds to investigate if an issue arose in Pinghai City.

They were obligated, both emotionally and logically, to get involved.

After communicating over the phone, Song Guanchao said, "You should get some rest, I’ll wake you when we arrive."

"I’m not sleepy," Wu Qiangwei said, "but you should. You’ve been busy all day; take a break."

"I’m not sleepy either," Song Guanchao lifted his eyelids and glanced at the driver.

At four or five in the morning, the sky was pitch black, making the car interior indistinguishable from the outside.

Even if the two were doing something in the back, the driver wouldn’t notice.

Noting Song Guanchao’s subtle movements, Wu Qiangwei became a bit nervous, subtly shifting her seat away.

Song Guanchao tilted his head toward her, his grin devilish.

Wu Qiangwei glared at him, with an overwhelming sense of warning, as if to say, "Don’t mess around."

Song Guanchao’s eyes replied, "I’ll just touch a little."

He extended his hand and held her small hand.

The warmth and strength of his hand sent a shiver through Wu Qiangwei.

She bit her lips, her delicate neck taut, swallowing nervously.

The tender body beneath her clothes tensed as well.

After playing with her hand for a while, Song Guanchao reached toward her thigh.

She was wearing black trousers, which wasn’t very convenient, but it didn’t deter him.

His nimble hand slid between her legs, gently unbuttoning the clasp, and carefully unzipping her trousers.

Then he slipped around to her waist, through the open waistband, and reached down her rounded bottom.

His fingers found their way to a charming groove, wet and enchanting beyond belief.

Wu Qiangwei leaned back against the plush seat, spine straight with tension, nervously watching the driver’s direction and dreading being discovered.

Suddenly, Song Guanchao lowered the window a bit, letting the wind flood in, its howling sound drowning everything else out.

Even if Wu Qiangwei made a sound, it wouldn’t be heard.

With preparations done, Song Guanchao didn’t delay further, pushing aside her panties, pressing against the slick, tender abundance, and slowly slipped inside.

As his fingers sank into paradise, Wu Qiangwei’s body trembled, contracting tightly around him.

Her tightly pressed lips parted slightly, eyes rolling upwards, as she groaned silently.

Song Guanchao unzipped his own pants, letting his partner breathe, and grabbed her hand to hold it.