Chapter 2: Making the Call

The phone rang several times before it was answered.

At that moment, Yang Dong felt as if all the blood in his body was rushing to his head; he was a little nervous.

“Hello, who is this?” A woman’s voice came from the other end, cool and clear.

At first listen, she didn’t sound very old—perhaps only in her twenties.

This surprised Yang Dong. Was this Secretary Yin’s backup plan? A young woman? Could she really save him?

While Yang Dong was caught off guard, Su Muyun, who had answered the call, frowned slightly.

She had only answered because the number belonged to Lingyun City. But why wasn’t the caller saying anything? Shaking her head, she was about to hang up.

“I’m Yang Dong, from the Lingyun City Government Office. Secretary Yin Tiejun told me to call you,” Yang Dong hurriedly explained, afraid she would hang up.

After hearing his introduction, Su Muyun’s frown deepened.

“He told you to call—what’s the matter?” Her voice was devoid of any emotion, as cold as ice.

Yang Dong hesitated, cautious, and asked instead, “Can I trust you?”

Su Muyun was taken aback, then realized something was wrong. “Did something happen to him?”

What a clever woman, Yang Dong thought, surprised but unsure how to respond.

“Yin Tiejun was my father’s secretary. You can trust me,” Su Muyun replied, the corners of her mouth curling into a slight smile. This man was quite cautious—interesting.

Yang Dong now felt he could trust her and told her everything. “Secretary Yin is in trouble. He was reported by his housekeeper for embezzlement. The city’s Discipline Inspection Commission found five hundred thousand yuan in cash at his home. He’s been taken away and is under investigation.”

Su Muyun’s face showed no change. She sat on her sofa, two slender legs as pale as jade stretched out, her feet bare. Dressed in a white nightgown, she looked ethereal, almost like a fairy.

“I understand!” she replied coldly.

Yang Dong only heard her say this before the call was abruptly cut off.

Damn! Who was this woman, acting so high and mighty?

Her attitude left Yang Dong rather annoyed, but what could he do? All he could do was wait.

Still, he wasn’t about to wait on an empty stomach. He headed straight for a noodle shop to get a meal.

Meanwhile, in Villa No. 4 of the Jijiang Provincial Party Committee.

Su Muyun rose from the sofa and knocked on the study door.

“Come in,” an elderly man’s voice answered, full and strong.

She opened the door and entered, glancing at the man behind the desk, his temples streaked with gray.

He was staring intently at a four-inch black-and-white photograph: a young woman holding a baby boy, perhaps a year old.

Su Muyun’s expression changed slightly. Nearly thirty years had passed, and the old man still couldn’t let go.

“Yin Tiejun is in trouble. He was reported by his housekeeper in Lingyun City for embezzlement. The Discipline Inspection Commission found five hundred thousand yuan in cash, and now he’s been placed under double investigation,” she said coldly, interrupting the old man’s sorrow.

His hand paused on the photograph, then he resumed staring at it.

A strange silence settled over the study.

Su Muyun said nothing more, simply gazing at him.

After about five minutes, the old man put the photograph away, carefully locking it in a drawer. He wiped the dampness from the corner of his eyes, then looked up at her.

“Where did you get this information?” The old man wore a black wool sweater and black glasses, scholarly in appearance.

“A man named Yang Dong, from the Lingyun City Government Office,” Su Muyun replied calmly.

The old man raised an eyebrow. “To force Yin Tiejun into such a position, relaying messages through a low-level staffer—clearly, the other side is desperate.”

“All this for a deputy mayor’s position? The competition is that fierce, for even the Discipline Inspection Commission to be mobilized?”

“It seems the Lingyun City Commission urgently needs a new secretary,” he muttered.

After this, he fell silent, lowering his head.

Su Muyun turned and left.

Just as she reached the door, the old man called out softly behind her, “Muyun, your brother has been missing for twenty-six years. Do you think I’ll ever see him again?”

She stiffened, anger flashing across her face. The child born of that woman—and he still dared mention it?

But she quickly regained her icy composure. “Perhaps,” she said, closing the door behind her.

After finishing his noodles, Yang Dong waited outside the shop for the woman to call back.

Half an hour passed and she never called. He realized then that she had no intention of calling him back.

Yang Dong sighed. In any case, he had made his report; the rest was up to fate.

He only hoped Secretary Yin would be all right. If so, he wouldn’t have to worry about being trampled by petty men like Lin Yaodong.

“Well, if it isn’t Group Leader Yang Dong. Have you delivered the materials?” Sometimes the more you dread something, the more likely it is to happen.

Speak of the devil—Lin Yaodong.

Without turning, Yang Dong knew who it was.

Beside Lin Yaodong stood a woman—Han Wen.

Memories surfaced in Yang Dong’s mind.

He and Han Wen had been university classmates, started dating in their senior year. After graduation, he joined the city government office, while Han Wen, through her family’s connections, became a nurse at the city hospital.

They’d been together five years. He’d wanted to discuss marriage, but coming from the countryside and with modest means, Han Wen’s family was adamantly opposed.

At first, they’d only agreed to their relationship because he’d secured a job with the government. But after four years without significant progress, Han Wen’s parents grew hostile.

Her father was a vice-principal at a key high school, her mother a chief physician at the city hospital.

Sensing an opportunity, Lin Yaodong—Yang Dong’s long-time rival in the office—swept in and won Han Wen over.

But flies only swarm to cracks; Han Wen’s heart had already changed.

Now, this was their first encounter since the breakup half a month ago.

She was dressed stylishly in a pink down jacket and black jeans, light makeup on her face, her arm linked with Lin Yaodong’s, looking at him awkwardly.

Yang Dong frowned. In his previous life, he had never experienced this scene. Had his call triggered a butterfly effect?

“Yang... Yang Dong, are you off work?” Han Wen greeted him, her tone uneasy.

They’d only been separated two weeks. Recently, hearing rumors that Yang Dong was up for a deputy section chief position, she’d felt some regret. But today, Lin Yaodong had told her it was impossible—Yang Dong’s supporter, Secretary Yin, was finished.

Relieved, she no longer felt any regret and agreed to get engaged to Lin Yaodong.

“Looks like you’re enjoying yourself now,” Yang Dong said with a mocking glance at her hand on Lin Yaodong’s arm.

Han Wen’s face darkened, at a loss for words.

Lin Yaodong sneered, “Group Leader Yang Dong, I heard Secretary Yin’s under investigation. Tsk, you really never know someone’s true face.”

“Everyone thought Secretary Yin was upright and honest, but who’d have guessed...”

“Five hundred thousand! Quite a haul. It’s people like him who ruin the reputation of all officials.”

Yang Dong’s expression turned cold. He remembered Lin Yaodong’s ugly behavior in his previous life—how he’d slandered both Secretary Yin and Yang Dong himself in front of the new government office secretary, Tian Guanghan.

He’d forgotten how, not so long ago, he’d been flattering Secretary Yin at every turn.

Such a petty, opportunistic man was a disgrace to the office.

“Lin Yaodong, nothing has been decided yet. Don’t spout nonsense!” Yang Dong glared icily, his voice stern.

“Ha, a beached whale, practically dead—what’s there to be proud of?” Lin Yaodong laughed, utterly unafraid.

If he were afraid, he wouldn’t have dared steal Yang Dong’s girlfriend. He only dared provoke Yang Dong because his own father was no ordinary man—the head of the Organization Department’s First Division. He was, in every sense, a true second-generation official.

“All right, enough. Both of you, stop arguing,” Han Wen interjected, trying to defuse the tension. There was no point in fighting.

“Yang Dong, Yaodong and I are getting engaged. We’ve invited colleagues from both the government office and the hospital to KTV for drinks. Would you... like to come?”

Han Wen believed it was better to resolve old grudges than deepen them; she wanted Yang Dong’s blessing. She also wanted him to give up on her completely. This was the most thorough way—letting him witness their engagement with his own eyes.

“Is that so? For such a happy occasion, I’d be remiss not to attend!” Yang Dong agreed immediately, smiling.

“Tch, Group Leader Yang Dong, you truly are broad-minded. Admirable!” Lin Yaodong sneered, but inwardly he was wary.

What man would willingly attend his former girlfriend’s engagement party? Unless he was a fool—or had ulterior motives.

Yang Dong was no fool. He must be planning something. Could he be intending to cause trouble and ruin the engagement night?

Yang Dong glanced at him without reply.

“Where is it? I’ll take a taxi,” he asked Han Wen.

“It’s at Happy Sheep KTV, private room 101.”

“Um, Yang Dong, we drove here...” Han Wen pointed to a nearby Audi A6, but before she could finish, Yang Dong cut her off.

“No need. I’ll take a taxi.”

He hailed a cab and left.

“Wenwen, you shouldn’t have invited him,” Lin Yaodong said warily. “If he comes to KTV, he’s bound to cause trouble.”

No normal man would agree to such an invitation.

“But you said he wouldn’t last long—that he’s finished once Secretary Yin falls,” Han Wen replied, gazing at Lin Yaodong with affection.

Seeing her trust, Lin Yaodong relaxed.

“Exactly. Once Yin Tiejun is done for, Yang Dong will be finished too. No matter what he does, it won’t matter.”

He already knew the inside story—Yin Tiejun was doomed, with no chance of recovery. Lin Yaodong had already chosen his side, aligning himself with Deputy Secretary Tian Guanghan.

All he had to do now was wait for the dust to settle and watch Yang Dong’s downfall with a smile.