"What do you think?" Song Jianguo asked.

Lin Chuan immediately stood up and said, "No matter what, I won't give up on Song Xiaojia. Besides, I also respect your choice. After all, we are not from the same generation, so it's normal for us to have a generation gap."

After finishing his speech, Lin Chuan bowed respectfully to both of them, then turned and left.

"Ah, this child, why does he just leave like that?" Mrs. Song hurriedly placed the fruits on the coffee table.

"Let him go," Song Jianguo waved his hand.

After Lin Chuan left the Provincial Committee Compound, Song Jianguo and his wife sat in the living room, feeling empty inside after the departure of the child. Song Jianguo felt a turmoil within him. Just as Lin Chuan had said, was he really going to sacrifice his daughter's happiness for his own future? That would definitely be an unfair trade and equally unjust. Song Jianguo felt some contempt for himself.

"Old Song, what do you think?" Mrs. Song asked.

"I think I can still give it another shot," Song Jianguo said through gritted teeth.

"Since you've decided, I'll support you," Mrs. Song said with a smile.

"I'm just worried that even if Xiaojia goes to France, she won't settle down," Song Jianguo exhaled a turbid breath and said, "With the internet so well developed nowadays, it's easy for young people to keep in touch, isn't it? Even though we've put distance between them geographically, phones and the internet still bring them closer together."

"Don't worry," Mrs. Song patted Song Jianguo on the shoulder, "Since you've made your decision, I'll support you. Leave the matter of getting rid of Lin Chuan to me."

"Can you handle it?" Song Jianguo looked at his wife skeptically.

"Who else is better at this kind of thing than women?" Mrs. Song smiled.

"Alright then," Song Jianguo nodded, "I'll leave this matter to you. Sort it out quickly for me, and cut off that lingering thought in Xiaojia's mind."

"Yes, I will," Mrs. Song nodded, "I'll pay a visit to Jiangbei City these next few days."

"Good, the sooner the better," Song Jianguo nodded.

......

Lin Chuan drove his car rapidly towards Jiangbei City. Although it was a diesel car, the speed had already approached 140 mph. For a car with an engine made years ago, reaching this speed was indeed rare. This showed how well Zhou Kai had modified the car, using many new parts.

By the time he returned to Jiangbei City, it was already afternoon.

Lin Chuan's mind was full of the words spoken by Zhang Wenhui. Ever since he left the Provincial Committee Compound, he couldn't wait to find Tang Yumeng and tell her the whole truth. Tell her everything. Tell her that Bai Yifan is a fraud, that he deceived Tang Yumeng and even attempted to win her affections by such despicable means. Thinking about this, Lin Chuan felt his heart shatter.

Upon reaching Jiangbei City, Lin Chuan couldn't wait to hurry to the City Committee.

"Lin Chuan, what are you rushing around for?" Xiao Xue asked with impatience.

After Lin Chuan entered Secretary Tang's office, he searched everywhere, looking impatient, as if someone owed him millions. He even barged into Tang Yumeng's most private resting room. After failing to find Tang Yumeng, he shouted, "Xiao Xue, where's Secretary Tang?"

"Secretary Tang went on a business trip today," Xiao Xue glanced at him impatiently and said, "Your phone is unreachable too, what kind of driver are you?"

"Where did he go?" Lin Chuan asked anxiously.

"How should I know?" Xiao Xue said annoyed, "Secretary Tang didn't take me with him."

"Who drove?" Lin Chuan asked breathlessly.

"I think it was Luo Guoqing," Xiao Xue thought for a moment and blinked, "You're so hasty—what do you need Secretary Tang for?"

"It's important," Lin Chuan replied and said, "I'm going to give Luo Guoqing a call."

After saying that, Lin Chuan hurried out.

He frantically dialed Luo Guoqing's number, but no one answered. Lin Chuan sat alone in the resting room, which was full of smoke, where some played cards and others chatted; no one paid any attention to Lin Chuan. He lay on a chair with his eyes closed, his mind in disarray.

The shadow of Bai Yifan's sly smile seemed to linger in his mind, haunting him, making it impossible to dispel.

"Damn it," Lin Chuan punched the wooden sofa.

Bang...

A dull sound echoed, and everyone in the resting room turned to look at Lin Chuan.

This punch scared the Song brothers to death.

"Damn, we didn't offend him, did we?" Song Wen shrank his neck.

"No... No, I haven't!" Song Wu hastily shook his head, saying, "How could we have offended this guy?"

"It's good if you haven't," Song Wen quickly nodded in agreement.

The expression on Lin Chuan's face was one of furious anger, as if someone had flirted with his woman. His look was fierce and menacing. However, after more than ten minutes of calming down, Lin Chuan finally regained his composure. With his eyes closed, he understood that at this moment he was somewhat confused and had lost his composure. Perhaps it was because this issue had been suppressed too long in the depths of his heart. He was eager to tell Tang Yumeng. To tell her about Bai Yifan's conspiracy.

After calming down, Lin Chuan suddenly took a deep breath.

It seemed as if all this suddenly didn't seem important anymore. Maybe it would be best not to tell Tang Yumeng about this. Because Tang Yumeng once told him that Bai Yifan was her best friend and had helped her in the past. If she were to be told this time, she might lose this friend. Yet, this friend had gained Tang Yumeng's trust through deceit. Lin Chuan felt a surge of anger again and suddenly changed his mind, wanting to reveal everything to Tang Yumeng.

Lin Chuan was thus torn, constantly anxious and irritable.

"Lin Chuan, what's wrong?" Li Minghua asked curiously.

"It's nothing." Lin Chuan shook his head.

Li Minghua chuckled and said, "Your worries are written all over your face. Come on, what happened?"

"Just some trivial matters," Lin Chuan smiled and said, "By the way, those two guys didn't bully you, did they?"

"No," Li Minghua shook her head, then said, "Why would they bully me? They trust me a lot now. But, they also don't plan to deal with you for the time being. They seem a bit scared of you now."

"That's good," Lin Chuan nodded and said, "As long as they don't cause trouble, we can get along just fine. At least, I won't provoke them first."

"Hehe," Li Minghua chuckled.

Li Minghua suddenly felt that she and Lin Chuan didn't have much in common anymore, their circle of conversation was shrinking. Their discussions no longer synced. Li Minghua stayed with Lin Chuan for a while then Song Wen called, "Li Minghua, come over and take my turn. Hurry up. I've got to go drive."

"Coming!" Li Minghua nodded eagerly.

After that, Li Minghua dashed towards the other person, took over Song Wen's place, and started playing.

Watching Li Minghua's retreating figure, Lin Chuan felt as though Li Minghua was getting further and further away from him, even becoming somewhat blurry.

"Sigh..." Lin Chuan heaved a sigh.

After much thought, Lin Chuan still decided to temporarily conceal the truth. He hadn't figured out how to tell her yet. If Bai Yifan was indeed an important friend to Tang Yumeng, then perhaps he shouldn't let Tang Yumeng lose this friend.

Lin Chuan remained in the lounge, staying there until it was time to leave work in the afternoon.

Just as it was almost time to get off work, Tang Yumeng came back from outside looking a bit tired. Lin Chuan followed Tang Yumeng to her office.

"Lin Chuan, what's... what's wrong?" Tang Yumeng looked at Lin Chuan curiously and smiled, "Do you have something you want to tell me?"

"Yumeng, I have a very serious question to ask you," Lin Chuan said solemnly to Tang Yumeng.

"Go ahead," Tang Yumeng nodded.

"Sis, what kind of person is Bai Yifan to you?" Lin Chuan asked with a serious look at Tang Yumeng.

Tang Yumeng smiled and replied, "Is that important?"

"Of course!" Lin Chuan nodded seriously and said, "This is very important to me."

"Silly, Bai Yifan is of course an important person to me," Tang Yumeng smiled as she held Lin Chuan's hand, "However, no matter how important he is, he's not as important to me as you are. He's just a very important friend in my life. But you, you are the most important man in my life. Understand?"

"I understand," Lin Chuan nodded firmly and said, "Because I am your man, so I can't make you sad, I can't let you be upset."

"Lin Chuan, what's wrong?" Tang Yumeng asked with confusion.

"Nothing!" Lin Chuan shook his head and said, "Sis, let's go for dinner together. It's on me."

"Sure," Tang Yumeng nodded and said, "I know of a French restaurant with quite a good taste. Let's go, I've been busy all day and I'm really hungry."

Tang Yumeng didn't ask a single question about Lin Chuan's whereabouts that day. Because she didn't care whether Lin Chuan was at his post, what she cared about was that Lin Chuan cared about her. What mattered to her was that Lin Chuan was by her side at all times. As long as Lin Chuan was safe, nothing else mattered.

And in Lin Chuan's mind, his decision became even firmer especially after Tang Yumeng told him that he was the most important man in her life. He couldn't let Tang Yumeng be sad. Moreover, Tang Yumeng had also admitted that Bai Yifan was the most important friend in her heart. A person would be very sad and upset if they lost their most important friend. So, he couldn't tell Tang Yumeng about this matter for the time being.

The French restaurant had beautiful music, and the waiters were international students. Even the ingredients were air shipped from France. It was because of this that the consumption in the restaurant was quite expensive. It was acceptable to indulge and enjoy the life of a petit bourgeois occasionally, but if one were to come every day, their wallet would surely suffer.

[Five chapters first, a big release at noon.]

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