"Knock knock."

Xiao Song gently knocked on the door.

After a while, the sound of the door opening echoed.

Once the door was opened, a strong smell of alcohol wafted out.

Wu Qiangwei's body swayed a bit, her face was flushed red, her eyes were somewhat hazy yet exceptionally bright, her long hair over her shoulders was somewhat disheveled, making her appear less composed than usual, but instead more womanly.

"You're here."

Wu Qiangwei tried to lift her spirits, turned around and walked towards the living room.

Xiao Song followed her, looking at the scattered beer cans on the coffee table, 1234... how much had she drunk?

He rarely saw Wu Qiangwei drink, so he didn't have a direct impression of her drinking capacity.

Unexpectedly, she could drink quite a bit.

Wu Qiangwei placed a pack of beer in front of him: "Drink."

Xiao Song shook his head: "Secretary, why did you call me here?"

"To drink."

"Not drinking."

"If you don't drink, I won't talk." Wu Qiangwei seemed a bit defiant.

Xiao Song stood up: "Then I'll head back first. Secretary, contact me when you sober up."

"Stop!"

Wu Qiangwei said angrily: "Xiao Song, do you have issues with me?"

"Secretary misunderstood."

"I didn't misunderstand!"

"I know you think I've had someone monitor you..."

Xiao Song retorted: "Isn't that so?"

"No!"

Wu Qiangwei was very emotional: "I didn't have anyone monitor you!"

"Oh, you say you didn't, then you didn't."

"You don't trust me!"

His reaction made Wu Qiangwei even more emotional.

She grabbed a phone, found a number, and shoved the phone into his hand: "Call him."

Xiao Song looked down, saw the contact labeled "Uncle Hong."

He returned the phone: "Secretary, rest early."

"Xiao Song!"

Wu Qiangwei was about to go crazy, she held the phone in front of him: "Call him!"

"You said it didn't happen, then it didn't. I believe you, get some sleep."

"You don't trust me!" Wu Qiangwei was close to tears, nowhere near her usual calm composure, like a misunderstood little girl trying hard to explain herself, but the other party simply wouldn't listen.

She dialed Uncle Hong's number.

The phone quickly connected: "Uncle Hong, where are you?"

"Fengmen Building."

"Come over, come here now, Xiao Song doesn't believe me."

"..." Uncle Hong was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Is he next to you?"

"Yes, I explained to him but he doesn't believe me, he suspects me..."

"Xiao Song, pick up the phone."

Uncle Hong's voice came through the phone.

When Xiao Song first heard this voice, it felt very familiar.

But couldn't recall for a moment.

He glanced at the nearly crying Wu Qiangwei, took the phone: "This is Xiao Song."

Uncle Hong said: "We've met. Do you remember?"

"Old Mountain."

He mentioned a keyword.

Xiao Song's mind instantly had memories.

Uncle Hong said: "When you were being hunted down, Zheng Bihui suppressed the police forces, preventing them from sending people. The girl wanted to dispatch a helicopter but was targeted by Zheng Bihui too. In the end, two helicopters were rented from the tourism bureau."

"Before all this, the girl found me, hoping I could go to the Old Mountain to save you."

"These things, the girl likely didn't tell you, right?"

Indeed, she hadn't mentioned.

She only said the helicopter was helped by Liu Lanzi.

But didn't say how worried she was about Xiao Song.

Even though Xiao Song managed to leave Old Mountain safely by his own skill.

But Wu Qiangwei's worry and concern, and the effort she put in, were actually present.

Uncle Hong asked: "You suspect the girl monitored you?"

Xiao Song remained silent.

"Don't overthink. You aren't even worthy of us following and monitoring."

"What the girl asked me to investigate was the Old City renovation project. It has nothing to do with you."

"I just happened to run into you discussing things with someone at the noodle shop while I was having noodles. Just a coincidence."

"You're a man, if you're dissatisfied, just say it outright instead of keeping it bottled up like a woman. To think you used to be a soldier."

"..."

"I came to Lingjiang to protect the girl. So, don't read too much into it. You aren't worthy of us following and monitoring."

"Now, is there anything else you want to know?"

"No more..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Once the call hangs up, apologize to her, okay?"

"Why?" Xiao Song was unconvinced.

"Is the girl drinking?"

"Yes."

"Why is she drinking?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? Ha."

Uncle Hong laughed meaningfully: "Whether you apologize or not is up to you. Since the misunderstanding is cleared up, don't dwell on it anymore."

"Okay."

"Hanging up."

Xiao Song put down the phone.

Wu Qiangwei's eyes were misty with tears, about to bite through her lips.

Xiao Song, feeling a bit sorry, took the beer can out of her hand.

"Hasn't the secretary taken a shower yet?"

"You..."

"Go take a shower, then rest early."

"Xiao Song..."

"Uncle Hong already explained, it was my misunderstanding."

The tension in Wu Qiangwei's eyes vanished suddenly.

She pulled out a crumpled resignation letter from her jacket pocket: "Are you still going to resign?"

Looking at the resignation crumpled like this, one could imagine how angry she had been after he left in the morning.

Xiao Song bent down to tidy up the beer cans, packed them, tied up the trash bag: "I'll head back first."

"You're not allowed to leave!"

Wu Qiangwei thought things would settle after Uncle Hong's explanation, yet he was still acting this way.

She lunged forward and fiercely grabbed his hand, even more tightly than in the morning, clutching his sleeve firmly, her nails pressing into her palm nearly losing blood color.

"Secretary..."

"I didn't have anyone monitor you!"

"I know, Uncle Hong already said so."

"Take your resignation back!"

Xiao Song was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Go through the procedure."

"You..." Wu Qiangwei tightly held her lips, for a long while, then suddenly seemed deflated: "Why do you want to resign?"

Xiao Song said: "Since the secretary knows what I want to do, you should know that once I go to Beijing, it will drag you down."

"I understand the secretary's choice and hope the secretary understands me."

Wu Qiangwei lifted her face and questioned: "You resign to avoid dragging me down?"

Xiao Song thought for two seconds, then said: "Yes."

Wu Qiangwei said: "I'm not unwilling to handle it, but there's no better way. Even if the project is paused temporarily, it'll still be demolished later. This kind of reporting doesn't lead to any results. Instead, it's easy to be trapped, don't you understand?"

"I understand."

"Then why do you still act this way?"

"No specific reason."

"Xiao Song!" Wu Qiangwei felt somewhat powerless, the man in front of her seemed utterly unreasonable at this moment.

"For something you know won't change and has no result, to block your own future, is it really worth it?"

Xiao Song shook his head and gently replied: "It's not about being worth it or not, some things don't necessarily require results to be done."

"I just purely, can't stand it."

"You can think it's me being stubborn, being capricious. But I'm very clear myself, from the first day I entered the City Committee, my purpose was to do something substantial, something real."

"After all, I can't only love the hat on my head when I win."

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