"Director Zhou."
In the office, Secretary Zhang returned.
Zhou De had also arrived not long ago. Upon seeing Secretary Zhang, the first thing he did was ask about everything concerning Qin Ning today.
"Director Zhou, how should we handle Du Yu's situation? His uncle is Du Mingcheng, after all. Should we..."
Before Secretary Zhang could finish, Zhou De waved his hand directly. "Someone is already dealing with this matter. It's not our place to intervene."
As soon as he said this, Secretary Zhang was greatly shocked.
It wasn't their place to intervene.
Not that they didn't need to intervene!
The difference in meaning between these two phrases was like heaven and earth.
"If nothing unexpected happens, Du Yu and Du Mingcheng are completely done for this time," Zhou De chuckled.
Secretary Zhang found it utterly unbelievable.
Du Yu was insignificant, just a district deputy director, but his uncle Du Mingcheng was a division chief after all. Even if Director Zhou wanted to touch him, he would need to find a suitable reason.
But now, just because of the siblings Qin Ning and Qin Fei, was Du Mingcheng, who had been deeply rooted in Liu City for so many years, going to inexplicably fall from power?
Just how much power did they have?
"In the future, I might have to trouble you to keep a closer eye on Qin Ning's side. But remember, it is not surveillance. And when you come into contact with him, no matter what requests he makes, you must satisfy them unconditionally. It must be unconditional! Do you understand what I mean?" Zhou De said with a serious face.
"Yes, Director Zhou. I understand," Secretary Zhang nodded solemnly.
...
The old district in the north of the city.
At the rented apartment.
Qin Fei drove the car back downstairs.
The brother and sister had just gotten out of the car when they saw two people stepping out of a luxury car parked opposite them.
It was Lin Lan, accompanied by her son, Zhou Ping'an.
"Xiao Ning, Xiao Fei, you are back," Lin Lan stepped forward to greet them.
"Aunt Lin."
Qin Fei smiled and nodded, then looked at Zhou Ping'an beside her. "This must be Brother Ping'an, right?"
"Hello, Xiao Fei. My name is Zhou Ping'an."
Zhou Ping'an greeted her very gentlemanly, then looked at Qin Ning and said earnestly, "You must be Brother Qin Ning, right? My mom told me everything. Thank you for saving me in the hospital."
Qin Ning just nodded slightly as a greeting, and then said, "Since you are here, let's go upstairs and have a meal together."
"I wouldn't dare trouble Brother Ning. Today, my mom and I came mainly to express our gratitude. You have to let us treat you and Xiao Fei to a meal," Zhou Ping'an said.
Qin Ning didn't speak, but instead looked at Qin Fei.
"Then let's go out to eat, just treat it as a celebration," Qin Fei spoke up. It just so happened that she bought a new car today, so it was a good time to go out for a nice meal.
"Alright, I will make the arrangements."
After Zhou Ping'an finished speaking, he immediately took out his phone and made a call.
Two minutes later, he hung up the phone. "I have booked a table at the hotel. Brother Ning, Xiao Fei, how about we all take my car? Or I can lead the way, and you can drive behind me?"
"Just lead the way," Qin Fei said.
Soon, the two cars started and drove off into the distance.
Inside one of the highest-end hotels in Liu City.
About ten minutes later, Qin Ning's group of four arrived.
In the first-floor lobby, the hotel manager, who had been waiting there for a long time, hurried over with a smile upon seeing Zhou Ping'an, and personally led them to the pre-arranged VIP private room.
"Xiao Ning, Xiao Fei, take a look at what you want to eat. Just order whatever you like, no need to be polite with your aunt."
Inside the private room, Aunt Lin handed the menu to the siblings.
"I am fine with anything. Xiao Fei, you see what you want to eat," Qin Ning smiled.
"Okay."
Qin Fei nodded and carefully looked at the menu. Then, she frowned slightly. "It seems a bit expensive..."
"It is fine, order what you like. Aunt Lin is treating us anyway," Qin Ning said.
"That is right, Xiao Fei. Don't be polite with me. Just eat as much as you want," Lin Lan also said with a smile.
"Alright then, I want this, this, and this..."
Qin Fei ordered five dishes in one breath, all of which were not very expensive.
Zhou Ping'an knew she was probably used to being modest, so he directly said to the waiter beside him, "Serve one portion of all your specialty dishes."
Hearing this, Qin Fei clicked her tongue slightly. She had seen the prices of those dishes. If they ordered one of each, this meal would probably cost at least tens of thousands of yuan.
She originally wanted to say something, but considering that Zhou Ping'an and Aunt Lin were not short of this bit of money, she simply remained silent.
While waiting for the food to be served, Qin Fei chatted idly with Lin Lan and Zhou Ping'an, while Qin Ning sat quietly on the side, resting with his eyes closed.
"Young Master Zhou, it really is you. I saw you from a distance just now and thought I had recognized the wrong person."
At that moment, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open, and a young man about the same age as Zhou Ping'an walked in.
"Aunt Lin is here too." Seeing Lin Lan sitting next to Zhou Ping'an, the young man paused for a moment and quickly greeted her.
Lin Lan frowned slightly but didn't say anything. She just nodded gently and then looked at Zhou Ping'an, implying that he should handle it.
Zhou Ping'an understood and stood up directly, saying to the young man, "Young Master Xia, I have important guests to entertain today. Let's get together next time."
Xia Fei.
This was the eldest son of the Xia family.
The Xia family was the richest family in Liu City, with a scale nearly twice as large as Lin Lan's Lanmeng Group.
Zhou Ping'an and Xia Fei could be considered friends who often hung out together.
This hotel was one of the Xia family's properties, and it just so happened that Xia Fei was here today.
"Important guests?"
Hearing Zhou Ping'an's words, Xia Fei paused, and his gaze couldn't help but size up Qin Ning and Qin Fei. Then he smiled, "Since they are friends, why not introduce me as well?"
"The identities of these two friends of mine are a bit special, so I won't introduce them to you."
As Zhou Ping'an spoke, he pushed Xia Fei out of the private room and kept blinking at him to drop a hint.
But Xia Fei was not pleased. He frowned and snorted coldly, "What kind of status do your friends have? Am I not worthy of knowing them?"
Zhou Ping'an knew things were going south. Why was this guy so oblivious?
"Hurry up and get out!"
His face darkened as he forcefully pulled Xia Fei outside the private room and closed the door.
"Young Master Zhou, what is the meaning of this?"
In the corridor outside the door, Xia Fei also got angry.
"Young Master Xia, don't think I wasn't giving you face just now. If I hadn't pulled you out, you would have really caused a massive disaster today," Zhou Ping'an said with a serious face.
"Explain yourself clearly. What exactly is their background? Are they really that scary?"
Xia Fei frowned, seeing that Zhou Ping'an didn't seem to be joking. "I am the son of the richest family in Liu City, after all. Could they eat me alive or something?"
"Actually, I don't know much either. I can't explain it clearly to you, and you should ask fewer questions."
Zhou Ping'an had only heard a brief mention from Zhou De and did not know the full details. He only knew that his father had explicitly warned him never to show the slightest disrespect to Qin Ning.
Right at that moment, the phone in his pocket rang.
Zhou Ping'an took it out and saw it was Zhou De calling. He quickly answered, Hello, Dad.
When you were discharged from the hospital this morning, you said you were going to treat Qin Ning to a meal. Have you met up with him yet? Zhou De's voice came from the other end of the line.
Yes, Dad. We are at the hotel right now. What is wrong? Are you coming too? Zhou Ping'an asked, puzzled.
Send me the location. Elder Zeng is here, and he wants to meet Qin Ning, Zhou De said in a serious tone.
Elder Zeng?
Zhou Ping'an froze, unable to process the name for a moment.
The one from the capital, Zhou De added.
And with just that simple sentence, Zhou Ping'an was instantly left standing there, completely dumbfounded.
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
