Chapter 59

The thought gave him a headache. Xie Wendong tapped his head, deciding to stop thinking about it and just take things as they came—adapt on the fly! Right now, he should go meet the provincial party secretary, the top leader of the province. With that in mind, Xie Wendong picked up the phone again to call Jiang Sen. “Lao Sen, help me get in touch with the provincial party secretary. I need to see him!” “Brother Dong, when? Right now?” “Yes, contact him and see when he’s available. The sooner, the better!” “Okay, Brother Dong, wait for my news. I’ll go see him right away!” “Hmm, good!” Xie Wendong hung up and started walking around the playground, hoping that the secretary wouldn’t disappoint him. “Xie Wendong!” As he walked with his head down, lost in thought, he suddenly heard someone call his name. Turning around, he saw the girl who had talked to him at the disco that day—her name must be Huang Lei—coming toward him with a thermos. Xie Wendong smiled and nodded. “Hello, Classmate Huang Lei!” Huang Lei stepped closer. “Hehe, Xie Wendong, I didn’t expect you to be so polite! I thought people who practiced martial arts would be more straightforward in personality!” Xie Wendong, no longer the shy boy who blushed at a girl’s joke three years ago, replied smoothly, “I’m a straightforward person, but I also know how to be polite!” Under Xie Wendong’s gaze, Huang Lei blushed slightly, her eyes looking flustered. She lowered her head and asked, “Xie Wendong, how long have you been learning Tai Chi? Is it hard? I hope you can teach me when you have time.” Seeing Xie Wendong’s smiling eyes, Huang Lei hurriedly explained, “Don’t… don’t misunderstand. I don’t mean anything else. I just want to learn it so I can defend myself!” “Hehe, I didn’t say I misunderstood!” Xie Wendong smiled at Huang Lei, finding her quite interesting. Hearing his words, Huang Lei lowered her head even further and mumbled, “Can you teach me?” Xie Wendong laughed. “Learning Tai Chi is very hard. It requires perseverance!” He wasn’t joking—learning Tai Chi demanded great determination; rushing it wouldn’t work at all. Without a foundation, it would take a month or two with no results, and few girls could stick with it. Huang Lei said firmly, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely persevere!” Then she changed the subject. “Have you eaten lunch yet?” When Xie Wendong shook his head, Huang Lei’s face turned red with joy. “Great! Wait for me to take my thermos back to the dormitory, and we’ll go eat together!”

Seeing Huang Lei’s smiling face, Xie Wendong was shocked. Thinking to himself that things were going wrong, he quickly said, “I’m sorry, I have something to do later. I must leave the school now. Let’s talk again when I have a chance!” Xie Wendong realized Huang Lei seemed interested in him, but the Gao sisters were already causing him a lot of trouble. If he got involved with a third woman… he didn’t dare think about the consequences—it would definitely be terrible!
Huang Lei nodded disappointedly and asked reluctantly, “So, will you have time tonight?”
“Oh…” Seeing the hopeful look on Huang Lei’s face, Xie Wendong couldn’t bring himself to refuse and hesitated.
Without giving him time to think, Huang Lei said with a smile, “Alright, it’s settled then. I’ll come to see you tonight…” She stopped before finishing her sentence because he saw a beautiful and lovely girl standing under a big tree not far behind him—the same girl who had called Xie Wendong away from the classroom last time.
Although he had already guessed that Xie Wendong and her might have a special relationship, she still gave him a provocative look and said loudly, “It’s settled then! I’ll come to see you tonight!” After saying that, Huang Lei turned and left, humming as she passed by the girl.
That girl was Wen Zi, the new bodyguard Jiang Sen had found for Xie Wendong. Hearing Huang Lei’s humming, Wen Zi just kept smiling.
It was then that Xie Wendong noticed Wen Zi’s presence. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes as he wondered how she knew he was here. Seeing Xie Wendong looking at her, Wen Zi smiled innocently.
Her innocent and lovely appearance hid a cold heart! Others might not be able to see it, but Xie Wendong could see through Wen Zi’s true nature at a glance. He nodded at her and smiled. Under his piercing gaze, Wen Zi’s smile gradually faded, and she was secretly frightened.
Xie Wendong walked out of the school, thinking about things while waiting for Jiang Sen’s call. Wen Zi followed closely behind him.
Finally, Jiang Sen called when it was almost time.
“Brother Dong, it’s done! At 6 p.m., Chen Zhongwen (the Party secretary of the province) will be holding a meeting at ‘Shangri-La’ (a famous five-star hotel in City H). He said he can spare some time to meet you then!”
“Okay, great!” Xie Wendong was very excited. Meeting the highest-ranking leader in the province at night was indeed thrilling. Jiang Sen continued, “Brother Dong, I’ll pick you up at 5:30 p.m. Just wait for me at the entrance of City H University! Also, Brother Dong, it’s not convenient for us to move around now. Should we get two cars here?”
Xie Wendong replied, “Okay, I’ll wait for you at the main entrance. As for the cars, you decide. If you need money, ask Brother Zhang to transfer it over.”

“Okay, Dong Ge!” Xie Wendong hung up the phone in a good mood. Seeing Wen Zi standing about ten meters away, he waved at her. “You’ve been in City H for quite some time now. Have you been to the shopping mall?”
Wen Zi was stunned and shook her head blankly, not understanding what Xie Wendong meant.
“Hehe, come on, let’s go to the mall. You can’t keep wearing the same outfit!” Xie Wendong took Wen Zi’s hand and led her toward the mall across from the school. With a red face, she followed silently, realizing he wasn’t being pretentious, and felt a warm sensation in her heart.
At 5:20 in the evening, Xie Wendong put on the suit Wen Zi had helped him choose that afternoon. After all, he was meeting the top official in the province, so he needed to dress properly. The suit was very stylish and slightly form-fitting, making Xie Wendong appear much taller.
When his roommates saw him, they joked that he was going to meet his girlfriend. To avoid trouble, Xie Wendong simply said, “You’re right!” Then he left the dormitory. Wen Zi was already waiting for him downstairs, also dressed up carefully—with light makeup on her face and a snow-white one-piece dress, along with black ankle boots that gave her a mysterious look, which left Xie Wendong in awe.
The two smiled at each other and walked side by side toward the main entrance of the school.
Jiang Sen and two others had been waiting at the entrance for a long time. As soon as they saw Xie Wendong come out, they rushed up to greet him. They took a taxi to the Shangri-La Hotel.
The interior was indeed luxurious—red carpets covered the floor, the walls sparkled with gold, and more than a dozen large chandeliers illuminated the hall like daylight. Upon entering, Xie Wendong felt as if he were back at Gao Zhen’s house for the first time; it was stunningly luxurious.
Jiang Sen went to the reception desk and booked a luxury room on the fifth floor. Then he handed the key to Xie Wendong and said, “Dong Ge, you go up first. I’ll go find Chen Zhongwen!”
Xie Wendong nodded and took Wen Zi and his two subordinates up to the fifth floor. Once inside the room, the luxurious decoration surprised him again. He asked his subordinates behind him, “How much does a room like this cost per day?”
One of them replied respectfully, “About a thousand to two thousand! Since it’s not the peak tourist season, it’s actually quite cheap. Leaders from various cities who come to the province to report work usually stay here.”
Xie Wendong shook his head inwardly. A thousand to two thousand? That was enough for his father’s monthly salary! Officials treated staying here as nothing special—true to the saying that wealth breeds contempt.

Xie Wendong sat on the sofa for nearly half an hour before Jiang Sen brought Chen Zhongwen, the secretary of the provincial party committee, in. Xie Wendong observed the middle-aged man in his fifties as he entered—the man had dark hair, was slightly bald, and wore black-rimmed glasses that gave him a somewhat conservative appearance, though his small eyes behind the lenses occasionally showed sharp intelligence. Xie Wendong felt that the man was definitely a old fox.

While Xie Wendong was sizing up Chen Zhongwen, Chen Zhongwen was also observing him, with a hint of surprise on his face—this was probably the reaction of everyone who didn’t know Xie Wendong the first time they saw him.

With one sitting and the other standing, the two main figures in the room said nothing, and an invisible pressure built between their gazes. It seemed both were waiting for the other to lose patience, to make them realize that they were the ones in control of the situation. The intense anger made the other four people in the room feel somewhat breathless.

Jiang Sen broke into a light sweat, thinking that this situation wasn’t working! He smiled at Chen Zhongwen and said, “Secretary Chen, please don’t stand. Have a seat!” Then he bent down and extended his hand in a gesture of invitation.

Chen Zhongwen let out a sigh, surprised by the young man’s confidence and the strong presence he exuded—just like when he met central leaders. With that thought, he smiled at Jiang Sen beside him and said, “An old acquaintance—no need for formalities!” Then he walked over to the sofa where Xie Wendong was sitting.

Seeing Chen Zhongwen approaching, Xie Wendong finally stood up and stretched out his hand. “It’s my fault for not greeting Secretary Chen properly. I hope you won’t hold it against me!”

Chen Zhongwen glanced at Xie Wendong’s hand and said deliberately, “Too polite of you. Who are you…?”

“Xie Wendong!” Xie Wendong inwardly sneered. “Secretary Chen must meet so many people every day. How could you possibly remember someone like me?”

Hearing Xie Wendong’s sarcastic words, Jiang Sen shuddered. Chen Zhongwen’s expression changed, but he quickly shook Xie Wendong’s hand and smiled, “Heh, so you’re Xie Wendong! I’ve only heard Jiang mention you before. It’s only now I realize you’re so young! A young hero, indeed! Haha!”

Xie Wendong released his hand and sat down next to Chen Zhongwen on the sofa. “Secretary Chen, you must be very busy with work these days, right?” “Not too bad…”

The two exchanged some polite conversation for a while before Chen Zhongwen brought up the main topic. “Xie Wendong asked Jiang to bring me here—what could be the reason?”