Du Yuesheng said with a face full of agony, "Liu Zhizhong, isn't your demand too excessive? Your former leader has fallen from grace, and you've escaped impact, which is fortunate enough. Being demoted at the same level is already not bad, right? Yet you're still not satisfied... Don't you understand the rules?"

"Yeah, I can't be satisfied. Who knows when someone will dig up my past and mess with me again? Hehe..."

"Do you fucking not know? After studying at the Provincial Party School for six months and graduating, you're guaranteed a promotion. You fucking... You've been at this current rank for only a few days, and in half a year, you expect to rise to deputy director level? Where do you find such a swift promotion to deputy director?"

"Ah~~~~" Liu Zhizhong dragged out in an official tone, shaking his head, "How come there's none? Aren't I a case in point? With Secretary Du and the Zhang Family's support, haven't I become one? After I return, I've got it all figured out. Isn't Zhang Hongyang the head of the Southern District? I can be the executive deputy head of the Jiangdong District, ranking above my wife! Hehe..."

A shameless grin managed to enrage Du Yuesheng to the point of exploding.

This damned cur was squeezing my balls to death!

He had everything figured out, from further studies to promotional targets.

Looking at Liu Zhizhong, Du Yuesheng shook his head repeatedly, his face full of bitterness, not knowing what to say.

Liu Zhizhong chuckled, offering a cigarette, "Let's just arrange it like this, how about that?"

Holding the cigarette, Du Yuesheng felt extremely troubled and pained, "Fine, I agree. But you son of a bitch, do you have any idea how much pressure this puts on me?"

Liu Zhizhong took a puff of smoke, "Then I don't know, know but pretend not to, don't know and don't want to know. It's all Secretary Du's business, after all!"

"You..."

Du Yuesheng was so furious he could hardly catch his breath, but he bit back his rage, "I agreed to it, okay? Hurry up and delete all that blackmail material!"

"Go on... Secretary Du, do you think I'm a three-year-old? Just because you verbally agreed, should I delete it? What if you go back on your word?"

Du Yuesheng said viciously, "I'm Du Yuesheng, the acting Mayor of Yangzhou City, and soon to be official. Do you think I'd go back on my word?"

"Cut~~~~~"

Liu Zhizhong rolled a meaningful eye, spreading his hands, "As they say, oral agreements hold no weight; I dare not act recklessly. You might want to tear me apart now, let alone change your mind, right?"

"Damn it..."

Du Yuesheng, utterly outplayed, nodded his head, "Alright, alright, I'll write you a promissory note, is that okay now?"

"Ah, there's no need for such trouble! Secretary Du, I need to see actual things. Like the transfer orders for Luo Yanling and my wife, my admission notice, and only when I've taken up the position of Jiangdong's executive deputy head does this whole thing end!"

"You... you..." Du Yuesheng was on the verge of a breakdown, "So you son of a bitch are going to drag me along for half a year?"

"What else?"

"Your mother..."

Left speechless, Du Yuesheng didn't know what to say anymore.

Finally, he stared blankly at Liu Zhizhong, who smiled back at him composedly.

After holding back for a long time, Du Yuesheng finally spat out, "You son of a bitch, such shamelessness. If there's nothing else, get the hell out!"

"Oh, hehe... It's not shamelessness, Secretary Du, just business. Oh yeah, I told Secretary Zhang you'd be angry, and that I should cheer you up, so please, act a bit happier today!"

"I... Fuck your grandmother!"

Du Yuesheng, manipulated into misery, exploded with swear words, wracked with pain.

"Eh? You're not happy, you're not happy..."

Du Yuesheng: "..."

Fortunately, his heart was still in good shape, or else this bastard would have given him a heart attack.

Liu Zhizhong, however, smirked shamelessly, stood up, and said, "Secretary Du, I'm off to work. Let me know if you need any paperwork. Once the deal is done, I'm still your lackey! Additionally, the issues between me and Zhang Hongyang involve the younger generation, no need for your older generation to interfere. If he wants to fight with me, I'll definitely face it head-on, right? Also, our deal is top secret, right? And don't think about stealing any recordings from me, I've uploaded them to the cloud. Not to mention, if anything happens to me, I really have a friend who would release it online. Consider that, will you?"

Having said his peace, Liu Zhizhong turned and left with a tall, strong, and arrogant shadow.

For years, in the Mayor's office in Yangzhou City, he was the most audacious secretary, without a doubt!

Du Yuesheng truly felt like crying but had no tears; he was completely devastated.

Damn it, he had hoped to take down Ma Xudong and bask in glory for a few years, to control the entirety of Yangzhou, commanding the elements.

But damn it, before even the 'acting' part of his Mayor title had been removed, this little shit had him by the balls.

Indeed, he had considered dealing with Liu Zhizhong underhandedly, to completely obliterate the recordings, but he hadn't anticipated the little bastard had a backup plan, leaving him no room to maneuver, only to be controlled by others, sigh...

What else could he do?

He could only do as Liu Zhizhong said!