"Sure, sure, Secretary Cao, you've been working hard too. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."

"No, I have something to—"

Beep—perfect, hung up again!

Cao Guoxiang took a deep breath and swallowed his frustration. "Transfer the call to the office of the Sanwei Town Party Secretary."

As luck would have it, Cai Rongguang was in the middle of a conversation with Zhang Yingci and couldn’t take the call at all. "Sir, as soon as Secretary Cai returns, I’ll have him call you back immediately!"

Cao Guoxiang muttered under his breath, "This is outright rebellion!"

Unaware of the storm awaiting him, Cai Rongguang was busy comforting his beloved. "Didn’t we already finalize the divorce? What are you still worried about?"

Ever since Nan Sheng’s threats, the two hadn’t been idle. Zhang Yingci had promptly filed for divorce from her husband. After months of back-and-forth and Cai Rongguang shelling out a considerable sum, the matter was finally settled.

However, the whole affair had been kept under wraps, with only a handful of people in the know.

"I’m just afraid Director Nan might think I’m gloating over her misfortune. You know she’s with the Discipline Inspection Commission now and has dirt on us."

"Don’t worry. I’ll go explain things to Director Nan later. As long as we don’t provoke her, she won’t come after us. But have you reconsidered the marriage proposal?"

After all these years together, Cai Rongguang had developed genuine feelings for Zhang Yingci. While marriage might invite some gossip, it was still better than sneaking around.

"Let’s drop it, Lao Cai. My child is still young. Things are fine as they are now."

Zhang Yingci refused outright. Though Cai Rongguang treated her well, who knew how things might change after marriage? Maintaining the status quo was her safety net.

As soon as Cai Rongguang stepped out of the archives, his assistant was already waiting outside, looking anxious. "Secretary, the county office called. They want you to call back immediately!"

"Did they say what it’s about?"

"No, but from Secretary Cao’s tone, he didn’t sound too happy."

Sure enough, when Cai Rongguang returned the call, Cao Guoxiang tore into him. In the end, all the higher-up wanted was for him to pass a message to Nan Sheng.

"Director Nan will be working in Sanwei Town for the time being. You’re to assist her with whatever she needs. Also, tell her that if she requires any support, I’m at her disposal!"

Cai Rongguang was speechless. Was a scolding really necessary for such a trivial matter?

And why couldn’t Secretary Cao just call Nan Sheng himself? Wouldn’t that show more sincerity?

Fuming, he vented a little when he stopped by the Discipline Inspection Commission office—only to get his answer straight from Nan Sheng.

"Oh? Secretary Cao did call me, but I was in the middle of assigning tasks. Who has time to deal with him?"

Cai Rongguang’s face darkened. So he’d been the punching bag. But there was nothing he could do—he was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

He quickly changed the subject. "The government isn’t too busy right now. If you need extra hands, just say the word. They’re just sitting around anyway."

"Good. I’ve been focusing on selecting Discipline Inspection members for each town. Do me a favor and inform Secretary Cao that we’re transferring authority county-wide starting now.

"Aside from delegating tasks, responsibilities like village security and ideological education will fall under the jurisdiction of town Party secretaries. The Discipline Inspection Commission won’t handle those anymore."

Secretary Cai’s lip twitched. He’d only meant to offer minor assistance, not take on such a massive workload. Desperate to offload the burden, he tried to deflect.

"Director Nan, this is a major decision. Shouldn’t it be announced at a general meeting? Isn’t this a bit hasty?"

Nan Sheng pretended to review documents, avoiding eye contact. "You can hold the meeting if you want. I don’t have time to attend. We’ll revisit this after I’m done with my current workload."

Seeing her impatience, Cai Rongguang quickly excused himself. After all, she was the one calling the shots now—even Cao Guoxiang didn’t dare cross her lightly.

After he left, Su Jie looked puzzled. "Director, we haven’t even informed the Revolutionary Committee about the disbandment yet. Handing over authority now might not go smoothly."

Nan Sheng smirked. "That’s exactly what I want. Let them stir up some chaos—it’ll divert attention."

Su Jie immediately understood.

The town Party secretaries were being used as pawns. The director was ruthless—how many free laborers had she just enlisted?

Once alone, Nan Sheng dropped the act. With nothing urgent to do, she sat at her desk writing a letter home. When the Revolutionary Committee had been in turmoil, her parents had been frantic, terrified she’d be implicated.

Though she’d assured them that as a military spouse, she wouldn’t be dismissed or purged, they’d remained uneasy. They’d probably be thrilled to hear she’d joined the Discipline Inspection leadership.

Sometimes, she marveled at how smoothly her career had progressed.

At lunch in the cafeteria, Su Jie fetched Nan Sheng’s meal first. Cai Rongguang soon joined them, tray in hand.

"Director Nan, I’ve taken care of what you asked."

He was fishing for praise—not for himself, but to ease his lover’s worries.

"Did Secretary Cao hesitate?"

Her little scheme was transparent to anyone with half a brain. If Cai Rongguang saw through it, Cao Guoxiang certainly had.

Cai Rongguang nodded. "Secretary Cao was in the military—he’s got backbone. Besides, consolidating power benefits his control over the county. But he did ask that you leverage your connections if needed."

Cao Guoxiang hadn’t been transferred from the Chengdu military region, so his network wasn’t as robust as Nan Sheng’s. He’d likely guessed her intentions and was willing to play along.

"Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing. Tell Secretary Cao to keep things low-key and buy me more time."

Cai Rongguang nodded, but before he could say more, Nan Sheng shooed him away. "We can’t eat together anymore. We need to avoid suspicion, understand?"

"Us? Suspicion?"

What possible rumors could there be about two people with no connection? Cai Rongguang was baffled—and even if there were, he wouldn’t dare entertain them.

Nan Sheng clarified, "I’m the Discipline Inspection Director now, not the Revolutionary Committee head. When have you ever seen Discipline Inspection members buddying up with other departments? It’d ruin my impartial, clean reputation."

Cai Rongguang gave her a knowing look and promptly moved to another table.

If open interaction was off the table, they’d just go underground. He was familiar with that game.

After lunch, Nan Sheng sent Su Jie to mail her letter. She’d just begun dozing off when a knock interrupted her.

"Director Nan, are you in?"

Recognizing the voice, Nan Sheng ignored it. The knocking didn’t resume, but she’d underestimated the visitor’s persistence—Tian An returned that afternoon.

"Director Nan, Su Jie mentioned you’re swamped, so I came to help. Just give me any task."

Su Jie, who’d been working quietly, nearly choked. How shameless—if he wanted to return, why drag her into it?

She practically swore an oath. "Director, I never said a word! He came back on his own!"

Nan Sheng nearly burst out laughing—this Tian An was really something. If he wanted to come back, why not just say so outright? How awkward to get caught red-handed like that.