0151 160 Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
After Zhou Xiye completed his physical examination, some of the reports came back immediately, while others had to wait until the next day. Not wanting to travel back and forth, Zhou Xiye waited at the hospital and also visited Li Ling. Li Ling was lying in bed, her head and legs wrapped in white gauze, completely immobile and very stiff.
Seeing her like this, and knowing that they had both been in a car accident and were still alive, Zhou Xiye felt a strange sense of shared life and death welling up from the bottom of her heart. She sat down by Li Ling's bedside, glanced at the cup on the cabinet, and took a sip of water. She was a little thirsty and picked up the cup without any particular manner.
A warm current flowed down his throat, and a warm sensation spread through his stomach. Zhou Xiye felt much better and let out a satisfied sigh.
Before she could even take a second sip, a soft voice came from beside her ear, "You actually dared to steal water from the sick person? Isn't that going too far?"
Almost the instant the words left his mouth, Zhou Xiye chuckled and turned to meet Li Ling's eyes. "I thought you were asleep. Aren't you sleepy?"
"I'm sleepy, the anesthesia hasn't worn off yet."
Zhou Xiye was taken aback. "Are you sober now? I thought you were going to talk nonsense."
Li Ling was too weak to joke with Zhou Xiye. With a pale face, she asked seriously, "Don't you find it strange that the official car of the municipal party secretary has run into trouble?"
“It’s strange. As someone in the know, you don’t need to beat around the bush with me like this. This matter is definitely related to what I have,” Zhou Xiye said seriously to Li Ling after taking out his new phone and sending a few messages. “Currently, I’m facing two situations: one is that the investors of Fuxianlou are seeking justice from me, and the other is what I have. The former is not worth mentioning. That person came to cause trouble when I was in Panama. If the people in Kunming wanted to do something to her, they should have done it when I was away. They couldn’t have waited for me to come back.”
Zhou Xiye paused for a moment, "Then only the latter is left. To be honest, even a fool would know that the latter involves more complex interests and people, so..." She leaned closer to Li Ling, "If you want to ask anything, just say it. We are old friends and sisters who have gone through thick and thin together. I won't lie to you."
Li Ling looked into Zhou Xiye's dark, deep eyes. She was very serious, but if Li Ling believed Zhou Xiye, she would be the biggest fool in the world. People who didn't know Zhou Xiye might be deceived by her, but she had known her for twenty years and could see through this trick.
"I want to know, when the car overturned, you told me he was still alive, is that true? Did I hear you wrong?"
Li Ling looked at Zhou Xiye.
Zhou Xiye remained motionless, staring at Li Ling, a smile spreading across his lips. Just as he was about to speak, the door behind him was suddenly pushed open. Li Ling looked back, and Zhou Xiye was a second slower than her, but he didn't turn around; he simply straightened up.
Pan Yun walked up to Zhou Xiye carrying two bags. "Secretary Zhou, these are the fruits and some nutritional supplements you requested."
“Okay, you can put it here,” Zhou Xiye moved aside and placed the things in his hands on the table. “I’ll go out first. Call me if you need anything.”
"good."
Pan Yun walked out, and Zhou Xiye opened the plastic bag and took out an apple and a fruit knife. Although his arm was bandaged, his wrist and fingers were still very flexible. He hooked a trash can with his foot, lowered his head, and peeled the apple with his coat draped over his shoulders.
The only sound in the ward was the sound of apples being peeled. Li Ling stirred slightly. "Why aren't you saying anything? Is it true or false?"
Zhou Xiye carefully peeled the apple. "Of course it's true. Everyone in the higher-ups knows about this. It's not a big deal. He was imprisoned in Qincheng Prison but wasn't sentenced to death. He didn't kill anyone, but he was basically under house arrest... If it were me, I definitely wouldn't just put someone under house arrest like that. I would definitely kill them all. As long as a person is alive, they have a breath left and will surely make a comeback." His tone was calm and indifferent.
Li Ling frowned. "This isn't a big deal? I've never heard of this before."
Zhou Xiye cut up an apple, stuck one on a toothpick, and fed it to Li Ling. Li Ling dodged it, saying, "You still have the appetite?"
"Then what else can we do?" Zhou Xiye ate the apple himself, making a crunching sound in his mouth. After he finished chewing, he said, "Anyway, this matter won't be a secret. I've already told Ling Xingzhi, and the Ling family also wants to cooperate with me."
Hearing Zhou Xiye's words, Li Ling's expression shifted slightly. She tried to sit up, but the movement aggravated her wound, so she lay back down, frowning. Zhou Xiye put down the apple and quickly leaned over to check Li Ling's wound. Thankfully, it was nothing serious. "What happened?"
"Wasn't Ye Lifeng good to you?"
The relaxed smile on Zhou Xiye's face vanished, replaced by a serious expression. "I'm a desperate man now. I'll cooperate with whoever offers the best terms. Before I knew what Ye Rouxin had, I never imagined that a single piece of information could lead to my being silenced. But after I found out, Ye Rouxin, the son of a prime minister, is dead. What about me? My life is even less valuable. Many people want to kill me. I only ask to live, even if it means being placed under house arrest."
"Do you regret it? Ye Rouxin dragged you into this quagmire?"
"Is it meaningful to think about this now? Will it solve the problem?" Zhou Xiye smiled. "Ye Rouxin overestimates me. He thinks I can solve all problems."
"Can your family protect you?" Li Ling asked again.
"It's hard to say. The Ling family has two cunning individuals, one old and one young, neither of whom is easy to deal with. We can only take it one step at a time."
Li Ling took in Zhou Xiye's appearance and suddenly mocked, "It's so satisfying to see you behaving like this now."
“I know you enjoy seeing me make a fool of myself. After all, you were always the princess in high school, and I was your little follower,” Zhou Xiye shrugged. “I thought you had grown up and would understand that life isn’t always smooth sailing. It seems…”
Zhou Xiye put down the fruit knife and apple in his hand, "I'm truly a tiger fallen into the plains, bullied by dogs."
Li Ling closed her eyes. "I understand, you're insulting me."
I heard the sound of a chair leg scraping against the floor, followed by unhurried footsteps, and finally the sound of a door closing.
The ward fell silent. After a long while, Li Ling opened her eyes, reached for the bedside table with her free hand, and groped around until she found a listening device on the back. With a click, she turned it off.
Knowing that Zhou Xiye was in trouble, the municipal party committee sent a new car and a group of plainclothes officers to wait for her downstairs at the hospital. Zhou Xiye went out and looked around. Pan Yun got out of the new car and waved to Zhou Xiye, "Secretary, over here!"
Zhou Xiye walked down the steps to the car and asked, "Can I pay with Alipay or WeChat on buses and subways now?"
Pan Yun nodded.
Where is the nearest subway station?
Pan Yun hesitated for a moment before saying, "There's a subway station right outside the hospital, but it doesn't go to the municipal government compound or your house..."
Zhou Xiye waved his hand, "I can navigate myself. I've been taking the subway lately, so let them follow me."
They're talking about plainclothes officers.
As a result, news spread that Secretary Zhou was taking the subway and bus to and from get off work. Those in the know understood that Zhou Xiye was taking the subway because of the car accident, while those who did not know thought that the municipal party secretary was frugal and simple.
Someone even secretly photographed Zhou Xiye on the subway, and a hashtag about the municipal party secretary taking the subway even appeared on Weibo. The propaganda department saw this and asked Zhou Xiye if he wanted to take action. Zhou Xiye thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry about it, don't interfere."
Zhou Xiye's statement was ignored, and even more people took pictures of her buying breakfast at a breakfast stall, eating breakfast, and taking the subway to work. This kind of style of the Party Secretary of Kunming City is very popular and has won him a lot of goodwill.
But the other officials were in a difficult position. They knew that Zhou Xiye was like someone who had been bitten by a snake once and was now afraid of a rope for ten years, but they were not like that.
With public scrutiny added to the pressure, they had to lower their profile, even resorting to using small electric Wuling vans for transportation. The Kunming municipal government's actions became notorious, but among the many leaders who followed suit, only Ling Xingzhi remained defiant and went his own way.
As he sat in his car, he almost burst out laughing when he saw the People's Daily praising the Kunming Municipal Party Committee. He tossed the newspaper aside; half a month had passed since the car accident, two weeks, and the cooperation with Zhou Xiye was still not finalized. Things were developing in the direction he had predicted—Zhou Xiye was still digging a pit for him.
Does Zhou Xiye show any inclination to cooperate? Yes, but not enough to completely sway her to his side. Ling Xingzhi was somewhat irritated. He didn't want to pressure Zhou Xiye anymore, but this time he couldn't do whatever he wanted.
Ling Qingshan's implication was that this news was related to the Emperor.
If Ling Xingzhi doesn't act first and seize the person, Zhou Xiye will face more than just the Ling family father and son. In any case, the situation is complicated.
He sighed, leaned back in his chair, and tapped his fingers on his leg.
"Mayor, the Party Secretary is ahead."
Ling Xingzhi opened his eyes again, turned his head and saw Zhou Xiye walking by the roadside carrying a briefcase. "Stop the car."
The car window slowly rolled down, and Ling Xingzhi smiled slightly, "Secretary Zhou!"
Zhou Xiye paused, hearing someone call her name. She turned her head and saw Ling Xingzhi.
"Secretary Zhou, are you walking to work?"
Zhou Xiye nodded and moved closer. He could hear Ling Xingzhi's voice, but he didn't go to the car.
"What's wrong, Mayor Ling?"
"The municipal party committee compound is just ahead. Would you like to get in the car? I'll give you a ride."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xiye shook his head with a polite smile, "No need, I appreciate your kind offer. Walking to work is a form of exercise. I sit in the office every day, and the evenings are filled with either fish or meat at business dinners. I'm worried about my blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol."
Ling Xingzhi didn't insist. "Then I'll go now. It's almost time for work. Goodbye."
The car started smoothly, and Ling Xingzhi rolled up the window, his smile gone. Once in the office, Li Qingshan laid out the documents Ling Xingzhi needed to review. Ling Xingzhi glanced at them, then looked at Li Qingshan, "What do you think the chances are of her cooperating with us?"
Li Qingshan knew who he was talking about, of course. "Li Ling is her classmate, and the two have a good relationship. Besides, Li Ling was sent by Ye Lifeng..."
"Why isn't the Pei family showing up?" Ling Xingzhi suddenly asked, then laughed, a laugh tinged with self-deprecation. "They don't want to get involved in this. Zhou Xiye got into trouble, and Pei Zhiyu didn't come looking for him either. Something must have happened between them."
Li Qingshan looked at Ling Xingzhi and said, "In the face of major events, the Pei family always prioritizes self-preservation."
“Yes,” Ling Xingzhi sighed, then changed the subject, “Unfortunately, it’s not easy to deal with her now; she knows me too well.”
That's true. The current confrontation between the two is not only about ruthlessness in their methods, but also a psychological battle.
But Xingzhi also understands Zhou Xiye, and he needs to think carefully about what he would do if he were Zhou Xiye.
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