Free Web NovelChapter 61: Chapter 61: Neither Bought nor Bullied
An ocean of flowers stretched wildly across the mountains and fields. Bees dove headfirst into blossoms, BUZZING, as butterflies flapped their wings. A few small birds darted over the flowers, their crisp chirps carried away on the wind.
Jiang Li let herself sink into the dream.
RING RING RING...
An ill-timed ringtone dragged her from her sleep. She grabbed the phone beside her, glanced at the contact name, and answered, "Hello, Officer Ji."
"Jiang Li, bad news. Something’s happened."
The call jolted Jiang Li awake. She glanced at the time—ten o’clock. "Officer Ji, what’s happened?"
"Xiao Zhang said the Deputy Chief was completely wasted last night, so he got him a room at a nearby hotel.
But when he went to check on him this morning, he saw a crowd blocking the doorway. That’s when he knew something had gone terribly wrong."
As she listened, Jiang Li checked her phone. The "Deputy Chief Scandal" was already trending. The photos were cleverly staged; it really did look like Xu Yongkang.
Jiang Li recalled Xu Yongkang’s appearance from last night. ’He was framed?’
"Yeah. The decision on who would get the Chief position was supposed to come down in a month. Now that this has happened, his chances are probably shot."
Hearing Ji Qinghe’s words, Jiang Li’s mind immediately jumped to Wang Xiangming. If Xu Yongkang went down, the Chief’s position would be his. It was impossible not to be suspicious.
"Jiang Li, the Deputy Chief wants to see you. He wants to ask for your help... specifically, he wants to know if you’ve dreamed anything."
Ji Qinghe glanced back at Xu Yongkang, who was throwing a tantrum, then moved to a corner and lowered her voice. "Jiang Li, if you don’t want to come, you don’t have to."
’We can’t afford to offend either of them, but Jiang Li has nothing to do with this. Let them tear each other apart.’
Jiang Li took in Ji Qinghe’s words. "Okay, I won’t come, then. Actually, I was going to tell you today anyway—I need to go out of town for a few days."
"Oh? Really? Well, okay. It’ll be good for you to get away and clear your head," Ji Qinghe said, surprised for a moment.
"Yeah."
Jiang Li hung up and sat on the edge of her bed, spacing out for a moment. ’Xu Yongkang, Wang Xiangming... neither of them seem like good people.’
Shaking off her thoughts, she stood up and began to pack a small bag.
After hanging up, Ji Qinghe turned and went back inside. "Deputy Chief, Jiang Li says she’s already left C City. She also said she hasn’t dreamed of anything."
Xu Yongkang’s expression froze. He looked up at Ji Qinghe. "Right. I understand. You’re dismissed."
As soon as Ji Qinghe was gone, a different look came into Xu Yongkang’s eyes. Zhang Jianbin, standing nearby, hurried over.
"Deputy Chief, Jiang Li is obviously trying to stay out of this. There’s only one month left..."
Xu Yongkang raised a hand, cutting him off.
"It’s fine. Let’s just get this story suppressed first."
Zhang Jianbin nodded and left to handle it.
Half an hour later, a clarification was posted. Apparently, the front desk had mixed up the room number. The person in the room wasn’t Xu Yongkang, just someone with a similar build. The actual parties involved even came forward to clarify they were a married couple, making everything perfectly legitimate.
Just like that, the rumors fell apart.
Wang Xiangming frowned as he listened to Zou Zhiye’s report. "What do you think Xu Yongkang was playing at with this whole charade?"
Zou Zhiye mulled it over for a few seconds. "To win over Jiang Li? If he uses her to crack a few more cases, wouldn’t that make his promotion a sure thing?"
Wang Xiangming raised an eyebrow, sipped his tea, and sneered, "That Xu Yongkang is certainly full of schemes."
’To think he’d play the victim to gain Jiang Li’s sympathy and help. A pity she didn’t fall for it.’
"Hahaha, I bet Xu Yongkang never thought Jiang Li wouldn’t buy it." Thinking of Jiang Li, Zou Zhiye’s brow furrowed. ’She wasn’t even tempted by a million yuan.’
"Then doesn’t that mean we can’t win her over either?"
Wang Xiangming frowned at Zou Zhiye’s words. ’This Jiang Li looks so young, but she’s unexpectedly cautious.’
"There’s still a month, isn’t there? No need to rush," Wang Xiangming said, glancing outside. "Oh, and keep a close eye on Jiang Li."
Zou Zhiye nodded and turned to leave.
It was already evening when Zhou Tiancheng heard about the incident from Ji Qinghe. By then, Jiang Li was long gone.
Zhou Tiancheng looked at Ji Qinghe. "The moment the scandal broke, his first instinct wasn’t to issue a clarification, but to find Jiang Li."
Ji Qinghe’s breath caught in her throat, a chill creeping up her spine. "You mean they’ve *both* targeted Jiang Li? Thank God... thank God she didn’t come."
Ji Qinghe patted her chest, the fear still palpable. If Jiang Li had come, she would have walked right into a trap, becoming a pawn in their game.
"Qinghe, the Deputy Chief and the Political Commissar aren’t going to let this rest. Here’s what we’ll do..."
Zhou Tiancheng whispered his plan in her ear. Ji Qinghe nodded repeatedly as she listened. "Okay, we’ll do exactly what you said."
"Political Commissar, Jiang Li left first thing in the morning. We can’t track her destination."
Wang Xiangming’s brow furrowed. "How could you not be able to track her?"
Zou Zhiye glanced at him and said in a low voice, "She might have... taken an unlicensed taxi."
"*SPUTTER, COUGH COUGH COUGH!*" Wang Xiangming choked on his water. "She managed to find an unlicensed taxi?"
"Jiang Li is from the countryside," Zou Zhiye reminded him. "Besides, there are tons of them hanging around the bus station."
"Of course, there’s always the chance she was abducted by one of them."
Hearing this, Wang Xiangming’s lips curled into a smile. That was fine by him. Now neither he nor Xu Yongkang could get help from Jiang Li.
’A person as uncanny as her really shouldn’t exist anyway.’
When Xu Yongkang learned that Jiang Li had left, the rage he’d been suppressing all day finally exploded. He swept everything off his desk in one violent motion.
"Damn it! Isn’t Jiang Li supposed to be all friendly with Ji Qinghe and Zhou Tiancheng?
I even deliberately lured Wang Xiangming over last night, just to show her that I’m not like him, pulling strings behind the scenes!
Then when this happened first thing in the morning, she was supposed to realize Wang Xiangming had framed me for the Chief’s position and take pity on me..."
Xu Yongkang swayed on his feet, gritting his teeth. ’Damn it! Where did the plan go wrong?’
Standing to the side, Zhang Jianbin silently kept his head down. Truthfully, he couldn’t figure it out either. Based on their observations, Jiang Li was someone with an overwhelming sense of justice. That was the whole reason they’d come up with this plan.
And yet, she had just left.
Meanwhile, in the unlicensed taxi, Jiang Li hugged her bag and watched the scenery go by. ’Thinking about it, Xu Yongkang is almost pitiful,’ she mused. ’He worked so hard to climb to that position, only for a dark horse to appear out of nowhere.’
She shook her head. ’I’m just an ordinary person. They’re a deputy chief and a political commissar. It’s not my place to get mixed up in their affairs.’
"Where you headed, miss?"
The middle-aged woman sitting next to her, arms crossed, had been staring at her for the entire ride.
Jiang Li pressed her lips together and didn’t reply.
"Oh, so she’s a mute. Wonder if she can even hear," the woman next to her muttered, glancing at the young woman.
’She’s too pretty. Doesn’t look like she’s from around here.’
The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror and said in a thick local accent, "There’s water beside ya. Help yourself if you’re thirsty."
The other passengers’ eyes darted toward Jiang Li. Seeing no reaction, they became convinced she was mute.
"Hey." The woman beside her grabbed a bottle of water, nudged her arm with it, and held it out to her.
Jiang Li looked down at the mineral water bottle being offered to her, its plastic wrapper already torn open.
