“This is the amendment to the Children and Youth Welfare Act.”

“Of course, I know what this is! The question is, why is it on my desk?”

“This amendment has been sent back and forth between the Legislative Yuan several times. I hope to have it reviewed and passed during this session.”

“Are you kidding me?” The caucus whip sighed, taking a sip of tea to calm down. “You know the party has decided to fully boycott the proceedings, so why are you pushing for an agenda? Especially for such an unimportant bill!”

“Even if we are boycotting, we can’t just ignore every bill, can we? This amendment has been delayed many times already, and the social welfare groups for children and youth are about to lose it.”

“Let them lose it! What does it matter to you? Let the members of the Social Welfare Committee worry about it. After all, it’s not your constituents—why are you so concerned?”

“I want this amendment to be included in this session’s agenda,” Lu Bochen said directly, looking at the caucus whip.

According to the legislative process, if a bill is not placed on the agenda by the Procedure Committee, it won’t even have the chance to be read in the plenary session, let alone be reviewed by the relevant committees or pass the second and third readings.

“Tell me what chips you have to trade?” He couldn’t place this bill on the agenda alone; party support would be needed.

The caucus whip narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “Are you saying you’re willing to trade?”

“Yes.”

“Is this amendment really that important to you?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Because of Tianyu.

Because the leaders of the children and youth social welfare groups had pleaded with Tianyu, and she had entrusted this task to him. So, no matter what, he had to find a way to fulfill his wife’s expectations.

“Is it your wife again?” He remained silent, but the secretary-general had already guessed, widening his eyes in disbelief. “I say, Bochen, aren’t you going a bit too far? Is there anyone as afraid of their wife as you are? Whatever she says, you do it—aren’t you being a bit too obedient?”

“This time, it’s not Tianyu, but my father-in-law. He’s quite concerned about this matter.” Lu Bochen mentioned his father-in-law, knowing that with Yin Shiyu’s influence in politics, even if the party caucus was reluctant, they’d have to give him some face. “I don’t want to disappoint him.”

“Mr. Yin is concerned about this?” The secretary-general, an experienced politician, was no pushover. “I didn’t expect him to care about such trivial matters.”

“He couldn’t stand those people constantly making requests.” Lu Bochen smiled slightly, his clear eyes looking innocent and sincere. “In fact, he’s very disappointed with the current political situation. He’s been saying for a while that he doesn’t want to be involved anymore. The central government has repeatedly asked him to take a position, but he’s ignored them. However, one or two of the heads of these youth groups are old friends of his, so he can’t just ignore them.”

There were two key points in this statement. First, Yin Shiyu’s refusal to take up a central government position demonstrated his loyalty to the current opposition party. Second, it would be rather ungracious for the party not to give him even this small bit of respect.

The party caucus secretary-general clearly understood the implications of these words and let out a few noncommittal laughs. “Since it’s Mr. Yin’s request, we will, of course, try our best to make it happen. But you know, we’re at war right now, so this might not be possible.”

“I understand.” Lu Bochen nodded wisely, then enthusiastically offered a bargaining chip. “By the way, regarding tomorrow’s internal party vote, I think I can secure one or two more votes.”

“You can get more votes?” The secretary-general was delighted, his eyes lighting up. “From where?”

He smiled. “You’ll see when the votes are counted. If I were to reveal their names now, they’d probably beat me up, and we wouldn’t remain friends afterward.”

“That’s true!” The secretary-general laughed. “I won’t ask any more, just make sure to keep an eye on them and make sure the votes are counted tomorrow.”

“No problem.” He made an OK gesture. “And about the ‘National Land Reclamation Act’ draft…”

“There’s no need to mention that.” The secretary-general gave him a warning look, half-smiling. “Young man, it’s good to enjoy some benefits, but don’t overdo it, or you might get cavities.”

Lu Bochen took the warning with a smile, as if what he had just said had been swallowed by the heavens.

Politics is an art of exchanging interests; one must know when to give and when to take. Getting the timing wrong could lead to total defeat.

For most people, this might be a complex challenge, but for Lu Bochen, it was like a game.

He smiled as he watched the secretary-general leave. Just as he was about to make a call, his phone rang first, playing a melodious string tune.

He answered, “Hello.”

“Bochen, it’s me.” The soft, gentle voice of Yin Tianyu came through.

“What a coincidence, I was just about to call you!”

“Is something wrong?” She asked, slightly surprised.

“That amendment to the youth protection law should be on this session’s agenda.” He reported the good news to his wife, with a hint of pride in his voice, as if boasting about accomplishing an almost impossible task.

“Really?” She was both surprised and delighted. “But didn’t you say that you were planning to boycott all discussions recently and wouldn’t be reviewing any bills?”

“We still have to review some key bills! The general election is at the end of the year. If we don’t accomplish anything this session, the voters will tear us apart.” Lu Bochen paused and sighed. “Then again, voters have already been tearing us apart for a while now. Being a legislator is probably the least respected job in Taiwan.”

Yin Tianyu’s heart tightened at his seemingly genuine lament. “But you’re doing very well. Others may not know how hard you work, but I do. You’re truly dedicated.”

Was she seriously trying to comfort him?

Did she really think he would be upset about being despised as a legislator? Lu Bochen felt both amused and touched.

He didn’t care how people viewed legislators, as long as his political career continued to rise step by step. All he cared about was achieving fame and success, and winning re-election at the end of the year.

And she, did she really think he’d be upset about such trivial matters?

His adorable Daphne could be so naive sometimes!

He chuckled softly. “By the way, why did you call?”

“Oh, I just got a call from my brother. ‘Hongjing’ is throwing him a celebration party tonight, and we’re both invited.”

“A celebration party? For what?”

“To celebrate his appointment as the new general manager of Hongjing Technology.”

“Well, congratulations to him!” Lu Bochen smiled and pulled out his PDA to check his schedule. “Is it tonight?”

“Yeah, do you already have plans?” Yin Tianyu asked anxiously, “I told my brother that it was short notice—who informs someone of an event on the day of? He said he was so busy that he forgot to tell his secretary… It’s okay if you’re busy tonight, I can go by myself.”

“How can I let you go alone?” They always attended social events together as a couple, and he would never let her go to such a gathering alone.

Lu Bochen frowned, tapping his PDA with his stylus as he mentally rearranged his upcoming schedule. “I should be able to make time, but I might not be able to pick you up. Let’s meet directly at the venue.”

After hanging up, he called his assistant and asked them to rearrange his schedule for the next few days, making sure to carve out time for tonight.

He genuinely wanted to accompany his wife to congratulate her brother, not realizing that this party would become a major turning point in his life.

Because, at the party, he would meet that woman for the first time—

Li Xiangsi.

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