Chapter 11: Pretending Not to Know 

After dropping off the luggage, the group wasted no time and took the elevator up to the twelfth floor.

Dinner was arranged in a private room on the southeast side.

The double doors were slightly ajar, and voices could be faintly heard from inside. Instinctively, Gu Yao perked up her ears. From the corner to the hallway, it was fifteen steps in total—all filled with County Magistrate Song’s official pleasantries.

He was simultaneously thanking the higher-up for personally inspecting Tang County and praising Secretary Zhou’s speech at last week’s standing committee meeting, emphasizing how party vows should be remembered at all times…

Gu Yao couldn’t help but wonder if every government official was required to memorize the exact same talking points.

As she drifted in thought, the heavy doors swung open.

The private room was spacious.

A large round dining table sat in the center, big enough to accommodate dozens of people. Zhou Zhengliang sat quietly at the head seat. The seat to his left was empty, while to his right sat the county party secretary and the magistrate. As her gaze continued around the table, her eyes landed on a familiar face.

Gu Yao paused in her steps, visibly surprised.

Just as she was trying to process it, several of the accompanying officials had already begun exchanging greetings and taking their seats in order.

When it was her turn, County Magistrate Song introduced the man seated across from her as the Inspection Office Director. With a sweet, polite smile, Gu Yao extended her hand and said,
“Hello, Director Gu.”

Gu Jingming: “…”

The air turned awkwardly quiet.

At that moment, Director Gu’s mood was… complicated.

A second ago, he had chalked it up to poor eyesight, wondering why the young woman from the municipal party office looked more and more like his own daughter.

Stupid girl—after half a year with no contact, she goes on a work trip with leadership and doesn’t even bother to give her dad a heads-up.

Still, when father and daughter met, the unspoken understanding was instant.

Since she was pretending they didn’t know each other, he played along. After all, keeping a low profile was a time-honored tradition in the Gu family.

And so, in front of everyone, Director Gu and Comrade Gu Yao locked eyes, silently engaging in a ten-second telepathic conversation.

What was said?

Only heaven and earth know.

However, their little delay had an unintended side effect: by the time they finished silently staring each other down, only two seats were left at the table.

Whether by accident or design, Gu Yao was seated next to Zhou Zhengliang.

Back in the car was one thing, but now this again? Did they really think she was easy to push around just because she held a lower position?

Across the table, Old Gu frowned slightly at the scene and spoke up at the right moment:
“Even if Director Xu is delayed, his seat should still be reserved.”

It was a subtle hint to his daughter—not to sit in the wrong place.

“Director Xu” referred to Xu Mo, who was currently in his hotel room handling an urgent document. The word from him was that he’d be at least ten minutes.

The sudden twist in seating arrangements made even the county party secretary sense something unusual. He instinctively shifted his gaze to observe the expression of the man in the main seat.

But the room didn’t fall into awkward silence.

The window-side area had a built-in sense of separation. Zhou Zhengliang continued drinking his tea, his expression unchanged, eyes lowered. His tone carried a trace of warmth as he spoke:
“Sit.”

The meaning was clear: the seat beside him wasn’t worth making a fuss over.

With the higher-up’s words spoken, even if Gu Yao had objections, she could only comply.

Gu Jingming looked like he still wanted to say something, but was interrupted with a chuckle by County Magistrate Song:
“Where in Tang County is Xiao Gu from?”

Both old and young shared the surname Gu—it was probably easy enough to guess the connection.

So Gu Yao simply gave in to their curiosity and recited the address on her ID.

After that, she added with a smile:
“I remember when I was a kid, every time I walked home from school past Jianing Road in the old town, the whole alley would be filled with the smell of strong liquor. Is it still like that now?”

The abrupt shift in topic caught the surrounding officials completely off guard.

The county party secretary, who had just stood up with a glass of wine in hand, paused in place, his expression darkening as he glanced at the young woman.

In the collective silence, a teacup clinked gently as it was set down.

Zhou Zhengliang lifted his eyelids slightly, his gaze drifting calmly across each person in the room until it landed on a newly opened bottle of aged liquor not far away.

Porcelain blue with gilded trim. No label. No branding.

He withdrew his gaze and asked lightly,
“What does Xiao Gu think of today’s wine?”

Being singled out made Gu Yao feel a chill run down her spine.

This man… was terrifying.

Nothing escaped his eyes.