Chapter 6: The Young Comrade Is Too Naive

After the briefing concluded and seeing that the leader had no further instructions, Gu Yao packed up her notes and pen, ready to leave.

Just as she reached the doorway, Meng Changjun called out to her, “Xiao Gu, how are you getting back?”

“By subway,” she answered, turning back.

He finished organizing his materials and gestured downstairs. “You’ve had a long day—I’ll drop you off at the nearest station on my way.”

No need.

The words of refusal were on the tip of her tongue when his phone rang.

He answered it and hung up half a minute later, turning off the screen with a wry smile.

“Something urgent came up—I have to rush back to the office.”

In other words, he wouldn’t be giving her a ride after all.

Gu Yao quickly responded, “It’s no problem. The station’s not far—it’s an easy walk.”

There were still ten minutes left until the end of the workday.

With time to spare, she decided to stop by the restroom on the sixth floor and text her cousin back, letting her know she was still at the municipal office and might be late.

Wen Jing: [No rush—I’ve got something holding me up too.]
[Anything you feel like eating? I’ll order first once I get there.]
[You already know what I can’t eat.]
Gu Yao: [OK~]

After sending her last message, Gu Yao slipped her phone into her bag and headed out. But just as she stepped into the hallway, two figures appeared ahead.

The senior official—Zhou Zhengliang—and Secretary Xu.

She froze, one foot still mid-step, and a thought flashed through her mind:

Would it be too late to quietly turn back now, unnoticed?

Unfortunately, Xu Mo had sharp eyes.

“Xiao Gu, you’re still here?”

And with his voice came another presence that could never be ignored.

The senior official’s calm, unreadable gaze landed on her again—seemingly tranquil, but each time it touched her, it brought with it an invisible weight that made her breath catch.

Gu Yao had analyzed this before.

Most likely, ever since that mishap during the system demonstration, Secretary Zhou had found her a bit of an eyesore.

After all, no leader likes subordinates who can’t stay in their lane.

But she didn’t regret it.

If given the chance to do it all over again, Gu Yao would make the same choice. At the very least, she could answer to herself—and stay true to what her father had taught her.

Just a few meters away, Zhou Zhengliang didn’t pause his steps.

Even when the young woman politely greeted them, he merely gave a slight nod and continued walking down the stairs without lingering.

Compared to the distant attitude of a certain leader, Secretary Xu seemed far more approachable.

Gifted at reading the room, Xu Mo understood perfectly well the significance of the three minutes spent that afternoon in the office between Secretary Zhou and the young woman.

It had been… quite a shock.

Secretary Zhou, known for his strict self-discipline, had never let personal feelings bleed into official matters—not once since taking office.

And yet, on such an unremarkable day… he had made an exception.

His instincts told him: this young woman was someone blessed with good fortune.

One to watch for the future.

The stairwell was quiet.

Gu Yao followed behind at a respectful distance. Every now and then, she glanced up, and without fail, all she could see was the man’s broad, upright back.

Only after several such glances did she finally realize where that overpowering pressure came from.

It was his height.

At 1.62 meters tall, even standing on a step, she still had to look up quite a bit to meet his eye level.

By estimation, he had to be at least 1.85 meters tall—if not more.

Ridiculous.

What did people from that generation eat to grow so well?

One thing was clear—this leader had definitely grown up in a well-off household.

Naturally, Zhou Zhengliang had no idea that, in the mind of this 22-year-old girl, he’d already been casually lumped into the middle-aged uncle category at the tender age of thirty-five.

It was precisely this blind spot about his own age that would later lead to some… detours.

For all his rising success in politics, Secretary Zhou had suffered more than his fair share of setbacks when it came to romance.

Meanwhile, Comrade Xiao Gu—still caught in her own wandering thoughts—was focused on the path beneath her feet, completely unaware that the distance between them… was gradually closing.

So when the familiar buzz of her phone vibrated, Gu Yao instinctively reached into her bag to retrieve it. But in the process, she accidentally pulled out her hotel key card as well. In her haste to catch it—hand-eye coordination failing—she stumbled forward…

And crashed straight into the senior official’s chest.

Zhou Zhengliang: …

The air froze. Gu Yao stood stiff as a board.

Beside them, Xu Mo—who had been mid-sentence—immediately fell silent.

Fortunately, the moment didn’t last too long.

The softness in his arms and the faint floral scent made their brief contact almost surreal. But Zhou Zhengliang quickly suppressed the fleeting ripple in his heart and helped her regain her footing.

“Watch where you’re going. What were you so lost in thought about?”

His tone was deliberately softened. The last thing he wanted was for this little accident to spook her again, especially after they had just gotten past the awkwardness of earlier.

The phone in Gu Yao’s hand was still buzzing, but she was in no state to answer it.

Face burning red, her eyes flicked down—avoiding his gaze—and she stammered, “Sorry, Secretary Zhou, I… it was a phone call just now, and I—”

“You didn’t do it on purpose. No need to apologize.”

Zhou Zhengliang’s eyes swept over the lit-up screen in her hand. The caller ID read: Cheng Mu.

“A call from your boyfriend? Aren’t you going to answer?” he asked, voice neutral.

That question jolted Gu Yao back to full awareness. She immediately declined the call.

Was he kidding? She’d just suffered a secondhand embarrassment so intense it could qualify as social death—and now he expected her to answer a boyfriend’s call in front of her boss?

Not a chance.

Still reeling from the encounter, she watched as the man before her bent down to pick something up from the step.

It was the hotel key card she had dropped.

Hyatt Regent Court.

The city’s first seven-star hotel had just opened, complete with a fanfare of publicity.

He handed the card back to her, his expression unreadable. “A hotel suite… For a girl, perhaps something like that warrants more careful thought.”

At the word “suite,” Gu Yao’s expression clearly faltered.

She hadn’t paid much attention when she’d first been handed the card that morning.

In truth, she lacked the life experience to know the difference between a private dining room membership and a suite key card.

So, that reaction from the senior official just now—did he think she lived recklessly?

Her brows drew together slightly, and she summoned the courage to respond, “Thank you for your concern, Secretary Zhou. A friend is celebrating a birthday tomorrow. The gathering will be at the hotel. It’s perfectly reasonable—and I have no reason not to attend.”

Zhou Zhengliang’s expression darkened as he listened. He gave her a long look but said nothing more, turning to head down the stairs.

Xu Mo, however, had his own thoughts.

The young comrade is far too naive.

A boyfriend’s birthday… and a hotel suite? Clearly, this wasn’t going to be some simple party night. The second son of the Hengyuan Group—Cheng Mu—was infamous for his scandals. Even within political circles, his reputation for womanizing was well-known.

She seemed like a smart girl. How could she be so blind and foolish when it came to choosing a partner?

What a pity.

Like a flower planted in cow dung.

---

Ten minutes later.

A black Audi slowly pulled out of the underground parking lot.

Inside, the atmosphere was quiet and cool. In the front passenger seat, Xu Mo was double-checking the personnel list for the upcoming county inspection. For officials at the division level and above, there were four confirmed names.

But one slot remained open on the Tang County roster.

As the key region in this round of field research, Xu Mo had agonized over the final candidate but still couldn’t decide. After much thought, he finally turned his head to seek his leader’s opinion.

He had a hunch that the final name… would likely need to be hand-picked by Secretary Zhou himself.

In the backseat, the sound of papers rustling had stopped five minutes ago. There was no further movement.

Zhou Zhengliang still had in hand the summary report on Tang County’s economic performance over recent years.

From the trend graphs alone, it was clear: whoever had extracted the data and built the models had not only a sharp analytical mind but also an exceptionally deep understanding of Tang County’s economic structure.

In a calm voice, Zhou spoke: “Find out who wrote this report.”

Xu Mo was taken aback.

The Secretary wanted to pin it to a specific individual?

That might be tricky.

Reports of this complexity usually required interdisciplinary expertise—both computer science and economics. It was almost impossible for one person alone to complete such a comprehensive analysis.

But if the Secretary had given an order, he must have had his reasons.

Xu Mo complied without hesitation.