"Ah!"
Xiao Zhengyang sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in cold sweat.
It took him a long moment to fully regain his senses.
He had dreamed an extraordinarily long, vivid dream—one that felt like an entire lifetime. In the dream, he'd lived through Deputy Mayor Xu Liguo's suicide by jumping off a building, followed by his own investigation, his girlfriend leaving him, and his eventual relegation to a minor government post where he faded into obscurity and died in despair.
"Hah… Thank goodness it was just a dream," Xiao Zhengyang muttered, exhaling heavily.
A year earlier, he'd returned from military service and been assigned as an auxiliary police officer at a township police station. The official explanation was that it was a temporary placement while awaiting better opportunities, but Xiao knew the truth: with no connections or backing, he'd likely rot in that position forever.
Then came the chance encounter that changed everything. During an inspection tour by Deputy Mayor Xu Liguo, the official's car had skidded into a river. It was the dead of winter, and panic gripped the onlookers. Without hesitation, Xiao plunged into the icy water and pulled Xu to safety.
That single act earned him Xu Liguo's deep trust, and soon after, Xiao became the deputy mayor's personal secretary. During his year as a secretary, Xiao Zhengyang truly grasped the allure of power while witnessing the fickleness of human relationships and the swift abandonment of those who fell from grace. He often wondered—if he ever rose to a leadership position himself, would he too become as calculating and opportunistic as those he observed?
But such thoughts remained fleeting. His current duty was simply to serve Xu Liguo well. Glancing at the clock, he noted it was 7 a.m. Sunday—a rare moment of leisure. He got up, planning to go for a jog.
*Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.*
His phone vibrated. Li Haitao's name flashed on the screen. They were former comrades-in-arms; Xiao had been Li's squad leader in the military, and the two had remained close. Li, leveraging family connections, had left the army early and secured a position at the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection.
"Knew I was off today, huh?" Xiao answered lightly.
"Boss," Li's voice was uncharacteristically grim, "your guy might be in trouble. Start preparing."
The call ended in under three seconds.
Three seconds that froze Xiao's blood.
As Xu Liguo's secretary, his fate was inextricably tied to the man. If Xu Liguo were really implicated, then he