Chapter 1790

Chapter 1790: Chapter 1790

Zhou Xingjian forced a somewhat unnatural smile, then fell silent for a few seconds before saying, "Director Song is not impulsive by nature. Since you chose to get involved, you must have your reasons."

Song Guanchao slightly nodded, "The matter of Mr. Yang coming to see me, don’t mention it to anyone for now."

"I definitely won’t say anything." Zhou Xingjian shook his head; he wasn’t someone who let things slip easily.

After Zhou Xingjian left, Song Guanchao pondered for a few minutes, then went to Wu Qiangwei’s office to tell her about the matter.

After listening to his account, Wu Qiangwei frowned and said, "First, let’s investigate whether the claims that teacher reported are true."

"I’ll look into it," Song Guanchao asked, "If it’s true, what do you plan to do?"

Wu Qiangwei countered, "What do you think?"

Song Guanchao said, "If it is confirmed true, then proceed according to regulations: dismiss if necessary, investigate if necessary, and pursue criminal responsibility if necessary."

Wu Qiangwei shook her head, "Simply withholding subsidies doesn’t warrant dismissal; the punishment is too severe, and Secretary Zhou won’t agree."

She looked at Song Guanchao with a hint of helplessness, speaking earnestly, "I know you can’t stand this, but since you chose the path of politics, you have to learn to turn a blind eye sometimes. Not everything can be handled by the book."

Song Guanchao said, "I’m not acting impulsively."

Wu Qiangwei looked at him in confusion, and Song Guanchao said, "If it were just about withholding or misappropriating special funds, handing it over to Director Zhou would suffice. But, did you perhaps forget something?"

"What?"

"Gao Qi," Song Guanchao stated the name.

Wu Qiangwei was still puzzled, "Mayor Gao? What about him?"

Song Guanchao said, "He came to me last time, volunteered himself for the position of the High-tech Zone Director."

"I remember that incident, what do you want to say?"

Seeing her furrowed brow and the faint irritation in her expression, Song Guanchao gave a helpless smile.

He thought he had made his point clear enough, surely Wu Qiangwei understood what he was trying to convey.

Yet, she didn’t get it at all...

Song Guanchao couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps, during the night, he had been too forceful, causing her a concussion?

Seeing him scrutinize her with such an expression, Wu Qiangwei couldn’t help but frown, "What kind of look is that? Say it or I’ll get angry!"

"I said it, you didn’t understand..." he muttered, seeing her brows about to arch in anger, he quickly said, "After learning that the High-tech Zone Director position was already filled, Gao Qi immediately arranged for a teacher to come report it to me. What does that indicate?"

Wu Qiangwei seemed to give up on thinking, huffed, "Still being coy!"

She lifted her foot and kicked Song Guanchao under the table.

Song Guanchao grabbed her calf, and from the tactile feedback through his palm, was surprised to discover she was wearing pantyhose under her trousers.

Thinking he had touched wrong, he quickly bent down to check, and indeed, saw a pair of thick black stockings.

Song Guanchao’s eyes sparkled, licking his lips, "You’re wearing stockings?"

Wu Qiangwei blushed and tried to retract her foot, but he held on tightly.

"Let go."

"Hehe, let’s continue with the main topic."

Song Guanchao held her ankle with one hand, while the other caressed her calf.

The silky texture of the stockings was extremely pleasing, making him reluctant to let go.

"Gao Qi is the Deputy County Magistrate, the second in command at the county government. In theory, no matter the conflict with County Magistrate Cao, they could sit down and discuss."

"But look at what Gao Qi did. First, he came seeking favoritism, wanting to be District Director. When that failed, he had someone report it. These are all aggressive actions."

"From these actions alone, you can tell his situation in Gaoshui County is dire, so dire that he’s pushed to the brink against County Magistrate Cao."

"The relationship between him and County Magistrate Cao probably has reached a point of no reconciliation."

"But even if they are at odds, as second in command, theoretically he could avoid a direct confrontation. Yet, he didn’t avoid it."

"I believe it’s not that he doesn’t want to avoid it but that he can’t or it’s unavoidable."

Wu Qiangwei asked, "Why is it unavoidable?"

Song Guanchao said, "Because County Magistrate Cao won’t easily let him go. If he doesn’t do anything, the likely outcome might be getting transferred to the Qingshui Government, sitting on a cold bench for life."

Wu Qiangwei grew increasingly confused as she listened, feeling he was straying off course, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Song Guanchao gathered his smile, speaking seriously, "I want to tell you, Gaoshui County is now County Magistrate Cao’s territory. Cao Xiaolou’s power in Gaoshui County is enormous, perhaps to the point of having absolute control."

"Therefore, we must intervene. We need to ensure Gaoshui County remains under our city government’s control."

Wu Qiangwei finally understood, "You want to leverage Yang Ling’s report to challenge him?"

Song Guanchao nodded, "It’s a rare opportunity, especially with Gao Qi acting as our internal ally, plus the misappropriation of funds is confirmed. We have the timing, the place, and the people on our side; not to act would almost feel like a waste of this perfect setup."

Wu Qiangwei thought carefully for a few minutes, then nodded, "First clarify the facts, report back to me when you’ve investigated; I’ll then set the time for an assessment."

"Alright."

"Have you felt enough?"

"Hmm?" Song Guanchao was momentarily stunned, then smiled mischievously, "No."

"Hmph." Wu Qiangwei didn’t let him go, only occasionally glancing at the door, afraid someone might suddenly enter.

Seeing her show no anger, Song Guanchao grew bolder, caressing her calf as he moved his hand up toward her thigh.

Unfortunately, with the desk in the way, he could only reach her thigh.

"Stop it," Wu Qiangwei’s breathing became erratic, her face blushing like an apple.

Song Guanchao acted as if he didn’t hear, pinching the soft flesh of her inner thigh, as he wasn’t satisfied, he loosened his grip and stood up.

Wu Qiangwei thought he had enough, but saw him walking around the desk toward her.

She seemed a bit flustered, "What are you doing?"

Song Guanchao did not reply, came up behind her, put his hands on her shoulders, and said, "The Mayor spends all day in the office, your shoulders must be stiff and sore, let me massage them."

"No... ooh~ don’t mess around, someone might come in and see."

His hands slid down her collarbone, grabbing at her chest, scaring her into a tremble. She quickly grabbed his hands to stop him.

"It’s alright, I’m watching the door," Song Guanchao whispered, moving aside her blazer and slipping his hand inside.

After a moment, Song Guanchao finally left the office satisfied.

Seeing Shu Xue prepping to enter and clean up the tea set, Song Guanchao quickly stopped her, "The Mayor is on a call, go in later."

Wu Qiangwei’s face was still flushed; if she went in now, she would definitely notice something was amiss.

"Alright." Shu Xue didn’t think much and sat down again.

After he left, Shu Xue looked somewhat puzzled.

She had just caught a faint scent on Song Guanchao.

That scent was very familiar, the scent that Wu Qiangwei often wore.

Shu Xue’s eyes flickered, secretly thinking, "He and Mayor Wu in the office..."