Chapter 265

Over this year, under Li Mingzhou Secretary's meticulous guidance and help, Lu Fan and his brothers made substantial progress, and he himself became more mature and steady, with his ability to handle interpersonal relations and cope with various complex situations greatly improved.

At the same time, his girlfriend also found a place; they understood and supported each other, their relationship grew increasingly intimate, and their feelings deepened further.

Love and career both flourished—he was truly a life winner!

After repeated earnest requests from Ningyang County Committee Secretary Bian Jide and County Chief Yang Chuanbei, and on Lu Fan's suggestion, on April 10, Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee and Yingjiang Municipal Party Secretary Li Mingzhou conducted an inspection of Ningyang Xian, focusing on education work.

Ningyang Xian attached great importance; Bian Jide and Yang Chuanbei carried out the reception work to the utmost, even discussing the lunch menu for an hour!

At 10 a. m., Li Mingzhou led Municipal Party Committee Secretary-General Zhang Ziqiang, Vice Mayor Zhang Shibin, Deputy Secretary-General of the Municipal Party Committee Lu Fan, Education Bureau Director Di Bin, and others to Ningyang Xian to carry out a special inspection on education work.

During the inspection, Li Mingzhou visited the senior high school, county middle school, county No. 1 elementary school, and county No. 1 kindergarten in turn. At each stop, he carefully examined the campus environment, hardware facilities, and schooling conditions, gained a detailed understanding of each school's operational scale, teacher and student sources, listened to the school heads' ideas and measures for development, and on-site coordinated to resolve the existing difficulties and problems in school development.

Li Mingzhou emphasized that doing education is doing the future; all levels and departments of Ningyang Xian must consistently prioritize accelerating the high-quality development of the education cause, remain true to their original aspirations, forge ahead with vigor, strive to establish the 'Double High' brand, and respond to the people's new expectations for quality education with solid work and tangible results.

Secretary Bian Jide said sincerely: 'Secretary, I have personally witnessed the rise of education in Ningyang; without exaggeration, the senior high school's achievements today are largely due to Deputy Secretary-General Lu Fan! One could even say that without his persistent efforts from the beginning, Ningyang High would not have today's splendid situation. The people of Ningyang will forever remember Lu Fan's single-handed conquest of the realm!'

Hearing this, Lu Fan felt his face flush; although he had done some things and played a certain role, he really didn't deserve such praise, especially being lauded in public!

Li Mingzhou smiled and said: 'Although Lu Fan has done some things, the credit belongs to everyone. Without the teachers' hard work and the students' diligent efforts, Ningyang High would not have such splendid results! From this we can draw a valuable experience—policy guidance is also quite important, and the role of a guide is quite significant! I hope the Ningyang County Committee and County Government will persistently maintain their emphasis on education, continually promote the development of the education cause, and make Ningyang Xian's education better and better!'

After the motorcade entered the compound of the Ningyang County Committee, seeing Lu Fan, full of vigor and high spirits, behind the Municipal Party Secretary, the cadres of Ningyang Xian began to chatter.

"Look, is that Lu County Chief?"

"Now he's Deputy Secretary-General Lu Fan; I reckon he's about to be promoted to Division Level."

"How impressive, closely following the Municipal Party Secretary!"

"Ah, everyone has their own fate; last year when Lu County Chief was put under shuanggui, I thought he was finished, but I never expected him to rise straight to the clouds, make a complete 180-degree turn, and rocket to success!"

"Is he younger, or is Hong Tao younger?"

"I think they're incomparable; Hong Tao is already the Municipal Party Secretary—you should know, some people spend a lifetime just getting over one hurdle!"

"I tell you all not to worry pointlessly; his starting point is our endpoint! Wrong—now we can't even hope to catch up to him!"

"Exactly, we don't even dare to dream of becoming Deputy Division Level!"

……

In short, after this inspection, the negative impact of the shuanggui on Lu Fan was completely eliminated in Ningyang Xian; like Hong Tao, he has once again become the expectation and pride of the people of Ningyang Xian.

Moreover, there is now a rumor in Ningyang Xian that the promotions of Secretary Bian Jide and County Chief Yang Chuanbei are closely related to Lu Fan's help; one can see the clue from the leaders' warm attitude toward Lu Fan.

Furthermore, the transfer of Deputy County Chief Guo Tongyu and the promotion of Director Li Daqiang to Deputy County Chief also have Lu Fan behind them; the leading cadres of Ningyang Xian must reassess Lu Fan's capabilities.

Li Mingzhou Secretary occupied Bian Jide's office and arranged meetings with several important standing committee members of Ningyang Xian.

Lu Fan leisurely sipped tea in the neighboring office, but the room was already packed to the rafters; former acquaintances among the leaders poured in, each face beaming with smiles, as if Lu Fan were some priceless treasure. Their sole purpose was to maintain ties with Lu Fan.

Lu Fan sat on the sofa, holding a cup of tea, smiling warmly, enthusiastically greeting everyone and chatting casually, just like an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.

At this moment his feelings were somewhat mixed; he clearly understood these people's motives, realizing that this is the unpredictable world of officialdom. If one day he himself lost power, they would likely immediately distance themselves, draw clear boundaries, and even kick him when he's down, pushing him over when the wall collapses.

Time flew by; the May Day short holiday arrived, and Li Mingzhou Secretary simply gave Lu Fan a leave of absence because Li Zimeng was coming to Yingjiang to play.

On the afternoon of April 30, Lu Fan went to the airport to pick someone up, his heart full of anticipation..

After not seeing each other for many days, they missed each other greatly! Upon meeting, Li Zimeng affectionately linked arms with Lu Fan, her face beaming with a happy smile, looking like a little bird leaning on its person.

The issue of identity had been troubling Lu Fan for over two months; on the way home, he couldn't help but probe: 'Zimeng, shouldn't we meet the parents?'

Li Zimeng smiled: 'If you want to meet, you can anytime!'

Lu Fan added: 'I've observed carefully, you bear quite a resemblance to our Li Secretary!'

Li Zimeng pursed her lips and smiled: 'Don't overthink it—our Li Secretary is my father!'

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Li Zimeng looked at Lu Fan gently, her eyes full of affection, and said: 'If I had told you earlier, would you dare to make a move on me? Fan Ge, don't be angry—I don't want to put pressure on you; love is love, unrelated to anything else.'

Upon hearing this, Lu Fan's heart warmed instantly, and he couldn't help but tease: 'Hey, are you worried about my self-esteem? I'm not that sentimental! Besides, I still haven't "gotten her" yet!'

His girlfriend's painstaking efforts deeply moved Lu Fan, making him cherish this relationship even more.

Li Zimeng gazed at Lu Fan with fiery passion, the corners of her mouth slightly lifting, and she whispered: 'It's not that I can't; it's that you can't.'

This sentence was like a sharp sword stabbing Lu Fan's lungs; his anger immediately surged to his abdomen, and he really wanted to execute her on the spot! How could a man tolerate a woman saying he can't?

"You dare say that again!"

Li Zimeng fearlessly met Lu Fan's gaze, smiling without a word, full of charm, making Lu Fan feel his bones almost melt.

This pretty girlfriend, who used to be virtuous and demure, has suddenly become extremely off!

It's hard to resist a beauty's favor—how could Lu Fan not respond to her charms? For three years he hadn't tasted meat, and finally he no longer has to live like an ascetic!

During this short holiday, the man was fond and the woman willing, heavenly thunder and earthly fire intertwined; the two stayed home for three full days, truly achieving shutting out the outside world.

They cooked together, watched TV, chatted, made love, full of affection and intimacy, from initial shyness to now fiery passion, enjoying the tender bliss, their feelings heating up rapidly.

May 3, Lu Fan drove Li Zimeng to the airport; although it was only a brief parting, both still felt reluctant in their hearts.

When boarding, Li Zimeng's eyes were full of reluctance; she tightly embraced Lu Fan, unwilling to let go.

Lu Fan softly comforted: "As long as the secretary doesn't assign me work, I'll try to go to Jingcheng to see you on weekends!"

Li Zimeng pouted and coquettishly said: "He dares! But if you're too busy, I can fly over—it's just a two‑hour trip!"

Time passed second by second, and the boarding announcement sounded.

"Brother Fan, be sure to think of me!"

"Put your heart in your belly, I'll always be thinking of you!"

Partings always make one reluctant; the heart fills with love and longing for each other, awaiting the day of reunion.

On the way back, that long‑absent sense of loneliness and loss welled up in his heart. From then on, Lu Fan had one more person to worry about in his heart.

The next day at work, Lu Fan deliberately went to loiter in front of Secretary Li Mingzhou, but the secretary, as usual, went about his business with no change at all.

Lu Fan lamented that the secretary was truly a 'real‑deal' actor, his acting superb! But this is fine—life and work shouldn't be mixed; if others found out he was the secretary's son‑in‑law, he definitely couldn't stay in the Municipal Party Committee office.

In the afternoon, Liu Jin Zhu's call came, telling Lu Fan that Ji Luhui had confessed everything—back then it was Le Xuezhi who ordered him to "take out" Lu Fan, but that day an accident occurred, causing a "friendly fire" incident. Now the Municipal Bureau has set up a special task force to conduct a comprehensive and thorough investigation and interrogation of Le Xuezhi; the good news is that the money Ji Luhui received bears Le Xuezhi's fingerprint, and moreover Ji Luhui is quite resourceful, having provided the task force with a phone recording!

There are no impenetrable walls in the world; the chief of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, Ye Chen, suddenly received a notice from the provincial department, requesting to interrogate Le Xuezhi, the reason being that factors interfering with public security organs' case handling have emerged in this case, trying it locally might jeopardize impartial law enforcement, so the provincial Public Security Bureau decided to take over the case and conduct the trial elsewhere.

After Ye Chen received the notice, he immediately reported to Secretary Li Mingzhou.

Li Mingzhou, upon hearing it, without even thinking, said: "Nonsense! That's a ridiculous excuse! Give a clear reply to the provincial department—we can't provide personnel! If you want people, have Jia Lehan come ask me in person!"

Ye Chen worriedly said: "Secretary, will this affect our relationship with the provincial department?"

Li Mingzhou calmly said: "Just focus on doing your own work well; don't worry about anything else—I've got it under control. Let me give you one more piece of advice: stay away from them."

Ye Chen immediately realized what was meant, fell silent, and carried out the secretary's instructions.