Chapter 164 Unexpectedly Surprised

was beyond the expectations of Su Licheng and Zeng He. Originally, they had planned to recover costs within two to three years, but now, they could do so in less than half a year, which made them even...Volume 2: Sailing Towards New Journeys Chapter 164: Caught Off Guard

"In the end, you’re here today as Zhang Xi’s envoy" Leaning on the garden pavilion railing, Su Can named Tian Tian's intention.

"Not really, just caring about my close friend. Since we were young until now, she has always been proud and I rarely see her lower herself like this, so please don’t miss out on this opportunity."

Su Can lowered his head feeling a headache coming; he found himself truly unable to fathom the intricacies behind Tian Tian’s intentions. Whether it was about probing for information or building connections, or if there were really matters at hand that she was serious about, looking at Tian Tian's smiling and hands-behind-back stance as she waited quietly for his response, Su Can had no choice but to pull out a trump card. "It's not whether I'm going to miss the opportunity or not; the key issue is that I have a girlfriend and am not single."

Tian Tian was initially stunned by Su Can's words before regaining her composure, seemingly unfazed by his answer. She tilted her head closer and asked, "Are you living together with your girlfriend Or are you married Since you're not married, isn't it still possible for you to have options right until the last moment"

Su Can suddenly found himself at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Tian Tian ended up playfully comforting Su Can as she teased him, "Don’t worry, no matter how big the difficulty, it can't crush my heroic sisters."

This encounter with Tian Tian in the morning was purely by chance; after this point, they stopped talking.

She smiled and turned to leave the pavilion, returning home. Her cotton sleeveless shirt and shorts outlined her slender figure beautifully in the sunlight. Soon after, he heard the creaking sound of the iron gate opening at the small bungalow where the Secretary of the Municipal Committee lived.

Lǐ Pángyǔ strolled over leisurely, his gaze still lingering on Tian Tian's back. He grinned teasingly at Su Can and said, "The situation is getting more complex; it seems only someone with substantial weight can calm this down."

Su Can raised his foot to kick him, but Lǐ Pángyǔ had already slipped out of the pavilion and headed straight for Zēng Kě’s prepared breakfast.

** Su Lichéng often joked that coming to Huáng City meant he would be busy while everyone else would be relaxed. Indeed, under Su Licheng's leadership, Su Can, Li Pangyu, Zhang Shen, and Yáo Míng were exploring the unique local customs of Huáng City. Although there was some investigative intent behind their activities, most of it was for leisure. Unlike when Su Lichéng started his new role as Vice Mayor and began distributing responsibilities, they didn’t have such pressing tasks.

Usually, Su Licheng would be busy inspecting the departments under his jurisdiction all over the place; arranging dinners and meetings took up most of his time. Consequently, it was a luxury to see him at home. But since the Spring Festival, regardless of where he was, Su Lichéng tried to eat lunch at home every afternoon. As a result, people were saying that Su City’s Lady Mayor wasn’t ordinary and must be as tough as an Iron Maiden.

These rumors made everyone want to laugh bitterly. However, Su Licheng didn't mind; instead, he told Su Can, "Your father will work in Huáng City from now on. When you start school again, you have to go back to your school. Soon I’ll be leaving too. Shouldn’t we come home more often for meals While you’re here, the food at home should be better; if you want something specific, tell your mother to make it for you. After you leave, your mom and I will just eat simply, sometimes a few noodles are enough. Your mom will go back to Róng City soon to take care of things there, so it’ll be even simpler for me."

Su Can's family spent the Spring Festival in Huáng City; Lǐ Pángyǔ took five days off and went to Nánjīng. In previous years, they would gather with relatives who had moved from Chéngdū to Róng City during the Spring Festival. This year, everyone was staying apart. The three of them spent their holiday in this unfamiliar city's municipal government compound watching the 2003 Spring Festival Gala.

New Year's Eve on the balcony, amidst the fireworks overhead. Su Cen called many friends, including Zhang Xiaoqiao in Shanghai, Li Han from Jiangxi, Xue Xuyu from Hubei, Lin Luoran and Wang Weiwei from Yanjing, Xue Yiyang from Changsha, Liu Rui from Yu City, as well as messages from Xiao Yunyun, Li Ying, and Mu Kaidou of Shanghai. Looking at these messages and greetings, Su Cen felt that life was as grand and brilliant as the fireworks outside the balcony.

Jia Shuxin representing the high-level echelon, Wang Yue from Dunhuang, Zhao Mingnong from Shushan, Zhao Hao from Upper Wheat Music, Lin Guangdong of Big Papaya Holdings, among others, all sent gifts.

Of them all, Zhao Mingnong was the most extravagant. The gift he sent was a gold dragon cast in 24K real gold over copper with an estimated value based on Shushan's revenue for zero two at forty-eight million yuan. Lin Guangdong's Papaya Media expanded its channel business widely, and as the industry's top cultural goods giant, Shushan supported them with channels as their driving force, completing their channel business layout this year to rise in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, becoming a force that could rival some of the older giants.

Moreover, Shushan itself was still thriving. This trend would not stop within three to five years. So Zhao Mingnong had enough confidence to be generous with his gifts.

In contrast, Su Cen thought Wang Yue's gift was the most special. She sent a pair of red dragon fengshui fish said to be six years old, one with an outer scale as chili pepper red and another with fins and tail fins in light orange, interweaving and chasing each other in the bathtub, complementing each other beautifully. Zeng Ke loved placing them on the shelf by the entrance along with potted plants at eye level, giving a vibrant feel upon entry.

In his call to Tang Wu, Su Cen asked her when she would come to Phoenix City after the New Year.

"The exact time is yet undetermined. Lin Luoran said she'll wait until she rushes over from Yanjing. She has an exam in the afternoon and can fly overnight to Chengdu then stay at my place, and we will come over the next day."

Upon hearing Tang Wu's plan to wait for Lin Luoran, Su Cen was somewhat dumbfounded. "When is Lin Luoran coming Isn't she studying in Yanjing" This girl keeps a tight lip, only saying 'Happy New Year' when calling him and not mentioning anything about this matter, seemingly carefree on the phone without revealing any hints of her plans.

"She will finish her studies soon. She originally planned to take a nearby trip before returning to school. It's perfect timing now; we agreed to come together then see what your new abode looks like." Tang Wu said in the phone, then her voice became softer but still melodious, "Besides, if she isn't with me, my mom won’t feel at ease about me coming over alone."

Upon hearing Mu Xuan’s name, Su Cen's daring spirit was quickly deflated. Another issue was when did Tang Wu and Lin Luoran establish contact Generally speaking, the two girls would not communicate while in Shanghai. Furthermore, having Lin Luoran stay at Tang Wu's family home after arriving in Chengdu made Su Cen feel uncomfortable for some twisted reasons.

It seemed reasonable too since Wang Bo had accommodation within the municipal party committee compound but with Wang Weiwei and others still absent, despite their close relationship, it was inconvenient for a girl like Lin Luoran to stay there over holidays.

Su Cen was uneasy about both girls coming together. Tang Wu's elegant aloofness and Lin Luoran’s sharp yet charming personality made his heart race just thinking of their faces.

What Lin Luoran said in Shanghai, whether or not it had a joking tone, Su Cen couldn’t avoid regardless.

But until now, he didn't believe his life was substantial enough to hold two such devastatingly beautiful smiles. That was an insubstantial life almost unattainably distant.

Su Cen anticipated that his life in Phoenix City would become richer and more colorful with their arrival; however, the frustrating consequence was that if Lin Luoran were there, wouldn't any solo time with Tang Wu be completely out of reach Would Lin Luoran give Su Cen a chance to spend time alone with Tang Wu Just imagining it felt tragic.

But Su Can was looking forward to this day. The days in Huancheng seemed to be full of energy due to his anticipation.

**After the Spring Festival, the provincial comprehensive social governance supervision group leader and deputy inspector-general Geng Luoxiang came to Huancheng to guide traffic safety and public security work. The provincial inspection team would spend three days on surface-level research, with the mayor and several vice mayors attending as well.

The city's comprehensive social governance achievements conference had been in preparation for some time. These past few days, Su Licheng occasionally invited Su Can to attend dinners where he could bring his family along, but Su Can naturally declined each invitation. He stayed at home with Li Pengyu and Zeng Ke. On the phone, Su Licheng often heard someone hinting that Su Can must attend, and one voice sounded particularly like Zhang Shanwu, father of Zhang Xi who works in the Small and Medium Enterprises Bureau.

Sometimes while jogging in the morning, he would run into Tian Tian coming down to jog or heading out; they'd chat briefly as if friends. They no longer mentioned Su Can's romantic matters; when tired from running, they'd rest on a long bench together. At such times, she would delicately hand him and Li Pengyu tissues, displaying her reserved yet intense personality.

She was refined, unique, self-possessed.

In her view, Su Can's father, the vice mayor, would be in office for several years at least; thus, there'd be plenty of time for her to understand and get closer to Su Can while he stayed in Huancheng.

Before the city government comprehensive social governance achievement conference, every night Su Licheng was home reading through documents. When Su Can took them over, Zeng Ke remarked beside him, "Both you two have been up late looking at these; why don't you sleep"

"Tomorrow at the comprehensive social governance achievement presentation meeting, I need to give a speech on stage and must first familiarize myself," Su Licheng said as he leaned back in his recliner with a cigarette held between his fingers, the smoke curling around like it was about to drift into the tranquil night sky.

Su Can knew that tomorrow marked the first day of public speaking for his father. This would be Su Licheng's official appearance before all of Huancheng in a formal capacity since taking up the role of vice mayor, and TV had already arranged coverage accordingly.

There were various different opinions circulating about this new vice mayor among the city folk, but regardless of what rumors were spread or said, they were merely idle chatter. Ordinary citizens judged whether their leaders were competent by looking at how well-written reports were, not internal confidential data on the city's statistics. Did the report seem like it was read verbatim from a book Was it superficial and perfunctory Or did it consist of empty platitudes

This was something that could not be underestimated; one mistake might make people laugh out loud.

The Huancheng folks were eagerly awaiting this new vice mayor's appearance, so Su Licheng naturally couldn't afford to take things lightly. It was only natural for him to have trouble sleeping at night since it would be his first time making such a formal appearance. Previously, when giving reports in the group company or city administration, even without live TV coverage, just having over three hundred cadres present could spread any small errors far and wide.

Su Can couldn't sleep either because something felt off. From chatting with Cheng Ruiyan, Su Can learned that Xu Changcheng's side had recently been unusually quiet, which was quite unusual.

A while back, Xu Changcheng and Zhou Zhaofeng were very active, with projects they were involved in being sent back for re-evaluation; Xu Changcheng almost cursed. Su Can heard about these activities intermittently but was puzzled by their sudden cessation recently. Furthermore, the tensions between him and Huang Yu, the vice mayor who originally had a contentious relationship with Xu Changcheng, seemed to have eased.

"Dad, Cheng Ruiyan also told me something; I think that since you deliberately proposed the development plan causing conflict between Xu and Huang, they might have come to their senses."

"Don't treat others as fools, but also don't let them treat me like one. If they realize it, that's good too; at least it gets through to them and shows us how internally conflicted they are. They won’t need to pretend to be united for my sake just because of Su Licheng."

Su Licheng put away his manuscript and patted Su Can’s hair, saying, "It's late now, go to sleep. We have something to do tomorrow."

*The next day, before the Comprehensive Social Governance Conference commenced, both Su Licheng and Li Pengyu, as well as Chen Ke, were in the conference room. They saw Cheng Rui Nian and others from the secretary's office bustling about while people outside had almost all gathered.

In the rest room, Su Licheng was holding his speech manuscript and chatting with a vice mayor. Cheng Rui Nian, standing next to Su Licheng, looked troubled. After a moment, he came over to pull at Su Can’s sleeve and walked to one side, saying, "Something seems off; I'm afraid something could happen on Mayor Xu's side."

Cheng Rui Nian went on to say that during the conference preparation period, Mayor Xu had entrusted Secretary-General Guo Huai with overall responsibility. The relevant details and schedule were given to Cheng Rui Nian by Guo Huai, who handled everything from start to finish. Most importantly, Su Licheng’s manuscript was not written by him; it was arranged for someone else to write by Mayor Xu Changcheng.

"What's wrong with the speech" asked Su Can in surprise.

“The content of the speech itself is fine. I've reviewed it many times, and it’s quite orthodox. The problem lies with Secretary Shi Qiang from the secretary’s office.”

Su Can knew that Cheng Rui Nian had been working hard in the secretary's office for so many years; if he noticed something amiss, there must be a reason. Moreover, recent silence on Xu Changcheng’s side also suggested something was up.

Feeling concerned, Su Can asked Cheng Rui Nian to find out who spoke before Su Licheng.

"No need to check; it's the Director of the Provincial Comprehensive Social Governance Supervisory Group and Deputy Inspector of Public Security, Geng Luoxiang. He just stepped up to speak."

Su Can immediately realized that something was amiss and hurriedly took the manuscript from Su Licheng’s hand, passing it to Cheng Rui Nian: "You need to fix this right away. Strike out any repetition in Geng Luoxiang’s speech and reorganize it; ensure coherence and clarity of expression. Even if my dad is good at expressing himself, he can't possibly put together a logically coherent speech on the spot. They’re clearly trying to catch us off guard."

Su Licheng then came over and said sternly, "There's about five minutes between speeches from provincial leaders for transition time. Old Cheng, within those five minutes, you need to polish up the manuscript and bring it back to me."

Cheng Rui Nian replied with “I’ll do my best,” then focused intently on listening to every word of Geng Luoxiang’s speech from outside, quickly making amendments to the structure.

This was clearly a setup by someone. If Su Licheng's speech were extremely similar or identical to the provincial leader's, it could result in him being caught off guard and unable to recover. The blame might then fall on Cheng Rui Nian. From now on, in the eyes of people in Huancheng, Su Licheng would only be seen as a laughingstock. Even Su Can had to admit that if this tactic succeeded, it would indeed be very ruthless.

(To Be Continued)orld. I think your concept of a bigger world isn’t just opening a store in the provincial capital, otherwise maybe I’d be disappointed too."It was time.Su Cen sighed in relief, "Then there was a quest...