School Anniversary Ceremony

Lian University.

Outside the auditorium.

Dong Xuebin lightly supported Jiang Min as they walked over. The school anniversary celebration had already begun, and music from inside could be heard outside—it seemed to be some sort of song-and-dance performance.

"Xuebin, go on in first."

"What about you?"

"Teacher is going backstage to take a look."

"I'll come with you. I've got nothing else to do anyway."

"Forget it. Teacher's going to check on my students' rehearsal. Go find a seat first."

"All right, then. Watch where you're going. Don't fall."

"Hehe, my foot healed ages ago. I'm only pretending, remember? Don't worry."

With that, Jiang Min pretended to limp away and entered the auditorium's backstage area through the rear entrance.

Seeing that there was no one else around—they were probably all inside the auditorium—Dong Xuebin smoked a cigarette outside before casually strolling in. His pass hung around his neck, so the staff did not stop him. Besides, everyone had either seen or heard about what had happened at the school gate. One school employee even smiled kindly at Dong Xuebin, nodded, and opened the auditorium doors for him.

Sure enough, there was a song-and-dance performance going on inside.

Dong Xuebin walked down the aisle toward the back, intending to sit in the last row.

But one of the school leaders had sharp eyes and spotted Dong Xuebin at once from the dark entrance. He hurried over. "Director Dong."

Dong Xuebin looked at him. "Hello."

The school leader pointed toward the first row. "We saved you a seat over here."

Dong Xuebin smiled. "No need. I'll just sit in the back."

The school leader quickly said, "No, how could that do? We already reserved it for you. Deputy Mayor He specifically instructed us to leave you a seat beside him."

Dong Xuebin had made a big splash earlier, but he had had no choice—it had been for his beloved teacher. Now, though, he wanted to keep a low profile and avoid drawing so much attention. How could he not understand what Hui Lan and the Xie Family meant by keeping his talents hidden? But since Deputy Mayor He Zhengfei had specifically reserved a seat for him, Dong Xuebin could not refuse the man's goodwill. He was a high-ranking deputy Bu Level official, after all, and Dong Xuebin was not the kind of person who would flaunt the Xie Family's name and look down on others. If others showed him an inch of respect, he returned them a yard. So he could only head over.

The first row was filled with leaders.

There were government leaders as well as school leaders.

Since it was directly beneath the stage, it was highly conspicuous. As soon as Dong Xuebin entered the first row, quite a few people looked over. Those who did not know him quietly asked the people beside them. They probably wondered why such a young man had been assigned a front-row seat and were all rather curious.

In the middle section.

Dong Xuebin spotted He Zhengfei. He was watching the performance attentively with a smile on his face. Sure enough, the seat beside Deputy Mayor He was empty, so Dong Xuebin sat down.

He Zhengfei saw him. "You're here?"

"Mm." Dong Xuebin smiled.

He Zhengfei asked, "Hui Lan's doing well?"

"She's doing great. She flew off as soon as her postnatal confinement ended. I think she's got more energy than I do, hehe. She's just about seven or eight pounds heavier than before."

He Zhengfei smiled as well. "Young people nowadays all prize being slim, treating it as beauty, but there's no need for that. A little extra weight is healthier and makes you less likely to get sick. And it's only seven or eight pounds, so that's fine. Hui Lan used to be too thin. This weight is just right for her. You don't know this, but my wife was beautiful back then too. But after giving birth, she immediately gained twenty pounds. Now she puts on another three or four pounds every year, ha."

Dong Xuebin laughed. "I saw Aunt on television once. It's not as bad as you say, and you can tell she must have been especially beautiful when she was young."

"She's old now, though."

"Not at all. Aunt doesn't look old."

"Enough about her. What about your child?"

"Hui Lan took him with her. They went to the Southern Region together."

"She took him with her? Oh, I thought Madam Han would be looking after the child."

"My mom said she wanted to help us look after him, but Hui Lan wouldn't agree. She insisted on raising him herself. Even when I want to hold my own son, I need her permission. Don't even get me started."

"Hehe, that's what mothers are like."

"Yeah. There's nothing I can do about it."

At Dong Xuebin's workplace, or in the government offices where he had worked before, people at his rank were generally middle-aged, around forty or so. Dong Xuebin usually interacted with them as peers at work. After all, the officialdom valued seniority, and rank determined everything. But before He Zhengfei, Dong Xuebin clearly did not dare speak as though they were peers. He worked with Dong Xuebin's father-in-law, and judging by his tone, he seemed quite close to Dong Xuebin's wife as well. Naturally, Dong Xuebin addressed him and his wife as uncle and aunt, showing them great respect.

After chatting for a few moments, the two turned their attention to the performance.

Seeing He Zhengfei chatting and laughing so warmly with a young man, several officials nearby could not help glancing over. It was rare for Deputy Mayor He to put aside his airs and speak so amiably with someone so young. But much like the situation in Dong Xuebin's own department, the gap in their standing meant they knew nothing about Dong Xuebin's background. They probably had not even heard his name. At most, they knew he was an official from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The performances continued one after another.

Cross talk...

Singing...

Dancing...

Finally, the students from Teacher Jiang's class took the stage as well.

Dong Xuebin watched with great interest, applauding and cheering from time to time. It was quite good.

Around noon, the school anniversary performances came to an end. Everyone applauded one last time, and then, surrounded by the school leaders, the officials in the first two rows headed out first.

Outside.

He Zhengfei greeted several officials he knew. Then, seeing Dong Xuebin there as well, he said to him, "I have something to do this afternoon, so I won't be staying for the meal. I'm leaving."

Dong Xuebin immediately said, "All right, then take care."

He Zhengfei gave an "Mm." "Dong Quan is one of my old subordinates. I've heard a little about what happened this time. He really was at fault—far too arrogant. You don't need to spare me any face. Handle it however it should be handled."

That was what he said, but Dong Xuebin obviously did not take it literally. He understood the meaning behind his words as well. "It's nothing, just a minor conflict. It's not that serious. Besides, he already apologized to my teacher, so let's just let it go. And of course I have to give you face. I was only trying to scare him earlier. I wouldn't do something like abusing public power for personal revenge. Let's just put this behind us." Teacher Jiang had already spoken, and Dong Xuebin had agreed, so naturally he had not intended to give Dong Quan a hard time anymore. Dong Quan had already embarrassed himself enough today, and Dong Xuebin had vented his anger.

He Zhengfei smiled. "You need to scare people? If he'd known who you were, how could he have dared to provoke you? In all of Jingcheng, you're probably the only one who would dare to storm the Municipal State Security Bureau alone."

Dong Xuebin laughed awkwardly. "I can tell—you're criticizing me."

He Zhengfei chuckled. "Not at all. I actually rather like that personality of yours. If I were in your position, I definitely couldn't be as carefree as you are. That's why I envy you." After a pause, He Zhengfei waved his hand. "Enough of that. The car is waiting for me. I'm off."

"I'll see you out."

"Forget it. Go eat."

"Fine. I'll come visit your home when I have time."

"Sure, you're welcome anytime. Haha."

He Zhengfei was not a particularly amiable leader, at least not toward others. But when dealing with Dong Xuebin, he looked every bit like an elder, warm and kindly. This only left the people around them who saw their conversation even more confused. They had no idea why He Zhengfei had such a good relationship with this young man. Everyone had seen what happened at the school gate earlier. This young man had clearly not given He Zhengfei any face, and they had seemed as though they barely knew each other. Yet how long had it been? Why were they suddenly chatting so happily? Had they known each other before?

At that moment, Vice Principal Wang came over. "Director Dong, the hotel outside has already reserved a table, and the cars are here. Shall we head over together?"

Dong Xuebin looked at him. "To a hotel?"

Vice Principal Wang gave an affirmative hum. "It's not far. We'll be there in five minutes."

"What about everyone else?" Dong Xuebin asked.

"The other teachers and students have banquet tables arranged in the first and second cafeterias," Vice Principal Wang replied.

Dong Xuebin immediately nodded. "Then I won't go to the hotel either. On a school anniversary like this, eating at the school feels more fitting. I still miss the stir-fries from the second cafeteria. I have to try them today."

Vice Principal Wang said, "But all the leaders and officials are—"

"Don't treat me like an official. I'm just a graduate," Dong Xuebin said decisively. He had to give He Zhengfei face, but there was no need to do so for anyone else. Besides, he had not had much of a good impression of Vice Principal Wang to begin with.

Seeing that he could not persuade him, Vice Principal Wang could only agree. There was no other choice. From what had happened earlier, he had already seen Dong Xuebin's personality. Dong Xuebin spoke in pure Jingcheng dialect, clearly the kind of old Jingcheng native who had lived in the hutongs. And ninety percent of old Jingcheng natives tended to be hot-blooded and indignant. There was also a kind of Jingcheng temperament called being a "maverick"—in standard Mandarin, it roughly meant "to hell with whoever." Ordinary old Jingcheng locals were like that, let alone Dong Xuebin, who was a Zhengchu Level official. He was clearly a very headstrong person.

Over there.

Le Hai Dong, Sun Ru Hua, and several other classmates came out as well. When they saw Dong Xuebin, they all headed over.

"Xuebin, going to eat?"

"Yeah, I'm starving. Let's go."

"Hehe, I'm hungry too. Shall we wait for Teacher Jiang?"

"Hey, Teacher Jiang is already here. Over there, over there."

Looking that way, Jiang Min was also leading the students from her class out of the auditorium in scattered groups.

The moment they saw Dong Xuebin, quite a few of Teacher Jiang's students gathered around him. It had not been convenient to talk earlier, so only now did they start firing questions at him.

"Senior!"

"Hello, Senior!"

"You really are a Zhengchu Level leader?"

"Senior, we'll be graduating in a couple of years too. Can you share some experience with us?"

People from Shanghai liked talking business, while people from Jingcheng liked talking about officialdom. This had a direct connection to the cultural background and history of the regions.

Seeing Jiang Min encouragingly nod as well, Dong Xuebin had no choice. As they walked toward the cafeteria, he briefly told them about life in government offices—nothing more than some trivial insider know-how.