Chapter 124: Love Is Way Out of Your League

The news of the Deputy being taken away hit like a bomb, exploding across Jiangzhou’s administrative ranks within an hour.

Everyone was in shock. Just days ago, they were still speculating whether this Deputy would move up or be transferred elsewhere to take a top position. Yet now, he had been taken away by someone from above.

Though there was no official arrest warrant, the way it happened made it clear—even if he did return, any chance of promotion was gone.

For a time, everyone’s attention was firmly focused on this Deputy.

As for the others taken with him?

People might mention them if they remembered. If not, no one cared.

“So, Chairman Hua was taken too?”

Outside the entrance of Shi Ning Ji, Liu Ju stared at Yang Xia in disbelief.

Yang Xia looked a little dazed herself. After glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention, she quietly explained what she knew to Liu Ju.

When Liu Ju heard that not only had Hua Mingqiang been taken away, but even his long-time backer had been removed, he couldn’t help but swallow hard.

His gaze instinctively drifted toward the young man kneeling a short distance away, offering incense.

A certain lovely girl’s face floated into his mind.

And somehow, an absurd thought crept in—

Meanwhile, when Li Mingyu heard the news at her company, she froze.

When her eyes fell on the words “Chairman of the Food & Beverage Association, Hua Mingqiang”, her brow furrowed deeply.

She tapped her fingers lightly on the table for a long while before picking up her phone, intending to call her father.

But just before dialing, her fingers stopped midair.

Her father, Li Zhengsheng, was the district mayor of Qinghu District and currently undergoing a promotion review.

If she called and said the wrong thing now, could it interfere with his evaluation?

It was a sensitive time. Even small comments could plant doubts in the minds of the personnel department.

Her mother was out of the question too. As chairwoman of the district Women’s Federation, she was also under scrutiny.

After thinking it through, Li Mingyu decided to call Yao Yao’s father instead.

The call connected quickly, and a calm voice answered.

“Mingyu? What’s up?”

Li Mingyu, already used to his temperament, chuckled and asked, “Uncle Yao, got a minute? I have a question.”

After a pause, the voice responded, “Go ahead.”

“Uncle Yao, do you know how many people were taken today?”

A short silence. Then a number was quietly spoken on the other end.

Li Mingyu blinked in surprise. Not because the number was large—but because it was so small.

Usually, when someone as high as a deputy falls, at least twenty or thirty people would be caught in the fallout.

But this time, it could be counted on one hand.

She asked another question, “I heard the Food & Beverage Association people were taken too?”

“Yes, Hua Mingqiang and Li Guang—both president and vice president were taken.”

The voice remained calm, but a moment later, he asked curiously, “Why are you asking about this?”

“Nothing really, hehe.” Not wanting the inspector-turned-commissioner to catch on, Li Mingyu quickly shifted the topic.

“Uncle Yao, isn’t Yao Yao’s birthday next month?”

“Any plans for a party? Girls should be celebrated, right?”

After that, she rambled on about other things before finally hanging up.

She tapped her fingers against the desk again.

For some reason, she really wanted to call a certain girl.

But she’d promised her mother not to contact her for a few days.

In the end, she sent a text instead, and buried herself back in work.

When Jiang Ning saw the message, it was just around lunchtime.

That morning had been packed with important classes, and with Tian Wenhao handling things at the shop, she’d comfortably turned off her phone.

When she turned it back on, not only had Li Mingyu sent a message, but so had the paparazzi lady and Tian Wenhao.

She glanced at Li Mingyu’s message and didn’t reply—some things were better discussed over a call, not left as written evidence.

As for the paparazzi lady’s message?

Two “OK” emojis.

That meant both tasks were complete.

The first, naturally, was the takedown of the entire Food & Beverage Association.

The second was the grand opening of the store that morning.

They’d agreed beforehand on this code. Better to be cautious.

Tian Wenhao’s message was even simpler.

No need to guess—it was a congratulatory message for the successful opening of both stores.

The guy even added a string of **** marks.

Jiang Ning knew he meant it in celebration.

But from a distance, it just looked like he’d cursed and gotten censored.

After lunch, Jiang Ning and Qi Xiaoniu took a walk around the track.

The weather was nice—sunny, breezy, a perfect spring day.

Though the temperature was only around ten degrees, it already felt like spring was on the way.

The boys, in particular, were bursting with energy.

On just one lap of the track, Jiang Ning and Qi Wen were stopped twice.

And both times, it was someone looking for Jiang Old Man.

Come on, seriously.

Have they all forgotten this old man’s title as the “Heartbreaker of No. 1 High, Grade 10”?

Oh—Turns out it’s a senior from Grade 12.

Well, it makes sense, I guess. Graduation’s around the corner, and under the pressure of college entrance exams, people start doing strange things.

“Sorry, Senior. You should focus on your exams.”

“So, what you’re saying is, once I get into a good university, I can hold hands with you and walk into the future together?”

“No, what I’m saying is—studying hard is your only path forward. Love is probably way out of your league right now.”

Miss Jiang wore the sweetest smile as she delivered the most brutal words.

With that, she looped arms with Qi Xiaoniu, who was chuckling beside her, and walked right past the stunned senior standing like a statue.

To be fair, after more than a semester of constant rejections, there weren’t many people left brave enough to confess to Jiang Ning.

But with such a massive student body—and with both second- and third-years still around—there were always one or two brave souls who popped up now and then.

Just like today: asking for her contact info, or saying they “just wanted to get to know each other.”

Of course—Miss Jiang had become an expert by now.

When rejecting someone, you had to leave absolutely no room for ambiguity. If your words weren’t harsh enough, some people would take it as a sign they still had a chance.

She’d even encountered one extreme case:

She’d merely glanced at the guy once in a crowd.

And that was all it took for him to believe she liked him.

He even came over and asked her to have lunch with him.

Thankfully, she had something urgent at the time—otherwise, the poor guy wouldn’t have escaped her signature “Jiang-style combo punches.”

Back in the classroom—Qi Xiaoniu and Luo Shanshan told the others what had just happened.

The girls burst into laughter and started teasing Old Man Jiang without fear.

Naturally, it ended in a one-against-all fight. Jiang Ning won, of course.

But even two fists couldn’t fend off four hands.

She was eventually pinned to a chair in shame and then mercilessly teased.

“You just wait!!”

“One day, I’ll have you all calling me Daddy willingly!!”

But after all the fun—Their first afternoon class, originally supposed to be Chinese, was suddenly changed to math.

Ms. Yang Mei, the head teacher, had taken an unprecedented personal leave.

That was big news.

They’d been in school for over half a year, and no one had ever seen Ms. Yang take a single day off.

She had never even been late to class—
Rain or shine, she always arrived two minutes early.

But this time—Miss Jiang sensed something wasn’t right.

After class, thanks to Sun Qian’s excellent snooping, the reason finally came to light:

Ms. Yang Mei’s husband had been taken away for investigation.

(End of Chapter)