191: Chapter 191 Dignity?

Director Qi Heng had been in a good mood lately.

The bosses on the Crackdown on Organized Crime list were very sensible; they knew when to treat him to dinner, when to give gifts, and when to offer bribes. After a few rounds, more than half of the names on that list had been crossed off.

He sat in his office, holding a teacup, leaning back in his chair, and looking at the gray sky outside the window with a self-satisfied smile on his lips.

Being the bureau chief was quite enjoyable, far better than his time as the deputy captain of the municipal criminal investigation detachment.

Back then, he had no power in his hands, and if he wanted to collect anything, he had to look at other people's expressions.

Now it was different. He was the bureau chief in charge of the entire county's public security. Amidst the current Crackdown on Organized Crime, he could decide who was part of organized crime and who wasn't.

Which of those entertainment venue bosses wasn't scrambling to curry favor with him?

The top girl at the high-end clubhouse in the county seat was a girl in her early twenties with the stage name Mengmeng, who was indeed quite attractive.

Director Qi Heng first met her during a vice raid. That night, he had personally led the team and turned the clubhouse upside down.

Dozens of scantily clad young women were squatting by the wall, each looking more miserable than the last, except for Mengmeng, who was squatting there unhurriedly.

She even deliberately brushed back her hair and looked up at him.

Director Qi Heng was stunned for a moment, staring for several seconds until someone next to him called out, bringing him back to his senses.

He didn't take her back to the Public Security Bureau but instead had his subordinates take her alone to his car.

Mengmeng sat in the back seat, kissed him, and said, "Director Qi Heng, I was wronged. I didn't do anything; I was just there having tea with friends."

Director Qi Heng sat next to her, reached out to pinch her chin, and tilted her face up.

Mengmeng had fair skin, large eyes, and lips painted with dark red lipstick.

After a while, he let go, leaned back in his seat, and spoke in a tone as casual as if chatting with an old friend.

"Want me to let you go?"

Mengmeng's eyes lit up. She moved closer to him, pressed her body against his arm, and said in a voice as soft and sweet as honey, "Director Qi Heng, if you let me go, I will listen to everything you say."

Director Qi Heng didn't make a move on her at the Public Security Bureau; instead, he booked a room at the Luyuan Hotel the next evening.

Mengmeng arrived right on time, wearing a black tight-fitting dress, her hair loose, and her makeup exquisite. Her high heels made no sound as she stepped on the carpet.

Director Qi Heng pressed her onto the bed. She neither dodged nor struggled; instead, she took the initiative to wrap her arms around his neck, her breath hot and smelling of strong liquor.

Director Qi Heng was very satisfied; this woman knew how to read the situation.

She knew when to be submissive, when to be promiscuous, when to pretend to be innocent, and when to act seductive. She was much better in bed than Su Bainian.

Su Bainian was always unwilling and only gave in when threatened with their son...

The liquor was brought by Mengmeng, and she left first later on.

Director Qi Heng didn't go home. He was drunk, and the alcohol made him bolder, so he actually brought Mengmeng straight back home.

When he pushed the door open, the living room lights were still on, and his wife was sitting in her wheelchair, watching TV.

She wasn't asleep; she had been waiting for him.

Seeing him enter the door and seeing the woman behind him, the expression on her face didn't change at all.

"You're back?"

Director Qi Heng didn't look at her; he put his arm around Mengmeng's waist and stumbled toward the bedroom.

As they passed by his wife, Mengmeng even turned her head to look at her, her eyes filled with the mockery of a victor.

Director Qi Heng's wife watched the two of them enter the bedroom and close the door.

But she didn't move and remained sitting in her wheelchair.

She turned up the TV volume until she couldn't hear anything else, then pushed her wheelchair slowly back to her own room.

She sat in the wheelchair, watching the deep night outside the window, and tears streamed down silently.

When did this start?

Was it after he became the bureau chief?

Was it after he discovered he had the power to play with people in the palm of his hand?

He wasn't like this before. In the past, he would push her around the residential compound for walks after getting off work.

He would wash her feet, give her massages, and tell jokes. On her birthday, he would buy her a bouquet of flowers and a cake. When she had nightmares, he would hold her and say, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

But she didn't care anymore. What she cared about now was just maintaining the appearance of a home, not letting others see the failure of her marriage, not letting others see her husband's true face, and not letting others see her own pitiful state...

She wiped away her tears, pushed her wheelchair to the bedside, and struggled to move herself onto the bed.

She turned off the light, opened her eyes, stared at the ceiling, and listened to the sounds coming from the next room.

Director Qi Heng fussed around until midnight, and then that woman left.

He came out of the bedroom shirtless, and when he passed his wife's room, he pushed the door open to take a look.

His wife was lying on her side, the quilt covered up to her shoulders, breathing evenly as if she were asleep.

He stood there for a while, turned and went out to the study, lit a cigarette, sat in a chair, picked up his phone, and scrolled through it; there were no messages.

Director Qi Heng was very satisfied; everything was proceeding at the pace he had envisioned.

Riding the wave of the Crackdown on Organized Crime, he, Director Qi Heng, was practically the uncrowned king of Changyuan County!

He didn't know that on the street below his building, a black sedan was parked in the shadows where the streetlights couldn't reach.

Director Li Zhongmin sat in the driver's seat, looking through the car window at the brightly lit window of Director Qi Heng's home.

He held a notebook in his hand, densely filled with notes on the situation he had observed over the past few days.

Monday: Director Qi Heng booked a room at the Luyuan Hotel.

Tuesday: Director Qi Heng spent the night with a woman at the clubhouse.

Wednesday: Director Qi Heng brought an unidentified woman home.

After the woman left, he followed her and confirmed her identity; it was indeed the top girl from the clubhouse.

He closed the notebook, started the car, and slowly drove away.

At the County Committee Compound, the lights in the Discipline Inspection Commission's office were still on.

Several people were sitting around a table, with the materials in front of them piling higher and higher.

They didn't speak, each flipping through the files in their hands, occasionally exchanging a few words in low voices.

A young man wearing glasses picked up a document, flipped through it, and handed it to the person next to him.

The person next to him took it, glanced at it, nodded, and placed it on another stack.

These materials were all about Director Qi Heng, including reports from the public, internal reflections, preliminarily verified situations, and clues provided by Director Li Zhongmin.

The Discipline Inspection Commission's handling of cases required solid evidence and legal procedures; they couldn't convict someone based solely on reports.

Therefore, they were investigating slowly, unhurried and composed, combing through things one by one and verifying each case, making sure every link was solid before taking action.

Director Qi Heng was no ordinary person; he was the Public Security Bureau chief, so there had to be sufficient reasons to move against him.

But they weren't in a hurry; evidence would speak for itself.