54: Chapter 54 Breakup...

(Breaking up should ideally be written on Qixi Festival, but it's too far away... By then, who knows if this book will even exist.)

The night was deep. Xu Weidong lay on his dormitory bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

The words Secretary Wan Xiaohan said during the day played repeatedly in his mind like a movie.

Qili Village is not just a human trafficking den!

Those young and beautiful ones are sent to a secret place, specifically for surrogacy!

Shenghong Pharmaceutical... has a very good relationship with Zhang Di!

Shenghong Pharmaceutical!

The company belonging to Bai Bing's family!

Bai Bing's father is General Manager Bai Xinghe!

Xu Weidong closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He recalled the first time he visited Bai Bing's home during college. Back then, General Manager Bai Xinghe was gentle and elegant, articulate, and treated him, the "prospective son-in-law," with warmth and hospitality.

Chatting about business at the dinner table, General Manager Bai Xinghe said he was in medical equipment and occasionally dabbled in some health and wellness projects.

At that time, he even thought that Uncle Bai was a Confucian businessman, unlike those money-grubbing businessmen.

Thinking about it now, what exactly were those "health and wellness projects"?

His phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the caller ID and quickly sat up to answer.

"Dad."

"Not asleep yet?"

The voice of Xu Tianhua came from the other end of the line, with no discernible emotion.

"Can't sleep."

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds, then Xu Tianhua spoke, his tone a few degrees heavier than usual.

"Comrade Weidong, Dad has something to tell you."

Xu Weidong's heart sank. He knew that if his father used this tone, it wouldn't be a small matter.

"Go ahead."

"It's about Bai Bing."

"You must break up with her."

Xu Weidong did not speak. He had long expected this day to come.

From the moment Secretary Wan Xiaohan said the words Shenghong Pharmaceutical, he had a faint premonition.

But when these four words truly came out of his father's mouth, his heart still felt like it was being fiercely squeezed by something.

"Dad, does Bai Bing... know?"

"I don't know if she knows."

"But that's not important."

"What's important is that her family's company is too deeply involved in this chain of interests."

Xu Weidong was silent.

"Someone must have told you during the day, right?"

"They did."

Xu Weidong's voice was low: "Shenghong Pharmaceutical has a very good relationship with Zhang Di. Zhang Di's father is the former secretary of the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission, Deputy Secretary."

"It's more than that."

"That line with General Manager Bai Xinghe can lead to even more people further up."

"I cannot tell you some people's names, but remember this."

"Those people are not someone you can touch right now, nor are they someone you can touch just because you want to."

Xu Weidong gripped his phone tightly. He thought of Bai Bing's face.

He thought of the curve of her eyes when she smiled, and the soft sound of her voice when she called him, Comrade Weidong.

He thought of those days in college when they studied together in the library, ate together in the cafeteria, and walked together by Weiming Lake.

"Dad, she..."

"Comrade Weidong, I know you're in pain."

"Dad has never interfered with your private life in his life."

"I have never managed what kind of friends you make or what kind of relationships you have."

"But this time is different."

Xu Tianhua paused and continued: "In my current position, there are too many people watching."

"You are my son, and many people will look at you with a magnifying glass."

"Once the matters concerning Bai Bing's family are dug up, that will be a knife... a knife aimed at me, and also a knife aimed at you."

Xu Weidong's breathing became a bit rapid... He understood some of the logic.

"I'm not trying to scare you."

"When political struggles reach this level, no one cares about personal feelings."

"My opponents would love to skin me alive."

"This line involving Bai Bing's family is a ready-made breakthrough. Do you think those people will let it go?"

Xu Weidong closed his eyes. Of course, he knew his father was right.

Political struggles never show mercy.

He had seen too many examples...

A person, because of a weakness, is held firmly by their opponent, and ultimately ruined.

Those weaknesses can be money, power, or women.

Bai Bing is his obvious weakness.

If he were just an ordinary person, he might care a lot about his girlfriend, but Xu Weidong is not an ordinary person; he is the son of Xu Tianhua.

Xu Weidong said calmly: "Dad, I know what to do."

On the other end of the phone, Xu Tianhua was silent for a few seconds.

He heard the change in his son's tone, the shift from struggle to acceptance, which stirred up complex emotions in his heart.

"Comrade Weidong, Dad knows this is somewhat cruel to you."

"But you must understand that in this position, some things are destined not to go as one wishes."

Xu Tianhua also felt a bit uneasy. Logically, he should be at his most spirited time now.

With the national police in his hands, his entry into the next term is set in stone...

Yet, he cannot even let his own son live freely, and even dating has to be compromised...

It's just that the power in his hands is not big enough... Sure enough, once you become an official, there is no end to it...

Xu Weidong did not speak.

"Bai Bing might not know about her family's business, but whether she knows or not is no longer important."

"Her identity is there; she is the daughter of General Manager Bai Xinghe."

"As long as you are with her for one day, you are tied to her family's affairs for one day."

Xu Tianhua paused, his tone becoming more solemn: "Comrade Weidong, Dad promises you that if Bai Bing is not deeply involved in the case, I will have people take good care of her and ensure she has a normal life for the rest of her days."

"This is an exception Dad is making for you."

"But I cannot promise you anything else."

Xu Weidong's eyes felt a bit sore. He knew it was rare for his father to do this much.

With his father's current status and the sensitivity of this industrial chain, if it were anyone else, they would have been cut off cleanly long ago.

The fact that his father could still think about ensuring Bai Bing's normal life for the rest of her days was already giving him immense face.

"Dad, I know. I will handle it."

"When?"

"As soon as possible."

On the other end of the phone, Xu Tianhua was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Good, Dad believes you can handle it well."

Xu Tianhua paused and added: "Comrade Weidong, you are more mature than I imagined."

After hanging up the phone, Xu Weidong sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the night outside the window.

Moonlight shone through the glass, casting a pale light on the floor.

He picked up his phone and pulled up Bai Bing's number.

Xu Weidong closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

When he opened his eyes again, his gaze had become calm.

Some things, no matter how difficult, must be done.

It was just a little wind and frost on the road to growth...

It was nothing big...