Chapter 34: Cutting Mockery
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Jiang Zhaoyang tried to keep his tone calm and polite on the phone, hoping to gain Xia Beili’s understanding and assistance.
On the other end, Xia Beili’s voice was as cold as ice. “No cars! All vehicles have been assigned by the leadership. There isn’t a single car available right now.”
Her reply was brief and unequivocal, leaving no room for negotiation.
“In that case, I’ll find a car myself! But can I have until the morning? Surely that’s acceptable?”
Jiang Zhaoyang compromised.
“No! If you don’t move out by 9 a.m. tomorrow, to free up the room, your belongings will be moved outside and discarded,” Xia Beili’s cold voice came through the line.
Hearing this, Jiang Zhaoyang cursed silently—Xia Beili’s attitude had changed so fast! Faster than the dramatic face-changing in Sichuan opera! It caught him completely off guard.
His anger flared instantly.
Suppressing his rage, he forced a calm tone. “Fine, my things aren’t worth much anyway. Do whatever you want with them. I don’t want them anymore.”
Without waiting for a response, Jiang Zhaoyang decisively hung up, leaving only a series of busy signals echoing in the air.
He spat sharply on the cold floor; the saliva disappeared without a trace.
Turning, he headed toward his office.
His desk drawer still contained his phone charger and some personal items—he had to take them with him.
Jiang Zhaoyang strode into his own office building and climbed the stairs.
In the hallway, he caught whispers behind him.
“I thought this kid might turn the tables somehow, but in the end, just a suspended sentence. Truly disappointing,” a deep male voice sneered.
“I also thought he’d change the situation. Turns out, just a deferred execution.”
“What a waste of my expressions!”
“Yeah, I felt the same. I even watched his movements closely these past few days. I saw him bent over his desk writing furiously; I thought he was making plans to help the leadership achieve great things.”
Another voice chimed in mockingly, “In the end, he just wants to earn the leader’s sympathy through hard work, hoping for leniency.”
“But reality is cruel enough to chill the heart.”
A sharp female voice interjected coldly.
Another voice sneered, “Leniency? Hah, who’d want him now that Fu Zhengliang has fallen?”
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“His father’s also collapsed; all former power and status vanished overnight. Now he’s not even worth a low-level clerk.”
“In this circle, once you lose your backing, you’re like a rudderless boat in the vast sea, tossed by storms.”
“If others don’t kick you when you’re down, that’s already good fortune.”
“Expecting mercy from the leader is just wishful thinking!”
“He’s just too foolish, too naive!”
One last voice sighed, “This world isn’t one you can rise in just because you have ability. Why suffer in this remote rural town?”
“If he stayed in the county committee office, the worst would be a demotion to the township level.”
“But he gave up a bright future to come here and ‘experience the hardships of life.’ Isn’t that just asking for trouble?”
“If he’s demoted further, he’ll end up guarding a reservoir.”
“Cut off from the world, utterly dull.”
“Once gone, who knows if there’s any chance to recover?”
“Wait and see, maybe never. Maybe it’s a lifetime sentence. Perhaps this is the end of the road for him.”
Yet, Jiang Zhaoyang ignored all the rampant gossip as if he heard nothing.
He quickened his pace toward his office.
Pushing the door open, he was shocked by the sight before him.
His desk had vanished without a trace.
The room seemed restored to its original state, but with a strange emptiness and coldness.
He Di’s large desk now boldly occupied Jiang Zhaoyang’s former spot, standing out glaringly.
“Where’s my desk?”
He Di sneered contemptuously as if amused by a joke. “What do you mean ‘your’ desk? It’s public property!”
“You’re going to guard a reservoir now; what use do you have for a desk?”
“Do you even plan to take it with you?” He Di taunted, dripping with disdain.
“Hmph, I bet it’d rather be sold as scrap than suffer with you out in that godforsaken wasteland,” He Di snorted, full of mockery and pride.
Jiang Zhaoyang held back his anger. “Where’s my desk? My things are inside, and I want to take them.”
“Take the desk?” He Di sneered sarcastically. “Who do you think you are?”
“In your position now, even getting someone to help move the desk is a luxury, let alone finding a vehicle to haul it away.”
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“How exactly do you plan to move the desk?”
His words were laced with provocation, relishing Jiang Zhaoyang’s frustration.
“I’m asking where the desk is. Last time your eyesight was so bad you couldn’t even read big letters, almost blind. Now you’re deaf too?”
After speaking, Jiang Zhaoyang sneered mockingly at He Di.
“You?” He Di’s face darkened with anger. Is this guy insulting me in so many ways again?
His words were full of veiled barbs.
But he didn’t get angry.
Instead, a cat-and-mouse attitude took hold.
He slowly spoke with a teasing tone, “Oh, your precious desk? Where could it possibly fly off to?”
“Wasn’t it hurriedly moved by Zhang Mingwei and Li Yi like ants on a hot pan?”
“What, you want to know where they took it? Ha, do you even have to ask?”
“Of course, it’s now in that storeroom full of old junk—or rather, a storage room.”
He Di deliberately lengthened his tone, his voice tinged with barely concealed pride.
“Tomorrow it’ll be sold as scrap.”
“Go quickly, or your worthless junk will be treated as garbage by the scrap yard people.”
Jiang Zhaoyang ignored him, not even uttering a retort.
He headed straight for the storage room.
Behind him, He Di let out a cold laugh, filled with triumph and malice.
You foolish kid, your research results are about to become mine.
Even your girlfriend will break up with you.
If you were just a little smarter, even a slight delay might have bought you some time.
You wouldn’t be exiled so soon to that remote reservoir.