Get Him Out of Here

Qin Feng had indeed intended to say that, but seeing Hu Jiayun ask in that manner, he changed his mind. Instead, he said with firm resolve, "No, Sister, what I said last night came from the bottom of my heart."

"That's more like it. What younger brother doesn't like his elder sister? Otherwise, all my pampering of you would have gone to waste, wouldn't it?" Hu Jiayun chuckled and then began to jog.

"But you aren't my sister," Qin Feng pursued, catching up to her.

"What? You won't acknowledge me as your sister anymore? You want to cut ties with me?"

"Sister, you know what I mean." Qin Feng turned dead serious.

Hearing this, Hu Jiayun stopped running and looked back at him. Her gaze made Qin Feng's heart race with nervous anticipation.

"You say you like me, but do you even know me at all before saying that? You don't even know whether I'm married or not, yet you claim to like me—is that a responsible attitude?" Hu Jiayun asked him.

With that, she resumed her run. Qin Feng stood rooted to the spot, completely petrified.

It wasn't as if he had never wondered about her marital status, but she had never given him a clear answer. Afterward, as she always lived alone, Qin Feng gradually forgot about the matter and subconsciously assumed she was single.

Now, Hu Jiayun bringing this up on her own initiative felt to him like receiving an answer—an answer he was unwilling to accept.

Feeling somewhat listless, Qin Feng jogged along slowly without trying to catch up with her.

"What's the matter? Heartbroken?" Hu Jiayun deliberately slowed her pace to wait for him.

"No." Though he was in a terrible mood, Qin Feng stubbornly refused to admit it.

"You look like a frost-bitten eggplant and yet you aren't heartbroken? I really don't understand you. You reject young and pretty girls, only to set your sights on an old woman like me."

Qin Feng remained silent and continued running.

"Listen to me, get along properly with that girl Hong Yue. She's a good person."

"That's my business." A surge of irritation flared up inside Qin Feng.

"Still got a fierce temper, I see. Let me warn you, you've completely offended Wang Yunfei. If you want to keep working here, you cannot afford to offend Xu Guoli. At the very least, you need Xu Guoli's protection until you find your footing in Bishan."

"Xu Guoli went to such great lengths to set you and Hong Yue up for his own reasons, but it's a good thing for you nonetheless. Regardless of whether you like the girl or how things turn out in the end, what matters is that you need to be proactive. There's no need to offend Xu Guoli and Hong Hai-feng over this," Hu Jiayun reminded him.

Qin Feng said nothing. After finishing the run, he walked straight away and headed upstairs.

"Little brat, actually giving me the silent treatment," Hu Jiayun muttered to herself, though her heart was far from as relaxed as she pretended to be.

"Township Head, if you don't find a way to get that kid transferred out of here, I won't be able to live like this anymore!" Chang Yong stormed into Wang Yunfei's office.

"What is it now?"

"I went to the Civil Affairs Office myself today to ask that kid for two quotas for impoverished households. And do you know what happened? He completely ignored me, brushing me off with a single excuse that they didn't meet the criteria."

"I am a Deputy Township Head, after all! I humbled myself and went to him personally, but he didn't give me the time of day. I've already made promises to others regarding those two quotas, and if I can't even handle a small matter like this, how am I supposed to show my face in Bishan anymore?" Chang Yong poured out his grievances bitterly.

"How much money did you take from them?" Wang Yunfei asked.

"Uh... Township Head, that's not the point. The point is that he completely disrespected us," Chang Yong said, attempting to steer Wang Yunfei into his line of thinking.

"Hmph, what's the rush? Just you wait until I find an opportunity..." Wang Yunfei sneered coldly.

"Township Head, I can't afford *not* to rush! Old Xu came to see me today with his bedding in tow; he's moved into my house and refuses to leave."

Wang Yunfei said coldly, "What is he trying to pull? Does he still want to get any construction contracts in Bishan in the future?"

"You can't really blame him, either. That project payment has been delayed for well over a year, nearly two years. The workers' wages are still in arrears, and they're breathing down his neck. He doesn't even dare to go home now," Chang Yong said.

"Tell him to wait until next year. The government definitely doesn't have any money left in the accounts this year."

"He can't wait! Old Xu said that if we don't settle the remaining balance of the project funds for him, he'll go straight to the Discipline Inspection Commission to report us and drag us down with him."

Hearing this, Wang Yunfei's expression darkened instantly, and he reached out to grope for a cigarette.

"Township Head, this really can't be dragged out any longer. The government doesn't have money, but the Civil Affairs Office does! Think of another way, get some funds out from there to settle this matter first." Chang Yong began tempting Wang Yunfei once more.

"If it were that easy to get money out, do you think I'd need you to tell me? This Qin Feng is a complete diehard—he's impervious to reason and immune to both soft and hard tactics."

"I originally thought that as a wet-behind-the-ears kid, he wouldn't know how to handle the Civil Affairs Office, especially with Yang Delin acting as a thorn in his side. I figured he'd surrender on his own before long, or cause some trouble that would give us an excuse to kick him out."

"Who would have thought that this kid would run the Civil Affairs Office so tightly that not even water could leak through, and he even managed to tame that old ruffian Yang Delin. As you've seen, his administrative work is practically flawless, and now he has Xu Guoli protecting him. What can I possibly do?" Wang Yunfei sighed, looking rather helpless.

"Township Head, we *must* find a way to get him out of here. If we don't, we won't be able to carry out our work in the future. You know as well as I do that I still have two project payments pending settlement, and the only way to get that money is through the Civil Affairs Office. If we don't get rid of him, I certainly won't survive this Chinese New Year."

"Then what do you suggest we do to get rid of him?"

"How about... I think of a way?" Chang Yong leaned over and whispered into Wang Yunfei's ear.