Let them offer their loyalty!

It seemed he couldn't quite hold it back, so he turned his head towards Qiu Tu and said expressionlessly, "You can't possibly get promoted. So the gap between us can never be bridged."

Qiu Tu didn't expect Zheng Tao to actually make a parting shot.

He laughed, then confidently put his hands in his pockets and asked, "What's the wager?"

Zheng Tao, "You suggest."

Qiu Tu's eyes flickered, "You have a dedicated secretary, right?"

"Lend me your secretary... for two days of fun."

"Oh, right, and your driver and your car as well."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Zheng Tao's face turned an ugly shade of red.

He didn't agree immediately but coldly glanced at Qiu Tu and said, "You've been promoted to deputy director, you'll have your own dedicated secretary, driver, and car, what do you want mine for?"

Qiu Tu nonchalantly spread his hands, "Can't I want two?"

He said, "Two secretaries, two drivers, two cars—what a show of status!"

"One secretary accompanying me, another carrying my dog. One car driving me, another transporting my dog."

"Just thinking about it makes me happy!"

Zheng Tao was so furious his face turned purple!

He snorted coldly and stormed off!

Seeing this, Qiu Tu laughed loudly "Ha ha," and then called out after him, "So, are we betting or not, Director Zheng?"

From a distance, came Zheng Tao's voice squeezed through clenched teeth, "Bet!"

Seeing that Zheng Tao actually took the bet, Qiu Tu shook his head slightly, feeling that yesterday's events really got to Zheng Tao.

Such a calm person actually dared to gamble with him at a moment when nothing was certain.

Thinking about this, Qiu Tu suddenly considered another possibility:

Shit! Zheng Tao's secretary isn't an ugly monster, is she?!

'Damn... I should have inquired beforehand before making my move.'

'I'm still too young!'

.....

Meanwhile.

Zheng Tao, fuming with anger, angrily returned to his second-floor office.

He pushed the door open.

In the office, a beautiful woman in her thirties was wiping the table.

She was dressed in a black pencil skirt and white blouse. Her figure was curvy and her posture supple.

Perhaps because her curves were so enchanting, even the simplest of business attire was worn with endless charm.

Hearing the door open, she lifted her heavy upper body and then turned her head to look over.

Seeing it was Zheng Tao, she smiled and greeted him warmly, "You're back? How was the talk with the Special Service Department? Did you get upset?"

Hearing the woman's familiar concern, Zheng Tao didn't feel the slightest bit happy. He frowned and said sharply, "I've told you many times!"

"This is the Investigation Bureau! Not at home!"

"You are my subordinate, not my wife!"

"When you see me, you should address me by my position, salute, greet properly!"

"I'll let it slide since there's no one else around today. But if others were present, who knows what rumors might start flying!"

"If I then leave an impression on the Bureau Chief that I can't separate public from private matters, that I don't focus on my work, how am I supposed to advance, how am I supposed to carry out my duties!"

As he said this, perhaps thinking of his bet with Qiu Tu, Zheng Tao's face became even darker.

He said, "I disagreed with you coming to be my secretary from the start."

"Confusing personal issues with work is a big taboo."

"But you kept pestering me, saying I'm too busy, hardly ever at home, wanting to be by my side to take care of me! I had no choice but to transfer you over."

"If you continue like this, then you can just roll back to the Administrative Office!"

The beautiful young woman obviously didn't know about the conflict that had just occurred between Zheng Tao and Qiu Tu.

She really thought it was her untimely concern that had irritated her husband, and her eyes reddened slightly...

But seeing the glum look on Zheng Tao's face, she dared not argue and could only bow respectfully, saying aggrievedly, "Yes, sir."

Seeing her like that made Zheng Tao even more irritable. He stared at the beautiful woman for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively, "Alright, alright, leave."

"Call Old Shi over. I want to have a chat with him about cooperating with the Special Service Department."

Hearing Zheng Tao's words, the beautiful young woman nodded, "Okay...."

Then, she walked towards the door. When she reached the doorway, she turned back to look at Zheng Tao and said softly with concern, "Ah-Tao... take care of your health. You stayed up all night again yesterday; your body won't be able to take it."

"And... as soon as you arrived at the Public Security Bureau, you had everyone working overtime, and everyone is..."

Hearing the beautiful young woman's words, Zheng Tao's face darkened once again.

Seeing this, the young woman did not dare to urge him further and quickly hurried away.

After the beautiful young woman had left, Zheng Tao heavily sat down in his chair, his gaze darkening as he looked toward the doorway. Enjoy new tales from My Virtual Library Empire

Although he believed that Qiu Tu had a 99.99% chance of not becoming the Deputy Head of the Political Department and that his bet was definitely not going to be a loss,

for some reason, ever since he made that bet, his right eyelid had been twitching nonstop....

Such an ominous premonition really made him feel uneasy.....

That was why he had just now been so irritable, treating his wife, who was also his secretary... with such a terrible attitude.

After sitting quietly for a while, Zheng Tao took a deep breath, then slapped his own face and comforted himself, "There should be nothing wrong. Don't scare yourself."

....

Meanwhile.

On the highest floor, the twelfth floor of the Investigation Bureau.

Inside the senior conference room, the remaining eight high-level officials of the Investigation Bureau were also in a meeting.

However, it was obvious the meeting was not going smoothly.

This could be seen from the smoke filling the room and the water being constantly refilled.

So, halfway through the meeting, Secretary Bai stood up and walked to the window. While opening it, he said with a refined smile, "You're all smoking too intensely. You're about to turn the conference room into a fairyland."

"Let's be considerate of our colleagues who don't smoke."

His joke elicited some laughter in the conference room, somewhat easing the tense atmosphere.

Seeing this, Secretary Bai, after opening the window, walked back to the conference table and continued to diffuse the tension in the room, "I believe we are all colleagues here; it's fine to have our own ideas, but let's not damage our good relations."

"Anyway, it has already been decided that the candidate for the Head of the Political Department will be promoted from within us, no matter who it is, it won't affect the big picture."

"So, if the disagreement is too significant, then let's simply report both candidates. Let the higher-ups make the final decision. This also shows respect for the higher authorities."

With Secretary Bai stepping in to mediate, those who were arguing could no longer justify continuing the dispute.

Thus, Lin Ting, the Special Duties Department Director, who had been at the center of the argument, exchanged glances with Old Shi, the Director of the Organizational Department, and they both nodded.

The Sanctuary had instructed the Xinjie City Investigation Bureau to nominate their own candidate for the position of the Head of the Political Department.

Since both deputy heads of the Political Department were Yan Chen's people, Yan Chen was neutral and had no inclination in terms of attitude.

But even though Yan Chen showed no preference, those beneath him certainly did.

It should be noted that even within Yan Chen's own faction, there were smaller cliques.

The two deputy heads who had a chance of being promoted each had the support of certain high-level officials, which led to the conflict during this meeting.

Possibly believing that the argument would not cause any harm, Yan Chen did not bother to intervene and had been slouching and half-closed his eyes since the meeting began, not inclined to offer his opinion.

But now, seeing that a consensus had been reached with the intervention of Secretary Bai, Yan Chen finally raised his eyelids. His gaze slowly swept over the high-level officials present like an old tree scanning its surroundings, then he slowly said, "Then let's do as Secretary Bai suggested."

"Submit both Old Cai and Old Zhang's names; whoever the Sanctuary chooses will take the position, and the other will assist."

Seeing that Yan Chen had settled the matter, the high-level officials present fell silent.

And after deciding this matter, Yan Chen paused to think for a moment, then continued, "Alright. Now that we've discussed the candidates for the head position, let's talk about the deputy head candidates."

"Since Old Cai and Old Zhang are sure to move up one, that will leave a deputy head position vacant."

"What are your opinions on this candidate?"

As soon as he spoke, the atmosphere that had just slightly eased tensed up once again.

The high-level officials present exchanged glances, each seeing sparks in the others' eyes...

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