After a brief pause, Director Gao continued, "Originally, Comrade Sun Desheng was supposed to give an inaugural speech. However, today's meeting is primarily focused on welcoming Secretary Yang, and we must keep our priorities straight. Deputy Director Sun's speech will be postponed to the next meeting—this will also give him some time to prepare."
As he said this, Director Gao lifted his head and gave Sun Fatty a glance, then shifted his eyes to Po Jun. "The final item on today's agenda is also a personnel matter concerning the Bureau. Due to personal reasons, Director Hao Wenming of Division One will be unable to oversee daily operations for the foreseeable future. As such, Comrade Po Jun will serve as acting director of Division One until Director Hao resolves his affairs and resumes his duties. To facilitate this transition, the leadership has decided to appoint Comrade Po Jun as Deputy Director of Division One. He will handle day-to-day operations in the meantime."
This announcement sparked only a bit of murmuring below—nothing like the commotion caused by Sun Fatty's promotion earlier.
"I know everyone's time is valuable, so we'll wrap up here," Director Gao said cheerfully. "If anyone has any objections, you can bring them to me directly." Then, turning toward Secretary Yang, he added with a smile, "Secretary Chengwu, your office has been prepared. Li Bangchun will take you there shortly. There's one more matter I'd like to discuss. Per your request, all internal records from the Bureau's founding onward have been sorted by Ouyang Pianzuo. However, there's a minor procedural detail I hope you can accommodate: per Bureau protocol, no internal files may leave the premises, and they must be returned to Division Five within twenty-four hours. What do you say?"
Secretary Yang nodded coldly. "No problem. Pulling an all-nighter is no big deal. I just hope I don't find anything in those files that might work against you, Director Gao."
Director Gao acted as if he hadn't noticed the pointed remark. He turned to Bangchui and said, "Secretary Yang is in your hands. Do your best to support his work." Bangchui responded with a sycophantic grin, "Yes sir, I'll carry out the mission assigned by the organization without fail!"
And so, with Secretary Yang's arrangements finalized, Director Gao officially adjourned the meeting. He waved Sun Fatty over, and the two left the conference room murmuring to each other. Secretary Yang followed shortly after, led by Bangchui to his office. Watching his figure recede down the hallway, I actually began to feel a little sorry for him. If he suddenly discovered the real inner workings of the Bureau… who knows how he'd react.
After leaving the conference room with the crowd, Po Jun was pulled aside by Qiu Bulao and Ouyang Pianzuo—probably to dig into the backstory behind Sun Fatty's sudden promotion. Left with no one else to follow, I wandered back to Division One alone.
There wasn't much to do once I got back. In fact, the quiet only made me feel more unsettled. Ever since I joined the Bureau, I'd been working side-by-side with Sun Fatty. Despite all the close calls, we had somehow made it through. And now? The fat guy was the Bureau's new number two. Po Jun was the acting division head. And Division One was left with just me—a lowly foot soldier. That sour feeling in my gut was hard to shake.
It was well past lunchtime, and Po Deputy Director still hadn't shown up. I didn't feel like waiting any longer. The airplane meal from earlier had long since been digested, so I decided to head to the canteen and grab whatever I could find.
Just as I was about to step out the door, I heard a familiar voice behind me.
"Lazi, don't you know to greet a Bureau leader when they come around? Not to point fingers, but the leadership is very disappointed. As for lunch—well, you're on your own now." As he spoke, a round, grinning face appeared from the side.
The moment I saw that chubby mug, all the gloom in my heart vanished. Deep down, I knew our positions had changed. But no matter what, I just couldn't bring myself to treat this fat guy with the same kind of awe I felt around Director Gao.
I rolled my eyes at Sun Fatty and gave his oversized rear a mock kick. "So now you're Bureau leadership, huh? Didn't say a word and just rocketed up the ladder. Keeping secrets, are we? Perfect—starting today, I'm eating on your dime. I'll tell Old Jin later, from now on every time I hit the canteen, it's on your tab."
Sun Fatty looked genuinely relieved at my reaction. With his usual cheeky grin, he replied, "No hitting or bullying Bureau leaders, and definitely no freeloading off us either. Lazi, not to be rude, but you still settle for canteen food? If I were you, I'd be dining at the Grand Royal Hotel every day."
"Don't be ridiculous. The Grand Royal doesn't even know who you are." I chuckled. "Deputy Director Sun, if you can even get the canteen to feed us, I'm already impressed."
Sun Fatty waved it off, though his face suddenly turned awkward. For once, he seemed bashful. "Don't call me 'Deputy Director Sun,' will you? It sounds weird. Lazi, just keep calling me Dasheng."
It seemed like he was feeling a little guilty for keeping his promotion a secret from me. But honestly, that awkward little moment of his made me feel a whole lot better. This wasn't the time or place for a deep talk anyway, and both of our stomachs were rumbling like thunder. Whatever needed to be said could wait until we had food in front of us.
By the time we made it to the canteen, lunch service was long over. Most dishes had already been cleared away. Still, news of Sun Fatty's promotion had clearly spread to every corner of the Bureau. The moment the young chef heard that "Deputy Director Sun" had come to the canteen, Old Jin came sprinting out of the kitchen.
"Deputy Director Sun! What brings you to my humble little place today?" he gushed.
Sun Fatty gave him a sour look. "Hunger brought me. What else? Cut the crap, Old Jin. We haven't eaten yet. Get us something to fill the gap. That pork knuckle from last time wasn't bad—start with two of those, and bring whatever else you think fits."
But Old Jin gave him a bitter smile. "No more pork knuckle today, sir. You came too late. Everything decent got sold out at lunch. I've already sent someone into the city to buy more supplies, but they won't be back anytime soon."
Sun Fatty's eyes widened. "You're joking, right? This is a canteen. How can you not have any food? You trying to lose my business?"
Old Jin kept smiling nervously. "Misunderstanding, sir. It's just that we didn't have many people around lately. I even asked Sister Lu and heard that you guys wouldn't be back for a while. So I didn't stock much. Then suddenly, this morning, everyone shows up at once. We barely scraped together enough for lunch. Even my cooks haven't eaten yet. If you don't believe me, feel free to ask around."
Never one to take anyone's word for it, Sun Fatty stormed into the kitchen himself. After inspecting the situation, he came back and muttered to me, "Lazi, let's find somewhere else. There's literally nothing in there except some green onions and ginger."
But my hunger was now a burning pain in my gut. The Bureau's location was too remote—there wasn't a decent restaurant within twenty minutes' drive. I couldn't deal with the hassle. I turned to Old Jin and said, "We're not asking for a gourmet meal. Just whip up some noodles and find something that goes with them."
Old Jin frowned. "Won't that be a bit… beneath your station?" he said, clearly talking to Sun Fatty. "There's still some flour. How about I hand-roll some noodles for you? We've got some sauce from a few days ago. If you don't mind…"
Sun Fatty was clearly starving too. He shoved Old Jin toward the kitchen. "Quit yapping. At this rate, I could've eaten noodles twice already."
While they were kneading the dough and boiling the noodles, the two of us found a table and sat down. I had intended to ask about his promotion, but at the last second, I figured he might not give me the full truth. So I changed the subject. "Sun—Dasheng, what's the deal with that new Secretary Yang today? He seemed completely clueless. What's he doing here, trying to survive on guts alone?"
Sun Fatty grinned. "The guy didn't want to be here. Too bad he didn't get a say."
Apparently, Sun Fatty had known all along who this Yang Chengwu was. Since the noodles wouldn't be ready for a bit, we used Yang Secretary to kill time—and our hunger.
Ever since Gao Liang took over the Bureau, he had run it like a fortress—airtight and impervious. Years ago, for strategic purposes, he reattached the Bureau to the public security system, but in practice, their oversight was basically nonexistent. Over the years, the higher-ups in the public security apparatus had tried every trick to plant their own people here, but under Gao Liang's control, it was like trying to tunnel through a steel wall—next to impossible.
But everything suddenly changed a few days ago. When the central leadership once again brought up appointing a Party Secretary to the Bureau—a routine suggestion that had failed countless times—this time, Gao Liang actually agreed. Just one condition: that the Bureau would be allowed to internally appoint a new deputy director at the same time.
Surprised by his unexpected cooperation, the superiors immediately agreed. But then came a problem—who would they send? This kind of assignment had always been symbolic; no one ever had a real candidate lined up. But they couldn't afford to waste this opening. After much deliberation, they picked Yang Chengwu.
At the time, Yang had just lost a key promotion and was in a slump. When he learned he was being lateral transferred to the Bureau, he naturally assumed he was being exiled in disguise. He arrived with a belly full of resentment, and his logic was drowned out by anger. Add to that his firm materialist beliefs—he had always scoffed at the legends surrounding the Bureau—and his reaction during the welcoming ceremony made perfect sense.
Just as Sun Fatty got to this part, the kitchen door swung open. Old Jin personally carried out a large tray with two bowls of noodles for us. When the bowls landed on the table, I saw that Sun Fatty had a few dozen extra slivers of fresh cucumber on his noodles. Figures—rank has its privileges.
I didn't have time to care about a few cucumber strips. I attacked my noodles with ravenous fury. As he mixed his noodles, Sun Fatty muttered, "Old Jin, really? Two bowls of noodles and you bring out a tray like that? I thought you had some fancy dishes coming."
Then he slurped the noodles into his mouth with a loud slurp slurp.
Before he could swallow, three or four people walked into the canteen. They immediately spotted the two of us at the far table and came straight over.
"Deputy Director Sun, you're celebrating your promotion with this stuff?" asked Ximen Lian. Behind him stood Xiong Wanyi and Old Mo—who had just come back to work after recovering from a heart attack triggered during the Ghost Train incident. He'd spent half a month recuperating at home and had returned just in time to witness Sun Fatty's rise.
But unusually, Xiong Wanyi—the biggest chatterbox among them—was silent. From the look on his face, he didn't seem thrilled to be here. If Ximen Lian and Old Mo hadn't dragged him along, he might not have come at all.
After finally gulping down his mouthful, Sun Fatty grinned and said, "So what, are you guys trying to treat me to a meal? Not that I mind, but won't people talk?"
"Tch…" Xiong Wanyi sneered. "You think people aren't already talking? Come on, Sun Fatty, don't push it. Haven't you mooched enough off us? Be straight with us—after work, we're booking that same halal place we went to last time. We're buying you and Lazi a drink. You coming or not? If you're in, I'll call them right now and have them slaughter a lamb."
His tone was sharp and sarcastic. Ximen Lian kept coughing behind him, and Old Mo had already tugged his sleeve, but Xiong Wanyi acted like he didn't notice. He finished his rant and fixed Sun Fatty with a side-eye glare.
To everyone's surprise, Sun Fatty didn't show the slightest hint of offense. Instead, he stood up with a grin and held up two fingers. "Not to brag, Xiong Wannabe, but one lamb won't cut it. This time, we go full lamb banquet—make it two."