Official Career Storm

Chapter 1587 1587

Wanqiu?

Jiang Yiren's gaze followed Song Guanchao's figure and saw a tall and elegant silhouette.

Upon seeing the other's pure and extraordinary appearance, Jiang Yiren suddenly felt a sense of crisis.

What a beautiful and graceful woman.

His greeting was also very intimate.

He ran so fast, as if they hadn't seen each other for a long time.

Jiang Yiren puffed her cheeks and silently followed.

"Guanchao?" Lin Wanqiu was surprised, a hint of joy fluttered in her eyebrows as she approached, "What are you doing here?"

"Attending last night's charity banquet." Song Guanchao asked, "And you, here on vacation?"

He had been at the charity banquet all night last night and hadn't seen Lin Wanqiu; she probably wasn't there for the banquet.

Lin Wanqiu shook her head and was about to explain when she saw Jiang Yiren.

"Jiang Yiren, a colleague from the city government." Song Guanchao's introduction made Jiang Yiren a bit displeased, and she cast a resentful look.

Lin Wanqiu caught her slight mood, smiled, and said, "Hello, I'm Lin Wanqiu."

"Hello."

The two women shook hands lightly, and Lin Wanqiu said, "I'm here looking for someone."

"Looking for someone? Who?"

"A colleague of mine."

Lin Wanqiu said, "She came to Pinghai City for an interview and went missing."

Song Guanchao asked, "Did you report it to the police?"

"No... Let's find another place to talk. There's a café over there."

Lin Wanqiu was very familiar with the area, obviously not her first time here.

They went to the café, and Lin Wanqiu briefly explained her colleague's situation.

Her colleague had come last month and told her mysteriously before leaving that there was a big case hidden in Pinghai City. If she could interview and report it, she would become famous!

As for what the specific case was, her colleague didn't say.

"We basically talked every day, but at the beginning of the month, I suddenly noticed some problems."

"She was out of contact?"

"No." Lin Wanqiu shook her head, "She still keeps in touch with me, even today."

"If you can get in touch, how is it called missing?" Jiang Yiren interjected.

Lin Wanqiu took out her phone, opened the chat interface, and scrolled to the beginning of the month's chat records.

She pointed to a message from her colleague, "I haven't had Moonrose Bakery's pastries for a long time. Treat me when I return."

"Moonrose Bakery is a news story we covered together. This store was reported for using recycled oil in pastries and was forced to close after our report."

Song Guanchao realized, "She's using this way to tell you she's under control?"

"I was suspicious at first but wasn't sure." Lin Wanqiu scrolled down a few more lines, "This one, this one, and this one... these are all news we interviewed together."

One could be a coincidence, but several in a row cannot be explained away as coincidence – these are distress signals.

Song Guanchao asked, "Does her phone have a location function?"

"Yes, but it's turned off." Lin Wanqiu said worriedly, "We often cover sensitive news, and the phone's location function is impossible to turn off – it must be the person controlling her who turned it off."

Song Guanchao realized the seriousness of the issue; the news her colleague was covering was very sensitive.

If it were an ordinary local journalist, they might not be imprisoned and just be directly threatened, and most local journalists wouldn't dare to meddle further.

But a journalist from the Ministry of Propaganda, with a high status and unusual background, even if the other party has some influence, they wouldn't dare act rashly.

Imprisonment, pretending she is still investigating, is the most correct choice.

Song Guanchao asked, "Did you mention it to the Ministry?"

"Not yet, I'm afraid if the Ministry knows, and the matter becomes widely known, the other party might act recklessly, and I'm worried something bad could happen."

Her concern was very reasonable; at this stage, it's just imprisonment. Once the impact expands, it might escalate to murder to silence.

Precisely because of this worry, she didn't report it to the Ministry or the police.

"Do you have any clue about the news she was covering?"

If we knew what she was investigating, we might be able to get to the bottom of it.

"She didn't say, but it must be a big issue."

She said before leaving that once she completed the interview and report, she would surely become famous.

For a Ministry of Propaganda journalist to say such words, you can see this is not a small matter.

Song Guanchao had a thought in his mind, "Then let's check what major events have happened recently in Pinghai City."

"I've checked and found nothing."

What Song Guanchao could think of, she had basically thought of and done it too.

She had been in Pinghai City for nearly a week, and so far, she still hadn't found anything.

"Don't worry for now."

Song Guanchao comforted, "Let's analyze it carefully."

"First, this is a news story that can make your colleague famous."

"Generally speaking, what kind of news would make your colleague say such words?"

Lin Wanqiu furrowed her brows in thought.

Song Guanchao asked again, "Did your colleague have any contact with Pinghai City government departments?"

"I don't know."

"Have you contacted any leaders of Pinghai City Government?"

"No."

"So you're actually worried too that the case your colleague is investigating might involve local officials?"

Lin Wanqiu nodded.

"You're not wrong to worry." Song Guanchao said, "Since it's big news, it must be either black or white. Or it could be a mix of both."

"So, stop investigating for now. I'll ask someone to find out about the political situation in Pinghai City."

Lin Wanqiu glanced at Jiang Yiren, "Would that affect your work?"

"In my view, your matter takes precedence over work." Song Guanchao said earnestly.

Lin Wanqiu's cheeks flushed lightly.

Jiang Yiren's cheeks puffed slightly; these two definitely have something going on. He never spoke such sweet words to her.

"Let's go, head back first."

They returned to the guesthouse, and Lin Wanqiu was on a different floor.

After bidding farewell to Lin Wanqiu, as they exited the elevator, Jiang Yiren asked, "Not going back today?"

Song Guanchao shook his head, "You head back first; I'll leave once I'm done here."

"I won't go back." Jiang Yiren said, "I'll leave when you leave."

"Alright, then stay."

After all, as a deputy director in the secretarial department, she didn't have anything too important to handle.

Jiang Yiren felt a little angry, as Song Guanchao was indifferent to her plans.

Whether she stayed or left, he didn't seem to care.

This made her feel unimportant.

She walked ahead of Song Guanchao, pulled open the door, entered the room, and forcefully closed the door behind her.

Song Guanchao glanced over and muttered to himself, "Is she angry?"

He didn't have the time to coax her now, went back to his room, opened his contact list, and pondered whom he should reach out to.

He didn't know anyone in Pinghai City.

Pinghai City is a city under Wu Province... Wu Province!

Song Guanchao suddenly remembered, just recently, he had dealings with the governor of Wu Province, Governor Li, because of Xu Chengcheng.

He found Governor Li's number and dialed it.

Beep... beep...

"Hello, Mr. Song." Governor Li's tone was polite.

He didn't specifically know Song Guanchao's background, nor did he need to.

He only knew that even Xu Family in Beijing couldn't afford to offend Song Guanchao, which was enough.

"I hope I'm not disturbing you, Governor Li?"

"Haha, I'm not busy right now."

"That's good." Song Guanchao straightforwardly said, "I want to understand something from you, Governor Li."