Chapter 55: What Do You Want?

As Li Xiuyuan spoke, veins throbbed visibly on Pang Zhifeng's forehead. Pang was a smart man; although what Li Xiuyuan was discussing seemed to have no direct connection to the conflict with Qu Hui, every single word was a deliberate display of a certain possibility.

First, Li Xiuyuan had a classmate connection at the provincial daily newspaper. Second, this classmate was not a mere rookie fresh on the job at the provincial paper, but someone with actual clout and a voice. Finally, Li Xiuyuan's claim of achieving the highest score in the written exam meant he possessed the objective qualifications to be recruited by the provincial daily.

For an ordinary event, getting featured in the provincial daily was undoubtedly impossible. But under special circumstances—such as a candidate who scored the highest in the entire provincial examination being ostracized and having his work reassigned immediately upon starting his job—that instantly transformed into a high-profile news story with genuine media value.

Of course, this did not necessarily mean that Li Xiuyuan's classmate at the provincial paper could single-handedly ensure the incident was published, but at the very least, the possibility existed. And that alone was enough to make anyone unable to brush it aside.

Furthermore, Li Xiuyuan had subtly pointed out that he had a fallback option: the provincial interview training class had approached him for a job with a generous salary. A young man with a secure retreat route was far more likely to act impulsively.

Pang Zhifeng carefully scrutinized Li Xiuyuan. When they had first met not long ago, he had taken Li Xiuyuan for a rather honest and utterly ordinary young man. He had never expected the fellow to be so formidable. He had previously thought that Qu Hui's failure to suppress Li Xiuyuan was simply due to Qu Hui being incompetent, but now he realized that Li Xiuyuan was far from simple.

Through this brief exchange, Pang Zhifeng knew he could no longer treat Li Xiuyuan as a naive greenhorn just entering the workforce. This matter had to be handled properly. Otherwise, if the situation blew up—let alone during this critical juncture, even under normal circumstances—he would find it hard to weather the fallout.

"Xiuyuan, your Section Chief Qu just came over to my office to report what happened earlier. He said you have some grievances against him?" Pang Zhifeng probed cautiously.

Hearing this, Li Xiuyuan knew that Pang Zhifeng was finally willing to sit down and negotiate. And by "negotiate," it meant placing both parties on equal footing, rather than the previous attitude where the other party looked down from on high and completely disregarded him.

"Director Pang, since you bring this up, I've been wanting to report the situation to you as well and ask you to make a fair judgment for me." With a grievance-stricken expression, Li Xiuyuan began his performance.

"I honestly don't know how I offended Section Chief Qu. From my very first day on the job, he targeted me in every possible way. At first, I thought the problem lay with me, but later I heard that Section Chief Qu wanted to transfer his nephew from the countryside into the county government office, and I happened to be standing in his way.

"But this really isn't my fault! The provincial civil service examinations are organized and managed by the Personnel Bureau of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department. How could I possibly know that someone had already been earmarked for this position? Besides, ever since I learned about this, I've worked even harder, hoping to prove to Section Chief Qu that I am suited to stay in the government office..."

"Actually, Director Pang, I really endured it all. But I didn't expect Section Chief Qu to escalate his actions. During today's meeting, he openly criticized me and even threatened to force me to transfer out of my post. To be honest, I just can't wrap my head around it. Every single task Section Chief Qu assigned to me, I completed with utmost dedication without a single flaw. My work log can serve as proof of that..."

Li Xiuyuan spoke with a pitiful air. Although he genuinely was the victim, the crying child gets the milk, so he painted his plight in even more wretched colors.

He adopted the moral high ground while strictly containing the issue to Qu Hui, firmly refusing to implicate anyone else—especially Pang Zhifeng. As the director of the county government office, although Pang held the rank of a substantive section chief, due to the unique nature of the government office, the office director was part of the county government's leading Party members group and counted as one of the county government's leaders.

Li Xiuyuan could afford to have a falling out with Qu Hui, but he could not afford a direct confrontation with Pang Zhifeng—at least not at this stage when Pang had not yet explicitly shown hostility toward him. He needed to avoid escalating the matter unnecessarily and give both sides a graceful way out.

"Xiao Li, I think there must be a misunderstanding in all of this. You know how special the situation in the county is during this period; Section Chief Qu might just be a bit impatient with his work..." Pang Zhifeng defended Qu Hui.

Li Xiuyuan cursed inwardly. *As expected of one of his own people—even in a situation like this, he's still defending him.*

"Director, the eyes of the masses are discerning. To be honest, I wanted to come and report this to you many times, but on the one hand, I was afraid of disturbing your busy schedule, and on the other hand, some people said that Section Chief Qu was personally promoted by you, so..."

At this point, Li Xiuyuan dragged out his tone, deliberately pausing for effect before continuing, "Of course, I certainly didn't believe those words. I trust you. Even if he was promoted by you, you would still be fair and impartial..."

*You little bastard,* Pang Zhifeng cursed internally. *Isn't this pure blackmail?*

Under any other circumstances, Pang Zhifeng would have had a hundred ways to deal with Li Xiuyuan. But right now, he truly could not afford to get dragged down into the muddy waters. Not only did he have to keep himself clean, but he also had to pull Qu Hui ashore and ensure nothing went wrong in the county government office.

"Xiuyuan, you're right. If you've truly been wronged, I will certainly uphold justice for you and not allow the kind of backdoor-dealing you mentioned to happen in our government office. So you can go back and work with peace of mind. As long as there are no issues with your work, I guarantee no one will be able to transfer you out of the county government office," Pang Zhifeng said decisively, looking straight at Li Xiuyuan. But Li Xiuyuan didn't believe a single word of it.

"Director, I trust you, but I'm genuinely terrified of Section Chief Qu. He's a leader, and after the scene we made today, what if he deliberately gives me a hard time in the future..." Li Xiuyuan put on an expression of *I believe you, but I'm still terrified*.

This drove Pang Zhifeng up the wall, gritting his teeth in frustration. Helplessly, he said, "Then how about this? I'll call Qu Hui over, criticize him right in front of you, and make him give me his word on the spot that he won't give you any more trouble. How does that sound?"

Li Xiuyuan hesitated, opening his mouth as if to speak, but ultimately stayed silent.

Pang Zhifeng was driven to exasperation, inwardly raining curses upon him, yet he still had to force a smile on his surface. "Xiuyuan, just speak your mind if you have any ideas!"

"Director, if you say Section Chief Qu won't give me trouble, of course I believe you. But Section Chief Qu is a leader; if he gets others to target me behind the scenes, I still won't be able to survive in the General Section. I heard the General Section is looking to promote a deputy section chief, and Section Chief Qu has already internally slated Huang Wei for the role. If that happens and the newly promoted Deputy Section Chief Huang targets me, I'll really be caught between a rock and a hard place, unable to please anyone.

"By then, people will say, 'If the section chief is dissatisfied with you, maybe the problem lies with the section chief, but if the deputy section chief is also dissatisfied with you, then you really need to reflect on whether the problem is actually you...'"

Pang Zhifeng felt a sharp headache coming on. "Absurd talk! Then how about this? To prevent such a scenario, how would you like to be transferred to another section in the government office?"

His immediate thought was to pacify Li Xiuyuan by any means necessary to prevent a scandal from blowing up right now. As for settling accounts later—that was a given.

"Director, but I actually feel quite comfortable working in the General Section. I feel the people there are all quite nice, and I really don't want to leave. Besides, none of this was my fault..." Li Xiuyuan shook his head.

"No, then you just stay in the General Section. I guarantee there won't be any problems."

"Director, I'm just worried. I'm afraid of being targeted by Section Chief Qu, and I'm afraid of being targeted by the future deputy section chief..." Li Xiuyuan maintained his aggrieved posture no matter what.

Pang Zhifeng wore a dark expression. *You won't agree to this, and you won't agree to that—what on earth do you want?*

*What does he want? Afraid of the section chief targeting him? Afraid of the deputy section chief targeting him?* Pang Zhifeng suddenly widened his eyes as he stared at Li Xiuyuan, a look of utter disbelief washing over him. *Could this brat be setting his sights on the position of deputy section chief of the General Section?*

Li Xiuyuan blinked his innocent, large eyes. His gaze was crystal clear, yet it unmistakably conveyed a single attitude: *You guessed it right...*