The Beauties Help Me Become the No.1 Official
Chapter 379: Joining the Game Personally

Chapter 379: Chapter 379: Joining the Game Personally

The hot vapor billowed from the pool, yet Lin Fan felt a chill run through his entire body.

At this moment, Zhu Defu was still smiling kindly, but the words coming out of his mouth were definitely beyond everyone’s expectation.

Seeing Lin Fan offer no response, he continued, "I know you’ve been inquiring about things concerning Red Flag County recently, and it seems you’ve caught wind of Zhao Chuanchun’s situation. So now I can clearly tell you, what you’ve heard is not the real news."

"It’s not the real news... Could it be that the Zhao Family doesn’t dominate Red Flag County?"

Lin Fan looked at Zhu Defu with doubt. From the information gathered these days, Zhao Chuanchun’s reputation and status in Red Flag County seemed unshakable. Moreover, Zhao hadn’t shown his face from start to finish at the investment promotion conference, even a person who wouldn’t give Deputy Mayor Zhu Defu any face, how could that be false?

"That’s not it, but the rumors are too superficial. The affairs within Red Flag County are a hundred times more terrifying than you’ve heard."

Zhu Defu’s smile remained, but Lin Fan genuinely couldn’t muster a smile, "Uncle Zhu, you just said that Red Flag County isn’t a Dragon Pond and Tiger Cave, so why are you saying this now?"

"I meant that for others, it might be a Dragon Pond and Tiger Cave, but for you, it might be the rejuvenating Yaochi Divine Water."

Zhu Defu smiled as he looked at Lin Fan, "You see, essentially, you and Guo Baoming are different. Both of us come from peasant families and, for the first twenty years, our understanding of the official circles was virtually zero. We stumbled through another twenty years of work and only just got a grasp of how things work, only to find that our golden opportunities had long passed. So even if a noble person helps us, and at over fifty we sit in the position of Deputy Mayor, with our age, do you think I still have any chance of rising?"

"Mayor Guo’s situation is different?"

Lin Fan asked, curious.

"Of course it’s different. His parents were inside the system, his father reached the position of city bureau chief at his highest, so his perspective from a young age was different. His actions and style are naturally distinct. When we were still playing in the mud, he already knew about networking. If it weren’t for his father’s trouble that implicated him, he might by now have already entered the provincial level."

Zhu Defu shook his head, "So he, compared to us, is far more ruthless and crafty, and he also knows better how to act. When Hou Changyao was in power, he was utterly loyal, hustling before and after the saddle, climbing up using all kinds of unsavory means. But he was also the one who eventually took down Hou Changyao. A person like that is truly capable of turning face ruthlessly and is unpredictable."

"I do agree with Uncle Zhu, this Guo Baoming is indeed formidable."

Lin Fan leaned on the pool’s edge, Guo Baoming’s face surfacing in his mind, with a smile that was inscrutable.

"Oh, what have you found?"

Zhu Defu smiled as he looked at Lin Fan.

"Nothing much, just had two meals, so I don’t know a lot. But just based on his smooth talk, which tapped into human nature’s suspicions and confrontations, just this ability to argue is enough to give one chills. Any issue, once in his mouth, would take on a different appearance, but looking at the same issue from another angle does indeed present a different perspective."

Lin Fan looked at Zhu Defu, "Uncle Zhu, there’s something I want to ask you. Did you purposefully arrange for me to get close to Sister Zhu Dan?"

"Right, is that what Guo Baoming told you?"

Zhu Defu actually nodded without any denial.

"Just because you disapproved of Zhu Dan’s ex-husband?"

Lin Fan also looked directly into Zhu Defu’s eyes without denial.

"Do you really think that if Zhu Dan doesn’t tell me about her life, I don’t know anything? I’ve known about her ex-husband’s infidelity and domestic violence against her for a long time. And I know Zhu Dan; she swallowed all the bitter fruit so as not to be laughed at by me. But has she ever thought that I am her father, how could I possibly laugh at her? I am heartbroken for her."

Zhu Defu’s eyes suddenly glared at Lin Fan with an intensity, "But I couldn’t intervene too forcefully, because she is impetuous and proud. I can’t strip away her facade; I must preserve her last bit of dignity. So I arranged for you to get close to Zhu Dan, because I know she would surely be attracted to an excellent man. And today at noon, she sneaked back early, and your private meeting has probably proven everything. So I know she will never look back."

In the hot spring, silence fell. Lin Fan looked at Zhu Defu, at a loss for words—it was like a thief who had stolen a luminous pearl, only to find when he congratulated himself on the theft that it had been deliberately placed there, and someone had watched him take it away.

As silence filled the air between the two men, it was Zhu Defu who took the initiative to break the quiet, "Do you want to ask if Zhu Dan is a chess piece I placed by your side?"

Lin Fan stared into Zhu Defu’s eyes, he indeed wanted to ask but couldn’t, while Zhu Defu said with a light smile, "Actually, what I was thinking is that if one day I were to run into trouble, she could treat you as a protective umbrella, just like Chen Jiayi would."