Chapter 50: The Boastful Man

  When Liu Fei entered the house, he found that Qingfeng Pavilion was a large private room. Inside the private room, there were two tables, each with six or seven people sitting sparsely. Of course, Liu Fei didn't know anyone present, so he followed Cheng Hui to sit at the outer table. The people sitting at this table were all secretaries of the provincial governor. Hebei Province has a total of seven vice governors, and at this moment, there were four people sitting at the table. After Cheng Hui sat down, he clapped his hands and said to those present: "Everyone, this is Liu Fei, the new secretary of Vice Governor Jiang. Let's say hello to everyone!"

  Liu Fei smiled at everyone and said, "Hello, I'm Liu Fei. Please take care of me from now on." After finishing speaking, he sat down gently in his seat and lowered his head to eat.

  Seeing Liu Fei being so unsociable, Cheng Hui, who was sitting next to him, furrowed his brow and said with a joking tone: "Liu Fei, our provincial government has an unwritten rule that when a new secretary takes office, they have to drink three cups of wine first to show respect to the other seniors. You just came and started eating quietly, isn't that a bit not good?"

  Liu Fei raised his head and found that everyone was staring at him, so he smiled lightly and said, "Oh? Is there such a rule? This is really the first time I've heard of it!"

  Cheng Hui just smiled, with a hint of triumphant slyness in his eyes. He bent down and pulled out a bottle of Ban Cheng Shao Guo wine from under the table, saying: "You haven't heard of it? No problem, now you have! Alright, if you're a man, finish this whole bottle!"

  As soon as the sentence was finished, the faces of several other secretaries all showed a look of schadenfreude. The few people who were originally chatting and laughing at another table all stopped, their eyes fixed on him. At this moment, all the eyes in the room were focused on Liu Fei.

  It wasn't until now that Liu Fei suddenly realized, it turned out that Cheng Hui was not a good guy at all, the previous enthusiasm was just pretending, and he had set up an ambush here waiting for himself.

  Liu Fei couldn't help but furrow his brow, the situation in front of him was extremely awkward. If he didn't drink this wine, people would probably look down on him, but if he did drink it, it would be equivalent to admitting that his IQ was too low. Later, when the news got out, it would definitely become a laughing stock. Moreover, Liu Fei felt that even if the matter didn't spread, if he really drank this bottle of wine, things wouldn't end there. Although he didn't know why Cheng Hui wanted to push him into a desperate situation, Liu Fei was clear that these old officials who had been mixing in the official circle for many years would not easily let him off the hook.

  Just as Liu Fei was hesitating, a middle-aged man in his mid-30s with gold-rimmed glasses and a refined demeanor at the next table picked up his chopsticks and said to his colleagues, "I say, brothers, why aren't you drinking?"

  A colleague opposite him smiled and said, "Yang Mi, you'd better not get us into trouble. Drinking at noon is against the rules and will be punished!" After finishing speaking, his eyes glanced at Liu Fei with a hint of implication.

  Cheng Hui's face suddenly turned bright red, and he shouted angrily at that side: "Yang Zhihong, if you don't speak, no one will take you for a mute!"

  The man wearing gold-rimmed glasses pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and sneered, "Cheng Hui, it's better to be a good person, using despicable tricks to plot against a newcomer, what kind of skill is that!"

  Liu Fei suddenly understood everything, it turned out that all of this was planned ahead of time and the means were quite ruthless. He couldn't help but feel annoyed, he really wanted to rush up and beat Cheng Hui thoroughly, but he still restrained himself. He turned his head and gave Yang Zhihong a grateful glance, just as Yang Zhihong's eyes also looked over, nodding lightly at Liu Fei before calling out to the colleagues at the same table to eat together.

  Liu Fei felt that Yang Zhihong's gaze contained many things, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what they were. However, he was certain that the gaze was filled with kindness.

  Liu Fei laughed at Cheng Hui, and Cheng Hui's face also looked a bit unnatural at this moment. He patted his own forehead in a pretentious manner and smiled awkwardly at Liu Fei, saying: "Ah, Liu Fei, I'm really sorry about that. I forgot to tell you not to drink at noon. How about we have a good drink together tonight? My treat."

  Liu Fei put down the chopsticks in his hand, smiled calmly and said: "Cheng Hui, why are you doing this? If I have offended you somewhere, just come at me directly, why bother with these sinister tricks?"

  The house fell silent again, and no one expected Liu Fei to speak so directly. This is extremely rare in the officialdom, where people usually speak in a roundabout way, with hidden meanings. When doing things, they are even more likely to be hypocritical, appearing harmonious on the surface but stabbing you in the back. Yang Zhihong couldn't help but let out a light sigh, thinking that Liu Fei was still young after all. But why did Secretary Xu praise him so much?

  Cheng Hui saw that things had already been laid out, so he didn't have any scruples. He rushed towards Liu Fei and let out a series of cold laughs: "Liu Fei, I won't say anything else. Remember, from the first day you entered this provincial government compound, we've been lifelong enemies! I'll definitely get you!" After finishing speaking, he proudly lifted his leg, took out a cigarette, lit it, and comfortably took a puff. It was clear that he didn't put Liu Fei in his eyes at all. He believed that he had already firmly suppressed Liu Fei, whether it was in terms of momentum or seniority. After all, even if Liu Fei was amazing, he was just a university student who had only entered society for less than half a year.

  Liu Fei smiled again, but this time his smile had a hint of something unpredictable. He was smiling very slightly, with the corners of his mouth lightly curled up. If Liu Fei's good brothers, Liu Zong and Xu Zhe, were here, they would definitely run far away from him, because at this moment, Liu Fei was definitely going to explode.

  Yang Zhihong saw Cheng Hui's complacent expression and guessed that Liu Fei would lose face in this gathering today. He shook his head slightly, thinking that Liu Fei was still young after all.

  Just as he was about to pick up his chopsticks to take some food, there was a sudden "slap" sound, followed by a scream. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Liu Fei had stood up, the plate in front of him was gone, and Cheng Hui next to him was covered in oil stains, with a piece of braised pork stuck on his head, and rice grains and vegetable soup all over his face. Without thinking, he knew what had happened. His heart suddenly skipped a beat, this Liu Fei, was really a fierce man, actually using a plate to hit the face of the deputy secretary of the provincial government, who was a high-ranking official, while Liu Fei was just a low-ranking section chief secretary, his guts were too big! At this moment, he began to admire Liu Fei's courage.

  Liu Fei stood up and looked at Cheng Hui, only to find that he was covering his nose with one hand and pointing at Liu Fei with the other, his eyes full of hatred as if he wanted to kill him on the spot.

  Liu Fei laughed, showing off his pearly whites to Cheng Hui's cold face, and said in a chilly tone: "Cheng Hui, remember this, from now on if you have any business with me, come at me openly and honestly. Otherwise, every time I see you, I'll beat you up! Now do you know that I'm a man?" After finishing his sentence, he lifted one foot and kicked Cheng Hui in the abdomen, sending him and his chair flying backward, landing on his back with a thud. A pained cry echoed through the air once again. Liu Fei's stern gaze swept across the people sitting nearby, then he let out a disdainful cold laugh, adjusted his collar, and turned to leave the room.

  Cheng Hui struggled to get up from the ground, gazing at Liu Fei's back with eyes full of hateful gaze, and said in a hateful tone: "Liu Fei, you wait, I will definitely make you unable to live or die!"

  What happened in the Clear Wind Pavilion quickly spread throughout the provincial government compound! Eventually, it reached the ears of Jiang Zhengyuan, the vice governor and standing committee member of Henan Province, who was Liu Fei's direct superior. Upon hearing the news, Jiang Zhengyuan was stunned, and after a while, he got up from his seat, then sat back down, before picking up the phone to dial Liu Fei's cell phone, telling him to come to the office immediately.

  It's still half an hour before work starts.