Mr. Li, my wife doesn’t want to remarry and secretly gives birth to a baby.

Song Qingyi didn't believe him. "If it really wasn't you, would you be so indifferent now?!"

Song Chenggong stood with his hands behind his back; he could only remain indifferent, or he would invite trouble upon himself.

"The bigger the tree, the more the wind will blow against it. That kid Li Jingchen must understand that. If it wasn't him who went in, then it would have been me."

"Then you can go in."

"I stand on the side of justice!"

Song Qingyi said without any politeness, "Even if I send you in, I won't send him in!"

what?

Song Chenggong was furious. Did this brat even know what he was saying?

"I am your father!"

"So what? He's my best brother! I promised him you're not that kind of person. If you dare to scheme against him, I'll be the first to send you to jail."

"You!" Song Chenggong slumped into a chair. "Then you can send your father in there, you unfilial son."

"Fine, you said it. Do you think I wouldn't dare?"

Song Qingyi was so angry that he turned around and left.

"You stop."

Song Chenggong didn't expect him to be serious!

He immediately stood in front of Song Qingyi.

"Bastard thing!"

With a sharp slap, a crisp slap landed on Song Qingyi's face.

Song Chenggong pursed his lips, a hint of annoyance flashing in his eyes.

Song Qingyi calmed down a bit. "Should we hit you again? It's okay, I'm tough!"

Song Chenggong snorted angrily, "You unfilial son, you won't be satisfied until you ruin your father."

Song Qingyi was also furious. "You embarrass me first! You know perfectly well that Li Jingchen has been without a father since he was a child. While others have powerful backers, he has to support his family on his own. He is already in such a miserable situation, so why do you still collude with outsiders to bully him? How can you face your own conscience? How can you face his deceased father?"

Song Chenggong had to emphasize again, "I said, this matter has nothing to do with me."

Song Qingyi sneered, "Oh right, you just give orders to others to do things, and you're all clean-handed with no responsibility whatsoever. For this position, you keep chasing after officials, how high can you go?! You're treacherous, you've lost all the most basic morality and conscience."

"Song, you've lived most of your life, and you've really failed!"

With a bang, Song Qingyi slammed the door shut and left.

Song Chenggong's emotions remained unsettled for a long time.

He slumped back into the chair...

Song Qingyi's sharp words just now struck a chord deep within Song Chenggong's heart.

Sunlight streamed through the airtight window, falling on his weathered shoulders.

perhaps.

He shouldn't hide that long-buried past anymore...

……

Li Jingchen had already anticipated that Song Chenggong would meet with him.

Despite being extremely busy, the number of investors has plummeted due to public opinion and official documents, and everyone is trying to avoid risks and being investigated.

"sit down."

Li Jingchen poured tea for Song Chenggong.

"Like a frog being slowly boiled in lukewarm water, I'm currently in that lukewarm water, slowly being cooked."

Song Chenggong remained silent.

“Jingchen, your father and I are old friends. I watched you grow up. Because of Li Qinghe, I complained about you, but I didn’t actually do anything about it.”

“I believe you,” Li Jingchen said in a deep voice.

Song Chenggong sighed, "Now everyone thinks that I'm the one who wants to kill you."

“What the public sees is only what others want them to see,” Li Jingchen said meaningfully. “Actually, I don’t care how much money this project can make; I only care about the value it brings.”

Song Chenggong raised his head and looked at Li Jingchen, his eyes gleaming with a deep light.

"How much money do you think is the right number? What do you think, Uncle Song?"

"Yes..." Song Chenggong also sighed, wondering how high an official position really is.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time now. If I just stand by and watch you get schemed against without offering any help, and if I know that the industries and technologies you’re developing are beneficial to the Southern Emperor’s development but choose to ignore them, then that would go against my original intentions.”

Song Chenggong still remembers the time he took the oath.

We must be wholeheartedly dedicated to benefiting the people and serving them.

But Song Chenggong paused here.

Because there was something that happened more than ten years ago, buried deep in his heart, making him feel very depressed and heavy.

He didn't tell anyone about this.

"Even Qingyi doesn't know, so now I need to tell you."

More than ten years ago...

At that time, Song Chenggong had not yet reached his current position.

At the time, there was a project in the development zone that he approved and signed off on, following the normal and compliant approval process. However, there was a chemical manufacturing plant nearby, which Song Chenggong did not pay much attention to at the time.

He told the local officials to handle the matter discreetly.

Unexpectedly, his negligence at the time affected subsequent major cases!

The day before the project was to commence, an explosion occurred at the chemical plant. Upon receiving the news, Song Chenggong rushed over, only to be informed by his subordinates that one person had died.

That subordinate was none other than a stranger.

It was Wang Yi's father, Wang Lidong.

Only Wang Lidong witnessed this incident. Song Chenggong knew that this was a serious consequence of his negligence at work, but at that time he was facing a critical period of selection and appointment.

In order to get promoted smoothly, he had no choice but to give up the position to Wang Lidong and keep the matter a secret.

Unexpectedly, this incident became the leverage the Wang family had over Song Chenggong.

Wang Lidong's son, Wang Yi, was successfully recruited as his secretary through an unofficial contract. Wang Yi was Wang Lidong's informant, and Song Chenggong could only turn a blind eye to it.

There are some things he doesn't not want to do, but he doesn't dare to, so he can only let Wang Lidong step on his back to seek benefits for his children.

At this point, Song Chenggong's eyes were filled with regret and remorse.

“I have never embezzled a single penny over the years. I have been conscientious and dedicated to my duties. This one thing is the only stain on my life.”

"Actually, as a person, I should have chosen to call the police at that time, but I chose to cover up the truth instead."

"So many years have passed, but I still wake up from nightmares in the middle of the night for a long time."

"Qingyi said I've always been a failure, and that kid is right..."

"I neglected to care for him since childhood because of my work. Qingyi's mother and I divorced many years ago. It's not an exaggeration to say that I'm divorced and have a broken family."

Now that things have come to this, Song Chenggong feels much lighter.

Right now, his dim and weathered eyes are filled with sorrow.

"Jingchen, what should I do?"

Li Jingchen remained silent for a long time.

He knew full well what it meant for Song Chenggong to say this.

After a long pause, he finally spoke.

“I have known since I was a child that with great power comes great responsibility. If I use my power to cover up the truth for a mistake I made many years ago, the consequences will be much more serious when the truth comes out.”