Chapter 1: Twenty Years of Fantasies and Illusions (Part 1)

  "Ding ding......" A sudden ring of the phone woke Shen Yang from his sleep.

  "Hmm!" Shen Yang's eyebrows were raised in confusion as he suddenly sat up straight, rubbing his slightly dry eyes with his hand. Subconsciously, he picked up the phone on the table and put it to his ear.

  "Is it Shen Yangmei comrade?" A low male voice came over the phone.

  "I am Shen Yangmei, may I ask who you are?" Shen Yangmei felt that she was not yet fully awake, her mind a complete muddle.

  "Comrade Shen Yangmei, I am Zhuang Lin, Deputy Director of the First Supervision Room of Quyang City Discipline Inspection Commission." The voice on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, as if intentionally leaving Shen Yangmei a few seconds to think.

  "Hmm! Zhuang Lin!" Shen Yang furrowed his brow, feeling that this name was somehow eerily familiar, yet suddenly he couldn't recall where he had heard it before.

  "Regarding some issues with the bribery case of Xiang Beijing, former deputy secretary of Jiaoliang County Committee, we need your assistance in the investigation. We hope you can come to the Quyang City Discipline Inspection Commission before 10 am tomorrow..."

  "Zhuang Lin! Secretary Xiang!" Shen Yang's eyebrows felt like his brain was splitting in pain, he threw away the phone in his hand, and tightly wrapped his hands around his head, instantly a dense layer of fine sweat beads appeared on his forehead.

  Biting his teeth, Shen Yangbrow exerted great effort to hold back the painful moans. He didn't know how much time had passed before he finally felt like his mind was clearing up a bit. Only then did Shen Yangbrow have the time to sort out his jumbled thoughts - it seemed like he had received some inexplicable phone call, and then maybe gotten into a car accident? But how did he end up here in such a daze? Shen Yangbrow looked around blankly at the scene before him.

  On the milky white office desk, various red-headed documents were scattered about. The topmost document was prominently marked "Notice on the Reform of County-owned Enterprises in Jiaoliang County". Shen Yang took a deep breath, calming his nervous heart, and slowly picked up the document from the desk, flipping to the last page. The time noted at the bottom right corner of the document read March 25th, 1990, with the seal of the Hua Xia Harmony Party Jiaoliang County People's Committee emblazoned on it.

  It seemed as if he had realized something, Shen Yang's eyebrows furrowed deeply as he casually tossed the documents in his hand and rushed out of the room, forcefully pushing open the door to the office across from him.

  A few people chatting in the office suddenly looked up, looking at Shen Yang's brow with a puzzled expression. One of the middle-aged men with a slightly bald head frowned and said: "Little Shen, what's wrong, you look flustered?"

  Lao Liang, Wu Jie, Xiao Gao, Xiao Liu, Shen Yangmei looked at the familiar yet strange faces in the room, shook her head slightly, "You guys are busy with your own things, I'm fine..." Shen Yangmei felt her voice was unusually dry, waved her hand and didn't say more, then retreated from the office.

  Shen Yang raised his eyebrows and walked back to the office, sitting in the office chair staring blankly at the calendar on the desk. September 1990, from the 21st to the 25th, were all circled with a red pen. Large chunks of memories slowly emerged from the depths of his mind. On September 21st, this unforgettable day, Xiang Beijing, the deputy secretary of the county party committee in Jiaoliang County, was reported for accepting huge bribes during the process of restructuring county-owned enterprises and was taken away directly from the county party committee meeting by people from the municipal discipline inspection commission.

  Before becoming the deputy director of the county party committee office, Shen Yangmei had served as a full-time secretary to Xiang Beijing. Therefore, Shen Yangmei was naturally considered to be one of Xiang Beijing's trusted confidants. When Xiang Beijing got into trouble, Shen Yangmei also found it difficult to extricate himself from the situation. For the past few days, Shen Yangmei had been restless. According to his memory, just this afternoon, Xiang Beijing's current secretary came to him with a message saying that Secretary Xiang hoped he could leave for a while. That evening, Shen Yangmei left Jiaoliang on a pretext and rushed to Quyang City where his girlfriend Ye Wen lived. However, what he didn't expect was that his girlfriend of three years had an affair. The severely shocked and disheartened Shen Yangmei had no idea how he got through those few days in a daze.

  A few days later, when Shen Yangmei stood in front of Luo Shuai, he was almost on his last breath. In these few days, the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection had obtained key evidence of Xiang Beijing's bribery. What's even more strange is that the rumors outside were that Shen Yangmei provided clues to let the inspection team find Xiang Beijing's handle.

  After Xiang Beijing was imprisoned, Shen Yangmei was soon transferred to the county party history office as director. From then on, he thoroughly became a marginal figure in the officialdom from a rising political star in Jiaoliang County. Having been subjected to cold shoulders, Shen Yangmei angrily resigned and started a company with Luo Shuai. Until 1997, Wang Decai, who was promoted to vice mayor of Quyang City, was investigated for bribery. During the investigation, Wang Decai confessed that he had framed Xiang Beijing seven years ago. The court then acquitted Xiang Beijing of all charges. People only then knew that Xiang Beijing had been framed by Wang Decai. People recalled the situation and rumors at that time, Shen Yangmei left Jiaoliang when Xiang Beijing was under investigation, in their view, apart from betrayal, there was also suspicion of jointly framing Xiang Beijing with Wang Decai.

  After Xiang Beijing was released from prison, Shen Yangmei had also visited him, but the spiritually almost collapsed Xiang Beijing simply didn't remember that he had once asked **to pass on a message to Shen Yangmei.

  Shen Yangmei furrowed his brow, making a great effort to dig up memories from his brain. He slowly walked into the bathroom, staring blankly at himself in the mirror. His face was pale, with high cheekbones and unusually bright red cheeks. The sparkle in his eyes had disappeared, his beard was unkempt, and his hair was greasy and matted. From the 21st to the 25th, five days had passed since Shen Yangmei was taken away by the municipal discipline inspection commission. During this time, he hadn't left the office building, eating, drinking, using the restroom, and sleeping all took place in the office. The people from the county committee office seemed to have forgotten that he was the deputy director of the office, no one came to report work to him, they avoided him like a ghost, not wanting to be tainted by his bad luck.

  What's going on? Shen Yang furrowed his brow and slapped himself in the face, instantly feeling a burning pain on half of his cheek. Dreams can't simulate physical pain, but who can be sure? Is it reasonable for time to flow backwards? Unable to prove whether he was dreaming or not, and unable to believe that he was in the real world, Shen Yang didn't know what malfunction had put him in this state.

  As a top student in the Chinese Department of Quyang Normal University, Shen Yang naturally remembered the passage about Zhuangzi's dream of becoming a butterfly. But was it really just a dream? Even if his memories of the past were so vivid and real, Shen Yang would rather believe that they were all just a dream. In this dream, he recalled his 20-year experience in detail. He had risen from being a political newcomer in Jiaoliang County to becoming a man who was hated by everyone for his betrayal and dishonesty. Unable to bear the cold ridicule and sarcastic comments of others, he resigned in low spirits. His girlfriend Ye Wen's betrayal, his parents' suffering due to his own actions, and the reversal of their family's fate had turned the world around him into a cold and cruel place. If not for his concern for his parents, Shen Yang might have ended his life then and there.

  Fortunately, with the help of Luo Shuai, Shen Yangmei was able to walk out of the trough of life. Later, he resigned from the county party committee and started a business, relying on his clever mind and flexible wrist, taking advantage of the spring breeze of reform and opening up, and created a not-too-big-or-small company with Luo Shuai, and the two also had some wealth! However, after experiencing the pain brought by major setbacks in life, Shen Yangmei gradually became dissolute and decadent.

  Shen Yangming washed his face in the bathroom and looked much more spirited. After returning to the office, he glanced at the clock on the wall, it was already past four o'clock in the afternoon, and it would soon be time to get off work.

  The office door was knocked gently, Shen Yang busy tidying up his thoughts, trying to calm himself down, said "come in".

  The door was gently pushed open, and a tall, handsome young man walked in. Shen Yangmei's pupils contracted slightly, almost identical to the scene in her dream. Could it be that everything she experienced in her dream was real? For an instant, Shen Yangmei was dazed.

  He turned around and gently closed the office door, then looked at Shen Yangmei with a hint of shock on his face. He let out a soft sigh and said: "Director Shen, I know we're all feeling uneasy about Secretary Xi being taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission, but you still need to take care of your own body. Look at how haggard you look now. Why don't you go home and get some rest? After all, it'll take some time for a verdict on Secretary Xi's case. I know him best, and I'm sure he won't be in trouble. This matter will eventually come to light, and the organization will clear his name."

  "Director Shen, Director Shen, are you okay?" Seeing Shen Yang's eyebrows not responding to him, a pair of eyes without focus staring blankly ahead, as if thinking about something, he continued: "Director Shen, I think you really should take a good rest, your current mental state is very poor."

  Yang Shen slowly gathered his thoughts, waved his hand to indicate the chair across from him, and said tiredly: "It's okay, just go back and get a good night's sleep. Did you come looking for me about something? Is there new progress on Secretary Xiang's case?"

  "There's not much progress to speak of, this afternoon I secretly met with Secretary Xiang through a classmate from the Discipline Inspection Committee, because time was tight and we didn't have a chance to say much, but as I was leaving Secretary Xiang had a few words for me to pass on to you."

  After hearing that, Shen Yang's eyebrows and mouth corners revealed a faint smile with a hint of curiosity, and he asked lightly: "Really? Does Secretary Xiang have something to entrust me with?"