However, since then, one of them had been in Qingyang while the other had been in Dongzhou. They had never met again. In their entire lives, they had only met once in Dongzhou. That was why Li Rui could recognize Zhou Yulin's voice but could not remember who he was.
It was unimaginable that today, the two people who could not meet again in the province had miraculously reunited in the United States on the other side of the world. Even though Li Rui only recognized Zhou Yulin, it was enough to make people unable to express their surprise.
After Li Rui recognized Zhou Yulin, he did not stop and immediately returned to the departure lounge. Many questions were flashing in his mind. Why did Zhou Yulin suddenly come to the United States? Didn't he need to go to work today? Wasn't it a working day? Also, why didn't he bring his secretary, but only his daughter? Why did he and his daughter come to the United States alone? However, there was a situation that could explain everything. The so-called daughter was actually his "goddaughter." He brought his "goddaughter" to the United States to have fun. However, looking at the relationship between the two of them, it did not seem like they were father and daughter.
He then remembered the phone call that Zhou Yulin had made in the bathroom just now. He thought about the words "Pass on my message to that woman." If he was not wrong, that woman should be Wu Nan. He was lying to Wu Nan. He did not have any surgery at all, and he did not need to rest for two days. He had asked for leave in the name of surgery, but in reality, he had come to the United States!
After returning to the departure lounge and sitting next to Xu Da and Yang Xiang (Zixuan was sitting with his father and brother. In public, especially when Gao Guotai and his son were present, Li Rui did not dare to be too close to Zixuan), Li Rui immediately took out his phone and called Wu Nan to confirm this matter.
"Xiao Rui? Why are you here? Why are you calling at this time? Is there something urgent? "
From the other end came Wu Nan's sleepy and somewhat strange voice, as if he had just woken up.
It was at this moment that Li Rui realized that he had been so focused on confirming this matter with Wu Nan that he had forgotten about the time. To be precise, he had neglected the concept of time difference. It was indeed afternoon in America, but it was midnight in Shannan Province in China. At this time, Wu Nan should be sleeping soundly. He hurriedly said, "I'm sorry, I forgot about the time difference. I'm in America now, and it's afternoon."
Wu Nan was very surprised and said involuntarily, "You're in the United States? I … I'm not dreaming, am I? It must be a dream. As Song Chaoyang's secretary, how could you suddenly go to America … "
Li Rui didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He didn't expect that his words would stun the usually calm and steady female mayor. He said, "I suddenly came to the United States because of something. I'm preparing to go back now, but I suddenly bumped into an acquaintance. I'm not sure, so I want to confirm it with you."
Wu Nan didn't say a word. He didn't know if she was still in a daze or waiting for him to continue.
Li Rui whispered, "I just saw a person who looked very much like the Executive Deputy Mayor of Dongzhou, Zhou Yulin. He seemed to have taken a leave of absence. The reason was surgery. Is that so?"
"Oh my!" Wu Nan exclaimed involuntarily, "Yes, he took a sick leave last Wednesday. He said that he had varicose veins and went to a famous hospital in Beijing for surgery. He said that he would be back in three or four days, but it's been almost a week and he still hasn't come back. I've been looking for people to rush him every day. A lot of work in the Municipal Government that belongs to him as the Executive Deputy Mayor has now come to me. I can't handle it at all. He … he went to America?"
Li Rui said, "Yes, not only did he go to America, but he also accompanied his daughter. But it was just the two of them. I didn't see his secretary accompanying him."
Wu Nan exclaimed, "He has a daughter who just graduated from university last year. At that time, I thought that he would arrange for his daughter to work in the best unit in the city, but he didn't. Of course, with his family background, it wouldn't be a problem even if his daughter didn't work. But he actually brought his daughter to America? It's not the New Year, so why did he bring his daughter to America? It can't be for a vacation, right? Oh, could it be that he wants his daughter to continue her studies in a famous school in America? "
Wu Nan was also a very smart person. He immediately thought of the most likely scenario, which was that Zhou Yulin brought his daughter to America to study. This was also something that some of the rich and powerful in China were keen to do. They wanted their children to study abroad so that they could be promoted when they returned to China. If they didn't return to China, they would have to live abroad forever.
Li Rui denied Wu Nan's guess, "It's definitely not for her studies! I just heard Zhou Yulin say that his daughter would come to America to work soon. If it was for her studies, it wouldn't be for work. Uh, could it be that Zhou Yulin came to America to help his daughter find a job? "
Wu Nan still couldn't believe the fact that he bumped into Zhou Yulin in America. He muttered, "He actually went to America? But doesn't he have varicose veins? When he asked for leave from me, the pain on his face didn't seem to be an act … "
Li Rui sighed, "Who doesn't know how to pretend to be in pain? This is one of the skills that everyone has mastered since they were young. The parents haven't even raised their hands and the child's face is already full of pain. You believe that? I see that his legs are very nimble. He must have lied to you. "
Wu Nan said angrily, "Damn it, damn it!"
Li Rui said, "This matter is strange. It's definitely not as simple as we thought. I'll think of a way to help you find out."
Wu Nan said, "Yes, there are many suspicious points. Everything is abnormal. I've never seen such a strange thing. If you can help me find out, I'll have to trouble you."
Li Rui said "You're welcome" and hung up the phone. He held the phone in his hand and said to Yang Xiang, "Sister, go to that brand store now …" He pointed to the shoe store and continued, "… there's a man and a woman inside. The man is wearing sunglasses and the woman is buying shoes. It's a father and daughter pair. Find a way to eavesdrop on their conversation. The more you hear, the better. At the same time, use your phone to take a picture of the man's side profile so that people who know him can recognize him at a glance. " After that, he opened the camera app on his phone and turned the phone to vibrate to ensure that there was no sound when he took the picture.
Yang Xiang took the phone and glanced at it. She asked curiously, "Why should I eavesdrop on their conversation?"
Li Rui pushed her and said, "Go quickly. I'll tell you when you come back."
Yang Xiang curled her lips and got up to walk to the shoe store.
Xu Da saw this scene and just smiled. He didn't ask anything.
Three minutes later, Li Rui saw Zhou Yulin walk out of the brand store with his daughter holding his arm. His daughter had another bag in her hand. It was obvious that she had just bought a pair of shoes. However, he didn't see Yang Xiang come out. He didn't know if she had taken a picture or not.
Li Rui was afraid that Zhou Yulin would recognize him. He bent down and put his face on his legs, pretending to be asleep.
"Here you go!"
After a while, Yang Xiang's voice sounded in front of Li Rui. He looked up and saw that Yang Xiang had already walked back and was handing him a phone. He quickly took it and opened the photo album. There were more than ten photos. Zhou Yulin was in every one of them. There were close-ups of his side profile and his back, as well as photos of him with his daughter. There were two photos of his side profile. Even though he was covered by sunglasses, his features could still be seen. Anyone who knew him would be able to recognize that he was Zhou Yulin.
"Well done!"
Li Rui praised Yang Xiang and asked, "Did you hear what they were talking about?"
Yang Xiang had already returned to his seat. He shook his head gloomily and said, "No, they didn't talk the whole time. They were just buying shoes."
Li Rui frowned. If Zhou Yulin and his daughter did not talk about the inside story of this trip while waiting for the plane, then when they were on the plane, in an environment where most of the people around them were from the same country, he was afraid that they would not talk about it. If that was the case, how could he find out the inside story?
Yang Xiang asked, "What's going on? Can you tell me now? "
Li Rui put away his phone and said, "Actually, there's not much to say. The man in the sunglasses is called Zhou Yulin. He's the executive deputy mayor of Eastern City. He lied to the mayor and pretended that he was sick and needed surgery. However, he suddenly came to the United States in secret. What's even stranger is that he brought his daughter with him. Looking at the things in their hands, it doesn't seem like they're here for shopping. I'm very curious about the truth behind this."
Yang Xiang asked curiously, "He's the deputy mayor of Eastern City. You're just a small cadre in Qingyang. Why do you care about him?"
Li Rui said, "Last year, I was invited by the mayor of the Eastern State to conduct training for the poverty-alleviation cadres in the Eastern State. I once crossed paths with this Zhou Yulin. This person is very scheming, and he is addicted to the politics of the bureaucracy. In the process of attacking the mayor, we had a little conflict …"
Yang Xiang suddenly understood and said, "You're looking for a chance to take revenge!"
Li Rui shook his head and said, "You're underestimating me. I'm not going to take this kind of person seriously. I just want to find out the inside story of why he came to the United States. Of course, on the big picture, I suspect that there's a certain degree of corruption involved in this matter. As a cadre who adheres to the principles and loves his country and party, I have to find out the inside story and identify the corrupt officials to save the country's losses and protect the interests of the people. "
Yang Xiang clicked her tongue and praised, "Your image in my heart has instantly grown! I feel like I don't know you anymore. "
Xu Da interrupted, "You said that there might be corruption involved in this matter. I agree. A one-way ticket from China to the United States costs more than ten thousand dollars. A two-way ticket for two people would cost more than forty thousand dollars. Including the cost of food, lodging, and domestic transportation, it would add up to about fifty to sixty thousand dollars."
Li Rui added, "There's also the pair of shoes that his daughter just bought. It cost more than two thousand dollars. That's another ten thousand dollars. In total, it's sixty to seventy thousand dollars. Even if he's the deputy mayor, he doesn't have the money to go on a sudden and expensive trip abroad, right? Actually, I know that when some officials go on a trip abroad, they're sponsored by big businessmen. However, no businessman would be willing to give without getting something in return. There's also a power and money transaction involved. If we can find out about this, then we can get this corrupt official to step down. "
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