Late at night, Ling Zhengdao stumbled out of a small restaurant after drinking too much.

He was just having a meal, but feeling down, he ended up drinking a bit too much. Drinking alone and getting drunk obviously means there's something bothering him.

Ling Zhengdao, 27 years old, is a junior staff member of the Taxation Department at Zhongping County National Tax Bureau. As a graduate of Yan University, he is considered a young and promising civil servant.

But this iron rice bowl is not so simple. Two years ago, he gave up the opportunity to stay in the big city with his passion and took the civil service exam, being assigned to the Zhongping County National Tax Bureau.

Young people are always a bit impetuous and tend to be discontented with certain things. Over time, he inadvertently offended Han Hongchao, the deputy director of the tax department.

At first, Ling Zhengdao felt that he had done nothing wrong. But ever since Han Hongchao became a full-time employee of the Tax Bureau, his life in the Tax Bureau became increasingly difficult.

Now in the department, Ling Zhengdao, this Yan University graduate, is almost like a janitor. He sweeps the floor, cleans the tables and cleans the restrooms. In short, he does all the dirty and tiring work.

And that's not all, Han Hongchao came up with another business assessment. What kind of business acumen could Ling Zhengdao, who spends all day cleaning, possibly have?

“For some people who just coast along in the department, they have to be fired!” Han Hongchao would casually say this to Ling Zhengdao, essentially trying to get rid of this thorn in his side.

Given the current situation, Ling Zhengdao felt that he would probably be fired by the end of the year because of his poor work performance.

Thinking about myself, a top graduate from Yan University, having done nothing in two years as an assistant and ultimately being fired, made me feel extremely depressed.

That's why he drank a whole bottle of liquor and got himself drunk.

I was already feeling a bit dizzy, and then the cool evening breeze hit me, and the alcohol kicked in. My stomach churned and acid rose up, this is gonna be a rough night.

Gritting his teeth against the urge to vomit, Ling Zhengdao hurried into an alleyway, preparing to find a secluded spot to empty his stomach.

Turning into the alley, he accidentally bumped straight into a car parked there. Fortunately, the car was stationary, or else there would have been big trouble.

Who parked the car here in the middle of the night? He was hit so hard that it even knocked some of Ling Zhengdao's alcohol back into him. He glared at the car in front of him, quite furious.

"Come down here!" Ling Zheng, who was drunk, pointed at the car and shouted. He didn't care if there was anyone inside, he just pulled on the car door with force.

At this late hour, there wouldn't be anyone on the estimated car. Ling Zhengdao wouldn't have done this if he wasn't drunk.

But the car windows, which were empty before, suddenly rolled down at this moment, revealing a face ashen with anger. "What do you want to do?"

Seeing the other party's accusatory expression, Ling Zhengdao's anger flared even higher. "What do you want to do? You hit my car..."

Originally, Ling Zhengdao wanted to have a good talk with the other person. However, before he could finish his words, he realized that this person had sharp eyes and looked a bit like Tang Lijun, Deputy Director of the National Tax Bureau.

Couldn't it be seeing things? Lǐng Zhèngdào looked again, this time with greater scrutiny. Wasn't the person in the car Táng Jù? Who else could it be?

"Tang Ju..." Ling Zhengdao felt a little awkward. He sighed inwardly, feeling unlucky. How did he keep running into the bureau chief? It seemed like he really couldn't stay at the tax bureau.

But just after Ling Zhengdao uttered the words "Bureau Tang," he froze again. Through the car window, illuminated by the headlights, he saw another disheveled person in the passenger seat.

This person was unknown to Ling Zhengdao at first, but he was definitely not Tang Lijun's wife!

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy with silence. Ling Zhengdao and Tang Lijun looked at each other for a long time, neither of them speaking.

"Are you from the tax department?" Finally, Tang Lijun spoke first.

"Yes, Bureau Tang, you..."

Ling Zhengdao was about to ask the director what was going on, but he swallowed his words. Need I ask? In the middle of the night, with a man in a crown in the car, what else could they possibly be doing?

"I was just passing by." After all that effort, Ling Zhengdao finally managed to steer the conversation back on track.

"Well then, let's go back. I have to work tomorrow." Tang Lijun chuckled in a rather bossy manner, but the smile looked rather strained.

Ling Zhengdao nodded hurriedly and said, "Then I'll go first?"

When he said this, Ling Zhengdao's eyes couldn't help but glance at the passenger seat. He wanted to confirm if that person was really the bureau chief's wife.

But upon seeing this, he was startled all over again. This wasn't the chief's wife; it was clearly the county party secretary's wife!

The wife of the County Party Secretary, Hu Zhancheng, Zhao Liren, is the Deputy Director of the County Environmental Protection Bureau. Ling Zhengdao had met her a few times before and was quite impressed with this dignified and elegant director.

But at this time, the dignified and graceful director was blushing all over his face, looking flustered.

Tang Lijun saw that Ling Zhidao's eyes kept lingering on Zhao Liren, and his face was getting darker and darker. He cleared his throat twice and said, "Xiao Ling, shouldn't you go back?"

"I'll go back right away."

Ling Zhengdao realized he had seen something he shouldn't have. He stammered, then quickly added, "Captain Tang, I'm so sorry. I was just passing by."

As he walked out of the alley, Ling Zhengdao's alcohol finally wore off.

"Am I seeing things because I've had too much to drink?" He shook his head vigorously, turned back and glanced at the Buick sedan behind him. Wasn't that Tang Ju's car?

……

Last night I drank too much. When Lingzheng woke up after a nap, he looked at his phone and saw that it was already 8:30.

"I'm going to be late!" Gritting his teeth against a hangover headache, he sat up in bed and quickly threw on his clothes. He splashed some water on his face and rushed out of the apartment.

What a shame! Han Hongchao usually finds trouble for himself, and being late to work probably won't have good consequences.

With a heart full of anxiety, Ling Zhengdao didn't even bother to have breakfast. He hopped on his bicycle and rushed to the National Tax Bureau.

As expected, as soon as they reached the door of the department, Ling Zhengdao saw Han Hongchao with a sullen face. Needless to say, he was definitely waiting for them.

"What time is it?" Seeing Ling Zhengdao, drenched in sweat, a strange delight appeared on Han Hongchao's usually solemn face.

"I'm sorry, Director Han..."

"The National Tax Bureau doesn't coddle slackers, and the Taxation Department even less so! Someone like you, who spends all day eating and waiting to die with no work ethic whatsoever, has no shame remaining in the National Tax Bureau!"

Ben ignored Ling Zhengdao's explanation and Han Hongchao berated Zhang instead. The colleagues around saw this scene and all wore smirking expressions, obviously everyone had no good feelings towards Han Ke, who they considered a thorn in their side.

Ling Zhengdao listened more and more, feeling ashamed. How could he just sit around doing nothing? Was he even living in the department? What work ability did he have? He paid taxes, wasn't he supposed to be here working, not acting like a nanny!

He felt like he couldn't take it anymore, and Ling Zhengdao didn't want to continue letting Han Hongchao humiliate him like this. Making up his mind, he was ready to quit his job and leave.

"Tang Ju has been looking for you all morning, why don't you go see her?"

Before Ling Zhengdao could even utter the words "I'm done with this," Han Hongchao, without missing a beat, spoke up.

Ling Zhengdao was stunned for a moment, and his mind quickly flashed back to the scene last night. His heart couldn't help but feel flustered.

A Different Path: Career Advancement