MWC – Chapter 201 The New Residence

I AM DROPPING THIS NOVEL. IF ANYONE WANTS TO CONTINUE THEY CAN. IF POSSIBLE PLEASE SHARE THE LINK SO I CAN BINGE READ TOO.

A luxurious suite on the fifth floor executive level of the New Era Mall rivaled even the opulent VIP rooms of the Wenderbao Club in its extravagance.

Originally, it had been a place for Old Liu to stay overnight when working late at the company. After the mall was sold to Jennifer, this suite and the adjacent room were merged and renovated. The original plan was to turn it into a dormitory for James, the professional manager sent by Jennifer to oversee the operations of the mall—somewhere he could rest if he worked overtime.

However, things didn’t go as planned. After the renovation and a two-week period of airing out, James hadn’t spent even a single night there before it was commandeered by someone else.

Supposedly, a councilman from Beiguan—who had strong ties with the big boss—rented the place for the long term.

Now, every time James walked past the suite, he fumed with indignation.

Especially today—this morning, that so-called councilman moved in, and James, to avoid seeing him, promptly found an excuse to leave the administrative zone under the pretense of work.

Inside the suite at this moment, Lu Ming was frowning. “If he’s a capable manager, let’s observe for now. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a bit of comfort, but with such a high salary, even back in the day Old Liu wouldn’t have arranged such a large suite for his general manager.”

Standing before Lu Ming was Bi Xiaoting.

She was a small but legendary rich woman in Councilman Lu Qianxing’s office—having risked herself to help her boss, she had directly become a hundred-thousand-level shareholder. She had become the symbolic figure that inspired the other administrative officers to work hard.

Jennifer had never been fond of handling money matters herself, always entrusting professionals to manage her assets.

James was indeed competent, but judging by his conduct, it wouldn’t be surprising if he later began helping himself to company perks.

Bi Xiaoting knew her boss—“Miss Fifteen” was not one to trouble herself with such annoyances. She had a pure heart and simply wanted to be a quiet little angel. So, when Bi Xiaoting noticed something amiss and heard the boss had returned, she made a call to report the issue—never expecting that the boss would directly move in. His actions were always shrouded in mystery.

Hearing Lu Ming’s comments, Bi Xiaoting nodded repeatedly.

“She’s doing well, right?” Lu Ming asked.

“When the boss called, Miss Fifteen was so happy she cried,” Bi Xiaoting replied.

Lu Ming nodded. “Once this busy period is over, I’ll take her to the horse races.”

Waving his hand, he dismissed her. Bi Xiaoting bowed and took her leave.

Lu Ming stood up and began pacing, deep in thought.

Three days ago, he had returned to Donghai. He spent two days reuniting with Hanzhu and Pamela at home, saw Bizhu briefly, and even took Bess to the amusement park for half a day. Today marked his official move into this new residence.

He had, in fact, visited the apartment the office had rented in the third electoral district, but felt that staying there long term would be a form of torture. Just then, Bi Xiaoting called to mention this suite, and it felt like destiny—as if the heavens themselves had arranged it. It wasn’t that he couldn’t endure hardship, but… well, might as well move here.

After all, the New Era Mall was still within the third electoral district.

The apartment the office had rented was in the Jixiangli community.

Jixiangli was one of the three communities in the district and had the lowest voter turnout—almost no one participated in elections.

The other two communities had already set up their community canteens, but the plan faced cold resistance in Jixiangli.

So, from the administrative officers’ perspective, if the boss wanted to immerse himself in community work, Jixiangli was the best place to start.

Clearly, they didn’t understand him at all.

Lu Ming shook his head.

Jixiangli’s buildings were all old-fashioned interior corridor-style apartment blocks. Dozens of buildings, all with identical layouts—each floor had more than ten households, eight on the south side, seven on the north.

The moment he stepped into the pre-prepared apartment unit, he knew he couldn’t handle it.

It wasn’t about the living conditions. In his past life, during the 21st century, many young people lived pampered lives, but he himself wasn’t averse to hardship.

The problem was the poor soundproofing in those outdated buildings. At night, he’d probably hear even whispered conversations from neighbors—let alone other noises.

A few days would be fine, but any longer and he’d probably develop a nervous breakdown.

In his past life, such buildings didn’t even exist—at least he had never lived in one.

So, he settled for the next best thing and followed what seemed like divine guidance to this place.

What’s more, Councilman Lu Qianxing’s office was located in the community behind the mall—the same place where the little girl selling lemonade came from. A few steps downstairs and he’d be there.

As for commuting from here to Liberty Tower—whether he should take public transport—he’d decide later.

Scratching his head, Lu Ming thought to himself: all those firm resolutions he had made in the Western Territories—why did they all seem to unravel once he returned?

Maybe he really wasn’t cut out to be a politician. Should he consider working behind the scenes instead? Promote a proxy?

Pamela? Han Anni?

At the moment, Pamela seemed to have better emotional intelligence and listened to him more—aside from being a little jealous, she didn’t have any major flaws.

Hmm. Something to think about.

If, a few years from now, he really did get elected as a councilman in Donghai, financial disclosure requirements would become very strict. That could be a headache.

Truthful disclosure? Impossible.

False disclosure? That would be a huge liability.

Not to mention, many of his current plans couldn’t be revealed publicly.

Perhaps being the head of a political party—pulling strings behind the scenes to control a political faction—would suit him better.

But that would first require him to truly build a political power base.

Well, one step at a time. There was still plenty of time, and plans never keep up with change anyway.

Suddenly, the phone rang.

Lu Ming walked over and picked up the receiver. Old Liu’s booming voice came through, “Qianxing! Ha Shan and I want to have the wedding soon—how about the end of this month?”

Lu Ming laughed. “Sure! As long as it’s not the day of the council meeting, I’m good!”

It was the 27th today. The next few days all counted as the month’s end.

Council meetings were always held on the 30th.

“Great, great! I’m going on my honeymoon then! Ah, life is good!” Old Liu sounded overjoyed, ecstatic.

“Get out of here!” Lu Ming laughed and hung up.

It was funny when he thought about it. Old Liu wasn’t deliberately trying to irritate him—how could he have known Lu Ming’s circumstances?

Donghai’s media had cleared Old Liu’s name, and after Ha Shan’s exclusive interview was published, she became known as a kind-hearted Cinderella.

Old Liu, in turn, was held up as a model among wealthy men—a widowed older tycoon who valued genuine emotion over beauty and youth. He had become a positive example for societal values.

No wonder he was in such a good mood.

The public controversy over this case had finally died down.

But in the capital, a new wave of public opinion was targeting Lu Ming’s personal integrity—so for now, he decided to lie low.

A nobody like him—even with Richard’s backing—still had to watch out. Would those big newspapers in the capital really waste time trying to destroy someone like him?

Just as he was mulling it over, the phone rang again, this time more urgently. Lu Ming picked up the receiver, and a familiar male voice came through:

“Commissioner, we’ve found some leads on Yang Guiren’s case.”

It was Liu Teng, the director of the Public Office.

Yang Guiren had been a key figure in the follow-up to the Border Commissioner assault case. After reporting Lu Ming to the police, he had committed suicide by poisoning.

Lu Ming’s mind snapped to attention. After a brief pause, he said, “Let’s meet right away.”