Brian Sullivan turned the steering wheel and made a U-turn, heading straight for the Municipal People's Hospital. He could easily use the excuse that his left shoulder injury hadn't healed yet to stay in the hospital for a few more days, avoiding an early meeting with Mark Brooks...

Brian Sullivan went back to the government dormitory to catch up on sleep, while John Reed spent the entire morning holed up in the office of the Production Safety Department at the city steel plant.

The other deputy plant managers all found excuses to slip away, refusing to show their faces no matter what, leaving him with a belly full of anger and no one to vent it on.

Unable to wait for Tom Clark to return from Xinjing, Big Mouth Harris saw that his brother-in-law was sulking at the plant and knew that wasn't a solution either. He shamelessly suggested, "Why don't we go to Nanyuan? I know a pair of twin sisters from Yinghuang International, we could invite them to join us for a meal."

Looking at his brother-in-law's swollen, pig-like face, John Reed felt irritated too, but going straight back to the city wasn't a good idea either. If he ran into Brian Sullivan in the compound, it would be awkward whether he gave him the cold shoulder or not—either way, it would only embarrass himself.

Yinghuang International Club, a one-stop place for food, drink, and entertainment, was highly praised in Donghua City for its attentive and ever-changing services, but John Reed was cautious by nature and didn't want to go there to indulge in broad daylight. If he happened to run into other city leaders there, it would look bad.

Still, thinking that there was nothing special going on in the city today, spending an afternoon at Nanyuan seemed like a reasonable option.

Hearing his brother-in-law say he wanted to bring the twin sisters he knew from Yinghuang International for a meal, John Reed just snorted lightly and said, "Watch your mouth in front of your sister."

As the Secretary-General of the city government and also the Director of the City Government Reception Office, John Reed directly oversaw the Nanyuan Hotel, which served as the city government's guesthouse. If he saw a girl he liked elsewhere, John Reed was also in the habit of bringing her to Nanyuan for some fun.

When they arrived at Nanyuan, the hotel manager—who was also the Deputy Director of the City Reception Office—Paul Morgan hurried over to report that Standing Committee member and Deputy Mayor Mark Brooks had just returned to Nanyuan for a midday rest, and staff were instructed not to disturb him.

Mark Brooks had come to Donghua to take up his post without bringing his family, and since there were no vacant rooms in the Standing Committee villa building, he had been living and eating at Nanyuan Hotel for over half a year.

It was unclear whether Brian Sullivan had shown Mark Brooks the problematic accident investigation report from the city steel plant. At this point, John Reed was eager to avoid Mark Brooks, so he certainly wouldn't go see him and risk bad luck.

Nanyuan Hotel was originally a cluster of villas from the Republican era, which were fenced off and turned into the city government's guesthouse after liberation.

Although a twenty-story building—the tallest in Donghua at the time—was built as the main building of Nanyuan Hotel in the late 1980s, the real gems of the hotel were still those dozen or so small villas left from the Republican era.

These villas gradually became exclusive spaces for city leaders to receive guests or take a break. Internally, they were customarily referred to as Building 1, Building 2, and so on, to indicate whether the building belonged to the Party Secretary or the Mayor.

Although John Reed wasn't the mayor, as the Director of the Reception Office, it was only natural for him to secure some perks for himself, so having his own exclusive villa at Nanyuan was nothing unusual.

John Reed and his brother-in-law went into Villa 17 first, sent away all the staff on duty inside, and then had the steel plant's driver go to Yinghuang International to pick up the twin sisters...

Soon, the twins were brought over, and John Reed had to admit his brother-in-law had good taste. Their looks weren't particularly stunning, but their skin was so supple that it seemed you could squeeze water out of it.

John Reed felt he was past the age of caring about a woman's face; touching that tender skin and feeling the youthful energy about to burst forth from these young girls made him feel his own heart hadn't grown old—this feeling was even more important to John Reed at this moment.

After eating and drinking their fill, they enjoyed the full range of services from the twin sisters in the room; by this time, the frustration from the morning had eased a little.

Afterwards, John Reed and his brother-in-law sat in the room to rest.

Big Mouth Harris's face was still wrapped in gauze, his cheeks and eye sockets still bruised and swollen, so John Reed couldn't just send him home now. If his wife found out her brother had been beaten up and he hadn't helped, there would be chaos at home—John Reed still had a healthy respect for his wife.

The twin sisters were not only skilled but also gentle and considerate. After providing their full service, they patiently stood behind John Reed and Big Mouth Harris, massaging their shoulders with very professional technique...

Just as John Reed was enjoying himself, hurried footsteps approached, and he looked up to see Nanyuan Hotel manager Paul Morgan burst in without so much as a greeting: "Mayor Brooks..." Seeing the two girls in just their underwear, Paul Morgan quickly stopped mid-sentence.

Seeing Paul Morgan's panicked expression, John Reed knew something serious must have happened.

Remaining relatively calm, John Reed told his brother-in-law to take the twins away first, then let Paul Morgan continue explaining what had happened.

After hearing Paul Morgan's account, John Reed was also shocked, but after thinking for a moment, he instructed: