“Heh heh, you’ve got a shot, kid! Look at Julia Carter’s expression—that’s the look of a maiden in love! You’d better seize the opportunity!” Andrew Brooks grinned mischievously, slinging his arm around William Bolton’s shoulders.

William Bolton gave an awkward smile, thinking to himself, What shot? Her mother thinks I’m not promising enough! But in the end, he didn’t say it out loud, instead skillfully steering the conversation elsewhere.

In the end, everyone drank until they were completely wasted. Even William Bolton was a bit tipsy, while the other guys were totally out of it. Andrew Brooks was in slightly better shape, but he too started rambling nonsense.

Seeing that it was about time, Laura White hurried to settle the bill, but then William Bolton had a tough time—none of the men could stand, and he had to help each of them into the car, so much so that his back was about to break.

“Damn! Finally done! You guys—I’m never drinking with you again. Didn’t even get to enjoy the drinks, and I’m exhausted!” After getting the last person settled, William Bolton let out a long sigh and cursed.

“You sure can hold your liquor! Here, wipe your sweat! You’re drenched.”

William Bolton absentmindedly took the tissue handed to him, then turned and realized it was Julia Carter speaking to him.

“Huh? Just the two of us left?” William Bolton glanced around in surprise.

Julia Carter blushed and nodded.

“Then let’s go too! It’s getting late!” After saying this, William Bolton felt it might be a bit abrupt, so he politely asked, “Where do you live?”

Julia Carter blinked, and after a long moment, as if summoning her courage, said, “I live in the east part of the city. Why? Are you willing to walk me home?”

William Bolton was taken aback. Since she’d put it that way, he couldn’t refuse, so he nodded. Julia Carter smiled and quickly waved down a taxi.

“Why don’t you want to go to the Public Security Bureau? Is it not a good place?” After getting in the car, Julia Carter broke the silence first. With a bit of alcohol, she seemed even more charming. Being so close to her, William Bolton felt a little uneasy. He’d seen plenty in his previous life, but thinking about Emily Sutton going to her house to propose for him still made him a bit embarrassed.

“It’s hard to say! I just don’t want to trouble Andrew Brooks. If I go to the Public Security Bureau, I’ll have to ask him for a lot of favors. Owing too many personal debts is never a good thing. When you’re young, you should focus on building yourself up.” After a long pause, William Bolton finally spoke slowly, his eyes looking out the window. Memories of his past hardships flashed before his eyes, and suddenly, in that moment, he felt very happy.

Julia Carter didn’t say anything more, but her gaze toward William Bolton grew a bit more dreamy. In fact, she knew about Emily Sutton coming to her house to propose. Back in high school, she hadn’t interacted much with William Bolton, but he was a top student at the time, and she’d had a bit of a good impression of him, though that was all. She hadn’t cared much when her mother refused the proposal.

But tonight, meeting William Bolton again, she found he had changed a lot. His temperament and appearance were nothing like before. Julia Carter came from a good family, was beautiful, and worked as a doctor at the county hospital, so she had plenty of suitors, which also made her standards quite high.

Yet tonight, she suddenly felt a strange flutter in her heart. She couldn’t quite explain it. It wasn’t love, but she knew she would remember William Bolton.

“We’re here. Thank you for taking me home! I’ve already paid the fare.”

Hearing Julia Carter say this snapped William Bolton back to reality. He quickly gave an apologetic smile, didn’t stand on ceremony, just nodded, and closed the car door. Julia Carter was a good girl, but William Bolton’s heart wasn’t in it right now! Besides, their family backgrounds were still worlds apart, and he didn’t want to pester her. He had always been a proud person in his previous life.

……

In the days that followed, William Bolton shuttled back and forth between the Party School and the Xihu Hotel. He couldn’t miss classes at the Party School, and the tasks assigned by Secretary Wan had to be completed diligently. Fortunately, after spending a few years in Liziping Village, he’d gained some experience in dealing with village officials, so the work of unifying their thinking went smoothly. His eloquence, honed in his previous life, also came in handy, and the secretaries from each village had a good opinion of him.

The only real trouble was that he didn’t have a car. He had to walk everywhere, and the Party School and the hotel were several kilometers apart. Sometimes he had to make several trips a day, and by the end of the day, his back was aching.

One day at noon, William Bolton left the Xihu Hotel and started walking to the Party School. As he reached the foot of Tiger Mountain, he heard a car honking behind him. He stepped aside and looked back, surprised to see it was Henry Clark’s car.

“Is County Head Clark coming to inspect the Youth Cadre Class?” William Bolton wondered, “Why wasn’t there any prior notice?” Then he turned to look again and instantly understood.

Henry Clark was probably heading to “Xiao’er Villa.” Speaking of “Xiao’er Villa,” there was a story there. Recently, the central government had repeatedly emphasized clean governance and banned lavish banquets on public funds.

But where there’s a policy, there’s a countermeasure. In Yongping County, officials rarely held big banquets in public venues anymore, but as a result, some relatively hidden luxury villas had started to flourish.