Ji Ya was dissatisfied.

In the past, when she rarely visited Tang Hongen’s workplace, he would always proudly introduce her to others.

Ji Ya thought this was natural—with her qualities, of course, Tang Hongen should show her off to everyone.

Back then, Tang Hongen was just a minor official without such commanding authority. Not everyone could see him whenever they wanted. Now, not just ex-wives like Ji Ya, but even if a woman came claiming to be Mayor Tang’s current wife, the clerk wouldn’t dare take her directly to Mayor Tang without confirmation—Ji Ya sat with a frost-covered expression as the clerk set down tea and quickly escaped.

One look at Mayor Tang’s ex-wife suggested she wasn’t easy to deal with. At times like these, it was better to keep a distance, fearing Ji Ya might carelessly reveal more of the leader’s private matters.

Ji Ya smiled sarcastically. Tang Hongen had become something.

If she had known Tang Hongen would be rehabilitated so quickly and then rise straight to the top, would she have been so determined to divorce him?

Ji Ya asked herself honestly and realized she could have persevered.

She wouldn’t have left due to the hardships of poverty.

Being the wife of a Special Zone’s mayor—even among her peers who had married better than her back then, few held such a status today.

Ji Ya’s face was dark as water, not touching the tea on the table.

Unknown to her, Secretary Peng, two floors away, was also cursing her in his mind.

“This woman Ji Ya is truly mentally ill!”

Damn it, this woman was crazy!

In places like the city government, gossip spread faster than anything else. How could she brazenly show up here, immediately announcing herself as the leader’s ex-wife? Though the leader was single, it would be better for people to mistakenly think he was widowed than to know he was divorced!

Within the system, divorce wasn’t a good reputation. How could an official who couldn’t manage his own family be trusted with greater responsibilities?

So within the system, it was best to avoid divorce if possible. Single officials of a certain age should get married, and officials with stable families were considered more reliable.

Any hint of scandal or improper relations between men and women could be fatal in ’85.

Only someone like Fan Zhenchuan, content to be a local tyrant in Hedong County and unconcerned about promotion, would disregard his reputation.

But didn’t Fan Zhenchuan’s downfall ultimately stem from improper relationships with women?

Secretary Peng cursed Ji Ya in his heart—what a mess of a person. Despite her age, she wasn’t as discrete as Xia Xiaolan.

Xia Xiaolan frequently visited the leader, yet no gossip ever emerged from the city government—that showed how efficiently Xia Xiaolan handled matters!

After much hesitation, Secretary Peng finally knocked on the office door:

“Leader.”

Tang Hongen looked up from his documents and checked his watch: “Xiao Peng, it’s not lunchtime yet.”

If it wasn’t lunchtime, there was no need to remind him to rest.

Secretary Peng kept his head down, “Miss Ji is here. It seems she wants to see you. What do you think?”

Miss Ji.

Tang Hongen’s attention was fully on official business, and he didn’t immediately register “Miss Ji.” After all, Ji Ya’s presence in his life was minimal. Though he knew she was in Pengcheng, apart from their chance meeting at the Western restaurant, Tang Hongen hadn’t had any interaction with Ji Ya.

But he quickly realized.

Who else could make Secretary Peng look so troubled but Ji Ya?

This was quite rare—Ji Ya actively seeking him out!

Tang Hongen didn’t think it was for anything good. “Go tell her I have some official business to finish. Once I’m done, please invite her to my office.”

Secretary Peng sighed with relief:

“Understood. Please continue your work.”

Cursing Ji Ya in his mind didn’t seem like such a big deal now—after all, the leader didn’t immediately see Ji Ya, showing how unimportant she was.

If it were Xia Xiaolan visiting, though the leader would be busy, he’d still have her wait in his office.

If it were Comrade Liu Fen… well, the chances of Comrade Liu Fen coming to the city government to find the leader were very small, but Secretary Peng guessed that if she did come and encountered the same situation, wouldn’t the leader likely put aside his work to prioritize receiving Comrade Liu Fen?

Secretary Peng also feared Ji Ya might speak carelessly, so after conveying Tang Hongen’s message, he showed her to another restroom upstairs to wait, where no one would peek in at her.

Ji Ya laughed coldly:

“Such a grand attitude!”

Fine, she would wait and see how long Tang Hongen would make her wait.

Ji Ya had rushed to the city government in the heat of the moment without really thinking about what to say to Tang Hongen. His making her wait gave her time to think about what to say.

Secretary Peng remained silent.

Grand attitude?

If the leader truly had such an attitude, Ji Ya wouldn’t be able to see him at all!

Though it was strange—given Miss Ji’s temperament, she surprisingly didn’t leave after hearing this. It seemed she truly had some difficult matter requiring the leader’s help.

When Tang Hongen finally had time to see Ji Ya, it was over an hour later.

He hadn’t remembered Ji Ya on his own—Secretary Peng had reminded him again, this time because it was truly lunchtime.

Tang Hongen frowned, “Xiao Peng, please get me a meal from the cafeteria. I’ll try to finish talking with her quickly.”

Having lunch with Ji Ya was out of the question—their relationship wasn’t that harmonious.

Tang Hongen shared Secretary Peng’s thoughts—it was surprising that Ji Ya would wait for him this long.

When he finally saw Ji Ya, Tang Hongen truly felt nothing.

Strangely, last year when he went to the Ji family home and Ji Ya opened the door, Tang Hongen had felt a sense of time displacement. Looking at Ji Ya then, he couldn’t distinguish past from present and had gotten so angry at her words that his stomach condition flared up… Now, not even a year later, he no longer felt any of that anger.

Neither like nor dislike.

He truly didn’t care about this woman anymore. She could stand here only because during their marriage, Ji Ya had given birth to his son Ji Jiangyuan. Beyond that, he and Ji Ya had no emotional connection.

“What did you come to see me about? Tell me.”

Tang Hongen didn’t bother with false politeness. He just wanted to quickly discuss whatever business Ji Ya had and then eat!

After working all morning, he was very tired, and not eating would make him more exhausted.

After his stomach surgery, Tang Hongen’s eating habits had become very regular.

Before, he had been alone, but now he had other life plans. He needed to take good care of his health and not become a burden to others.

Ji Ya stood in place, squeezing her palm.

Though she had prepared many things to say, facing Tang Hongen, she couldn’t utter a single word.

Yes, she couldn’t speak.

She had been the one to reject Tang Hongen—a good horse doesn’t eat returning grass. With her pride, how could she speak of reconciliation?

Did he have to force her to speak? Why couldn’t he be more proactive? There was no one else in the office—it was the perfect time to talk!

Ji Ya frowned, “Don’t you have anything to say to me?”