Chapter 449

"There's no one else, just me," he said with a strange smile, stepping aside. "Come on in."

The young lady blinked her watery eyes, smiled knowingly, and walked inside.

He closed the door and greeted her with great enthusiasm: "Please, have a seat, Mrs. Lin."

The young lady looked around the room, then walked over to the sofa and sat down, asking, "Is it just you, a grown man, living here?"

"Just me," he said with a mysterious smile, greeting her warmly: "Don't be a stranger, Mrs. Lin, please sit."

Zhang Hui smoothed the back of her shiny black mink coat, sat down with her legs together, and asked: "Section Chief Liu, why are you home alone? Where is your wife?"

"To be honest, Mrs. Lin, I'm not married yet; it's just me here." As he spoke, he sat down beside her, staring straight at her with a wicked smile on his face.

"Section Chief Liu is so young and promising, and quite handsome too, how are you not married yet?" Zhang Hui took her handbag off her arm, placed it on the coffee table, and asked him while gently tossing her wavy hair.

"Ha! No one has taken a liking to me, I suppose," he said, looking at her lecherously.

The young lady glanced at him sideways with her watery eyes, a charming smile playing on her lips: "Section Chief Liu, you're always joking. I'm afraid your standards are too high, and you don't easily take a liking to others."

"That's not it at all; I just think you're very charming, Mrs. Lin."

The young lady winked at him and chuckled: "Section Chief Liu, you really know how to joke."

"Seriously, Mrs. Lin, you are the most charming woman I have ever met." He looked straight at her, his eyes burning.

"Section Chief Liu, you really have a way with words. Thank you for the compliment," Zhang Hui said with a light laugh.

Zhao Desan suddenly seemed to remember something, and as he stood up, he said enthusiastically: "Look at me, I really don't know how to host guests. Let me go pour you a glass of water."

The young lady suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm. His heart skipped a beat, his whole body went numb, and he turned back to look at her, feeling nervous.

The young lady let go of his arm, looking a bit shy: "Section Chief Liu, don't go to the trouble. No need to pour any; I won't drink."

Zhao Desan paused for a moment and said with a chuckle: "The heater is on in the room, it's quite dry. It's better to drink some water. I'll go pour you some."

"Section Chief Liu, I'm afraid..." The young lady looked at him with a strange expression, stopping mid-sentence.

"Afraid of what? There's no poison in my water," he joked.

"I'm afraid that, just like yesterday, you'll accidentally spill it on me again," the young lady said with a mysterious smile.

Seeing her flirtatious demeanor, Zhao Desan felt a bit itchy inside. He chuckled and said: "No, no, that absolutely won't happen today." With that, he walked over, poured a glass of hot water, placed it in front of her, and then, without a care, sat down right next to her, almost touching her body.

"You're really going to a lot of trouble," the young lady said, taking a small sip of water. She set the cup down, looked around at the room's decor and furnishings, and said, "Section Chief Liu, a grown man keeping his home this tidy."

"It's only because Mrs. Lin was coming over today that I tidied up specifically," he said with a wicked grin.

"Oh? Then I'm truly flattered." The young lady glanced at him sideways, her watery eyes sparkling with a hazy light. She looked particularly charming, causing Zhao Desan to lose his composure for a moment. He stared straight at her, motionless and wide-eyed, looking completely dumbfounded.

"Section Chief Liu, why are you looking at me like that?" The young lady felt a bit flustered by his burning gaze. Her voice was incredibly sweet, sounding intoxicating.

He snapped out of his trance, smiled vaguely, and said: "Oh, Mrs. Lin, you look truly charming today. Secretary-General Lin is a lucky man to have a wife who rivals Xi Shi and Diao Chan; he hasn't lived in vain."

Zhang Hui gave a disdainful smile but sighed: "Sigh! Section Chief Liu, you men only think for yourselves, never considering how we women feel."

"How so?" he asked, feeling puzzled.

"Men are all like this before they get married—full of flowery words. Once they get a woman, they get married and then ignore her at home. Especially you officials, busy with social engagements all day long, living a life of debauchery; women are the last thing you lack. I'm afraid that in a few years, when I'm old and withered, the man in my house won't even spare me a glance." The young lady looked quite disheartened as she finished speaking.

From her words, he gathered that such a beautiful and moving young lady didn't seem to have a very happy life. Moreover, she had come to visit him specifically today with a purpose, seeking his help. Why, after being here for so long, was she just chatting about this and that, never once mentioning the matter from yesterday?

With this doubt in mind, he chuckled and said: "Mrs. Lin, you shouldn't have any urgent matters today, right? Why don't we talk about yesterday's business first?"

Prompted by him, the young lady raised her beautiful oval face, gave him a lingering look with her watery eyes, and then, as if suddenly realizing, smiled: "Oh, right, Section Chief Liu, if you hadn't reminded me, I really would have forgotten the main business." As she spoke, she picked up her handbag from the table, opened the zipper, and this time pulled out an Industrial and Commercial Bank Visa card. She took his hand, placed the card gently in his palm, and said with a flirtatious smile: "Section Chief Liu, there is 500,000 in here. Our family elder entrusted me to give this to you, saying that as long as you put in a good word for us in front of the city leadership, whatever requirements you have after the matter is done, just name them, and he will certainly satisfy you. Additionally, he will give you a 3% equity stake in the mine, which amounts to several million or even ten million a year. What do you think?"

Zhao Desan closed his eyes, thought for a moment, took her smooth little hand, and gently placed the card back into her palm: "Mrs. Lin, I can try to help, but this... isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Zhang Hui gazed at him with her watery, charming eyes, as if she could see through his thoughts, and said knowingly: "Section Chief Liu, don't decline. Yesterday you said it wasn't convenient in the office, but today we are in your home, and there's no one else here. Just accept it; it's just a small token of our appreciation, nothing worth mentioning." As she spoke, she took his hand, gently patted it into his palm, and pressed his fingers down, helping him close his hand.

Zhao Desan chuckled and said: "Well... then I won't be polite." He tucked the card into his pocket and asked: "Mrs. Lin, you're not in a hurry to go back today, are you?"

"Not in a hurry. I'm just keeping the old man and the old woman company at home anyway. The man in my house doesn't even have time to accompany me on weekends; he's gone back to Shenfu County for the weekend again. Who knows which little mistress he's off to see." The young lady's expression looked a bit disappointed.

"Sigh, Secretary-General Lin really doesn't know how lucky he is. To have a wife as beautiful as a flower and as fair as a fairy, and he's still not satisfied?" Zhao Desan said with pity. "If I were Secretary-General Lin, I would definitely stay home and accompany my wife on weekends. Leaving such a beautiful wife alone in an empty room—tell me, is there any justice in that?"

This sentence made the beautiful, radiant young lady giggle, the two dimples on her cheeks adorning her face like two beautiful flowers, making her smile look particularly charming. "Section Chief Liu, you're quite humorous, even bringing up the law," Zhang Hui said while giggling.

Zhao Desan followed her with a chuckle: "I'm just speaking up for you, Mrs. Lin."

Zhang Hui stopped smiling and gazed at him affectionately: "If only I had a husband who knew how to cherish his wife like you do. It's a pity I've been married for seven or eight years already."

The way the young lady gazed at him so clearly and affectionately made him feel for a moment that they had met too late. The women hidden in the depths of his heart—Ma Lan, Bai Ling, and others—were all cast to the back of his mind at this moment. He moved his buttocks closer to her without a care, trembling as he reached out a hand and placed it on her thigh, which was covered in black silk stockings, and asked with feigned concern: "Mrs. Lin, aren't you cold wearing such thin pantyhose on your legs?"

The young lady didn't mind him placing his hand on her thigh at all, and smiled at him: "Not cold. The boiler operator in your residential complex is quite diligent."

This jump in the conversation made him pause for a moment before he understood, and he smiled wickedly: "Is it because the room's heater is too hot?"

"Mm," the young lady nodded. "It's so hot I'm even starting to sweat." As she spoke, she reached out and gently wiped her fair neck.