Chapter 105

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Protagonist:

Li Xiulan

Time flew by and it was already past ten o'clock at night.

Li Xiulan had just finished showering in the hotel room when she heard a knock on the door.

She went to open the door and, to her shock, it was He Dazhu who had come over.

"Xiulan, I have something I need to say to you."

Li Xiulan didn't know what He Dazhu wanted to say to her, but He Dazhu had helped her immensely — not only lending her money to redeem Wang Zhanggen, but also personally driving her to Dongguan.

She felt that the current He Dazhu wouldn't have any improper thoughts toward her; she was old and ugly now, no longer worthy of stirring any desire in a wealthy man like He Dazhu.

So she said:

"Then come in and speak. I'll brew tea — this hotel even provides complimentary tea leaves."

She brought He Dazhu into the room, boiled water to brew him tea, and hosted him properly.

She also said:

"Dazhu, you've helped me enormously this time; I don't know how to repay you."

He Dazhu sat on the sofa in the hotel room, legs crossed. He took out a cigarette, lowered his head, and lit one.

Then came a sentence Li Xiulan never could have anticipated:

"If you let me sleep with you tonight, wouldn't that repay me?"

Li Xiulan's heart gave a sudden lurch; she thought she must have misheard. She slowly turned around, staring at He Dazhu in stunned disbelief:

"What did you say?"

She never would have imagined that He Dazhu, who already had such a beautiful girlfriend, would still want to sleep with a village woman as old and ugly as her.

"I said, let me sleep with you for one night tonight."

When He Dazhu spoke these words, his face was expressionless.

He no longer carried the impulsiveness of the past; his tone was incomparably calm, yet it bore a condescending command, giving one a feeling that brooked no refusal.

This was the aura that money had brought him.

Once a person becomes wealthy, he naturally no longer feels so inferior, no longer so timid.

"Heh, you're not joking with me, are you?"

Li Xiulan forced out a dry, bitter laugh.

Her face was full of disbelief.

"Not joking. Really. You were my first love; I have a complex toward you that I can never let go. So even if you've grown old, grown ugly, I still want to sleep with you once, to compensate for the regret of those years."

He Dazhu exhaled smoke, explaining in a calm tone.

The reason he was calm was because the current Li Xiulan, in his eyes, was no longer an unattainable existence, but a cheap item within easy reach, readily available.

Li Xiulan felt offended; He Dazhu's words were too direct.

She said coldly:

"Even if I were willing, can you perform? Back then at the haystack by the stream, I gave you the chance — it was you yourself who was unpromising."

He Dazhu said:

"I've seen a doctor. Actually it's not that I can't perform; it's psychological. It's because back then at the haystack by the stream, I got too excited and couldn't perform, which led to a self-denying psychological suggestion afterward, making me always feel I couldn't perform. It even ruined my marriage with Liao Chunhua. One can only say fate plays tricks — actually I'm perfectly capable. Now with my partner, every time lasts over half an hour."

Listening to these words, Li Xiulan's face was full of shock; her head buzzed, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

He Dazhu then said:

"Let's not waste words. Just name your price. I know you're desperate for money — you couldn't even scrape together eight hundred yuan to redeem your husband, and the new house at home is stalled unfinished. Meanwhile I happen to have money to burn. I'll give you five thousand; you sleep with me tonight. How about it?"

Li Xiulan's expression turned complex; she was somewhat angry.

"He Dazhu, what do you take me for?"

He Dazhu gave a cold laugh:

"Ten thousand. That should be enough, right?"

Li Xiulan's heart gave a violent shudder.

Truth be told, there was a split second when she was tempted.

This ugly, old body of hers could still fetch this much money — she wouldn't lose out; she'd make a huge profit.

She indeed needed money badly — not just to redeem Wang Zhanggen, but to build the house, and next semester the children's schooling needs money. Wang Erhai still doesn't have a household registration; his tuition alone is over five hundred each semester. Plus, buying her mother's cinerary urn cost one thousand yuan; she'd promised her elder brother she'd cover three hundred of it…

Life requires money everywhere, and Li Xiulan happened to be the one most desperate for money right now.

"Ten thousand not enough? Then I'll give you fifteen thousand. That's the highest price. If you don't agree, I won't force you — can only say you and I have fate but no destiny."

He Dazhu spoke again at this moment; a playful smile appeared on his face as he watched Li Xiulan struggling and hesitating with mocking eyes.

"Fine, I agree…"

In the end, Li Xiulan made her choice.

She felt she and Wang Zhanggen had no feelings left to speak of; Wang Zhanggen had cheated long ago. Even if she gave herself to He Dazhu now, it wouldn't count as her being in the wrong first.

Selling herself to her first love for fifteen thousand yuan, solving her urgent financial crisis, to gain a better life — what was wrong with that?

She had done nothing wrong!

However…

"Ah hahaha!"

He Dazhu suddenly burst into inexplicable laughter.

He stubbed out the cigarette butt in his hand against the ashtray, then stood up and came before Li Xiulan:

"Li Xiulan, you really think you could sell for fifteen thousand? Look in the mirror and see what you look like? I was just messing with you! With your old and ugly appearance, even a pig wouldn't sniff you! Come to the mirror, open your eyes and look at yourself!"

He Dazhu suddenly turned fierce and sneered, grabbing Li Xiulan's neck and forcibly pressing her before the dressing table mirror. Li Xiulan watched her old and ugly self in the mirror, her face full of terror and despair.

"He Dazhu, why are you insulting me like this? Why!"

Li Xiulan's heart broke.

Having her dignity and personality so insulted and trampled was simply more painful than directly defiling her body.

"Why? You still dare ask me why? Do you think you're innocent? You stinking bitch! Really think you're innocent? Back then you came to my house for me to help you feed silkworms and watch the home. I admit I proposed wanting to kiss you, but if you hadn't agreed, could I have kissed you? You agreed in your own heart! Just like now! If you truly disagreed, what could I do even if I spent more money? But you still agreed in the end! One hand can't clap alone, understand! Don't make it all my fault in the end! You're the one who made me divorce Liao Chunhua! You're the one who ruined my life in Shanggou Village! And yet you think you're innocent, wronged!"

It turned out He Dazhu had always resented what happened back then. When he left Shanggou Village, he carried a ruthless determination in his heart. He swore he would make a name for himself in the city, then return to the village and slap Li Xiulan's face hard!

He wanted to prove he wasn't a useless good-for-nothing, he wanted to prove it wasn't his own fault back then!

And now, he had done it.

He Dazhu ruthlessly pressed Li Xiulan's face against the mirror. Li Xiulan was terrified out of her wits and was made to cry directly.

At that moment, Li Xiulan felt an insult and trampling like never before.

……