Chapter 218

News came from the province instructing that the new government construction site must not be developed and must wait for the province to conduct further surveys and excavations.

Behind this news lay a huge piece of information: the cultural relics unearthed at the new government site were all priceless treasures. Hidden within the eighteen stone coffins was wealth beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Once the instruction arrived, the construction site was cordoned off again. Sun Demao complained bitterly, running to Guo Wei's office three times a day to ask for ideas.

What ideas could Guo Wei have? He could only mope in his office, throwing tables and kicking chairs, like a leopard trapped in a cage, anxious and powerless. The provincial instruction was a threshold; not to mention Guo Wei, even Secretary Guan was powerless.

After signing the water plant contract, I felt completely relaxed. I took Huang Weiwei to Pan Xiaoqin's supermarket to drink the last pot of soup she had made, and we prepared to hit the road back to Hengyue City.

Huang Weiwei had lived in Suxi for a week, which was beyond my expectations. For a young lady like her, one day without music made the world seem dark, and two days without joy made the sun and moon seem dim.

It was Pan Xiaoqin who said something that resonated deeply with me: Everything in this world is mutually generated and mutually restrained, one thing subduing another. No matter how noble Huang Weiwei's status was, in front of me, she was like a piece of paper in the wind, without any strength at all.

Huang Weiwei's tenderness sometimes made my heart tremble. Who am I, Chen Feng, to deserve such favor from a beauty? Is it a blessing cultivated by my ancestors? People say that if you are successful in love, you will be unsuccessful in your official career. But I feel that with Huang Weiwei, I went from secretary to township head, and then from township head to town mayor, all in less than a year.

When people are successful, they often feel the sky is high and the earth is wide, and the world is theirs to roam. It is precisely because of this thought that I feel if I don't give her all my love, my conscience will be condemned.

Thoughts are thoughts, but I still didn't dare to cross the line in my actions. It wasn't fear of rejection, but a "little me" hidden deep in my heart that would always shout in my ear whenever I was about to take action: "Be cautious... be cautious."

This little me accompanied me through six springs, summers, autumns, and winters in Suxi. It was also this little me that witnessed the pure-as-water love of the beautiful village teacher.

I decided to go see Xue Bing before returning to Hengyue City.

The principal saw me from afar, standing at the school gate waiting for me with a smile, and turned to the students behind him: "Go call Teacher Xue and tell her the principal is looking for her."

The principal followed behind me. Now that I was the Town Mayor, he didn't dare walk side-by-side with me anymore.

Less than five minutes after sitting in the principal's office, Xue Bing knocked and hurried in, clutching a lesson plan. Seeing me, her eyes went round with astonishment, and she blurted out, "Why are you here?"

The principal was very unhappy with his subordinate's tone and scolded: "Town Mayor Chen is here to inspect the work. Teacher Xue, how can you speak like that?"

Xue Bing looked dazed and teased: "Principal, how do you want me to speak? Town Mayor Chen is a busy man, a noble person. Should we welcome him with a guard of honor?"

Her words were full of gunpowder, making one feel completely uncomfortable.

"Forget it, you go to class. I'll report the work to Town Mayor Chen." The principal waved for Xue Bing to leave. She hesitated for a moment and turned to go.

I stopped her: "Teacher Xue, I still have something to say to you. Is it convenient?"

Xue Bing said with a dark face: "What's inconvenient? But wait until after my class. Don't you see the principal told me to go to class?"

I looked at the principal. The old man smiled awkwardly, rubbing his hands: "You two talk first, you two talk first. I'll go help you cover your class. I'll give you a half-day off this afternoon, and all your classes will be changed to PE, okay?"

Xue Bing rolled her eyes at the principal and pursed her lips: "Is it necessary?"

"Yes, yes. I'll go help you cover the class first." The principal hurried out, pulling the door open. Only the two of us were left in the room. She stood, I sat, and the air became stifling.

"Shall we talk here?" I asked, standing up. "Or should we go to your room and talk?"

"No!" she stubbornly refused to go. "If you have something to say, say it here. After you're done, go back quickly. There's someone waiting for you at home."

I looked at her, confused: "What do you mean?"

"Do I have to spell it out? Hasn't Huang Weiwei been here for a few days?" Her eyes were brimming with tears, seemingly about to break through the constraints of her eyelids.

"Let's go to your room and talk," I insisted, trying to take her hand.

She shook off my hand and turned to go out. I followed her toward her dormitory. Behind us, the principal came running over, shouting: "Town Mayor Chen, I haven't reported yet."

I waved my hand without looking back and said: "Wait until later."

The principal stopped and shouted again: "I just have one thing: is the town middle school moving?"

I ignored him. The relocation of the new government was still hanging in mid-air; you, a middle school, shouldn't be thinking about anything.

The curtains in Xue Bing's room were drawn low, and the room was dim and lightless. There was a stale smell in the room; clearly, the windows hadn't been opened for a long time. That a young woman in her prime would have such a room—clearly, her heart had been hurt! My heart trembled, and guilt followed.

As soon as the door closed, Xue Bing threw herself into my arms and began to sob, instantly wetting my chest.

I stroked her back, my heart aching with pain.

"Bing'er, I'm sorry," I muttered, my voice choked.

She looked up, smiled miserably, and said: "I don't blame you."

She slowly calmed down, sat on the edge of the bed, picked up an unfinished sweater, and began to knit slowly with her head down.

"Actually, I should have thought of it earlier. You won't stay in Suxi forever. You are a person with great ambitions; how could you be content to stay in the countryside for a lifetime?" She said slowly, looking up at me from time to time: "Huang Weiwei is a good girl. She's beautiful and has a good family. Her father is even the Organization Department Minister of the Municipal Committee, which can help you. What do I have? Except for a heart, I have nothing."

I couldn't speak. Xue Bing had said before that she wanted to fight a war, but now it seemed it had all become smoke and clouds.

"It's not that I don't want you. As a woman, as long as the man she loves has a good future, what is there that she can't let go of?"

"Bing'er..." I called her, unable to speak.

"Don't call me that anymore." She looked at me quietly, her eyes revealing the calmness unique to a woman: "I truly wish you two well."

She raised the sweater she was knitting and said: "This piece of clothing is the first and last time I will knit for you. I don't know if it will fit."

I nodded vigorously: "It will definitely fit."

"Try it?"

"Okay."

She came over, put the sweater over my head, stretched the neckline, and said with satisfaction: "It's okay, not much difference."

I smelled the faint fragrance wafting from her, felt a jolt in my heart, and reached out to hug her waist.

She didn't struggle, but leaned quietly in my arms, closing her eyes slightly and saying: "Kiss me one last time."