Chapter 287

I ignored Chen Meng's text message; I was still brooding over what she had said to Guo Wei.

Guo Wei had left, and I naturally couldn't go back. I had to return to the hotel front desk, ask for a room, and prepare to stay the night and leave tomorrow morning.

I didn't blame Guo Wei at all for leaving without saying goodbye; if it were me, I would also be furious. After Guo Wei came to Suxi, he knew about my romance with Xue Bing, and not long after, he discovered I was messing around with Huang Weiwei. Before he could even figure that out, Chen Meng dropped a bombshell and told him the child in her belly was mine!

What kind of person am I? I reckon in Guo Wei's heart, I am absolutely a playboy, a dissolute hooligan!

Of course, you, Guo Wei, are not necessarily more noble than me. To pursue Huang Weiwei, he dumped the girlfriend he had been with for five years, just because her father was an honest, hardworking worker who couldn't help him rise to the top.

Guo Wei is an extremely clever person and naturally understood the intention behind my arrangements. He had originally planned to do everything possible to win the beauty's heart, but unexpectedly, the beauty was already pregnant. This was like a thunderclap out of the blue, blasting him until he was dizzy and disoriented.

So his angry departure without saying goodbye wasn't because he had an issue with me, but because he was lamenting the unfairness of fate toward himself!

In terms of education, Guo Wei graduated from a top-tier university in the capital, while I only went to a university in the provincial capital. In terms of seniority, he is a cadre sent down from the municipal party committee, while before this, I didn't even have the status of a cadre. In terms of talent, Guo Wei is not necessarily worse than me; the only thing is that he is half a head shorter than me. If we talk about resources, Guo Wei can't compare to me at all—I have an uncle who is a Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, while he only has an uncle who is a Bureau Chief.

Thinking of this, I started to feel indignant for Guo Wei. Guo Wei dumped his girlfriend but failed to win Huang Weiwei's love. Wanting to turn back, he couldn't get past his pride. A thirty-year-old man, still single—who wouldn't be anxious? Moreover, he is a Town Party Committee Secretary; his social status is not low, and if he can't resolve his personal life's major event, others will gossip behind his back.

It's not that Guo Wei can't find a woman; he needs a woman who can help him achieve great things. In his life goals, love is far from being comparable to his career. A man's success is not just about how much money he can make, but about how high an official position he can hold!

Initially, Huang Weiwei entered his sights because she had a father who was the Minister of the Municipal Organization Department standing behind her. He had always believed that as long as a man has power, money and beauty are things he can just smile at—what is there to worry about?

Chen Meng's arrival once made him see hope, but before he could launch an offensive, he was beaten to the punch by the wet-behind-the-ears He Jiaxiao. He was angry; although he didn't think their love would last long, he really didn't want the things on his own plate to be snatched away by others.

Guo Wei's cleverness also lies in his self-awareness. He Jiaxiao is the son of Deputy Secretary He, and Chen Meng is the daughter of Secretary Chen; they are talented and beautiful, and their families are well-matched. As a small township official, what right did he have to compete for the love that belonged to him?

So it turns out that love also has its requirements, and all the vows of eternal love are just fucking bullshit!

Even so, Guo Wei could still calm himself down. He was waiting for an opportunity, just like a hunting dog; when the gun fires, it doesn't necessarily have to bolt out.

This opportunity came, and he bolted out, but in the end, what he saw was not the prey brought down by the shotgun, but a beautiful little deer walking toward the guillotine itself.

I really didn't want to think anymore. I lay flat on the bed, my mind a blank.

The lingering charm of last night with Sister Xiao Mei welled up in my heart again, finally stopping at the edge of the harbor. Suppressed male hormones hit my defenses wave after wave, and my whole body grew hot; I wished I could rush to the sauna downstairs.

For a man, the most frightening thing is being alone, especially being alone after drinking. Alcohol is a catalyst for lust; the ancestors' words are not wrong at all. I felt a fire rising beneath my lower abdomen, scorching my fragile nerves.

I even wanted to get up immediately and walk into the hair salon on the street with its ambiguous lighting.

But I have to suppress myself. I am not an ordinary person now; there must be countless pairs of eyes hidden behind me, staring at me intently. As long as I take half a wrong step, I will be beyond salvation.

I turned on the TV, and inside was a woman posturing, exposing her chest and back while selling advertisements.

The room had sound, and gradually it seemed to have some vitality.

I took out my phone and flipped through it boredly, and suddenly I saw the phone number for Zhu Hua Yu's office. I dialed a few digits and then hung up, thinking, it's so late, why would she still be in the office? After hesitating and hanging up, I still couldn't help but dial it again. Anyway, I was bored; even knowing no one would answer, listening to the buzzing sound of no one answering was also a way to relieve loneliness.

Unexpectedly, someone actually answered the phone, and as soon as I heard the voice, it was Zhu Hua Yu.

I hurriedly hung up the phone, my heart pounding violently. This was a feeling I had never had before; whether I was with Xue Bing or with Huang Weiwei, I had never felt such timidity and panic.

Zhu Hua Yu, a girl like a flower that understands language, was like a heavy hammer, shattering my already fragile soul.

I suppressed my pounding heart and pressed the redial button.

"Who is it?" Zhu Hua Yu's oriole-like voice came from inside.

I calmed down for a moment and said softly, "It's me."

"Is that Brother Chen?" Her voice sounded somewhat urgent.

"It's me," I said, taking off my shoes one by one and laying myself flat on the bed: "Why haven't you finished work yet?" I looked out the window; the sky had already turned completely dark. Winter nights get dark early!

"There are still many things left to do." She said, her tone clearly exhausted: "The county is going to hold a big meeting; just the materials alone will take days to photocopy."

"No one to help you?" I asked.

"They have all finished work. They are permanent staff, I am a temporary worker, so of course I do it." She laughed insincerely, and the laughter came through, hitting me one beat after another. Remembering myself back then, a feeling of sympathy and empathy spread throughout my whole body.

"Have you eaten?" I said very casually.

"Not yet. I'll go back to the dormitory later and soak a pack of instant noodles." Zhu Hua Yu told me: "It will be done soon." Then she asked another question: "Brother Chen, where are you?"

I hesitated for a moment and said, "I'm at the County Party Committee Reception Office. How about I order something and have it sent over for you to eat?"

"No need." She refused me directly.

I said "Oh," and prepared to hang up the phone, but Zhu Hua Yu added another sentence: "Brother Chen, I'll come to see you, okay?"

I hesitated for a long time, but in the end, I still refused her. I said, "Go back and rest early after work. You're too tired after a day's work."

She hung up the phone silently. I listened to the buzzing sound coming from the phone, sighed, and hung up too.

I had already entrusted Liu Hongyan to handle Zhu Hua Yu's household registration. I told Liu Hongyan to tell her that handling the registration was the government solving her problem, not any one person.

Zhu Hua Yu clearly didn't believe Liu Hongyan's explanation and had once called me to verify it. I naturally used the same tone as Hongyan, saying it was a policy of the township government to solve problems for the children of cadres.

She certainly didn't believe my lie because she knew she was no longer the child of a cadre. Her father, Zhu Shizhen, had been a cadre his whole life, and in the end, he was left half-paralyzed. Although the organization didn't continue to pursue him, they had listed him among those to be "double-expelled." For a cadre, ending up with a "double-expulsion" is no different from being sentenced to death, is it?

Guan Peishan's only promise when double-expelling Zhu Shizhen was to let his daughter be taken care of. But now, Guan Peishan himself had ended up being removed from his position as County Party Secretary, so his promise was like something written in the wind.

Thinking of this, I started to feel lingering fear.

Zhu Shizhen was the one who introduced me to the Party. In Suxi Township, Zhu Shizhen was the cadre who watched me grow up. My every word and action—if old Zhu didn't know them like the back of his hand, he was still pretty close.

But ever since he stepped down from the position of acting Township Head, he had never talked to me about the work in Suxi Township. Who was right and who was wrong—he had no conclusion. From this point of view, old Zhu was still a cadre with a bottom line. Even when he got into trouble, he would rather jump off a building than report anyone. This is a person's innate character; this kind of character cannot be learned—it is an original moral standard in one's bones.

Actually, back then, as long as he reported anyone—whether it was Liu Quan or me—whose ass would have been clean? Being an official in this society and wanting to be a cadre as pure as that is even harder than ascending to heaven!

As long as he reported one person, he could have performed a meritorious service! If this person happened to be the one Guan Peishan wanted, Zhu Shizhen could have walked away unscathed. But he gave up all opportunities; he would rather die than leave endless trouble for his children.

Actually, we all know clearly in our hearts that the person Guan Peishan wanted was me!

But who could have calculated that Guan Peishan would have such an ending?

With Guan Peishan gone, could Secretary Liu Qimeng tolerate someone left behind by his predecessor?

I became worried. If Zhu Hua Yu were dismissed by the county, what could she do?

The more I thought, the more irritable I became. By the end, I laughed at myself. Zhu Hua Yu has nothing to do with me, so why should I be worried?

So I got up, ran to the bathroom to take a piss, stripped off all my clothes, and started humming a little tune while taking a shower.

I am not a melancholy person!

After showering, I was completely naked. I pulled a bath towel to wrap around my lower body and swayed back to the bedside, preparing to have a good sleep and rush back to Laoyingzui tomorrow morning to start working again.

Not long after I lay down, there was a knock on the door.

Ever since the County Party Committee Reception Office had a sauna, the door would always be knocked on for no reason, and there would definitely be an incredibly enchanting woman standing outside.

I shouted irritably, "There's no one in the room!"

The door was still knocked on persistently. I was furious, leaped up from the bed, and yanked the door open.