Chapter 550

Lao Mo and his wife wanted to rush back to the county seat that night. We saw them downstairs and saw a small black car parked by the side of the road, with sparks occasionally appearing inside, clearly someone smoking in the car.

Hao Qiang asked vigilantly, "Whose car is that?"

Lao Mo shook his head, looking completely bewildered.

"Could they be following us?" Li Fulian's face turned pale, and she instinctively hid behind Lao Mo.

Lao Mo stared at the car for a long time before saying, "Maybe they're just passing by."

"Damn it!" Hao Qiang cursed, turned around and went back into the police station. A moment later, he drove out the police car, opened the door, and said, "Get in, I'll take you."

Originally, Lao Mo wanted to find a taxi to go back to Chunshan County. In recent years, there had been illegal taxis running between Suxi and Chunshan County.

Zhao Dequan had one of these illegal taxis. Originally, he was supposed to drive them tonight, but unfortunately, this guy was too fond of his drink and was already as drunk as a dog, slumped on the steps of the police station, unable to get down.

As soon as Hao Qiang's car left, the black car parked on the side of the road started up and followed them from a distance.

My heart sank; I felt that Lao Mo and the others were right—that car was indeed following them.

I was also feeling quite uncomfortable from the alcohol, and only after watching them drive away did I start walking step by step toward the Suxi Hotel.

It was already midnight when I returned to the Suxi Hotel. The front desk clerk was sleeping covered in a military overcoat; she didn't notice me coming in and was still snoring away sweetly.

The entire Suxi Town had already entered dreamland. The streetlights shone lazily upon the earth, making this small town I had personally built feel full of the warmth of human life.

In the distance, the Hot Spring Resort was brightly lit, and one could occasionally see the taillights of cars flickering.

I felt a wave of nausea and quickly found a trash can to vomit violently.

The sound woke the clerk, who looked at me with sleepy eyes, her face full of confusion.

I smiled at her and walked upstairs step by step.

The Suxi Hotel had no elevator. When Qian Youyu built the hotel, I suggested he install one. But Qian Youyu wouldn't listen to me no matter what, saying that for a hotel in the countryside, an elevator was unnecessary; country folk had strength, and walking upstairs was like walking on flat ground.

The old guy Qian Youyu didn't understand: who from the countryside would stay in his hotel? And of those who did, who would be willing to walk up the stairs?

Fortunately, in the whole of Suxi Town, his was the only hotel, so he had a monopoly.

Of course, there was a hotel at the Hot Spring Resort on the edge of town, but was that something an ordinary person could afford?

I spat fiercely on the ground! Since the Hot Spring Resort was built, I hadn't even been there once!

I took out my room card and opened the door, and was startled as soon as I entered.

The room card wasn't inserted, yet there was power. Having power wasn't strange, but what was strange was that there was someone sitting on the chair under the light.

I barked, "Who's there?"

She turned around and looked at me with a smile.

"It's you!" The stone in my heart fell to the ground.

Xuelai smiled and said, "Did I scare you?"

I shook my head and said, "Am I that timid?"

When we came to Suxi, I heard from Qian Youyu that Xuelai had taken some people to Shenzhen for a study tour. I didn't expect her to return suddenly, and to have entered my room while I was away.

I didn't know how long she had been waiting. For a woman to sit alone in a room without even turning on the TV—that required a great deal of endurance!

"When did you get back?" I asked.

Xuelai had resigned from her position as the Town Youth League Committee Secretary, which had left me feeling incredibly depressed for a long time. She had always wanted to be a government official, even going so far as to gamble with her own reputation to pressure my cousin. After I had exhausted every possible means to make her dream come true, she had unexpectedly quit her job.

"Just got back not long ago." Xuelai stood up, her eyebrows twitching a few times as she asked, "Have you been drinking?"

I nodded and slumped onto the bed in dejection.

"With Secretary Yue Bai?"

I shook my head, lay down, and pressed a pillow against my chest.

"Are you feeling unwell?" She came over and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to touch my forehead.

I pushed her hand away and said, "Help me pour a glass of water."

She smiled faintly, got up, poured a glass of water, and handed it to me, saying, "If you can't drink, why do it? Feeling bad now, aren't you?"

I smiled bitterly, propped myself up halfway, and took a sip of water.

"Didn't your harem accompany you?"

"Harem?" I was instantly bewildered.

"Yes!" Xuelai took the cup from my hand and said, "You've even forgotten about your harem?"

My heart churned; how reckless I had been back then in the town government office! My face burned, and I didn't dare to look at her.

"I'm also in your harem." Xuelai giggled, tugged at her clothes, and said, "Though, I'm just a nominal one."

I couldn't listen to this anymore; I didn't know how much more I didn't want to hear, so I waved my hand and said, "If you have nothing else, I'd like to rest."

"Nothing else!" Xuelai said brightly, "You go ahead and rest, I'll watch you rest."

I put on a straight face and said, "No. I can't sleep."

"If you can't sleep, then talk to me." Xuelai sat on the edge of my bed and stared into my eyes, asking, "Don't you want to talk to me?"

I hesitated, not knowing whether to nod or shake my head.

Seeing my awkward expression, Xuelai laughed first, reached out and patted me, saying, "Chen Feng, you've changed."

"Is that so?" I asked suspiciously, "How have I changed?"

Xuelai suddenly blushed and said shyly, "In the past, when you looked at me, you only looked below my neck; now, you only look at my eyes."

I laughed sheepishly and said, "The eyes are the windows to the soul, after all."

"Nonsense!" Xuelai rolled her eyes at me and said, "Below the neck is the chest, and the eyes are the lamps. As long as the lamps are lit, a person won't have dark thoughts."

Dark thoughts? My heart stirred.

"Forget it, I'll tell you a few things, and you can give me some advice." Xuelai stood up and went to sit on a chair nearby.

I smelled the faint, lingering fragrance she left in the air, and a sense of melancholy washed over me.

I am a person who cannot resist temptation, and in my eyes, all the women in the world are worth loving. For example, my first time with Jin Feng, and later meeting Yue Bai—how could I have resisted the temptation of those deeply ingrained memories?

I even secretly hoped that Xuelai would tempt me further; I suddenly wondered, if she were to tempt me, would I go even further?

I was startled by my own thoughts, and when I looked at Xuelai again, I felt a sense of guilt.

Xuelai, however, didn't sense my change; she crossed one leg over the other, revealing her snow-white ankles, enticing my gaze to linger on them.

She was wearing a professional skirt suit, which seemed unconventional in the chilly autumn of Suxi Town, yet also made one feel her uniqueness.

Xuelai is an extraordinary woman; the things she has experienced at such a young age are legends I wouldn't even dare to imagine.

"Chen Feng, what do you think of Lao Qian?" she asked me, getting straight to the point.

"He's not bad!" I answered her quickly.

She gave an 'um', took out a pack of cigarettes, tore it open, took one for herself, and threw one to me.

The way she smoked was very beautiful, appearing incredibly quiet.

"You know about the fact that things didn't work out between him and Yue Bai, right?"

I shook my head and asked, "Is that so? What happened?"

In fact, Yue Bai had hinted at it to me, but I just didn't want to accept the reality. When Qian Youyu came to Suxi to invest, the role Yue Bai played was no less than an atomic bomb; or to put it bluntly, without Yue Bai, Qian Youyu's investment wouldn't have been in Suxi, but in Deng Hanyu's territory in Chengguan Town.

Qian Youyu had confessed to me that for Yue Bai, he would be willing even if it meant losing his entire fortune.

In fact, Yue Bai had never rejected his flirtations, and had never even corrected him when he publicly called her his lover on many occasions. But now, Yue Bai was unwilling to continue with Qian Youyu, which was undoubtedly more heartbreaking for him than killing him.

"Yue Bai said that besides being an upstart, Lao Qian has no class at all. She cannot marry a man who only recognizes money." Xuelai said, observing my expression as she spoke.

"But Lao Qian is a man who values affection and righteousness; how could she have such an idea?" I took a drag of the cigarette, forced it all down, and then exhaled it from my stomach.

"In Yue Bai's heart, there will never be a place for another man besides you." Xuelai sighed and said, "Chen Feng, you've ruined another woman, depriving her of her happiness."

I became panicked and said nervously, "Don't talk nonsense, what does it have to do with me?"

Xuelai smiled and said, "Can't blame Yue Bai either. She is now a dignified Town Party Secretary, the star secretary of the whole county; if she were to marry a construction contractor, it would indeed be a loss of face."

I felt annoyed and asked, "What exactly are you trying to express by saying all this?"

"I'm not trying to express anything; I'm just asking you one thing: do you feel sorry for Lao Qian?"

I nodded hesitantly. When I invited Qian Youyu to invest back then, I hadn't thought of any lousy 'honey trap' ideas; rather, Qian Youyu had thrown himself into the net like a headless fly. After he met Yue Bai, he couldn't help but be like a moth to a flame, and even if I had wanted to stop him, I couldn't have.

"If you were asked to compensate him, what method would you use?" Xuelai looked at me with a smile.

I shook my head and said, "I have no way."

"There is one way." Xuelai stood up and stared into my eyes, saying, "It just depends on whether you are willing."

"Me?" I became suspicious again and asked, "How does it have anything to do with me again?"

"It must have something to do with you." Xuelai said with a grin, "Back then, Yue Bai said that she and I were both in your harem. To tell you the truth, I was willing, but you looked down on me, so until now, I'm still just a nominal one. But now, I want to be the real thing."

My heart jumped wildly. What did Xuelai mean by this? Was she going to throw herself at me?

"I want to marry Qian Youyu!" Xuelai said seriously, the smile on her face gone, replaced by a seriousness I had never seen before.

"What do you mean?" I was so shocked I sat up.

"Yue Bai doesn't want Lao Qian anymore, and Lao Qian can't be a bachelor for his whole life."

"But you..." I started, then stopped.

"What about me?" A smile returned to Xuelai's face: "First of all, I am a woman. Remember, I am a woman."

I waved my hand and said, "I didn't say you were a man."

Xuelai stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray and reached out to take the cigarette butt from my hand, stubbing it out as well. Without looking up, she said, "Chen Feng, do you think I'm crazy?"

"Yes!" I said seriously, "Crazy as hell."

"I'm not crazy." Xuelai said, "This is the result after countless mental struggles. First, I think Lao Qian is a man who values affection and righteousness; marrying him won't be unhappy. Second, I can't let you have a guilty conscience."

I sighed inwardly: Xuelai, oh Xuelai, if you want to get married, just get married—why drag my conscience into it!

"What does Lao Qian think?" I asked.

"I haven't told him yet." Xuelai stood up and said, "I will go talk to him."

I wanted to say more, but found that she had already left my room like a gust of wind.