Chapter 613: The Decision of the Hengyue Municipal Committee

One week later, Xu Mengda and I boarded a plane to Los Angeles. In our group, besides Xu Mengda and me, there were two others accompanying us: the Vice Mayor of Hengyue City in charge of economic development and a Deputy Procurator-General from the Municipal Procuratorate.

With two extra people, everything was under my control.

After I returned from the provincial capital, I took my wife, Huang Weiwei, back to her parents' home.

My son, Niannian, was already able to call out "Ma," which made Huang Weiwei's maternal instincts bloom. Except for when she slept at night, she devoted all her time to my son.

At night, she wanted to sleep with me; she didn't like us being seen by our son when we were being affectionate. Even though our son was still very young, she still didn't allow it. In her view, when she and I were together, it had to be absolutely private.

Minister Huang Shan heard that his grandson had returned home, so he also came home early, sitting in the living room and teasing Niannian.

I gathered my courage several times before I could speak: "Dad, I have an important matter to report to you."

Minister Huang Shan looked at me strangely and said, "If you have something to report, you should report it to your superiors. Why report it to me?"

As he spoke, he continued to tease Niannian, his entire demeanor showing not a shred of a minister's majesty, looking exactly like the old gentleman who lived next door when I was a child.

I cleared my throat and said, "Dad, this matter is too serious."

Only then did Minister Huang Shan look up, wave his hand, and say, "Let's talk in the study."

Once inside his study, I recounted the matter of Guo Wei going abroad, and finally added: "He did not take the normal exit route. Because customs cannot find his exit record."

Minister Huang Shan's brows locked tighter and tighter; what I told him was no less than a bombshell.

Since the founding of Hengyue City, such a thing had never happened before, which left Minister Huang Shan momentarily at a loss. He paced around the room, and when he had made me dizzy from watching him, he asked me: "Who else knows?"

I shook my head and said, "No one else knows."

"How did you find out?"

I originally wanted to mention the matter of Qian Youyu's loan, but I swallowed the words as they reached my lips. It had been Minister Huang Shan's idea for me to withdraw my shares from my aunt's road and bridge company; he had always opposed family members doing business, but he couldn't withstand my mother-in-law, Chen Yazhi, and sometimes had to turn a blind eye.

I told a lie: "I have a friend who is investing in the industrial park; he couldn't find the person, and that's how he inquired about it."

"What kind of person is this friend of yours?" Minister Huang Shan asked vigilantly.

"He is from Suxi Town in our Chunshan County, a construction boss," I explained. "This person previously put in a lot of effort when I was relocating Suxi Town."

He said "Oh" and asked, "This matter has nothing to do with you, right?"

I hesitated for a moment, then firmly shook my head.

"Let's go, we need to find Secretary Chen," Minister Huang Shan thought for a moment and said. "This matter must be reported to Secretary Chen immediately. The matter is of great importance; absolutely not a shred of news must be leaked."

I followed him downstairs, trembling with fear. The driver had already prepared the car, and as soon as we got in, we rushed to Secretary Chen's house without stopping.

Secretary Chen was in his study listening to Minister Huang Shan's report, while I was in the living room downstairs, staring blankly at the photo of Chen Meng hanging on the wall.

Auntie Mo had the old nanny serve me tea; she liked quiet, so she went back to her room to rest. In the vast living room, I was the only one left sitting all alone.

Minister Huang Shan didn't come down for a long time; at midnight, a few more people arrived in a hurry, among them the Mayor.

I didn't want the Mayor to see me, so before he entered, I had already gotten up and gone to the restroom.

At the crack of dawn, a burst of footsteps sounded upstairs; I knew the leaders had finished their meeting. I continued to hide in the restroom, and only after they had all left did I come out.

The old nanny was just about to lock the door when she saw me coming out of the restroom; she smiled kindly and opened the door to let me out.

Outside the door, besides Minister Huang Shan's car, not a single person could be seen.

Minister Huang Shan saw me get into the car and nodded, asking, "Did anyone see you?"

I gave a hum and said, "I avoided them."

He nodded with satisfaction and said, "Your information is accurate. Someone has already been sent to the industrial park office, and they found a letter left behind by Guo Wei."

"What did it say?" I asked impatiently.

Minister Huang Shan, sitting in the back, didn't make a sound. I glanced at the driver sitting upright and driving, and quietly stuck out my tongue.

Back home, Minister Huang Shan finally told me that the city had decided to send people to Los Angeles, where Guo Wei was currently located, to find him, and I was among them.

Just as I was confused about why I was included, Minister Huang Shan explained: "You were his partner in the past. Since he is abroad, we cannot take compulsory measures. The final method is to appeal to his emotions and reason, and persuade him to return to the country."

That night we stayed at Minister Huang Shan's house, and Director Chen Yazhi took Niannian to sleep. My wife, Huang Weiwei, and I returned to her boudoir to rest.

Huang Weiwei had married me, but the furnishings in the house hadn't changed a bit. According to her, her mother had intentionally left them that way, saying that in case I bullied her, she could still return to her parents' home.

I hugged her and said, "Wife, would I bully you?"

She looked at me with a smile and said, "Yes."

"Evidence." I waved a hand in front of her eyes and said, "Without evidence, I won't spare you tonight."

She ignored me completely, laughing coquettishly: "If you have the ability, then bring it on."

I lowered my head and kissed her earlobe, saying, "Wife, I love you too much to even have enough of you; would I ever have the heart to bully you?"

She gave a satisfied hum, stroked my face with her hand, and said, "Husband, you've lost so much weight."

How could I not lose weight? I was originally a rising political star, only to be left stranded on the beach for no apparent reason.

I smelled the fragrance of her hair and said, "Wife, I want to make love to you."

Her face flushed, and she flicked my nose, saying, "Greedy cat."

The desire in the depths of my heart was instantly stirred; I picked her up horizontally, placed her gently on the bed filled with the scent of flowers, and indulged in admiring this precious treasure that belonged solely to me.

After a flurry of activity, I lay flat on the bed, calling out to her, "Wife, I'm going to die."

She giggled, pinched me, and said, "You are not allowed to die. I haven't given my consent, so you are not allowed to die."

I sighed and said, "Wife, if I suddenly died, what would you do?"

She stared at me for a while and said softly, "My husband won't die."

"I said, what if."

"There are no 'what ifs'."

"Life has many 'what ifs'," I said, thinking in my heart about going to the United States to see Guo Wei, not knowing what the outcome would be.

"If there really were a 'what if', I would follow you to the grave," she said earnestly, her eyes welling up with a layer of mist. It made my heart ache unbearably.

"You are not allowed to die," I stroked her chest and said, "My son hasn't grown up yet."

She trembled, suddenly pressed her body down, and lay flat against me, saying, "Husband, you must be hiding something from me."

My wife is an innocent wife; she does not like politics and does not like being an official. She only likes living a plain and simple life, passing her little days in peace. I realized this back when I was conducting social education in Chunshan County.

Back then, she had not yet blossomed with the charm she has today; she was like a tender little flower, tenaciously holding onto life amidst the scorching sun and torrential rain. She was timid, curiously observing this world; the blooming of a flower or the death of an ant would make her pleasantly surprised or bring her to tears.

She followed silently behind me, and regardless of the cold or heat, she would always provide me with warmth and coolness. She has already become an indispensable part of my life; without her, I would no longer be able to adapt to this world.

"No," I said, hugging her back, my hands roaming over her smooth back.

"You're lying to me!" She raised her head to look at me and said, "What are you and my dad up to? Going out in the middle of the night without even saying a word?"

Only then did I remember that when we returned, Chen Yazhi and Huang Weiwei were both waiting for us in the living room; they hadn't gone to rest, and even my son, Niannian, was asleep in his grandmother Chen Yazhi's arms.

"There are some things that cannot be said." I lifted her down from my body, held her in my arms, kissed her forehead, and said, "Wife, I'm sorry."

She smiled and said, "I understand! I won't ask. Women shouldn't listen to you men's business."

A wave of guilt washed over my heart; I have such a lovely wife, yet I have done many things to let her down. Regarding matters between men and women, I am always unable to resist temptation. Every time, I swear afterwards that it is the last time, but whenever the critical moment arrives, I always find myself unable to stop from indulging.

The wall clock in the living room chimed five times, and the white of a fish-belly dawn had already appeared outside the window.

I got out of bed and walked to the window, pulled back a corner of the curtain, and looked at the dim world outside.

Everything seemed to be waking from a dream, and I felt as if I could hear the sound of flowers blooming. In the dim world, the cool air permeated everything; every leaf was waking from its slumber, and every leaf could be touched by the sunlight.

My world is so serene, and I feel that life is so beautiful.

From today on, I want to be an upright person; I want to let everyone feel the power of love. From today on, I want to bury the past; I want to run under the sunlight and let every morning and night feel the greatness of life.

I turned my head back; Huang Weiwei on the bed had already fallen into a quiet sleep.