Chapter 2: 002 can get through
Lu Yuqing!
The younger aunt of Liu Zhizhong's wife!
The biological younger sister of her mother-in-law, Lu Yumei, only four years her junior.
She was 34 years old this year, a beautiful widow who had been alone for five years, and the deputy director of the Yangzhou City Old Cadres Bureau, with an extraordinary network of connections.
Back then, for her brother's future, which is to say, Liu Zhizhong's father-in-law, she had been forced to break up with her lover and marry Zhang Hongyang's Second Uncle.
Second Uncle Zhang wasn't just ugly but also had a wandering eye. It didn't take two years before he was stabbed to death by a thug after a bout of drinking.
Mr. Zhang was ruthless, refusing to allow Lu Yuqing to remarry, insisting she remain a widow for at least five years for his son.
Normally, this aunt treated Liu Zhizhong with indifference, their interactions also being minimal.
But Liu Zhizhong felt that she was now the kindest of all the Zhao family members and Hu Family Members towards him.
This aunt truly had a tough life, and in being aided by his father-in-law, in a sense, he had been graced by his aunt's favor as well.
Yet, what was more deadly was that Mayor Ma from the City Committee had been pursuing her relentlessly.
Those officials who had once pursued her were either warned off, disciplined, or even thrown in jail by Mayor Ma.
In Mayor Ma's eyes, she was an angel from the heavens, the love of his life. If he couldn't have her, then no one else could!
But this... this was even worse than those officials, to actually have a relationship with her!
If Mayor Ma found out, wouldn't that be even worse?
Liu Zhizhong was in utter turmoil, his body shaking, all passion replaced by an inexplicable fear.
As a man of the officialdom and a son-in-law, being oppressed by powerful relative Zhang Hong had been frightening enough, let alone provoking the Mayor. Fuck, could he even continue living this life?
He didn't know what to say anymore, as all words felt pale and weak.
In the dark bedroom, the atmosphere became somewhat stifling, mixed with the intoxicating scent of Lu Yuqing's perfume and a faint hint of biological muskiness.
After a short while, Lu Yuqing spoke softly, "What are you doing? Are you still there?"
"I... I..." Liu Zhizhong stammered, his heart in chaos, "I'm sorry, Auntie, I really didn't know it was you, I thought it was..."
"You thought I was Zhao Yan, right? Are you now filled with fear and dread?" Lu Yuqing remained remarkably calm as she asked coldly.
"Yes, sigh..."
"Facing an opponent like Zhang Hong, experiencing setbacks in officialdom, getting drunk and doing something like this, it's quite normal. Besides, I too had drunk last night and habitually sleep naked. I didn't expect this to happen. But now that it has, we are both adults. Things have been done, and we have to face them, right?"
Lu Yuqing's voice was as cold as ice, but enchantingly beautiful, which relieved some of the pressure on Liu Zhizhong.
Looks like, could he get through this night after all?
Liu Zhizhong took a few deep breaths, still a bit nervous, "Then, Auntie, thank you for your understanding and forgiveness. I am just a pitiful creature in life and the officialdom, at the mercy of anyone. Sigh... Now that it has happened, whether you decide to pursue it or understand, I can only accept it. But... how did you end up sleeping here? Sigh..."
Lu Yuqing let out a cold laugh, making Liu Zhizhong feel even more pressured.
"Now that we are in this situation, do you think I can go around announcing it, striking and dealing with you again? If this blows up, oh my god, wouldn't that make me a shameless person?"
"Yes, yes, yes..." Liu Zhizhong felt inexplicably agitated and tentatively asked, "So, Auntie, shall we pretend this never happened and keep it a secret between us?"
"Sigh..." Lu Yuqing sighed before saying, "We can only keep it a secret. Otherwise, if it gets out, you'd be completely doomed. Because just yesterday, I got married to Mayor Ma from the City Committee. Tonight, I was actually celebrating with drinks with my elder sister. I drank too much and ended up sleeping in Zhao Yan's room, since she's working in another county, and you're out in the field, not coming home often. But who would've thought you'd come back on a Monday night."
"Ah? Auntie, you married Mayor Ma, oh my god..."
Liu Zhizhong's mind was struck by a violent thunderclap, overwhelmed with a sense of collapse.
This is just too outrageous. Did this mean that he had successfully slept with the wife of the City Committee Mayor?
If Mayor Ma found out, he really would have no burial place when he died!
In an instant, Liu Zhizhong became nervous again, quickly saying, "Auntie, I really didn't mean to do that with you, we must keep this a secret! Otherwise, we'd both be finished..."
Huh? At this thought, Liu Zhizhong saw a glimmer of light.
Right, speaking out would be no good for anyone.
"Alright, don't be so nervous. If you don't say anything and I don't say anything, who would know? Just pack up later and lie down on the sofa in the living room. If your mother asks when it gets light, just say you were disheartened by the officialdom, got drunk and fell asleep on the sofa in the living room. At most, you'll get scolded and that'll be the end of it."
Liu Zhizhong was overjoyed, "Good, good, good, I'll listen to you, Auntie. I'll go to the living room right away..."
"What? You want to leave just like that?"
"Ah? I don't have to leave, but what else can I do?"
"Get back into bed!"
"For what?"
"Are you dumb?" Lu Yuqing's voice suddenly became extremely tender.
Liu Zhizhong seemed to understand something and his blood began to boil. "Oh, alright. I'll turn on the bathroom light; the bedroom light is broken, it's too dark..."
"No lights, don't you dare! Annoying!"
"Oh..."
Since it already happened once, did it really matter if it happened a few more times?
If Lu Yuqing was being so proactive, well, there's nothing much he could do!
So, Liu Zhizhong groped his way to the bedside in the darkness and climbed back into bed...