145: Chapter 145 Really Old?

"Township Head Jiang, you have misunderstood."

Her voice was very soft, but every word was clear.

"I came here for Committee Member Luan, and also for myself."

"As for what you mentioned, I haven't thought about it, nor would I do it."

She stood up, picked up the envelope on the coffee table, put it into her bag, and zipped it up.

"Township Head Jiang, sorry to disturb you. Get some rest."

She turned and walked toward the door. Township Head Jiang Tiansheng sat on the sofa, watching her back, saying nothing.

Director Bai Jie changed her shoes, opened the door, and left.

The sound of the door closing was very soft, so soft that it felt as if nothing had happened.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng leaned back against the sofa and closed his eyes.

Director Bai Jie had left, and the money had left with her.

His test had yielded a result; if she had come to get leverage, she wouldn't have left so decisively.

She would have stayed, let him take advantage of her, and waited for him to make even more excessive moves... but Director Bai Jie did not.

This proved she wasn't here for leverage; she was genuinely here to ask for his help.

However, if she was genuinely here to ask for his help, why did she take the money back?

He opened his eyes, looked at the empty spot on the coffee table, and stared blankly for a long while.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng suddenly felt ridiculous. Having been in Hukuang Township for so many years and having seen all kinds of storms, he now couldn't even see through a young girl.

When Yu Lili returned home the next day, Township Head Jiang Tiansheng was sitting on the sofa smoking.

The ashtray on the coffee table was already full; he hadn't emptied it, just letting it pile up.

The TV was on, but he wasn't watching what was playing; his mind was full of the image of Director Bai Jie's visit.

Yu Lili put her bag in the entryway, changed her shoes, and walked into the living room. She took two steps and then stopped.

She sniffed, then sniffed again, like a hound that had caught the scent of prey.

She turned her head, her gaze sweeping from the living room to the hallway, and from the hallway to the bedroom.

The door was open, and the bed was made neatly; there was nothing unusual to see.

But she was too familiar with that perfume scent. It wasn't the brand she used, nor was it the scent on her own body. It was a cloyingly sweet floral and fruity fragrance, the kind young women liked.

"Township Head Jiang Tiansheng!"

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word seemed squeezed out from between her teeth.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng looked up, glanced at her, then lowered his head again, holding the cigarette in his mouth and responding vaguely.

"You're back?"

"I'm asking you, who has been here?"

Yu Lili walked up to him, looking down at him, hands on her hips, like a volcano about to erupt.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng flicked the ash from his cigarette and said in an indifferent tone, "No one came. What are you going crazy about?"

"No one came?"

Yu Lili's voice shot up an octave. "Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, do you think I'm an idiot? This whole room smells like perfume, can't you smell it?"

"I've been with you for so many years, do you think I can't tell what you smell like? This isn't my perfume, and it isn't the scent of any bottle in our house."

"Tell me, did you bring that vixen into our house?"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng frowned, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, and stood up, his voice rising as well.

"Yu Lili, that's enough. What vixen? Can't you speak more politely?"

"A comrade came to report on work, sat for a while, and then left. What are you making a fuss about?"

"Report on work?"

Yu Lili sneered, her voice sharp enough to pierce an eardrum.

"You have to wear perfume to report on work? You have to bring people home to report on work? You can't talk about work in the office?"

"Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, you're lying to ghosts! You've been in Hukuang Township for so many years; what work can't be discussed in the office that you have to bring them home? Do you think I'm a three-year-old child?"

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, her voice growing louder, her finger almost poking the tip of Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's nose.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's expression grew uglier, his chest heaving like an enraged old bull.

He was, after all, a Township Head in Hukuang Township. Being suppressed by others outside was one thing, but to come home and be scolded by his own wife while she pointed at his nose—how could he swallow this anger?

"Yu Lili, I'll say it one more time: a comrade came to report on work. Believe it or not, that's all there is to it."

"If you keep making unreasonable trouble, don't blame me for being impolite."

"Impolite? How else do you plan to be impolite?"

Yu Lili's voice became even sharper. Tears were already welling up in her eyes, but she gritted her teeth to keep them from falling.

"Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, you get bullied outside and come back to take it out on me? Why don't you dare to speak loudly in front of Xu Weidong? Why don't you dare to slam the table at the committee meeting?"

"You only know how to act tough at home! Do you think I don't know? I've long since seen through all your dirty business!"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's face flushed red, the veins on his forehead bulging.

He grabbed Yu Lili's wrist. She struggled a few times but couldn't break free, opening her mouth to scream.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng covered her mouth with his other hand and dragged and carried her into the bedroom.

Yu Lili kicked wildly on the floor, one of her slippers flying off, making muffled sounds in her throat.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng threw her onto the bed and shut the bedroom door behind him.

"Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, you're crazy!"

Yu Lili sat up on the bed, her hair disheveled, her eyes red, like an angry cat with its fur standing on end.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng said nothing, unbuttoned his shirt, and threw it aside.

Yu Lili looked at him, her mouth moving as if she wanted to say something, but she was forced back by his gaze.

She had known Township Head Jiang Tiansheng for so many years and had rarely seen him like this—as if he were truly enraged, or as if something pent up for too long was finally about to erupt.

She shrank into the corner of the bed and stopped scolding him.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng got on the bed and pinned Yu Lili down.

Yu Lili struggled a few times at first, but then stopped. She closed her eyes, bit her lip, and let him do as he pleased.

She had been with Township Head Jiang Tiansheng for so many years; this sort of thing was nothing new.

A few minutes later, Township Head Jiang Tiansheng stopped, rolled over to lie on his side, and panted heavily.

His forehead was covered in sweat, and his chest heaved violently, like a fish washed ashore.

He stared at the ceiling, saying nothing.

Yu Lili opened her eyes, turned her head to look at him, and twitched the corner of her mouth—an expression that was hard to tell if it was disgust or mockery.

"Is that it?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word cruelly pierced into Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's ears.

"Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, are you becoming more and more useless? After all that tossing about, you still have the nerve to lose your temper with me?"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng's face turned from red to purple instantly.

He turned his head sharply, glaring at Yu Lili, his eyes looking as if they were about to breathe fire.

Yu Lili glared back at him without showing any weakness, her gaze filled with the triumph of a victor, as if saying, "Aren't you tough? Aren't you capable of carrying me in?"

"And the result? Just this?"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng threw off the quilt and got out of bed. Barefoot, he walked to the bedside table, opened the drawer, rummaged out a box of medicine, popped out two pills, and threw them into his mouth.

Yu Lili watched him, the curve of her mouth widening.

"Taking medicine? Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, are you tired of living? Can your heart handle it?"

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng ignored her, returned to the bed, and pulled her over.

Yu Lili didn't struggle this time, but she didn't cooperate either; she just lay there like a log.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng didn't care. He continued what he hadn't finished, harder and more roughly than before, as if he were struggling against something.

Yu Lili bit her lip to keep from making a sound, staring hollowly at the ceiling.

This time it lasted longer. Gradually, changes appeared on Yu Lili's face; her breathing quickened, and her fingers gripped the sheets tightly.

She bit her lip to keep from making a sound, but her body's reactions couldn't lie.

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng felt it, and the fire in his heart finally burned less intensely.

Yu Lili didn't mock him this time. She lay there, staring at the ceiling, and after a long while, she pushed him away, sat up, and began to get dressed.

"Township Head Jiang Tiansheng, don't bring people home in the future. Whatever you want to do, do it outside; don't let me see it."

"I'm disgusted."

Township Head Jiang Tiansheng leaned against the headboard, lit a cigarette, took a drag, and exhaled slowly.

He didn't answer, watching the smoke dissipate under the ceiling.

Yu Lili got dressed and got out of bed.

"I'm going to cook. You have to go to work this afternoon, right? Don't be late."

The door closed, and Township Head Jiang Tiansheng lay alone on the bed, smoking cigarette after cigarette.

The sunlight from outside shone in, landing on his bare chest, leaving those age spots with nowhere to hide.

He was truly old!