199: Chapter 199 A leopard can't change its spots...

In the evening, Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde invited Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang for drinks again.

It was the same private restaurant, the same private room.

After a few drinks, his face was flushed and his neck was thick; he leaned back in his chair with his legs crossed, chewing on a peanut with a loud crunch.

"Old Chen, I went to the Federation of Literary and Art Circles again today."

Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang's hand holding the wine glass paused.

He looked at Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde, his gaze filled with something undefinable.

After a two-second pause, he drained his glass and set it down on the table with a thud.

His voice was not loud, but his tone carried the warning and worry of someone who had seen it all.

"Old Liu, let me tell you the truth, even if you don't want to hear it. You'd better stay away from Mu Ruxue."

"You know who Xu Weidong is, and Director Qi Heng's fate is right before our eyes. It's one thing to run your mouth, but don't do anything foolish."

"If you really offend him, no one can protect you."

Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde's chopsticks, which were picking up a peanut, paused.

He then leaned back in his chair, folding his hands over his belly, his gaze landing on a corner of the ceiling, as if he were speaking to Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang or perhaps just to himself.

"Old Chen, the way you say that, it's as if I, Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde, am the kind of person who can't distinguish right from wrong."

"I have my limits. I just took a few looks, shook her hand, and didn't actually do anything. What can he do to me?"

"Besides, I only took a few looks. She was wearing a turtleneck sweater, wrapped up tight, not even showing her neck."

"What else could I see? I couldn't see anything at all."

Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang looked at him, his mouth curling slightly.

Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde was sexually frustrated; the old hag at home was three years older than him.

It was fine when they were young, but now that they were in their early sixties, the wrinkles on her face could crush a mosquito, and she had a bad temper, always smashing basins and bowls at every turn.

It was no wonder Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde couldn't take his eyes off young, beautiful women like Mu Ruxue when he was out.

"Old Liu, how is your wife doing lately? Still arguing with you?"

Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde waved his hand and downed another glass of wine; as the alcohol hit, he became more talkative.

"Don't mention her. I don't want to see that old hag for a single day."

"Old Chen, do you know what she said to me the day before yesterday? She asked if I was running out all day because I had someone else outside."

"I told her, 'Is that any of your business?' She just smashed a bowl and then a plate."

"I ignored her. She has to clean it up herself after she breaks it anyway."

He curled his lip, his gaze sweeping over Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang's face, then suddenly brightened, carrying the recklessness and teasing that only comes after the alcohol has kicked in.

"Old Chen, don't talk about me."

"That young, delicate wife of yours is twenty years younger than us and dresses up beautifully every day. Can you satisfy her?"

"Don't let someone secretly put a green hat on you without you even knowing."

Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang's face darkened instantly.

The fact that his wife was twenty years younger than him was no secret in the county, but no one had ever dared to speak so recklessly to his face.

"Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde, you don't need to worry about my wife. You'd be better off keeping your own pants zipped."

"The moral atmosphere of the entire county is being ruined by people like you."

Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde was choked by this remark.

He opened his mouth to retort, but upon meeting Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang's cold eyes, he swallowed his words.

He waved his hand and clinked his glass with Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang's.

The two men stopped talking and drank in silence.

However, Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde seemed to have suddenly remembered something interesting.

After swallowing the food in his mouth, the expression on his face immediately shifted from the previous awkwardness to an indescribable sense of ambiguity and lecherousness.

"Old Chen, are you familiar with anyone at the County Hospital?"

Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang glanced at him without answering, slowly turning his wine glass between his fingers.

Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde chuckled twice, leaned in closer, and lowered his voice as if he were afraid of being overheard by the people in the next room.

"Have you seen Director Jiang Xin from the Nursing Department? A thirty-year-old woman is at the most flavorful age."

Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang's hand holding the wine glass paused.

He did know Director Jiang Xin; she was Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming's wife.

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming was the Deputy Party Secretary of Hukuang Township and had served as a deputy under Xu Weidong; they had worked well together during those years in Hukuang Township.

After Xu Weidong became the Executive Deputy County Magistrate, it stood to reason that he should have given Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming a hand and promoted him to Township Head in Hukuang Township.

But for some reason, Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming was still a Deputy Party Secretary, and the position of Township Head remained unfilled.

"Are you sleeping with her?"

Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde chuckled, the laughter triumphant and ostentatious, as if he were showing off a remarkable achievement.

"What do you mean by 'sleeping with'? Don't put it so crudely."

"Her husband wants to climb the career ladder but can't find a way, so she came to me for help."

"Tell me, as a grown man, if a beautiful woman throws herself at me, wouldn't it be heartless of me to turn her away?"

Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang sneered, set his wine glass on the table, and looked at Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde with a gaze filled with disgust.

"Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde, with your character, you'll get into trouble sooner or later. Director Jiang Xin is Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming's wife, and Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming is someone who has worked for Xu Weidong."

"If you touch Director Jiang Xin, it's the same as digging on Xu Weidong's turf."

"Do you think Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming doesn't know? You'll eventually ruin yourself."

Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde didn't care and drained his glass.

He smacked his lips, his gaze landing on Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang's face with the smugness of someone sharing experience.

"Old Chen, let me tell you, when Director Jiang Xin first came to me, she dressed very conservatively. She was pretty, sure, but she had no feminine charm."

"I chatted with her a few times and discovered that her husband, Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming, is a blockhead who doesn't know how to develop her potential at all."

"So I taught her, and I even bought her some lingerie."

"Guess what happened?"

"After she put them on, she was like a different person. That waist, those legs, that skin… tsk, tsk, tsk…"

Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang: Are we even on the same page? Is this guy on drugs today?

"Alright, alright."

Deputy County Magistrate Chen Guoliang interrupted him, his disgust and aversion reaching their peak.

He stood up, picked up the jacket draped over the back of his chair, and threw it over his shoulders.

He glanced at Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde, his face showing a look of iron-willed disappointment.

"You deal with your own business; don't drag me into it. I'm leaving."

Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde sat alone in the private room and drank another glass of wine.

He leaned back in his chair, squinting, a lingering smile on his face, wondering who he was thinking about.

At that moment, in a residential building on the other side of the county, Director Jiang Xin sat in front of the vanity in her bedroom, looking at her red-rimmed eyes in the mirror.

Deputy Party Secretary Hu Ming was already asleep on the bed, his snoring steady and long.

She had already forgotten how many times this had been…

From the first time Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde invited her to dinner, to the regular meetings every two weeks, and now to the so-called "emotional exchanges" at least twice a week, she had gone from initial resistance to current numbness.

Every time before she went, she told herself in her heart that this would be the last time, but every time she received a call from Deputy County Magistrate Liu Changde, she would still put on that set of lingerie he sent from who knows where.

Then she would put on makeup, spray perfume, go to that fixed hotel, and open that fixed room.

She bit her lip, swallowed that bitterness, turned off the light, and lay in the darkness with her eyes open, unable to sleep for a long time.