Chapter 62: The Seductive Torment

Seeing that Li Hong agreed to cooperate with him, Liu Weidong stood up to leave, but Li Hong leaped down and grabbed him by the arm.

"What time is it even? Where are you going?"

Liu Weidong looked awkward. "I should go stay at the commune guesthouse for the night. We've said everything that needed to be said, and staying any longer isn't appropriate."

Li Hong snorted. "Can't two people sleep on a bed this long? Back at the educated youth settlement, don't men and women sleep on the same heated brick bed? You're just looking down on me. If you dare to walk out that door right now, everything we just discussed is void, and you can go ask whoever you want for help."

With reddened eyes, Li Hong gripped Liu Weidong's arm, standing barefoot on the floor, leaving Liu Weidong completely helpless.

"All right, go wash up and get to sleep early. Tomorrow the two of us have to head into the city."

Seeing that Liu Weidong wasn't leaving anymore, Li Hong finally put on her shoes and went to heat some water.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Liu Weidong felt completely ill at ease.

Li Hong treated him as if he were invisible. Although she didn't strip in front of him, she was dressed quite scantily.

The early July weather wasn't terribly hot yet, and Li Hong was wearing only a white tank top and floral shorts, exposing her fair thighs and arms. She wasn't even wearing underwear beneath her tank top. After finishing her own wash, she brought the foot basin inside, squatted down, and prepared to wash Liu Weidong's feet.

As she squatted, Liu Weidong happened to catch a glimpse right down the front of her tank top, startling him so much that he jumped straight to his feet.

"Li Hong, what are you trying to do? If you keep acting like this, I'm leaving."

Li Hong looked completely innocent. "I'm helping you wash your feet? Doesn't Yanzhu wash your feet at home?"

"Is that the same thing? Yanzhu is my wife, how could I let you wash my feet?"

Liu Weidong quickly stripped off his own shoes and socks and placed his feet into the basin.

Acting as if on purpose, Li Hong remained squatted right in front of Liu Weidong, the collar of her tank top gaping open, her curved figure distinctly outlined in the squatting position.

In front of him were the glimpses of her breasts, and behind her were a slender waist and full hips. Liu Weidong forced himself to look straight up at the ceiling light, and before long, his eyes went blurry. He hurriedly rubbed his feet together a few times, considering the foot-washing done.

"Coward. It's not like you haven't seen my body before. Did you really give all those photos to Yanzhu? Didn't you keep even one for yourself?"

Liu Weidong felt a stir in his heart, chuckled, and replied, "What do you think?"

***

Li Hong, who was carrying the washbasin away, visibly paused for a moment before standing up with the basin in hand.

"Photos can never compare to the real person. If you want to look, you can look at me anytime. I really can't figure you out."

As she spoke, Li Hong went to pour out the foot-washing water, her slender waist swaying. Through her floral shorts, the curves of her buttocks were clearly visible. Liu Weidong felt the blood rush straight to his head, and he even experienced a physical reaction.

To die beneath the peony flower, even as a ghost one remains romantic—the ancients certainly didn't deceive us. Li Hong was truly a vixen reincarnated, and choosing her as his partner was spot on.

After pouring the water, Li Hong returned to lay out the bedding on the brick bed. Although she laid out two separate quilts, they were pushed right up against each other.

Liu Weidong didn't dare say much more; he climbed onto the bed, pulled his bedding a bit further to the side, and lay down.

Li Hong smiled and shook her head, sitting on the edge of her bedding and rubbing vanishing cream onto her thighs. Her feet came dangerously close to Liu Weidong's face, prompting him to scramble further to the side, curling up his legs to hide his embarrassment.

"Hahaha... Weidong, I really admire you. I know you and Yanzhu share a deep devotion as husband and wife, but right now it's just the two of us in this room. Who are you putting on such a painful act of endurance for? I don't believe you have no feelings for me at all. If you had no feelings, why would you keep my photos?"

As she spoke, Li Hong inched closer to Liu Weidong, frightening him into sitting straight up.

"Li Hong, stop fooling around. If you keep this up, I really am leaving. Aren't you just forcing me to make a mistake?"

"Come on then! Make a mistake! I'm all cleaned up, do I smell good?"

Her fair, long legs and slender ankles kept rubbing against Liu Weidong's face. He was cornered against the wall—never had he felt so awkward since his rebirth.

If he wanted to run, Li Hong blocked his way; if he didn't run, this was sheer torture.

"Stop messing around, Li Hong. You smell great and you're pretty, but I don't dare, nor can I do anything to betray my wife. How about I go sit in the kitchen for the night? That way both of us can have peace of mind."

Li Hong burst into laughter, kicked Liu Weidong playfully, and crawled back to her own bedding.

"I'm just teasing you. Even if I were with a hundred men, I would never steal Yanzhu's man. Go to sleep now, and don't wake up tomorrow with dark circles under your eyes, or you won't be able to explain it when you get home."

With that, Li Hong reached out and clicked off the electric light, truly stopping her teasing.

Only then did Liu Weidong let out a sigh of relief.

No one can guarantee they will never make a mistake in their lifetime, but after being reborn, Liu Weidong genuinely didn't want to do anything to wrong Lou Yanzhu, especially since the other person was Li Hong—that made him even less daring to touch her.

***

That night, Liu Weidong remained half-asleep and half-awake. He knew every time Li Hong got up to use the bathroom. Hearing the splashing sound of the chamber pot outside, images inevitably floated into his mind, and Liu Weidong cursed himself, pinching his own thigh in frustration.

What a disaster... why did he have to come over in the afternoon? Couldn't he have just waited until tomorrow morning?

"Weidong, are you still awake? Keep me company for a smoke and a chat."

After finishing her business, Li Hong crawled right up beside him, lit a cigarette, pushed it into Liu Weidong's mouth, and lit one for herself.

Even though they weren't pressed tightly together, they could feel each other's body warmth, and Li Hong's foot rested casually across Liu Weidong's leg.

"Actually, when you said you were going to use me as a pawn, I hated you bitterly. But now I've thought it through. Just now, when you kept holding back and refused to touch me, I realized there really are good men in this world. A man who can take responsibility for his own feelings has a good conscience; he won't treat me like a tool to be discarded once used."

Liu Weidong almost choked on his cigarette. He coughed a couple of times and said, "Stop talking nonsense. What do you mean 'discarded once used'? I never touched you in the first place. If someone hears you talking like that, won't they misunderstand?"

Li Hong gave him a kick and explained, "Where is your mind at? I mean you're someone who would take responsibility for me and wouldn't deceive me."

Liu Weidong snorted. "Someone wrote an anonymous complaint letter to the admissions office. Nine times out of ten it was that bastard Li Baotian. Since Li Baotian dares to pull dirty tricks over and over again, don't you think you bear some responsibility? Yanzhu has been grinding away for the college entrance exams for a whole month now, and I've been running myself ragged trying to get her transferred to a public-school teaching position, pulling every string imaginable. I absolutely cannot let Yanzhu's college entrance exams fall through at the last hurdle. Besides, I really did consider things from your perspective: even if I find you a job, once you're in a new environment, people will still have designs on you. As a single woman, either you find someone to marry, or you become someone no one dares to mess with. Given your current situation, the latter is much more practical."

Li Hong resentfully pinched Liu Weidong with her toes.

"So you're just pushing me onto Fu Hongqi? Why don't you talk about backing me up yourself? Cousin!"

Liu Weidong winced. "You're comparing me to Fu Hongqi? Are you kidding? He's the big boss in Binjiang. If I'm just a thigh to hold onto, he's a towering ancient tree. You really don't know what's good for you. If you could actually hook up with Fu Hongqi, you could walk straight into a job at the revolutionary committee, and the city would even assign you a dorm. You'd be making a leap to the heavens, and you're not willing? Not only is Fu Hongqi powerful and influential, but he's not bad-looking either. Who knows, the moment you see him you might fall for him first, and once you strike it rich, it's hard to say whether you'd even remember me..."