Chapter 65: Debts of the Heart That Are Hard to Repay

Liu Weidong spent the entire night affectionately entwined with his wife, partly to prove that he had done nothing with Li Hong, and partly to vent the pent-up desires and agitation triggered by Li Hong.

Flashes of Li Hong's painful and helpless expression when she was forcefully violated by Li Baotian kept crossing Liu Weidong's mind. Before long, Li Baotian's figure morphed into Fu Hongqi's, holding Li Hong down and toying with her at will.

As dreams returned in the dead of night, Liu Weidong instinctively tightened his embrace around Lou Yanru lying beside him.

"Having a nightmare? Are you worried about Li Hong?"

Liu Weidong sighed. "It would be a lie to say I don't feel guilty doing something like this. I just hope Fu Hongqi can live up to Li Hong and swiftly finalize the matter regarding you and your younger sister getting into university. If the two of you actually manage to go to college this time, I truly owe Li Hong a massive favor."

Lou Yanru sighed softly. "Weidong, let's not resort to crooked and underhanded paths from now on. Doing things like this too often leaves a restless heart, and I don't want you to turn into someone who uses any means necessary to achieve their goals."

Early the next morning, the courtyard gate was knocked on. When Liu Weidong opened it, he saw Lou Yanhua, who immediately threw herself into his arms upon seeing him.

"Brother-in-law, my sister and I passed the political review! The admissions office called home bright and early this morning, telling us to fill out our forms again. The two of us can go to university!"

Liu Weidong quickly broke free from his sister-in-law and pushed her bicycle into the courtyard.

"How old are you, girl? You still don't know how to keep proper boundaries. I may be your brother-in-law, but that doesn't mean you can just hug me whenever you want."

At that moment, Lou Yanru also came out of the room. The two sisters embraced, both shedding tears of emotional release.

Compared to Lou Yanhua, Lou Yanru's tears felt much more genuine, carrying a deeper weight of accumulated emotions. Liu Weidong sighed inwardly and went inside to prepare breakfast.

He had not expected Li Hong to be willing to go to such extremes, nor had it crossed his mind that Fu Hongqi would move so swiftly. It seemed Li Hong's first step had been a success.

Rice porridge, fermented bean curd, and leftover steamed buns from the previous night made up their meal. After the three of them finished breakfast, the Lou sisters rode their bicycles to the Education Bureau.

Liu Weidong sat in the courtyard, staring blankly at the chickens in their coop.

All people in this world are mere ants, just like these chickens trapped in a cage, their destinies entirely in the hands of others, never knowing when they might be pulled out and have their throats slit.

In his past life, although his net worth exceeded a hundred million, he had still been pushed around by those in power just the same, and quite frequently at that. Of course, the ones who disciplined him were always officials.

Reborn into this lifetime, Liu Weidong knew all too well that wealthy tycoons are merely the money pouches for officials. That was why, right from the start, he spared no effort in embedding himself within the upper echelons of power.

In his past life, after the Revolutionary Committee had its plaque taken down, Fu Hongqi did not fall from power; instead, he became the Mayor of Binjiang. However, Deputy Director Cui Xiangdong was labeled as one of the "three types of people" due to errors committed during the movement, and was stripped of his post and investigated.

The original Secretary of the Binjiang Municipal Committee was transferred to the provincial level, Zhao Lijun stayed put in his position, and the newly arrived Municipal Committee Secretary locked horns with Fu Hongqi in a fierce, open-and-secret struggle, leaving Binjiang's political scene turbulent for over a decade.

Yet, with Li Hong serving as a connecting thread, Liu Weidong was confident he could snatch chestnuts from the fire.

Once his father-in-law was politically rehabilitated, he would become the Director of the Agricultural Commission. Combined with Zhao Lijun, the Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Committee, and the leadership of the Metallurgy Bureau, Machinery Bureau, and Economic Commission, he would hardly be fighting alone.

Power and wealth have always been difficult to separate. Having experienced anti-corruption campaigns in his previous life, Liu Weidong knew precisely what kind of money would lead to trouble. From now on, whether it was his father-in-law Lou Nan, or figures like Zhao Lijun and Wang Li, those who walked close to him would certainly share the spoils. As long as he did not burn bridges and turn hostile, no one would ever be able to uncover any wrongdoing.

His goal was not to hold dirt on anyone, but simply to render himself invincible.

While developing his enterprises going forward, he would also vigorously promote agricultural development industries, donate to schools and welfare institutes, and craft a persona for himself as a philanthropic entrepreneur. He refused to believe he would turn out any worse off than in his past life.

Just as he was calculating how to develop his future endeavors, the iron gate clicked open, and Li Hong walked in from outside, wearing no makeup, her complexion terribly haggard.

"Li Hong, what's wrong with you? Not feeling well? Didn't you sleep a wink all night?"

Li Hong picked up a small wooden stool, sat down next to Liu Weidong, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Weidong, I think I might have overacted. Fu Hongqi said he wants to divorce his wife and marry me. Am I not just inviting ruin upon myself?"

Liu Weidong did not push Li Hong away; instead, he let out a faint, lingering sigh.

"Then do you like Fu Hongqi?"

Li Hong lifted her head from Liu Weidong's shoulder, looked straight at him, and asked, "Do you think someone like me still has the right to talk about love? I've lived for twenty-one years, and the only man who ever made my heart race is you. But you don't love me back. With my fate so cruel, I can only blame the heavens for envying beauty. Yet I am unwilling to accept this—why shouldn't I even have a choice in how to survive?"

"Li Hong, are you still holding onto naive fantasies at a time like this? You are different from Yanru. She met me right as she started her sent-down youth period, whereas you encountered the darkest moment of your life. Back then, there wasn't even a single person around to help you, so you tried to use marriage to wash away that stigma, only for things to turn out contrary to your wishes.

"Those years were the ultimate test of human nature. Although Lou Yanru suffered plenty of hardships alongside me, her safety was at least guaranteed. But you were like a wild lily on the meadow—eye-catching yet utterly fragile, ripe for anyone to pluck.

"Love? What even is love? You can find a man who loves you and whom you don't find repulsive to settle down with, but not right now. Right now, you have no choice; you must first make yourself powerful enough, and Fu Hongqi is your ladder.

"He has been separated from his wife for years and holds a high position. How could he possibly still care for that illiterate, sallow-faced woman? Even without you appearing, he would have divorced her eventually.

"You can tell him about your sense of guilt, while also letting him know that you are being tortured by your own morality and conscience. Display a conflicted attachment of loving him yet feeling unable to remain together—men fall for that routine every single time."

Li Hong nodded, a trace of a smile appearing on her exhausted face.

"Why didn't you tell me these tricks earlier? If I used these tactics on you, would they work?"

"I'm talking to you about serious matters here. I'm your cousin; aren't us messing around like this considered incest?"

"You..."

Infuriated, Li Hong pounded Liu Weidong's chest a couple of times, snatched half a cigarette from his hand, and took a drag.

"I've temporarily helped Sister Yanru and her sister sort out their political review. Your father-in-law's case is too sensitive, so I'll bring it up in a few days. When he heard I was your cousin, he actually showed a lot of interest in you. He said you've invented quite a few patents and made a huge contribution to Binjiang's industrial upgrading, and even mentioned that he wants to meet you if the opportunity arises."

A thought stirred in Liu Weidong's mind, and he hurriedly asked, "Did he call the leadership of the Education Bureau directly, or did he go through Cui Xiangdong?"

"After I finished talking to him, he made the call right in front of me, apparently to the Director of the Education Bureau. He gave the director a thorough tongue-lashing over the phone, saying that Lou Nan's case had already been reported to the Provincial Revolutionary Committee, and even if he hasn't been officially rehabilitated, he can no longer be treated as a Rightist element.

"Although making the call in front of me had elements of trying to please me, I could tell he was genuinely angry, as if he truly had no idea his subordinates were pulling such stunts below."

Liu Weidong nodded. "Judging by that, Fu Hongqi still has a strong sense of justice, quite different from those cadres who climbed up through smashing, looting, and grabbing. If you take my word for it, hold tightly onto this big tree of his. Once your wings are fully grown, you can go searching for whatever life you truly want. He's already fifty-two and you're only twenty-one—do you understand what I'm saying?"

A hint of bitterness surfaced on Li Hong's face as she looked at Liu Weidong and spoke softly,

"I was able to take this step not to fly up onto a branch and transform into a phoenix, and certainly not for redemption, but simply because you wanted me to do it. No matter whose wife I become in the future, you will always be the man I miss the most. Sooner or later, you'll have to repay this debt—there's no escaping it..."