Power and Wealth

Chapter 1474: Sleeping on the floor again

Evening.

At Jiang's mother’s house.

It's past nine.

In the bathroom, Dong Xuebing, who has undressed, is wearing a pair of plastic slippers, standing under the shower, turning on the hot water to wash his hair and shower. The comfortable sensation is beyond description as the hot water falls on his body. However, Dong Xuebing isn't bathing just for comfort. Both Jiang’s mother and Jiang Fangfang insisted on keeping him overnight. He still doesn't know how to sleep at night, whether with Jiang Fangfang in the same bed as last time or on the sofa. Dong Xuebing has been busy these days, losing track of time, and he hasn't had time to shower for several days. He certainly can't crawl into bed dirty regardless of where he sleeps. He must consider his appearance and avoid becoming a subject of ridicule for Jiang’s mother and Jiang Fangfang.

Ten minutes…

Twenty minutes…

Half an hour…

Dong Xuebing thoroughly cleans himself in the shower. After making himself spotlessly clean, he even uses scented shower gel, exuding a refreshing fragrance.

Done, let's get out.

After drying his hair, he opens the bathroom door. A strong scent of Chinese medicine rushes in. Presumably, Jiang’s mother has just finished drinking Chinese medicine. Jiang Fangfang is collecting bowls on the table, and Jiang’s mother is not in the room; she might have returned to the bedroom. Looking at the floor in front of the TV cabinet in the living room, there is a makeshift bed again. Underneath is a mattress layer and a cool mat, with a double bedsheet pressed on the mat. There are also two neatly arranged pillows, each covered with a straw-woven pillowcase. It seems that Jiang Fangfang arranged everything by herself.

"Done with the shower?"

"Yes, and your mother?"

"Just finished drinking medicine, went back to bed."

"Uh, is the makeshift bed ready?"

"You go to sleep first. I still need to freshen up after finishing."

"Um, cough, then I'll go to bed first."

"Yes, rest early, make up for the sleep of these days."

After cleaning the Chinese medicine bowls in the kitchen, Jiang Fangfang casually turns off the living room light. The room turns dark, and Jiang Fangfang slowly enters the bathroom, closing the door. The light comes on inside, and rushing water is heard. Whether she is using the toilet or washing her face is not clear.

Dong Xuebing watches for a while and then withdraws his gaze. He walks to the makeshift bed, kicks off his shoes, and pushes away the outermost blanket barefoot. Then, he starts undressing. When he takes off his shirt, Dong Xuebing doesn't feel anything special, but he hesitates for a moment when he takes off his pants. The weather has been getting warmer despite a significant temperature difference between day and night. It's cool at night, but there's no need for long underwear. Dong Xuebing's inside is empty, with only a pair of underwear. If he takes everything off, there won't be anything left. He briefly thinks about borrowing long underwear from Jiang Fangfang again but decides not to mention it. Wearing it to sleep would be too hot. He grits his teeth and removes everything, throwing his clothes on a nearby chair. Then, he bends over and crawls into the thin blanket, preparing to sleep.

Whatever, whoever loves it.

He has already touched Jiang Fangfang’s butt, and there's nothing to be embarrassed about.

Thinking about that day during the video call when Jiang Fangfang saw him hanging her underwear and stockings on the pillow at the head of the bed, what could be more embarrassing than that?

Too many debts are hard to bear.

Dong Xuebing lies down, preparing to sleep.

Several minutes pass, and he is indeed tired. His whole body aches. However, Dong Xuebing just can't fall asleep. He keeps thinking about Jiang Fangfang’s figure. Occasionally, he can't help but peek towards the bathroom, and he can't get drowsy with more thoughts in his mind. The drowsiness soon fades away as he tosses and turns. The situation becomes more restless. This thing has caused a fuss. He wanted to rest early, but now he can't sleep. But thinking about it, soon there will be a mature beauty in the bed, and they might even share a pillow for the night. Given Dong Xuebing's temperament, it would be strange if he could sleep.

A creak.

The bathroom door opens.

Dong Xuebing, halfway through turning over, quickly stops moving and pretends to be asleep.

Footsteps approach, stopping not far from his head. Then, there is silence, with only a faint, unclear rustling sound.

Unable to resist, Dong Xuebing squints to take a look. All he sees is a pair of pure white feet, already out of slippers and stepping bare on the ground.

The pants are gone.

What's the situation up there?

Dong Xuebing's heart thumped a few times, but he still couldn't lift his head.

Huff, it seems like the pants were thrown on the sofa. Footsteps sound, gradually moving away, and the wardrobe door also opens, probably fetching clothes. Dong Xuebing estimates that Jiang Fangfang’s attention is probably inside the closet, most likely with her back turned to him. So, gathering some courage, Dong Xuebing opened his eyes slightly and glanced in that direction. It wasn't near the window, and the moonlight was weak, making it too dark to see. He only caught a rough outline of Jiang Fangfang. It seems like she isn't wearing many clothes. Lastly, there is that bright white strap nightgown she's holding. Because it's made of satin, it reflects light, so Dong Xuebing can see it.

She turned around.

Dong Xuebing quickly closed his eyes.

A minute later, the woman walked back.

Dong Xuebing thought that it was so dark. Jiang Fangfang probably wouldn't notice. He again opened his eyes slightly. The pair of smooth, beautiful feet and calves entered his field of vision. Moreover, in the next second, one woman's feet moved towards the back of Dong Xuebing's head. The cool mat beside Dong Xuebing moved as the woman stepped on it. She was going to cross over Dong Xuebing to get into bed. Dong Xuebing suddenly felt daring, and as Jiang’s mother was just about to step over his head, Dong Xuebing quickly turned his head for a quick peek. The woman's legs were split before Dong Xuebing's eyes, wearing the nightgown again. Even though the skirt reached her knees, it wasn't closed at the hem.

Dong Xuebing saw it.

Well, but he didn't see anything.

He saw it because even though Jiang Fangfang took the second step in half a second, Dong Xuebing's gaze happened to catch her skirt. He had already timed it but didn't see it because the room was not lit, and the moonlight couldn't enter Jiang’s mother's skirt. Moreover, she didn't have a flashlight clamped between her legs providing illumination. So, in that half-second, Dong Xuebing saw only a pitch-black hem of the skirt.

Blacker than ink.

Not even a hint of flesh.

Okay, that peek was in vain.

The blanket beside him swayed, and a warm body slipped into the bed. Jiang Fangfang's body rubbed against Dong Xuebing's shoulder somewhere. Silence. The living room fell quiet. At this moment, Dong Xuebing couldn't sleep anymore. Opening his eyes, he blinked a few times. Dong Xuebing couldn't get rid of that itching sensation in his mind. Hesitating for a while, he gritted his teeth, turned over, and boldly reached out to hug Jiang Fangfang in the bed. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pressing his body against hers. He had already hugged her before and even later had touched Jiang Fangfang in the county office. Dong Xuebing reckoned she wouldn't react strongly, so he dared to do it.

Indeed, Jiang Fangfang didn't move. She just opened her eyes.

They were face to face, and there was suddenly eye contact.

"Did I wake you up?" Jiang Fangfang looked at him and said, "I'm sorry."

"No, no." Dong Xuebing hurriedly said, "I couldn't fall asleep. Suddenly, I'm not sleepy anymore."

Jiang Fangfang calmly said, "You haven't rested well for many days. Go to sleep early. Tomorrow morning is the signing ceremony, and we need you to preside over it."

Dong Xuebing responded with an "um" and glanced at her, tentatively saying, "Your mother is also asleep. Otherwise, I can go to the sofa."

Jiang Fangfang said, "No need. Maybe she'll get up in the middle of the night again. It's a bit crowded and not comfortable. I'll sleep on the sofa instead."

Dong Xuebing exclaimed, "Oh, I'm afraid it might not be appropriate. Even though your mother thinks I'm her son-in-law, we both know the truth."

Jiang Fangfang momentarily fell silent and said, "As a widow, it doesn't matter to me."

Dong Xuebing hesitated, "It doesn't matter to me either. Well, let's go to sleep."

Jiang Fangfang nodded, "If you really can't sleep, I have sleeping pills here."

"I won't take them. By the way, have you been taking sleeping pills recently?"

"No."

"Oh, that's good."

"Rest well. I'll wake you up in the morning."

"Okay, goodnight, Sister Jiang."

"Goodnight."

Although they said goodnight, once Jiang Fangfang closed her eyes, Dong Xuebing didn't close his eyes to sleep. He didn't even have the intention to sleep. Like the last time he spent the night at Sister Jiang's house, he touched her, rubbing a few times on her silky nightgown. Even though it was just her back, Dong Xuebing enjoyed the softness of the skin beneath the silk nightgown and was quite pleased.

Mayor Jiang didn't move at all.

This emboldened Dong Xuebing even more, and his actions became bolder.

However, this time, Dong Xuebing didn't touch the same places as last time. Instead, he leaned his head forward.

One centimeter…

Five centimeters…

Ten centimeters…

Their heads were almost glued together.

Dong Xuebing believed Mayor Jiang must be able to feel it because he could already sense the breath coming out of her mouth. Still, Mayor Jiang didn't move. Dong Xuebing blinked and finally made up his mind. After flirting for so long, he must find out Mayor Jiang's bottom line today.

He lowered his head, bringing it closer.

Dong Xuebing's mouth firmly pressed against Mayor Jiang's soft lips.

He kissed her.

Not an easy feat.

Finally, he kissed her.