"Do you really want to meet with Zhao Xiaozhuang?"
Early in the morning, in Ren Tian’ai’s room, she laid exhausted and drenched in sweat on the bed. Wiping the perspiration from her forehead, she looked at Lin Fan with seductive and affectionate eyes. Her voluptuous, fair breasts were still quivering at his fingertips, and the tumultuous heat from within her muddy garden kept her body twitching uncontrollably.
"It’s him who wants to see me, so we might as well meet!"
Resting on top of Ren Tian’ai, Lin Fan caressed her delicate body. To be over thirty and still maintain such a superb figure was certainly rare; Hou Changyao really had an exceptional eye. It made Lin Fan think about checking the USB drive Qu Liping had given him to see if there were other "exquisite items" in it.
Of course, this was just a passing thought. If it wasn’t necessary, he wouldn’t recklessly use those things—after all, what he wasn’t lacking right now was women. And the path he had carved out for himself was always more comfortable than the one traveled by others.
"But he’s Zhao Chuanchun’s nephew after all. He’s used to being arrogant and overbearing in Red Flag County. You know, the urban management team is full of hoodlums. Meeting with him will just draw unnecessary trouble."
Embracing Lin Fan’s neck, Ren Tian’ai couldn’t understand why Lin Fan would want to do this.
"In Red Flag County, it might be his turf, but here in the city, he’s nothing."
Lin Fan smiled and pinched the "strawberries" on Ren Tian’ai’s plump body. "If I don’t settle the matter with him here, when you go back to the county, do you think he will let you off easily? To blame, you should blame yourself for playing ambiguous games. Couldn’t you just find someone to marry and live a good life?"
"I’m afraid I really can’t do that, and I don’t fear your ridicule—I must be what others call a ’gold digger’."
Ren Tian’ai shook her head helplessly. "I’ve seen too much of the wide world, I know what glamour is, how to enjoy luxury goods, and the taste of ten-thousand-yuan wine. After understanding all these, I really can’t bear what’s called a ’mundane life’. But with my looks and my age, I can’t earn enough for that kind of life. I’m resentful in my heart, yet I must settle for ordinariness. To be honest, I despise myself for trading my body for value, yet I cannot defy my inner greed."
"I’ve never heard anyone analyze their own weaknesses so deeply before."
Lin Fan looked at Ren Tian’ai with a smile. From the decor of her home, it was obvious—despite being an old, rundown apartment, the interior was decorated in a trendy style. Ignoring the outside, just looking at the inside, one might think they were in a big city.
"Why live in such hardship by deceiving oneself? It’s a shame, though—knowing all this, what does it change when you can’t kick the bad habits?"
As an art student, Ren Tian’ai had some bohemian taste, but the smell of money shattered her spirit, forcing her to accept the rules of the game.
"Maybe resigning oneself isn’t such a bad excuse—it makes things easier for me too."
Lin Fan pulled out from her body, grabbed his wallet, and placed ten thousand yuan on the pillow. Clearing up the situation with a chat wasn’t bad; at least a trade devoid of emotional entanglement felt more relaxed.
"From now on, I’ll follow your lead, master."
Taking the money, Ren Tian’ai gracefully kissed Lin Fan on the cheek and surprisingly pulled out ten notes, leaving the remainder on Lin Fan’s chest.
"Are you giving me a discount?"
Lin Fan, curious, looked at the returned nine thousand yuan.
"To tell you the truth, I’m already happy enough that you don’t ask me for money. But if I don’t take the money, I can’t get by. I admit I’m greedy for money, but for others who want my body, it might cost a lot. But for you, master, as long as it’s enough to live on, that’s fine. And what you’ve given today is already a lot."
Ren Tian’ai got out of bed with a playful face, covered her garden, and quickly ran out. Lin Fan squinted his eyes as he looked at the remaining money. "These days, everyone’s a strategist, knowing how to play the long game. They claim they want money but won’t take too much—indeed, there aren’t that many foolish women in the world, mostly just honey traps."
Getting up to wash up, the toothbrush with toothpaste already on it was laid out in the bathroom. Lin Fan had to admit, watching Ren Tian’ai, naked except for an apron, making breakfast, she was more shrewd than he had imagined. But this was a good thing. Last night, he had learned a lot of secrets about Red Flag County from her, getting a better grasp of what this Dragon Pond and Tiger Cave was like.
As he sat at the dining table waiting to eat, the phone’s ring made him startle. He quickly walked into the room with the phone. "Uncle Zhu, do you have something for me?"
"Zhu Dan is returning tonight, let’s have dinner together. I have something to discuss with you as well."
Zhu Defu spoke succinctly, but his words brooked no doubt. Even though Lin Fan knew he had promised Li Huizhen, he couldn’t refuse such a dinner invitation, especially the last sentence about having something to discuss, which gave him much to ponder.
After all, Guo Baoming was aware of his movements with Zhu Defu, including the unclear relationship with Zhu Dan, so Zhu Defu definitely knew about his meeting with Guo Baoming too. But he never mentioned it before—it seemed he couldn’t hold back this time.