Chapter 25: The Web of Passion

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“Master, working at the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine is so boring! Ever since you left, it’s become even less fun.” Xie Xiaoya’s breath was sweet as she whispered into Zhang Jun’s ear. “Could you help me transfer to a better workplace? Somewhere with better prospects. Please?”

As she spoke, she clung to Zhang Jun’s arm and rocked it back and forth.

Zhang Jun could feel the softness of her body.

“Master, all it would take is one word from you for me to transfer to a better unit.” Xie Xiaoya edged closer and closer to him.

Zhang Jun frowned slightly. This little minx was trying to use feminine wiles to persuade him to help her secure a better position.

“Where do you want to go?” he asked cautiously.

“It would be wonderful if I could work with you.” Xie Xiaoya smiled sweetly. “I’ve never been inside the provincial government compound. I’ve only passed by it from the outside. It has high walls, a grand courtyard, and lush trees—the surroundings are truly beautiful, even more beautiful than a park. And if I transferred there, I could work alongside you. It would be much more convenient for us to see each other. Don’t you think?”

In an effort to win him over, she pressed half her body against his arm.

If she moved just a little closer, she would practically be throwing herself into his arms.

Yet Zhang Jun was suddenly alarmed.

He was a married man. Although his relationship with his wife was poor, they had not divorced.

If Xie Xiaoya truly became entangled with him, he would have great difficulty extricating himself.

It was obvious that Xie Xiaoya was no pushover, nor was she a plaything who could be toyed with at will.

The last time Zhang Jun failed to meet Ma Hongqi, Xie Xiaoya had immediately changed her attitude and grown much more distant.

After Zhang Jun became Ma Hongqi’s secretary, Xie Xiaoya had once again become proactive, even deliberately arranging this date.

Ambiguity.

This woman lived for the thrill.

But such thrills had to be exchanged for something of value.

If Zhang Jun could help her obtain a good position, perhaps he really could enjoy her favors. Otherwise, she would never act without seeing some benefit first. At most, she would flirt around the edges, stir his heart, and lure him into a snare of affection she had carefully designed.

Ever since becoming a secretary, Zhang Jun had constantly forced himself to keep his desires under control.

Money, beauty, and the abuse of power.

Any one of these could destroy everything he had now.

Smelling the faint fragrance on Xie Xiaoya, Zhang Jun gave a light laugh. “You want to transfer to the provincial government? You studied traditional Chinese medicine. Which department there would need a woman with your qualifications?”

“Didn’t you study traditional Chinese medicine too? Yet you still made it into the provincial government. There are always more ways than difficulties, as long as you truly want to help me.” Xie Xiaoya was skilled at wheedling. Her coquettish voice was enough to test any man’s self-control.

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“I’m an exception. To this day, I still don’t know why Governor Ma summoned me to serve as his secretary. Xiaoya, don’t assume that just because I’m at Governor Ma’s side, I have any real authority. Officially, I’m only a minor section chief. How could I possibly control personnel transfers? You think too highly of me.”

“You represent the leader. Wouldn’t it be easy for you to arrange a position for someone? You clearly just don’t want to help me, do you? I’m someone who repays kindness, Master. If you help me, I’ll make it worth your while.” Xie Xiaoya’s hand crept up to Zhang Jun’s shoulder, and her lips nearly brushed his earlobe.

Zhang Jun was already on the brink of committing adultery.

A young and beautiful woman was offering herself to him without reservation. All he had to do was say yes, and he could immediately possess what was most precious about her.

But possessing her would come at a price.

Arrange for someone to enter the provincial government?

Zhang Jun knew he did not yet possess that kind of influence.

Xie Xiaoya seemed to recognize his predicament, so she compromised.

“If I can’t get into the provincial government, the Department of Health would be fine. You can arrange that much, can’t you?”

She felt that she had to give Zhang Jun a little sweetness first, or the man would never agree.

With that, she took the initiative and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

Zhang Jun could no longer hold himself back.

He wrapped his arms around Xie Xiaoya.

She half-resisted and half-yielded, leaning back until she fell onto the bed.

At the crucial moment, Xie Xiaoya cradled his head and said, “Master, promise me you’ll arrange for me to enter the Department of Health, all right? Then I’ll let you come in.”

First he had to agree to get her into the Department of Health.

Only then would she agree to let Zhang Jun enter.

Zhang Jun hated this sort of atmosphere—endless bargaining and negotiation.

The small amount of affection and desire he had just begun to feel had already been completely worn away by Xie Xiaoya’s mercenary attitude.

Just then, the telephone rang.

Zhang Jun instantly found an excuse and made up his mind. He rose quickly and answered the call.

It was Liu Zhengjie.

“Brother, are you free? I’ve got a gathering going on here. Why don’t you come over and sit with us?” Liu Zhengjie was clearly calling from a karaoke club; the music in the background was deafening.

Zhang Jun usually avoided such entertainment venues, but today he was eager to escape from Xie Xiaoya, so he agreed.

“Where are you? I know the place. All right, I’ll be there.”

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He hung up and said to Xie Xiaoya, “Something’s come up. Goodbye.”

“Wait, Master! Don’t go! We—we haven’t finished yet!” Xie Xiaoya hurried out of bed and grabbed his hand. “Can’t you go later?”

“It’s urgent.” Zhang Jun turned and left, afraid that if he hesitated even for a moment, he would fall back into her erotic trap.

Xie Xiaoya stared blankly after him, her lips pushed into a deep pout.

Zhang Jun arrived at the Platinum Entertainment Club, where Liu Zhengjie was waiting.

It was the most imposing and luxurious karaoke club in the entire province. People said it was a money pit for men, where spending tens or even hundreds of thousands in a single night was as effortless as tossing stones into water.

Zhang Jun naturally could not afford to spend money there.

Liu Zhengjie probably could not afford it either. Perhaps some wealthy businessman was footing the bill.

Zhang Jun secretly decided that if anything seemed amiss, he would sit for a while and then leave.

He could not afford to fall into a beauty trap laid by a woman.

A money trap laid by a businessman was even more deserving of caution.

When he entered the private room, he saw more than a dozen men and women inside. Several beautiful women in camisoles and short skirts were twisting their waists and dancing in the open space for entertainment.

Liu Zhengjie was clinking glasses with several others. When he saw Zhang Jun enter, he set down his glass and burst into laughter.

“Come, come, my good brother! You finally made it! Let me give everyone a grand introduction. This is Comrade Zhang Jun, my close friend. He is Governor Ma’s—”

Zhang Jun jabbed him in the waist. “That’s enough!”

Liu Zhengjie chuckled. “All right, I won’t introduce him. Everyone already knows who he is.”

He ushered Zhang Jun to the middle and had him sit down, then called over an exceptionally beautiful, slender, and tall woman, seating her on Zhang Jun’s left while taking the seat on his right.

“Brother, this beauty is Shen Xue. She’s admired you for a long time and specifically came today to meet you. Hurry up and shake hands with her. You can’t leave a beauty’s hand hanging in midair forever, can you?” Liu Zhengjie nudged Zhang Jun’s arm.

Zhang Jun turned and studied Shen Xue.

What a charming, dignified beauty—truly breathtaking.

She was so beautiful that she immediately captured the eye and drew an involuntary sigh of admiration. How could a woman this beautiful exist in the world?

If the world contained ten parts beauty, Heaven had given half of it to Shen Xue, while all the women on earth shared the rest.

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