His fingertips were slightly cool, yet seemed to carry a kind of magic. Wherever they traced, she could not help but shudder again and again.
Until that hand finally covered her, and the sensitive tip was wantonly teased.
Jiang Hua snapped awake and reached out to push him hard.
She did not manage to push him away.
But she did make Xu Chenghuai stop.
“Did I hurt you?” His voice carried a trace of surprise. As he spoke, his scorching breath sprayed onto her face.
In the darkness, Jiang Hua could not see his eyes, but she could feel his assessing gaze.
She gripped the bedsheet beside her, turned her face slightly to the side, and said in a muffled voice, “I don’t want to.”
As soon as the words fell, she could feel Xu Chenghuai’s body stiffen.
Thinking carefully, this was the first time she had ever refused him.
Given Xu Chenghuai’s personality, she had thought he would be angry.
Yet to her surprise, he instead relaxed his body and pressed her beneath him, his arms tightly restraining her as he buried his head in the hollow of her neck.
The warm, damp breath sprayed against her neck, and Jiang Hua felt goosebumps rise all over her body.
She pushed at him anxiously. “You’re too heavy. Get up.”
Xu Chenghuai did not respond. He only lifted himself a tiny bit, trying not to put too much weight on her, but still leaving her unable to move.
Jiang Hua was so annoyed she almost laughed. “Are you a shameless rogue or something? Get up already. You really are too heavy.”
Xu Chenghuai finally spoke. “I’m not heavy.”
His breath brushed against her neck even more clearly. Jiang Hua kept trying to dodge to the side, but it was useless.
She was truly irritated now, her voice growing heavier. “Tomorrow, let Yunkai sleep with you. I’ll go sleep with Yunshu.”
Xu Chenghuai’s body stiffened again. He suddenly rolled off her, using his actions to reject her proposal.
Jiang Hua did not care what he thought. In any case, she had made up her mind.
“So the so-called change in lifestyle you talked about means we don’t even need normal husband-and-wife intimacy anymore?” Xu Chenghuai’s voice sounded in the quiet.
Jiang Hua froze for a moment. She actually heard a faint note of grievance in it.
She fell silent briefly. What Xu Chenghuai said was indeed a problem. Since she was not planning to divorce, then a normal married life was necessary. Besides, she was not someone devoid of desire.
Jiang Hua almost made up her mind without thinking. She casually pulled out an excuse. “Too many things have happened recently. I don’t have the mood.”
It was an excuse, but a lot had indeed happened recently. It was normal for her to be in no mood.
Another silence followed. After a long while, she finally heard Xu Chenghuai softly respond with an “Mm.”
After this disturbance, Jiang Hua instead felt sleepy.
The news of Director Chen’s suicide spread throughout the entire compound, then from the compound to nearby factories. Soon after, all over Qinhai City, there were wild speculations about the research institute.
Quite a few people who knew Jiang Hua’s identity and could not restrain their curiosity ran to Alley End to ask about the situation. For a time, even people who had not known before now became informed.
Jiang Hua really had no choice. She simply handed Alley End over to the two shop assistants and holed up either in the storage room behind the shop or stayed inside the compound.
However, the rumors showed no sign of stopping. Everywhere, people were saying that Director Chen had sold information to the enemy for money. Even newspapers from the provincial capital were reporting on the matter.
Jiang Hua knew that in her previous life, this incident had also caused a huge uproar. But she had not paid attention back then, so it was far less real than experiencing it firsthand now.
She thought that this was probably why Auntie Chen had committed suicide in her previous life. In the face of such a storm of public opinion, how many people could really remain calm?
But the most important question was still whether Director Chen was innocent.
Although the official word was that Director Chen had committed suicide out of fear of punishment, Jiang Hua always felt that the matter was not that simple.
That was what she thought, and that was also what she asked Xu Chenghuai.
Xu Chenghuai answered without hesitation. “Director Chen would not commit suicide. Even if he had done something wrong, he would not choose suicide to evade responsibility.”
Director Chen had once guided him for a period of time. He knew Director Chen very well.
Jiang Hua was stunned for a moment. She had not expected it to align exactly with her own thoughts. “Then what is going on? Did someone deliberately kill him and disguise it as suicide? And are the rumors outside also released by the real culprit?”
She pieced together all the plotlines she had seen in television dramas and movies, wildly filling in the gaps.
Xu Chenghuai shook his head. “Not necessarily.”
Jiang Hua froze again and suddenly lifted her head. “You mean…?”
Xu Chenghuai’s gaze rested on her face. He seemed not to have expected her to guess it. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes as he nodded. “It’s just a guess. We need to investigate to know.”
Although he said that, based on Jiang Hua’s understanding of Xu Chenghuai, if he had no evidence at all, he would never casually draw conclusions about something. Even if it were only a hypothesis, he would not say it out loud without some basis.
And now that he had said it out loud, that meant the result was basically almost certain.
Jiang Hua silently steadied her suddenly racing heartbeat, raised her eyes to look at Xu Chenghuai, and asked, “Then what about Auntie Chen?”
Xu Chenghuai shook his head. “It mainly depends on whether she can come to terms with it herself.”
Jiang Hua fell silent. That was indeed the case. If Auntie Chen could not come to terms with it, no amount of persuasion from others would help. On the contrary, if she could accept it, then no one’s attempts to influence her would matter either.
However, despite thinking this way, Jiang Hua still went to the Chen household the next day.
On the day she first heard the news of Director Chen’s suicide, she had already come once. At that time, although Auntie Chen looked haggard, she was nowhere near as bad as she was now.
In just a few short days, Auntie Chen’s hair had turned gray, the wrinkles on her face had deepened, her eyes were red and swollen, her cheeks were so thin that they had caved inward, and her back was no longer straight but slightly hunched.
“Why have you come?” Auntie Chen’s voice was indescribably hoarse.
Jiang Hua’s expression was no different from before. She said honestly, “Of course, I was worried you might not be able to think things through, so I came to check on your condition.”
Auntie Chen stood at the doorway, with no intention of letting her inside. She tugged at the corner of her mouth and said, “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t be as stifled and cowardly as Old Chen.”
Jiang Hua carefully observed her condition. She truly did not look like someone who intended to seek death. Her heart stirred, and she tested the waters by saying, “Xu Chenghuai said that Director Chen does not seem like someone who would commit suicide. Even if he really did those things, he would not use suicide as a way to evade responsibility.”
Perhaps because Director Chen was mentioned, Auntie Chen’s defenses collapsed instantly. Tears surged out at once as she choked and said, “Maybe Old Chen really was muddleheaded and took the wrong path, but I do not believe that he committed suicide.”
Jiang Hua frowned.
Auntie Chen said the same thing. It seemed that it truly was as Xu Chenghuai had guessed.
She blinked, restrained the emotions in her eyes, said a few more words of comfort to Auntie Chen, and seeing that her condition seemed fairly stable, finally felt at ease enough to leave.
Time passed unhurriedly, and another week went by.
Information in the city is updated quickly. After the initial novelty faded and was replaced by new events, Director Chen’s case was mentioned less and less. People gradually forgot about it, except for the few around who truly cared.
Jiang Hua was busy every day with Alley End’s work and had no time to pay attention to Auntie Chen, so she handed this arduous task over to Song Jin.
Song Jin felt that she was idle anyway. Although she did not know what Jiang Hua wanted to do, driven by curiosity, she truly paid attention to the Chen household’s movements every day.
Unexpectedly, she really did get to see some drama.
Song Jin vividly described the scene she saw to Jiang Hua. “You have no idea how vicious that old woman was. She pointed at Auntie Chen’s nose and cursed her for being a hen that couldn’t lay eggs, cursed her as a jinx who caused Director Chen’s death.”
Jiang Hua recalled how Auntie Chen had said that Director Chen sent all his wages back to his hometown every month, leaving only twenty yuan for household expenses. Although she had guessed that the other side was not easy to get along with, she had not expected them to be this unreasonable.
They treated Auntie Chen and Director Chen’s remittances as something that should be taken for granted, without even the slightest trace of gratitude.
Jiang Hua asked, “Then how did Auntie Chen react?”
Song Jin said, “Of course, she was very emotional, with an extremely intense reaction. She pointed back and accused Director Chen’s parents and brothers of being the ones who killed him. She said they were sucking Director Chen’s blood, and that was why Director Chen ended up taking the wrong path.”
Jiang Hua froze.
So, everything Director Chen did was actually for his parents and brothers?
If Auntie Chen had not said it, who would have imagined this was the reason? It was truly too regrettable. Jiang Hua could not help sighing inwardly, then looked at Song Jin again. “Have the Chen family people left now?”
Song Jin shook her head, her face showing a constipated expression. “The old man and old woman refuse to leave. They say that is their Chen family’s house. Now they are squatting there with their two eldest sons, refusing to go, and even demanding that Auntie Chen move out.”
Jiang Hua was speechless.
“That’s just sick in the head,” she could not help cursing.
Song Jin nodded in agreement and sighed. “I don’t think Auntie Chen can win against that whole family.”
Jiang Hua did not speak. If she could have won, Director Chen would not have sent so much money back every month.
Thinking of the outcome in her previous life, Jiang Hua felt uneasy. “No, I need to go take a look at Auntie Chen.”
Song Jin froze and subconsciously let out an “Ah?” “Go look at what?”
Jiang Hua said honestly, “Auntie Chen has helped me a lot. Now that she’s in trouble, I can’t just stand by and do nothing.”
Song Jin looked at her in surprise. “Alright, I’ll go with you!”
Both of them were action-oriented. Jiang Hua said a word to Xu Chenghuai, then got up and was about to head out with Song Jin.
Xu Chenghuai called out to her in time. “There’s a bunch of greens in the kitchen. Take them over. Auntie Chen probably doesn’t have time to buy groceries.”
Jiang Hua responded with an “Oh,” then looked at Yunkai and instructed him, “Yunkai, go help me get them.”
Yunkai was squatting in the corner with Yunshu, playing with cicadas they had caught. Hearing this, he pouted unwillingly, but still got up and jogged into the kitchen to bring them out for her.
Song Jin watched with a face full of amazement and envy.
She really should let those people in the compound who thought highly of themselves and believed Jiang Hua was living poorly see this. The person they thought was living poorly was actually living extremely comfortably.
Jiang Hua carried the bunch of greens and knocked on the Chen household’s courtyard door together with Song Jin.
The one who opened the door was a young man, about twenty years old. Jiang Hua had seen him before. Auntie Chen had bought a job position for him. His name seemed to be Chen Gao.
Seeing Jiang Hua, his eyes lit up. “Comrade, it’s you.”
Jiang Hua raised a polite but slightly awkward smile. “I’m looking for Auntie Chen.”
Chen Gao’s expression stiffened, his gaze drifting aside. “My aunt is sick and resting inside. Why are you looking for her? I’ll pass on the message when she wakes up.”
Jiang Hua said, “No need. I can go in and visit her.”
As she spoke, she was about to walk inside. However, Chen Gao shifted his feet and happened to block her path. “No need. My aunt just fell asleep. Let her rest properly. When she wakes up, I’ll tell her you came.”
Jiang Hua raised her eyes to look at him.
Song Jin’s fiery temper could not tolerate this at all. “What do you mean? Why do I feel like you’ve got a guilty conscience and don’t dare let us go in to see Auntie Chen?”
A trace of unnaturalness immediately flashed through Chen Gao’s eyes.
For some reason, at that moment, Jiang Hua suddenly felt a surge of panic.
Thinking of something, her gaze sharpened. She reached out and shoved Chen Gao aside forcefully.