Power and Wealth
Chapter 1413 – The video sent by Sister Jiang
Night fell.
The night sky was silent.
Only occasionally, some insects and birds outside the window make faint sounds.
At home, Dong Xuebing was still fast asleep. Suddenly, a burst of ringing interrupted his sleep, startling him, and his eyes snapped open.
Ring, ring, ring.
Who could it be?
Calling so late at night?
Dong Xuebing, still half-asleep, closed his eyes again. He reached over, groping for the phone, and after a few attempts, he finally got hold of it, pressing the answer key.
“Hello, who is this?”
“It’s me.”
“Oh, Mayor Jiang.”
“If you’re sleeping, it’s okay. I won’t disturb your rest.”
“No need to be so polite. What’s up?”
“Nothing, go back to sleep. I don’t want to disturb your rest.”
“Don’t be so formal. I’m not sleepy anymore; I’ve been sleeping for several hours. What’s the matter?”
“What time did you go to bed?”
“Ah, I just got back and went to sleep.”
“Must have been tired from yesterday.”
“Why tired? Not at all. Just lying down with nothing to do, so I fell asleep. I’ve slept for several hours, and now I’m wide awake. Do you need anything?”
“Not really.”
“Oh no, is something wrong with my mom?” Playing the role of Jiang Mayor’s husband all day, Dong Xuebing was getting into the act. My mom, my mom, she’s picking it up.
“My mom is asleep, and she’s been fine these past two days.”
“That’s good. So, why did you call?”
“I couldn’t sleep. If you weren’t sleeping, could you read something for me? But since you’re already asleep, I didn’t want to bother you.”
“No, no, I’m okay.”
“Is it a bit troublesome?”
“Not at all. So, what do I read for you, talking as if you’re sleeping on a makeshift bed in the living room so your mother can’t hear?”
“Yeah, she can’t hear.”
“In that case, I’ll read like this.”
“Don’t use your phone; your number is from Beijing, and it’s a long-distance call. It’s not cheap. I don’t have headphones for my phone, and it’s inconvenient to hold.”
“Since you can’t use the speakerphone, the sound is loud. If I wake up your mother again, what should we do?”
“Do you have a computer?”
“Yes, I brought my laptop.”
“Then I’ll give you a QQ number. We can talk through voice chat. I have wireless internet for my laptop, and I have earphones for my laptop as well.”
“Ah, you have QQ?”
“I have it.”
“I thought you didn’t play these things.”
“Let me give you my QQ number.”
“Just a moment, let me switch on the computer. I haven’t been on QQ for a long time. I must try my password first; I seem to have forgotten it.”
The computer was on the bedside table.
Dong Xuebing sat up, leaned over to the bedside, grabbed the computer, and placed it on his lap. Because he was holding the phone, Dong Xuebing didn’t bother turning on the light. Sister Jiang’s situation was a big deal for him; he was naturally very concerned. He quickly connected the computer to the internet, logged into QQ, and after two attempts, he entered the correct password and downloaded it.
Ding, ding, ding.
Ahem, ahem.
QQ was bustling with activity, with many unread messages.
Dong Xuebing used it often during college but hadn’t logged in much since entering the system.
“Alright, Sister Jiang, I’m in.”
“Then type in my number.”
“Done, did you receive it?”
“Yes, we’re friends now.”
“Okay, let’s hang up and talk online.”
“Okay, sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night.”
“You’re being too polite. It’s okay. In the future, if you can’t sleep, just call me. We can go online, and I’ll read something for you.”
“Alright, thank you.”
“Can you open my window?”
The call ended, and Dong Xuebing finally took a moment to open Jiang Fangfang’s QQ profile. Her nickname was Jiang Fangfang, her gender was female, and the rest of the information was blank. The profile picture was the default QQ penguin avatar, fitting Jiang Mayor’s serious style. Dong Xuebing’s QQ profile was similar; both high-ranking officials couldn’t afford to have flashy usernames that might attract attention. Besides, inappropriate behavior online could lead to consequences, and they had to adhere to certain rules.
The chat window with Jiang Fangfang opened. Seeing that she was inactive for a while, Dong Xuebing didn’t dare to send a voice message and instead sent a smiling emoji.
Ding, ding, ding. Jiang Fangfang replied, “I’m looking for the voice chat button. I usually don’t use these much and don’t understand. Please wait a moment.”
Dong Xuebing responded, “Sure, I’m not very familiar with it either.”
Of course, this was a lie. Dong Xuebing was considerably younger than Jiang Fangfang, and even if he wasn’t an expert, he knew where the voice chat button was. However, since Jiang Fangfang, as a leader, didn’t know, Dong Xuebing pretended not to know either. After all, he couldn’t show off in front of a leader; it would damage their image. Huilan’s words had a significant impact on Dong Xuebing – be smart when needed and play dumb when necessary. This was indeed the way to go.
Ten seconds…
Thirty seconds…
Dong Xuebing’s laptop had a microphone, so he didn’t bother preparing headphones. After waiting without response, he rubbed his eyes, yawned, and lit a cigarette. It was past one in the morning, but he had to endure his drowsiness.
After another half-minute, beep beep, the chat window finally appeared. However, Dong Xuebing sweated a bit when he saw that it was a video call invitation. Jiang Fangfang must have made a mistake, and Dong Xuebing thought about sending her a reminder. However, he felt it wasn’t appropriate. After all, it was a leader who sent the request. Dong Xuebing couldn’t reject it outright. He had a webcam, as his computer was relatively new, and the little dot above the screen was the camera.
Forget it.
Let’s just accept it.
You can’t keep a leader waiting for too long.
Dong Xuebing quickly extinguished the cigarette, tidied up his hair, adjusted his autumn clothes, and then used the mouse to click “Accept.”
Connecting.
The video connected.
As soon as it connected, Dong Xuebing was taken aback. He thought Jiang Mayor didn’t have a webcam, but unexpectedly, she did. Jiang Fangfang’s face appeared on the large window, and Dong Xuebing noticed that Jiang Mayor seemed slightly stunned.
“Uh, Mayor Jiang.”
“Yes.”
“Can you hear me?”
“I can hear you. It’s fine.”
“Good. Uh, what are you using this for?”
“I might have pressed the wrong button. It doesn’t matter; they all work the same. As long as I can hear you, it’s fine.”
“My appearance is a bit just-woke-up, and my hair is messy.”
“Same here.” In the video, Jiang Fangfang wore the same red autumn clothes and pants. The color was a bit distorted, and her hair was down. A quilt covered her, and the laptop seemed on her lap. The screen wasn’t raised high, so Dong Xuebing could see her upper body.
“Then let me start reading.”
“Sure, I’m lying down.”
“Well, just wear your headphones.”
The video shook for a few moments. Dong Xuebing couldn’t see clearly, probably because Jiang Mayor moved the laptop. Finally, the video stabilized, but there was no view of Jiang Fangfang’s graceful figure. The camera pointed at the TV cabinet, and no one was visible. Well, she was going to sleep; she couldn’t show her face. Dong Xuebing had expected too much; he wanted to see Sister Jiang’s sleeping face.
No one in the picture.
But the sound was clear.
“Okay,” Jiang Fangfang spoke.
“Alright, let me find a story.” Dong Xuebing said.
“Yeah, if I fall asleep, just hang up the video.”
“Got it.” Dong Xuebing opened a webpage and randomly found a fairy tale. He began reading to her after moving the video window to the side.
On the other end of the headphones was Jiang Mayor’s breathing and a bit of microphone feedback.
Fairy tales are usually short, and he deliberately chose a short one. After about four minutes of reading, he stopped and blinked. “Sister Jiang?”
“……”
“Are you asleep?”
“Not yet.”
“Uh, then let me read another one.”
After silence, Jiang Fangfang suddenly said, “Wait a moment.”
The video screen shook again, and the next moment, Jiang Fangfang’s face reappeared. It seemed she had brought the laptop in front of her while lying down.
“What’s wrong?” Dong Xuebing questioned.
Jiang Fangfang’s eyes should be looking at the video, and after a moment of stillness, she unexpectedly said, “Those hanging at your bedside, are they my underwear and stockings?”
Underwear.
Stockings.
Dong Xuebing suddenly realized and remembered this matter. Glancing at himself through the video, the small window wasn’t very clear, but when he turned around, he almost spat out blood. Before going to bed, Dong Xuebing had placed Sister Jiang’s underwear, panties, autumn clothes, and pants on the bed. He had forgotten about them.
Damn it.
This was bad.
Sister Jiang must have seen it when she opened the video.
Panicking, Dong Xuebing quickly removed the stockings and underwear hanging at the bedside and threw them out of the camera’s view. His face turned red.
“Uh, Sister Jiang, I…” Dong Xuebing didn’t know what to say.
Jiang Fangfang remained calm, “Continue reading. Tell me another story; I’m about to fall asleep.”
“Okay, okay.”
“Thanks.”
It’s over.
She found out.
What should I do now?