Zhang Hongyang was grinding his teeth so hard that his cheeks puffed up, his face growing even uglier.

He plopped down onto the edge of the bed and, looking at his beautiful wife, said irritably, "Just now I was reading the district government's files in the study, guess who called me?"

Zhao Han was somewhat curious, since a call that could anger Zhang Hongyang to this extent must have been no ordinary matter.

She rolled out of bed and asked, "Who?"

"Your little aunt."

"What? She calls and you're not happy about it, but instead you get this angry?"

Zhang Hongyang shook his head, "The last thing I would have expected was for Liu Zhi to go and tattle to your aunt. About the incident this evening, he actually went and snitched. What's more infuriating is, your aunt gave me an earful, saying a family needs to be united and strive for better things, that petty infighting is worthless. Liu Zhi having dinner with that slutty vixen tonight was a work-related arrangement she made, involving confidential work matters that I didn't need to know about. She said I was interfering with Liu Zhi's and your sister's marital relationship and told me not to do it again! Heh, I—"

The more Zhang Hongyang spoke, the more enraged he became. It wasn't just his broken nose that hurt, but he also punched the nightstand, exasperatedly saying to Zhao Han, "Wife, what the hell is all this, huh? What does your little aunt mean by this? Look at the photo, weren't Liu Zhi and that Luo Yanling all over each other? Isn't there a problem? And yet, she scolds me instead, practically making out Liu Zhi to be untouchable. I—I…"

He was so worked up, his mentality twisted to the point he outright said, "I seriously suspect whether your little aunt is having an affair with Liu Zhi!"

"What? What nonsense are you spouting? Are you crazy? Why are you so cynical? Why don't you say your little aunt-in-law is having an affair with Liu Zhi? That's perfect, since she's now one of Liu Zhi's superiors. Liu Zhi gets to have the closer water tower!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Han exploded too, completely fed up with her husband and started scolding him furiously.

In any case, she could not accept such a reality. Her and her sister, played by Liu Zhi's hands, and now the young and beautiful little aunt too, if she let Liu Zhi take advantage as well, that would be too much to bear!

She was psychologically upset!

And her pride was wounded!

Watching his wife get angry, Zhang Hongyang felt a little guilty and immediately put on an ingratiating smile, "Haha, wife, don't be mad. I'm just so angry I'm not thinking straight, just talking nonsense."

"Is this how you 'just talk'? You're too dark!"

"Haha, isn't it because Liu Zhi, that snitching dog, got me riled up? Blame that bastard, blame that bastard… Wife, please don't be mad, huh…"

"…"

It took Zhang Hongyang quite some time to finally coax Zhao Han into calming down.

He was a bastard but knew the gravity of right and wrong.

His wife was aware of many things, and failing to maintain a strong marital relationship wouldn't look good for him.

Of course, in Yangzhou, he didn't fear scandals; he could handle them, but still, it would be rather troublesome if one arose. Better to have less trouble than more, and best to just have peace.

Especially considering Zhang Hongyang knew he had affairs outside, and would occasionally visit clubs for other indulgences. Zhao Han knew of these, yet hadn't made much of a fuss.

So, how could he not cherish and pamper his wife? If she ever got so angry as to cuckold him, it would hurt more than death itself.

These days, such things were not uncommon. Zhang Hongyang knew too many of those painful lessons.

So, Zhao Han being only 25 years old and wanting to become a deputy director in the education bureau, didn't Zhang Hongyang also put on a brave face to make it happen for her? He snagged her an easy deputy director position.

Now, the Mayor had become the Zhao family's little uncle, so Zhang Hongyang couldn't help but spoil and pamper his wife all the more. Officialdom is just like that anyhow! And if Ma Xudong were to collapse one day, Zhang Hongyang's expression would surely change.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yan still hadn't returned home for the entire night.

Liu Zhizhong, growing impatient, simply went to bed.

It couldn't be helped; work still needed to be done, and he had to be up early the next morning.

As the Secretary of the Municipal Committee, he needed to be in sync with the Mayor, which meant arriving at the office at least half an hour early.

The next morning at six-thirty, Liu Zhizhong was already up.

As usual, the first thing he did after getting up early and returning to his villa was to practice boxing in the rooftop garden for ten to twenty minutes as morning exercise.

The Zhao family's rooftop not only had a bright skylight swimming pool but also a large, beautiful garden. Quite refreshing.

When Liu Zhizhong got to the rooftop, he heard the sound of water from the swimming pool.

It occurred to him to go and peek.

It had to be Lu Yumei, that fresh and young beauty, who took a half-hour swim first thing in the morning!

But damn it, the door was locked from the inside, and he couldn't see a thing.

As a result, Liu Zhizhong could only go to the garden beside him and start practicing his punches, powerful and aggressive, yet his movement and postures were impressively nimble.

He became more and more excited as he practiced, after all, exercising gave men an edge—hahaha...

Having just finished and was wiping off his sweat, he was suddenly startled by Lu Yumei's voice next to him, "Is the Secretary of the Municipal Committee enjoying his morning workout?"

Liu Zhizhong turned his head and his eyes lit up, a gentle smile coming to his face.

He saw his mother-in-law wrapped in a large bath towel, looking like she had just come out of the water, her skin tender and girlish under the morning light, cheeks rosy with youthful vibrancy.

The figure beneath the towel was curvaceous and attractive, almost making Liu Zhizhong lose himself.

Would anyone believe she had given birth, with daughters well into their twenties?

Lu Yumei gave him a sidelong glance and said, "What's that smile for? Your exercise is for nothing if you're all bones and can't even produce a child! What if you're impotent? You might end up without heirs, hehe…"