"Must a woman like me, who can only live in the shadows and dark cages, be unworthy of a flawless friendship?"
As she spoke, Zhao Mingyue suddenly smiled.
Yet, this smile… appeared rather lonely and helpless.
No matter how helpless Zhao Mingyue seemed, it had nothing to do with me.
As the saying goes: once, twice, but never thrice!
After consecutively experiencing the matters with Leng Meng and Yu Shuang, I vowed to myself… never to be deceived by women again!
Especially not by particularly beautiful women!
At this moment, my mind was entirely occupied with how to further pry information out of her.
Since Zhao Mingyue was Wang Yangming's actual mistress, it meant that everything Sun Jingjing had said was true.
Dealing with this woman would likely be more effective than dealing with Wang Yu directly.
This was because those in power were not allowed to have any scandals or gossip.
Let alone the act of keeping a mistress!
With Yu Shuang deliberately stalling Wang Yu, if I wanted to bring down Wang Yangming, I had to proactively change my approach and rethink my strategy…
I was fortunate, fortunate that I hadn't contacted Yu Shuang proactively before coming out this time.
Even more fortunate that Yu Shuang became overconfident, thinking she could use Sun Jingjing to keep me hooked and distract me.
Little did she know that human hearts are unpredictable, and desires are insatiable!
Women like Sun Jingjing, who only cared about money and not people, were the easiest to lose control of.
Without me saying a word from the beginning, she suddenly jumped out on her own, exposing Zhao Mingyue, Wang Yangming's true mistress, in the process!
If not for Sun Jingjing's sudden revelation, I would likely still be firmly held by Queen Bee Yu Shuang on Wang Yu's matter… unable to advance or retreat!
Although I didn't understand why Yu Shuang was doing this, since she was playing games, there was no need to continue cooperating.
Now that there was no progress on Wang Yu's end, it wouldn't hurt to focus all my attention on Zhao Mingyue and test the waters.
Just as my mind was constantly contemplating how to show goodwill to Zhao Mingyue without making her feel any aversion…
Zhao Mingyue suddenly looked up at me and asked softly, "For the card game later… can you let me win? I don't want to pretend to be a fool anymore! It's too tiring."
"Yes! But I have a condition."
I replied calmly.
"You say it," Zhao Mingyue nodded.
After a quick thought, I lowered my voice and said, "I want you… to help me create an opportunity to get close to Mayor Wang Yangming!"
"In other words, I want you to use your name to invite our town's father figure out for a casual meal to discuss work changes."
"This shouldn't be difficult for you, right?"
Of course, I wouldn't tell her the truth. Zhao Mingyue didn't know about the feud between Wang Yangming and me anyway.
So, I decided to use the tactics of the political arena and make her believe that I was seeking his favor and trying to pull strings.
This was also a chance to see how Zhao Mingyue would respond.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Mingyue gave a bitter smile and shook her head with a sigh, "It's useless!"
"Whether you want to offer gifts to pull strings, or use my relationship with him to gain some benefits for yourself, it's all unrealistic!"
"Although not many people know about my relationship with him, there are definitely quite a few!"
"To be frank, so far, I haven't seen anyone who knows about it gain any advantage from him."
"Most of them end up losing their chickens and spoiling their rice!"
"If you had been playing tricks and winning my money like Qi Bin and Liu Hong before, I wouldn't have said this much to you."
"Seeing as you've been kindly feeding me cards, I advise you to give up on this idea."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.
Ignoring my reaction, Zhao Mingyue continued, "Also! Setting aside the fact that he's not the type to fall for such things, between him and me, it's always he who initiates the meeting!"
"And every time, it's either in a hotel, or a motel… in bed!"
"Me actively seeking him out is not permitted, nor is it accepted!"
"So, this path is not feasible."
"You should… give up."
As soon as Zhao Mingyue finished speaking, my brows furrowed instantly.
It seemed this unexpected path was fraught with thorns and impossible to navigate!
I had to admit, that old scoundrel Wang Yangming was incredibly cunning!
Fortunately, I was here for revenge and not to conduct business, otherwise, I might have been stuck at this juncture!
Seeing this, I feigned regret and nodded, "Alas, I didn't think that far ahead!"
"I just thought of contacting Mayor Wang Yangming through you, and then seeing if I could cater to his tastes and take one small step forward!"
"After hearing what you said, I… dare not!"
Zhao Mingyue merely gave a wry smile and didn't reply.
Just as I thought my attempt was over, I suddenly heard Zhao Mingyue say, "If, I mean, if you're not in a hurry, can you wait for two months?"
Hearing this, I looked at Zhao Mingyue strangely and asked, "Two months later!? Why two months later?"
Zhao Mingyue didn't answer my question, instead showing a look of entanglement and hesitation.
When the 520 cigarette between her fingers was about to burn out, Zhao Mingyue dropped the butt and replied, "Because two months from today… he's holding a birthday banquet in the village to celebrate his fiftieth birthday!"
"So, there will be many people present that day."
"Including me!"
"If you're not in a hurry, I can take you there then and introduce you."
As soon as Zhao Mingyue finished speaking, I was stunned.
A birthday banquet? This was an opportunity!!!
Since Wang Yangming decided to hold a grand celebration, there would surely be some influential figures present on the day of the banquet.
If I could obtain crucial evidence from Zhao Mingyue before the banquet began, then Wang Yangming's birthday banquet would surely be…
At this thought, my heart began to pound with excitement.
"Are you sure… he'll let you go?"
Despite my inner excitement, I still asked with some unease.
Hearing this, Zhao Mingyue smiled again.
Unlike before, this time Zhao Mingyue's smile was filled with sorrow and determination.
After smiling, Zhao Mingyue nodded decisively and replied, "Whether he lets me go or not, I'm sure… I will definitely go!"
Before I could speak, after relighting a cigarette, Zhao Mingyue said again, "As long as you let me win tonight's card game, I'll definitely take you!"
"Don't laugh at me, ever since I learned to play mahjong, I've never won a single game!"
"You're the first person among those Sun Jingjing brought over who was willing to go easy and feed me cards."
"So, if people respect me one foot, I'll repay them ten!"
"As long as you help me, I'll help you! How about it?"