Power and Wealth

Evening. 7 pm.

County Party Committee Hostel.

Soft music can be heard from outside of the ballroom. Dong Xuebing had arrived slightly later and doesn't know if it is ballroom dance music. He is anxious when he thought about Xie Huilan and quickly walks up to the entrance.

"Has the ball started?" Dong Xuebing looks at the staff standing outside.

The staff recognizes Dong Xuebing. "Yes. Party Secretary Xiang had just finished the first dance."

Dong Xuebing pushed the door open and entered the ballroom.

The ballroom is dim, and the lighting is not those disco lightings. It is soft and creates a relaxing ambiance. Rows of soft sofas were placed around the dance floor, and many leaders were sitting there holding a glass of red wine, looking at the people dancing. Liang Chengpeng and Zhao Xinglong were sitting there, and they should not know how to dance. Dong Xuebing looks at the dance floor, and many people are in pairs dancing. Most of the leaders do not know ballroom dancing, and their movements are clumsy and awkward. But their partners are all good dancers as most of them are from the County' Art Troupe. Where is Sister Xie?

Is she dancing with someone?

Dong Xuebing is anxious. He had not danced with Xie Huilan before. How can another man dance with her?

"Isn't this Chief Dong?" A middle-aged man suddenly turned towards Dong Xuebing. "I didn't see you during the opening dance. Did you just arrive?"

Dong Xuebing turned and smiles. "Chief Ding… I was caught in the traffic."

Ding Li laughed and looks away. He does not have any intentions to chat with Dong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing had heard of Ding Li before. He is the Chief of the Finance department. There are rumors about him harassing female staff members, especially the pretty and younger ones. He is holding the same rank as Dong Xuebing, but his role is more important than Dong Xuebing. Dong Xuebing had met him before, but they had never chatted much. At most, it was only a friendly greeting. Although Ding Li is the head of a County Government's department, he is very close with Xiang Daofa. Dong Xuebing does not want to have anything to do with him.

After greeting Chief Liang, Mayor Zhao, and some other leaders, Dong Xuebing continued to look around for Xie Huilan.

Eh?! Sister Xie is sitting there and is not dancing.

Dong Xuebing finally found Xie Huilan in the dim ballroom. She is sitting on the sofa with a glass of red wine. On her left is her secretary Hu Silian, and Xiang Daofa and Publicity Department Chief Tong Bing are sitting several meters away on her right. Seems like they are the only few top leaders at the ball, and the rest did not come. Dong Xuebing is assured as no one had invited Xie Huilan for a dance. Xie Huilan is the Mayor, and not many people will dare to invite her. It would be embarrassing for the leaders if they were rejected by Xie Huilan.

Dong Xuebing relaxed and thought he should not have come. He found an empty seat and sat down to light a cigarette.

Dong Xuebing can see Sister Luo dancing with a young leader from the Industry and Commerce Bureau on the dancefloor from where he was sitting.

Luo Haiting's movements are graceful, and seems to be good at dancing. She should have participated in such activities often.

Dong Xuebing tried to learn how to dance by watching them and hope he can pick up some moves before inviting Xie Huilan to dance. He noticed some people in their forties on the dancefloor. They don't seem to be there to dance. One of them, whom Dong Xuebing does not know, is touching and caressing his partner's arm. Ding Li is also one of them. His arms are around his partner's waist, and pressed his body against her while chatting.

Dong Xuebing is used to be suspicious of others and shook his head. He felt this ball had become a disgrace.

Two minutes later, the music ended and is replaced by music with a faster rhythm.

A few people walk off the dancefloor, and some leaders went around to invite people to dance with them.

Luo Haiting walks off the dancefloor and saw Dong Xuebing. She smiled and walked up to him slowly. "Chief, what time did you reach?" She has beads of perspiration on her forehead.

Dong Xuebing smiled. "Sister Luo, you are good at dancing. Can you teach me some other time?"

Luo Haiting likes to be praised, and she smiled. "I…" When Luo Haiting was about to reply, someone approached her.

"Director Luo, can I dance with you?" A leader in his thirties smiled and extended his hand.

Luo Haiting took out a handkerchief to wipe her sweat before reach out for that man's hand. She apologized to Dong Xuebing and returned to the dancefloor.

Dong Xuebing smiles as he saw Sister Luo is so popular among the male leaders. But this is not a surprise as she is not bad looking and can dance well. Although she is older, compared to other female government leaders, she stood out a lot. Sigh… look at others and look at me. Dong Xuebing felt disappointed as no one had invited him. He was still thinking of rejecting others earlier, and he can save all the trouble now.

Just when Dong Xuebing was daydreaming, he saw some moments from the corner of his eyes.

Ding Li had walked up to Xie Huilan and extended his hand. "Mayor Xie, would you like to dance with me?"

Everyone at the ball has been watching Xie Huilan from the start. In all balls, the pretty women will always get the attention, let alone Xie Huilan is the Mayor. People are watching if she can dance or not, or who she will dance her first dance with. No one knows what Xie Huilan is thinking and doesn't dare to make any moves. At least twenty government leaders want to dance with her to get closer to her and hopefully leave a good impression. Also, who doesn't want to dance with a beautiful lady like Xie Huilan?

Ding Li had made the first move, and many people turned to look at Xie Huilan.

Xiang Daofa and Chen Tongbing were also looking over with interest. Zhao Xinglong and Liang Chengpeng also turned their attention to Ding Li and Xie Huilan.

Dong Xuebing is mad. He does not have a good impression of Ding Li. The latter had taken advantage of the dancer from the County's Art Troupe on the dancefloor earlier. What now?! You are targeting my Sister Xie?! If you are from the Sister Xie faction, it's fine. But you are with Xiang Daofa, and you still dare to invite my Sister Xie to dance?! Shameless! But Dong Xuebing also knows that dancing has got nothing to do with the different factions. Xie Huilan is dressed in black suit pants and a wool jacket. She is wearing high heels and should be wearing them for the ball. If not, she will not be wearing heels.

Xie Huilan looked at Ding Li with a smile and placed her wine glass on the table gracefully.

Xie Huilan stood up slowly and looks like she is going to accept Ding Li's invitation.

Dong Xuebing panics when he saw this. He has no time to care if he will offend others or not. He must not let Ding Li touch Xie Huilan's hand. He quickly rushed forward and extended his hand like Ding Li. "Mayor Xie, would you dance with me?" Dong Xuebing knows nothing about dancing, but he was forced to do this.

What Dong Xuebing did had shocked everyone.

Ding Li's face changed, and he almost cursed out loud.

Hu Silian almost burst out laughing. She felt Dong Xuebing is too much.

Dong Xuebing also knew what he did is not right. He had not invited Xie Huilan earlier, and when Ding Li made his move, Dong Xuebing rushes forward and even used the same posture as Ding Li. This is like slapping Ding Li in his face. Liang Chengpeng, who was sitting some distance away, laughed. "This Xiao Dong can really create trouble!" Zhao Xinglong also laughed. He also does not have a good impression of Ding Li.

Luo Haiting, who was dancing on the dancefloor, looked at Dong Xuebing in shock. What is Chief Dong doing? She had heard Chief Dong is good at offending others. Since he was transferred to Yan Tai County in the past year, he had offended the former Party Secretary, the current Party Secretary, Publicity Department Chief, etc. Today, Luo Haiting finally saw Chief Dong, also known as the God of Plagues, in action. The rumors about Dong Xuebing are all true.

Everyone at the ball looked over to see how Mayor Xie is going to handle both dance invitations. Under normal circumstances, she should be accepting the first invitation.

But Xie Huilan's reply shocked everyone. She smiles and looks at Dong Xuebing before turning to Ding Li. "Chief Ding, Xiao Dong had asked me to be his dance partner for my first dance yesterday when he called me to report about his work progress. Haha… I had almost forgotten about this. Sorry." Xie Huilan had accepted Dong Xuebing's invitation, but some of the leaders were no surprised.

"It's alright." Ding Li smiled embarrassedly.

Chen Tongbing frowned and looked at Dong Xuebing.

Luo Haiting is impressed with Chief Dong's skills of offending people.

Dong Xuebing had gotten used to being a controversial figure and does not think much of it. All he can see is Xie Huilan. Xie Huilan stepped forward and placed her hand lightly onto Dong Xuebing's hand.

Dong Xuebing grabbed Xie Huilan's hand lightly. "Thank you, Mayor Xie."

"Haha…" Xie Huilan smiled. "My pleasure."

Many people were jealous of Dong Xuebing as they look at Dong Xuebing walking to the dancefloor with Xie Huilan. But they know they can only be jealous and envious of Dong Xuebing. After all, Dong Xuebing was the one who defused the time-bomb on Xie Huilan. If you dare to risk your life to defuse the bomb, Mayor Xie will also dance with you.