If you encounter difficulties in life, you can seek help from Auntie.

Li Zhiyan suddenly brought up last night, which caught Shen Hongmei by surprise. Her face soon flushed slightly. Although her memory was indeed very vague, with many gaps, the state of the messy room clearly revealed just how wild yesterday had been.

Despite Shen Hongmei’s strong inner resolve, she was still a woman. Hearing Li Zhiyan mention it again made her feel somewhat uneasy. However, she quickly suppressed this discomfort.

“Li Zhiyan, what happened last night was an accident,” she said firmly. “Both you and I were drunk, and sleeping together was just a natural instinct between a man and a woman. So, you should forget it. If you ever face any difficulties in life, you can come to me.”

Li Zhiyan did not back down. “Aunt Shen, I like you. I want to be with you.”

Shen Hongmei glanced at him, remaining silent for a few minutes before saying, “Get in the car.”

Once Li Zhiyan got in and fastened his seatbelt, Shen Hongmei drove to a parking spot by the roadside. She gently rested her long, slender leg clad in sheer stockings on the dashboard.

“Xiaoyan, what do you like about Aunt Shen?” she asked. “We’ve only met a few times, and the most contact we’ve had was last night. In such a short time, it’s hard enough to get to know a classmate, let alone like someone.”

Having weathered many storms, including a low point in her career when she had to mortgage her house and car and nearly lost them to the bank, Shen Hongmei was thoughtful and mature in her outlook. She had no desire for complicated entanglements with Li Zhiyan, especially since a mature woman would rarely want a romantic relationship with someone twenty years her junior. Unless it was an arrangement of support, but Shen Hongmei was not that kind of woman.

“I like Aunt Shen because you’re beautiful,” Li Zhiyan said earnestly. “Long legs, elegant temperament, full figure, fair skin, and maturity—your rationality—all of these make me like you very much. Besides, Aunt Shen taught me seven new things last night.”

Looking at the long legs stretched out before him, reaching so easily to the windshield, Li Zhiyan felt a surge of heat within. At his youthful age, full of vigor, the scent of Shen Hongmei in the enclosed car stirred his restless heart.

This time, Shen Hongmei was genuinely taken aback. She hadn’t expected him to mention attributes like her figure and long legs so openly.

“Is it just these outward things you like?” she asked.

“Aunt Shen, we’ve only known each other briefly, so I can only see these surface things. But if we were together, I’d get to know the deeper aspects. I will work hard.”

Shen Hongmei stroked Li Zhiyan’s head gently. “Xiaoyan, you’re still a child—too immature.”

“Aunt Shen, I admit it,” he replied earnestly. “In front of you, I’m a childish kid. But my feelings for you are real.”

Li Zhiyan longed to hold Shen Hongmei in his arms and kiss her passionately like last night, but he knew that was unrealistic now.

“You like Aunt Shen for these qualities—full figure, long legs. They are indeed strengths.”

Looking down at her voluptuous legs, Shen Hongmei felt a deep satisfaction. The most outstanding feature of her life was her height—1.83 meters. Some say a woman being too tall is a flaw, but she never thought so. That’s why she always wore seven-centimeter heels whenever she went out. Nature itself was the best; she didn’t want to force change.

“But,” she continued, “there’s a full twenty-two years between us. You’re about twenty, right?”

Li Zhiyan nodded, “Yes, I’ll be twenty-one in a few months.”

“You’re twenty, and I’m forty-two. If we were together now, I may look young, but what about in a few years, or even decades? You’ll only be in your thirties—at the prime of your youth—while I’ll be an old woman. My strengths, like my figure and long legs, may still be there, but can you still savor being with a face lined with crow’s feet like last night?”

“You like me now because of youthful hormones, impulsiveness. You just want to sleep with me. When those hormones fade, all the beauty will disappear. You’ll still be young, but my fate will be desolate.”

“Aunt Shen isn’t one to act on impulse. If I were to be with you, it would be irresponsible to both myself and you. I won’t gamble my limited youth on whether you want a pretend family or just a woman to vent on.”

Listening to Shen Hongmei’s words, Li Zhiyan felt even more deeply the maturity of this woman. Her thinking was far from that of ordinary women—comprehensive and rational. Yet he resolved firmly to make Shen Hongmei his own.

Not only because she was Xu Qianqian’s biological mother, but conquering Shen Hongmei would also strike a blow to Xu Qianqian, who had always treated him like a fool. More importantly, Li Zhiyan truly liked Shen Hongmei. Being with her gave him a strong sense of security; he cherished that feeling.

“Aunt Shen, I’m not looking for a woman just to vent,” he said. “If we were together, I’d be willing even without intimacy.”

Shen Hongmei smiled gently. “I believe that because you’re a kind-hearted boy, not someone who treats women as objects. But the problem between us isn’t just age. Let’s set aside the age issue for now, as if it doesn’t exist.”

“Now, let’s talk about other problems. If we were together, we’d face many social prejudices. You’re my daughter’s classmate. If this got to her or your classmates, how would they gossip? Your parents are about my age. If they found out their son was with a woman old enough to be his mother, how would they feel? What would your relatives and friends think?”

“Also, nowadays men compete over who has the younger, prettier girlfriend. If you dated a woman twenty-two years older, you’d be mocked behind your back. You’d feel embarrassed and ashamed.”

“And when we go out, there would be endless trouble. People would always assume I’m your mother.”

Looking at Li Zhiyan, Shen Hongmei felt his immaturity more keenly than ever.