Are you hungry? Go whip up a couple of dishes for your aunt!

Li Ziyan’s heart pounded wildly.

He had been caught sneaking a kiss on Aunt Lai!

How incredibly awkward.

His face rapidly grew hot, yet a part of him was deeply reluctant to let go of Aunt Lai.

Aunt Lai’s face was so fair and smelled so sweet.

It made him utterly intoxicated.

However, Lai Feifei was clearly still not sober.

She hugged Li Ziyan even tighter.

"Baby."

"You already kissed Auntie."

"Keep Auntie good company tonight."

"You are not allowed to leave, Auntie is scared at night."

Li Ziyan could sense that Lai Feifei genuinely seemed a bit frightened, likely because of what happened earlier that day.

"I won't leave, Aunt Lai. I'll keep you good company."

Following that, Li Ziyan reached back and wrapped his arms around Lai Feifei, who was clinging to him like an octopus.

The indoor temperature gradually dropped, and Li Ziyan felt that he was also a child who loved warmth.

"Good baby..."

"Auntie... loves you so much."

Murmuring this, Lai Feifei fell asleep.

Holding Lai Feifei in his arms, Li Ziyan found himself tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

"Aunt Lai smells so good, and her figure is truly wonderful."

Gradually, a wave of sleepiness washed over him, and Li Ziyan slowly drifted off to sleep as well.

Yet he remained full of energy throughout.

In the dead of night, Lai Feifei got up to use the restroom, and Li Ziyan instinctively stretched out on the bed.

Before long, Lai Feifei returned, casually tearing off her T-shirt.

Lying down on top of Li Ziyan and listening to his steady, powerful heartbeat, she fell into a deep sleep.

***

The next morning, Zhao Shumin finished making breakfast at home.

She waited for Li Ziyan to come out and wash up.

However, Li Ziyan never emerged; instead, the tattooed man and his tattooed girlfriend walked out.

This left Zhao Shumin feeling somewhat puzzled.

Where was Xiaoyan?

Holding a plate of breakfast, Zhao Shumin walked over to Li Ziyan's bedroom door.

"Xiaoyan, get up, you're going to be late."

Ever since the events of the previous night.

Zhao Shumin had developed a genuine fondness for Li Ziyan, looking upon him with the tender affection of an elder for a younger relative.

A firm resolve had settled in her heart.

No matter what, she was determined to help Li Ziyan break his habit of "stealing"!

She simply couldn't stand by and watch Xiaoyan stray down the wrong path.

***

After calling out to Li Ziyan several times with no response, Zhao Shumin decided to try the door.

Seeing that Li Ziyan was not inside,

her mind instantly conjured up a multitude of possibilities.

Could Xiaoyan have gone out to those massage parlors?

It didn't seem entirely out of the question, given that he was young and full of vigor.

Or perhaps Xiaoyan went out to steal other people's clothes again? That simply would not do.

Zhao Shumin’s heart became tangled in deep anxiety.

She was truly worried about what Li Ziyan might be up to.

"Today is my birthday. Tonight, I'll treat Xiaoyan to a bowl of noodles."

Ever since she turned ten, no one had ever celebrated Zhao Shumin's birthday.

Yet she always kept the date firmly in her heart, quietly trying to learn how to love herself.

Above all else, however, her mind remained consumed by saving money to buy an apartment for her son, Shang Shunsheng.

***

When Lai Feifei woke up, she heard the sound of a heartbeat.

A jolt of panic shot through her. Could she have been preyed upon while drunk?

Before the feeling of despair could fully take root, Lai Feifei recalled the specific events of the previous night.

Feeling suffocated and distressed by the situation with Lai Tianming,

she had gone out to drink.

Later, someone had approached her—a foul-mouthed individual—and Xiaoyan had stepped in to fight the man and save her.

It was Li Ziyan! Thank goodness it was Li Ziyan.

Opening her eyes, she recognized the familiar surroundings of her own bedroom.

A wave of relief washed over Lai Feifei.

Li Ziyan was not the kind of person to take advantage of someone in a vulnerable state; she deeply trusted his character. Besides, just look at how beautiful her face and figure were.

In her heart, she knew very well that Li Ziyan was a boy raised with proper traditional Chinese family values, someone who understood how to restrain his desires.

Toward her as an elder, he had always shown the utmost respect.

Reaching down to check her dress and black stockings, Lai Feifei confirmed that she was completely unharmed.

This brought her immense relief. If Li Ziyan had truly crossed the line while she was helpless, their friendship would have come to an end right then and there.

Li Ziyan was the sole young man within their exclusive circle of Shanghai aunts, so she adored and cherished him dearly, treating him very much like a younger family member.

However, that affection was built entirely upon the premise that Li Ziyan lacked moral corruption.

Looking down, she saw that Li Ziyan was indeed still sleeping, though his eyes fluttered open shortly after.

This caused Lai Feifei to instinctively try to back away, but she failed; she was wedged in place.

"Aunt Lai..."

Once both of them were fully awake, a sense of awkwardness settled over Li Ziyan.

"Xiaoyan, I made you stay over here last night."

Lai Feifei instantly reverted to her usual somewhat aloof demeanor.

Though her aloofness still fell quite short compared to Shen Hongmei's.

"Yeah, Aunt Lai. You were holding onto me and wouldn't let me go."

Once she stood up, Lai Feifei nonchalantly pulled on her T-shirt.

"Xiaoyan, go take a shower in the guest bathroom, I'm going to wash up too."

"There are new toothbrushes and toothpaste in the guest room as well."

Li Ziyan couldn't help but recall how Lai Feifei had called him "baby" and wrapped herself around him like a vine, refusing to let him leave.

That heavy drinker was certainly much cuter when she was plastered—though right now, she was quite endearing as well.

Li Ziyan looked at Lai Feifei with a gaze full of fond pampering as he walked away. Naturally, he walked away with a slight hunch.

A strange feeling crept into Lai Feifei's heart.

Why was this kid looking at her the way an adult looks at a child?

She was supposed to be the one looking at him that way.

"I really shouldn't go drinking at bars anymore."

Even though Lai Feifei knew that had Li Ziyan not come, she wouldn't have dared to fall asleep, a woman out like that was ultimately putting herself in danger.

She remembered the warnings Li Ziyan had given her the night before.

A warm sensation bloomed in her chest.

"From now on, I'll just drink at home, or with Hongmei and Yanyan."

***

After taking a shower, Li Ziyan felt entirely refreshed.

Upon returning to the living room downstairs, he saw Lai Feifei sitting on the couch, dressed in a fresh and cool outfit.

The sight of those snow-white, beautiful legs made Li Ziyan's heart itch.

Only then did he abruptly realize—it was already nine-thirty!

"Aunt Lai!"

"I'm late!"

Lai Feifei stretched lazily.

"It's fine, Auntie called in sick for you."

Li Ziyan: "..."

"Aunt Lai, if you were my mother, I would have been the happiest kid in school growing up."

"Hungry?"

Lai Feifei picked up an apron, looking every bit like she was about to transform into a home chef.

Li Ziyan realized that he was indeed starving.

After all, it was already nine-thirty, long past breakfast time.

Still, this presented a wonderful opportunity to sample Aunt Lai's cooking.

"Starving."

There was a note of anticipation in Li Ziyan's voice; he had truly never tasted Lai Feifei's culinary skills before.

"Can you cook?"

"I suppose I can..."

Li Ziyan pondered for a moment, deciding he probably could. Back when he graduated from high school, his parents had put him through a special training camp at home.

The goal was to save money in the future. But he had never actually cooked a meal since coming to Shanghai.

"Then go stir-fry a couple of dishes for me."

With that, Lai Feifei tossed the apron directly into Li Ziyan's hands.

Li Ziyan: "..."