Chapter 52: Zhao Shumin's Tacit Consent

At the very beginning, Zhao Shumin felt a trace of doubt.

Had Li Zhiyan just gently touched her cheek with his hand?

However, once that warm sensation lingered, how could Zhao Shumin possibly fail to realize the truth?

Li Zhiyan had truly kissed her!

Accompanied by the sounds drifting from the next room, Zhao Shumin's face began to flush with heat.

After making her wish, Zhao Shumin blew out the candles.

"Xiao Yan..."

"Did you just kiss Auntie?"

Zhao Shumin's voice trembled slightly.

"Yes, Auntie. You looked so breathtaking just now that I couldn't help myself."

"You child, you really are fond of Auntie, aren't you?"

Zhao Shumin did not dare to meet Li Zhiyan's gaze.

Therefore, her words were deliberately steered toward treating Li Zhiyan as a child, viewing him strictly as a member of the younger generation.

For a younger family member to kiss their elder like this was, after all, quite normal.

"That's right, Aunt Zhao, I like you the most."

"Let's eat the cake."

Li Zhiyan picked up the plastic knife and began to slice the cake for Zhao Shumin. Deep in her heart, Zhao Shumin recalled everything that had happened today.

She still felt a profound sense of desolation; on her birthday, her own biological son hadn't even bothered to visit, yet Li Zhiyan had remembered her birthday quite by accident.

He had actually bought her a birthday cake. This was the very first time in Zhao Shumin's life—other than her own mother—that anyone had ever celebrated her birthday with her.

Although the sounds from next door were terribly awkward, Zhao Shumin found herself unable to bring herself to leave Li Zhiyan's room at that moment.

"Auntie, have some cake."

As she tasted the cake handed to her by Li Zhiyan, Zhao Shumin felt a bittersweet ache in her heart. Yet, within her mind, Li Zhiyan's status had shifted entirely compared to before.

Previously, Li Zhiyan was simply a junior to her.

But now, he was drawing closer to the weight and significance of "family."

"It's delicious."

"Xiao Yan, this is the first time in so many years that Auntie has ever eaten a birthday cake."

Li Zhiyan looked slightly surprised.

"Really, Aunt Zhao?"

"It truly is. When Auntie was little, I was always raised by my mother."

At this point, Zhao Shumin and Li Zhiyan began to chat about everyday family matters, with the sounds from the next room serving merely as background noise to their conversation.

"When Auntie was a little girl, the family didn't have much. Every time my birthday came around, my mother would cook me a bowl of longevity noodles and buy me a rag doll."

"Even though life was very difficult back then, my heart still felt happy."

"When I was ten years old, my mother passed away."

Li Zhiyan fell silent, pausing the movement of eating his cake.

Zhao Shumin's background was truly pitiful.

"Perhaps you young people don't understand, but back in Auntie's era, families heavily favored sons over daughters."

"My father was just like that."

"I was the eldest child in the family, with two younger brothers below me. Back then, whenever my father tried to beat me, my mother would protect me."

"But after my mother died, my life was essentially spent enduring beatings."

"Every time he got drunk, he would hit me. Later, when he took a stepmother in, the two of them would beat me together."

"In that household, I had not an ounce of standing."

Speaking of these painful memories, Zhao Shumin's eyes grew moist once more.

"Later on, in order to afford a bride price for my younger brother, my father married me off to an ordinary-looking man whose family ran a business."

"He also had a habit of domestic violence."

"Auntie was beaten for many years. Whenever I tried to divorce him, he and my father would team up to hunt me down."

"It wasn't until he took a mistress later on that Auntie finally found a form of liberation."

"Xiao Yan, you probably think Auntie is a shrew."

Li Zhiyan did not speak, though in truth, that was precisely what he thought.

Zhao Shumin was indeed an unadulterated shrew; otherwise, she wouldn't have clawed the neighbor across the hall until she drew blood and nearly left her disfigured.

"But in truth, Auntie wasn't always like that. I was only ever afraid of others bullying me."

"If I acted fiercely, people wouldn't think Auntie was easy to push around."

Li Zhiyan murmured an acknowledgment. In his heart, he could truly understand Zhao Shumin.

A woman who had been neglected since childhood, living constantly in the quagmire of domestic violence, abused by both her father and her husband—

She had been driven into adopting that shrewish persona.

Moreover, Zhao Shumin was exceptionally beautiful, blessed above all with an alluring, proud figure that all too easily invited the covetous gazes of men.

Working out in the world, trouble was inevitable. If she hadn't acted like a shrew, she wouldn't have been able to imagine how much worse her troubles would have been.

After all, no matter who it was, facing a shrew who might throw a tantrum at any moment rather than passively accepting abuse would inevitably evoke a sense of caution and restraint.

"Aunt Zhao, was that mistress very pretty?"

"I don't understand why anyone would want to divorce you."

Li Zhiyan genuinely could not fathom it.

If he were fortunate enough to take a wife like Zhao Shumin, he would be willing to die a thousand deaths without regret.

"She wasn't pretty, but that woman dressed in rather slutty ways."

Zhao Shumin glanced at Li Zhiyan, her gaze carrying a complex look.

Sure enough, men all favored things like stockings, high heels, and short skirts.

Li Zhiyan had never shown the slightest interest in her own clothing.

It was simply because her clothes were too old-fashioned, completely devoid of any feminine allure.

"Auntie, I really had no idea your life experiences were so tragic."

"I can understand you."

"In the future, I will definitely treat you well."

"Xiao Yan..."

Zhao Shumin gently grasped Li Zhiyan's hand.

Captured by Zhao Shumin's soft, tender, and smooth hand, Li Zhiyan's reaction was entirely natural.

And every subtle shift in him was noticed by Zhao Shumin.

Against the backdrop of the ambient noise, Zhao Shumin's face flushed slightly red.

"Xiao Yan..."

"Can you promise Auntie not to steal things anymore?"

"If you get caught, the consequences are truly severe."

"Why don't you ever use Auntie's clothes?"

Deep in her heart, Zhao Shumin held a very rigid impression of Li Zhiyan, and she desperately wanted to correct his behavior.

If Li Zhiyan would only use her clothes instead—

It didn't seem entirely unacceptable. After all, he was merely her junior, nothing more than a child standing before her.

"Auntie..."

I.

Li Zhiyan stammered somewhat.

Listening to the background sounds, Zhao Shumin spoke in a soft voice, "Xiao Yan, can you please not give Auntie cause to worry about you?"

"Auntie truly likes a child like you in her heart."

"Can you promise Auntie never to do such things again?"

As she spoke, she gently pulled open Li Zhiyan's drawer.

Looking at Li Zhiyan's "collection," she felt a sharp headache forming in her heart.

"Xiao Yan, in the future, Auntie's clothes can be lent to you, alright?"

Li Zhiyan murmured softly, "Aunt Zhao, may I kiss your hand?"

At that moment, Zhao Shumin's heart fully awakened to the reality that Li Zhiyan actually harbored deep feelings for her, viewing her as a woman.

"Kissing my hand? Wouldn't that be improper..."

"Aunt Zhao, just for a second."

Li Zhiyan pleaded further.

Zhao Shumin's heart fell into a fierce struggle, but after casting a glance at Li Zhiyan's birthday cake,

She nodded softly and let out a quiet assent.

Li Zhiyan's heart hammered wildly against his ribs.

It seemed this birthday cake had truly worked its magic.

He gently picked up Zhao Shumin's slender, delicate hand.

"Aunt Zhao, your hand is so pretty."

"So white and tender."

Li Zhiyan praised sincerely.

"When Auntie was little, I spent most of my time doing needlework at home."

"I never had to do farm labor."

Speaking of this, Zhao Shumin felt a quiet sense of fortune in her heart.

She had never performed hard agricultural work; otherwise, her hands could never have been maintained in such a fair and tender state.

The hands of women who worked the fields or performed heavy labor were always covered in calluses.

Whereas her hands were as fair and smooth as jade.

Li Zhiyan pressed a kiss to the back of her hand.

"Xiao Yan..."

Murmuring softly, Zhao Shumin felt that wave of moist heat wash over her, causing her internal hormones to race.

"Are you done?"

Li Zhiyan murmured an assent.

"Auntie, your hand is truly beautiful."

With those words, he gently bit down on the fingertip of Zhao Shumin's ring finger.

He lightly tasted her porcelain-white finger.

"Xiao Yan..."

Zhao Shumin felt all her pent-up loneliness being thoroughly summoned forth.