The phone call ended, and clearly, Aunt Lai went back to sleep again.
Li Zhiyan realized he was still too naive and gullible. How could he believe a drunkard who told him to go to an interview at 10 a.m.?
"Aunt Lai smells so nice..."
Li Zhiyan recalled that drunkard propping up her gorgeous legs in black stockings on the dining table, exuding a fragrance that lingered.
At that moment, a faint scent drifted into Li Zhiyan's nose.
He turned his head and saw it was the pink T-shirt he wore last night, borrowed from Aunt Shen. It was clean and spotless, not even the slightest stain.
Clearly, Aunt Shen was meticulously hygienic in her daily habits.
Looking at the stockings on the bedside table, Li Zhiyan gently ran his fingers over Aunt Shen's pink T-shirt, appreciating it fondly for a moment before neatly folding it and storing it together with the stockings in the drawer of his computer desk.
He then cautiously closed the drawer.
"Am I acting like too much of a simp here...?"
"Whatever, my Aunt Shen is so beautiful. I don't mind."
"This doesn't even count as simping, really, because I genuinely..."
Thinking of Shen Hongmei's alluring face, Li Zhiyan felt a warmth rise within his chest.
He checked his phone and saw Liu Jinxin showing off in the group chat.
"The Audi A4 is such a stunner in terms of looks," he wrote.
"Some stingy, short-sighted toads will never in their lives get to drive an Audi," he added.
Many classmates in the group were envious of how someone as young as Liu Jinxin could drive an Audi.
"It must be nice being a rich second generation."
"My goal is just to work a year, then take out a loan next year to buy a Chang'an UNI-V. As for BMWs, Benzes, and Audis, those are completely out of the question."
Seeing the daily passive-aggressive digs from Liu Jinxin and Xu Qianqian—the "couple from hell"—in the group chat,
Li Zhiyan only found it amusing. A free clown show every day really did wonders for his mood.
Ever since learning that they both lived off payday loans, one particular commercial always popped into Li Zhiyan's mind:
"Upgrade! I'll cover the cost of first-class!"
Li Zhiyan knew very well how dangerous payday loans were. Borrowing 100,000 yuan could rack up 25,000 yuan in interest within just a year—no different from a loan shark.
Even a brief overdue payment could crush an average person under insurmountable debt for life.
"Time to brush my teeth and use the bathroom."
Thinking of Shang Shunsheng and his mother, Li Zhiyan couldn't help but feel awkward about the situation. Getting into a fight and then having to live under the same roof—it was uncomfortable.
At this hour, though, Shang Shunsheng and his mother should both be out.
Shang Shunsheng usually did hard labor at construction sites, working as a low-skilled laborer, while his girlfriend, Liu Yan, liked to lounge at home, scrolling through her phone and living off him.
The shrew Zhao Shumin managed a clothing stall at a wholesale market, earning a decent income for herself.
Li Zhiyan had heard before that she had already saved up enough money for her son's down payment on a house in the outskirts of Shanghai. As for her husband, Li Zhiyan only knew bits and pieces—apparently, he worked in Deep City.
In terms of being a mother, Li Zhiyan still had to commend Zhao Shumin. For a woman with just a high-school education to work tirelessly in Shanghai and save money—it was all for her son. But she was just too much of a shrew.
However, the incident where she hugged him from behind and tore his clothes...
Li Zhiyan couldn't forget it. Aunt Shen already had an outrageously perfect figure.
Yet compared to Aunt Shen, that shrew was even more exaggerated.
Taking his toothbrush and towel with him, Li Zhiyan walked out and saw Zhao Shumin just returning home.
As she walked, her movements were visibly shaky; Li Zhiyan was honestly worried her back might give out.
When their paths crossed, Zhao Shumin ignored Li Zhiyan and went straight back to her room.
Li Zhiyan felt slightly awkward but headed to the bathroom to wash up. Afterward, he ordered some takeout, planning to call Lai Feifei later in the afternoon.
Unexpectedly, when he stepped out, he saw Shang Shunsheng and Liu Yan moving the couch into their own room.
The water dispenser had already vanished, possibly discarded or taken as well.
They were staying in the master bedroom. Though stuffing the couch in would make the room cramped, it could still barely fit.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"We rented two rooms, and you rented one. It's perfectly reasonable for us to take the couch into our room—saves you from sitting on it and sneaking peeks at my girlfriend later!"
Li Zhiyan almost laughed in anger but held back his temper. The police had been right to educate him—fighting wouldn't solve problems these days; it would only land him in trouble.
"What are you doing, son? Put the couch down."
"We're from the countryside, but that doesn't mean we have to act like we have no pride!"
When Zhao Shumin saw her son moving the couch, even she thought it was too much. Although she was a shrew, she still had a strong sense of pride and dignity.
Her frugality over the years, saving secretly to secure her son's down payment for a house, was proof enough of this.
But when she went into full shrew mode, she was nothing short of a disaster.
"Get lost!"
"You cheap slut! Is it because Dad didn't beat you enough? Got an itch again?"
"Want to get hit by me too?!"
Shang Shunsheng didn't dare bare his teeth at Li Zhiyan because he had lost to him yesterday in a fight.
Even when his own mother joined in to help, they weren't a match for Li Zhiyan.
But his girlfriend was far more important to him than his parents. After all, she was the one keeping him company at night.
Unable to vent his anger elsewhere, he directed his fury at Zhao Shumin, his face contorted with rage.
Terror flashed in Zhao Shumin's eyes.
Li Zhiyan took a deep breath and went back to his room.
...
In an office building on the outskirts of the city,
Shen Hongmei was giving instructions about work.
"I don't want to see you make this mistake again. If there's a next time, you're out!"
"And to think you're supposed to be some top-tier talent from a prestigious university!"
"How can you be this stupid?!"
Standing before her, a tall and broad-shouldered senior manager hung his head like a chastised schoolboy.
Everyone knew Shen Hongmei's personality was assertive and feisty.
"Get out!"
She hurled the folder in her hand at the senior manager, who was visibly relieved as he scurried away.
The company was small, but it had an impressive profit margin and future plans for consolidation. Bosses like Shen Hongmei—competent and capable—were exceedingly rare.
Once the office quieted down, Shen Hongmei gently pressed her hand to her lower abdomen. Even with a hot water patch, the cramps still hurt.
Her irritability was definitely worsened by the menstrual pain.
She thought back to the late hours of the previous night.
Li Zhiyan had taken off her high heels, placing her feet against his abdomen.
The warmth then—it melted away her usual edgy temper.
Yet, Li Zhiyan's age was undeniably young.
Shen Hongmei truly couldn't bring herself to see him as a man. And rationality insisted she draw a firm line between them.
After all, that night had been a complete mistake. Unless fate somehow tied them together in some extraordinary way...
Otherwise, it was better to forget it altogether.
...
Around 1 p.m., Li Zhiyan received a call from Lai Feifei.
"Hello?"
"Li Zhiyan, where are you right now?"
"Aunt Lai, I'm at home."
"Was it you and Shen Hongmei who took me home last night?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Come to my place. Auntie is tidying up and will take you to the interview later."
"You remember where Auntie's house is, right?"
"Got it, Aunt Lai."
"I remember."
Li Zhiyan felt this drunkard had sobered up—she seemed nothing like the liquor-loosened chatterbox from yesterday evening.
"Wow… turns out this woman acts pretty normal when she's not drinking."
...
Riding an electric share-bike to the vicinity of the villa,
Li Zhiyan parked the bike and glanced at Lai Feifei's house, filled with a surge of envy in his heart.
This was a villa...
But now he was brimming with hope for the future. After all, he had his "golden finger"—though it wasn't particularly strong, it still offered endless promising possibilities.
He rang the doorbell, and the door quickly swung open.
As he stepped into the villa's living room, he saw Lai Feifei in a black stockings and high-heel pencil skirt suit. Her face was slightly flushed—she had obviously been drinking again.
"Aunt Lai, you've been drinking again!"
Noticing the wine bottles on the dining table, Li Zhiyan finally understood what Shen Hongmei meant by "once a month drinking" actually lasting thirty days each month!
Just moments ago, when she called, this drunkard had seemed perfectly normal. But now, after lunch, she was drinking yet again.
Clearly, he couldn't expect a woman who couldn't drag herself out of bed at 10 a.m. for an interview to be a functioning adult!
"Yeah, my little Yan treasure."
"Hungry? Auntie will feed you Chinai."
The tipsy drunkard began teasing Li Zhiyan again with her slurred words.