Ning Xiaoyu suddenly moved aside as if he had been electrocuted, and said nervously, “Mom, what are you doing looking at the photos?”

Aunt Lin gave him a blank look and said, “What’s wrong with looking? It’s not like I’m looking at your partner’s photos. Why are you nervous?”

Ning Xiaoyu’s eyes rolled around in their sockets, and after a while, he blurted out, “Then how can you just… without permission…”

Ning Xiaoyu can actually say such words. Does he really care if Li Xiaoming allows it?

“It’s also true that Auntie got a little over-excited,” Aunt Lin rubbed her chin and said, “Then Xiu Xiu, can you show me your photo together ya.”

Ning Xiaoyu: …

Me: …

Why is Aunt Lin getting excited? What’s the reason for her excitement ah?

… Aunt Lin’s logic is impeccable. On the surface, she wants to see my group photo, but in reality, she wants to see Li Xiaoming. This statement seems less offensive.

I have a subtle feeling of ambiguity, like when waiting to cross the road at a red light, watching a bunch of people pass their way through, and the traffic light turns green right at that moment—

F*ck, what am I even imagining!

Li Xiaoming and I don’t like taking photos. When we go out, we only take pictures of food and scenery, never tourist photos. We don’t have any private photos together. So, following Aunt Lin’s suggestion, I found a loophole and retrieved the staff group photos taken during our company activities.

This helped alleviate the subtle feeling in my mind.

Aunt Lin accurately spotted Li Xiaoming at a glance, and said in surprise, “He’s so beautiful ah!”

Beauty at Li Xiaoming’s level is hard not to become the center of attention among ordinary people, even in these casual candid event photos. While others might have a messy expression, for him, it’s beautifully disarrayed… I scrolled through a few more pictures, and without exception, Li Xiaoming looked flawless from every angle.

Even if he isn’t standing in the C Position,1Center position everyone appearing in the frame automatically becomes a backdrop to highlight him.

This world is too cruel to ordinary people.

Though I’m also just part of the backdrop to Li Xiaoming, I was inexplicably proud of him and said, “Yes, this is my friend.”

Aunt Lin’s eyes lit up as she scrutinized Li Xiaoming’s face.

Ning Xiaoyu stretched his neck for a while, straining to look towards our direction, but his body refused to move over. Eventually, he could only reluctantly turn back to his original position.

Aunt Lin said, “Seeing a beauty makes one’s mood really good oh. Just by seeing his photo, I’ve retrieved my lost collagen, and feel like I could be ten years younger.”

Ning Xiaoyu said, “… I’m going to tell my Dad.”

Aunt Lin chuckled and said, “You know, if you casually mention this to him, he’ll feel ashamed of himself for being an old man.”

“Your father was at his prime when he was in his thirties, the perfect time for a mature man to shine. It’s a pity you and Nian Nian are a bit lacking. Nian Nian is a less worse off, but you lack a lot more…”

Ning Xiaoyu: …

How can this family of three look like elementary school students.

“It would be great if he could marry into our family,” Aunt Lin suddenly uttered, making me break into a sweat, “But I don’t have another daughter to marry him off to.”

“Oh, does he have someone?”

I panicked for a moment and said, “He, he doesn’t…”

What’s up with Aunt Lin? How did she suddenly take a liking to Li Xiaoming?

It’s such a pity, I thought. Aunt Lin and Ning Renjie have great genes. If there were a second daughter, she would surely be very beautiful.

Li Xiaoming missed out on the chance to marry into a wealthy family, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

Aunt Lin glanced at Ning Xiaoyu, who just turned his back, silently chopping vegetables.

“That’s great,” Aunt Lin said, “Next time, invite him over for dinner as well.”

“If I see him in person, I could become thirty years younger—Women indeed need handsome men to refresh and rejuvenate their eyes!”

Ning Xiaoyu: …

Aunt Lin’s words shifted too quickly, leaving me baffled and unable to catch up. My mind was spinning, and I couldn’t quite comprehend.

But why did I feel like the more I heard, the more wrong I felt?

Could it be—No, it couldn’t be—

Aunt Lin wouldn’t be interested in Li Xiaoming, would she? What about my father-in-law ya???

Can relationships among wealthy people really be this chaotic?

But I’ve also heard of the gossip about a famous actor’s wife dating their son’s ex-boyfriend—but could Aunt Lin really be that kind of person?

How could I maliciously speculate about Aunt Lin’s character like this? I feel like slapping myself.

Wait, what’s wrong if Aunt Lin likes younger men? Older men can financially support younger women, so why can’t Aunt Lin like fresh meat?

But just in case, I mean just in case if Aunt Lin and Ning Renjie have an open marriage, how should the seniority between Li Xiaoming and me be defined? I seriously thought about it and realized we could only consider each other separately—I could call him Dad, and he could call me Ge…

F*ck, what a mess.

I’m at a loss.

I shouldn’t have taken out the photos wuwu. If there were no photos, I wouldn’t have to overthink so much.

–

Li Xiaoming’s damn beauty is really a source of temptation to commit crimes.

I realized that this kind of Mary Sue lines in novels could totally fit him.

I tried not to look too solemn while finishing dinner, held on until leaving the Ning’s residence, and bid farewell to Aunt Lin.

Ning Yiheng was completely unaware of my worries, but he seemed burdened too. His face was tensed up as he said, “Xiu Xiu, I want to take you somewhere.”

I asked, “Where to?”

Ning Yiheng replied, “You’ll know when we get there.”

Despite the late hour, my worries made me less inclined to go straight home. Two heavily burdened individuals drove into the outskirts in the dead of night. I had no idea where Ning Yiheng was taking me; my mind was filled with thoughts of Li Xiaoming.

Ning Yiheng seemed lost in thought too. He drove very fast and didn’t say a word along the way.

He’s usually not this hurried.

I finally put aside the chaotic thoughts in my head. After all, Ning Yiheng was the most important person to me. I couldn’t help but worry about his condition. “What’s wrong with you?”

Ning Yiheng’s reply was concise, “It’s nothing.”

Everyone understands how powerful the impact of a partner’s “it’s nothing” can be, especially in such a tense atmosphere.

Usually, “it’s nothing” means something, and if Ning Yiheng’s face was this stern, it probably meant that something was highly probable to be significant.

Ning Yiheng’s “it’s nothing” subtly wounded me.

My mind was filled with various thoughts, like a chaotic warfare squeezed into a mess. Suddenly, Aunt Lin’s words floated lightly out of the mess.

— “Only when he’s pushed to the limit will he reveal his true thoughts.”

I took a deep breath and silently apologized to Ning Yiheng in my heart.

I need to be a little bit extreme, I want to hear the truth from Ning Yiheng.

“I know you’re ‘Like Madam Huai Xiu Xiu Forever,’” I tried to lower my voice, attempting to seem a bit angry, “Ning Yiheng, why did you lie to me?”