Hao Jian was at a loss for words. Surely he couldn't hide himself, right? Wouldn't that be too embarrassing?
But little did he know, Che Xiaoxiao had this in mind. She looked at Hao Jian seriously, "You'd better hide first, and after my mom leaves, you can sneak away."
"Damn, does it have to be this thrilling? Like having an affair or something. Why don't you just tell your mom that I'm your friend who gave you a lift home?"
With mixed feelings of laughter and tears, Hao Jian felt like he was being treated like a cheating husband caught in the act, and honestly, he couldn't stand it.
"That's not going to work. You don't understand my mom. She won't allow me to have any contact with boys. If she sees you at my place, it's not just me who's done for; you'll be screwed too!" Che Xiaoxiao threatened.
"Cut it out, I don't believe this! It's not like she can kill me, right?" Hao Jian scoffed, underestimating her—a woman's capabilities.
"She might not kill you, but she can make sure you wind up in prison with just one word."
Che Xiaoxiao snorted twice, thinking that Hao Jian didn't realize how terrifying her mother could be, hence his bravado.
"Really, that unreasonable?" Hao Jian frowned; going to jail would be a real problem.
"Have you ever seen a woman be reasonable?" Che Xiaoxiao sneered, mocking Hao Jian's naivety.
"If you're going to hide, do it now. Otherwise, my mom will come in, and watch out—she might accuse you of abducting an underage girl!" Che Xiaoxiao pouted, looking indifferent to whether he hid or not.
"How could that be? Aren't you an adult today?"
"Yes, but the age on my household registration is a month younger than my actual age. Technically speaking, I'm still a minor," Che Xiaoxiao said with a playful smile.
"Knowing you, I must have had incredibly bad luck in my past eight lifetimes!"
Hao Jian cursed under his breath and then hurried upstairs.
"Hehe." For some reason, seeing Hao Jian in a tough spot inexplicably pleased Che Xiaoxiao.
"Over here, hide in my room."
Che Xiaoxiao led Hao Jian to her room and quickly shut the door.
Che Xiaoxiao's room was different from most girls'. It wasn't the typical cute pink but a cool, metallic green and was plastered with various car posters.
But Hao Jian had no time to take in these details because he already heard the sound of a door opening downstairs.
"Where should I hide?"
Hao Jian was as antsy as an ant on a hot pan, nearly jumping up in panic.
If Guo Shuxian, Che Xiaoxiao's mother, caught him, not only would he end up in jail, but his good reputation would be completely ruined!
"The closet! The closet!" Che Xiaoxiao quickly pointed to her wardrobe.
Hao Jian rushed to the wardrobe, but when he opened it, he was dumbfounded by the assortment of colorful, varied styles of underwear piled inside.
Lace-trimmed, shoulder-strapped... even thongs were in there!
Damn... this could cost him his life...
"You want me to hide in here?" Hao Jian couldn't believe his eyes.
Che Xiaoxiao's face also flushed red in an instant, "That's a mistake, hide in the bathroom! My bathroom is big enough!"
Che Xiaoxiao pushed Hao Jian into the bathroom, but just then, there was a knock on the door of Che Xiaoxiao's room.
"Xiaoxiao, are you asleep?" came the voice of Che Xiaoxiao's mother from outside.
"Don't move in here, I'll deal with her."
Che Xiaoxiao gestured for Hao Jian to keep quiet and then quickly stripped off her clothes at top speed.
"What are you doing? At this time, you're still thinking about that?"
Hao Jian stared in disbelief at Che Xiaoxiao and began to lament,
"To think my good reputation was ruined by a moment of weakness and getting on this treacherous ship. Forget it, I'll throw out all the stops today. If you want to do it, just do it, I won't resist!"
"Screw you! Haven't you had enough yet?"
Che Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at Hao Jian, annoyed, stripped down to just her underwear, and quickly went to the closet to find pajamas to change into.
She couldn't let her mother see her still dressed in casual clothes so late at night; otherwise, her mother would guess she had just returned, given that she was an expert in navigating the bureaucratic world, each member sharper than the last.
After doing all this, Che Xiaoxiao finally took a deep breath, put on an act of having just woken up, rubbing her eyes as she opened the door:
"You were sleeping? I'm sorry, dear, Mommy came back too late to celebrate your birthday with you. But Mommy brought you a birthday gift."
Guo Shuxian suddenly pulled out a helmet from behind her back: "Ta-da-da-da, guess what this is?"
Che Xiaoxiao was completely stunned because she saw autographs on the helmet.
"This is actually Croke's signature, you know. I know she's your idol, so I made a point of asking my friend to get it from her while abroad at one of her races."
Guo Shuxian said with a beaming smile, knowing full well how much Xiaoxiao admired racecar drivers, especially Croke.
Because Croke was one of the top ten female racecar drivers in the world and the only one who had ever won a world-class competition, Xiaoxiao had always set her as a target.
"Thanks, Mom, but I'm really tired and want to sleep."
Che Xiaoxiao took the helmet from Guo Shuxian's hands and intended to close the door.
Under other circumstances, she surely would have been overjoyed, but now there was a man hiding in her room, making it impossible for her to be happy.
"Hold on." Guo Shuxian stopped the door with her foot, looking at Xiaoxiao with a plaintive expression:
"You child, Mommy went through so much trouble to get this gift you like, and this is how you treat me?"
"Mom, you're drunk, aren't you? I'm really sleepy. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"
Che Xiaoxiao covered her nose, smelling the alcohol on Guo Shuxian, no wonder she was acting so crazy tonight.
"Okay, then let Mommy check your body, let me see if growing another year older made anything else grow."
Guo Shuxian barged in and hugged Xiaoxiao, her hands starting to grope Xiaoxiao's chest.
"Ah! Mom, what are you doing?!" Che Xiaoxiao cried out in alarm, with Hao Jian still watching from behind.
"Huh, how come they're still so small?" Guo Shuxian asked, genuinely perplexed.
Che Xiaoxiao was furious, not only had her mother groped her, but now she was complaining about her small chest size. It was almost enough to drive someone insane.
"Oh, upset now? You never used to get mad when we played around before," Guo Shuxian said, ruffling Xiaoxiao's hair quite hard.
How could that be the same, before my room definitely didn't have a secret man hiding in it! Xiaoxiao complained in her mind.
"Well then, how about I let you feel mine? Mommy's are the real deal—exploding with E-cups," Guo Shuxian said with a seductive look, clearly quite drunk.
Hao Jian inside the bathroom shrank back, thinking that Xiaoxiao's mom was a bit too formidable.
"Who would want to touch yours."
Che Xiaoxiao, head lowered with an embarrassed expression, knew Hao Jian was inside and must have heard everything.
"Hey, rejecting them? Who used to grab my chest and say, 'Mom, your breasts are so big, so pretty; am I really your child? Why are mine so small?'" Guo Shuxian squinted her eyes at Xiaoxiao.
Che Xiaoxiao pushed Guo Shuxian out, almost to her wit's end, her dignity completely lost in front of Hao Jian.
When Che Xiaoxiao returned to the bathroom, she saw Hao Jian eyeing her with a peculiar expression.
"Will you just drop dead already!"
Che Xiaoxiao, cheeks puffed up with anger, couldn't believe this jerk was teasing her too?
"Your mom's just kidding with you, actually, yours aren't small at all," Hao Jian looked at Che Xiaoxiao sincerely.