"Mom, what's wrong with Xiao Lei these days? He seems so lost, and I noticed he doesn't sleep well at night, like he has something on his mind," Xiaogang said to Hu Xiuying.
Upon hearing this, Hu Xiuying thought to herself that they had no idea that from now on, Xiao Lei might change and get along better with the family. He might even become more talkative.
Just then, Xiao Lei came back home.
"Where have you been, Second Brother? Why are you back so late?" Xiao Cai hurriedly asked Xiao Lei.
Xiao Lei smiled and replied to Xiao Cai, "I went to a classmate's house to hang out, so I got back a bit late. Sorry for making you worry." With that, he headed to the kitchen.
Everyone had expected Xiao Lei to ignore them quietly, but to their surprise, he smiled and spoke a lot. The entire family was stunned, their mouths agape in disbelief.
Seeing the family's reaction, Hu Xiuying couldn't help but want to laugh. She was the only one who understood what was going on but said, "Dinner's ready! What's wrong with you all?"
"Mom, didn't you notice that Second Brother has changed?" Xiao Cai asked.
"I just told you earlier that he seemed fine this morning," Hu Xiuying replied with a smile.
"That's strange," Xiaogang muttered to himself.
Xiao Lei brought over the food and sat down next to Hu Xiuying. When he noticed everyone staring at him, he was startled, thinking they had discovered his secret with his mother. He quickly lowered his head and started eating, feeling a wave of unease wash over him.
"Xiao Lei, if you can keep talking like this in the future, that would be great. You need to maintain it," Hu Xiuying said to Xiao Lei.
Xiao Lei understood immediately. It turned out that his family was looking at him because they noticed he loved to talk. He quickly raised his head and smiled at everyone, saying, "What are you looking at me for? There's nothing on my face," as he felt his cheeks flush.
Hearing this, the family burst into laughter.
A week passed, and during this time, Hu Xiuying continued her routine of going to work and coming home without engaging in any of those activities with Xiao Lei again. This was what Hu Xiuying had promised him: only two times a month, as she believed that too much distraction would affect his studies during this crucial learning period. It could also be harmful to his health. Xiao Lei was obedient and focused on his studies, and over the course of that week, his grades showed some improvement. His diligence made Hu Xiuying feel relieved. She noticed that Xiao Lei had changed; he was more lively and talkative than before. The whole family was happy together, but they were still struggling financially. With eight people in the household, expenses were significant, which caused Hu Xiuying to worry again. Although she had spent time with Hu Zai once during the week, she felt embarrassed to ask him for money, knowing how hard it was for someone so young to earn a living.
That Sunday, Li Jinliang came over when he knew Xiao Lei would be home. He pulled Xiao Lei outside and said, "You must have time today; you kept saying you needed to study the last few nights."
Xiao Lei quickly replied that he did have time. After a week of focusing on his studies, he wanted to go out and have some fun. Besides, he hadn’t engaged in any of those activities recently and felt a bit pent up. He knew why Jinliang was looking for him; it was because Jinliang had asked him a couple of days ago to clarify things with Auntie so that he and his sister-in-law Zhao Lihong wouldn’t have to sneak around anymore.
"Can you come to my house now? My mom is home alone, and I sent my sister-in-law back to her parents’ house," Jinliang said eagerly.
"Sure, where are you going?" Xiao Lei asked.
Jinliang's face turned red as he whispered, "I’m going to sneak back home and hide in the back room to watch you guys do that thing. I want to see if what you said is true." After saying this, Jinliang felt a rush of excitement.
Xiao Lei was equally thrilled; it sounded incredibly stimulating.
"Okay then, I’ll hide at home first. You come over later," Jinliang said hurriedly before rushing back home.
Once at home, Jinliang found that his mother Zhen Yujuan wasn’t in the yard; she must be inside the house. He quietly slipped into his room, closed the door tightly, and gently climbed onto his bed. He lifted a magazine and peered through the cracks in the wooden boards. From there, he could see most of what was happening in the front room. Zhen Yujuan’s bed was positioned in the middle of her room against the east wall. At that moment, Jinliang saw his mother lying on the bed watching television. Since it was summer and quite hot, she wasn’t using a blanket and wore only a light yellow spaghetti strap nightgown. Her fair neck and most of her chest were exposed, her smooth white shoulders and arms fully visible to Jinliang.
He noticed one of her legs stretched out while the other leg was raised, causing her nightgown to ride up high enough to reveal a beautifully rounded thigh—an incredibly enticing sight.
Zhen Yujuan was engrossed in her show when she suddenly heard someone calling from outside: "Auntie! Auntie!" Recognizing Xiao Lei’s voice brought her joy; it had been a week since he last acknowledged her. With no one else around today, she didn’t have to hide anymore and called out loudly, "Come in! I’m home!"
Xiao Lei entered the room and, seeing Auntie in her alluring camisole nightgown, smiled and said, "Auntie, you look so beautiful!"
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