After I finished my work and returned home in the evening, I felt exhausted from the day's tedious tasks. I sat on the sofa, enjoying the quietness of the spacious living room, relishing this rare moment of relaxation.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs, the sound of leather shoes tapping on the tiles, clear and pleasant.
"Mr. Xu, you're back," came a cheerful voice.
I looked up to see Lin Ye standing at the staircase in a beautiful long dress, smiling at me. Caught off guard, I instinctively asked, "What are you doing here?"
The dress was one I had bought for Xiao Ran. Although her mental block had eased somewhat, she still resisted wearing dresses. I believed that at seventeen or eighteen, a girl should embrace her youth and not be solely immersed in dull studies. Dressing up, having fun, and pursuing personal interests were what made this age truly vibrant.
But that's beside the point.
After my question, Lin Ye's expression changed, and she looked quite disappointed. My fondness for her diminished significantly.
Having seen many people, I had never paid much attention to her before, but now I realized she was a girl with low self-esteem yet excessive pride, as evident from her earlier reaction.
I lowered my head and rubbed my temples. "Oh, I remember now. Xiao Mo mentioned you; I just didn't expect you to come over so soon. Is Xiao Mo at home?"
"She went to school and hasn't returned yet."
"Oh, regarding your return to school, I'll arrange everything in the next couple of days. After all, sophomore year is a crucial stage. Just focus on your studies and don't worry about anything else."
"Thank you, Mr. Xu."
"It's nothing. In the future, you'll need to take care of Xiao Mo more. She's not very social and only has you as a friend; please help her out."
To put it simply, Xiao Mo is someone with high intelligence but low emotional intelligence. People like her often share a common trait: they have few friends but will wholeheartedly support those they trust, sometimes even neglecting themselves to prioritize their friends.
However, at this moment, I felt that Lin Ye did not deserve such kindness.
Yet I couldn't warn Xiao Mo; she wouldn't listen to me. Therefore, I could only give Lin Ye some hints.
Sure enough, Lin Ye looked hurt and stared at me with a sense of grievance without responding.
"Actually, I'm not comfortable with her staying at school; the conditions are too poor. Now that you're here, she can come home to stay. I'll arrange for a driver to pick you both up for school every day; it will be much more convenient." I continued speaking.
"Thank you," she said calmly.
"By the way, have you had dinner yet?"
She touched her flat stomach, "Not yet."
"Then wait a bit. Xiao Mo is coming home today. When she gets back, I'll take you both out to eat."
"Okay."
Perhaps you think it's too cold-hearted of me to use schemes against a minor girl. Here, I want to share my perspective.
I do not agree with the notion that "youth is innocent." The "guilt" here does not refer to crime or evil but rather to cunning and malice.
What sets humans apart from other species is our inherent ability to think and weigh options. A mother with two average-sized infants and insufficient milk will inevitably have one or both babies go hungry. What will the hungry baby do? He might push the other baby while nursing or grab his mother's other nipple, thus hindering his sibling's feeding. This is the reality.
This reflects the inherent selfishness in human nature.
The concepts of "humans are inherently good" and "humans are inherently evil" are not contradictory; they coexist.
For example, an Adult might resort to sabotaging colleagues in order to get a promotion, which is known as "office politics."
Similarly, when a five or six-year-old child steals money from their parents and is confronted, their first reaction is often to blame a playmate who visited them. The parents may feel uncomfortable directly questioning that child and, feeling uneasy, might spread rumors about the playmate's "theft," branding him as someone who has been dishonest since childhood and destined for failure. The playmate is completely innocent!
Thus, I still struggle to understand the legal system's unlimited leniency towards juveniles, even when they commit heinous acts like rape or murder before reaching adulthood; they receive minimal punishment.
Anyway, I've digressed.
The reason I mention all this is to convey that if we were to judge based on cunning, Lin Ye is undoubtedly among the best of her peers. I realized this the moment I looked at her.
However, I was too careless. At that time, I thought that having a clever child wasn't frightening as long as Xiao Mo was under my protection in my home; how much trouble could Lin Ye really cause?
What I didn't expect was that she would set her sights on me.
It started late at night after I returned home. She appeared before me, wearing a thin, translucent nightgown, pretending to be casual, yet her face displayed an innocent and startled expression, like a frightened fawn. She blinked her eyes, which were not particularly beautiful but bright enough, as if I were an intruder invading her private space, violating her privacy and safety.
As the "intruder," facing a defenseless girl, the malice buried deep within me began to bubble up.
So even knowing she was playing tricks, as a man, I couldn't help but feel excited and attracted.
It was like playing a role-playing game.
Since she wanted to play and I was interested, why not continue? Unexpected closeness, subtle probing, and the ambiguity hanging in the air—all of it was incredibly intriguing.
At that moment, I had no idea that unknowingly, during her first attempt to seduce me, I regarded her as an adult. Even though she was mature for her age and could rival a woman in her twenties, her body and legal age still classified her as a minor. If anything were to happen, morally and legally, I would be a criminal.
So when I completely fell into this dangerous game, I suddenly realized that I had lost control!
It was late at night; I was drunk and couldn't remember the time. All I knew was that the villa was empty and silent.
I stumbled into the bedroom and threw myself onto the bed. Earlier in the car, I had been eager to get home because I was exhausted. But once I lay down on the bed, my mind became unusually clear; my body was just too tired to move.
With my ears perked up, I listened to the rustling wind in the neighborhood. The alcohol heightened all my senses.
Thus, when Lin Ye came down from the second floor, yawning as she turned on the living room light and took out a cup to press the water dispenser... every sound she made was crystal clear to me.
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