My dad and Auntie Ren kept drinking while they entered a segment of ‘who was more miserable’ on Voice of China.

  Regardless if it was in China or America, in these talent competitions, they always add a sob story on top of their singing. Something like ‘I was raised poor’ or ‘my grandfather passed away recently before the competition’ isn’t enough to move the audience anymore. To get placed higher, you have to have multiple dead parents and riddled with illnesses. It would be even better if you sat in a wheelchair during your performance which will definitely make the audience cry.

  Thus my dad began to recount his beautiful yet painful memories with tears in his eyes. Auntie Ren immediately began to spill out her own misfortunes about how she was tricked by Xiao Qin’s father with his sweet words and ended up in divorce.

  “There are no good men.” That was the conclusion drawn by the intoxicated Auntie Ren.

  My dad drank more than Auntie Ren and was even more intoxicated. Usually, whenever he gets drunk, he would call out AI ShuQiao’s name while crying.

  That day wasn’t any different. It seems the ‘ceremony’ he did near Da Ning river to forget Ai ShuQiao had no effective. The poison Ai ShuQiao left behind in his body was too strong.

  My dad’s miserable state made Auntie Ren mad.

  The only reason why Auntie Ren talked about her own past emotional pains was because she wanted a few words of comfort. If my dad was on a talent show with that miserable expression, he would have already earned sympathy points from the audience.

  “Why are you crying. You’re a man, so you should be able to let it go. What’s the point of crying if she doesn’t want you anymore.”


  “But…… but……” My dad still couldn’t get over it.

  “You proposed to me earlier, but you still can’t forget your ex-wife?” Auntie Ren slapped the coffee table a couple times, “Who would be foolish enough to marry you when you’re still thinking of another woman?”


  My dad abruptly came to his senses after Auntie Ren pointed out the truth. He trembled without saying another words while blaming himself for being useless in his mind. He felt like he wronged Auntie Ren, so he grabbed beer off the table and began chugging it can by can to try to drink all of it.

  Then he fell down drunk.

  Auntie Ren understood my dad was worried about her body, and that was why he snatched most of the beer without leaving much behind.

  Auntie Ran watched my dad who was sprawled out on the carpet while slowly drinking the remaining cans of beer.

  “Can’t forget their ex” was a trait that would cost you points in a normal relationship. Since my dad was sincere, his trait was maximized to the extreme and became ‘can’t forget their ex even after 14 years’, but it was a trait that added points for Auntie Ren.

  Auntie Ren’s ex-husband, Xiao Qin’s father Huo ZhenBang, couldn’t change his loose nature after marriage and always fooled around with other woman. He was finally caught in the act by Auntie Ren and it lead to their divorce.

  That’s why ‘loyal to love’ will always be number one in Auntie Ren’s heart.

  But even if that was the case, Auntie Ren didn’t agree to my dad’s proposal, plus my dad was drunk like a dead pig.

  When I called my dad’s phone at the time, it was Auntie Ren who picked up.

  Auntie Ren also stayed overnight at the hotel.

  But this time nothing really happened.

  Auntie Ren fell asleep the instant she hit the bed and my dad slept on the carpet the entire night. It wasn’t because there wasn’t enough beds, but because he couldn’t get up.

  Xiao Qin thought it was a bit strange when Auntie Ren didn’t return home that night. It wasn’t the first time her mom didn’t return home, but usually she would always call or send a text to let her know beforehand.

  “Ye Lin classmate, do you want to come over?” Xiao Qin, who was home alone, send me a text.

  “I think my mom isn’t coming home tonight and it’s scary being home alone. You can come over and we can sleep while hugging each other……”


  “It’s so hot, who wants to sleep while hugging you.”


  Fortunately, I didn’t accept Xiao Qin’s proposal. If I went to Xiao Qin, not only did our parents sleep together, their children would have slept together too.

  As Su Qiao was sitting in the living room and watching a talent competition, it coincidentally played an ad for Fu Yan Jie.

  I couldn’t stop myself from feeling fear when I heard it.

  The finals next Wednesday against class 2 was going to decide my fate of whether I could get food at the class leader’s home or cry while drinking Fu Yan Jie.

  I was feeling unsteady, so I decided to head out at night to run around and get some exercise.

  I unknowingly ran near Qing Zi Academy, around the plaza where Xiong YaoYue was going around helping others to get experience and improve her character.

  Every summer, there would be a night market here. It wasn’t to the point where everything was brightly lit, but if you looked down the row of stalls, it would look like a silver river made of lights.

  A splash of bright colors suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.

  It was a miniskirt.

  It was a floral red miniskirt.

  It was short, but it didn’t give off flirty vibes, but rather an energetic vibe.

  The legs under the miniskirt was golden brown.

  There was also a band-aid on one of her kneecaps.

  The strolling around the night market in a miniskirt was Xiong YaoYue! She might occasionally wear the school uniform skirt at school, but she’s never worn an embarrassing skirt like this before. Why did she choose to wear a miniskirt today?

  Is she on a date? Since the most handsome guy in school, Shen ShaoYi, likes her, then there must be other boys who like her too. If Xiong YaoYue was wearing a miniskirt to a date, it means she doesn’t dislike the other person.

  Damn it, who is it? How can she not tell her best female friend if she got a boyfriend, why is treating me like an outsider?

  Wait oops, I accidentally treated myself as her close female friend, but I’m a man.

  I was a bit nervous after secretly monitoring Xiong YaoYue from a safe distance.

  The miniskirt wasn’t shorter than the shorts Xiong YaoYue usually wore.

  But there was a fundamental difference between shorts and skirts.

  The wind can lift up a skirt and expose a girl, but it can’t do anything to shorts.

  By following behind her, was I expecting a gust of wind to lift up her skirt?

  Definitely not, I’m not that perverted. I was only curious why Xiong YaoYue was dressed so femininely today.

  And how come there wasn’t even a bit of wind tonight? The wind was strong the day before yesterday and it gave me a cramp.

  Xiong YaoYue stopped in front of a clothes stall and talked about the prices with the owner for a while. Then she picked up a pair of shorts, and walked into a nearby tent while looking around vigilantly.

  I wanted to find a place to hide, but it was too late.

  “Ye Lin, you’re here too? Come give me a hand.”


  Xiong YaoYue fervently beckoned at me.

  I pretended it was a chance encounter and walked over slowly. I realized the clothes stall was mainly selling men’s and woman’s shorts.

  “Buying clothes?” I asked casually, but my eyes involuntarily wandered towards Xiong YaoYue’s miniskirt.

  “Yeah, I’m buying shorts. The pair I like the most has a hole, if I still wore it, then my underwear and butt would be exposed.”


  She might have been wearing a seductive miniskirt, but she was still speaking informally.

  “Ye Lin, good timing, help act as a cover.” Xiong YaoYue said as she raised one of her legs, intending to try on the shorts.

  “Hey, don’t wear it here! Isn’t there a change room?” I quickly stopped her. It was already easy to be exposed when wearing a miniskirt, but when she raised her leg, I could already see the dividing line between her brown and white skin.

  “The night market is filled with cheap goods, where would you find a change a room? I wore a skirt for convenience, so I could directly wear the shorts. If I wore shorts, then I would have to keep on taking it off and wearing it again, then everything would be exposed.”


  So, she wasn’t on a date? Why do I feel a bit relieved?

  I then took responsibility and used my wide body to cover Xiong YaoYue with my back facing her.

  Xiong YaoYue quickly put on the shorts under her skirt. She patted my back to tell me to turn around. I’m afraid in her eyes, she wouldn’t mind even if I stared at her when she changed.

  “It fits pretty well.” Xiong YaoYue did a few exercises, then she suddenly lifted up her skirt and asked: “Do you think it looks good?”


  Ahhhhh, don’t scare me! You might be wearing a pair of shorts under the skirt, but it would cause everyone else to misunderstand! A child who was passing by got his eyes covered by his mother.

  Xiong YaoYue chose a pair of denim shorts and it really suited her style.

  “Try this pair.” The stall owner got more enthusiastic after I arrived, I don’t know why but it definitely wasn’t because of my appearance.

  The stall owner brought over a pair of shorts with the American flag on it. Xiong YaoYue gladly tried it on, of course, I was still responsible for providing cover.

  “Huh, this one is a bit tight. Is my butt too large?”


  “No, it’s just right.” I unknowingly repeated a phrase Shen ShaoYi once said.

  “Heh, you’re pretty good at comforting others.” Xiong YaoYue chuckled, “Boss, I’ll take the other pair.”


  She gave money to the boss and waited for the boss to put the shorts into a bag.

  I noticed from behind that when she was wearing the shorts, she accidentally caught the skirt under her shirt, so she was exposing her behind.