Vrrr—
The hairdryer emitted a low, steady hum.
Su Ruanruan sat obediently on the edge of the bed, her legs dangling and swaying, dressed in her Pink Little Dinosaur Pajamas. The warm air brushed across her scalp, bringing waves of drowsy warmth.
Behind her stood Su Xiaoxiao, her slender fingers weaving through the silver strands of hair.
Click.
Just then, the faint sound of the security door opening drifted in from the living room. Immediately following was a series of messy footsteps and the incoherent mumbling of a woman, breaking the peaceful atmosphere of the apartment.
“Hic… I… I can still drink…”
“Careful, don’t trip.” Another voice—cool, mature, yet tinged with helplessness—rang out.
‘It’s Mother!’
Ruanruan snapped awake instantly. She threw her eyes open and jumped off the bed like a little hamster hearing the dinner bell.
“Mother’s back! I’m going to go see!”
Wearing her pink plush slippers, Ruanruan ran out of the bedroom, her silver hair still slightly damp and fluffy like a dandelion.
Watching that petite figure flee like a startled rabbit, Xiaoxiao’s movements froze in mid-air. The silk-like texture at her fingertips vanished abruptly, and the embrace that had been filled with sweet strawberry fragrance a moment ago suddenly felt empty.
“Tsk…”
Xiaoxiao turned off the hairdryer, her brows furrowing in displeasure. She stood there for a moment, not following immediately.
Instead, she slowly raised her right hand—the one she had just used to comb Ruanruan’s hair—and brought those long, fair fingers to the tip of her nose in a secretive, greedy gesture. Between her fingers, there seemed to be a lingering warmth from her sister’s hair and that unique scent that belonged only to Su Ruanruan.
Xiaoxiao closed her eyes and took a deep, long breath.
‘So fragrant.’
She murmured under her breath, her throat bobbing as her lips curled into a sickly, infatuated smile.
Only when the commotion outside grew louder did Xiaoxiao reluctantly lower her hand. She shoved both hands into the pockets containing Ruanruan’s lace panties and walked out of the bedroom.
The living room lights were already on. As soon as Ruanruan ran out of the hallway, she witnessed a scene that made her jaw drop.
Her mother, Su Rou—who stood at most five feet tall and possessed the baby face of a Legal Loli—was currently flushed red and reeking of alcohol, leaning into the arms of a tall young woman.
Gu Hanyan.
“M-Mother?! How did you get this drunk?” Ruanruan rushed over, intending to take Su Rou from Gu Hanyan’s arms.
“Mm… Ruanruan…?” Su Rou half-opened her eyes blearily, her tongue thick as she gave a silly giggle.
But not only did she not let go, her hands acted like little pincers, death-gripping the lapels of Gu Hanyan’s suit. She even rubbed her fuzzy head deeper into Gu Hanyan’s neck!
Gu Hanyan allowed Su Rou to behave willfully in her arms, lowering her head slightly. When her gaze, hidden behind her Gold-rimmed Glasses, met Ruanruan’s, it paused for half a second.
Ruanruan, fresh from her bath, carried the strawberry scent of body wash. Her silver hair was fluffy and messy, and her pink pajamas hung loosely on her frame. The way her shoulders hunched slightly from nervousness…
Gu Hanyan’s throat bobbed in a very subtle movement.
‘The big one is like a drunken Persian cat, and the little one is like a white rabbit fresh from the bath.’
‘This mother-daughter pair… their looks are an absolute foul.’
A flicker of dangerous greed flashed through the depths of Gu Hanyan’s eyes. However, this sudden wandering of the mind was quickly suppressed by her staggering willpower.
“Ruanruan, your mother had a few too many at the company’s Celebration Banquet tonight,” Gu Hanyan said with a smile. “She’s quite drunk. I wasn’t comfortable letting Rou take a car alone, so I brought her home on my way.”
“Th-thank you, CEO Gu…” Ruanruan thanked her awkwardly.
“On your way?”
Su Xiaoxiao, dressed in a grey tracksuit with her hands in her pockets, walked over like a tower emitting low-pressure energy.
“The Gu Group headquarters is in the city center, nearly twenty kilometers from here. For ‘on the way,’ isn’t CEO Gu taking a rather massive detour?”
Xiaoxiao’s dark red eyes were fixed on the hand Gu Hanyan had around Su Rou’s waist. Her voice was cold enough to drop ice shards.
Faced with Xiaoxiao’s interrogation, Gu Hanyan didn’t get angry; instead, she pushed up her glasses.
“Xiaoxiao is right, it was indeed a lapse on my part.” Gu Hanyan used a breezy apology to deflect Xiaoxiao’s hostility like a master of Tai Chi. “Everyone was very happy tonight. I wasn’t paying attention, and your mother was pressured into a few drinks by other colleagues. My sincere apologies.”
Having said that, she very gentlemanly released her grip on Su Rou’s waist.
“Since she has been delivered safely, I won’t disturb your rest. I’ll be going now.”
Gu Hanyan turned to leave.
“Mm… don’t… don’t go…”
Just then, Su Rou, who had been about to fall asleep, suddenly moved. Like a child about to be abandoned, she pitifully reached out her hands and grabbed the hem of Gu Hanyan’s high-end suit.
“Gu… Gu…”
Su Rou’s Legal Loli face was as red as a ripe apple, her eyes brimming with moisture. She looked up with a blurred gaze, her voice broken and slurred:
“Don’t go… stay with me…”
“…”
The moment those words came out, Xiaoxiao’s face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. Even Gu Hanyan’s smiling social mask developed a crack, her breath catching in her throat.
“Let go! Mom, you’re drunk!”
Xiaoxiao finally lost her patience. She stepped forward in a stride and forcibly pried Su Rou’s hands off Gu Hanyan’s suit.
“I’ll take care of her! CEO Gu, take care, goodbye!”
Xiaoxiao supported her mother quite roughly, half-dragging and half-carrying her toward the bedroom. As she reached the door, she turned back warily, her eyes watching Gu Hanyan like she was a thief.
“Sister, you see the guest out. I’m sleeping on the floor in Mother’s room tonight to watch her. No one is getting near her!”
Seeing that Xiaoxiao was about to ruin the moment, Gu Hanyan’s brow furrowed imperceptibly. Ruanruan’s heart also skipped a beat.
‘If Xiaoxiao stays in that room, won’t the progress between Mother and Gu Hanyan be completely stalled?’
“Xiaoxiao!”
Ruanruan rushed over, grabbed Xiaoxiao’s arm, and used every ounce of strength to pull her away. “Mother is so drunk, how can you take care of her properly with your clumsy hands? Besides, haven’t you finished your Game Instance yet? Go, go, go!”
“I’m not going! I have to watch her!” Xiaoxiao refused to budge.
“Mother told me she likes CEO Gu,” Ruanruan whispered into her sister’s ear, her voice barely audible. “Let’s not be third wheels.”
“What?!” Xiaoxiao’s pupils shook.
“Shh! Quiet!”
“But…” Xiaoxiao gnashed her teeth as she glared at Gu Hanyan in the distance. “That woman…”