Chapter 1: Mother Dearest

"Shiwen, I told you I wasn’t lying!"

"How do you know all this... huh... huh..."

A clean-cut young man stared at the two pale, writhing bodies on the computer screen. His breathing was ragged, his face flushed red, and a fine sheen of sweat had gathered on his forehead.

He turned to the young man leaning beside the desk and asked.

The young man beside him was even better-looking. His skin was fair, his sword-like brows slanted sharply, and his narrow black eyes held a keen, piercing light. His thin lips were pressed lightly together, and the angular lines of his face gave him a handsome, refined look, with skin white as jade and lips red as if stained with color.

With his boyish face, the young man was wearing a mischievous smile as he looked at his classmate Zhou Shiwen. "You don’t need to know how I found out. Just remember our bet."

"But..."

At that, a troubled look appeared on Zhou Shiwen’s face.

Yang Haoran saw the hesitation on his deskmate’s face. He had expected that; after all, the "wager" was that kind of thing. He hurried to press the advantage. "We agreed, Shiwen. I’ll show you porn, and you’ll help me."

"You’re not going to go back on your word, are you? I, Yang Haoran, look down on people like that."

"But... cheating on an exam... isn’t that bad?"

Zhou Shiwen frowned tightly, lowering his head and not daring to meet the other boy’s eyes. His voice grew softer and softer.

Right now, he was deeply regretting agreeing to Haoran’s request. The other boy wanted him to help cheat on an exam. They had been best friends since childhood, and now they were deskmates too. He couldn’t bring himself to refuse openly, so he had suggested that if Haoran showed him porn, he would help him, hoping that would make the other boy back off.

Seeing that his deskmate was still so indecisive, Yang Haoran deliberately sighed, a look of disappointment appearing at just the right moment on his face. "Fine. I’m already prepared to get beaten by my mother."

He slumped down by the bed and said in a low, despondent voice, "I wrote my mother a promise letter. If I still fail this exam, she’ll cut off my allowance and lock me at home all summer for extra tutoring."

"Aunt Liu really said that?"

Zhou Shiwen frowned as he asked.

"We’ve known each other since we were kids. Don’t you know my mother? She’s just an old witch." Yang Haoran let out a bitter smile. At that moment, his feelings were genuine.

"If I didn’t have any other choice, why would I come to you? I know your grades are good, but look at how many times I’ve failed exams. Have I ever asked you to help me cheat before?"

"I think this time that old witch is serious. She really left me no choice, so I had to come to you."

Hearing Yang Haoran say that, Zhou Shiwen still felt that cheating was wrong, but he also couldn’t ignore years of friendship. In the end, he gritted his teeth. "Fine! Haoran, I’ll help you, but only this once."

Seeing the other boy agree, Yang Haoran’s expression lit up. He slipped back into his usual carefree manner and laughed. "Good, good, just this once."

Then he winked toward the computer screen. "Do you want to keep watching?"

Zhou Shiwen’s face flushed bright red. "I-I... still... n-no, I’m... not watching."

What he had said about bringing him to watch porn had just been a joke, but he hadn’t expected the other boy to take it seriously.

It was his first time seeing something like that. Hormones surged in the adolescent boy, and he felt hot all over, his groin already stiff and hard.

Even though Zhou Shiwen said he wasn’t watching anymore, his eyes still kept sneaking glances at the screen.

On the monitor, a middle-aged man was on the bed, frantically thrusting his hips while gripping the naked woman’s snow-white ass.

Yang Haoran caught every furtive glance, and teased, "If you want to look, then look. It’s not like there’s anyone else here."

"Tap, tap, tap, tap..."

At that moment, a crisp, clear series of high-heeled footsteps sounded from outside in the hallway.

Yang Haoran held his breath and listened. The sound was getting closer. He knew those footsteps all too well. No one else in the house walked with that kind of force and authority.

"Hurry, hurry..."

Panic flashed across Yang Haoran’s face. He fumbled wildly with the mouse, clicking over and over in a flurry, but in his panic he missed the shutdown button several times.

Zhou Shiwen panicked too. He knew Aunt Liu was coming.

"Mm-mm~~ ahhh~~ mm~~ mm~"

Outside the door, hearing the obscene sounds drifting from her son’s room, Liu Ruoxi’s face turned cold as frost.

She knew her son was sneaking porn again. Ever since she caught him watching that kind of video last time, she had been so furious she’d taken a feather duster and whipped him.

She hadn’t expected that not long after, he would secretly dare to do it again.

"Bang, bang, bang... bang, bang, bang..."

Liu Ruoxi’s fine brows shot upward as she forced down her rage and knocked on the door. She had already decided that she would give him a severe lesson in a moment.

After the knocking started, Yang Haoran finally shut down the computer. His heart was a little uneasy; he didn’t know whether his mother had heard anything.

"Haoran, open the door!"

That familiar voice, cold and sharp, came from outside the door. Yang Haoran’s entire body jolted, and his face instantly went pale.

"Wh-what... what do we do?"

Zhou Shiwen panicked too.

After a brief silence, Yang Haoran patted Zhou Shiwen on the shoulder, a miserable smile on his face. "You go first. Don’t worry about me."

"How could I do that?"

Zhou Shiwen shook his head at once. He couldn’t just run for it when something went wrong and let his childhood friend take the blame. Besides, it had been his idea to watch this stuff, even if it had started as a joke.

"What are you thinking?" Yang Haoran gave a bitter smile. "If you don’t leave, are you planning to watch me get beaten by that old witch? Where would I put my face?"

"Back when we were kids, we agreed: I’m the boss! Listen to me."

After saying that, seeing that Zhou Shiwen still seemed about to argue, Yang Haoran patted his shoulder and turned to open the door.

When the door opened, a woman stood outside, her face frosted over with coldness, dressed in a black business suit.

She was breathtakingly beautiful. Her delicate oval face was fair and refined, her long black hair coiled neatly at the back of her head. She had slender phoenix eyes that slanted inward and then up at the corners, willow-leaf brows, a delicate nose, and soft red lips the color of bean paste. Her eyes were bright with light, deep and sharp, carrying the unique sensual allure of a mature woman.

Her fitted suit had a deep V neckline, revealing the white blouse underneath. Her waist was slender, and her breasts full and round; below, she wore a black straight skirt, flesh-colored stockings, and black pointed high heels with slender heels. Her hips were perked up, her legs even and long, filled with the poise and competence of a career woman.

Yang Haoran was very familiar with that outfit. It was obvious his mother had just come back from the company.

Because no one was home, he had dared to bring Zhou Shiwen back to watch porn. He never would have imagined she would suddenly return, leaving him completely unprepared.

"And who is this beauty?"

Yang Haoran forced a smile onto his face and said with exaggerated expression, "Oh, so it’s my beautiful and merciful Mother Dearest. Mother Dearest, what can this humble one do for you?"

"Move!"

Seeing her son’s cheeky grin, Liu Ruoxi gave him no friendly look at all and snapped coldly.

Yang Haoran jumped in alarm and hurriedly stepped aside, bowing with an ingratiating smile. "Please come in, Mother Dearest."

Liu Ruoxi walked into the room and immediately spotted Zhou Shiwen standing beside the computer desk, tense and at a loss with nowhere to put his hands.

She frowned slightly, but she did not give her best friend’s son any kind look either. Her voice was icy. "Shiwen, go outside first. I need to talk to my son."

Zhou Shiwen had originally wanted to summon up the courage and stand by him, but under Liu Ruoxi’s cold gaze, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over a bonfire. All his courage vanished.

He nodded shakily, not daring to say another word. Picking up the schoolbag on the bed, he fled out the door in a few quick steps, casting Yang Haoran a look that said, fend for yourself.

"Damn it!"

Seeing his good buddy Zhou Shiwen, who had just been urging him to bear it together, now slip away so fast he barely dared to fart, Yang Haoran mentally shouted a thousand curses.

At the very least say something before you go. I’d have respected you as a real man.

Liu Ruoxi went straight to the bedside and sat down, saying lightly, "Close the door."

"Right away, Mother Dearest."

Yang Haoran closed the door with a casual motion, then tiptoed over to his mother’s side and naturally climbed onto the bed. Standing behind her, he lightly massaged her shoulders with both hands and said with a grin, "Mother Dearest, why did you get home so early today? Are you tired? Let me rub your shoulders and help you relax."

"Hmph!"

Liu Ruoxi gave him no favorable look at all for his flattery. "You’re getting bolder and bolder."

A cold smile hung on Liu Ruoxi’s face. "Hmph... I think your skin is itching for a beating. Haven’t I not hit you in three days, and now you’re climbing onto the roof to rip off the tiles, is that it? The teacher already called me about you skipping class. How could I not come back?"

At that, Yang Haoran hurriedly increased the speed of his shoulder massage and smiled ingratiatingly. "Listen to how you say that. Doesn’t your son just miss you? I missed Mother Dearest so much I couldn’t hold it in, so I came back from school early to see you. How could that count as skipping class?"

"Fine, so your tongue is that sharp, huh." Liu Ruoxi let out a cold laugh. "Then tell me what you were watching in your room just now."

"I-I wasn’t watching anything. I was studying with Shiwen just now," Yang Haoran said. He knew perfectly well that his mother already knew, but of course he wasn’t going to admit it.

He quickly changed the subject. "Mother Dearest, after my day and night of hard work and difficult study, I’m already confident I can pass this exam. Please rest assured. I’ll definitely give Mother Dearest a result you’ll be satisfied with."

"Heh..."

Liu Ruoxi gave a cold laugh. She knew exactly what kind of son she had. How could she possibly believe any talk about "day and night of hard work" and "difficult study"?

Hearing his mother’s disdainful laugh, Yang Haoran became embarrassed and stopped massaging her shoulders. He knew it himself too. Not even ghosts would believe that line.

"Keep going. Why did you stop? Are you trying to make me hit you right now?"

"Right away, Mother Dearest."

Yang Haoran hurriedly resumed kneading her shoulders. He was very skilled at this sort of thing and had even studied techniques for it. After repeated practice, he had long since mastered how much force to use and exactly where to press to make his mother feel comfortable.

Liu Ruoxi’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. Her son’s attempts to please her were not without effect. The relaxation in her body eased some of her anger, but not enough.