An ordinary person would probably be terrified at this point.
But Lian displayed astonishing composure, turning his head without flinching or skipping a beat.
He saw his aunt's mouth almost touching where his ear had just been.
A pair of bright eyes met his, less than ten centimeters apart.
"Shh...Auntie, listen too..." Lian put a finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture, and surprisingly invited his aunt to join in.
His aunt was stunned. Of course, she had no idea what his mother was doing in the room.
Moreover, Lian's behavior was so illogical that she felt somewhat at a loss. Driven by curiosity, she also pressed her ear to the door without thinking.
"Ah...ah...lost...lost...all lost..." Hearing her sister's voice, the aunt's face instantly turned bright red.
Being a woman herself, the aunt immediately understood what her sister was doing in the room.
Moreover, the aunt, though unmarried, was a grown woman, and she herself had engaged in similar behaviors.
And now, she and her nephew had been eavesdropping on her sister-in-law's masturbation outside the door.
The aunt felt she had completely lost all dignity as an elder.
Of course, the aunt was unaware that while her sister-in-law was masturbating, she was also pleasing a man of the opposite sex, whose whereabouts were unknown, on the phone.
After a moment of shock, the aunt reacted immediately.
In her view, her sister-in-law's masturbation was a normal part of adult life.
And her nephew's eavesdropping was clearly extremely wrong.
Therefore, she had to teach this sneaky nephew a lesson.
Thinking this, the aunt reached out and twisted Lian's ear, then, without making a sound, pulled Lian back into his room.
During the struggle, Lian cooperated perfectly, not uttering a sound despite the excruciating pain in his ear from the twisting.
Only after entering the room and being tossed onto his bed by his aunt, and after confirming that his aunt had turned and closed the door, did he softly say to his aunt, who had turned away, "Mom was just on the phone..."
Hearing this, his aunt froze.
She wasn't some naive, innocent child who knew nothing.
Although not yet married, she had dated several boyfriends.
She understood the games men and women play perfectly well, even if she had never taken part herself.
The meaning behind Lian's words completely bewildered her.
It was dinner time again.
His aunt was unusually silent. Even when his father complimented her sister's cooking, she only gave a weak smile.
His mother, completely unaware of the situation, misunderstood, thinking her sister was tired from preparing dinner alone and kept apologizing to her sister.
She admitted she hadn't thought things through, only wanting to relax and not even considering helping out.
His aunt only offered a few polite words to his mother, saying it was completely untrue.
Lian, meanwhile, just kept his head down, enjoying his full stomach.
His aunt's cooking was indeed excellent, and it was food Lian had grown up eating. Since they had lived separately for the past few years, he had rarely had the chance to eat it. Now, the table was filled with food and Lian was happily devouring it.
But his aunt was clearly angered by Lian's eating habits and couldn't help but scold, "Eat, eat! You'll stuff yourself to death, you little devil!"
His parents were clearly shocked by his aunt's words. Their nephew loved their sister's cooking; they should be happy. Why would she scold him like that?
The aunt, clearly realizing her rashness, spoke up before his parents could react: "Brother, sister-in-law, how about this? Let Lian stay at my place for a few days! You're both busy with work and my sister-in-law took the day off. It wouldn't be appropriate to ask for leave again tomorrow. Anyway, it's all for rest, so it's the same at my place. I'm just doing the bare minimum at my job at the Cultural Bureau; it doesn't matter whether I go to work or not."
"This…" The father hesitated, turning to look at the mother.
To him, his son going to his aunt's for a few days to relax wasn't a big deal, but he still needed his wife's permission.
The mother, meanwhile, turned to look at Lian, a thoughtful expression on her face.
After a long while, the mother seemed to have made up her mind, then turned and nodded to the father.
Seeing his mother nod, his aunt immediately smiled, her eyes crinkling, "Then it's settled. Lian will come back with me tonight. It's a promise, don't go back on your word!"
His father replied with a laugh, "Well then, you, as his aunt, dote on Lian; that's just the boy's good fortune."
The three of them burst into laughter, the previously oppressive atmosphere vanishing.
Lian smiled foolishly along, but noticed the hint of resentment in his aunt's smile and the trace of relief in his mother's.
After dinner, his mother busied herself packing Lian's clothes and filling a handbag.
His aunt didn't stand long, took the handbag and led Lian downstairs.
Along the way, Lian felt his aunt's hands trembling slightly and she was constantly sweating.
When they arrived at the parking lot, Lian sat in the back seat.
His aunt didn't start the engine. In the parking lot lights, Lian saw his aunt slumped over the steering wheel, her body shaking uncontrollably.
After a long silence, Aunt slammed her fist on the steering wheel and spat out, "You motherfucking bitch! To make it easier to have an affair, you've even abandoned your own son!" She then abruptly turned around, her eyes wide and fixed on Lian. In a tone completely at odds with her current expression, she said to Lian, "You brat, your mother doesn't want you anymore!"
Lian looked at his aunt with a very serious expression. But then he chuckled, "What if I was lying to you before?"
Aunt barely reacted. Instead, she immediately turned around, started the engine, and stepped on the gas. Caught off guard by the sudden movement, Lian nearly fell over in the back seat.