Huang Shi was a little taken aback by the intensity of Li Mei's reaction.
For a brief moment, he could only stare at her, his mind blank. Yet if he truly thought about it, the reason behind her behavior became painfully obvious.
Motherly love.
Unfortunately for Huang Shi, this was something he had never truly experienced. He had no memories of warm embraces, no gentle reprimands, no reassuring voice telling him that everything would be all right.
His parents had died when he was still very young, leaving him to fend for himself far earlier than any child should have to. From that point on, survival became his only priority.
He learned how to endure, how to adapt, and how to push forward no matter how difficult things became.
But there was a price.
Growing up without any parental figure also meant that he never learned how to respond to parental affection.
He didn't know how to act when someone worried over him, when someone's concern wasn't born from obligation or benefit, but from genuine care.
Now, faced with Li Mei's trembling hands and tear-filled eyes, he felt strangely at a loss.
…Damn, this woman is hot.
The thought surfaced unbidden, an instinctive attempt to deflect the unfamiliar warmth rising in his chest.
Huang Shi chose to remain silent for a few more seconds, letting the moment stretch.
Slowly, almost hesitantly, he raised his hand and placed it against his so-called mother's back, gently rubbing it in an awkward attempt at comfort.
"I'm fine, Mother. My injuries have been healed for the most part, at least."
His voice was soft, yet beneath it lay a trace of bitterness he couldn't fully suppress.
The truth was that being technically crippled still weighed heavily on his mind.
The instant Huang Shi reached out and spoke in that quiet tone, Li Mei froze. Her body stiffened as if she had been struck by lightning.
Slowly, she pulled back just enough to look up at him, her eyes wide and trembling, disbelief written clearly across her face.
"Sh-Shi'er…" Her voice quavered, tears welling once more. "Do you finally… accept your mother?"
[Li Mei – Affection 85/100]
Now it was Huang Shi's turn to be shocked because of his inability to differentiate between parental affection and actual affection.
He quickly thought that his action had caused this woman to fall deeper for his charms, and so he quickly grew excited.
It seems I'll be free from my crippled state sooner than I thought.
Huang Shi thought for a few seconds, trying his best to think of the perfect response, before finally opening his mouth.
"Mother, I'll be honest with you. When I almost died that night, the first thing I thought about was you and my regret over never accepting our relationship. I regret that I never thought of you as my real mother and the agony I put you through. But don't worry, Mother I know better now. Whatever anyone else says, you will be the only mother I have in this world."
The moment these words were spoken, Li Mei, who was still trying to hold back her flooding emotions, finally couldn't contain herself anymore as she started to bawl her eyes out.
"WAHHHHHH! MY LITTLE BOY! THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR ACCEPTING ME! I PROMISE I WONT MAKE THAT SAME MISTAKE AGAIN"
Huang Shi, who was currently in the midst of his mother's embrace, suddenly paused as a light flickered in his eyes.
Mistake? What kind of mistake? Did we have a fight before this?
He tried to think of a few reasons as to why his mother would say these kinds of words at this moment.
Unfortunately for him, old habits die hard. When you have a beautiful woman crying in your arms and being completely defenseless, what else could you do?
And so, as if on extinct, his hand moved lower and lower from his mother's back until it reached the edge of her waist, just barely at the cusp of touching his own mother's ass
Hmm.. she's not reacting? Guess she's too emotional to notice. Let's try this out, then.
His pure black eyes suddenly glowed pink as he used the inherent ability of his system.
[Charm – Activated]
[Erotic Touch – Activated]
Both of these skills were fairly self-explanatory. Charm allowed him to make a target slowly fall in love with him, ensuring they were won over by his every word and action.
While Erotic Touch essentially allowed his simplest physical interactions to evoke a deep feeling of lust in the other party, it wasn't mind control per se; the person still maintained the ability to decide for themselves.
However, being in contact with him for a long enough duration would eventually lead to the person being so overcome with desire that the only way to relieve the mounting tension was to engage in erotic acts with him.
Hopefully, this thing is effective…
Huang Shi had a sudden thought that pushing his mother down at this very moment would have a high probability of success, especially considering her heightened emotional state.
However, he eventually decided against it and opted to play the long game for a while. If his theory was correct, there were certain advantages to taking a more patient approach regarding stealing these women from their beloveds.
He had a smirk on his face as his hand finally touched her mother's ass, and he finally heard an audible gulp coming from her as her eyes widened.
Trying to act as innocent as possible, as if what had happened was an accident, he asked his mother a question.
"Is there something wrong, mother?"
His mother remained silent for a couple of seconds, looking straight into his eyes as if trying to find something in them. It was to the point that he was starting to doubt whether or not his little act had been caught.
Fuck am I screwed right now?
Huang Shi continued to look the picture of innocence as he waited for a response.
However, how his mother reacted shocked even this veteran womanizer
"Shi'er, are you groping your mother right now?"