013: Hugged the Wrong Person? Xia Jian Who Stays at Home

"Dingling bell~"

Qi Lin was playing with the birds when his cell phone suddenly rang.

Taking out his phone, Qi Lin asked casually: "Who is it?"

"Besides your mother and me, who else would care about a brat like you?"

On the other end of the phone was a woman's voice.

It was Kale.

Qi Lin's mother is one of the few people in the world who is truly kind to him. As a G-rated protagonist, only God knows how he managed to survive the first half of his life. No matter what he does, Qi Lin always finds himself leading a difficult life. Even so, his parents never gave up on him, which was not easy.

"Didn't you say you only work morning and evening shifts? Why didn't you come back for lunch?" Kale asked, sounding annoyed. 

Although her tone was harsh, it was more out of concern that her son had missed lunch and might upset his stomach.

Qi Lin smiled and said: "At noon, my colleague switched shifts with me. I don't have to work in the evening. I'm heading home to eat now."

Kale nodded: "Did you already have lunch?"

Qi Lin smiled again: "Yes, I did."

Only then did Kale stop her nagging and added: "Come home early after work. I made braised pork. If you're late, don't blame your cousin for eating it all."

"Wait, my braised pork!"

Hearing those words, Qi Lin was startled. He dropped what he was doing and rushed out of the security room, heading home as fast as possible.

Qi Lin's parents are ordinary civil servants. That is, section chiefs of the local subdistrict office. Despite working diligently for over a decade, they have not risen far in their careers—perhaps because of Qi Lin's influence. But even as junior civil servants, they were fortunate enough to be assigned a house by their workplace.

Qi Lin's family lives in an apartment in one of the residential buildings, specifically on the second floor of Building 7.

"Xiaolin, you're off work so early?"

As he was about to go upstairs, Qi Lin heard someone calling from behind.

Turning around, Qi Lin's eyes lit up.

The woman wore ultra-short jeans that barely reached her thighs, revealing legs that were fleshy but not fat. Qi Lin imagined that if she wore stockings, the visual effect would resemble that of a character from an anime. Her upper body was covered in a white t-shirt with a Lina Belle print that was longer than her shorts, giving the illusion that she was wearing nothing underneath. 

If having a great figure wasn't enough, she also had a cute, slightly baby-faced appearance that made her seem much younger than she was. If Qi Lin hadn't known she was 25, he would have thought she was still in middle school.

"Sister Yubao, taking out the trash?" Qi Lin greeted her with a smile.

The woman was Tang Yubao, his next-door neighbor who lived in apartment 201. She was married, and her husband worked at the same subdistrict office as his parents.

"Yeah... We're still cooking at home. I better get back to it," Tang Yubao said with a light smile, her chubby little face incredibly cute as she headed upstairs.

From Qi Lin's perspective, her pink heels and white soles were fully visible as she climbed the steps in her slippers.

"Pity."

After Tang Yubao went upstairs, Qi Lin shook his head in regret. 

Of course, he liked cute girls like her, but unfortunately, she was married. Plus, since she hadn't wronged him in any way, there was no reason for him to behave inappropriately.

After unlocking the door, Qi Lin entered to find the house quiet except for the sound of cooking from the kitchen.

His father must still be at work.

"Where's that girl Xia Jian? Why isn't she home?"

Not seeing his cousin Xia Jian anywhere, Qi Lin walked into the kitchen to ask his mother.

In the kitchen, a woman was cooking while wearing an apron, her hair wrapped in a scarf.

Qi Lin smiled.

His mother always covered herself up while cooking to avoid oil splatters, something Qi Lin was very used to.

"Hey! Mom! I'm back!" Qi Lin said playfully.

Seeing that his mother didn't notice him behind her, Qi Lin wrapped his arms around her from behind, like he used to as a child.

"Ahhh!!!"

As expected, a startled scream erupted, and the woman nearly dropped the pot.

However, upon hearing that scream, the smug grin on Qi Lin's face faded, and he paled as though he'd seen a ghost.

"Qi Lin!!!"

A sharp, angry voice rang out the next second.

Several minutes later...

"Aunt Lan! This bastard Qi Lin took advantage of me!"

In the living room, Xia Jian glared at Qi Lin with angry eyes.

Cabbage, Qi Lin's mother, couldn't help but laugh as she watched. She had just gone to the roof to take in the laundry, leaving Xia Jian to mind the food in the pot, but apparently, the two cousins had ended up quarreling.

Qi Lin, with an innocent look on his face, said: "You're wearing my mom's apron and headscarf. I thought you were her."

Cabbage also smiled and chimed in: "Xiaojian, Qi Lin probably didn't mean it. Besides, you two have been close since you were little. You don't need to get so worked up over a hug, right?"

Xia Jian's face turned red with embarrassment. She muttered: "Aunt Lan, don't joke about that. After all, I'm his cousin."

Qi Lin rolled his eyes: "Oh, now you act all embarrassed? You weren't complaining when you'd give me all the fat from the braised pork and kept the lean meat for yourself. And I don't remember you minding when we shared food."

At that, Xia Jian couldn't hold her composure any longer. She flushed with embarrassment and shot back angrily: "You're taking advantage of me and acting like it's no big deal? I swear I'm going to tear you apart!"

Just as things were about to escalate, Cabbage stepped in and calmed Xia Jian down.

Then, turning to Qi Lin, she said: "We're out of soy sauce. Go downstairs and buy a bottle."

Qi Lin shrugged, slipped his hands into his pockets, and headed downstairs.

Xia Jian shot Qi Lin an annoyed look as he left, but finally let it go.