Going home for Chinese New Year, I squeezed onto a bus with three energetic young women.

Bai Li smiled, didn't put on airs, and downed a bottle of beer in one gulp.

"That's great!" Chen Tingting wiped the wine stains from the corner of her mouth and looked at Bai Li with hazy eyes: "Big brother, don't you think it would have been better if we had met sooner?"

"It's not too late now." Bai Li put down the empty wine bottle.

"Yes! It's not too late!"

Lin Xiaoshuang, tired from singing, rushed over and lay down on Bai Li's lap, tilting her head up like a puppy begging for a pat on the head.

"Big brother, I want to drink too!"

"Drinking nonsense, little brat drinking beverages." Bai Li flicked her forehead.

"No! I'm an adult now!" Lin Xiaoshuang pouted defiantly, grabbing Bai Li's hand and trying to press it against her chest. "Feel it if you don't believe me, you've grown up!"

"puff--"

Li Jiaxin, who was drinking water, spat it out.

"Lin Xiaoshuang, can't you have some self-respect? You're shameless enough to let your older brother touch your B-cup? Aren't you afraid of hurting his hand?"

Chen Tingting mocked mercilessly, while casually puffing out her impressive chest: "If anyone's going to touch someone, it'll be me."

"That's just flabby fat! Mine are the soft, youthful breasts of a young girl!"

"Tch, I think you're just a little Want Want Bun that hasn't fully developed yet."

Fueled by alcohol, the girls began to expose each other's shortcomings and compete for attention, creating a chaotic and erotic scene.

Bai Li was sandwiched in the middle, with women on either side of him.

Watching them argue so fiercely over a little bit of attention, I felt a surge of control and satisfaction.

In Shanghai, which of those so-called socialites and white-collar workers doesn't put on airs?

How much effort and how many gifts do you have to put in to win their favor?

In a small county town, simply being nice to them is enough to make these vibrant young women open their hearts to you.

Is this the joy of dimensional reduction?

The group played until after 9 p.m.

The table was covered with empty wine bottles, and sunflower seed shells were scattered all over the floor.

The girls were all a bit drunk. Lin Xiaoshuang had already fallen asleep on the table, muttering, "Big brother is so handsome."

Chen Tingting was also a little unsteady on her feet, swaying as she leaned against the wall.

"Let's go." Bai Li put on his coat and patted Zhang Qian's bottom. "We'll help them together."

Zhang Qian had a high alcohol tolerance and was the only one who remained sober.

She nodded obediently and, together with Bai Li, helped the three women walk out.

As soon as I stepped out of the Golden Throat KTV, a cold wind hit me.

"Ugh... It's cold."

Chen Tingting shivered and clung to Bai Li like an octopus.

"If it's cold, zip it up."

Bai Li had no choice but to support the swaying Li Jiaxin.

This purple-haired girl, when drunk, doesn't make a fuss, but her legs are weak; she slides down after taking a few steps, as if she has no bones.

"I won't stop! I have a great figure, I want to show it off!" Chen Tingting slurred, one hand still reaching for Bai Li's collar: "Big brother, are we home yet? Let me take your clothes off..."

"You better behave yourself." Bai Li freed one hand and pressed her fidgeting hand back down.

Zhang Qian helped Lin Xiaoshuang, who was already half asleep, and they walked unsteadily.

The group of people moved along the streetlights, their steps uneven.

As I passed a thermal underwear store that was still lit up, the automatic door rang with a "ding-dong".

A middle-aged couple carrying red plastic bags pushed open the door and came out.

"Oh dear, pure cotton is the only warm one. These days, young people wear those fleece-lined ones, which aren't breathable," the woman muttered as she tightened her scarf.

The middle-aged man next to him had a cigarette between his fingers and a bag in his other hand.

"I bought it, but the key question is whether he'll even wear it. You know our son."

"He's not wearing it because he's not cold! He'll end up with rheumatoid arthritis like you when he's old..."

That voice is so familiar.

Bai Li's slight tipsiness instantly turned into cold sweat that broke out on her back.

He instinctively shrank his neck, almost burying his face in his coat collar, and his steps became unsteady.

Aren't these my own parents?!

It's almost 10 pm, why aren't you sleeping at home? Why are you out buying thermal underwear?

It wouldn't be a problem if we ran into each other under normal circumstances, but the problem is now—

There was a red-haired guy hanging on the left, a purple-haired guy hanging on the right, and a blue-haired guy and a yellow-haired guy following behind.

If the old-fashioned Bai Weiguo saw this, he'd break his legs.

And the worst part is that I told my family when I left home this morning that I was busy with my supervisor's project!

A project researching human biomechanics and alcoholic fermentation?

"Big brother? Why aren't you leaving?" Zhang Qian asked quietly from behind, puzzled.

"Shh—" Bai Li didn't dare turn her head, her body slumped down, wishing she could shrink to 1.5 meters tall: "Don't speak, keep your head down, and hurry up."

He used Chen Tingting's fluffy red hair to cover his face, trying to fool her.

The two groups were about to pass each other by.

Bai Weiguo flicked his cigarette ash and casually glanced over in this direction.

Seeing the man and four women supporting each other, the old man frowned, subconsciously moved aside, and muttered:

"Young people these days, they really have no class whatsoever."

Wang Xiulian glanced at it too, and paused for a moment: "Hey Lao Bai, look at that tall young man, doesn't his back view look a bit like our Xiao Li?"

Bai Li's heart was pounding in his chest. He walked with lightning speed, dragging the two drunkards at a race pace.

"Are you seeing things?" Bai Weiguo chuckled.

"Our son is working on a project late into the night, how could he have time to go out and fool around? Besides..."

Bai Weiguo stopped and glanced back at Bai Li's disheveled yet still dashing figure, his tone tinged with disappointment:

"Look at that scene, he's surrounded by young girls, with women on both sides."

"If my blockhead were that capable, would I need to urge him to go on blind dates every day?"

Bai Li's tense nerves relaxed a little.

Fortunately, no one knows a son better than his father. Although this saying is a bit harsh, at least it extricates me from the situation.

As long as you don't make a sound, you'll be safe once you turn the corner ahead.

"That's true." Wang Xiulian nodded and sighed, "Let's hurry up and go home. Call Bai Li when you get home and ask him when that project will be finished."

The two turned around, preparing to walk in the opposite direction.

Bai Li breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as if he had just escaped death.

However, he forgot that he was carrying a ticking time bomb.

Chen Tingting, who had been in a daze and hadn't uttered a sound for a while, suddenly caught the key words in her alcohol-numbed brain.

Bai Li.

As a huge fan of Bai Li, she has a radar-like sensitivity to the name Bai Li.

Chen Tingting suddenly raised her head, her long red hair whipping out in an arc and smearing Bai Li's face with it.

She stared with her large, drunken eyes, not caring who was speaking, and yelled at Bai Weiguo's back:

"Who?! Who's calling me Big Brother Bai Li?!"

This roar was powerful and penetrating, even startling the stray dogs on the roadside, who barked twice.

At that moment, Bai Li felt like the sky had collapsed.

He froze on the spot, trying to cover Chen Tingting's mouth, but it was too late.

Bai Weiguo and Wang Xiulian, who were in front of them, seemed to be frozen in place, and their steps suddenly stopped.

The air seemed to freeze in that instant.

Chen Tingting hadn't realized the seriousness of the situation. She struggled to peek out from Bai Li's embrace, her face showing a fierce determination to protect her older brother.

"What blind dates? My older brother can snap his fingers and all the girls in the county will line up!"

"Tingting, shut up..." Zhang Qian was almost crying in the back, desperately trying to wink at Chen Tingting, but Chen Tingting couldn't understand at this point.

Just then, the middle-aged couple in front slowly turned around.

The dim light from the streetlights shone on Bai Weiguo's face, which was filled with shock and astonishment.

The red plastic bag in Wang Xiulian's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

Eyes facing each other.

Bai Li maintained the posture of having one arm around Chen Tingting and the other supporting Li Jiaxin.

His face, which had been trying to hide just moments before, was now completely exposed to his parents' view.

The expensive black cashmere coat still had lipstick stains on it, someone had smeared them there.

"cough……"

Bai Li awkwardly tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to pull his hands away from the two girls, but Li Jiaxin almost fell because she lost her support, so he had to quickly help her up.

To the two elders, this action looked like they were holding the girl even tighter in their arms.

"Well..." Bai Li forced a smile, his voice hoarse, "Dad, Mom... what a coincidence, buying thermal underwear?"