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

The air seemed to have been sucked out, leaving only awkwardness swirling in the cold wind.

That clear and loud "Mom" was like a spell, freezing Bai Weiguo and Wang Xiulian in place.

The red plastic bag that Wang Xiulian had just picked up fell to the ground with a thud.

Bai Li felt that her current expression must be even uglier than crying.

He wanted to die, really. If the ground were to crack open right now, he wouldn't hesitate to jump in, even if it was full of lava.

"Ughhhhh—!"

Before Lin Xiaoshuang could react, her mouth was covered by two hands at the same time.

On the left is Chen Tingting, and on the right is Li Jiaxin.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Chen Tingting cursed in a low voice.

"Ugh... let go of me... where did I say I poked you?" Lin Xiaoshuang was still struggling, her big, dazed eyes full of innocence and grievance.

Zhang Qian stood behind, wishing she could bury her head in her chest.

She reached up and covered her forehead. This blond girl, who usually looks silly and cute, is really a killer when it matters!

Wang Xiulian took a deep breath, pointed to Lin Xiaoshuang who was still being gagged, looked at the other three colorful heads, and finally her gaze fell on her son.

"Xiao Li," Wang Xiulian's voice was unreadable, "this girl... seems to have drunk quite a bit."

"Yes... there is quite a lot." Bai Li chuckled dryly, feeling that his back was already soaked with sweat.

"So, which one of them is your girlfriend?" Bai Weiguo's gaze swept over the four girls.

Upon hearing this, the girls, who were trying to keep a low profile, immediately perked up their ears.

Chen Tingting, in particular, stared intently at Bai Li, as if she would rush up and kowtow to the two elders the moment Bai Li nodded.

Even the usually cool Li Jiaxin quietly tidied her slightly messy purple hair and looked at Bai Li with expectant eyes.

Pick me! Pick me!

That longing was almost palpable, written on their faces.

Bai Li felt a chill run down his spine as he watched this scene.

If one of them is chosen, the other three will immediately cause an uproar.

This isn't a battlefield, it's a crematorium.

"Dad, Mom, let me explain... no, let me explain." Bai Li's tongue was practically tied in knots.

"Actually, the situation is more complicated... uh..."

"Alright." Bai Weiguo interrupted his nonsense, his expression clearly saying, "I'll just watch you make things up."

The old man sighed:

"What kind of behavior is it to be pulling and tugging in the street so late at night? If you have something to say, go home and talk about it."

Wang Xiulian could also see her son's predicament. After all, he was her own son, and she had to save face for him in front of outsiders.

"Alright, settle them in first." Wang Xiulian gave the girls a deep look, hesitated, and finally said, "Don't stay out too late. Your dad and I are going back now."

After taking two steps, Bai Weiguo suddenly stopped, turned around, and his eyes held a dignified and unquestionable air characteristic of a patriarch.

"I have to go home tonight."

These words sound like a verdict.

Bai Li's heart skipped a beat. It's over; this time, there's absolutely no way to explain it.

But he could only grit his teeth and nod with difficulty under those two searchlight-like gazes:

"I know... I know, Dad."

Watching her parents' departing figures, Bai Li completely collapsed.

A gust of cold wind blew, and he shivered.

Only after the two elders had completely disappeared around the street corner did Bai Li slowly turn around.

At this moment, Chen Tingting and Li Jiaxin had already let go of Lin Xiaoshuang.

The four girls stood in a row. Although they were still not fully sober, they knew they had just caused a big disaster.

The enthusiasm they had for being each other's girlfriends had vanished. They all lowered their heads, looking at each other's shoes and streetlights, but none of them dared to look at Bai Li.

Bai Li took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and squeezed out a few words:

"Lin... Xiao... Shuang!!!!"

This roar was no less powerful than Chen Tingting's earlier shout.

Lin Xiaoshuang was so frightened that she almost jumped up.

She hunched her shoulders, her hands clasped together, like a schoolchild who had done something wrong.

"Big...Big Brother..."

"What did you just yell? Huh?" Bai Li walked over and poked her forehead with his finger. "Is that something you can yell at? Do you want me to be chaotic enough already?"

"I didn't expect it either..." Lin Xiaoshuang rubbed her forehead, looking aggrieved, her voice barely audible. "I thought the auntie looked kind, so... I just said it on a whim..."

"Sounds right??" Bai Li laughed out of anger.

Seeing that Bai Li was really angry, the others didn't dare to say anything.

Although Bai Li usually dotes on them, giving them money and gifts, the pressure from his status and wealth still makes them instinctively fearful.

Especially after seeing Bai Li's cautious and timid demeanor in front of her parents, they realized that...

There was still an invisible wall between herself and Bai Li, a child from a respectable family.

My foolish behavior just now might have really gotten my older brother into trouble.

"Big brother, I'm sorry..." Chen Tingting also deflated, her red hair drooping down: "We drank too much and didn't keep an eye on the door."

"Yes, brother, don't be angry," Li Jiaxin whispered, trying to comfort him.

Seeing their timid and submissive demeanor, as if they were afraid of being abandoned, Bai Li's anger subsided by half.

In the end, they're just a bunch of heartless young girls.

"Alright." Bai Li sighed, glanced at the time—it was almost eleven. "You've been singing since noon, haven't eaten much, but you've drunk a lot of alcohol. Are you hungry?"

The four girls looked up in unison, their eyes lighting up, and then a rumbling sound came from their stomachs in perfect unison.

"Hungry!" they exclaimed in unison.

"A starving ghost reincarnated." Bai Li rolled her eyes at them, then turned and walked towards a barbecue stall not far away.

"Come on, have something to eat to sober up."