Chapter 37: The Flight of Aunt Xia

Xia Zhiquiu’s hand, holding the wine glass, paused at his words, a flicker of indignation crossing her eyes as she spoke.

“Of course not! We agreed, if your Chinese score doesn’t land you in the top ten of the class, we’re getting a divorce!”

Hearing this, Bai Hao let out a humph, then slowly set down his wine glass.

He moved behind Aunt Xia Zhiquiu’s curvaceous figure, wrapping an arm around her slender waist and whispering into her ear.

“Aunt Xia, I can’t possibly lose. Get ready to fulfill our agreement.”

As he spoke, he patted the woman’s shapely bottom, provoking Xia Zhiquiu into another fit of pique.

She seized the young man’s hand and bit down hard.

***

The day of the monthly exam was hardly an unusual occurrence for most third-year high school students.

However, for Xia Zhiquiu, this particular day held exceptional importance.

Curled on the sofa, she hesitated for a long time with her phone in hand before finally dialing Bai Hao’s homeroom teacher.

“Teacher Ning, this is Bai Hao’s aunt. I just wanted to ask how he’s been performing at school lately?”

“Sleeping all day? His last Chinese score was only fifty or sixty? That’s… wonderful! No, no, no, I mean, that’s absolutely outrageous!

Please don’t worry, Teacher Ning, I’ll make sure to give that brat a thorough lecture when he gets back!”

After hanging up, Xia Zhiquiu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Yet, the memory of the young man’s confident words from the previous night still left her feeling unsettled.

‘What trick would that guy pull?’

‘If I lost, would I really have to help him bite…’

A shiver ran through Xia Zhiquiu’s heart at the mere thought.

***

That afternoon, Xia Wei returned home to find her mother distractedly scrolling through her phone, a sight that piqued her curiosity.

“Mom, you’re home? I thought you’d gone out again.”

Hearing her daughter, Xia Zhiquiu waved her over, gesturing for her to sit beside her.

“How did this monthly exam go?”

Xia Wei confidently patted her chest.

“No problem at all. The questions weren’t hard this time. I feel like I can make it into the top ten of the grade.”

Upon hearing her daughter’s words, Xia Zhiquiu nodded with relief, always having full confidence in Xia Wei’s academic performance.

“Oh, right, Mom, you won’t believe it, our school’s exam halls aren’t arranged by scores. Bai Hao was in the same exam hall as me today, right in front of me!”

Xia Zhiquiu stiffened at this, quickly asking.

“How was he during the exam? Was he looking around?”

Xia Wei felt a surge of exasperation at her mother’s words.

“Mom, aren’t you being a bit too prejudiced about Bai Hao? Even though his grades aren’t great, he’d never stoop to cheating.”

Xia Zhiquiu merely hummed softly, offering no reply.

Perhaps before it wouldn’t have been necessary, but this time, that little rascal was unpredictable.

“Then tell Mom, was he looking around?”

Xia Wei couldn’t fathom why her mother was so fixated on this question, but she answered truthfully nonetheless.

“No, he actually seemed quite serious during this exam. And for the past half-month, he’s been studying all night at home, then sleeping in class during the day. I have no idea what he’s thinking.”

Xia Zhiquiu’s heart jolted at her daughter’s words, her initial reaction being disbelief.

“He’d study all night? How could that be? Xia Wei, don’t joke around.”

That guy spent his days idle; even when she tutored him, it was usually just an excuse to tease her.

How could he possibly be studying?

Xia Wei, however, simply shook her head helplessly.

“If you don’t believe me, Mom, then forget it. Anyway, that’s what Bai Hao told me, I’m going back to my room to play games.”

Xia Zhiquiu frowned, her unease deepening.

***

As it turned out, Xia Zhiquiu’s unease was well-founded.

The moment the monthly exam results were released, she immediately questioned Xia Wei about them.

Upon learning that Bai Hao, that little rascal, had actually scored high enough in Chinese to enter the top ten of the class, she felt as though her world had crumbled.

Not only did this mean she couldn’t divorce the little scoundrel, but it also implied she would have to give him…

At this realization, Xia Zhiquiu panicked, swiftly turning and retreating to her room.

Xia Wei, utterly bewildered, quickly followed her, only to see her mother pulling out a suitcase and packing clothes.

“Mom, what are you doing?”

Without turning her head, Xia Zhiquiu replied.

“Xia Wei, I’m going on a business trip soon. You stay home for a few days, and Mom will be back after a while.”

Xia Wei froze, then quickly stepped forward to press down on Xia Zhiquiu’s hands as she packed.

“Mom, you don’t need such a flimsy excuse to lie. You’re a bartender at a bar; what kind of ‘business trip’ would you have?”

At that moment, her intuition told her that her mother’s panic was connected to Bai Hao, though she truly couldn’t imagine what kind of interaction the two of them could have had.

Still, she was quite surprised by Bai Hao’s academic improvement; besides Chinese, he had also made some progress in his other subjects.

Xia Zhiquiu was momentarily speechless at her daughter’s words, then quickly changed the subject.

“Alright, Mom isn’t going on a business trip. It’s just that a friend of Mom’s passed away, so I have to go.”

Xia Wei naturally didn’t believe her, but seeing her mother’s earnest gaze, she sighed.

“Alright then, Mom, but you have to promise that your phone will be on twenty-four hours a day. No disappearing on me.”

In this moment, Xia Wei, the daughter, found herself lecturing Xia Zhiquiu, much like a mother would.

Xia Zhiquiu breathed a sigh of relief, then waved her hand dismissively.

“Absolutely, absolutely.”

As she spoke, she finished packing her luggage and, pulling her suitcase, was about to make a hasty escape, for any further delay would be too late.

Meanwhile, Bai Hao was still reveling in his good grades, utterly oblivious that his Aunt Xia had already fled.

He snapped a photo of his Chinese exam paper, showing a score of 103, and sent it to Xia Zhiquiu.

[Aunt Xia, I won, so when will you fulfill your agreement?]

Xia Zhiquiu, currently driving on the ring road, saw the young man’s message and a flicker of guilt crossed her beautiful eyes.

After a moment’s thought, she hesitated, then spoke in a slightly strained voice, sending a voice message to soothe him.

– Little Hao, can we postpone it for two days? Auntie isn’t quite ready yet~

Hearing the alluring voice of the beautiful, mature woman, Bai Hao suddenly found himself a little parched.

He didn’t suspect anything, however, and immediately replied.

[Okay, Aunt Xia, I’ll wait for you.]

In the car, Xia Zhiquiu glanced at Bai Hao’s reply, her red lips curving into a slight, triumphant smile.

‘Hmph, what if he’s smarter than me? He’s still just an easily fooled little brat.’

‘This old lady is leaving Ning City right away. The sky’s wide open for a bird to fly; I don’t believe you’ll find me!’

***

While Bai Hao might have been a bit ‘naive,’ he certainly wasn’t foolish.

Two days later, seeing that Aunt Xia wasn’t replying to any of his messages, he finally understood that she intended to renege on their agreement.

Bai Hao shook his head with a chuckle.

‘Silly Auntie, do you really think you can get away with this?’

With that thought, Bai Hao sent a message to Xia Wei, asking if Xia Zhiquiu was home, planning a surprise visit.

Xia Wei’s reply, however, surprised Bai Hao.

[My mom? She said her friend passed away, so she left Ning City two days ago. I don’t know her exact location either.]

Bai Hao sighed at this.

‘Well, Aunt Xia is a bit cleverer than he thought; she actually ran away in secret…’