127: Chapter 127 Sneaking Around

Then the door closed, leaving only the two of them in their own world.

This feeling... was wonderful.

Han Qing, thirty-seven years old with an eighteen-year-old daughter, was like a young girl tasting forbidden fruit, sneaking through the night for a tryst.

Was it shameful?

A little.

Was it thrilling?

Very much so.

More importantly, every time was a potential chance to get pregnant.

Although the System hadn't given a notification yet, and although she fell asleep with anticipation and trepidation every time, she told herself: soon, soon.

As long as she kept trying, she would eventually succeed.

So, she went every night.

The third day, the fourth day, the fifth day...

Gradually, she began to get used to this rhythm.

She knew what time Yu Rou fell fast asleep and knew that Qin Lin's door was never locked.

She even began to enjoy this feeling of sneaking around.

It was like performing in a play that only she knew about.

"You're getting more and more skilled lately," Qin Lin teased her.

"Of course."

Han Qing lifted her chin. "Practice makes perfect."

"Then how does Aunt Qing plan to be 'perfect' tonight?"

Her face flushed, and she reached out to swat him. "Stop being so improper."

Qin Lin caught her hand and pulled her into his arms.

"You chose this 'improper' man."

Han Qing buried her face in his chest and whispered, "I chose you, and I accept it."

The night was tender.

But what she didn't know was that in Bedroom No. 003, a pair of eyes remained wide open.

...

Han Yurou had long felt that something was wrong.

Her mother had been acting very strange lately.

In the past, her mother was always the first to go to bed at night.

But over the last few days, her mother had been staying up later and later. Sometimes, when she woke up in the middle of the night, she found the bed beside her empty.

Empty?

Where did Mom go?

On the first day, she thought her mother had gone to the bathroom.

After waiting for half an hour without her returning, she fell back asleep.

On the second day, she woke up again, and her mother was still gone.

This time she waited for a long time, until she could barely stay awake, before she heard the sound of the door gently opening.

She immediately closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, feeling her mother quietly lie back down on the bed.

Where did she go?

What was she doing?

Why did she come back so late?

These questions had been spinning in her head all day.

She wanted to ask, but she didn't know how.

On the third and fourth days, the same thing happened again.

Her mother was hiding something.

Once this thought arose, she could no longer suppress it.

On the fifth night, Han Yurou decided to find out for sure.

"Mom, you've been going to bed so early lately," she asked casually.

Han Qing was making the bed; her movements paused slightly before she quickly regained her natural composure.

"Yes, I've been a bit tired lately. I'm going to rest early."

"Oh."

Han Yurou didn't question it and crawled under the covers.

"Then I'll sleep first. Goodnight, Mom."

"Goodnight."

Han Yurou went to bed at nine-thirty as usual, said goodnight to her mother as usual, and closed her eyes as usual.

But she didn't sleep.

She waited.

At ten o'clock, her mother didn't move.

At ten-thirty, her mother gently turned over.

At eleven o'clock, her mother's breathing was still steady.

But she knew her mother was awake.

At 11:23, the bed creaked softly.

Han Yurou's heart suddenly raced.

She maintained steady breathing, her eyes narrowed to slits.

She watched her mother's silhouette sit up, put on a coat in the dark, and then quietly walk toward the door.

The door opened, a flash of light from the corridor seeped in for a moment, and then it went dark again.

Han Yurou opened her eyes.

In the darkness, her mother's bed was empty.

She sat up, her heart pounding.

To go, or not to go?

If she went and found her mother just sitting in the living room, how would she explain being awake in the middle of the night?

If she didn't go, the question would remain stuck in her heart, keeping her from sleeping.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Han Yurou threw back the covers and walked barefoot quietly to the door.

She pulled the door open a crack and looked out.

The corridor was deserted.

The dim yellow lights of the ecological box were on, and the doors to the other bedrooms were all tightly shut.

Where was Mom?

Han Yurou leaned halfway out, looking left and right.

Then she saw:

At the end of the corridor, the door to Bedroom No. 000 had just closed.

A hand, fair and slender, was pulled inside at the last moment before the gap in the door vanished.

That was her mother's hand.

Han Yurou froze in place.

She stared at the closed door, her mind a complete blank.

Bedroom No. 000.

That was Qin Lin's room.

Mom... Mom went into Qin Lin's room?

In the middle of the night.

Secretly.

While she was asleep.

Han Yurou slowly retreated into her room and gently closed the door.

Countless thoughts surged through her mind.

Mom... entered Brother Qin Lin's room?

To do what?

Why hide it from her?

She subconsciously recalled the warnings her mother had given her before:

"Yu Rou, stay away from Qin Lin."

"There are some things you don't understand."

"Mom is doing this for your own good."

At the time, she thought her mother was just worried about her getting too close to Qin Lin, fearing she was too young and naive.

But now...

Did Mom... fall for Qin Lin herself?

Was that why she didn't want her getting close?

This thought was like a knife, stabbing deep into her heart.

No.

It couldn't be.

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

Her mother was thirty-seven, and Qin Lin was only twenty.

Her mother was a doctor, an elder, a...

But she had seen with her own eyes that her mother had entered Qin Lin's room.

Late at night.

Secretly.

For several days in a row.

But her mother had maintained herself well; she looked like she was only in her early thirties.

But her mother had indeed changed recently.

Her clothes were becoming more figure-hugging, her complexion was improving, and her eyes were growing brighter.

How could Mom possibly... with Brother Qin Lin...

But if not, why be so secretive?

Why wait until she was asleep to go?

Why had it been like this every day lately?

Countless questions exploded in her mind, making her head spin.

Han Yurou closed her eyes, unwilling to think about it further.

But she couldn't sleep.

She tossed and turned, her mind filled with the hand she had just seen, that door, and that thought.

Her mother and Qin Lin...

They...

She didn't dare think further, but the images surfaced involuntarily.

It felt as if something was blocking her heart, making her feel suffocated and anxious.

Han Yurou pulled the covers over her head, and tears flowed silently.

She didn't know why she was crying.

Was it disappointment?

Was it a sense of grievance?

Or... a feeling of being betrayed?

She liked Brother Qin Lin; she had liked him since the first day she was rescued and brought onto this vehicle.

Even though she knew there were so many other older sisters on the vehicle.

Even though she knew her mother wouldn't let her get close to him, she just couldn't help herself.

She would make excuses to go to the Drivers Cabin, would specifically save the largest strawberry for him, and would steal extra glances when he passed by.

She thought those little feelings were well-hidden.

She thought that one day, Brother Qin Lin would notice her.

But now...

Her mother had beaten her to it.

And she was doing it secretly, hiding it from her.

"Why..."

She buried her face in the pillow, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

"Why does it have to be like this..."

Outside, the night was deep.

In Bedroom No. 003, Han Yurou suffered from insomnia for the first time.

...

In Bedroom No. 000, Han Qing was completely unaware of all this.

"Have you been waiting long?"

"No," Qin Lin said, putting his arm around her waist. "I just finished as well."

Han Qing leaned into his arms, smelling his familiar scent, and her nerves, which had been tense all night, finally relaxed.

"Do you think we... are like people having an affair?"

"Not really."

"An affair is something that can't see the light of day. We just... need a little private space."

Han Qing smiled. "You certainly have a way with words."

"Of course," Qin Lin said as he picked her up horizontally. "Otherwise, how could I coax Aunt Qing?"

Han Qing gave a small cry and subconsciously wrapped her arms around his neck.

"You... put me down!"

"I won't."

Qin Lin strode toward the bed.

"We have plenty of time tonight. Let's take it slow."