Earlier.
The darkness in the hallway was purer and deeper than that in the living room.
Lin Zhe held his mother Wang Xiulan's hand tightly as they walked down the path step by step.
His flashlight beam swayed on the mottled walls and cold concrete steps, casting long, close shadows of the two people huddled together.
The air was filled with the distinctive smell of old stairwells, a mixture of dust and dampness.
But Lin Zhe's nose stubbornly only caught the faint, elegant fragrance of his mother's body, as smooth and warm as silk.
He remember when He was a child, he would sleep in his parents' room at night because he was afraid of the dark, and this fragrance would surround me.
More than a decade has passed, and the aroma remains unchanged, only gaining a touch of the richness of a mature vintage with the passage of time.
Every time I smell it, it brings me such peace of mind.
I just want to stay nestled in this sweetness and not worry about tomorrow.
Lin Zhe unconsciously increased the pressure on his hands.
It must be said that Wang Xiulan's hands are extremely well-maintained, delicate and soft, yet at this moment they are slightly cold and trembling almost imperceptibly.
Lin Zhe could feel that she was relying on him for most of her body weight.
The red wine on the table was exerting its most primal effect, making her steps unsteady and her cheeks flushed with an alluring blush.
Lin Zhe's heart was beating very fast.
It wasn't because of the darkness, nor because of the argument with her father, but rather a more complex and indescribable stirring within her.
Lin Zhe rested his palm under his mother's elbow, and even through the thick cashmere coat and the silk of her cheongsam, he could still feel the slenderness and warmth of her arm.
With each step down the stairs, the high slit on the side of Wang Xiulan's dark green cheongsam would sway unintentionally as she lifted her leg.
When the beam of light occasionally swept across, the symmetrical curves encased in flesh-colored stockings flashed by, their delicate sheen like flowing moonlight, meandering up her calves before finally disappearing into a breathtaking expanse of snow-white skin deep within her skirt.
That scene, like an electric current, struck Lin Zhe's optic nerves hard.
He dared not look too closely, yet he couldn't help but try to catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye.
He knew this was wrong; this was his mother.
But in this dark, isolated space, the boundaries of ethics seem to become blurred.
Beside, Wang Xiulan is not only a mother at this moment, but also a woman full of mature charm, who had been neglected by her husband for many years and needed her protection and support.
Wang Xiulan's heart was also filled with turmoil as her son indulged in his wild thoughts.
Her son's hands were broad and strong, and the warmth they transmitted gradually warmed her cold fingertips.
This is a long-lost sense of security.
She felt a kind of pure care and support from her husband, Lin Jianguo, that she hadn't experienced in many years.
She could feel the vibrant energy of a young man emanating from her son.
Recalling how her son had shielded her behind him and roared at his father in the living room, Wang Xiulan felt not only moved, but also a strange stirring in her heart that she herself found shameful.
Suddenly, Wang Xiulan gently leaned her head against her son's shoulder, a natural and dependent gesture.
"Xiao Zhe, slow down, Mom is a little dizzy."
Her voice, tinged with a touch of drunken naiveté, drifted gently into Lin Zhe's ears.
"Yes, lean on me."
Feeling his mother's movement, Lin Zhe's heart tightened, his voice became a little hoarse, and he pulled his mother closer to him after speaking.
And so, the two of them descended slowly down the endless, dark staircase in an almost embracing posture.
Every step felt like walking on the boundary between reason and emotion.
Finally, the dim yellow light shining through the small window of the guardhouse on the first floor appeared at the edge of the field of vision.
The light, like a sharp sword, pierced through the ambiguous yet safe darkness in the stairwell.
Old Zhang, the gatekeeper, was dozing off when he heard the knocking. He groggily looked up.
Who is it?
Lin Zhe's voice returned to its usual polite tone:
"Uncle Zhang, it's me, Lin Zhe, from the 12th floor. My power is out, and I'd like to borrow a few candles from you."
"Oh, it's the Lin family's son. Wait here."
As Old Zhang spoke, he began rummaging through the drawer.
The lights in the guardhouse weren't bright, but they were enough to illuminate the two people standing at the entrance clearly.
Wang Xiulan subconsciously tried to pull her hand back, but Lin Zhe held it even tighter, as if he didn't want to let go of that tenderness that belonged only to him.
Old Zhang found the candles and matches and handed them out the window.
When he looked up, his gaze fell on their hands, which were still tightly clasped together.
He paused for a moment, then a simple, honest smile spread across his face, and he said in a joking tone:
"Xiao Lin, oh, is this your wife? No, no, my old eyes are failing me, this is... Oh dear, the mother and son have such a good relationship, holding hands so late, like young lovers."
Old Zhang's unintentional remark was like a bucket of ice water poured over his head.
Wang Xiulan's face turned deathly pale in an instant, followed by a sickly flush. As if electrocuted, she forcefully pulled her hand away from Lin Zhe's grasp.
Lin Zhe froze on the spot, his face burning, and his hand trembled slightly as he took the candle.
"Uncle Zhang, you...you're joking. My mother had a little to drink, and I was supporting her."
"Oh, yes, yes, that's right, that's right."
Old Zhang also sensed the strange atmosphere, but he didn't think much of it. He just smiled awkwardly and said nothing more.
After getting the candles, the two practically fled from Old Zhang, the gatekeeper, completely forgetting to ask why the power was out.
He turned around and walked back into the dark stairwell.
The romantic atmosphere from just now was shattered by Lao Zhang's unintentional remark, bringing with it boundless embarrassment, lingering fear, and the shame of having a taboo exposed.
The two walked in silence, their footsteps echoing in the empty corridor, sounding particularly jarring.
Going upstairs is more strenuous than going downstairs.
Wang Xiulan was already physically exhausted, and coupled with the emotional turmoil she had just experienced, when she reached the corner platform on the fifth floor, she suddenly staggered and her body went limp to the side.
"mom!"
Lin Zhe reacted quickly and pulled her back.
This time, it wasn't about helping each other up.
Wang Xiulan crashed into Lin Zhe's arms, her voluptuous body pressed tightly against him.
Lin Zhe wrapped his arms around his mother's back, holding her tightly.
In this place where there is no darkness around the corner, the distance between them becomes zero.
Lin Zhe smelled a faint fragrance once again; it was his mother's mature womanly scent, like a fine, mellow wine.
Instantly, he was enveloped in a soft, fragrant embrace. The voluptuous curves of a mature woman, even through several layers of clothing, pressed tightly against his chest with an irresistible force. The sensation was so clear and so alluring.
Wang Xiulan placed her hands on Lin Zhe's chest, feeling her son's young and strong heartbeat, one beat after another, as if striking her heart.
Wang Xiulan raised her well-maintained face. In the darkness, she couldn't see her son's face clearly, but she could feel his hot breath spraying on her forehead.
The fear and shame of being caught by the gatekeeper, Old Zhang, were replaced at this moment by a stronger, more reckless emotion.
The scene seemed to freeze.
Lin Zhe's mind went completely blank.
He felt the woman in his arms who had given him life, yet was now incredibly vulnerable.
A mixture of pity, admiration, protectiveness, and a hint of an inappropriate desire surged wildly within him.
What happened at the corner on the fifth floor was different from the naked transaction of desire upstairs.
Facing Wang Xiulan, Lin Zhe's feelings at this moment were more like a protection of "beauty" and a pure fascination with the "woman" behind the symbol of "mother".
Without thinking, Lin Zhe lowered his head and, almost instinctively, gently pressed his lips to the woman's slightly trembling lips, which were painted with light lipstick.
The touch was softer and cooler than I had imagined.
Instantly separate.
As fast as lightning.
But that memory, like the hottest brand, was instantly etched into the depths of their souls.
Wang Xiulan trembled and froze completely.
Lin Zhe seemed startled by his own actions, abruptly releasing his grip and taking a step back.
In the darkness, the two were only a step apart, yet they could hear each other's heartbeats pounding like drums.
"Bang bang... bang bang..."
A forbidden kiss opened a door in their hearts that could never be closed again.
After this little incident...
The dark stairwell was deathly silent.
Neither of them spoke.
Language seems so inadequate at this moment.
Wang Xiulan's body was still trembling slightly; her son's breath and the touch of his lips still lingered on her lips.
The feeling was so unfamiliar, so sinful, yet it also carried a touch of irresistible, cherished excitement within her.
For over twenty years since marrying Lin Jianguo, Wang Xiulan had been a dutiful and hardworking wife. Never before had she been so deeply loved by a young and powerful man, with an almost devout expression of affection that transcended kinship.
Wang Xiulan felt fear, but more than that, she felt a dizziness before sinking into depravity.
Lin Zhe's heart was also experiencing a tsunami.
He was horrified by his own actions.
He had actually kissed his own mother!
This is incest!
If word gets out, how will their family ever face anyone again?!
This realization filled Lin Zhe with lingering fear and self-loathing.
However, when he recalled his mother's soft lips and how she had rushed into his arms, and how he could clearly feel the two amazingly soft mounds on her chest even through several layers of clothing, an even more primal and domineering possessiveness rose uncontrollably from the bottom of his heart.
Lin Zhe wanted to protect her and stand by her side, not just as her son.
Even if this relationship cannot be accepted by the world.
But so what? Behind closed doors, every family has its own secrets.
If everyone were truly so innocent, the world would be full of saints.
This is how Lin Zhe explained it to himself.
After an unknown amount of time, Wang Xiulan took a deep breath and broke the suffocating silence.
She neither blamed nor cried, but spoke in an extremely complex and slightly weary tone:
"...Let's go, Xiao Zhe, it's time to go up."
"Um."
Lin Zhe looked at his mother, his voice hoarse, and nodded.
They continued uphill, but the atmosphere had completely changed.
Before, it was an ambiguous embrace; now, it's a deliberate distancing.
The two maintained a distance of one step from each other, and neither touched the other again.
Finally, they arrived at their home on the twelfth floor.
That familiar security door now seemed like a barrier separating two worlds.
Lin Zhe took out his key from his pocket and, using the faint light from his phone screen, was about to insert it into the lock.
Just then, Wang Xiulan suddenly reached out and gently pressed his wrist.
Lin Zhe's body stiffened, not knowing why his mother was doing this. He turned his head and met Wang Xiulan's complicated eyes in the dim light.
Wang Xiulan didn't look at him. Instead, she lowered her eyes, reached out her other slightly trembling hand, and very naturally straightened his coat collar.
The mother's fingertips, intentionally or unintentionally, gently traced the skin of her son's neck.
This gesture is full of unspeakable intimacy.
It doesn't look like a mother's care for her son, but more like a wife tidying up her husband's appearance before he leaves the house.
This is a signal.
A silent, tacit signal.
Faced with the accident at the stairwell not long ago, Wang Xiulan neither forgave nor accepted it, but this action itself meant that she packed up that kiss, along with all the ambiguous moments that crossed the line between them, and hid them in the deepest corner that belonged only to the two of them.
From that moment on, they shared a common shackle that they could not speak of to anyone.
Their relationship entered into a more dangerous and alluring tacit understanding.
Lin Zhe's heart began to pound.
He understood the meaning behind his mother's gesture.
It means that once you enter, no one should mention what just happened.
Then, Lin Zhe silently nodded to his mother, took a deep breath, suppressed the myriad thoughts in his mind, and aimed the key at the lock.
However, just as his fingertips were about to touch the cold doorknob, a woman's suppressed groan came out from inside the door without warning!
"ah--!"
The voice was sharp, high-pitched, and filled with intense emotion.
It pierced through the thick door panel in an instant and stabbed into the eardrums of the mother and child outside the door!
Lin Zhe and Wang Xiulan froze on the spot.
That's Su Yu's voice!
Lin Zhe's pupils contracted sharply; he knew his wife's voice all too well.
But this groan... didn't sound like pain, didn't sound like fright, on the contrary... it carried an extreme pleasure that he had only heard during the most passionate sex between the two of them!
Suddenly, an absurd and terrifying thought flooded Lin Zhe's mind.
Only his father and she were in the house!
What does this sound mean?
Wang Xiulan's face turned deathly pale in an instant.
As a woman and a wife, she was better able than her son to discern the meaning behind that groan after leaving the house.
That was the sound of a woman's completely out-of-control desire when a man touched the most sensitive part of her body!
Her husband...and her daughter-in-law...
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