The time that Yi Ming lived with Jiang Wei was a mix of laughter and banter, like they were back to their carefree and joyful childhood summers.
But little did they know, on one seemingly ordinary night, just as Jiang Wei and Yi Ming had just returned to their respective rooms to sleep, the burglar alarm at the front door suddenly started ringing.
"Knock, knock, knock."
The sound was urgent and forceful.
"Xiao Wei, are you asleep? It's Mama, come open the door."
Jiang Wei's mother, Shang Wenli, had a very distinctive voice - clear and melodious like a doll's, and one could easily imagine her youthful and beautiful appearance just by hearing it.
Hearing her mother's voice, Jiang Wei paused for a moment, then abruptly sat up in bed.
"Why is my mom here?"
Jiang Wei frantically ran her fingers through her hair, her eyes filled with despair.
She hastily slipped on her slippers and rushed out the door, going to the next room to rouse the sleepy Yi Ming.
"Quick, quick, my mom suddenly came, we can't let her know we're living in the same house. You need to hide somewhere..."
Yi Ming, his hair mussed from the pillow, looked bewildered. "Ah...where do I hide?"
Jiang Wei thought for a moment, then reached out and pushed him towards the balcony. "Go hide on the balcony first. If my mom goes there too, you can hide behind the air conditioning unit, you said you've done that before, right?"
Yi Ming: "......"
It was best not to bring up that incident again - his first encounter with Xiao Shi had been rather...regrettable.
Following Jiang Wei's instructions, Yi Ming stumbled into the balcony, clutching a pile of his own clothes to hide in. His lone pair of shoes outside was also quickly tossed in by Jiang Wei a few seconds later: "Hide them well."
After getting Yi Ming settled, Jiang Wei hurried to the front door, plastering on a bright smile as she flung it open. "Mom."
"You child, were you in the bathroom?" Jiang Wei's mother, Shang Wenli, walked in with a puzzled expression, carrying a handbag. "Why did it take you so long to open the door? I thought I might have come to the wrong apartment..."
Shang Wenli bent down to look for slippers in the shoe cabinet, but Jiang Wei quickly stepped in front of the cabinet, laughing awkwardly.
"Mom, let me get them for you."
Jiang Wei stood with her back to the cabinet, her hands fumbling behind her. Moments later, she produced a pair of slippers and handed them to Shang Wenli.
"Mom, here's a new pair, they haven't been worn."
The cabinet was about a third full of Yi Ming's shoes, and there was no way to hide them all in such a short time. So Jiang Wei had to use her body to block the front of the cabinet, preventing her mother from discovering the secret inside...
"Pink, how nice for mom." Shang Wenli, with her girlish heart, was even more delighted by the delicate color than her daughter.
"Yes, I got them just in case you happened to come one day and didn't have any slippers to wear."
This wasn't entirely untrue. Jiang Wei knew her mother had been wanting to come visit ever since she moved out, but given her parents' close relationship, where they were always together, Jiang Wei figured her mother wouldn't come alone if her father was busy with work trips.
So the reason why Shang Wenli suddenly showed up on her own was a mystery to Jiang Wei.
"Mom, why did you come all of a sudden? You didn't even tell me beforehand. And where's Dad?"
