Chapter 53: The Beauty Trap?

When Shui Miao arrived at the hospital, he realized he had misunderstood—the person hospitalized wasn’t Lin Haiyang, but an elderly man whom Lin had accidentally hit with his car. Fortunately, the old man had only suffered a leg injury and was otherwise fine. Shui Miao’s rushed trip there had been for nothing, a false alarm.

Seeing that the issue wasn’t serious, Lin Haiyang was delighted and specially invited Shui Miao and Chen Xiang to dinner.

It turned out that Lin’s phone had broken down, and since he couldn’t recall Shui Miao’s number, he was unable to contact him. Not finding Shui Miao, he assumed Shui must have already arrived in Haiyang City. In his haste, he accidentally hit an elderly man who was parking his bicycle. The old man’s bike was crushed, but fortunately, the man himself wasn’t seriously hurt. By chance, Lin met Chen Bing, who provided him with Shui Miao’s phone number.

Inside a small private room at the restaurant, Lin and Shui talked about many things. Shui Miao mentioned that he was now living at Auntie Liu Hongmei’s house. Upon hearing this, Lin Haiyang immediately promised to look into the matter no matter what it took. If money was an issue, he offered to provide it upfront.

Grateful for Lin’s concern, Shui Miao happily joined Lin and Chen Xiang for lunch before heading together to Lin’s dog breeding farm.

Located in the suburbs, the dog farm was set in a large farmhouse courtyard, much like the countryside. Lin had hired two relatives to help take care of over twenty dogs, big and small. Lin told Shui Miao that nowadays, some city dwellers loved dogs dearly, and even the plainest puppies could sell for at least a thousand yuan, with some fetching as much as five or six thousand. Although the cost of renting the space wasn’t high, the dog food was extremely expensive. The sooner the puppies were sold, the more profit could be made. Therefore, the most crucial factor in this business was having a solid sales channel—once there were customers, making money was practically guaranteed.

The best part was that the work was easygoing, involving mostly interaction with cute animals, without the usual stress.

Chen Xiang was delighted when she saw the puppies.

Seeing how much Chen Xiang liked the dogs, Shui Miao pulled Lin Haiyang aside. “Bro, the environment here is pretty good, nothing like the hotel chaos. Since she just arrived and she’s the kind of person who can’t sit still, maybe she can come around here more often to relax. That way, I won’t have to worry about her all the time when I go back to work.”

“No problem at all! She’s like my own sister!” Lin replied enthusiastically. “If she’s willing, she can stay here and help out. We have food and lodging, and my aunt and second aunt are family—they’re easy to get along with. I’ll even pay her a monthly salary, which is definitely not worse than what she’d earn working elsewhere. Besides, I was actually thinking about hiring someone to take care of the puppies. My second aunt is going back to the countryside in half a month, so it’s perfect timing if Chen Xiang is willing to come.”

“Great, bro. Money isn’t the issue—it’s more about making sure she’s happy,” Shui Miao patted Lin’s arm. “But of course, it’s up to her to decide.”

“Hey bro, what are you two talking about?”

Chen Xiang approached, smiling as she held a little spotted puppy.

“Oh, nothing much,” Lin replied. “I was just saying that my second aunt is leaving in half a month, and I was thinking about hiring someone to help out.”

“Hiring someone to help?”

Chen Xiang’s eyes lit up as she turned to Shui Miao. “Bro…”

“You want to come work here?” Shui Miao teased.

She nodded eagerly. “Yes! Lin is your friend, so you’d feel at ease knowing I’m here. Besides, I’ve just been staying at your place eating and sleeping without being able to help much. I might even be a burden to you.”

“Haha, it’s not that bad. But I would feel better knowing you’re here. Still, are you sure you can handle it? These puppies are pretty high-maintenance,” Shui Miao said deliberately, wanting to gauge her thoughts.

Chen Xiang shook her head. “I’m not here to play around—I don’t care about doing something flashy. This place is great. I’ll start here for now, and when you rent a storefront later, I’ll come help you open the shop. You could even rent out that house, saving you some money.”

Chen Xiang was always thinking of her brother’s well-being, and working here was indeed a solid option.

“Alright then, since you’re so determined, give it a try. Lin does need the help anyway,” Shui Miao exhaled in relief. He hadn’t expected things to fall into place so smoothly upon arriving in Haiyang City. Now he could focus on confronting Auntie Liu Hongmei.

Delighted at Chen Xiang’s willingness, Lin Haiyang quickly arranged accommodation for her. The farmhouse was a two-story building, and Lin gave Chen Xiang the main room on the eastern side. He then drove to Shui Miao’s residence to pick up Chen Xiang’s belongings. Before leaving, Shui Miao gave Lin a few words of caution, which Lin readily accepted—he promised to take good care of Chen Xiang.

After seeing Lin and Chen Xiang off, Shui Miao returned to the dormitory and moved the contents of the fridge into his room. He left one room empty, just in case Chen Xiang didn’t end up liking working at the dog farm.

Feeling a bit tired, Shui Miao lay down for a nap.

Around five-thirty in the evening, he heard Liu Hongmei’s voice outside. At that moment, the seven or eight young women were preparing to go to work, and Liu was chatting with them loudly. Shui Miao suspected she was doing it on purpose—to remind him it was time for dinner.

He got up, tidied himself up, grabbed some money, and opened the door.

“Oh, Xiao Shui, you’re home!”

Liu Hongmei was standing in the hallway, wearing a vintage peach-red silk cheongsam with short sleeves. With her face made up, she exuded a certain mature charm—though perhaps a bit too mature. Seeing her dressed up like this, Shui Miao was momentarily taken aback. What was going on? Was this old witch trying to impress him for their dinner date tonight?

Could it be… she had a crush on him?

Shui Miao had spent years in the hotel business and had developed a knack for reading people’s intentions.

Thinking it over, he realized it was actually quite plausible.

She had visited twice but he hadn’t seen her husband at all. Maybe she was a widow. A widow managing such a large household, living with so many beautiful girls who worked at nightclubs—was it so hard to imagine her getting lonely?

“Hehe…”

Noticing Shui Miao staring, Liu Hongmei smirked and spun around. “What do you think? My new cheongsam—looks good, right? The girls all said it looks great.”

“Yeah… looks good… very good…”

Shui Miao nodded absentmindedly. That’s when he noticed a group of beauties standing in the hallway, all dressed in tight leather jackets and pants, curves accentuated perfectly. Just one glance was enough to get the blood pumping. And now all of them were staring at him, making him blush furiously.

Liu Hongmei noticed that her “old grass” wasn’t getting any attention and quickly grew displeased. Wanting to assert her dominance in front of the girls, she suddenly shouted, “Xiao Shui, weren’t you the one who invited me to dinner? It’s getting late—shall we go now?”

“Uh… sure… okay…”

Shui Miao was caught off guard. Liu Hongmei was so forward—truly a middle-aged woman, nothing like a shy young girl.

“Bye, Red Auntie…”

“Have fun tonight, Red Auntie!”

“…”

The girls, who had initially been quite reserved, suddenly loosened up when they noticed the apparent intimacy between Shui Miao and Liu Hongmei. They exchanged jokes and laughter, then descended the stairs one by one. From their strange glances, Shui Miao could tell—they had mistaken him for a male escort.

“Oh, Xiao Shui, where’s your sister?”

Liu Hongmei had been scanning the hallway for some time but hadn’t seen Chen Xiang, and her mind was already racing.

“She went to stay with a friend of mine. She won’t be back for a few days,” Shui Miao replied while scratching his head. “Alright, Auntie Liu, shall we go?”

“Okay, okay…”

Hearing that Chen Xiang wouldn’t be joining them for dinner, Liu Hongmei’s heart leapt with excitement. *Haha! I knew it! This young man must have a mother complex. Xiao Pan didn’t believe me, but just wait—tonight I’ll bring this handsome guy home! Hehe! After ten years of widowhood, it’s finally time for me to bloom again!*

A wicked grin spread across Liu Hongmei’s face.

After a pause, she wiped a bit of drool from the corner of her mouth and said sweetly, “Xiao Shui, from now on, don’t call me Auntie Liu anymore—it makes me feel old. Just like the girls, call me Sister Hong.”

“Uh… hehe… okay, Sister Hong!”

Shui Miao stole a few glances at Liu Hongmei, sweating nervously. Her face was glowing with unrestrained allure, her chest rising and falling like ocean waves, her eyes filled with unusual tenderness. It was clear—this older woman had the hots for him, the innocent young man!

But then another thought crossed his mind—people often said that love made women act foolishly. What if he played along, let her fall into a fantasy, and then used that to get information about the past?

It wasn’t a bad strategy, actually.

“Haha! Great! My dear little brother, I’m in a good mood today—you treat me to dinner first, and after that, I’ll treat you to singing and take you to some fun places to play around…”

As she spoke, Liu Hongmei placed her large hand on Shui Miao’s arm and gave it a squeeze.

*Oh my god! She’s actually feeling me up in broad daylight!*

Shui Miao’s mind spun in chaos. This old hag was too desperate! She even said she’d take him to “fun places” after dinner—was she planning to take advantage of him tonight?

The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became. This wasn’t a lucky encounter—it was a sudden disaster, one that could haunt him for life.

“Hahaha…”

To his shock, Liu Hongmei burst into laughter at his reaction.

*What the hell is going on now?!*

Shui Miao was utterly baffled. What kind of perverted thoughts was this woman having? If this kept up, he was afraid he might actually end up kicking her!