"You little brat, aren't you eating? What are you looking at?"
"Mom, when did you buy this outfit? It seems a bit small."
"How does it look? Nice? It's from your Aunt Qin. She said it suits me."
"Oh, okay."
Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong. It must be Aunt Qin. I got up to open the door.
I thought Aunt Qin would give me a different impression today but surprisingly, she was dressed quite ordinarily. A plain black short-sleeved shirt, light blue jeans, and a pair of boots. She looked more like a college student than a high school teacher.
Opening the door, Teacher Qin didn't come in but stood at the doorway and said, "Lin, let's go," then she turned to me and said:
"Aren't you coming? Then I'll leave Xinran in your care."
"Sure, Aunt Qin, you two go ahead."
Watching my mom and Aunt Qin walk away, I couldn't help but think that beautiful people look good in anything. My mom, needless to say, her dress was stretched at the seams over her backside, while Aunt Qin's jeans perfectly showcased her full, round bottom. Because of the jeans, her entire rear was tightly wrapped, looking so round and full that I wanted to slap it just to see it ripple.
Looking at it, I became entranced. But then my eyes caught something, Aunt Qin's jeans seemed a bit unusual. The seam running along the center of the backside was wider than normal jeans, and it looked like one side wasn't fully sewn up.
While I was thinking about this, Mom and Aunt Qin had already entered the elevator.
I closed the door and checked the time. It was still early. Xinran was either studying or still sleeping. I had the morning free, so I called Chen Le to see if he wanted to play a couple of games. He didn't answer the first time. I figured he was probably still asleep, so I went back to my room, turned on my computer, and decided to play a few rounds by myself before calling him again.
Around 9 o'clock, I called him again.
"Hello, what's up? Need something?"
"What are you doing? I called you earlier this morning but you didn't answer."
"I was sleeping."
"What about now? Do you have time to play some games?"
"No, I'm... uh... that... shopping with my mom."
"You rascal, you're not up to something bad, are you? 'Shopping with your mom' and you sound so hesitant. Wait, didn't you say your parents were working out of town?"
"Yeah, they came back yesterday. They're leaving again in a couple of days."
"Oh, I see. My mom went out today too. I was hoping to play games with you."
At that moment, I heard some moaning sounds from the other end of the phone, and Chen Le's breathing became heavier.
"What's going on? What are you doing?"
"Huh? Nothing."
"If it's nothing, why are you breathing so heavily?"
"Oh, I'm climbing stairs. Shopping is tiring. Anyway, I've got to go. My mom's calling me to hurry up."
Beep beep beep. This guy hung up quickly. Playing games together wasn't going to happen. It was still early to check on Xinran, but I decided to ask her if she had any new information about Teacher Qin.
"Xinran, open up, it's me."
After she opened the door, I could see the worried look on her face and knew she was still thinking about Teacher Qin. I tried to comfort her.
"It's okay, Xinran. We still don't know the whole situation."
Without saying anything, she led me to Aunt Qin's room. From the bottom of the wardrobe, she took out two pairs of jeans and said, "My mom bought three pairs of these jeans in different sizes. She's wearing one pair today, and the other two are here."
"Hmm? Why would she buy three pairs of the same jeans?"
"See for yourself."
I took the jeans and immediately thought about the seam issue I noticed on Aunt Qin's jeans today. Sure enough, I was right. The seam had a zipper running from the front crotch area all the way to the back. After seeing this, I didn't say anything and put the jeans back in their original place, only offering some comforting words.
"Xinran, don't worry. Let's figure things out before jumping to conclusions."
Xinran took out her phone and showed me several photos of Aunt Qin wearing the jeans.
"These are photos my mom took last night when trying on the jeans. She tried all three pairs."
"Trying on pants is normal."
"Keep looking."
I flipped through more photos and found some unusual ones. They showed her either leaning on her knees or against a wall, with her butt raised high, or taking mirror selfies in these poses. In some photos, the zipper on the jeans was open; in others, it was closed.
Seeing this, anyone could guess what these pants were for. What was even more shocking was that she wasn't wearing any underwear beneath the jeans. Although Xinran's photos were taken from the side, the large expanse of pale flesh visible through the opening in the jeans made this quite clear.
After seeing the photos, I didn't know what to say. Xinran spoke first.
"I'm okay. I've been thinking about it these past few days. As long as Mom is happy, I can come to terms with it."
"When Mom comes back, I'll use exam preparation as an excuse to move into the dorm. Maybe by the time I start college, I'll have come to terms with everything."
"Alright, you should go now."
I left without saying anything, knowing that words were useless at this point. Teacher Qin's situation was worse than I had imagined. My heart felt extremely heavy, like I had lost something precious. Although Teacher Qin was never mine to begin with, I just... couldn't accept it. After returning home, I sat listlessly on the sofa, constantly imagining various scenarios that might be happening. But then I remembered that Aunt Qin went out with my mom today, so maybe things weren't as we thought.
I took out my phone and searched for "open crotch jeans." The results made my heart sink. Keywords like "outdoor," "no need to remove," "crotchless," "from behind" appeared. Even if I were stupid, I'd know what these words implied.
https://ibb.co/RkQKjt1z
Come to think of it, Aunt Qin went out with my mom today. Why would she wear these? I felt uneasy and decided to go check things out.
It was almost noon. Mom said they were having hot pot for lunch, probably at their usual place. Fortunately, it wasn't far. Just a ten-minute taxi ride would get me there. I considered calling Xinran but decided against it since we still didn't have the full picture.
When I arrived, I saw Mom, but the seat across from her was empty. Aunt Qin was nowhere to be seen. The table was empty, suggesting they hadn't ordered yet. Teacher Qin was probably in the bathroom.
The mall had only five floors, with restaurants on the fourth floor. The fifth floor wasn't fully open yet and was still under renovation. But it was accessible via the emergency stairs. Staking out the restaurant entrance was too risky. What if Mom or Teacher Qin saw me? It would be hard to explain.
I went up to the fifth floor via the emergency stairs. The center of the mall was open from the first to the fifth floor, with banners hanging and elevators running through. From my position, I had a perfect view of the hotpot restaurant's entrance. I would definitely spot Aunt Qin when she returned.
After waiting for about five minutes without seeing Aunt Qin return, I needed to use the bathroom. The restrooms in the mall were located in the southeast corner of each floor, and the fifth floor should be no exception. I decided to go to the bathroom first and then continue my stakeout.
After finding the bathroom and relieving myself, I felt better. As I was preparing to return to my lookout spot, I faintly heard sounds coming from the women's restroom as I walked out of the men's room.
I quietly approached the women's restroom door, but by the time I reached it, the sounds had stopped. Maybe I had misheard. These past few days, I'd been so troubled by Teacher Qin's situation. I decided to go back to my stakeout.
Besides, although the fifth floor wasn't open to the public, it was still a women's restroom, and I couldn't just walk in. What if someone was inside? I'd never be able to explain myself. And, Teacher Qin's situation was the priority now.
Back at my observation point, I continued watching for a long time, but Teacher Qin still hadn't returned. Mom was still sitting alone in the hot pot restaurant. Where had Teacher Qin gone? Even a bathroom break wouldn't take this long.
Just as I was wondering where Teacher Qin might be, a familiar figure came down the fire stairs from the fifth floor opposite me. It was indeed Teacher Qin, holding onto the wall and descending slowly, step by step. When she reached the restaurant entrance, she no longer held onto the wall, but her walking posture was visibly abnormal. What had happened?
When Teacher Qin reached the restaurant door and turned to enter, she paused to adjust her clothes. As she turned to fix her outfit, I noticed what looked like spots on her butt. But the distance was too great for me to see clearly, so I quickly took out my phone and snapped a few photos.
After Teacher Qin went inside, she walked to Mom's table with an odd gait, moving quickly with her legs pressed together and rubbing against each other, in a coy, affected manner. After sitting down, Mom seemed to ask her where she'd been for so long. But the distance was too great for me to hear what they were saying.
Mom and Teacher Qin ate hot pot, chatting and laughing. Meanwhile, I was suffering from my stakeout, hungry with my stomach growling. After about 30-40 minutes, Mom and Teacher Qin finally finished eating and left the restaurant. By now, Teacher Qin's walking was much more normal than before. Mom and Teacher Qin walked to the elevator. It seemed they were heading home, so I needed to hurry back too. Still concerned, I watched the elevator go down to basement level one, confirming they were going to the parking garage. I quickly went downstairs and caught a taxi home. Luckily, this was a large mall with a long line of taxis waiting for customers.
I reached the neighborhood, paid the fare, and ran home quickly. Opening the door, I saw Mom's slippers were still there; she hadn't returned yet. I went to my room and looked out the window toward the main gate. Soon, I saw Teacher Qin's car enter. I breathed a sigh of relief, though I wasn't sure what I was worried about. These past few days had just been too strange.
I lay down on my bed and carefully recalled everything that had happened recently. First, Xinran told me about Teacher Qin's unusual behavior. She would frequently go out during lunch breaks or weekends for extended periods. Then there was the issue with the pants I discovered today, plus the evidence Xinran showed me from Teacher Qin's wardrobe, and Teacher Qin's disappearance during lunch. What was really happening?
As I pondered this, I suddenly remembered the photos I had taken at the mall. I took out my phone, found the photos, and examined them carefully. There were indeed some abnormalities on Teacher Qin's jeans. When I zoomed in on the picture of her butt, I discovered dark spots on the light blue jeans, appearing to be water stains.
But why would there be water stains, and why were they spread all over her backside?
Then I thought about the mall. If Teacher Qin had gone to use the restroom, why go to the fifth floor? The fourth floor had restrooms in the same location. Was the fourth-floor restroom full and she was in a hurry? That didn't make sense either. The mall wasn't crowded at lunchtime, so the restrooms wouldn't have lines. Even if there were lines, she could have waited or gone to the third floor. Why go to the unopened fifth floor?
There was only one explanation: Teacher Qin wasn't going to the restroom at all. The reason was the same as her school lunch breaks and weekend outings: she was meeting someone, someone she didn't want others to know about. That's why she chose the unfinished fifth floor.
Suddenly, a terrible thought flashed through my mind. If Teacher Qin had gone to the fifth-floor restroom but not to use it, and considering the brief female moaning I heard from the women's restroom while I was in the men's room, could it be... could it be... that Teacher Qin was in there with someone else, and they stopped whatever they were doing when they heard me in the bathroom? I really didn't want to think further.
But considering Teacher Qin's recent unexplained outings, the open crotch jeans, and Xinran's reaction, Teacher Qin must have been meeting someone secretly. No... impossible... it couldn't be... Teacher Qin was known as the ice beauty at school, with a cold personality. Apart from Mom and work-related conversations with other teachers, she barely spoke an extra word to anyone, at most exchanging pleasantries. Emotionally, due to past events, she had practically sealed herself off from the world.
So... no... impossible. But I knew that was just my wishful thinking. Deep down, I understood it was all true. Considering all these events together, I'd be a fool not to see it.
But who was this person? What kind of person could open Teacher Qin's heart after so many years of isolation?
Thinking about this, I felt both angry and frustrated. Lying on my bed, my emotions were a mess, with inexplicable sadness and unwillingness washing over me.
It was extremely painful.
Teacher Qin, my Teacher Qin. Although it's likely I'll marry Xinran in the future, as a young man in the throes of adolescence, facing a mature beauty like Teacher Qin, it would be a lie to say I didn't have any thoughts about her. Even though I knew that wanting to get closer to Teacher Qin would be against unethical and impossible, in my heart, she was like a flawless jade. Even if I couldn't possess her, I could at least admire her daily. But now this jade had been defiled by an unknown person. My heart ached unbearably, like I was suffocating.
Perhaps this is men's selfishness. If you can't have something, you don't want others to have it either. Moreover, from the current situation, Teacher Qin's relationship with that person didn't seem like a normal romantic relationship, but rather... rather... more like she had been conquered by that person. This was what I found most unacceptable. Thinking about it, my heart shattered into countless pieces.
First, if it were a normal romantic relationship that had developed to this stage, with the relationship established, she would have told us, or at least told Mom. But from what I could see, Mom didn't know.
Second, someone with Teacher Qin's cold personality wouldn't engage in secret rendezvous. Let alone wearing open crotch jeans. With Teacher Qin's personality, this was completely unimaginable.
From these two points, it could only mean that Teacher Qin had fallen into depravity. I couldn't accept it, I really couldn't. Who was this person? How did he manage to make a beauty like Teacher Qin submit to him? Even making her do something as shameful and lewd as wearing open crotch jeans in public.