The afterglow of the setting sun filtered through the leaves, casting a soft golden glow upon her.
Xia Ling maintained her usual impeccable makeup; her eyeliner was like distant, misty mountains, and her lipstick was her favorite bright red. She wore a beige suit, its precise tailoring accentuating her curvaceous figure. The suit's fitted waistline was perfectly defined, highlighting her slender waist.
Straight-legged trousers encased her long, shapely legs, and beneath the cuffs, the sheen of flesh-colored stockings shimmered in the sunset—those sheer stockings, like a veil of mist, draped over her beautiful legs.
She wore a pair of beige patent leather high heels, the 10cm stilettos clicking firmly on the ground with each step. The shoes gleamed, reflecting a soft glow in the twilight.
This CEO-like attire seemed out of place in the bustling school gate, yet it drew attention nonetheless. Parents passing by glanced at her, students whispered among themselves, and even several middle-aged male teachers slowed their pace, using the pretense of adjusting their clothes to steal a few more glances.
Xia Ling slightly raised her delicate face, her gaze sweeping indifferently over the passing crowd, as if searching for something. However, when she turned her head and saw Wang Xiong, a flicker of panic crossed her beautiful eyes, but she quickly concealed it beneath a mask of elegance.
I was about to go forward to greet her when I saw Wang Xiong stride past.
"Aunt Xia," he grinned, his gaze sweeping under Mom's trousers before a meaningful smile appeared on his face. "Oh, you're wearing flesh-colored stockings today? That's not like you. Aren't high-flying female CEOs supposed to wear black stockings?"
Mom's expression stiffened, but she maintained her composure.
However, her beautiful legs, clad in high heels, visibly trembled slightly.
"Could it be," Wang Xiong leaned closer, his voice laced with flirtatious teasing, "that you changed them especially for me? I happen to love flesh-colored stockings."
Xia Ling glared at him coldly, her eyes filled with humiliation and anger. "Don't flatter yourself."
"Oh?" Wang Xiong's interest was piqued. "Then tell me, why did you suddenly switch to flesh-colored stockings?"
Xia Ling bit her lip, her voice filled with helplessness and disgust. "It had to match my trousers. Black stockings are too conspicuous, that's all."
"Is that so?" Wang Xiong took a few steps closer, lowering his voice. "Then I'll have to take a good look later..."
Xia Ling instinctively stepped back, her high heels clicking crisply on the ground. Her back pressed against the sycamore tree, the off-white suit rubbing softly against the bark.
"Aunt Xia," Wang Xiong's voice was laced with disdain, "you need to set some rules from now on. Wear a skirt when you see me, no trousers. Show off your beautiful legs in stockings, understand?"
Mom bit her red lips, remaining silent.
She lowered her head, her long hair obscuring half her face, but her carefully applied eye makeup was already smudged.
"Oh, right," Wang Xiong suddenly remembered something, "you didn't even greet me?"
Mom raised her head, a flash of humiliation in her phoenix eyes.
She opened her mouth, her voice almost inaudible: "Wang... Wang Xiong."
"What's your name?" Wang Xiong raised his chin, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You dare call me by my name? Call me Brother Xiong!"
Behind him, Cobra and Fatty covered their mouths, letting out lewd laughter.
I stood a short distance away, watching my tall, slender CEO mother bow and call a minor thug barely reaching her chest "brother." My fingers dug deep into my palms, but I didn't dare approach.
Xia Ling saw me too. The moment our eyes met, her gaze pierced my heart.
"Xiong...Brother Xiong." Facing Wang Xiong, Xia Ling finally lowered her proud head, her voice filled with deep helplessness.
"That's more like it," Wang Xiong smiled smugly. "Aunt Xia, you'll get used to it."
Xia Ling stood there, the setting sun casting a golden glow on her profile. The stockings beneath her trousers shimmered softly in the twilight, making her appear even more pitiful.
Cobra and Fatty exchanged a glance, their faces bearing knowing smiles. Their gazes roamed brazenly over Xia Ling, as if appraising a plaything.
The usually decisive and efficient female CEO was now behaving subserviently to a minor thug, and I could only watch like a coward.
"By the way, Aunt Xia," Wang Xiong suddenly grabbed my backpack strap, pulling me closer, his gaze fixed on Xia Ling, "your son was quite something in class today, trying to hit me without a word!"
"I didn't! You started it..."
"Shut up!" Xia Ling suddenly interrupted me sharply.
At that moment, Xia Ling's eyes were sharp, her aura overwhelming, as if she had rediscovered her identity as a female CEO and a strict mother. But quickly, when her gaze turned to Wang Xiong, that imposing aura vanished without a trace.
The sun was setting, and the crowd at the school gate gradually thinned out.
Standing under the sycamore tree, her beige suit stood out starkly in the twilight. She tilted her head slightly, trying to maintain a last shred of dignity, but her beautiful legs, clad in high heels, trembled involuntarily.
"Aunt Xia, you look really good today," Wang Xiong said, circling her once, his dirty fingers occasionally brushing against her body. "It's just a shame those trousers are covering your beautiful legs. Why don't you take them off now?"
"You…you're going too far," Mom instinctively stepped back, her high heels clicking on the ground. "This is a school, after all…"
Indeed, although the flow of students leaving school had thinned, a few students and parents still passed by. They all glanced at the impeccably dressed, beautiful CEO, and the flesh-colored stockings beneath her trousers, faintly visible in the twilight, attracted even more attention.
"Then kneel down and kowtow to me," Wang Xiong reached out to touch Xia Ling's face, but she dodged. "Consider it an apology to your son."
Cobra and the fat man let out another lewd laugh.
The fat man even whistled, "Brother Xiong, your wife's legs are really something! I really want to see her show off her stockinged legs!"
Xia Ling's face instantly flushed red. She gripped the hem of her suit jacket tightly, her high heels involuntarily shifting backward.