My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

Upon hearing his cousin's words, Su Ming felt as if he were choking back tears.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but his throat felt blocked. The feeling was strange. It wasn't anger, nor contempt, but an indescribable sense of loss and discomfort.

It's like... something you always thought was very precious, you suddenly find out it's not as precious as you imagined.

It's as if the people you cherish don't actually need your cherishing.

Qiu Tong looked at him like this and suddenly laughed.

She raised her hand and gently stroked Su Ming's face, her fingertips cool, but her tone was as gentle as if she were coaxing a child: "Don't worry, your sister-in-law isn't that kind of woman."

Su Ming looked up at her.

"Although I became Jiang Jian's mistress and also worked at Golden Years," Qiu Tong's voice was calm, as if she were talking about something unrelated to herself, "I don't just sleep with other men casually. Jiang Jian... he wouldn't allow me to do that either."

"The customer..." Su Ming finally found his voice and asked with some difficulty, "Would the customer force you to do 'that' kind of thing?"

Qiu Tong shook her head, a faint smile curving her lips.

"No man has ever been that capable," she said casually, yet with an undeniable certainty. "If any customer dared to force me to do that kind of thing, I guarantee the Golden Age Club would be closed the next day."

Su Ming was startled.

He looked at Qiu Tong and suddenly felt that this cousin-in-law he had known since childhood had become a stranger. The way she spoke, the calm confidence that came with it, was not feigned. It must be because the man behind her was very powerful.

"Sister-in-law..." he couldn't help but ask, "What exactly does Jiang Jian do?"

Qiu Tong's expression darkened slightly.

"You'd better not ask questions you shouldn't ask." Her voice turned colder, regaining its aloofness.

Su Ming had no choice but to shut his mouth, lower his eyes, and stop asking questions.

Qiu Tong looked at his downcast eyes, remained silent for a few seconds, and then her expression softened. She raised her hand and placed it on Su Ming's shoulder, patting it gently, her voice softening: "Alright, don't think about it too much. Let's go, let's go have dinner."

Su Ming nodded and followed behind her.

The two took a taxi to town, and Qiu Tong led him into a charmingly decorated restaurant. Warm yellow lighting, pristine white tablecloths, and crystal glasses gleaming softly under the lights. The waiter handed them the menu, and Qiu Tong expertly ordered several dishes.

The meal cost another two hundred.

Su Ming watched as Qiu Tong paid the money without batting an eye, and secretly clicked his tongue in amazement—his cousin-in-law really didn't care about spending money at all.

He suddenly had a thought: It's a good thing my cousin is gone, otherwise, who would be able to support her?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, he was startled and instinctively raised his hand to slap himself in the face.

A soft "snap" sound.

"What are you doing?" Qiu Tong was putting away her wallet when she heard the voice and looked up at him with a strange look in her eyes.

Su Ming blushed and hurriedly made up an excuse: "N-nothing... I think I ate onions for lunch, and the smell is a bit strong, so I'm just fanning it away."

Qiu Tong looked at him, and the corners of her mouth slowly curved into a smile. She took out a bottle of chewing gum from her bag, unscrewed the cap, poured a piece into her palm, and handed it to him.

"Here you go," she said, then poured one for herself, popped it into her mouth, and said casually, "You don't kiss girls, so why are you worried about the smell!"

Su Ming chewed his gum, the minty coolness spreading in his mouth. Suddenly remembering something, he blurted out, "You chew gum too, don't you? Are you going to kiss a man?"

He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.

Qiu Tong's expression darkened slightly, a barely perceptible sting flashing in her eyes. She glanced at Su Ming, her voice turning indifferent: "I would never kiss a man."

She paused, then put the gum bottle back into her bag: "I carry gum with me, but I don't like the smell of alcohol. But sometimes you have to drink in those situations."

Su Ming lowered his head, not daring to look at her.

He knew he had said the wrong thing.

The two walked out of the restaurant in silence. The night breeze was cool, and the streetlights lit up one after another, casting long shadows of the pedestrians.

After walking a few steps, Qiu Tong suddenly stopped and covered her stomach with her hand.

"Sister-in-law?" Su Ming asked quickly, "What's wrong? Did you eat something wrong?"

Qiu Tong frowned and shook her head: "It's nothing, probably...it's coming soon."

"What's coming?" Su Ming didn't react for a moment and asked nervously, "You mean... Jiang Jian is coming?"

Qiu Tong was stunned for a moment, then rolled her eyes, both amused and exasperated: "What did you say?"

She clutched her stomach, both annoyed and amused: "My stomach hurts, what does that have to do with him coming? Honestly."

She sighed. "I mean, my period is coming."

"Your aunt is coming?" Su Ming became even more nervous. "If she comes, won't I have nowhere to stay?"

Qiu Tong paused for a second, then burst out laughing, clutching her stomach. The laughter aggravated the pain in her abdomen, and she cried out "Ouch!" again, quickly suppressing her laughter and bending over, clutching her stomach.

"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?" Su Ming asked with concern.

"Oh my god, no, I can't laugh anymore..." She waved her hand, tears welling in her eyes as she laughed. "I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to buy something. You wait for me here."

Seeing her like this, Su Ming became even more worried: "I'll go with you too."

"What are you going to do?" Qiu Tong straightened up, glanced at him, and said, "I'm just buying a pack of daily necessities. I'll be right back."

Su Ming asked curiously, "What daily necessities?"

Qiu Tong thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled. She pulled a hundred-yuan bill from her bag and handed it to Su Ming: "How about... you go buy it for me?"

Su Ming took the money: "What are you buying? You still haven't told me."

"Go, hurry up." Qiu Tong pointed to the shopping mall across the street, "Go to the supermarket on the third floor and buy me a pack of sanitary napkins."

"Sanitary napkins?" Su Ming scratched his head. "What are sanitary napkins?"

Qiu Tong was truly impressed this time.

She rolled her eyes, her tone a mix of exasperation and indulgence: "I give up! You don't even know what a sanitary napkin is? It's what women use when they have their periods, a sanitary napkin, understand?"

Su Ming understood.

His face flushed bright red instantly, burning from his ears to his neck.

Qiu Tong tilted her head to look at him, a smile playing on her lips: "What's wrong? Are you going or not?"

Su Ming clutched the banknotes in his hand, gritted his teeth, and said, "I...I'll go!"

After saying that, he turned around and strode towards the shopping mall, his steps so fast it was as if he were fleeing.

Qiu Tong watched his retreating figure and smiled softly.

The supermarket on the third floor of the shopping mall was brightly lit.

Su Ming went inside, but he looked around suspiciously, like a thief, afraid of being seen. He wandered among the rows of shelves and finally found his target area in a corner—an entire shelf full of sanitary napkins.

Nighttime use, daytime use, extra long, ultra-thin, cotton soft, mesh... the packaging was colorful and the brands were all unfamiliar. Su Ming stood in front of the shelf, dumbfounded.

With so many options, which one should my cousin-in-law use?

He hesitated for a full three minutes before finally making a snap decision and taking three packs from the shelf—one for night use, one for day use, and one for extra-long use—thinking that one of them would be the right one.

Holding three packs of sanitary napkins as if they were three bombs, he carefully moved to the cashier.

A line formed at the checkout counter. Su Ming stood at the end of the line, head down, wishing he could bury his face in his chest. The older woman in front of him finished shopping and left; it was his turn.

The cashier was a young woman in her early twenties with a ponytail and a sweet smile. She glanced at the three packs of sanitary napkins in Su Ming's arms, then at Su Ming's flushed face, and paused for a moment.

"Hey handsome, are you going to pay the bill or not?" the girl asked with a smile.

"Yes, yes," Su Ming said, placing the items on the counter in a voice barely audible. "Um... could you give me a black bag?"

"A black bag?" The girl blinked. "We only have white bags here, not black ones."

Su Ming looked at the stack of transparent white plastic bags on the cashier's counter and felt a chill run down his spine.

Carrying this thing out, what if someone sees it...?

The young woman in line behind him, growing impatient, peeked out and smiled, "Oh, young man, buying so much?"

Su Ming's face turned even redder, and he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Seeing his embarrassed look, the girl giggled and considerately stuffed the three packs of sanitary napkins into a white plastic bag, tying a knot: "It's okay, putting them in a bag won't get you any questions. You won't be able to tell what they are unless you look closely."