As soon as the three of them stepped into the flashy karaoke bar, Auntie took over like a queen claiming her throne. She waved a hand, flashed her sweetest smile at the front-desk girl, and within thirty seconds they were being led to a cozy private room with rainbow lights, a giant screen and a huge sofa that could easily fit ten people.
Maisie stood near the door at first, clutching her little bag with both hands, cheeks pink, eyes wide. She whispered shyly, "Sister Ana… this is actually my very first time in a karaoke bar…"
Auntie's eyes lit up like she had just been handed the most adorable puppy in the world. "First time? Oh my goodness, that's perfect! Come here, little cutie, tonight I am going to teach you how to let loose and have the time of your life!"
In less than five minutes the two women were already inseparable, arms tightly looped together like best friends forever. They started by sharing one microphone, giggling and singing together, then quickly grabbed the second one so they could take turns singing different parts of the song.
They swayed side to side, spun around laughing, leaned on each other when the high notes made them crack up, and kept snapping endless selfies with cute bunny-ear filters and heart effects. Maisie's voice turned out to be surprisingly clear and sweet, while Auntie's energy was completely unstoppable, filling the whole room with fun and laughter.
Poor Lian, on the other hand, was left abandoned in the darkest corner of the sofa, hugging a lonely cushion to his chest, looking exactly like a sad little mushroom that had been forgotten in the rain. The songs they kept picking were all super loud, ultra-high-pitched girl voices that made his eardrums beg for mercy.
He was already drowning in regret.
"I knew I should never have called Auntie… I could've just gone home, slipped into my warm bed, and slept like a baby until morning. Why do I even care if that violent girl has somewhere to sleep tonight? She beat me black and blue for days! And now my own aunt has taken her for a full-blown karaoke concert… I'm the real victim here, nobody understands my pain…"
After suffering through song after song, Lian finally felt the urgent call of nature. He slipped out of the room and jogged toward the restroom at the end of the corridor.
Just as he pushed open the door, a tall man in a dark coat was walking out. They brushed shoulders.
Lian didn't think much of it at first, but the moment the man passed, something clicked.
That coat… that exact same long, dark coat… he had stared at it for over ten solid minutes on the beach tonight!
He finished up in record time, washed his hands like lightning, and bolted back into the hallway, but the man had already disappeared around the corner.
Lian's brain exploded with realization.
"That's definitely the same guy from the white car with Mom! If he's here… then Mom is almost certainly in this karaoke bar too!"
His stomach dropped.
This place had four floors, and each floor had its own restroom. If the coat guy used the restroom on this floor, it could only mean one thing: their private room was on this exact same floor!
If Mom suddenly walked out and saw him and Auntie singing and dancing like crazy at nearly midnight, she would one-hundred-percent become suspicious about their secret relationship!
Heart pounding, Lian sprinted back to the private room, burst in, grabbed Auntie right in the middle of a dramatic high note, she was twirling with Maisie as her backup dancer, dragged her to the corner, and frantically whispered the whole terrifying situation.
To his absolute shock, Auntie just blinked twice, then burst into the biggest, most mischievous grin.
"Are you stupid, my sweet little man?" she whispered, playfully poking his forehead. "We're not the ones who have to hide, it's your mom who's terrified of being caught! Remember what she told you on the phone? 'Working overtime tonight!' But look at us: it's the weekend, an aunt is simply treating her beloved nephew and his cute classmate to some innocent karaoke fun. Totally normal, totally innocent! If she spots us, she'll duck into the nearest room faster than a rabbit! And even if she does see us, she'll never breathe a word to you. Think about it, if she admitted she saw us, she'd have to explain why she's here instead of 'working overtime.' Your mom cares way too much about her perfect, responsible image in her precious son's eyes! Relax, baby, just sit back and enjoy the show."
Then she happily snatched the microphone again and went right back to screaming lyrics with Maisie like nothing had happened.
Lian thought about it… and yeah, Auntie's logic was airtight.
He calmed down a tiny bit.
But that weird, heavy, anxious feeling in his chest refused to go away.
It wasn't about Auntie, or Maisie, or even himself.
It was about Mom.
For some reason he couldn't explain, Lian had the strongest gut feeling that something was seriously wrong with his mother tonight.
Unable to sit still, he slipped out of the room again and started pacing the corridor like a nervous detective.
Soon his sharp eyes locked onto one specific private room, the one right next to the emergency exit.
The door was tightly shut, but the music leaking out was insanely loud, pure, pounding high-energy disco that made the whole hallway vibrate. Even the staff walking past looked annoyed and whispered complaints, but no one dared say anything out loud; the customer is always king, after all.
***
Read chapters 16 + 17 + 18 + 19 in full on Patreon [C0DX].