Without warning, the world was instantly swallowed up by darkness.
The bedroom, which was filled with desire and gasps just a moment ago, is now so quiet that you can hear each other's heartbeats.
Lin Zhe's tall body was still pressing down on Su Yu, and his penis, which had become incredibly thick and hard due to anger and desire, had already sprung out, pressing hotly against the base of Su Yu's bare thighs through the last layer of fabric.
But the urge to penetrate his wife's wet and hot vagina was abruptly stopped at the brink of explosion by the sudden power outage.
"Hold!"
Lin Zhe squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth, his voice filled with suppressed frustration.
The burning desire within him had nowhere to go, making him feel as if his blood vessels were about to burst.
But a power outage means the heating will also stop.
In the cold north, this is no laughing matter.
At the same time, he felt his wife's body stiffen slightly beneath him, and her originally warm and soft skin suddenly felt cool due to the unexpected event.
"What's going on? Is there a power outage?"
Su Yu's voice rang out in the darkness, carrying a hint of uncertainty and disappointment at being interrupted.
Her pair of snow-white breasts, exposed to the air, rose and fell slightly with her breath, as if they were the only source of life and warmth that could be felt in this darkness.
Lin Zhe's burning passion gradually subsided, replaced by a growing sense of crisis regarding the power outage and heating shutdown.
He rolled off Su Yu and groped his way to find his pants.
In the darkness, Lin Zhe clumsily stuffed his still-erect penis back into his pants, the act of zipping up the fly carrying a violent, venting-of-anger air.
The feeling of having sex abruptly interrupted is even more agonizing than going to the toilet halfway through.
Lin Zhe's mind was still filled with the alluring sensation of Su Yu's snow-white body beneath her torn nightgown, but reality was cold and harsh.
"It might be a circuit breaker tripped, I'll go check it out."
Lin Zhe turned on the flashlight function on his phone, and a blinding beam of light instantly pierced the darkness.
Under the light, Su Yu's appearance appeared even more disheveled and alluring.
The torn black silk nightgown was half hanging on her body, revealing large expanses of snow-white skin and her large breasts with bluish veins, which looked particularly striking under the light of the cell phone.
Su Yu had calmed down considerably by this point. Being shone with her husband's phone light, she suddenly felt a little shy and quickly pulled the blanket over herself, leaving only her still flushed face exposed.
"I...I'll find some clothes to wear."
Lin Zhe swallowed hard, grunted in response, turned around, went to the closet to change his clothes, and then left the bedroom with his phone in hand.
We went downstairs.
In the living room, the light from another cell phone was also flickering.
The light was coming from Lin Jianguo, who was sitting on the sofa with Wang Xiulan, with an awkward distance between them.
Seeing Lin Zhe and Su Yu, who had changed into a bathrobe and followed him out, Lin Jianguo's expression was very unnatural. He seemed to have just put down his patriarchal airs and said something to Wang Xiulan in a stiff tone.
Wang Xiulan kept her head down, twisting the hem of her cheongsam with her fingers, her expression unreadable.
"Dad, Mom."
Lin Zhe broke the silence by speaking.
"Ah, Xiao Zhe."
Lin Jianguo, as if he had found a way out, quickly stood up:
"I don't know what happened, the power suddenly went out. I just apologized to your mother. Tonight... tonight I was a jerk, I drank too much, please don't take it to heart."
Upon hearing this, Wang Xiulan's shoulders trembled slightly, but she remained silent.
However, she felt that her husband's apology was not entirely sincere, but rather a compromise after his son's open defiance.
But what she cared about more was her son Lin Zhe's gaze.
When Lin Zhe's phone light swept across her, she would subconsciously straighten her back, as if she didn't want him to see any vulnerable side of her.
But then she remembered the shameful moment at the dinner table when she unbuttoned her plate, revealing her snow-white skin and cleavage to the two men.
The son could see clearly the alluring curves and soft contours.
The thought made her face flush and her heart skip a beat.
"What do we do now? It's pitch black, and it looks like the heating's off."
Su Yu, who had changed into pajamas, walked over and naturally took Lin Zhe's arm, asking softly.
"I don't know if it's a power outage, but I'll go downstairs and buy some candles first," Lin Zhe replied.
"It's so late, and it's Chinese New Year, all the shops outside are closed."
Su Yu moved even closer, almost touching Lin Zhe's arm. Feeling the soft touch of Su Yu's chest, Lin Zhe's dragon, which had just calmed down, began to rise again.
"No need to buy them outside. Old Zhang, the security guard on the first floor, definitely has some. His wife is afraid of the dark, so he always keeps candles and emergency lights at home. Our two families are such good friends, so getting a few won't be a problem."
"It's a good opportunity to ask him about the situation."
Lin Jianguo, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, his tone carrying a hint of eagerness to please.
He paused, and before anyone could answer, he quickly added:
"I'll go, consider it... making amends for my mistake."
Looking at his father's slightly hunched figure, Lin Zhe's anger had largely dissipated.
No matter how unreasonable he is, he is still my father.
And now he is over fifty years old.
Lin Zhe recalled his angry roar just now. Although it was to protect his mother, it was ultimately a confrontation with his father.
I really shouldn't have talked back to him.
To be honest, Lin Jianguo has contributed the most to this family. Without him, Lin Zhe and the others wouldn't have this nearly 200-square-meter, two-story house to live in.
Moreover, when he got married, his father bought him an Audi A6 outright.
Moreover, all things considered, it all started because Su Yu and I never had a child, which led to tonight's farce.
Thinking about all this, Lin Zhe felt a pang of sadness. He sighed and said:
"Dad, I was wrong just now. I shouldn't have been so impulsive. Let me go. You and Mom should get some rest."
At this moment, the rare moment of mutual understanding between father and son eased the tense atmosphere in the living room considerably.
Just then, Wang Xiulan, who had been silent all along, stood up.
"Stop arguing, all of you."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear.
"Your dad just had some drinks and he's still a bit emotional."
"Xiao Zhe and I will go. We'll be right back."
This suggestion surprised everyone.
Lin Zhe looked at his mother, the light from his phone illuminating her slightly pale face.
On that dignified and beautiful face, he read an undeniable determination.
Seeing this, Lin Zhe's heart stirred, and he nodded almost without thinking:
"Okay, Mom, I'll go with you."
In that instant, Lin Zhe himself couldn't explain why he agreed so readily.
Perhaps, they wanted to leave the living room, where awkwardness and confrontation still lingered;
Or perhaps, subconsciously, he wanted to spend some time alone with his mother, to soothe the trauma she had suffered that night in a more peaceful way.
Or perhaps, it's because of some dark impulses lurking deeper within.
Lin Jianguo did not object to this.
Su Yu, too lazy to change her clothes, nodded in agreement.
"It's cold outside, wear another layer of clothing."
"Um."
The house used to be warm and cozy with central heating, but the wind outside was biting cold on January nights.
Lin Zhe and Wang Xiulan each put on a thick, long coat.
After Wang Xiulan put on the coat, the cheongsam that outlined her voluptuous figure was completely covered, revealing only a pair of slender calves clad in flesh-colored stockings and a pair of delicate low-heeled shoes.
The two walked to the door one after the other, and sure enough, the elevator was out of service, so they had to take the stairs.
There were no windows in the hallway; it was even darker than the rooms. Only the beam of light from Lin Zhe's phone flashlight cast a flickering spot on the dusty steps.
"Watch your step, Mom."
Lin Zhe walked half a step ahead, using his light to illuminate the path for his mother.
"Um."
Wang Xiulan responded and followed behind her son.
The low-heeled shoes clicked on the concrete steps, their crisp "tap, tap, tap" echoing amplified in the deathly quiet stairwell.
Neither of them spoke, and the silence fermented in the small space, giving rise to an indescribable ambiguity.
Lin Zhe, whose lovemaking with his wife was interrupted by a power outage, was now alone with Wang Xiulan. In his mind, the image of his mother standing on the dining table flashed uncontrollably: the unbuttoned buttons, the snow-white skin, and the breasts supported by the lace bra, no less impressive than his wife Su Yu's...
At this moment, his mind was incredibly clear. He could even recall the amazing softness and elasticity he felt through the fabric of Wang Xiulan's cheongsam when he rushed over and lifted her down.
If you closed your eyes, you would only think she was a young woman in her twenties, and you would never think she was a woman who was about to become a grandmother.
Wang Xiulan's heart was also in turmoil.
Her son's protection made her feel safer than ever before, but this sense of security was accompanied by immense shame.
She could never forget her trembling hands in the bathroom; she could never forget the strong back she leaned on in the living room.
"Xiao Zhe."
To break the unsettling silence, Wang Xiulan spoke first, but her voice was somewhat unsteady.
Lin Zhe paused slightly, then continued listening to her.
"I remember when you were little, you were terrified of the dark."
Lin Zhe hadn't expected his mother to bring this up, and he smiled.
"Yes, back then, when there was thunder and a power outage, I insisted on crawling between you and Dad before I would sleep."
"Your dad sleeps very soundly, so I always have to hold you and hum you songs."
Wang Xiulan's tone softened, filled with the warmth of memories:
"You were so thin and small back then, and now you've grown so tall that you can protect your mother."
Wang Xiulan spoke the last sentence very softly, like a sigh.
Lin Zhe's heart was suddenly touched. He stopped in his tracks, turned around, and the light shone on his mother's face from below, revealing what seemed to be glistening tears in her eyes.
Just then, whether she wasn't paying attention to her footing or was distracted, Wang Xiulan twisted her ankle and cried out in surprise, losing her balance.
"mom!"
Lin Zhe reacted quickly, stepping onto the stairs, turning around and stretching out his arms to firmly embrace her.
This time, the embrace between mother and son was stronger and closer than the one in the living room.
Even through two thick coats, Lin Zhe could still clearly feel the softness of his mother's body.
Her cheek pressed against his chest, her warm breath seeping through his clothes, carrying a faint fragrance.
Even though they use the same brand as Su Yu, why do they give off completely different vibes?
As Lin Zhe felt a sense of doubt, yet had no answer, Wang Xiulan's nose was filled with Lin Zhe's unique, refreshing masculine scent.
Instantly, Wang Xiulan's heart raced, and her hands instinctively grabbed Lin Zhe's shirt, as if she had grasped a lifeline.
"Are you alright? Did you sprain your ankle?"
Sensing his mother's movements, Lin Zhe asked with concern, wrapping his arms around her even tighter.
"N-nothing..."
Wang Xiulan's voice trembled slightly as she felt her son's strong and powerful arms and his broad, warm chest, which were completely different from her husband Lin Jianguo's gradually loosening body.
It was a body full of vitality, a young male body, which made Wang Xiulan feel a strange dizziness and peace of mind.
Lin Zhe didn't think much about it at the moment; he was only afraid that his mother was injured.
"I'll help you."
As he spoke, he released one of his arms from her waist and took her cold hand in his.
Wang Xiulan's hands were soft and her skin was delicate, but perhaps because of the cold or the shock, they were now somewhat stiff.
Lin Zhe's large, warm, and dry hands completely enveloped her hands in his palms.
Instantly, a tingling, electric-like sensation spread from their clasped hands throughout Wang Xiulan's entire body.
The last time the two held hands was when Wang Xiulan led Lin Zhe, who had two snotty noses hanging from his nose, to school.
Many years have passed in the blink of an eye, and my son's hands are now big enough to completely cover my own.
But such physical contact is not simple.
At least that's how Wang Xiulan felt at that moment.
Wang Xiulan trembled and instinctively tried to pull her hand back, but Lin Zhe held it tightly, not allowing her to break free.
"The stairs are too dark. Let me hold your hand for safety."
Lin Zhe's voice was deep and steady, sounding so natural and without a trace of ulterior motive.
Upon hearing this, Wang Xiulan realized that she had indeed been overthinking things.
The son may not have had that thought at all.
As an elder, I shouldn't feel embarrassed.
Besides, this staircase is difficult to climb even during the day, and with only a small flashlight, there's no guarantee that something might actually happen.
For safety's sake, it's much better if the two of you hold hands while walking.
Just like those snow mountain exploration teams on TV, don't they always walk together with ropes attached?
So Wang Xiulan convinced herself and stopped struggling, tacitly approving of her son's actions.
Lin Zhe held his mother's hand and continued walking down step by step, his mind free of distractions.
The beam of light from the cell phone led the way, stretching and overlapping the two people's shadows on the wall until they were indistinguishable from one another.
The hallway fell silent again, with only the sounds of footsteps and breathing remaining.
But this time, the silence was no longer awkward, but a strange, tacitly accepted intimacy.
As she walked, Wang Xiulan could clearly feel the thin calluses on her son's palms and the slightest movement of his fingers.
Lin Zhe could also feel the fine sweat seeping from his mother's palms and her slightly trembling fingertips.
These short, dozen or so flights of stairs seem to have no end.
Every step felt like walking on the edge of taboo.
Every step they took allowed the unwanted desires and attachments in their hearts to grow silently in the darkness.