Where are you going this late?

Li Lanxiang finished her shower, dried her hair, and pulled the large backpack from the depths of her wardrobe.

She had prepared it long ago.

She glanced at her phone. Eleven oh three.

She changed clothes and inched toward the door, keeping her footsteps as light as possible. Bending down, she felt around on the bottom shelf of the shoe cabinet for her high heels. She carried them instead of putting them on.

Her fingers had barely touched the door handle-

"Where are you going this late?"

Li Lanxiang jumped, her scream nearly deafening her.

The living room lights were off. Dong Hongmei's voice came from the direction of the sofa, unhurried.

"Mom!" Li Lanxiang patted her chest and pulled shut the door she had just cracked open. "You could scare someone to death doing that, you know!"

"I asked you a question."

"On a date," Li Lanxiang said bluntly. "I'm not coming home tonight."

"You're not going."

"Mom, how old do you think I am? You're still trying to control me?" Li Lanxiang leaned against the doorframe, her tone shifting. "Besides, I have needs too. Didn't you bring men home when you were young? You thought I was asleep? My ears work just fine."

Silence fell in the darkness for two seconds.

Dong Hongmei's voice sounded muffled. "That had better be the truth."

"It is, it is. I might lie to anyone else, but not you."

With that, she pushed the door open. This time, she made no attempt to be quiet, her high heels clicking all the way down the corridor.

She went downstairs.

The Maybach emerged from the underground garage, the streetlights shining on its body, making it particularly conspicuous in the pitch-black night.

She drove slowly, crossing half the city to reach a large residential complex