Bullying The Sister-In-Law - Chapter 14.1

Humans’ endless desire breeds a sense of complacency after they’ve had a taste of sweetness.

Liu Chengxu first extended half her body, reaching out her hand. Her fingertip pressed against Su Zhiluo’s lips, the soft, yielding touch feeling as if she were being sucked in. This gave Liu Chengxu a strange rush of pleasure.

She carefully slipped out of bed, her heart pounding fast, almost bursting out of her chest. She pressed her palm against her chest a couple of times until the throbbing subsided, then she brought her own lips down.

Liu Chengxu carefully tasted the double petals, backing off slightly after each kiss, then placing her finger back on them.

Her eyes grew warm again. She desperately wanted to call out “Sister-in-law” and tell Su Zhiluo about her secret affections. She also wanted to explain the effort she had made, that she really had tried, but her love was too deep; it wasn’t a case of being set in her ways.

Sister-in-law, can I have a chance?

She closed her eyes and kissed her again.

Liu Chengxu’s kisses were not aggressive, just little licks that brought an unbearable tickle to the thin skin. The person being kissed felt her desire stirred. Su Zhiluo was in agony—her body enjoyed the solace and felt a strange urge, hoping for a more intense push to a climax.

Su Zhiluo felt suffocated by her actions and wanted to gasp for air.

Liu Chengxu was young, after all, and not as good at kissing as her older sister. When her sister kissed her, she would pause slightly, look at her, and say, “Luoluo, take a breath.”

Liu Chengxu, with her excellent lung capacity, just kept kissing, and even when she pulled away, she didn’t stop, lightly licking Su Zhiluo’s lips.

Su Zhiluo couldn’t bear it anymore and tried to turn over. Liu Chengxu’s hand landed on her cheek, gently tucking the strands of hair clinging to her face behind her ear.

Su Zhiluo had a strange suspicion that all her previous wet dreams had been kissed into existence by Liu Chengxu.

Of course, she knew this was somewhat impossible, but the sudden, intense desire forced her to consider it.

Finally, Liu Chengxu had her fill of kissing. She carefully returned to her own bed, those round, dark eyes closing in satisfaction.

Su Zhiluo exhaled a few more breaths, her strength drained. A dense, prickling sensation danced all over her body. She couldn’t suppress her flesh, and a steady, moist flow seeped out from her crevices.

Insomnia was already painful, but for Su Zhiluo, it was even harder to suppress her true nature on a sleepless night. She desperately wanted to hide herself away.

Su Zhiluo suspected she had a strong libido, maybe even a sex addiction. Why else would her body like Liu Chengxu’s kisses, even though they were so clumsy?

They hadn’t experienced an orgasm at the same moment, yet they had simultaneously fallen into a miserable predicament.

Around five in the morning, Su Zhiluo was still awake. She tossed and turned until the sky began to lighten, only drifting into a half-sleep.

At seven sharp, Liu Chengxu woke up and saw her sister-in-law’s pale face and the obvious dark circles under her eyes. Without a word, she grabbed her car keys and insisted on taking Su Zhiluo to work.

Riding the bicycle, Liu Chengxu casually probed, “Sister-in-law, how about I come back once a month from now on to tidy up the house for you?”

Su Zhiluo didn’t answer. It wasn’t until they reached the factory gate, and she saw the undisguised disappointment on Liu Chengxu’s face, that she softly reminded her, “You’re coming back for the Qingming Festival grave-sweeping in April, aren’t you?”

“Oh, right!” Liu Chengxu’s eyes lit up. “Then I’ll come back for Qingming!”

“Be safe on the road.”

Watching Su Zhiluo’s back as she walked into the gate, Liu Chengxu turned the bike around and left. The wind brushed past her low ponytail, the hem of her trench coat fluttering lightly. Her figure, with the characteristic carefree spirit of youth, quickly merged into the traffic and disappeared.

Su Zhiluo stood still for a long time before slowly letting out a breath.

Back home, Liu Chengxu carefully opened the delicate box. Inside lay a quartz watch with a pink strap. She solemnly put the watch on her wrist. Just as she was about to touch the watch face, she deliberately went to the bathroom and meticulously washed her hands. Her fingertips gently stroked the smooth watch face. She held her wrist up to the light, took a photo, and posted it to her Moments, then specifically shared the joy in her friends’ group chat.

Meng Zhengyue messaged her: The gift is on your desk.

Liu Chengxu replied: Did you guys eat the cake?

She had specifically messaged her friends before leaving yesterday to share the cake.

Cha Baomei quickly responded: It was quite big; we only ate half. We saved the rest for you. The three of us can finish it when you get back this afternoon.

Liu Chengxu: I’ll be there this afternoon.

Then she added: Look at my watch.

This was a prompt for compliments.

Meng Zhengyue, being good with words, immediately sent a carefully worded compliment.

Cha Baomei, however, was blunt, pointing out her bad photography angles and seriously teaching her how to take better pictures.

Liu Chengxu finally combined Meng Zhengyue’s text and Cha Baomei’s photography tips, revised it, and posted a new update to her Moments.

Su Zhiluo saw the post during her lunch break. Her fingertip hovered over the ‘like’ icon for a moment before she tapped it.

Liu Chengxu: “Gentleness treasured by time, taking root and sprouting in every pulse, my love is growing vigorously.”

Before leaving, Liu Chengxu deliberately used the rice cooker timer to prepare a meal, so her sister-in-law could still have the dinner she prepared when she got home that evening. She had originally wanted to wait until 8 PM to see her sister-in-law again, but she was afraid she wouldn’t want to leave, and she knew that continuing to indulge in this warmth would only make Su Zhiluo uncomfortable.

She arranged to meet Meng Zhengyue and Cha Baomei, asking them not to eat dinner at school, and cooked a few dishes herself to take to them.

Meng Zhengyue simply replied, “Okay.”

Although reluctant to return to school, as the subway slowly pulled away, Liu Chengxu looked down at the watch on her wrist, and a gentle smile unconsciously curved on her lips. She lightly pressed the watch face against her lips, leaving a silent kiss.

The Qingming Festival break was three days, including Saturday and Sunday.

That day, Su Zhiluo bought the necessary items, and the two took the bus to the cemetery. When Liu Jinhuan passed away, Liu Chengxu’s family was well-off and had purchased a special plot.

There were quite a few people commemorating their relatives at the cemetery. Su Zhiluo carefully wiped the tombstone clean, her finger tracing the edge of the photograph, as if caressing a lover.

The photo on the tombstone was faded; her sister’s smile blossomed in her eyes, anticipating her wedding, anticipating a joyful union with her loved one.

On that day, she anticipated growing old together. The day after, Su Zhiluo lost her love forever.

Liu Chengxu stood silently before her sister’s tombstone, her hands deep in the pockets of her cargo pants. The photo was one her sister had specially taken at a photo studio for her marriage certificate with Su Zhiluo.

Liu Chengxu couldn’t bring herself to look into her sister’s eyes. Tears welled up, pressing against her eye sockets. She felt an unprecedented agony, her thumb incessantly rubbing against her index finger, as if trying to peel off a piece of skin.

She was wracked with guilt. She knew she was despicable.

She liked her sister’s wife.

Su Zhiluo was the person her sister loved very, very much. Her sister had told everyone around her countless times that Su Zhiluo was the one, yet here she was, repeatedly stealing kisses from her thin lips in the dark, even wanting to make love to her.

When they were young, their parents were always rushing about doing all sorts of messy businesses. It was her sister who raised her, and her sister who granted her every wish. But after her sister’s death, she was coveting her lover.

Liu Chengxu’s throat felt severely constricted.

She hadn’t just recently fallen for Su Zhiluo. This seed had been germinating in her heart for a long time. At first, she pretended not to notice. Later, it grew more passionate. When she couldn’t contain it, she asked her sister what to do. Now, she had committed something unforgivable. Finally…

She had no face to see her sister.

She was a villain, stealing her sister’s wife.

Su Zhiluo silently placed her sister’s favorite food down. She had brought a bouquet of sunflowers, and underneath it was an envelope. Liu Chengxu wanted to see what was inside, but Su Zhiluo lit the letter on fire with a lighter.

Liu Chengxu was very curious about the contents and couldn’t help but guess: Was it an expression of missing her sister, or was it telling on her to her sister?

Regardless of which it was, she wanted to add a line of her own.

Sister, I truly, truly will treat Sister-in-law well.

It was too vile. She was a viper, rescued by her sister-in-law from the cold winter, only to bite her, then hold out her hand demanding her sister give her the antidote.

Unaware, Liu Chengxu’s face was soaked.

Su Zhiluo saw it. She thought Liu Chengxu must have realized her mistake and must feel guilty.

Liu Chengxu wiped her face clean. She bowed her head to her sister, her forehead touching the ground, thinking: Sister, I’m sorry, I can’t change.

Su Zhiluo tidied the candle holder and called her a few times before she came to. On the way back, she placed her hand on Su Zhiluo’s waist, her cheek resting against Su Zhiluo’s back.

Su Zhiluo felt uncomfortable.

Liu Chengxu pressed close, soaking her sister-in-law’s thin shirt with her tears.

A light breeze blew. Liu Chengxu wiped the tears from her face. At a red light, she gently tucked the strands of hair the wind had messed up behind her sister-in-law’s ear.

Back home, both of them tried hard to put their emotions away.

Nowadays, the Qingming Festival had no strict taboos; they could eat whatever they wanted. Su Zhiluo hesitated about what to cook since she didn’t stew any meat. Liu Chengxu rolled up her sleeves and washed the green Shanghai bok choy.

“You go to the living room, I’ll handle it,” Liu Chengxu said.

Su Zhiluo was a little distracted, her fingers flicking at her ear two or three times before she managed to tuck her hair behind her ear. As Su Zhiluo came out, her phone lit up.

Yang Jie: I heard from your supervisor that you’re resigning.

Is it because of me?

Don’t worry, I’m no longer insisting on pursuing you. I really apologize for what happened last time. You don’t need to resign over this.

Can I talk to you?

Su Zhiluo’s fingers were wet, making typing difficult. She wiped them on her phone case and replied: It’s not because of you. I have new plans. I feel like staying in the factory is a bit of a dead-end, I want to try something else.

Yang Jie: If you stay a few more years, you’ll be promoted to management. That’s not a dead-end. Didn’t you have everything planned out?

Su Zhiluo: I have new ideas.

Yang Jie: Where are you going? What will you do?

A few seconds later, Yang Jie had a new guess: Will you still be in North City?

Su Zhiluo slowly typed out a few words on the keyboard: Probably not in North City.

Yang Jie: I’m truly…

I’m sorry.

Zhiluo, I am really sorry.

Su Zhiluo: It really has little to do with you, don’t feel guilty. You’ve been very kind to me; I’ve been the one troubling you.

Yang Jie hadn’t anticipated that revealing one thing would lead to such severe consequences. She felt guilty for a while and sent: What about Liu Chengxu?

Su Zhiluo looked back. Liu Chengxu, wearing an apron, was cooking scrambled eggs with green peppers. Smoke wafted up, stinging both inside and outside the room.

Su Zhiluo replied: I’ll tell her later.

Yang Jie didn’t know what to type. Su Zhiluo sent her two messages to comfort her, even thanking her, because if it had been later, their feelings would have continued to grow and become genuinely uncontrollable.

Many past events were traceable: their physical contact, bathing together, everything. Any further development would have been irreparable.

Liu Chengxu cooked two dishes. As she was frying the last one, she suddenly realized she hadn’t cooked any rice. She shouted in panic for Su Zhiluo. Su Zhiluo put her phone away and said, “I’ll go buy some steamed buns, wait for me.”

Su Zhiluo rode her electric scooter downstairs. She felt a wave of sadness, her eyes stinging. After buying the buns, she looked up at the dilapidated small building and remembered the first time she came here.

At the time, Liu Jinhuan wasn’t rich either. She told Su Zhiluo they would rent first and then buy, based on her prediction that the area would be demolished soon. So many years after Liu Jinhuan’s death, the house had only grown more run-down, the plaster yellowed by time. The light in the stairwell dimmed and brightened. Looking back now, it was just a blind commitment of hope to an illusory future.

Whether the house would be demolished was uncertain, but life had to go on.

Su Zhiluo occasionally felt dissatisfied with her current situation, envying those who lived in big houses. She hadn’t been like this before. Back then, she was content to live a quiet life, like a resigned NPC, always feeling lucky to live peacefully compared to those with more tragic lives.

But now she couldn’t help but ask herself:

Why this discontent?

Perhaps it was because she had been deeply loved by such an exceptional person and had then personally pulled another from despair. These experiences had made her recognize her own value, but they had also made her greedily want more.

And so, she found herself caught in the most contradictory and tangled vortex, having two people of close blood ties fall in love with her one after the other.

Back home, there were three dishes on the table: hot and sour shredded potatoes, Chinese cabbage with tofu, and scrambled eggs with green peppers. Su Zhiluo had returned late, so she quickly made a seaweed soup as well.

The steamed buns were warm and ready to eat.

Su Zhiluo washed her hands and sat down to eat. She said, “I told my supervisor before you came back that I’m resigning. After this, I’ll look for something else to do.”

Liu Chengxu said, “That’s great! What are you planning to learn? I’ll find the materials for you.”

Su Zhiluo said, “E-commerce, I think.”

Liu Chengxu: “I’ll turn on the computer later and research how to open a store.”

“Okay.”

Liu Chengxu didn’t yet know the full extent of her sister-in-law’s decision, but she was blindly happy about the resignation. Over dinner, she started planning her sister-in-law’s future. Su Zhiluo listened quietly. She wanted to smile but didn’t dare, which made her look very solemn.

“Sister-in-law, don’t worry, there are countless possibilities in life,” Liu Chengxu said, noticing her sister-in-law’s anxiety, then added playfully, “Sister-in-law, once we get this going, we can retire early for many years.”

Su Zhiluo smiled.

Liu Chengxu was a woman of action. After dinner, she went straight to the backend to apply, switching between her own phone and her sister-in-law’s ID card. She clicked and selected options on the computer. “Sister-in-law, you’ll be the CEO, and I’ll be the Vice CEO.”

Su Zhiluo nodded and agreed.