Bullying The Sister-In-Law - Chapter 17.1

In the darkness, Liu Chengxu’s burning breath sprayed on Su Zhiluo’s ear, and her body temperature was alarmingly high, as if she had a fever. Su Zhiluo was confined in this small space, her throat tightening and her thoughts in chaos. She could clearly feel Liu Chengxu sniffing the scent of her body.

Liu Chengxu buried her face in Su Zhiluo’s neck, her nose lightly touching the skin, over and over—it was too ticklish.

Su Zhiluo couldn’t bear it any longer and said with a trembling voice, “Stop it, it’s late, go to sleep.”

Her voice carried a hint of fear, mixed with an unbearable gasp. Liu Chengxu loved this sound dearly and rubbed her nose against Su Zhiluo’s neck again, very much like a kitten asking for affection.

Su Zhiluo tried to break free but was pressed down even harder, completely unable to move. Liu Chengxu stubbornly whispered in her ear, “Do you… like it?”

Liu Chengxu knew that even if Su Zhiluo answered at this moment, it would only be due to the circumstances. But she seemed tireless, needing an answer just to quench the momentary thirst.

Su Zhiluo initially remained silent but quickly learned about Liu Chengxu’s persistence. Those slightly cool, thin lips brushed her neck almost imperceptibly, and Su Zhiluo took a deep breath, the skin on her neck tightening with it.

“Sunflowers… I do like them,” she answered softly, her voice carrying an imperceptible tremor. “But Chengxu, my feelings for you…”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Liu Chengxu interrupted. “Don’t say anything more.”

People are like that; everything is difficult at the start. Just like rejecting Liu Chengxu, Su Zhiluo couldn’t do it initially, and now she had hurt her several times already.

Liu Chengxu trembled with distress.

In her heart, she refused to believe and resisted.

Su Zhiluo felt she had to make things clear, and she began to formulate how to speak again.

Liu Chengxu mustered the courage to overtly kiss Su Zhiluo’s lips, but Su Zhiluo still turned her head to avoid it.

Liu Chengxu suppressed the disappointment and bitterness in her heart, finally placing that incomplete kiss lightly on her earlobe.

Her lips were very hot. Su Zhiluo instinctively shrank her neck, and with a trembling voice, she said, “Enough.”

Liu Chengxu was very wronged. She leaned close to Su Zhiluo’s ear and choked out, “It’s far from enough.”

“Do you know how long it has been?” she said. “103 days and nights. Su Zhiluo, I count the days as I live.”

Liu Chengxu knew which words she could say and which she couldn’t. Only by hiding her feelings could they have peace, but upon seeing Su Zhiluo, her limbs lost all control.

Liu Chengxu cupped her face and kissed her thin lips once.

Maybe leaving was the right thing to do. That way, she wouldn’t be scorched by this boundary-crossing feeling and could live like a normal person.

Liu Chengxu hugged her even tighter, only releasing her when her body involuntarily shuddered. Su Zhiluo immediately backed away, trying to escape, but was nailed to the spot by a single sentence:

“Wherever you sleep, I’ll follow.”

Su Zhiluo slowly squatted down, burying her face in her knees.

They still slept together that night.

Su Zhiluo slept on the floor, and Liu Chengxu lay on the bed. Liu Chengxu wasn’t very sleepy after a full rest, but Su Zhiluo fell asleep instead, exhausted.

During the day, the two spoke little, not because of a cold war, but genuinely because they didn’t know what to say. Su Zhiluo felt helpless against her. Liu Chengxu was thick-skinned; whatever Su Zhiluo did, she would stick close, no longer crossing boundaries like at night, just quietly sitting beside Su Zhiluo.

It was too hot during the day, and cooking was even hotter. In the evening, Su Zhiluo would take her out to eat. They didn’t know what was delicious or not; they would just try whatever they encountered: squab, clay pot rice, boat porridge (Tingzaizhou), deep-fried dough sticks wrapped in rice noodles, and sweet soup.

As long as they found the right shop, everything tasted good.

Guangzhou, this city, was bustling with people yet everywhere exuded a relaxed vibe. Unlike Beishi Northern City, likely referring to Beijing, where office workers hurried in suits and ties, sometimes even wearing them; here, it was down-to-earth. The aroma of scorched clay pot rice wafted from the street corners, and the shouts of herbal tea vendors echoed down the alleys.

Temporarily ignoring the annoying Huinantian (reversion to wet weather) and strange insects, it was actually a very suitable place for living.

In those few days, Su Zhiluo bought several new outfits and took Liu Chengxu to pose for photos in Yuexiu Park. Bitten by something unknown, Liu Chengxu’s shoulder was swollen with two distinct red rashes, the center already broken and weeping from repeated scratching.

Liu Chengxu thought it was no big deal, but Su Zhiluo insisted on pulling her downstairs to find a pharmacy. The elderly pharmacist behind the counter adjusted his glasses: “It’s from midge bites, they’ve been particularly rampant lately with all the rain.” When disinfecting her with iodine, he reminded her, “Go back and check your ankles; these insects like to bite areas covered by trouser legs.”

Holding the ointment, the two of them didn’t understand a word he said.

Back home, Su Zhiluo opened the ointment and applied it with a cotton swab. Then, seeing red bumps on Liu Chengxu’s thigh, she continued to apply the cream there too.

Liu Chengxu stared at the crown of Su Zhiluo’s head, her arm itching to lift and hug her.

Su Zhiluo brought over a pen and drew a circle around the red, swollen area. Liu Chengxu asked, puzzled, “Will this make it heal faster?”

“No, I used to do this when I was little.” When she was a child, there was no medicine at home; if she was bitten by something, she would draw a circle to observe if there were any changes. If the swelling shrank, it meant it was getting better. Su Zhiluo said, “If it doesn’t work, we’ll go to the hospital.”

Liu Chengxu thought her sister-in-law was making a mountain out of a molehill, but she couldn’t help feeling happy because Su Zhiluo was concerned about her, cared about her, and she was secretly delighted by this.

After that, Liu Chengxu was constantly getting bitten by bugs. It wasn’t intentional; perhaps it was related to her constitution, as she was very attractive to mosquitoes and other insects, especially her ankles, which were almost covered in red bumps.

Su Zhiluo was initially heartbroken, but later she was furious. She sprayed her with insect repellent, kept a bottle of medicated oil in her pocket, and monitored her daily to ensure she applied the medicine and didn’t scratch. After half a month, her body finally calmed down a bit.

The bugs here were especially cunning. Even though the windows were tightly shut during the day, they always found a crack to sneak into the room. When the phone screen was turned on at night, those tiny black shadows would gather from all directions, crawling up ankles and elbows with a rustling sound.

Su Zhiluo was very unaccustomed to it when she first arrived. If this were Beishi, Su Zhiluo would have screamed. Not only were the bugs large, they smelled bad and bit people. Su Zhiluo would spray insecticide before going out, and upon returning, the floor would be covered in insect corpses. She had no choice; she didn’t have much money initially, and the area she rented was not good.

Liu Chengxu coming here helped her immensely. If Su Zhiluo were alone, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to handle it, just selling whatever she could. Now with Liu Chengxu, Su Zhiluo spent money on promotions and traffic.

Liu Chengxu had a habit of running out every morning to buy breakfast. Initially, Su Zhiluo thought she was being economical, but later she found out she just loved morning runs.

Thinking it was hot, Su Zhiluo asked, “Is it comfortable getting up so early to run in this heat?”

Liu Chengxu wiped her sweat. Looking at her, she had a very well-proportioned figure, the kind of healthy, youthful charm. She said, “It’s a habit.”

Su Zhiluo recalled hearing someone say that college required running two kilometers every week or something. She asked, “Is it a school assignment?”

“No,” Liu Chengxu replied. “If I run until I’m exhausted, I won’t think about you.”

Saying this, she walked over to her backpack and threw the things she had bought into the bag. Su Zhiluo glanced at it, feeling uncomfortable because of her words, and turned sideways, not continuing to ask what she had bought.

Breakfast was always bought outside and brought back to eat. After eating, she helped her sister-in-law with the express packages. At 11:30, she prepared lunch. Su Zhiluo received a new stock notification in her group chat. In the afternoon, Liu Chengxu rode her bike to take her sister-in-law to see the items, and in the evening, she tried on clothes.

The summer clothes were not so conservative. Su Zhiluo had excellent taste, and she would also buy “flirty” clothes, such as one with only a few strings on the back, revealing the entire back. Her favorites were the halter-neck, backless, bodycon dresses with a snake chain detail on the back. For this, she also bought stockings to match. The quality of the black stockings was mediocre; they would tear after two or three wears, which she made sure to note on the product details page.

How did she know the quality wasn’t good? Because she personally saw them rip on Liu Chengxu’s legs.

Sometimes Su Zhiluo only photographed her from the back or captured her silhouette leaning against the window.

Such outfits were ultimately too provocative, so most of the time, she would have Liu Chengxu wear a mask to cover half her face. Thus, the picture was left with only those fiery eyes filled with love, silently burning at the edges of the fabric.

It was comfortable enough to only photograph her back, but once the camera turned to the front, the overflowing emotion was hard to conceal.

Liu Chengxu’s slender fingers ran past her ear, tucking her black hair behind it. Those eyes looked at her with moist, lingering affection. The design of the top was very snug, and a slight push made her chest very shapely.

Su Zhiluo didn’t look at her twice. After taking a close-up, she stepped back to capture her legs as well. Liu Chengxu’s posture wasn’t quite right, and the clothes were quite revealing, so she told Liu Chengxu to pull the neckline up.

Liu Chengxu adjusted the neckline, and Su Zhiluo reached out to fix it, also changing the position of her leg. The moment she touched her, her palm was scalded by Liu Chengxu’s skin. Liu Chengxu’s eyes drooped, and Su Zhiluo quickly withdrew her hand.

Su Zhiluo stepped back and rapidly snapped pictures, planning to keep a few good ones.

When finished, she said very calmly, “This set should sell well.”

Liu Chengxu “Mm-hmm’d,” and then, showing Su Zhiluo no mercy, she said directly, “Sister-in-law, your face is very red.”

“Ah? Is it?” Su Zhiluo reached out to touch her face, then used her phone’s front camera to check her expression. To put it nicely, it was the flush of shyness; to put it bluntly, it was hard to hide the lust underneath, looking like she was in heat.

Liu Chengxu entered the bathroom first. Su Zhiluo followed her in to wash her face. Pushing the door open, she saw Liu Chengxu bent over, rolling down the stockings on her long legs. She had stripped hastily, and her fingers had accidentally snagged a few holes. At the same time, Su Zhiluo also knew why Liu Chengxu was stripping so quickly—she was wet from being photographed.

Su Zhiluo’s scalp tingled, and she froze for a moment. Water splattered on her palm. She was so hot she felt like she was having a heat stroke. She quickly turned off the faucet and fled the bathroom.

Liu Chengxu didn’t say a word. It wasn’t because she was composed, but because she was embarrassed to be caught by her sister-in-law, making it difficult to face her immediately. She had felt this way before. She just secretly found it comfortable, but today it was very strong and came on fiercely. She initially thought the clothes had a bad fit, but when she unbuttoned them, she found that it wasn’t just swelling.

She lowered her head, intending to change clothes directly, but the steam in the bathroom hadn’t completely dissipated, and she broke out in a thin sweat. She decided to take a shower instead.

Wiping herself dry, she realized she hadn’t brought a change of clothes, so she had to put the dress back on. The black stockings were tossed aside; she didn’t touch them again.

Su Zhiluo was busy selecting pictures to put up on the product link and adding to her inventory.

Her hand trembled for a long time as she stared at the set price. Before today, she had always thought of Liu Chengxu as a child. Her danger was merely an obsession with dating her, at most wanting to kiss her mouth like a child. Now, she regarded Liu Chengxu as a full-fledged adult. She had desire, and there were physical changes, just like the black stockings she had taken off. When the two of them were in the same space, there was a subtle shift that she couldn’t ignore, and she would constantly be aware of Liu Chengxu.

This change was unsettling. For example, when she thought about Liu Chengxu, the change was no longer in her heart but in her chest.

Her Taobao shop had a group chat. The new product was launched, and someone immediately asked about it. The ding-dong notification sound startled her.

Su Zhiluo calmly replied: Dear, the first 50 orders will receive free stockings, and picture reviews will receive a shopping coupon refund. Purchases over 300 in the store will receive a gift and a 10 yuan discount.

As soon as she sent it, the backend immediately showed ten more orders. This number was quite surprising.

Su Zhiluo dared not face Liu Chengxu directly and kept replying to customer messages. Her repeat customers probably knew that the model in her shop personally tried on the clothes. After chatting for a while, she sold another 50 orders; some were fans from the group, and some were from natural traffic.