Bullying The Sister-In-Law - Chapter 2.2

This made Liu Chengxu feel sorrowful and depressed. She lowered her head and rubbed against the back of Su Zhiluo’s hand twice.

Su Zhiluo looked at her face, which strongly resembled Liu Jinhuan’s. The sisters had very similar facial contours, which explained why Su Zhiluo often dreamt of Liu Chengxu as Liu Jinhuan.

She didn’t withdraw her hand immediately but let Liu Chengxu lean on her. She, too, was reminiscing about her deceased wife through Liu Jinhuan. “You must miss your sister a lot, too.”

Liu Chengxu closed her eyes. Her dependence on her sister-in-law was far greater than her slight longing for her sister. Her remaining shred of morality made her throat dry; she couldn’t answer. She heard Su Zhiluo say, “I miss her too,” and her heart ached terribly. She closed her eyes, and the pain she revealed made her put all her strength on the back of Su Zhiluo’s hand.

Su Zhiluo bore the weight of her cheek and said, “I wish I had let your sister kiss me then. It wouldn’t be such a regret.”

“You…” Liu Chengxu endured the physical tremor caused by her heart splitting open. She said, “…I’m so sad.”

“Don’t be sad.” Su Zhiluo rubbed the back of her hand against Liu Chengxu’s chin, then moved to her cheek, gently stroking her. Liu Chengxu could feel that this intimate touch was her way of cherishing a memory through similar contours.

Liu Chengxu opened her eyes and met Su Zhiluo’s gaze. Su Zhiluo’s eyes held the tearful pain mixed with the moonlight. She sighed, “The dead cannot be brought back to life…”

Su Zhiluo couldn’t continue after just a few short sentences. “The time I spent with your sister was too short. I didn’t think it was so great before, but now I feel she was the best, truly the very best. It’s strange, I compare everyone to her.”

“What about me?” Liu Chengxu asked, full of anticipation.

Su Zhiluo, as her sister-in-law, only saw the most superficial emotion. She said, “You…” She thought for a moment, and many images of Liu Jinhuan flashed through her mind. “Your sister was more mature and cooler.”

“Seductive?”

“I meant a mature woman,” Su Zhiluo clarified, pinching her cheek. “You’re just a child. Your sister was also my sister. Can you understand?”

Liu Chengxu controlled her emotions well, not showing any jealousy. Her breathing was just ragged, blocked, unable to find an outlet.

The phone vibrated, and the Bluetooth transfer was successful.

Liu Chengxu said, “Sister-in-law, could you give me… your phone? I also want to transfer my sister’s things to my phone. My parents took all her belongings when she eloped with you.”

Su Zhiluo withdrew her hand. Liu Chengxu seemed to lose all strength and hung her head low. Su Zhiluo handed the phone to her. “Take it.”

Su Zhiluo leaned against the balcony railing. The silk fabric of her slip dress was lifted by the night wind, outlining her slender waist. The close fit of the fabric clearly showed the shadow of the hollow of her lower back.

“It’s a bit cold,” Su Zhiluo said, walking inside. She reminded Liu Chengxu, “Remember to close the window when you come in.”

“Okay.”

Until she could no longer see her sister-in-law’s figure, Liu Chengxu slowly turned around. She hung her head, staring at the spiraling staircase below, the dark stairwell looking as if it could suck a person in.

The bottomless abyss she had fallen into with her first love was now causing her to descend ceaselessly.

The old phone in her palm was frighteningly hot. Liu Chengxu’s throat suddenly choked up, and a small, animal-like sob escaped.

Later that night, back in the bedroom, Su Zhiluo was playing with the new phone, the sound of the game occasionally audible.

Liu Chengxu scrolled through the photo album and saw the music in the player. Su Zhiluo rarely listened to music; presumably, these were songs she and her sister had listened to together. Her sister had always loved buying MP3 players when she was alive, saving money to go to concerts.

Liu Chengxu plugged in the earphone that Meng Zhengyue had given her, put both earpieces on, and the first song was “Day by Day.” Su Zhiluo turned her head to talk to her. “Can you get a scholarship?”

Everyone in their university class had similar good grades, so Liu Chengxu really couldn’t promise right away. She estimated and replied, “I think I can.”

Su Zhiluo said, “Once you can get a scholarship, I’ll go take some certification exams.”

“Oh.” Su Zhiluo had forgotten this point. She said, “Then I don’t need to spend money on training centers.” She was about to add that it would save money, but skipped it and said, “While certificates haven’t become common yet—they’re still rare and highly valuable—I should hurry up and get a few.”

As for what to study, Su Zhiluo considered it for a moment and asked her, “What about computer science?”

Liu Chengxu asked, “Aren’t you studying fashion design?”

“I checked, and you have to buy your own fabric; the cost is too high.”

“Study whatever you want, don’t worry about the tuition. I can earn money now.” Fearing she wouldn’t believe it, Liu Chengxu gave an example. “My friend, Meng Zhengyue, supports herself through college and even has savings. Don’t worry, I can slowly work part-time to earn my tuition.”

“I want to study computer science myself. The IT industry is popular everywhere.”

“But,” Liu Chengxu said seriously, “This field involves late nights and high pressure, and the pressure is even greater after 30; they only want young people.”

Su Zhiluo was stunned; clearly, she hadn’t considered this.

Liu Chengxu said, “If you still want to study it, that’s fine. It depends on what kind you want to learn. Information technology is indeed very profitable, but I always hear that if you don’t make it to management, it’s easy to get laid off. There’s also another career: UI designer.”

Knowing Su Zhiluo was confused, she added, “I’ll make you a career plan with all the pros and cons written down. You can choose for yourself.”

“Done.” Su Zhiluo played with her phone for a while longer. “Go to sleep early.”

“Okay.” Liu Chengxu turned her body to look at her. Su Zhiluo was very fond of the new phone, and a lanyard was already attached to the phone case.

Liu Chengxu listened to the music.

This way, she could slightly squeeze into Su Zhiluo’s world, creating a tiny gap between her and her sister, even though she knew she couldn’t compare to her sister.

Su Zhiluo said, “The phone hasn’t finished transferring yet.”

“There are still a few songs.”

“Can’t you just download them?”

“I can’t remember the song titles.”

Liu Chengxu scrolled down and saw several recordings and videos. She selected them all and transferred them to her own phone. She was about to tap on a video to watch it but paused, looking at Su Zhiluo on the opposite bed.

She was asleep.

Liu Chengxu quietly got out of bed and knelt down.

Su Zhiluo’s fair skin shone with a moist luster, and her chest rose and fell slightly with her breathing. A few wisps of hair clung to her flushed cheek, making her high nose bridge and lightly pressed thin lips especially tempting. The loose shoulder strap had slipped down to her arm, faintly outlining her beautiful curve.

Her throat was dry, and she swallowed, then cautiously pressed her lips against hers.

She knew her sister-in-law was not a deep sleeper and could wake up at any moment, yet she still drank the poison—she still couldn’t stop tasting her sister-in-law’s sweetness.

Please love me, sister-in-law.