Bullying The Sister-In-Law - Chapter 21.1

Liu Chengxu froze for a moment, breathing rapidly, like an abandoned puppy, her moist eyes fixed on Su Zhiluo. Su Zhiluo called her name again. She snapped back to reality and rushed to Su Zhiluo’s side, grabbing her arm and burying herself in her embrace, leaning her head against her shoulder. Her emotions completely collapsed, and she burst into tears.

A pang of sorrow arose in Su Zhiluo’s heart as she watched Liu Chengxu lift her face, gently pressing her own forehead against hers, sobbing with a deep sense of grievance.

Su Zhiluo felt a throbbing, aching tightness in her chest.

Their breaths mingled together, so close that their lips were almost touching.

Su Zhiluo slightly turned her head, cheek-to-cheek with her, and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, holding her tight.

Liu Chengxu didn’t move until her face felt cool; she slightly pulled away, wiped her face, and asked cautiously, “You’re real, aren’t you?”

Su Zhiluo answered with a soft, “Mmm.”

She patted Liu Chengxu’s back, her own nose feeling stuffy.

A thousand words were caught in her throat; she had prepared countless drafts in her mind on the way back, but now she couldn’t utter a single one.

Having cried enough, Liu Chengxu raised her reddened eyes and softly asked, “Sister-in-law, are you cold?”

Although winter in Guangzhou is not as severe as in Beishi, there are times when a chill begins to set in. The moment Liu Chengxu turned to fetch a down jacket, the entire room was revealed to Su Zhiluo: the worn, old wooden table, the yellowing walls, the rusty window frames, and the small stove they had used for a long time.

All the familiar objects rushed into her sight one after another. Before Su Zhiluo could fully process her complex feelings, Liu Chengxu walked over, wiping her tears while carrying the clothes, and the sheer reality of “being home” suddenly struck Su Zhiluo’s heart.

Liu Chengxu carefully wrapped the down jacket around her, her voice full of tenderness and concern: “Why are you wearing so little?”

Su Zhiluo was only wearing a thin cotton jacket. She explained softly, “I left in a rush.”

She had run with her suitcase after getting off the train, and her body was warm, so she hadn’t felt cold. Now, wrapped in warmth, she belatedly registered the chill.

Liu Chengxu’s emotions came and went quickly; now, her eyes were shining as she looked at Su Zhiluo: “In such a hurry, does that mean you really wanted to see me?”

Su Zhiluo swallowed the phrase, “I just suddenly wanted to come back.” The words were too hurtful and would shatter Liu Chengxu’s hopes. She couldn’t bear to hurt Liu Chengxu, so she simply nodded gently.

Liu Chengxu immediately cheered up and went to pour a cup of hot water, carefully placing it in Su Zhiluo’s hands. Only after the air conditioner in the bedroom had dissipated the dusty smell did she lead Su Zhiluo inside.

Su Zhiluo walked in and froze when she saw the two beds pushed together.

The room was much more spacious after the rearrangement. Liu Chengxu had also stacked two storage boxes and added new shelves in the corner, neatly organizing miscellaneous items and books.

Su Zhiluo asked, “Why didn’t you use my closet? It’s empty, isn’t it?”

Liu Chengxu stood up in silence, not answering the question. Before Su Zhiluo could reach out, she quickly pulled over the suitcase to help unpack.

These items weren’t bought on a whim; Su Zhiluo rarely wandered around in Guangzhou, spending most of her time dealing with garment factories. When she occasionally went to the market or supermarket, she would think of Liu Chengxu whenever she saw something interesting or nice—from puzzles and figurines to music boxes, and more often, daily necessities like toothbrushes and pillowcases. She couldn’t help but buy them to take home.

Next to the suitcase was an exquisite gift box tied with a ribbon. Without needing to ask, Liu Chengxu knew it was Su Zhiluo’s New Year’s gift for her.

“Buying me so many gifts,” Liu Chengxu said softly, “you actually wanted to come back, but you couldn’t get a ticket, right?”

Su Zhiluo’s nose stung with emotion.

Liu Chengxu did not press further; she took the answer as fact and looked at Su Zhiluo with sparkling eyes: “I knew you cared about me.”

She carefully unwrapped the gift box and took out the digital drawing tablet inside, running her fingertips lightly over it.

“Thank you, sister-in-law.” Her voice trembled slightly. “I really love it… truly.”

She had been coveting it for a long time, but because of the high price, she had never brought herself to buy it, thinking she’d just settle for a cheaper one to connect to her computer.

“It must have cost a lot of money, right?”

Su Zhiluo replied, “I earned money.”

The words were true. During her time in Guangzhou, she had barely scraped by in the first half of the year, but now she had earned a decent amount. Su Zhiluo took out her phone to show her and said, “Calculate how much money there is. I haven’t tallied it yet. Help me summarize this year’s income and expenses.”

“I’ll do it later. I need to go out for a bit.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to buy groceries, so I can cook fish for you.”

Su Zhiluo remembered that Liu Chengxu had even specially made her hometown’s fried slippery fish and sent it to Guangzhou.

It had been a while since she had seen Liu Chengxu this happy. She had thought Liu Chengxu’s personality had changed, but now she realized that Liu Chengxu must have been very depressed during that time, which was why she was always glum.

Liu Chengxu finished unpacking the suitcase and was about to leave for groceries, but not before instructing Su Zhiluo not to come along and to rest for a while.

Liu Chengxu took her phone and sent a voice message in her friends’ group chat.

“Hahaha, my sister-in-law is back! I’m off to buy groceries. I’ll send you pictures today; Chef Liu’s cooking is absolutely top-notch.”

Su Zhiluo listened to her quietly, a smile inevitably spreading across her lips. It reminded her of when they first started living together: Liu Chengxu would object to one thing or another, and then grudgingly complete the task while whining.

Chang Ruyin sent her a message: You arrived? You didn’t fight, did you?

Su Zhiluo replied: No, everything is fine.

Chang Ruyin: It’s not a bad thing to go back and see. Being alone outside is lonely. Do you feel that home is warm now that you’re back?

Su Zhiluo: Mmm, it’s very warm. The air conditioner is on.

Chang Ruyin: That has nothing to do with the air conditioner; your heart has warmed up.

Her heart?

Su Zhiluo touched her own chest; it did feel very warm.

She had originally thought that if she could return, she would take Liu Chengxu out to travel.

The flowy long dresses sold in her shop during the summer were mostly suitable for travel. Back then, Liu Chengxu would always silently help her package and ship orders, placing one imaginative dress after another into cardboard boxes to be sent off to unknown destinations.

Every time she thought of this, a detailed sense of guilt arose in Su Zhiluo’s heart. Liu Chengxu should also be seeing the sea, climbing mountains, and experiencing the evening breeze in different cities. Yet, at the same age, she was trapped in that room filled with packages.

As she was thinking, her phone vibrated.

She received a message.

Liu Chengxu: Should we eat this?

I’ll make some of this!

Su Zhiluo: That’s plenty already.

Liu Chengxu: This is a reunion dinner!

Liu Chengxu rode her bicycle back and saw Su Zhiluo standing on the balcony. Their eyes met, and Liu Chengxu took off her helmet and gave her a brilliant smile.

Liu Chengxu had bags in both hands. Su Zhiluo came down to meet her and asked, “Why are you back so late?”

Liu Chengxu: “I probably haven’t ridden the electric bike in a while, and the battery is dead.”

Su Zhiluo: “Get a new one.”

“I don’t ride it much. A new one would break soon enough anyway. Let’s just leave it,” Liu Chengxu said with a smile. “When we have money in the future, we’ll buy one with four wheels.”

Su Zhiluo nodded.

Without any great effort, Liu Chengxu had transformed into a sunny sunflower. They picked vegetables together. Su Zhiluo told her that she had moved to a new place where the air conditioner worked properly. She also suggested that when school wasn’t busy, Liu Chengxu could get a driver’s license, as it would be useful later.

The two of them made plans: buying a car and traveling in the future.

Liu Chengxu had bought a lot of groceries and was planning a magnificent feast.

Mingming from next door heard the noise and ran over, saying with great surprise, “Sister Zhiluo, you’re back!”

Su Zhiluo went to get the pastries she brought back for Mingming—local Guangzhou specialties like almond cookies, char siu pastry, and preserved sausages. Su Zhiluo said, “Tell your grandma that I appreciate her looking after Sister Chengxu.”

Mingming didn’t take them and said, “My grandma won’t accept them. Every time we invite Sister Chengxu to eat at our house, she never comes.”

“But you also gave her dried fried sweet potatoes and sweet potato fries.” Su Zhiluo gently rubbed her head and told her to take the gifts.

Not long after Mingming left with the gifts, Aunt Zhang came over carrying a bag of New Year’s goods. Liu Chengxu was chopping vegetables in the kitchen. She listened to Su Zhiluo and Aunt Zhang chatting, occasionally shifting her gaze over. She didn’t have the courage to say it, but everything still didn’t feel real to her.