Bullying The Sister-In-Law - Chapter 24

The train conductor blew the whistle.

After hearing her words, Liu Chengxu wept, utterly unable to believe it.

“You silly girl.” Su Zhiluo took another tissue and handed it to her, saying, “I’m leaving. Take good care of yourself at home, and don’t always be so thin. This is your task, and I will be checking up on it.”

Liu Chengxu nodded. Clenching the tissue, she desperately wanted to ask, Can I hug you?

She crumpled the tissue, doing her best to restrain that restless desire.

Su Zhiluo was the last person to board the train. Just as she stepped in, the train started moving. She hesitated and stopped, lowering her head slightly, her gaze cast outside the window. Liu Chengxu did not stop but continued to follow the starting train, walking silently along the platform.

Su Zhiluo wasn’t sure if she could see, so she waved towards the window.

Liu Chengxu couldn’t keep up with the train’s speed and stopped. Her eyes were full of disappointment as she vigorously waved in her direction.

In that instant, Su Zhiluo almost wanted to walk back against the flow of people, but was unfortunately stopped by the train attendant beside her.

The train gradually sped up, and Su Zhiluo found her seat. It was the peak of the return travel season, and tickets were hard to buy. She only managed to get a combined ticket where she would sit first and then transfer to a sleeper.

She sat by the window, feeling a wave of frustration as she looked at the empty seat next to her, and so she turned her head to look out the window.

Although it was early spring, the scenery outside the window still bore the look of deep winter—desolate and vast, with hardly any greenery to be seen.

She rubbed her face and opened her phone.

Liu Chengxu hadn’t sent her a message, but Chang Ruyin had. One set of clothes was sold out, and she asked if Su Zhiluo wanted to reorder.

Su Zhiluo looked at the set Chang Ruyin had sent and replied: No need. Take it down. Warm spring is coming soon.

Having run the shop for this period, she had observed a practical pattern.

In reality, the late cold spell in spring is harder to endure than the dead of winter. It’s damp and cold, but consumer spending is very low this season. Like the green shoots buried in the soil, people always tell themselves to hold on, as the weather will be warm soon anyway.

It takes 22 hours from Beishi to Guangzhou, which is how long it takes to travel all the way from the cold winter to the warm spring. Is this journey short or long?

Su Zhiluo couldn’t find the answer.

A wave of sleepiness suddenly washed over her.

Su Zhiluo propped her chin on her hand and typed: Are you on the train yet?

Liu Chengxu had just found the waiting hall; she needed another hour before she could board the train back.

She replied: Waiting.

Su Zhiluo replied with an “En.” Seeing that no message was forthcoming, she replied: I’m going to sleep for a bit.

Liu Chengxu: Okay

Liu Chengxu tapped on her keyboard, going back and forth, deleting the words “I love you.”

She placed the tissue Su Zhiluo had given her on her lap, carefully smoothing out the wrinkles and folding it into a heart shape.

The tissue had a faint fragrance, different from the scent on Su Zhiluo’s body, but she thought it was her sister-in-law’s body fragrance, and it smelled wonderful.

Su Zhiluo slept for an hour, and when she woke up, she immediately messaged Liu Chengxu, asking if she had boarded the train.

Liu Chengxu was already on the train. She was expected to arrive home at 11:30 PM, and Su Zhiluo would switch to the sleeper cabin two hours later.

When Liu Chengxu got home, everything looked empty, and she felt a little sad. She didn’t have much appetite, so she chatted with a friend instead.

Cha Baomei: Did your sister-in-law leave today? Did you cry?

Liu Chengxu: Why would I cry?

Cha Baomei: I feel like you really miss your sister-in-law.

Liu Chengxu: My sister-in-law said she’ll let me visit during the summer holiday.

She sent an emoji of a dog smoking a cigarette with its paw.

Cha Baomei: Tsk.

In the evening, Liu Chengxu messaged Su Zhiluo, asking: Are you tired?

Su Zhiluo replied, saying she was fine.

At 8 PM, it was completely dark. Su Zhiluo video-called Liu Chengxu. In the frame, Liu Chengxu was lying on the bed, her eyes red, clearly in a low mood, tightly clutching Su Zhiluo’s pillow.

During the call, Liu Chengxu did most of the talking, trying to find various topics. Su Zhiluo didn’t say much, just quietly responding to her.

Liu Chengxu said, “I want to go to Guangzhou for the food. Meng Zhengyue and the others said there’s a lot of good food in Guangzhou. We haven’t had morning tea yet.”

Su Zhiluo replied, “Sure, I’ll check on my phone then.”

Liu Chengxu’s topics all revolved around Guangzhou. She didn’t ask directly, but Su Zhiluo could tell she was testing whether Su Zhiluo truly wanted her to come to Guangzhou.

This idea had troubled Su Zhiluo for some time. At first, she didn’t know and was very hesitant, as it would cause many inconveniences for Liu Chengxu to be there. She only made up her mind today.

Liu Chengxu rambled on, “When I come over, I can help you out.”

Su Zhiluo “En’d” and said, “It shouldn’t be too busy during the summer holiday.”

Liu Chengxu rolled over, her chin resting on the pillow, and mumbled, “Did you change your mind?”

Su Zhiluo didn’t speak.

Liu Chengxu became anxious: “Don’t change your mind! I can do anything. I can cook for you, wash your clothes—free university student labor, use me while you can.”

Su Zhiluo was just listening quietly at first. Liu Chengxu went on to praise her own usefulness, and Su Zhiluo suddenly laughed. Liu Chengxu looked at her, confused: “What’s wrong?”

Su Zhiluo said, “I remembered when you were little and asked me for pocket money, hahaha.”

She burst out laughing, and Liu Chengxu, in her eyes, also started smiling, her expression gentle.

Liu Chengxu was in her second year of middle school at the time. Once, when Su Zhiluo was washing clothes, she voluntarily came over to help scrub and then subtly brought up the fact that her classmates were all eating tanghulu (candied fruit on a stick).

Su Zhiluo immediately understood what she was hinting at but deliberately pretended not to. By the time Liu Chengxu finished helping her scrub the clothes, her mouth was pouting so high it could almost hang an oil bottle.

Su Zhiluo said, “There’s money in the basin under the bed. I usually put the change from buying groceries in there. From now on, when you buy groceries, the extra money is yours.”

“Great!” Liu Chengxu immediately went to get the money. She wasn’t in a rush to buy anything, though; she helped hang up the clothes first, then ran out to buy a skewer of tanghulu. She didn’t keep it all to herself; she gave the two biggest pieces to Su Zhiluo.

Liu Chengxu was still waiting for her sister-in-law’s answer, feeling quite uncertain, very afraid there might be a change later.

Su Zhiluo said, “We’ll see how you perform.”

Seeing her eager look, Su Zhiluo still couldn’t help but laugh.

She was sleeping in the middle bunk, which was quite uncomfortable. The train carriage shook occasionally. The two of them chatted on and off for an hour and a half.

Su Zhiluo quite enjoyed listening to her talk; it wasn’t annoying. It would subtly give rise to a feeling of anticipation, making her feel that life wasn’t so dark, that it wasn’t just about the blooming flowers but also about attracting a host of fluttering butterflies.

After hanging up the phone, Su Zhiluo still couldn’t fall asleep.

She casually opened a novel to read. After a few chapters, she realized it was one that Chang Ruyin had sent her. She didn’t understand it at first, but as she read further, she discovered it was about an older sister and her younger sister-in-law fooling around, complete with a classic quote: The beautiful older sister whispering in her ear, You don’t want him to lose his job, do you?

Su Zhiluo: ????

Although the plot was bizarre, the entire novel was quite good.

She sent a message to Liu Chengxu: I’m sleeping.

Liu Chengxu: Okay.

Su Zhiluo: You’re still awake?

Liu Chengxu: I’m playing games all night. If you need anything, just find me. I’m here.

Su Zhiluo: ?

Liu Chengxu: I can’t sleep either. I’ll keep you company.

Su Zhiluo’s heart was slightly moved at that moment, warming up. She remembered what Liu Chengxu had said: If she deeply loved her sister, could she take Su Zhiluo as her sister’s only relic to inherit?

She had found the comment utterly bizarre then—how could Liu Chengxu say such a thing? Yet, sometimes, she felt the words were uncannily accurate.

Raising Liu Chengxu was very hard at first, like a sudden burden dumped upon her, a heavy responsibility. Now, it was reversed, and she was the one who worried about, cared for, and looked after Su Zhiluo.

She just couldn’t dwell on it. If she did, it would easily cross a line, and an indescribable bitterness would rise in her heart.

Su Zhiluo reopened the novel and continued reading.

Seven o’clock in the morning.

Su Zhiluo arrived in Guangzhou. The train attendant came to announce preparation for disembarking, along with a message from Liu Chengxu: I put an umbrella in the tote bag. Use it if it rains.

No wonder the tote bag was so heavy.

It was raining. She stood under the bus stop sign, and her phone kept vibrating.

Liu Chengxu: It’s raining, right?

Su Zhiluo: Yes.

The rain in Guangzhou today was quite interesting. It wasn’t like the rain in Beishi that battered your face. It had changed its usual style, becoming soft as silk, like a pervasive mist.

Outside the station, pedestrians bustled, holding hands over their heads to shield from the rain.

Su Zhiluo stood with her umbrella open, displaying a smile that contrasted with the gloomy weather.

Chang Ruyin came to meet her. Seeing her with so many bags, she couldn’t help but exclaim admiringly, saying it was nice to have someone thinking of you, the words brimming with genuine envy.

Su Zhiluo silently tightened her grip on the umbrella.

Yes, she thought, it truly is.

Back in Guangzhou, Su Zhiluo cleared out a batch of inventory, planning to hold an off-season clearance sale for the rest. The two of them found time to move house and then went to inquire about warehouse prices.

Liu Chengxu had calculated for her last time: she had earned 80,000 last year. She and Chang Ruyin each put in 60,000 for investment. Taking advantage of the fact that spring was not yet the high-spending season, Su Zhiluo enrolled in a class specializing in fashion design.

She worked on orders during the day. After dinner at 6 PM, she went to class. She would return after two hours, and Su Zhiluo also enrolled in an adult college entrance exam program on the side.

In April, Chang Ruyin told her that Yang Jie was coming to visit. Su Zhiluo was quite surprised. She had occasionally heard the two of them on the phone over the past few months, but she never asked about the progress.

Yang Jie was probably embarrassed and didn’t stay at their rented apartment, opting for a nearby hotel instead.

Chang Ruyin put it this way: “Gay opportunities wait for no one. It’s too hard to meet the right person nowadays. If there’s no feeling in the early stage, we can cultivate it later. We’ll fall madly in love, and besides, feelings develop over time.”

She specifically added, “Develop is a verb.”

Su Zhiluo felt like she was meeting Chang Ruyin for the first time. She stared blankly at her for a long time. Chang Ruyin said, “I just feel like grand love is too far away from me. I’m just an ordinary person. My birth has already shown that my luck isn’t so good. I just want to find someone to live a good life with. She loves me, and I love her, regardless of worldly opinions. Do you understand?”

Su Zhiluo walked on in silence, looking at Chang Ruyin.

Chang Ruyin had specially permed her hair into small curls for today and wiped her small face very white. Su Zhiluo reached out to wipe her eyebrow and said, “Here, the BB cream hasn’t blended in.”

“Oh, oh, oh, that would have been embarrassing.”

Su Zhiluo rubbed it in for her and said, “You should change into that white dress.”

Chang Ruyin asked, “Does it look good?”

Su Zhiluo said, “It will leave a good impression.”

Chang Ruyin dashed upstairs. Although she was wearing small high heels, her movements were very quick.

Su Zhiluo waited for her downstairs, pacing a few steps forward until she reached the bus stop sign. The streetlights shone down obliquely, outlining dappled light and shadow. She, too, once had a similar feeling to Chang Ruyin, dressing up to see someone, full of hope that they could be good forever.

Chang Ruyin came out dressed in the white dress and asked her, “How do I look?”

Su Zhiluo smiled and said, “Beautiful.”

“Shall we go then?”

Su Zhiluo shook her head. “You go meet her. I’d ruin the atmosphere if I were there.”

“Ah?”

Although Chang Ruyin was a chatterbox, she didn’t know much about the small strategies of dating.

Chang Ruyin: “I’m embarrassed.”

Su Zhiluo said, “Then buy a bouquet of flowers and hide your face behind it.”

Chang Ruyin thought this made sense.

The bus arrived. Chang Ruyin got on and left, and Su Zhiluo waved at her.

Perhaps due to recent stress, Su Zhiluo found herself really enjoying sitting under the bus stop sign, staring blankly and letting her mind wander.

She was now more exposed to the internet and really liked one particular phrase.

One should not meet someone too stunning in their youth.

Sometimes, when emotions surged, she would suddenly feel very sad.

In the past, when she was sad, she would think of Liu Jinhuan, think of her kindness, and all the things about her.

Now, she dared not think of it, as she would feel like she was letting her down.

The wind began to play with her hair again. She cautiously reached up to touch it. She quietly said in her heart, “Have you come again?”

“I’m older than you now, you know. I’m your older sister.”

“Will you grow up?”

A bus arrived. Su Zhiluo wasn’t sure where it was going, but she boarded, gripping the hand loop. Her phone vibrated, and she took it out to look.

Liu Chengxu: Night run, exhausted.

Waving banner for Boss Su

Sending love to sister-in-law

Su Zhiluo curved her lips.

She was thinking about how to reply and glanced sideways out the window, noticing she was smiling.

Su Zhiluo checked the map when she arrived at a place and found it was quite close to the Pearl River. She transferred to the subway.

When she reached the location, she voice-called Liu Chengxu. Through her headphones came a series of low, suppressed gasps, making her ears feel slightly hot.

Su Zhiluo asked, “Are you running?”

Liu Chengxu panted: “Ha… Mm.”

Su Zhiluo asked, “Why are you running for so long? You used to only run at night. You should rest more, don’t over-exercise.”

Liu Chengxu said, “I know, but I can’t help it. It’s strange. I used to only miss you during the day, but now I miss you a lot at night too.”

The rapid panting, accompanied by the burning confession, made Su Zhiluo’s ears flush. She reached up and pulled off her headphones as if she had been burned.

The author has something to say: The puppy’s inner thoughts: Only with a strong physique can I properly live with you!

I dare not imagine how good the puppy’s stamina will be! Rainbow Fart