Bullying The Sister-In-Law - Chapter 36

Liu Chengxu stared at her, her lips trembling slightly. She asked, “Why were you waiting for me? I didn’t tell you I was coming back.”

Su Zhiluo replied, “You had photos on your Moments.”

While traveling, she had taken many pictures.

Undeniably, many times she took those photos intending for Su Zhiluo to see them. Of course, there was a hidden desire for revenge: she wanted Su Zhiluo to see how well she was doing, to let her know how much she had lost by losing her.

Su Zhiluo felt uncomfortable under her direct gaze. She said, “Let’s eat, it’s getting cold.”

Liu Chengxu snapped back to reality, smelling the aroma of chicken soup.

Su Zhiluo said, “I was afraid you might not come back today, so I only stewed half a chicken today.”

Liu Chengxu gripped the handle of her suitcase tightly. She said, “What if I hadn’t come back? Wouldn’t that be a waste?”

The old resentments, after a taste of satisfaction, began to ferment again. She pressed for an answer, needing to understand.

What was the meaning of Su Zhiluo staying in one place and waiting anxiously?

Liu Chengxu loved the Su Zhiluo who waited for her. But she also loved the Su Zhiluo from high school who would ride her bike to pick her up and take her home at night.

Su Zhiluo said, “I’m not helpless; I can send you a message. If you didn’t show up, I’d just ask you.”

Su Zhiluo turned her back to her. She hoped Liu Chengxu wouldn’t ask any more questions. She was far from as calm as Liu Chengxu imagined; her eyes were already stinging, and she didn’t want to cry.

The clay pot was very hot, and she used a cloth to wrap it and bring it out.

Liu Chengxu’s eyes were red.

Su Zhiluo called out to her again, “Let’s eat.”

Liu Chengxu went to the kitchen to wash her hands.

The dishes were still warm, clearly freshly made. Liu Chengxu asked, “Do you make these many dishes every night? Do you treat dinner as the main meal?”

Su Zhiluo said, “There’s just a time difference. When I was in Guangzhou, they also liked to treat dinner as the main meal. I can cook a little later during the day, but at night there’s no time. It won’t be wasted; I just reheat it and eat it the next day.”

After working for so many years, Liu Chengxu’s character had become much more resilient, but the moment she saw Su Zhiluo, she couldn’t stop her mind from running wild, wondering if Su Zhiluo had barely eaten any hot meals these past few days.

Su Zhiluo gave her a bowl of soup, still giving her the chicken leg.

“Drink some to warm yourself up, it’s cold.”

Liu Chengxu split the chicken leg in half and placed one half in Su Zhiluo’s bowl. Instantly, tears fell from Su Zhiluo’s eyes.

Su Zhiluo didn’t want Liu Chengxu to notice, as that would lead to deeper probing, like cutting open her heart, forcing both of them to walk through the bitterness again.

After composing herself, she looked up at Liu Chengxu. Before, she had the pure freshness of a young, energetic college student, but now she had an added touch of feminine charm.

Liu Chengxu tucked her curled hair behind her ear and said, “Doing house design, if you dress too young, people think you lack experience.”

“Oh.”

“Didn’t you say my sister was a mature professional? Now you don’t like it?”

Su Zhiluo picked up a piece of tofu for her. While Liu Chengxu lowered her head to eat, she spoke, “I never saw your sister when she was 25.”

“You look very beautiful like this. 25 is very beautiful.”

Liu Chengxu paused, then changed the way she held her chopsticks.

After dinner, the dishes were stacked in the kitchen; it was too late to wash them tonight.

Su Zhiluo said, “The water heater has been replaced. You can take a shower.”

Liu Chengxu walked into the bathroom. The cramped space didn’t feel unfamiliar to her; the bathroom she used while living alone was about the same size.

She took a hot shower and came out to find a pair of fluffy slippers placed outside the door. Her feet sank into the soft pile, and a warmth instantly wrapped around her icy toes.

The bed was made with brand new flannel bedding. Su Zhiluo gently asked, “Do you want to rest now, or do you need to use your computer or phone first?”

Liu Chengxu said, “I need to look at my phone for a bit. I have two clients here, and when they’re free, I need to visit the sites to communicate.”

Su Zhiluo went to the bathroom.

Half an hour later, Su Zhiluo returned. She had also washed her hair and was blow-drying it.

“Why wash it at night? Won’t it be sunny tomorrow?”

Why?

Su Zhiluo was too embarrassed to say that cooking had made her hair absorb oil and smoke, giving it an odor.

She didn’t want to smell strange when sleeping next to her.

Both remained silent and still.

Su Zhiluo was reading a novel. Liu Chengxu glanced at the plot, recalling a time when she was up late studying physics, and Su Zhiluo sat beside her, reading a novel to keep her company. Liu Chengxu’s head was aching from calculations. When she looked up, she saw Su Zhiluo’s face covered in tears.

They weren’t very close then. She really wanted to comfort Su Zhiluo, but due to a strange pride, she felt too awkward and could only hold back.

Su Zhiluo hadn’t turned the page in a while.

Liu Chengxu asked, “Are you crying?”

Su Zhiluo was startled, and her phone directly hit her face.

She turned her head to look at Liu Chengxu and said, “No. Are you ready to sleep?”

Liu Chengxu hummed and turned off the light. Su Zhiluo said, “I forgot to turn on the air conditioner.”

“It’s warm enough, no need.”

Another period of silence followed. Su Zhiluo stared at the ceiling and asked, “Does the fund earn a lot of money?”

Liu Chengxu had only bought a small portion of the fund; most of it was in stocks, which was high risk. She had lied because she didn’t want Su Zhiluo to worry.

She just said “It’s alright” and ended the topic, failing to realize Su Zhiluo was trying to make conversation.

Su Zhiluo thought, then let’s just sleep.

Both lay stiffly, staring straight at the ceiling.

Liu Chengxu turned over, giving Su Zhiluo her back. Her mind kept reminding her: Don’t do anything, fall asleep quickly.

But the scent of Su Zhiluo’s hair drifted into her nostrils. It wasn’t an intensely rich fragrance, but a subtle one, like a gentle, non-overpowering floral scent.

Liu Chengxu asked, “Did you change your shampoo?”

“It was on special at the supermarket, 16.5 a bottle.”

Liu Chengxu was about to ask why she bought such a cheap one when Su Zhiluo said, “It smells good. Don’t you like the scent of camellia?”

Liu Chengxu didn’t understand why Su Zhiluo kept saying things to provoke her. She endured it again and again, then said, “I just have one question.”

“Did you ever think of me? A very painful, heart-wrenching kind of thinking?”

Su Zhiluo answered without hesitation, “Yes, I did.”

Liu Chengxu rolled over, staring intently at her. “Then why didn’t you say anything?”

“You messaged me and scolded me,” Su Zhiluo said.

“When did I scold you?”

“You said ‘disgusting.'”

“Disgusting? That was when I was feeling nauseous and dry heaving every day. I was angry then. I wasn’t calling you disgusting; I was calling myself disgusting. I was upset because you kept transferring money to me, and I wanted to cut ties with you completely.”

“I knew what you meant before,” Su Zhiluo’s voice was slow. She said, “I knew what you meant afterward, too.”

“Then why couldn’t you say, ‘Chengxu, please don’t cut ties completely’?”

Su Zhiluo pursed her lips and subtly bit her lower lip with her teeth. She said, “Chengxu, I’m begging you, please don’t cut ties with me completely.”

Liu Chengxu’s body trembled slightly, and her breathing suddenly became rapid. She hadn’t expected Su Zhiluo to say it so abruptly.

Liu Chengxu’s arm, propped on the edge of the bed, suddenly went weak, and she sank lower. Her voice was filled with exasperation and anguish. She said, “You did that on purpose! You did that on purpose, Su Zhiluo. I’m going to hate you!”

“I’m making it up to you,” Su Zhiluo said. “It wasn’t on purpose. You’re back. I don’t want to fight.”

She had been thinking during this time: Now that she’s back, we won’t fight anymore. We need to be good. Fighting is too painful, and we’ve been separated for too many years already.

Su Zhiluo said, “I did think about you. It wasn’t easy.”

Liu Chengxu breathed heavily, gripping the comforter tightly. “Su Zhiluo, you’re just saying these things to coax me because you know you’re about to lose me, aren’t you?”

After a long silence, the room quieted down before Su Zhiluo finally replied, “No.”

“Then what is it?”

“I miss you terribly.”

Su Zhiluo heard her own heart trembling.

It wasn’t the “hindsight regret” of loss, nor the pain caused by possessiveness.

What she experienced was an all-consuming “missing,” like having a piece of flesh cruelly carved out, with every memory bringing a tearing pain, and every bout of pain fueling deeper longing.

Love and kinship had long been intertwined in her very bones and blood.

Forcing her to let go was tantamount to a slow, painful execution.

A moment later, Liu Chengxu’s hand was across Su Zhiluo’s neck. She moved closer, inhaling the faint scent of camellia. In the past, when they were poor, they bought very cheap shampoo, but Su Zhiluo would pick the one with the least cheap smell, so Liu Chengxu wouldn’t be ridiculed at school.

She nestled close to Su Zhiluo.

“If you keep talking like that, I’ll want to sleep with you.”

Su Zhiluo frowned, and soon her cheeks flushed with heat.

“I just thought I’d come back to argue with you, hurt my heart one more time, and then say I’d never come back in this lifetime, making you suffer, taking my revenge…” Liu Chengxu said, “You’re the one who tempted me. You seduced me.”

She was talking complete nonsense.

Su Zhiluo slightly tilted her head, though only enough to break eye contact. Her side profile was pressed against the pillow, and that half of her face was pink.

Liu Chengxu said, “I don’t want to rape you.”

After a while.

“Don’t say that word.”

Su Zhiluo then said, “…use ‘make love’ instead.”