Bullying The Sister-In-Law - Chapter 49

The newly purchased house in S City had been renovated by industry professionals, and its style was quite different from the one in North City. While the North City home was warm and cozy, this one felt more sophisticated and high-end. Su Zhiluo loved both styles; she had turned the room with the best view into her studio, where she worked on designs whenever inspiration struck.

Back in her harder days, she had always thought about earning enough money to just “lie flat” and do nothing. Now that her earnings were substantial and their life together had stabilized, Su Zhiluo found herself falling in love with learning. It wasn’t the rote memorization of her student days, but rather pursuing whatever caught her interest—spending time in libraries, solving practice problems, enrolling in courses, taking exams, and watching films or reading books to broaden her horizons.

Sometimes, even when Liu Chengxu wasn’t busy, Su Zhiluo would be so absorbed in her studies that she’d forget to eat or sleep. She had made a few friends here—all in the design industry—and they often went out for meals. Eventually, noticing the local love for sweets, she signed up for a baking class.

Initially, Liu Chengxu felt a bit neglected since Su Zhiluo wasn’t spending as much time fussing over her. However, once Su Zhiluo mastered baking, she began baking cookies every day for Liu Chengxu to take to the office. They were often shaped like rabbits, hearts, little houses, puppies, or flowers. One time, she even made several that spelled out “LOVE.”

This made Liu Chengxu incredibly happy. Getting Su Zhiluo to say romantic words was harder than climbing to heaven, but the things she expressed through her baking were endless.

Sometimes, while eating the cookies, Liu Chengxu would find words written on them.

The tree is full of cherries. Spring confesses its love to the cherry tree; therefore, the other three seasons belong to us—because you and I fell in love in the spring.

The setting sun burns its afterglow to its limit. I hope the clouds turn into one last bird, even if it’s just a crow, to fly to your window and say just one thing: my heart has started missing you again.

Liu Chengxu sent her “sister-in-law” a message, teasingly asking: “Where did you copy this from?”

Su Zhiluo replied: I thought of it myself.

They were thoughts that came to her while working at home, and being questioned made her feel shy. But Liu Chengxu replied: “I thought so. It’s written so well; I honestly thought you’d copied it from some poetry collection.”

It was a good thing they were texting; if they were face-to-face, Liu Chengxu would have seen that her ears were beet red.

Liu Chengxu sent a voice note: “Sister-in-law, next time write it for me on a separate card. Otherwise, I can’t bear to eat the cookies.”

Su Zhiluo: Okay.

Liu Chengxu: Love you.

Su Zhiluo pinched her earlobe. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, pressing down and lifting several times before finally typing: Love you too.

Liu Chengxu: Wifey

Su Zhiluo couldn’t handle it anymore. She quickly switched the page, a sense of bashfulness wrapping around her. She even went to pour a glass of water before returning to the chat window to send: Hitting the doggy’s head.

After sending the emoji, Su Zhiluo returned to work. She had a phone call with Chang Ruyin, who was planning to visit S City to learn about social media marketing. Chang Ruyin felt that their own clothing line was excellent in quality—the only difference between them and the big brands was the marketing.

Su Zhiluo wasn’t as eloquent as her friend; she found even making phone calls exhausting. So, she left that side of the business entirely to Chang Ruyin.

Today was March 31st, and she had something important to do.

She had originally wanted to bake the cake herself, but after seeing beautiful custom cakes in videos, she designed a pattern herself and took it to a shop to have it made.

She specifically booked a Western restaurant that was more high-end and beautiful than the first one they had ever visited. She couldn’t quite remember the taste of that first meal, but in her memory, it remained the most delicious. Liu Chengxu had suggested going back there several times, but she always refused. A beautiful memory of a taste should stay in the heart for a lifetime.

She waited quietly for Liu Chengxu to appear.

At six o’clock, Liu Chengxu arrived at the restaurant and saw her sister-in-law sitting by the window. She walked over carefully, a bouquet of flowers hidden behind her back. Su Zhiluo was surprised and asked, “Why did you bring me flowers?”

Liu Chengxu said, “Because I want you to feel part of it, too.”

“Thank you, my girlfriend, for attending my birthday party.”

It was a bouquet of sunflowers and white roses. As she handed it to Su Zhiluo, the ring on her finger sparkled among the leaves. Su Zhiluo took the flowers and handed over the gift she had prepared—a new watch.

The watch Liu Chengxu currently wore was the one Su Zhiluo had bought for a few hundred yuan back when they were students. Now, the hands moved sluggishly; no matter how many times it was adjusted, it would always lose a few beats at some unexpected moment.

Liu Chengxu was sentimental and reluctant to replace it. Su Zhiluo said she was more old-fashioned than herself, to which Liu Chengxu replied, “It’s not that I’m old-fashioned, it’s that this was a very precious gift from you. Back then, you felt I needed a proper adult gift since I was growing up. How could I bear to take it off?”

She then looked at the necklace around Su Zhiluo’s neck. “If I asked you to change that, would you?”

“No way,” Su Zhiluo refused without thinking. She helped Liu Chengxu put on the new watch. This one cost over thirty thousand yuan. She had seen a watch for a hundred thousand that she thought suited Liu Chengxu’s status, but she knew Liu Chengxu would think it was wasteful. She bought this meaningful one instead and transferred the remaining seventy thousand to Liu Chengxu to spend as she pleased.

“Do you like it? You can change the strap later,” Su Zhiluo said.

“I love it. The little white flowers inside look like you.” Liu Chengxu lifted the new watch and kissed it. She was solemn every time she received a gift, which always made Su Zhiluo feel she hadn’t given enough.

She brought the cake over, unpacked it, and inserted the candles, borrowing a lighter from the waiter. The writing on the cake said: “Liu Chengxu: Peace, Joy, and Great Wealth.” She said, “Make a wish.”

Liu Chengxu said, “I wish for Su Zhiluo to say ‘I love you’ to me a hundred times this month.”

Su Zhiluo’s eyes widened. “That many?”

Liu Chengxu countered, “Is that really a lot? I’ve already calculated it. One in the morning, one at noon, one in the afternoon, and occasionally one with a late-night snack.”

Su Zhiluo pulled out her phone, searched their chat history, and showed it to her. “The number of times you’ve said ‘I love you’ to me only adds up to this much—78 times total.”

“Then you say it 78 times. For the remaining 22 times, you can just call me ‘Wifey.’ I’ll even give you eight days off a month. How about that?”

Su Zhiluo put her phone down. “That works.”

Quickly, she saw a triumphant smile on Liu Chengxu’s face. She realized she had been played. Liu Chengxu winked, keeping her hands in a wishing pose. “This is my birthday wish. You have to help me fulfill it. Love you, darling, Sister Zhiluo.”

Being out in public, Su Zhiluo couldn’t match her thick skin, so she just endured it.

The two of them ate cake and dinner while enjoying the view. On their way home, they passed a pet hospital where a sign said volunteers had rescued a group of kittens over the weekend and were looking for kind people to adopt them. They stared for a while, scanned the QR code to join the group, and prepared to adopt one.

After their walk, they returned home. Liu Chengxu took a call from a friend saying her birthday gifts had arrived and to remember to sign for them.

Over the years, their friends had scattered to different cities, working in different industries and circles, but their bond had never faded. When Liu Chengxu was struggling here alone, she had often felt lonely and thought about moving back. Now that Su Zhiluo was by her side, she felt that anywhere was fine.

She spoke mostly with Cha Baomei, who wailed in agony over the phone. “If I had known, I would have changed my name years ago. I had a master calculate it—this is a tribulation in my fate, there’s no way out. Do you know? That’s my sister, my own sister…”

“Try to think positively,” Liu Chengxu said.

“How can I think positively…” Her voice sounded pained. Cha Baomei took a deep breath. “Forget it. Happy birthday. Stay happy with the sister-in-law.”

“I know.” Liu Chengxu hung up, only to hear Su Zhiluo comment from beside her, “She got infected too, huh.”

Liu Chengxu couldn’t hold back her laughter. She wrapped her arm around Su Zhiluo’s waist and whispered a few words in her ear.

The leftover cake was put in the fridge. While Liu Chengxu unboxed gifts in the living room, Su Zhiluo took some clothes into the bathroom. She stayed in there for a long time, using a newly purchased fragrance. Afterward, she called for Liu Chengxu to take a shower, saying she would clean up the rest.

When Liu Chengxu stepped into the bathroom to tidy up, the air was still thick with the lingering scent of tuberose.

The scent was mature and heady, wrapped in a sense of lingering desire, curling into her nostrils. For a moment, she felt transported back to those past days of unrequited longing, unable to stop herself from breathing in every ounce of that fragrance.

She closed her eyes, letting herself sink into that long-lost familiarity.

Liu Chengxu put on a nightgown and returned to the bedroom.

The orange lamplight flowed over Su Zhiluo’s skin like melted honey.

Before Liu Chengxu could even call her name, she saw Su Zhiluo’s fingertips lightly hook and undo the tie at her waist.

Underneath was a hollowed-out black lace, draping over her full curves like butterfly wings. In the interplay of light and shadow, a hint of crimson peeked through from beneath those wings.

Su Zhiluo had been sitting with her legs crossed. As Liu Chengxu’s gaze fell upon her, she slowly uncrossed her long, fair legs. The design there was even more exquisite; Liu Chengxu could clearly see the “dangerous forest,” and the shallowly veiled vortex she so often explored.

In that instant, her throat went dry.

She was completely enticed; she wanted to taste, to bite.

After letting Liu Chengxu see, Su Zhiluo crossed her legs again, as if it were a “seasonal limited” display.

Liu Chengxu walked over and knelt beside Su Zhiluo, whispering, “I want to see more.”

Liu Chengxu’s hand rested on Su Zhiluo’s knee. Su Zhiluo whispered back, “Then you have to make it wet.”

Liu Chengxu lowered her head, rubbing her forehead against Su Zhiluo’s knee. She was teased into a state of sweet torment. She nodded vigorously. “I will.”

Su Zhiluo said once more, “Happy Birthday. Do you like it?”