Bullying The Sister-In-Law - Chapter 7

After Liu Chengxu separated, she placed her finger on the spot she had kissed and gently stroked it. So soft. She pressed her palm against it, instantly enveloped by a sense of security. She couldn’t control her greed and desperately wanted to hug Su Zhiluo’s waist, pressing closely against her.

Liu Chengxu poked a hole with her finger and looked up, faintly seeing Su Zhiluo’s brow furrowed. Liu Chengxu quickly scrambled out of the quilt. Meeting Su Zhiluo’s shocked gaze, she stammered, “Sister-in-law, your waist is so soft.”

Now it was Su Zhiluo’s turn to be speechless. Kissing the abdomen was an extremely intimate and private act. She was silent for a long time, emotions churning in her eyes, her expression complex and difficult to read.

Liu Chengxu panicked and said with an awkward laugh, “At first, when I rubbed against it, I couldn’t quite believe it, so I rubbed a couple more times.”

“Oh…” Su Zhiluo’s voice was extremely hoarse when she spoke.

Liu Chengxu felt even more guilty, like a thief caught in the act. The more she spoke, the more clumsy she sounded. “Just… curious.” A layer of sweat broke out on Liu Chengxu’s forehead after those few sentences. The two faced each other, their eyes locked. Su Zhiluo paused, then moved her lips: “Why did you burrow inside to sleep? Weren’t you suffocating?”

“Last night you kept curling up, so I burrowed in to help warm your legs. It wasn’t that suffocating, I made a hole to breathe.”

“Oh… alright, let’s get up then.” Su Zhiluo tried to get up first, and her knee accidentally brushed against Liu Chengxu’s thigh. Both their expressions froze. Liu Chengxu reacted first, threw back the quilt, and got out of bed. She went to the bathroom in just her pajamas.

The moment the door opened, she shivered from the cold. Su Zhiluo called out, “Put on your cotton jacket.”

“Sister-in-law, it’s snowing heavily outside, everything is white.”

Su Zhiluo propped her chin and sat up, leaning against the headboard. This winter, there had been a few sporadic snowfalls, none of them severe. Everyone thought there wouldn’t be heavy snow this year. Su Zhiluo looked down at her lower abdomen. She lifted her clothes, and as soon as her finger touched the spot, she quickly drew it back. It tickled so much, and the spot Liu Chengxu had kissed felt even itchier.

She rubbed it hard a couple of times, grabbed her jacket, and went out. It was ice and snow everywhere. The entire house was brightened by the snow, and a chill seeped into the house. Shivering from the cold, she hung Liu Chengxu’s jacket on the doorknob. “Put this on as soon as you’re done, okay?”

“Got it.”

Liu Chengxu washed her face with cold water, telling herself that as long as she remained calm enough, those actions were unintentional.

A chill permeated the bathroom. Liu Chengxu pulled the door open a crack and reached out for the cotton jacket hanging outside. Through the narrow gap, she saw Su Zhiluo standing by the window, carefully moving pots of succulents indoors.

Su Zhiluo was most afraid of that pot of gardenia freezing to death. This summer, she had rooted a cutting in a plastic bucket from the construction site, and it had grown into a large pot. Once this winter passed and the flowering season arrived, the whole house would be fragrant.

She answered a call, holding the phone clamped between her shoulder and ear. She replied, “My Liu Chengxu is back, I don’t have time to go over.”

After the call, Su Zhiluo also went in to wash up. Her movements were slow, and Liu Chengxu nervously rubbed her hands outside.

The two went to the market together. Liu Chengxu loved fish head, so Su Zhiluo bought two bighead carp heads and two blocks of firm tofu.

Water chestnuts were fresh this season, so Su Zhiluo also bought three catties for her to eat as fruit. On the way back, she saw chestnuts and bought a bag to make stir-fried sugar-glazed chestnuts. She asked Liu Chengxu what else she wanted to eat, “I’ll make it for you. The New Year is coming soon, let’s prepare more and have a good holiday.”

Liu Chengxu pointed out two dishes she wanted: meat sausage and preserved sausage. Su Zhiluo bought a small amount first, planning to ask Aunt Zhang to buy about twenty catties of ribs for her at the market later. She would learn to cure them herself and store them in the fridge, so Liu Chengxu could chop off a piece whenever she wanted.

They were both covered in quite a bit of snow. They helped dust each other off downstairs. Back home, Su Zhiluo stewed the fish heads while they were still fresh.

It was sauerkraut fish and tofu. Not many side dishes were added; the main purpose was for the shape-to-shape nourishment concept, wanting Liu Chengxu to eat more fish head to nourish her brain.

The two sat around the boiling pot. Liu Chengxu put food on Su Zhiluo’s plate. “Sister-in-law, you eat too.”

“Mhm.” Su Zhiluo withdrew her gaze. She kept inadvertently letting her eyes fall on Liu Chengxu’s face.

Liu Chengxu noticed, but dared not say anything.

Su Zhiluo smiled and said, “You and your sister look very much alike.”

“Oh.” “Do we?” Liu Chengxu wanted to agree, but she couldn’t help adding, “…There are differences too. If you look closely, you’ll find them.”

Su Zhiluo put a piece of fish fin on her plate and held her chopsticks, looking at Liu Chengxu.

Liu Chengxu didn’t have a youthful appearance; her features were very defined. Her eyes were like stars submerged in a cold pool, clear yet carrying a hint of misty melancholy. Her profile was clean and sharp. Her lips were a light red, adding a cool tone to her clean face. Perhaps it was her height, but she always seemed more composed than her peers.

Su Zhiluo couldn’t help but want to pinch her cheek, afraid she wouldn’t be able to once she got a little older.

Su Zhiluo lowered her head to eat the fish. “I have to go to the factory after I finish eating. I’ve taken the last two days off. If I take any more, the supervisor will scold me.”

Liu Chengxu nodded, “I’ll wait for Meng Zhengyue to resign and go check out the tutoring agencies with her.”

After the meal, Su Zhiluo grabbed her bag and headed out. Liu Chengxu told her to wait, went back to the room, and got a few packs of hand warmers. She squatted in front of Su Zhiluo to roll up her pant leg. When her fingers touched Su Zhiluo’s ankle, Su Zhiluo pulled back. She said, still half-squatting, “I’ll do it myself. Your hands are too cold; they’re freezing me.”

Liu Chengxu touched her own face. “It is cold.”

She handed them to Su Zhiluo. Su Zhiluo rolled up her pant leg and stuck them onto her thermal leggings, asking, “When did you buy these? How did I not know?”

“I bought them while you were cooking.” Liu Chengxu unzipped her handbag and put the other two she was holding inside. “If they stop generating heat by noon, remember to change them.”

“Got it.” Su Zhiluo straightened her pant legs and casually tucked the hair falling down behind Liu Chengxu’s ear. “It’s too cold with the snow today, stay home and have a good time.”

She added, “I hope you can fully enjoy your university life. So that when others recall their wonderful university days, you can too. I don’t want you to be so stressed.”

As soon as she said this, Liu Chengxu’s eyes welled up. Su Zhiluo felt a little helpless, surprised that the stubborn little hedgehog from her childhood had grown into a crybaby.

Chengxu followed her like a puppy to see her off. Su Zhiluo straddled the electric scooter and put on her helmet. When she first started riding, she found it hard to concentrate. She kept thinking about Liu Chengxu kissing her abdomen.

Liu Chengxu must see her as the closest person to her. That’s why she would do such intimate things, which is why there were no boundaries… Su Zhiluo let out a heavy sigh.

Liu Chengxu met with Meng Zhengyue in the afternoon. They had set a time today to look for tutoring agencies together, starting with the place Aunt Zhang had suggested. It was a brokerage office, small in scale, and the decoration wasn’t as fancy as the flyers suggested. All the people there were university students, and many outside were making calls, asking people to come for interviews.

Upon entering, they were led to a room to talk. They were asked to write down their ID numbers. Neither of them wrote it, finding it strange; normally, just leaving a phone number would suffice.

Both agreed it felt like a scam. They went to two more places and finally found one that looked quite legitimate. It specialized in educational tutoring for children from wealthy families, and the walls were covered with photos of “famous teachers” in suits.

The agency introduced them to two areas. Liu Chengxu’s was closer to home but the salary was slightly lower. Meng Zhengyue’s was higher, but the client’s child lived in a villa, which was quite far from the school.

The agent kept bragging, saying, “See the famous teachers on the wall outside? They specialize in tutoring children from wealthy families. Like the one who recently won the gold prize, the parents rewarded her 30,000 yuan, and we also gave a 5,000 yuan bonus. Don’t worry if your current take-home pay is small; you can start with a high salary here after graduation.”

Meng Zhengyue looked at the wall and did see a photo of a long-haired girl holding a trophy. She asked, “Don’t the parents say anything when you post her photo like this?”

The agent laughed, saying they definitely posted it secretly, and that parents never came in person, only their secretaries did.

This time, they didn’t need to sign anything, just leave their phone numbers. The agency had a contract with the parents, and they just had to get the money.

The two only murmured after coming out. Meng Zhengyue whispered, “Those people on the wall are probably just marketing. Those wealthy families would never let their children be posted on an agency wall like this.”

“We’ll work for two months and then leave. With this experience, we can find our own clients and definitely earn more than the split, just save up some experience.”

“That’s what I was thinking too.”

Both had their own plans: taking a lower wage for now was acceptable, as once they had a connection, they could take on clients themselves without the agency split.

The next day, Liu Chengxu went for the interview. It was very successful. The little girl she was teaching was in fourth grade, very obedient and polite. Once Liu Chengxu finalized this, she sent a message to Su Zhiluo.

Liu Chengxu would go to teach for two hours in the morning, return home to cook when it was time, and ride her scooter to deliver the meal to the factory gate. After her sister-in-law came out to get the food, she would go to her afternoon lessons.

Every time Su Zhiluo took the thermos from her hand, she would smile. Sometimes her colleagues would see and say, “Zhiluo, your sister is delivering your meal again.”

The factory canteen where Su Zhiluo worked was outsourced, and the food was charged by weight. Even a small portion would cost over ten yuan. She usually ate very frugally, with only a few meager vegetable dishes on her plate.

Liu Chengxu saw this and always wanted to help her gain a little weight. She cooked a variety of dishes every day, making every meal very hearty.

She loved this kind of life very much. Even when the cold wind blew in her face while riding the scooter to deliver food in winter, as long as she saw Su Zhiluo’s satisfied look, she felt exceptionally happy.

Su Zhiluo’s holiday was late, not until New Year’s Eve. Liu Chengxu would pick her up in the evening, shivering from the cold, and chatter about her day. She shared that on her way home from work today, she saw a vendor selling radishes and cabbages from the countryside, and she had stocked up half a bag. In a couple of days, she would pickle the radishes in sugar water and chili brine, and ferment the cabbage into sauerkraut.

The night before the holiday, Liu Chengxu went to pick up Su Zhiluo in the evening, quietly waiting under the streetlamp in front of the guard booth.

Before long, Yang Jie came out and stopped by the guard booth. She said to Liu Chengxu, “Can we talk? Last time your sister-in-law told me that you are at a crucial stage in university right now, and that she couldn’t be with me.”

Hearing this, Liu Chengxu looked up slightly, hinting that Yang Jie should know better.

Yang Jie said, “I told your sister-in-law too. I said yes, I can wait for her for four years.”

Liu Chengxu was stunned. Yang Jie continued, “Your sister-in-law is a very good person. I want to be with her, take care of her, and make things a little easier for her. I don’t exclude you, so you can rest assured.”

Yang Jie’s words were very eloquent. Liu Chengxu occasionally overheard Su Zhiluo’s calls with Chang Ruyin and knew a bit about them. Yang Jie had relatives in the factory, worked in the R&D department herself, and had helped Su Zhiluo a lot.

In a way, Yang Jie was very good to Su Zhiluo. Their ages were suitable, and most importantly, Yang Jie was financially independent and her parents didn’t object.

Liu Chengxu made no effort to hide her hostility, glaring at her. “No need. My sister-in-law doesn’t like you.”

Yang Jie stared directly at her and asked, “You purely don’t want me to be with your sister-in-law, and those reasons are just excuses, right?”

Liu Chengxu didn’t evade the question, answering decisively, “I will be good to my sister-in-law, you don’t need to worry about it.”

Yang Jie said, “Your family is really too much. First, they came here to scold her, and then they dumped you on your sister-in-law. No decent person would do something like that. And you still want to tie her down for life, it’s a bit… Your family even put up banners at the factory. Everyone in the factory knows; they’re truly terrible people.”

Liu Chengxu realized that Yang Jie was insulting her as well, so she frowned and said, “I have no connection with my family. I will study hard in university. My future will be bright, and I’ll be able to give my sister-in-law a good life.”

It sounded like a promise of filial piety. Yang Jie seriously observed Liu Chengxu, took a step forward, and whispered, “You like your sister-in-law, don’t you?”