Chapter 8: Kiss Me

Liu Chengxu was surprised that Yang Jie had seen through her. She panicked for a moment and instinctively looked behind Yang Jie, afraid that her sister-in-law would come and hear her.

Su Zhiluo has a kind personality, so it's perfectly normal for her to be liked by others.

She started working at the age of seventeen. She was fair-skinned and pretty, which made her stand out in the factory. She had a good personality and would always help others when they needed it. Liu Jinhuan was one of those who had received help from her and liked her.

Yang Jie didn't need to ask any further questions; just one glance at Liu Chengxu's flustered expression was enough for her to know she had guessed correctly.

"Cheng Xu," Su Zhiluo called out to her.

Su Zhiluo came out with Chang Ruyin and waved to her.

Chang Ruyin felt a pang of anxiety upon seeing this scene.

Yang Jie turned to the side and smiled at Su Zhiluo. Su Zhiluo walked over in confusion, "You two...were chatting just now?"

Yang Jie nodded, "They exchanged a few words. It's not safe for her to be alone at the door, and it's cold."

"Hmm, your face is all red from the cold." Su Zhiluo looked at Liu Chengxu with concern. "I told you not to wait, but you keep coming."

The bus arrived, and Chang Ruyin got on first because she wanted to go back to her dormitory. Because she was a little worried, she quickly looked back and saw Su Zhiluo covering Liu Chengxu's ears, saying, "I should buy you some earmuffs."

Liu Chengxu just gave a muffled "hmm". Su Zhiluo didn't talk much to Yang Jie. She felt embarrassed because Yang Jie had helped her change her job, and she had rejected Yang Jie's advances. She felt that she hadn't acted properly.

"We're leaving," Su Zhiluo said.

Yang Jie replied, "Be careful on the road."

Previously, when Liu Chengxu rode his bike with Su Zhiluo, she specially bought a coat for her sister-in-law to shield her from the wind. Today, she was clearly distracted, with Su Zhiluo sitting in front of her.

Midway through the journey, Su Zhiluo pulled over and turned to look at Liu Chengxu. Liu Chengxu closed his eyes tightly. The electric scooter started again, and Liu Chengxu lowered his head and rested his head on Su Zhiluo's shoulder, calling out in a muffled voice, "Sister-in-law."

The wind was too strong, and Su Zhiluo didn't hear clearly.

When they got home, Su Zhiluo immediately touched her head to see if she had a fever. Her forehead wasn't hot, so Su Zhiluo made her a cup of Banlangen (a traditional Chinese medicine) to dispel the cold.

Liu Chengxu held the cup and drank slowly, his body warming up from the heat. Su Zhiluo asked, "Is it because Yang Jie is unhappy?"

Liu Chengxu didn't answer. He tilted his head back and drank the last bit of Banlangen. It hadn't dissolved properly and was flowing slowly, so it took a long time to get into his mouth. Su Zhiluo said, "I told her... never mind, I'll go and tell her again."

"No need." Liu Chengxu called out to Su Zhiluo, who was about to go to the balcony to make a phone call. She was worried that Yang Jie would reveal the secret.

Su Zhilu frowned, "Then you..."

Liu Chengxu: "Everything has been explained clearly, so don't look for her."

She took the cup to rinse it clean, then brought out a clay pot wrapped in a damp cloth from the kitchen, saying, "I made you some white fungus soup. Drink a bowl to warm yourself up."

Su Zhiluo sighed, her heart aching with a mixture of tenderness and sorrow.

"I added pear, it's very sweet."

"I can smell it."

Su Zhiluo took two bowls, one for each person, and two red dates for each of them. The two sat down around the table. Liu Chengxu's spoon made a "clink" sound on the white porcelain. She said, "Sister-in-law, we have a bright future, right? We have a lot of hope."

Su Zhiluo, not understanding why, knew that she might have suffered some setback today, and said, "Well, that must be true, you're a college student."

This didn't resonate with Liu Chengxu, because she asked "us," while Su Zhi replied with "you."

The winters in the north are cold, and taking a bath every day can easily lead to a cold. However, these two are very clean. At the same time, Liu Chengxu is worried that his sister-in-law will be cold, so he will always light the stove and boil a kettle of water before going to pick up Su Zhiluo. When the two of them get home, the water on the stove will be boiling.

One pot of water was enough for two people to wash themselves simply. Liu Chengxu carried the water in, lost in thought, and poured it all out at once.

When Su Zhiluo came over, she caught a glimpse of Liu Chengxu and said, "Let's take a shower together, sister-in-law."

Su Zhiluo didn't really want to go together and wanted to avoid suspicion. Just as she was about to speak, Liu Chengxu's eyes were wet. "Sister-in-law, please don't hate me, okay?"

Su Zhiluo steeled her heart and went inside.

The door clicked shut, instantly filling the small bathroom with humid steam. Water droplets condensed on the tiled walls slowly slid down, gleaming ambiguously under the dim light. Su Zhiluo turned slightly to the side. "Just a quick wipe today. It's not worth it if it gets cold after being exposed to the wind."

Liu Chengxu bent down to wring out the towel, and upon hearing this, he looked up and his breath hitched.

Su Zhiluo turned her back to unbutton her clothes. The damp air made the clasps a little stiff, and she tried twice before she could undo them. The bra Liu Chengxu had bought for her last time clung tightly to her body, outlining her slender waist and full breasts. When she bent down to test the water temperature, the neckline opened slightly, revealing a small patch of skin reddened by the heat.

Su Zhiluo didn't want to take off all her clothes to wash, so she kept wearing her underwear. She took the towel from Liu Chengxu's hand to wipe her body, and when she was almost finished wiping, she put on her pajamas and took off her underwear to continue wiping.

Su Zhiluo's white and pink pajamas were soaked in hot water until they were almost transparent, clinging tightly to her body and clearly outlining the contours of her chest, with the apricot color faintly visible under the wet fabric.

Su Zhiluo didn't notice at first, until she noticed Liu Chengxu's suddenly deep gaze. She followed his gaze and looked down, her face instantly burning red, even the tips of her ears turning crimson. She forced herself to remain calm and looked away.

Beside her, Liu Chengxu looked at her with suspicion. She pretended to be calm and continued to fix her hair. After getting dressed, she quickly went out.

The wind whistled outside the window, making the old window frame creak and causing the stockings hanging on the clothesline to sway gently.

Liu Chengxu didn't leave immediately. She was washing her underwear inside when she noticed the small piece that Su Zhiluo had taken off. She wanted to help wash it, but didn't dare to touch it... She reached out her hand and then withdrew it.

She had just witnessed that scene and felt an urge to pinch it; now she even felt like taking a bite.

She couldn't say it out loud; she had to keep it buried deep in her heart and mind. But the more she tried to hide it, the more turbulent it became.

Sister-in-law, she smells so good.

It's a craving for meat that emanates from my bones.

Liu Chengxu still slept with her sister-in-law, and Su Zhiluo didn't kick her out. She couldn't find a reason, and Liu Chengxu was also in a low mood.

Since they started sleeping together, neither of them has caught a cold this winter. Before, when they slept separately, one of them would always cough and sneeze.

A cold wind howled outside the window, making the glass tremble slightly. The two of them huddled together in the warm blankets, their bodies cozy and warm.

Su Zhilu hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "Did Yang Jie say anything to you today?"

Liu Chengxu actually wanted to say bad things about Yang Jie, to make Su Zhiluo hate Yang Jie and never be with her again, but she was even more afraid that Yang Jie would tell her her suspicion that she liked Su Zhiluo.

"Didn't say anything?"

"Really? Tell the truth."

"real."

"Mmm." Liu Chengxu leaned closer, and Su Zhiluo knew that she wanted to warm herself up, so she let her and tried her best to restrain the urge to hug and comfort her.

Liu Chengxu said sullenly, "I'm sorry, sister-in-law."

Her voice was terribly sour, "My parents treated you that way, and I used to scold you too, I'm sorry."

Su Zhiluo held back for half a minute, then reached out and patted her shoulder, "What your parents did wasn't you, and they weren't very good to you either."

So many years have passed, and the creditors haven't made any trouble. They should be sneaking back to see Liu Chengxu, but the couple has remained out of contact.

Su Zhiluo roughly guessed what was going on. "Don't overthink it. You're different from them. Don't you hate them too? Let's not talk about it anymore."

"Okay." Liu Chengxu nestled in her sister-in-law's arms. Even though they were using the same shower gel, she always felt that Su Zhiluo smelled better.

Yang Jie's words ultimately took root in her heart. That night, Liu Chengxu had a dream. In the dream, Su Zhiluo, wearing a pure white wedding dress, smiled and said goodbye to her. She watched helplessly as her sister-in-law took another man's hand, while she herself was unable to move, standing there with tears streaming down her face.

She cried, her whole body trembling, waking Su Zhiluo from her sobs. In the darkness, she choked out, "Sister-in-law...please don't leave me...please..."

Su Zhiluo pulled the person into her arms and reached out to touch her forehead.

She hadn't slept well that night, but thankfully Su Zhiluo didn't have to work the early shift the next day. She slept until almost ten o'clock before waking up, with a fluffy head still nestled in her arms. She subconsciously touched Liu Chengxu's face, but was startled awake again by his unusually high body temperature, and quickly called to him softly.

Liu Chengxu mumbled "Sister-in-law..." in a daze, and half-asleep, he leaned close to her face to kiss her. Fortunately, the next second, she suddenly woke up and quickly turned her head away.

"Do you have a fever?"

"Um?"

Su Zhiluo braced herself against her arm, pressed down on her body, pulled open the drawer next to her, took out a thermometer, and placed it under her armpit. "Here, hold it in."

After Liu Chengxu calmed down for a while, Su Zhiluo picked up her clothes and put them on, then pulled the blanket up to cover Liu Chengxu tightly. Three minutes later, Su Zhiluo took out a thermometer, which read 37.4 degrees Celsius, indicating a low-grade fever. Su Zhiluo got out of bed first to brush her teeth and wash her face, then washed her face in the sink on the stove and brought in the medicine.

"Don't go out today, stay home."

The children have no school today and are on holiday, so Liu Chengxu doesn't need to go out either.

Liu Chengxu watched her go to cook.

Only the gods know the secret of her feelings. As long as the gods don't reveal it and she can keep it a secret until graduation, she will be able to muster the courage to tell Su Zhiluo.

To make ends meet, they worked tirelessly every day. Appliances were added to the house one by one, but the space visibly became more and more cramped. Su Zhiluo gradually realized that ever since Liu Chengxu started working and kept buying things for the house, the home seemed to have quietly shrunk—the once spacious space for the two of them had now become only a fist's width apart.

Before, there was only one bottle of face cream on the bathroom vanity, and two toothbrushes each had their own place. Now, however, it's piled high with lipsticks, lotions, face masks, foundation, and blush, leaving no room to move. In the end, those two toothbrushes had to be crammed into the same cup.

Today, Su Zhiluo's factory is holding an event to distribute year-end bonuses. In previous years, the boss was German and extremely stingy, treating people like robots. Later, the boss was replaced by a Japanese person. The Japanese are not a good thing, but they love to hold ceremonies and will give away a lot of gifts at the annual meeting.

Su Zhiluo washed her hands, applied a face cream, took out the lipstick Liu Chengxu gave her, applied it, and quickly tidied herself up before heading out to try her luck in the lottery.

Liu Chengxu gave her a heat pack to put on her leg. Liu Chengxu said, "Next year, I will save up my tuition fees. Sister-in-law, you changed jobs. Didn't you want to take the exam and study? You can study at home."

"It's not like I'm taking the college entrance exam; I can watch it at night."

"You're in e-commerce."

E-commerce has been booming these past two years, and it's just getting started. Su Zhiluo had some ideas, but she glanced at her and said, "Go out and meet up with your friends."

Su Zhiluo returned shortly after leaving on her bicycle and found the house had been cleaned. Liu Chengxu was folding clothes in the closet. She placed a bag of sweet potatoes and oranges on the table and said, "Chengxu, you can roast some sweet potatoes and oranges."

Just then, Aunt Zhang from next door came over with her granddaughter. The granddaughter had a problem she couldn't solve and no one in the family could teach her, so she asked Liu Chengxu if he could help.

"Sure," Su Zhiluo said, opening the door.

Zhang Mingming was carrying a small stove. Aunt Zhang handed hers to Su Zhiluo, saying, "This is for Cheng Xu. I just made it. It will keep you warm all day. You can put an egg in it and it will smell delicious."

"Thank you. It's very cold at home, and I haven't been able to buy coal this year."

The city is very strict; they check here as soon as winter arrives, so coal dealers dare not deliver coal here.

Su Zhilu led Mingming to sit at the desk. Aunt Zhang went back to get her granddaughter's textbooks and brought over two large baby bok choy and a bag of eggs.

Su Zhiluo felt that she was being too polite. Aunt Zhang said that tutoring was expensive now and she felt bad letting Liu Chengxu teach for free.

The two went downstairs together, and Aunt Zhang complained, "Honestly, we didn't do the environmental pollution. It's all those factories belching black smoke. We ordinary people have to take the blame. We'll freeze to death inside if we don't light a fire."

Zhang Mingming is ten years old, a very well-behaved little girl, quietly doing her homework.

Liu Chengxu moved the coal stove to a different spot, took the roasted oranges, peeled them, and gave them to Mingming to eat. He also ate two himself.

Mingming blew on the smoking orange and said, "Sister Chengxu, you need to put the stove near the vent."

Liu Chengxu said, "You even know about this."

"Yes, Sister Zhiluo got poisoned because she didn't put it in the ventilation vent."

"Poisoning? When? How come I didn't know? Was it when I was at school?"

“Not now.” Mingming said, “When I was in second grade, a month after Sister Jinhuan was hospitalized and never came back, Sister Zhiluo was poisoned.”

At the time, Liu Chengxu was in school. She only found out when her parents were chatting that night that her parents had gone to cause trouble for Su Zhiluo and kept scolding Su Zhiluo as if nothing had happened.

So Su Zhiluo wasn't acting like nothing happened... Did she commit suicide by burning charcoal?

"Do you know how my parents... bullied Zhiluo back then?"

Mingming nodded. She had just gotten out of elementary school early and happened to see it. She said, "They made Zhiluo kneel down, slapped her face, and hit her with a stick. My grandma was also slapped when she tried to stop them. Those thin bamboo sticks made my grandma's body swell up for several days."

Liu Chengxu once hated Su Zhiluo. Why was Su Zhiluo able to act as if nothing had happened after her sister died, going to work every day and living her own life, as if her sister was just a passerby in her life?

Only now does she understand that the knife Su Zhiluo swung at her was invisible, yet also the most painful. She didn't show the wound because even a glance would hurt.

Liu Cheng asked, "Did she do that again later?"

Zhang Mingming shook her head, "Then you came."

Su Zhiluo's love for her sister was like a slap in the face, a heavy blow to her cheek. Su Zhiluo's love for her sister might have been mixed with her sister's shadow.

Realizing this caused her a pang of heartache, yet a faint, indescribable flutter stirred within her. She weighed the matter repeatedly in her heart—shouldn't she hold a special place in Su Zhiluo's heart? After so many years of living together day and night, surely… she deserved a place there.

*

The annual meeting was held at a grand hotel. As usual, it would take at least three hours. Su Zhiluo glanced at the prizes and really wanted the tablet. The meeting started at 2 PM. First, there were speeches from the leaders, followed by a couple of rounds of games and a lucky draw. Su Zhiluo drew the grand prize first: a three-piece bedding set and a quilt.

Their year-end bonus is one month's salary deposited directly into their bank account. There are many gifts, and they draw prizes in rounds. Whoever's name is drawn wins a prize. Su Zhilu stared at the screen and drew a rice cooker again.

The hotel banquet was held that evening, with eight people per table. She and Yang Jie were seated together. After dinner, Su Zhiluo was about to leave when Yang Jie drove up. Su Zhiluo didn't want to get in, but thinking about what happened yesterday, she decided to talk to her again. However, she ended up saying everything in the car. When they passed a computer mall, Su Zhiluo asked Yang Jie to stop and went in to buy a laptop.

Yang Jie immediately knew who it was for and said, "You're so good to her?"

Taking the opportunity, Su Zhilu brought up yesterday's events, "Her sister used to be good to me. I was good to her not because I wanted her to repay me, but because I wanted her to study hard and get out of school. I didn't ask for anything else. Right now, I just want her to study well. She doesn't have any relatives, only me."

Yang Jie understood what was going on, opened the car door for her, and took her downstairs. Liu Chengxu was already waiting downstairs, and his expression immediately changed when he saw Su Zhiluo get out of her car.

Liu Chengxu turned and left. Before Su Zhiluo could explain, she quickly thanked Yang Jie and chased after him with her things.

"Sigh." Su Zhiluo went up to the fifth floor in one breath, panting as she looked at Liu Chengxu standing at the door. Liu Chengxu's eyes were red. Su Zhiluo sighed helplessly and asked her, "You really are exhausting."

Liu Chengxu didn't know what she was upset about. She wasn't angry; she was more afraid. She couldn't help but throw a small tantrum, "Yesterday you asked me if I was feeling unwell, and today you're like this..."

She looked aggrieved, but still walked over to Su Zhiluo, took the things from her, and said, "What is this? It's so heavy."

Su Zhiluo didn't speak until she went inside and closed the door, then said, "Notebook."

"You bought it?"

I won it in a lottery.

Liu Chengxu was utterly shocked. "Really? You didn't buy it, did you?"

"Don't I have the luck?" Su Zhiluo retorted, and then Liu Chengxu's eyes sparkled, she almost jumped up in front of Su Zhiluo.

"No, I'm just surprised."

"Here you go. Take it and use it. Didn't you need a laptop?" Su Zhiluo disassembled the rice cooker. It was a good product, but it was too big for her. There were only two of them eating, and the other person wasn't home often. She should have seen if she could exchange it with someone and gotten an electric griddle instead.

Su Zhiluo's phone vibrated. She took it out and saw a message from Yang Jie asking if she was still coming down. Su Zhiluo felt embarrassed and a little guilty. She went to the balcony with her phone and saw that Yang Jie was still there. Finally, she replied: "[Sorry, I won't be coming down today.]"

Yang Jie: [It's nothing.]

Yang Jie's car left, and Su Zhiluo returned to see Liu Chengxu fiddling with his new computer. "Have you eaten?"

Liu Chengxu shook his head and said with a smile, "We don't need to buy a computer. I was originally thinking of just buying a second-hand one."

Su Zhilu smiled.

"This computer is very expensive, worth a lot of money."

Su Zhiluo bought her over five thousand yuan worth of things, and Liu Chengxu said, "Your company is quite generous."

Su Zhiluo just smiled and sat next to Liu Chengxu, watching her finish setting everything up and get to the main page. There was no Wi-Fi at home, so Liu Chengxu used mobile data, which only lasted a short while before running out. Su Zhiluo thought that they could get broadband later.

Liu Chengxu moved his computer to the bedroom, where a bit of Wi-Fi from the service center could be heard from time to time. Liu Chengxu connected it, found the browser, and clicked on it. Su Zhiluo said, "Let's watch a movie."

The network wasn't very good, it kept lagging. The smoothest connection was where she was near the wall, so she placed her laptop where Su Zhiluo was sleeping to buffer the connection.

Liu Chengxu took out some peanuts and melon seeds. Su Zhilu ate the peanuts he had peeled and asked, "When did you buy these?"

"I bought these with Aunt Zhang at the market. They were raw. I stir-fried them with salt and Sichuan peppercorns. Aren't they delicious?" Liu Chengxu went to get another wine bottle. "This was also given to me by Aunt Zhang. It was from a supermarket raffle. No one in her family drinks it, so she gave it to me because she was afraid Mingming would drink it as juice."

The door was tightly shut, keeping out the cold wind. The two women sat around the stove, a small pot bubbling away. They both wanted to try some red wine, so they opened it and poured themselves half a glass to warm themselves.

After a few sips, a faint blush rose to Su Zhiluo's cheeks. She looked up at Liu Chengxu, her gaze gentle, and asked softly, "Are you alright? Can you drink some more?"

"Give it a try. If you don't know your limits at club gatherings or anything, it'll be embarrassing if you get drunk and act crazy."

Su Zhilu asked in confusion, "Drinking in clubs? Is it okay to drink in college?"

"Yes. There are many people in the club, mostly based on their interests. The club organizes participation in school activities and also holds internal events, such as meals."

Liu Chengxu participated in photography, but she personally didn't really like club activities. She preferred to work part-time and read books in the library so that she could help Su Zhiluo live a better life sooner.

Su Zhiluo couldn't help but laugh as she watched Liu Chengxu grimac and stick out her tongue while drinking. Liu Chengxu said, "Sister-in-law, this doesn't taste good at all."

"Then don't drink it."

"I'll try again."

Su Zhiluo followed her lead and said, "I won't abandon you. If you don't like it, we won't talk about it anymore. Sometimes family support is very important. You can listen to it."

Liu Chengxu still had a mouthful of wine in his mouth. After swallowing it with difficulty, he was about to speak when he saw Su Zhiluo pour herself another glass. She was unwilling to admit that Liu Jinhuan had left her with psychological trauma. She simply lowered her head, sipped her wine, and said softly, "You are more important."

Liu Chengxu felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing this, yet a faint bittersweet feeling also welled up within him.

The two silently drank nearly a third of the red wine, and neither of them could concentrate on the movie anymore, which was halfway through.

Both of them were drunk. Su Zhiluo's alcohol tolerance was not as good as Liu Chengxu's, and she was about to fall asleep after lying on the table for a while.

Liu Chengxu was about to help her into the bathroom when he couldn't help but ask, "Su Zhiluo, am I your excuse? Are you afraid of being sad when you think of your sister, or do you really care about me?"

As she asked this, a dull ache in her heart, Su Zhiluo opened her beautiful eyes, placed her hands on Liu Chengxu's shoulders and pulled him forward forcefully, saying, "Kiss me."

Before Liu Chengxu could react, she kissed him, capturing his lips in her mouth and letting out a soft moan.

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