Chapter Ten: Giving Her a Hard Time
“莘莘” (shēn shēn)
Zhang Jinhua's shouts came from afar. Xu Haiyu's eyes flashed with a light when she heard the voice. The next moment, she suddenly twisted her ankle and fell towards the stone steps at the door.
He was still shouting, "Don't push me—"
Zhang Jinhua saw that it was lunchtime and Xin Li hadn't gone over yet, so he went out to call for her. Unexpectedly, he saw Xu Haiyu about to fall down the steps as soon as he got to the door.
"Xiaoyu!"
Xu Haiyu was someone the elders on the island had watched grow up; she was well-behaved and sensible, and they all liked her very much.
Zhang Jinhua rushed over, but unexpectedly, Xin Li was faster than her.
She lifted her foot and hooked Xu Haiyu's belt, causing him to freeze in mid-air.
Zhang Jinhua had also arrived and caught Xu Haiyu.
"Why did you come to Xiao He's house instead of resting after you got back?"
Xu Haiyu originally intended to retaliate against Xin Li, but Zhang Jinhua's question immediately silenced her.
Moreover, Zhang Jinhua just witnessed Xin Li saving her, so if she were to say now that Xin Li pushed her, it would be somewhat untenable.
Xu Haiyu was surprised that her attempt to cause trouble had been so easily thwarted by Xin Li, and her expression turned ugly for a moment.
Xu Haiyu smiled slightly when she met Zhang Jinhua's gaze, her face still pale from the shock.
"I'm used to it."
Zhang Jinhua, unsuspecting, smiled and said, "Didn't I tell you before that Xiao He went out to sea?"
Xu Haiyu's eyes narrowed.
She knew about this, of course, but she came mainly to see who He Mingzhou's wife was.
Judging from that kick just now, he's no pushover.
"I forgot."
With tears in her eyes, Xu Haiyu said, "It's been so long since I've seen Brother Mingzhou, I'm so not used to it."
Zhang Jinhua also knew that Xu Haiyu was practically raised by He Mingzhou, and sighed helplessly: "You're just too attached to Xiao He."
After saying that, seeing Xinli standing at the door staring at them, Zhang Jinhua exclaimed "Oh!" and slapped his forehead. He pulled Xu Haiyu to Xinli and introduced her to Xu Haiyu with a smile: "Come on, Xiaoyu, quickly get to know Xinxin. This is your sister-in-law. She's from Shanghai. Your brother Mingzhou is so lucky to have married such a good wife as Xinxin."
Xu Haiyu's face was full of fake smiles: "I already met her, but this young lady didn't say that she was Mingzhou's wife, which made me misunderstand."
"Misunderstand?"
Zhang Jinhua looked at Xin Li. Although she also had a good impression of Xin Li, one was someone she had watched grow up, and the other was a guest who had just arrived on the island. Naturally, Zhang Jinhua's heart was biased towards Xu Haiyu.
"Xin Xin? Are you alright?"
As she asked this question, her gaze lingered on Xu Haiyu.
It was obvious that they were worried about what Xin Li might do to Xu Haiyu.
Having lived in the apocalypse, Xin Li understands human nature better than anyone else; she can tell from the appearance of these two people that they are on the same side.
So Xinli forced out a few tears: "I'm fine, it's just that I feel... like I'm not welcome."
"She knocked on the door just now, and I thought it was you, sister-in-law, coming to call me for dinner, but she immediately started questioning me about why I was staying at He Mingzhou's house..."
"I……"
As she spoke, Xinli lowered her head, her slender body looking incredibly forlorn.
Zhang Jinhua immediately softened.
"Oh dear, this is my fault. I should have told you earlier. Xiaoyu, whose full name is Xu Haiyu, is the sister of Mingzhou's comrade. They are very close. She went to purchase supplies with others and wasn't on the island, so you two didn't get to meet."
"Come on, Xiaoyu, you should go and greet your sister-in-law first."
"Although Xiao He and Xin Xin didn't have a wedding ceremony, they do have a marriage certificate, so you'll be a family from now on."
Zhang Jinhua said this not because he was biased towards Xin Li.
Instead, she felt that since Xinli and He Mingzhou were already married, Xu Haiyu should get along well with her sister-in-law, both morally and logically.
Otherwise, if Xin Li tries to influence Xu Haiyu through his pillow talk, it will be Xu Haiyu who suffers the consequences.
Xin Li could obviously see that Zhang Jinhua was favoring Xu Haiyu, but she didn't point it out. Following Zhang Jinhua's words, she smiled and looked at Xu Haiyu: "So it's little sister Yu. Look at me, Mingzhou didn't tell me before, so I didn't even prepare a gift. I'm such an incompetent sister-in-law."
When Xu Haiyu heard that Xin Li was referring to herself as "sister-in-law," she clenched her fists tightly.
When Xinli saw her actions, a hint of mockery flashed in her eyes.
In the original novel, Xu Haiyu caused a lot of trouble, but that had nothing to do with the original owner who was cannon fodder, so Xin Li didn't read it carefully.
However, judging from the exchange just now, Xu Haiyu's methods were nothing more than those old, tired tricks.
If this were the apocalypse, she would just grab the person and throw them into a zombie pit, and they would be quiet within a night.
Unfortunately, she had just arrived on the island and was new to the place, so she couldn't directly teach Xu Haiyu a lesson.
Moreover, her little actions are too childish; if she were to make a big fuss about them, it would only cause dissatisfaction among others.
Having made up her mind, Xinli told the two people to wait a moment and then quickly went back into the house.
Xu Haiyu and Zhang Jinhua followed them inside.
Upon seeing the completely transformed house, Zhang Jinhua and Xu Haiyu both widened their eyes in astonishment.
"You...you did all of this?"
He Mingzhou lived a simple life. There wasn't much good stuff on the island, and the air was dry but very humid, so everyone's furniture was made of stone.
Wooden furniture may look nice, but it will all rot if it gets damp or soaked in water.
Therefore, most households had never seen this kind of furniture before.
But just because someone doesn't use it doesn't mean others don't want to use it.
In particular, the furniture set that Xin Li displayed had a shiny surface, making it clear at a glance that it was an antique. The patina of time made it obvious that this set of furniture was quite expensive.
Placed in this room, the whole place seems to shine and become more upscale.
As a young girl, Xu Haiyu naturally longed for such a place. When she saw the furniture, her eyes flashed with envy and jealousy, and she couldn't take her eyes off it.
"I didn't do it; I hired someone to do it."
Xin Li smiled and added a note about the origin of the furniture: "I came in a hurry before, and the dowry my family prepared was on its way. After I settled in, it was delivered little by little. Anyway, He Mingzhou and I are married now, so I just arranged all these things in."
"Even a small family needs to be managed with care; that's what my mother taught me."
Zhang Jinhua nodded repeatedly: "A small family does need two people to run it together, but your dowry... is really too expensive. I'm afraid Xiao He will feel some pressure."
Xin Li opened her jewelry box, and the various novelties inside caught Xu Haiyu's attention.
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