Chapter 15: The Sister-in-law’s Wish

“Mom, brother-in-law is back!” As soon as she opened the door, Leng Zhiruo called out loudly. A middle-aged woman, wiping her hands, stepped out.

“Xiao He, you’re finally home. It’s been half a month. You’ve lost so much weight!” Huang He’s mother-in-law spoke with a look of deep concern.

“Mom, I’ve lost quite a few pounds these days too. Why don’t you worry about me?” Leng Zhiruo, a bit jealous, chimed in.

“It’s good for girls to be slim, but men shouldn’t lose weight. Men bear the heavy burden of the family, they work hard, and if they get thinner, their bodies won’t have enough nutrition. Then they’ll collapse. If a man collapses, the whole family collapses with him. Do you understand?” Her mother glared at Leng Zhiruo and launched into a torrent of admonishments. Leng Zhiruo could only bow her head and accept the scolding. When her mother went back to preparing dinner, she shot Huang He a fierce look, as if all grievances would be settled with him.

“This mother is even more affectionate than my own,” Huang He sighed. Whether it was his mother from his previous life or the one in the memories of this life, neither was as warm as his mother-in-law.

“Maybe she truly sees me as her son,” Huang He mused. According to his memories, his mother-in-law had lived a hard life. When Huang He’s first wife passed away—her eldest was in senior high school, and the youngest, the sixth daughter, had just been born.

Six daughters in a row drove her husband to despair; it’s said he jumped into the sea one night, his body never found. Left alone, his mother-in-law raised her girls by herself, enduring hardships almost beyond imagination.

Later, Huang He’s wife went to work part-time at a shoe factory during her sophomore year of college, where she met Huang He, recently returned from abroad. He was struck by her, pursued her fervently, and soon won her heart, leading to marriage. Afterward, Huang He conscientiously supported his wife’s family, buying them a spacious house so they no longer had to squeeze into their old, cramped apartment. He also funded his sisters-in-law’s education. Most of the family’s expenses were covered by Huang He.

When Huang He was wealthy, he didn’t mind spending—after all, it was just over ten thousand yuan a month. Even when his factory faced difficulties, he never stopped supporting them. Clearly, Huang He harbored deep affection for his wife.

Of course, part of the reason was his mother-in-law’s genuine kindness toward him. When Huang He pursued his wife, he feigned humility, pretending to be just an ordinary foreman at the factory, shamelessly visiting her home to get acquainted. His mother-in-law never looked down on him; she even cooked their only old hen for Huang He, moving him deeply and making him even more determined to win his wife’s hand.

All in all, Huang He liked his mother-in-law’s family very much. Not only did his mother-in-law treat him as her own son, but Huang He also regarded this place as his home.

“Zhiruo, come help me bleed the chicken!” his mother-in-law called from the kitchen. Leng Zhiruo rolled up her sleeves, donned an apron, and hurried in to help. Huang He naturally sprawled on the sofa, watching TV in a most ungraceful manner—lying full-length across a three-seater, feet propped on the coffee table, entirely unconcerned with decorum.

Don’t misunderstand; it wasn’t that Huang He lacked manners. This was simply his body’s habitual response and subconscious action—apparently, he’d always behaved this way.

Suddenly, agitation erupted from one of the rooms. A girl in a shirt emerged. Huang He glanced at her, and his nose almost began to bleed.

First, the girl was beautiful. Her short hair didn’t impart any boyishness; her tender, fair skin and sweet features radiated vibrant youth—a genuine energetic beauty.

She reminded Huang He of a popular meme from his previous life—not the milk tea one, which wasn’t his taste.

Her beauty was striking, but that wasn’t the cause of Huang He’s reaction. The real shock was that she wore only a shirt—or at least, that’s how it appeared. The shirt was large enough to cover her vital areas, but if she stretched just a little, those secret boundaries would be exposed.

Sure enough, as she stepped out, feeling the stiffness in her body, she raised her arms to stretch.

Huang He’s lips trembled.

To be fair, in his previous life, Huang He wasn’t a lifelong bachelor, but his encounters were few, mostly with women hired at hotels—never had he witnessed the youthful allure of a real girl like this. Perhaps the original Huang He had seen such sights, but that hardly mattered to the current Huang He.

Just as he was about to crane his neck for a better view, the girl noticed him. She abandoned her stretch and, delighted, ran over. “Brother-in-law, you’re finally out of jail!”

“How could you say that? Your brother-in-law was working, not in jail. Don’t be so insensitive! Are you cursing him?” Mother-in-law, sharp-eyed and sharp-eared, immediately rebuked her from the kitchen before Huang He could respond.

“Oh, understood! Brother-in-law worked so hard—let me make you a fruit drink!” the girl called to the kitchen, then cheerfully went to prepare a glass for Huang He.

A few minutes later, sipping the familiar yet somewhat strange chemical fruit juice, Huang He was awash with feelings. Back in the day, this was his favorite drink—five yuan for a big bag, enough for fifty glasses, and could be frozen into ice cubes for a summer full of popsicles.

But as milk tea and freshly squeezed juice became the norm, this instant fruit drink disappeared from daily life.

He never expected to taste it again—how nostalgic!

“Zhimeng, your fruit drink skills have improved a lot!” Huang He praised half-heartedly.

This girl was also his sister-in-law, named Leng Zhimeng, the fourth daughter in the family, now a high school senior preparing for next year’s college entrance exam.

She was also the most mischievous member of the family—their resident little jester.

“Brother-in-law, since I made such a good fruit drink, can you do me a favor?” Zhimeng sidled up beside Huang He, looking at him expectantly.

“What favor?” Huang He asked, curious.

“Help me buy QQ!”

Huang He promptly sprayed his fruit drink everywhere.