Chapter 224: Motherly sister-in-law

Although a room had been prepared for Jingshu's arrival, she instead chose to stay in the same room as Shao Hua. This wasn't anything for Zhang Fan to worry about, though.

"Sister-in-law, you're so white! Your figure is also so excellent! Just look at how large your breasts are!" Jingshu now understood far more things after half a year of college life.

"Heavens, are you in a romantic relationship now? Be careful, or your brother will get a heart attack! Although he won't say it in front of you, he'll often ask me what you're up to. Tell me, are you in a romantic relationship?"

"Of course not. There aren't many boys studying the same major as me. The few boys that are in this major are all really feminine. You don't even know. There's this boy in my class that actually knows more about skin care than I do. He cares a lot about using specific lip balms during specific weather conditions."

"What, you don't like that type?" Shao Hua inquired.

"Of course not. If I get a boyfriend, I want someone like my brother! A man who's really capable! I don't want any young sprout or a mommy's boy!"

"Heavens, you even understand this already? It seems that little Jingshu has really grown up. Actually, although your brother is slightly dark-skinned, his looks are alright. I'm just curious. Why do you two siblings have such a great difference in skin color? You're so white. Just take a look at your brother, though."

"It's probably because of the sun! Maybe he got too much sunlight while younger, so it's too late now!" Jingshu snuggled in Shao Hua's embrace.

"Jingshu, tell me about when your brother was younger," Shao Hua said as she embraced Jingshu.

"Hmm, my brother? How should I say it? Ever since young, he was always the stubborn and prideful type. Back then, our family wasn't well off, so he would follow some older boys and search everywhere for scrap metal in the factories to secretly sell off. He would then save his money, and use it to buy delicious things for me. Once, the men working in the factory caught him stealing and brought him home. My father whipped him with a leather belt for more than two hours, but he refused to admit his wrongs. He didn't say a single word. My mom cried over this incident!"

"But right now, I can't sense his stubbornness at all. He's quite easy to talk to. He always has a smile for everyone," Shao Hua remarked.

"That's probably due to his experiences during college. When he was in college, he barely returned home at all, even though the distance was quite small. He also never asked for any money from us. My mom often cried over this. He really is quite prideful. I'm different. I can suck up to him for an entire day for the sake of him buying me some ice cream. As for him? He'd rather drool than ask for anything from our parents."

"Why's that?" Shao Hua was quite astonished to hear this.

"It's because he's the eldest son. He always voluntarily places so much pressure on himself. Sister-in-law, I'm truly thankful to you. I think that my brother would have had a far more difficult time over the past two years if it weren't for you. He never knows to take care of himself. He's unwilling to eat well or spend any money on himself. Did you know that he wired me more than 10,000 yuan in his very first year of working? At the time, I wondered if he starved himself every day while working."

"It's all in the past now. Just look at your brother now. He's doing quite well!" Shao Hua gently wiped away Jingshu's tears.

"Yeah! It's all in the past. Things will become better and better." Both of them slowly fell asleep.

Zhang Fan also stayed and slept in the study that had originally been prepared for him to begin with, even though he had planned on returning to the apartment that Kang Hua had loaned to him.

Since Zhang Fan was forgoing his New Year's vacation, Chasu City Hospital gave him a few days of vacation time for now. The proctology department director would be going on his honeymoon vacation next week, which was why the hospital administration department wasn't in that much of a hurry for Zhang Fan to be at work. The hospital leadership already trusted Zhang Fan immensely. If Zhang Fan said that he would be fine practicing proctology at a director's level, then the leadership believed him.

Although Jingshu was growing up, she was still young and naïve. Even though she received plenty of money for living expenses, it seemed likely that she had saved most of it—Shao Hua discovered that Jingshu was still wearing the underwear that Shao Hua had purchased and mailed to her during earlier this summer. Shao Hua really doted on her younger future sister-in-law because of how considerate the latter was.

On the next morning, Zhang Fan got up quite early in order to go exercising. He had gotten addicted to his daily exercise routine. He would always go for a morning jog every single day as long as he hadn't worked an overtime or night shift on the previous day. By the time that he finished with his exercise, Shao Hua's mother had cooked several more delicious dishes. Shao Hua's parents had also gotten up quite early to go to the open market. The open markets here in the border province would have many local specialties that couldn't be found elsewhere other than the weekend markets.

"Have some more food, Jingshu. I love cooking for you. It makes me so happy to watch you eat. You're not like Shao Hua at all. She only eats two bites per meal. I might as well not even cook for her!"

"Yes, thank you, Ma'am. It's because your food is so delicious! Sister-in-law is probably just afraid of becoming fat due to eating too much."

"Don't be afraid of getting fat. Just look out on the streets. Who looks like she does?"

"Hurry and eat already. Why talk so much so early in the morning?" Shao Hua's father wasn't able to take it anymore, as he also wasn't the type who could eat very much. Shao Hua was like her father in this.

After breakfast, Zhang Fan wanted to go to the study and read some medical textbooks, but Shao Hua made him go out together with her as she wanted to buy some clothes for Jingshu. They went to W Mall, which was the largest mega mall in all of Chasu City. This mall was the highest-class mall with the most expensive products in Chasu City.

Shao Hua would only rarely take Zhang Fan here, except on special holiday occasions or if Zhang Fan needed to do something like attend an academic conference, as the prices here were rather high. Shao Hua would also never come here by herself to purchase anything.

However, she was really generous towards Jingshu. Shao Hua the sister-in-law was acting like a mother towards the latter. Zhang Fan was acting like a father towards his sister, and he wasn't the only one who had taken up a parent role.

"Go look around by yourself. Wait for us on the second floor," Shao Hua commanded Zhang Fan, who didn't even realize what this was about. Still, he obediently found a bench to sit down on. Zhang Fan was more than happy to have some free time to himself as he felt that all malls were boring and the same.

Shao Hua and Jingshu slowly looked around the mall. Shao Hua was quite intelligent about these things. Although she wanted to buy some new underwear for Jingshu, it wouldn't be possible to directly go to the lingerie store. Jingshu wasn't a little girl anymore. She would get embarrassed.

"This one's pretty good. Try it on," Shao Hua said as she handed some spring clothing to Jingshu.

"No need, Sister-in-law. I have plenty of clothes already."

"Listen to me, hurry and try it. I'll tell you some good news in a bit. Be a good girl! Hurry and try it."

After quite some time, Shao Hua managed to buy several sets of clothes as well as underwear for Jingshu. Shao Hua could tell that Jingshu didn't want to spend money on herself, because the latter's clothing had already started to shrink from repeated laundering.

"Tsk, tsk. I barely even dare to send you back to college like this. You look way too beautiful after dressing up. I'd be so happy if your brother was even half as white as you," commented Shao Hua. The current Jingshu was quite a beautiful young woman with her white skin, orange fur jacket, cotton winter skirt, and gray leather shoes.

"Sister-in-law!" Jingshu was getting rather embarrassed to hear this.

"In a few days, I'll be taking my New Year's vacation leave. I'll take you to have fun in Thailand then. How about it? Are you happy to hear that?"

"I really am! But, how about we just forget it, Sister-in-law? It's not easy for the two of you to make money." Jingshu was delighted for a moment, but then she recalled how difficult it had to be for her brother, so she instead tried to convince Shao Hua not to go.

"It's not easy for me to make money, aye. My mouth is always so dry at the end of the day with how much talking I have to do for my job. But, your brother's current income really is amazing now. A single trip to Thailand won't hurt him very much. Besides, isn't the point of him making money to help his family live comfortably?"

"Then is my brother going? He's never been to Thailand before, either."

"Sigh! I don't think your brother will be able to go."