My sister-in-law from Qingdao

When I knocked on my cousin's wife's door, she stood there looking haggard.

"Why are you here?"

My cousin's wife asked, her eyes red and her voice slightly hoarse.

"I heard you crying on the phone just now, so I came to see you. My brother has passed away, so don't be too sad."

When I said that, I was actually quite sad.

When my cousin was alive, I didn't think he was that great or that important. In fact, I thought he was a bit of a scoundrel and a bit of a troublemaker.

I felt he wasn't good enough for my cousin's wife, but now that he's gone, I realize that a very important person is missing from my life.

"Come in and have a seat."

My cousin's wife ushered me in and pointed to the worn-out sofa.

I sat down, and my cousin-in-law poured me a cup of tea and then sat down opposite me.

She was wearing a white spaghetti strap nightgown, her eyes were red-rimmed, and her hair was a little messy.

"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?"

I have a feeling that something is wrong.

"It's nothing, I'm fine, I just miss your brother."

At this point, she turned her face away and cried again, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, looking very sad and upset.

I sat to the side, unsure how to comfort her.

As a married couple, how could my cousin's wife not be saddened by his passing?

Just then, her phone rang.

My cousin's wife instinctively picked it up, but instead of taking it, she pressed the red button and tossed it aside.

She had just put her phone down when it rang again.

My cousin-in-law picked up the phone, and this time she answered it.

"Liu Feng, what are you doing? No matter what, you're Chen Fang's brother. Can't you show me some respect?"

When I heard my cousin-in-law say that, my heart skipped a beat.

Liu Feng's seemingly refined face came to mind.

I clearly remember the burning look in his eyes when he looked at my sister-in-law at my cousin's funeral.

Because my cousin's wife had the phone on speakerphone, I could hear their conversation perfectly clearly.

"Xiaoya, what are you saying? I liked you when Chen Fang was here, but I didn't dare to confess. Now that he's gone, I can't bear to see you all alone and sad, so let me go keep you company."

Send me your address, I'll come find you.

My cousin's face darkened.

"Liu Feng, listen up. I belong to Chen Fang in life and in death. I don't care how good you two were before, but don't even think about messing with me."

If you have any humanity left, you should speak to me more politely in the future.

"Su Xiaoya, have you forgotten whose money was spent on your husband's funeral? It was mine. I owe your husband 60,000 yuan, I gave you 100,000 yuan, so you still owe me 40,000 yuan."

"If you come with me now, we'll be even. If you don't want to come with me, then you have to pay me back the money immediately—double the 40,000 yuan."

I assumed my cousin's wife paid for my brother's funeral and my aunt's medical treatment, but I was surprised to find that Liu Feng had overpaid by 40,000 yuan when he returned the money.

My cousin's wife didn't tell me about this.

"Liu Feng, I did take an extra 40,000 yuan from you, but the money has already been spent. Give me some time, and I will definitely pay you back at double the highest bank interest rate. Please don't pressure me, okay?"

"Hehe, I'm happy that you're spending my money. Let's put it this way: if you agree to be my girlfriend, you don't need the 40,000 yuan. I'll give you another 100,000 yuan."

Hearing Liu Feng's shameless words, a fire suddenly ignited within me.

That bastard, he has a wife and kids, yet he's so shameless.

I reached out and took my cousin's phone from her.

"Liu Feng, do you have any shame? When my brother was alive, you kept saying he was your best buddy. He's only been gone a few days, and the 49th day memorial service hasn't even passed yet, and you've already started bullying my sister-in-law. Do you believe I'll kill you, you son of a bitch?"

Hearing my voice, Liu Feng paused, then sneered, "Who do we have here? It's Chen Dong. Who do you think you are? You dare to challenge me? Let me tell you, no one in Qingdao has ever dared to talk to me like that. Your sister-in-law owes me money, and I've got her figured out."

The beast hung up the phone immediately after he finished speaking.

"Sister-in-law, didn't Zhao Wenbin's 260,000 yuan come through? Let's return it to Liu Feng first."

I handed the phone back to my cousin's wife, saying with a hint of helplessness.

My cousin's wife looked worried and said, "If Liu Feng had called me earlier, I would have returned it to him. But I used the 260,000 yuan to buy equipment, and now I only have 3,000 yuan left. Starting a business is so difficult."

My cousin's wife is right. In today's society, it is indeed quite difficult to get anything done.

The upward mobility channels for ordinary people have been completely blocked by those in power and wealth.

"Sister-in-law, does Liu Feng know you live here?"

My cousin's wife shook her head and said, "He doesn't know. If he did, he probably would have come over already."

Look at these WeChat messages he sent me, they're so shameless and disgusting.

My cousin-in-law doesn't treat me like an outsider at all; she even found the WeChat messages Liu Feng sent her.

When I saw those explicit declarations of love, and even some dirty jokes, the fire in my heart flared up again.

After his cousin died, Liu Feng became far too unscrupulous.

"Sister-in-law, it's getting late. You should get some rest and be careful. I'll handle this for you."

My cousin's wife looked at me with sorrowful eyes, and subconsciously shook her head, saying, "Chen Dong, I owe you so much, I don't know how to repay you."

"You are my sister-in-law, and Chen Fang is my brother. It is only right that I do anything for you."

My brother left a will before he died, asking me to take good care of you.

"Oh, he mentioned this in his suicide note too?"

My cousin's wife's face flushed red instantly.

I recall my cousin's suicide note, in which he said that if possible, I should live with my cousin's wife.

My cousin's wife is blushing now; it might have touched a nerve. Perhaps the letter my cousin wrote to her is similar to the one he wrote to me.

But at this point, I had no choice but to pretend I didn't know.

"My brother just asked me to take care of you and help you with any difficulties you may have."

"Back then, with your brother around, I didn't have to think about anything. Although he was never home, he took care of everything, from food and drink to daily necessities and social interactions."

Now that he's gone, I have to do everything myself, and that's when I realized that your brother was actually a very responsible man.

Seeing that it was getting late, I stood up and said, "Sister-in-law, I should go now. I'll come and handle this for you tomorrow. I promise I'll handle it cleanly and clearly, so that Liu Feng will never dare to send such text messages again."

"Chen Dong, since you're already here, please don't leave. I'm feeling a little scared."

I was worried that Liu Feng might suddenly appear in front of me; given his beastly behavior, he even dared to force himself on me.