My sister-in-law from Qingdao

My sister-in-law has said so much, I really can't leave.

After all, I'm worried about her. What if Liu Feng finds out through other clues that my sister-in-law lives here and comes over?

Although we live in a society governed by the rule of law, sometimes thugs can be very difficult to deal with.

My sister-in-law asked me to sleep in the inner room while she slept on the sofa, but I refused.

I'm a man, and the reason I'm staying here tonight is to protect my sister-in-law. If I sleep inside while she's outside, how can I protect her?

I lay on the sofa and played on my phone for a while. When I saw that my sister-in-law's light was off, I turned off my light too.

I was still playing on my phone, but I was distracted.

My mind is filled with thoughts of my cousin, and I sometimes think about my cousin's wife. What will become of her in the future?

Just as I was lying there lost in thought, my sister-in-law came out and turned on the light.

"Chen Dong, can I chat with you for a while?" My sister-in-law was still wearing that nightgown, which looked quite sexy and alluring, making me a little afraid to look directly at her.

"Sister-in-law, what do you have to say?"

I sat up, and my sister-in-law, who was sitting on the sofa beside me, said, "The day after tomorrow we're going back to the village to pay respects at your brother's grave. I wonder how your aunt and uncle will treat me."

As for the elderly couple, they are both quite old, and I really don't know what they might do.

I didn't answer her directly.

The sister-in-law sighed softly and said, "I was thinking of not going to visit your brother's grave, but then I thought about how we were husband and wife. I didn't take good care of him when he was alive, and if I don't visit his grave after he's gone, I'll be a terrible wife."

I really wanted to tell her that I would let her stay at my house after we arrived in Chenjiatun, but I swallowed the words back down.

My mom called me a few days ago and repeatedly told me to keep my distance from my sister-in-law.

If I bring my sister-in-law to my house, what if my mother starts overthinking things again? And what about the people in the village? After all, gossip can be a powerful thing.

"I've made up my mind. If it doesn't work out, I'll clean up our old house. We'll stay here for at most one day."

In our area, you can only visit graves after noon, and you also have to entertain guests, so you can only stay at home at night.

It would be almost impossible to return to Qingdao without staying there, because there are many things at home that need to be packed.

"Sister-in-law, don't worry too much, I'll help you pack."

"Alright, I'm relieved to hear that. No matter what kind of attitude your aunt and uncle give me, I'll just pretend I didn't see it."

Seeing my cousin's wife's aggrieved expression, I really felt sorry for her.

Finally mustering his courage, he said, "Sister-in-law, my brother has passed away. You're so young, maybe you could consider finding someone else."

My cousin's wife was stunned when I said that, then gave a bitter smile and said, "I'm a widow now, do you think anyone would like me?"

"My dear sister-in-law! How could you still have such thoughts? Society is different now than before. You're so beautiful, and a college student, finding a partner will be too easy for you."

My cousin's wife continued to shake her head and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's talk about it later. Your brother treated me well when he was alive. He hasn't even passed the 49th day memorial yet. I dare not have any wild thoughts."

I think my cousin's wife makes a good point, and her words make me realize that she is a good woman.

We chatted for a while longer, and then my sister-in-law went inside to sleep.

I lay on the sofa and played on my phone for a while longer before finally drifting off to sleep.

When I suddenly woke up, I saw that it was still dark, and I heard sobbing coming from my sister-in-law's room.

Her cries were mournful and desolate.

This is understandable. She lost her husband at a young age, her in-laws treated her badly, and she even mortgaged her parents' only house.

A lonely and helpless woman will inevitably cry when she can't sleep at night.

But her crying made me uneasy.

The sound was very soft, but I heard it clearly. I lay there tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep at all.

I looked at my phone; she had been crying for over half an hour.

I couldn't hold back any longer. Barefoot, I went to her door, gently knocked, and asked, "Sister-in-law, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

My cousin's crying stopped, and then she said to me in a hoarse voice, "I'm fine, I just had a dream. You should go to sleep."

"Don't cry, it makes my heart ache."

I really wanted to push open the door and comfort her, even just to hand her a tissue.

But I held back in the end. At that moment, it was just me and my cousin's wife. Although we both had our own bottom lines, sometimes those lines are easily crossed.

I put the tissues I had taken back on the coffee table and then turned off the light.

My sister-in-law's room became quiet. I listened carefully, and persisted for another half hour. There was no sound from inside, so I finally felt at ease and fell asleep without realizing it.

When I woke up again, it was already broad daylight, and my sister-in-law was sitting opposite me.

On the coffee table were millet porridge, boiled eggs, steamed buns, and pickled vegetables.

She wore a coffee-colored long skirt with a beige sweater over it. Although it was a bit of a mix-and-match, it still accentuated her shapely figure.

Her eyelids were slightly red and swollen, but that didn't detract from her beauty.

I remembered the suicide note my cousin left me again, and an idea suddenly popped into my head.

Instead of searching for love everywhere, why don't I just live with my sister-in-law?

Once the idea formed in my mind, it wouldn't leave me, and my cheeks flushed instantly.

"You're awake? Get up and eat."

When my cousin-in-law saw that I was awake, she came over and pulled the blanket off me, folding it as she said with a smile.

I got up, and my sister-in-law said to me again, "A batch of equipment is coming today. I'll go first. You can leave by yourself after you finish eating."

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"I'm not hungry, you eat it yourself."

My sister-in-law smiled, her eyes crinkling, picked up the chopsticks from the side, handed them to me, and then rode away on her electric scooter.

As I watched her retreating figure, I was reminded once again of that sentence in my cousin's suicide note.

After careful consideration, I finally rejected my idea.

If I really did get together with my cousin's wife, no one else would need to stop us; the villagers alone would be enough to drown us in their spittle.

It's possible that I won't even be able to go back to Chenjiatun.

Thinking about all this, I couldn't help but smile bitterly, as if it were my cousin-in-law who wanted to be with me.

To be fair, I'm not ugly, but compared to my cousin's wife, she's much more attractive.

Just as I was lost in thought, Lin Moli called me.

"Sis, why are you calling me so early? Is something wrong?"

"Of course something's wrong. Why would I call you if nothing was wrong? Where are you? Your friend is looking for you."

Lin Moli's gentle and clear voice came through the phone.

"My friend? What friend?"

"Two young, handsome men said they were good friends with you and came to visit you."

Lin Moli's words left me somewhat bewildered. Since coming to Qingdao, I haven't known many men, except for a few foreign trade personnel from Linglong Embroidery Factory.

Then there are the guys from Shuiyunjian.

Could it be that Ma Zhiyuan and his group came looking for me?

That's obviously unlikely.

"Sister-in-law, what are their names?"

"It seems one of them is named Wang Tao and the other is named Li Hongxing. They both said they are your brother's good friends and came here specifically to visit you."

My brother's good friend?

How come I didn't know?

I couldn't worry about that anymore. I quickly finished my meal, called my sister-in-law to let her know, and then drove straight to Linglong Embroidery Company.

At the entrance of Linglong Embroidery Company, I met the so-called Wang Tao and Li Hongxing.

Two completely unfamiliar men.

The two men got into my car and immediately grabbed me.

The man behind me named Wang Tao held a knife to my neck.

He said menacingly, "You're pretty arrogant, kid. Our boss wants to see you."