Chapter 13: Song Qinian Will Get Jealous and Sad

Watching Su Mujin and Song Muxue walk off hand in hand, Song Qinian subconsciously raised his hand and touched the spot on his cheek where she’d kissed him.

He obviously couldn’t feel anything, but somehow, that patch of skin seemed to be burning hotter than anywhere else.

Not far away, Chen Yuehua and Song Huaian stood together, whispering.

“Old Song, look at our Qinian. I used to think he was completely clueless—maybe he’d never find a wife in this lifetime. But now? Looks like he finally figured things out.”

Song Huaian chuckled softly.

“He takes after me.”

“Takes after you? How so?”

“Before I met you, I was just as clueless. But the moment I met you—I was wide awake!”

Chen Yuehua rolled her eyes at him.

“You’re so improper. Never serious.”

Though she said that, the corners of her mouth curled uncontrollably—she couldn’t stop smiling.

---

Su Mujin and Song Muxue left the compound and got on a trolleybus.

At this time, taking a trolleybus was very affordable. Their destination was also nearby, and the fare was just two fen (cents) per person.

Sitting on the trolleybus, looking at 1970s Beijing, Su Mujin felt a mix of emotions.

Even though she knew this was a fictional world—an entirely imagined backdrop—it still mirrored traces of what she’d once seen or read in real life.

Just as she was lost in thought, the trolleybus came to a stop.

“Sister-in-law, we’re here! Let’s go!”
Song Muxue said cheerfully, full of energy.

At fifteen, the girl was like a radiant sunflower—overflowing with youthful vitality.

The two of them got off the trolleybus together. Right in front of them stood a three-story department store.

This wasn’t the Beijing filled with towering skyscrapers.

In the real, authentic Beijing of that era, buildings over six stories were rare.

So a department store that was three stories tall already stood out prominently.

The first floor of the department store sold large items.

Things like bicycles, tricycles, sewing machines, and radios.

To Su Mujin, these items were ordinary—nothing special.

But to Song Muxue, they were utterly captivating.

As soon as she stepped in, her eyes were glued to a women’s bicycle.

Most bicycles of the time were “28 big frames” — tough, practical, with strong load-bearing capacity. They had a large crossbar in front and were designed for transporting people or goods, but they looked bulky and were not favored by girls.

But women’s bicycles were different.

They were slightly smaller in size, with no crossbar in front, a basket mounted on the handlebars for easy storage, and color accents in green and red that made them look lively and cute.

Even Su Mujin’s eyes lit up at the sight.

Without hesitation, she tugged Song Muxue over toward the bike.

“Sister-in-law!”
Song Muxue gasped in surprise.
“Where are we going?!”

“To buy a bike, of course!”
Su Mujin answered as if it were obvious.
“I just married into the family. Think of this as a gift from me to you.”

“But… it’s too expensive!”

Although the Song family was relatively well-off and not overly frugal, they weren’t the type to splurge unnecessarily either.

Song Muxue had always commuted by trolleybus and never even considered owning her own bicycle.

Su Mujin paused, turned, and looked at Song Muxue straight in the eyes.

Her voice was clear and resolute.

“As long as you like it, as long as you’ll make use of it—no matter how expensive it is, your sister-in-law will buy it for you.”

Song Muxue’s eyes instantly turned red with emotion, tears welling up.

“Sister-in-law! You’re so kind! Manman told me before that once you came into the family, big brother wouldn’t care about me anymore. I was actually a little scared back then…

But now I think she was wrong! You’re even more caring than my brother!”

Su Mujin instinctively raised her eyebrows.

“Song Manman said that?”

Song Manman, Song Liancheng’s younger sister—also fifteen years old—was a few months younger than Song Muxue. The two were in the same grade and even in the same class.

Though they were close in age, their personalities were completely different.

Song Manman was not easy to get along with.

In the original version of the story, Su Moli—after marrying Song Liancheng—had worked hard to win over Song Manman, doing a lot of favors to earn her approval.

But this time around, it wouldn’t be so easy for Su Moli to cozy up to Song Manman!

If Song Manman wanted to compete with Song Muxue over everything, then let the competition start with who had the better sister-in-law!

Su Mujin gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind Song Muxue’s ear.

“Silly girl, now that I’ve married into the family, we’re one family. That just means there’s one more person to love you.
Come on—let’s get matching bikes! We’ll ride them home together. Who knows, maybe people will think we’re actual sisters!”

This time, Song Muxue didn’t try to refuse. She nodded firmly.

The two of them walked over to the sales counter.

Su Mujin flashed the shop assistant a bright, cheerful smile.

“Sis, how much for those ladies’ bikes over there?”

The saleslady was taken aback. Su Mujin was so good-looking, smiling at her with that sunny face and calling her “sis” in such a sweet tone—it made her smile, too.

“You two have great taste! And great luck! We only got four ladies’ bicycles in this batch, and the styles are even prettier than the last ones.
But they’re not cheap—eighteen yuan per bike, and you need a bicycle ticket!”

Only eighteen yuan?

Su Mujin had packed 1,000 yuan in her purse before leaving the house and had brought all the necessary ration tickets with her.

Just as Song Muxue was about to say it was too expensive, Su Mujin moved faster.

She pulled out two bicycle tickets, then counted out thirty-six yuan, and handed everything to the saleslady.

“Sis, we’ll take two!”

The saleslady had never seen anyone so generous and decisive. It was a rare sight!

But she simply gave Su Mujin a second glance before quickly writing out the receipt.

Each bike came with a lock. The saleslady handed them their keys.

Su Mujin took the keys—she handed one to Song Muxue and slipped the other into her own bag.

“Sis, we’re heading upstairs to do some more shopping. Is it okay if we come back later for the bikes?”

“Of course! Take your time!”

Su Mujin grabbed Song Muxue and headed upstairs.

Song Muxue was still lost in the joy of owning her very own bike. Being pulled upstairs, she looked a bit confused.

“Sister-in-law, what else are we buying?”

“I got you a gift, so now of course we’re getting something for Mom and Dad too! And we have to pick something for your big brother.
Otherwise, if everyone gets something but him, he might get sad… even jealous.”

As she said this, Su Mujin winked playfully at Song Muxue.

Song Muxue froze for a moment, trying to picture her big brother jealous or heartbroken—but she just couldn’t imagine it.

To her, her brother had always been almost invincible—he’d left his peers in the dust before he was even out of his teens.

To her, he wasn’t just a brother, he was like a second father figure—strong and exceptional.

“Sister-in-law… do you really think my big brother would get jealous? Would he really feel sad?”