Chapter 16 Sister-in-law

“Sister-in-law, does this one look good?” Lan Luobai picked up a hair clip and waved it in front of Lian Nanshu.

Seeing her bright, carefree smile, Lian Nanshu felt a pang of emotion. Her own younger sister in the book had died at the age of ten. If she had lived, she would be eighteen now—about the same age as Lan Luobai. Lan Luobai had clearly been well protected by her family, and her personality was cheerful and lively. Lian Nanshu forced a smile and said, “Then let’s buy it.”

She opened her bag to get money, but Lan Xubai handed her a thick wad of cash.

“I…”

“Use this,” Lan Xubai said without hesitation. He understood his sister’s spending habits. Lian Nanshu didn’t make much—her salary and stipend were modest. Considering the envelope of money she’d given earlier, it already seemed like a significant amount to him.

Lian Nanshu wanted to refuse, but Lan Xubai didn’t give her the chance. “From now on, when I get paid, I’ll give the money to you.”

Lian Nanshu nodded shyly.

Lan Luobai didn’t notice a thing—she was too busy getting excited about everything she wanted to buy. She was starting to feel like her sister-in-law was even better than their parents.

Less than an hour later, Lan Xubai’s hands were completely full.

“Lan Luobai, buy a bit less, okay? We still need to get gifts for the elders back home. We won’t be able to carry all this.” Lian Nanshu said, noticing how much had already been purchased—most of it for Lan Luobai. She herself hadn’t bought anything.

Lan Luobai rolled her eyes at Lan Xubai and pouted angrily.

Lian Nanshu stepped in, smiling, “Then you’ll have to go back and forth twice. Be a bit more hardworking, okay?”

“You spoil her too much, she’s so pampered!” Lan Xubai muttered, but since his wife had spoken, he had no choice but to obey. “If Luobai gets something, you should too. I can carry it, let’s buy more.”

“Ehh~” Lan Luobai gave him a look of disdain. “So Sister-in-law can buy stuff, but I can’t? Double standards?”

Lan Xubai glanced at the bags—clearly all of them were hers.

“Then should I just return this?” he said casually.

That shut Lan Luobai up immediately. She didn’t dare to argue anymore. She pouted and turned to Lian Nanshu again, “Sister-in-law~”

Lan Luobai knew very well—her big brother’s word held power, but you absolutely did not want to offend her sister-in-law.

Lian Nanshu gave Lan Xubai a look and said, “Come on, what’s the harm in letting a girl buy what she likes? She’s your only sister. She just started college—it’s totally normal to get her some gifts to help her build connections with her roommates.”

“Exactly, exactly!” Lan Luobai made a silly face at Lan Xubai and stuck out her tongue.

Lan Xubai gave her a warning look, and she instinctively moved closer to Lian Nanshu for protection.

Lian Nanshu frowned and stared him down.

Fearing his wife would get upset, Lan Xubai obediently shut his mouth.

Now that she had her sister-in-law backing her up, Lan Luobai was acting bolder than ever. If she saw something she liked, she wanted to buy it.

Lian Nanshu just doted on her, indulging her every whim.

Lan Xubai had given her at least three to four hundred yuan—a significant amount.

In just half an hour, Lan Luobai had spent maybe twenty to thirty yuan total, which was about a month’s income for many families at the time.

Still, Lan Luobai only picked the cheap stuff. If something was pretty but expensive, she just glanced at it and walked away—she couldn’t bear to buy it.

It was rare for her brother to come back home, and she really wanted to share her joy with him—show him what she liked.

She told Lian Nanshu that Grandpa liked tea, so she bought him some tea leaves and liquor.

Their father liked reading—being an official at the education bureau, that’s all he did.

Lian Nanshu bought him a nice fountain pen, knowing his job involved both mental and manual tasks—writing and drawing were routine.

For their mother, she got a comfortable pair of leather shoes—affordable and practical. Since she worked in tech and had to stand a lot, it made sense.

For Aunt Lan Qin, she picked a handbag. Uncle enjoyed practicing calligraphy.

They also prepared gifts for Second Uncle’s entire family.

Aunt and Second Uncle didn’t have children—these two kids were the only treasures of the whole family.

Lian Nanshu suddenly broke into a cold sweat. When she’d successfully replaced the original host, she hadn’t considered the consequences of being brought back into the city.

Lan Xubai’s family was extremely respectable for this era—three generations had served the people.

Thankfully, she was no longer the original Lian Nanshu. If she were, with that original temper, things would’ve already blown up—and divorce would’ve been inevitable.

Lan Xubai decided to take the stuff home first and have Lan Luobai stay for dinner before sending her back to school—mainly because she and Lian Nanshu had bought so much, especially gifts for the elders.

By the time they finished shopping, it was already dark.

Just then, Lan Luobai ran into some of her roommates, and they walked together. One roommate even helped carry some of her bags.

Before parting ways, Lian Nanshu gave Lan Luobai ten yuan and told her to treat her friends to dinner.

As for them, they bought some meat and went home to cook.

“I’ll cook today,” Lian Nanshu said happily—it was rare to see her in such a good mood.

Lan Xubai was stunned. “You know how to cook?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Lian Nanshu asked, confused. “Just because I don’t usually cook doesn’t mean I can’t cook.”

She didn’t like cooking—too greasy—but life required eating, and sometimes there was no choice.

Lan Xubai hesitated, “It’s not that I don’t believe you, but your hands are made for writing and creating. Let me do it.”

He still refused, certain that his wife wasn’t suited for the task. Besides, she hadn’t cooked in a long time—her skills probably weren’t as good as his.

“Who says hands that create can’t also cook? I’m going to show you today what it means to be a chef!”

With that, she rolled up her sleeves.

“I’ll show you why I’m the boss in the kitchen today!”

She wasn’t a real chef, of course, but back when she was broke, she had followed online tutorials to make all her favorite foods. She had only stopped cooking because work had kept her too busy.

“If I follow the army in the future, are you going to cook for me every meal? I’ll probably starve to death! Or what if you suddenly get tired of me?” Lan Xubai seemed to catch on to the key point and asked, “You resigned?”

“Mhm~ After the meeting today, I talked to my supervisor. Even though I was reluctant, there was no other way!” she replied, looking helpless yet determined.

“Why?” Lan Xubai asked again, still confused.

Wen Suiyuan pursed her lips with a smile, deliberately keeping him in suspense. She smiled without saying anything, which only made Lan Xubai even more curious.

“Say something already, will you?” He grew a bit anxious when he couldn’t hear the rest. That’s just his personality.

Lian Nanshu replied shyly, “I told them that I’ve been married to you for several years now, and I’m getting older! It’s time to think about having kids. We can’t be apart long-term, so they agreed to my request.”

Lan Xubai was stunned for a long moment before he reacted. Wrapping his arms around Lian Nanshu’s waist, he repeatedly asked for confirmation, “Are you serious?”

He was full of anticipation. Lian Nanshu understood what he meant and quickly pushed him away, saying, “It was just an excuse. I’m going to cook.”

She knew she was thin-skinned, but he was still very happy. Once the holidays ended, he could bring his wife back with him to the base. Though the conditions at the base weren’t as good as in the city, he had already made up his mind to create the best environment possible so she could live well.

In the kitchen, Lian Nanshu had already prepared the ingredients. But she wasn’t great at getting the stove started.

“Come help me light the stove—I don’t know how!”

In truth, she was quite good at cooking, just not used to this stove. She had tried many times before, but the flame wouldn’t catch properly, so she eventually gave up on cooking.

“Yes, ma’am!” Lan Xubai replied instinctively.

He bent down and lit the fire. Soon, the meal was ready, and Lan Xubai had been helping her the entire time. She made four dishes and a soup: scrambled eggs with cilantro, pork belly stir-fried with cilantro, braised beef with potatoes, stir-fried cabbage, and a cold mixed side dish with daylily stems.

Lan Xubai looked at the dishes laid out on the table—colorful, fragrant, and appetizing.

“It’s just the two of us. Isn’t this a bit much?” Lan Xubai knew how much Lian Nanshu typically ate.

“They’re all small portions—we can finish them! I believe we can. If we can’t, we’ll leave the cold dish for tomorrow. You’re responsible for finishing the rest!”

Lan Xubai handed her a pair of chopsticks. As he ate, he nodded in approval of her cooking skills.

By the end of the meal, Lan Xubai’s stomach felt like it was about to burst. He hadn’t expected Lian Nanshu’s cooking to be so good—everything was delicious.

“I’ll do the dishes. You take a break, alright?” Seeing her about to clean up the table, Lan Xubai took the initiative to handle the post-meal chores.

Lian Nanshu didn’t object. After all, someone had to do the work. Looking at that mountain of pots and bowls, it was more fitting for him to take care of it.

“Alright then, I’ll go read for a bit!” It wasn’t time to sleep yet. She liked reading for a while after dinner before showering and heading to bed.

After tidying up the kitchen, Lan Xubai returned to the living room to find Lian Nanshu sitting on the sofa engrossed in a book.

“What are you reading?” he asked. But when he saw the cover, it looked very familiar. “Why do you like reading his books so much?”

The book was so old it was practically falling apart—she must have read it countless times.