"Return the money, quickly!"

"You should give me a bit back! This is robbery, robbery! I'm calling the police!"

Su He's miserable cries echoed. To her, it seemed her big brother hadn't even made a call, yet Shen Yi showed up. It didn't matter whether she gave the two thousand or not.

In other words, losing two thousand for nothing—what a heartbreak.

People are like this: if Shen Yi had come because of his call, Su He would think the money was well-spent. At least she would have earned a thousand by turning it around. Although it's a bit less, there's still some profit.

But since Shen Yi came on her own right after Su He transferred the money, if she had waited just half a minute more, she might have saved that money. Two thousand, it felt like someone had robbed her.

Faced with Su He's wailing, Su Qing certainly wouldn't pity her. This girl wasn't so pitiful when she asked for a phone back then. Now, he was just collecting some interest. Besides, she wasn't losing out—it was definitely their mom, Zhou Hui, who'd end up paying, so what's the fuss?

In their family, the son and daughter both had a rebellious streak, always finding ways to take money from the elders. But in another perspective, Zhou Hui, like a leader, casually dispensed some benefits, and the people below would obediently do her bidding.

So Zhou Hui was happy, Su Qing made some money, and though Su He made a little less, she wasn't left without benefit—a net gain of three points of happiness. This is maximizing human happiness!

"Sister-in-law, help me! My brother's even snatching money from his sister!" Su He jumped on Su Qing's back, attempting to perform an 'Arresting Skill,' but lacked strength and could only choke him with her hands in a frenzy.

As for such a clumsy arresting technique, Su Qing didn't care. With a simple turn and wave of his hand, he pinned her on the sofa with a slap.

It was the same position he had used to pin Shen Yi before, a standard arresting skill, which made Auntie Shen's eye twitch, recalling some not-so-glorious dark moments.

"Ahh, I'm going to fight you! Sis-in-law, help me!" Su He, pinned on the sofa, flailed and shouted about fighting him but was actually calling for backup.

"Is it Xiao He? What are you two..." Shen Yi asked, puzzled, looking at the two.

"Sister-in-law, you have to uphold justice for me. My brother is snatching my money..."

"Don't listen to her nonsense, I earned that through my skill!" Su Qing responded.

To this, Shen Yi shook her head helplessly, stepped forward, punched Su Qing, pushing him aside, and finally pulled up Su He, saying in a scolding tone,

"A grown man only knows how to bully his sister, and he's not even ashamed to admit it!"

To this, Su Qing pursed his lips. Sister? This was a black-hearted little coat; you just hadn't seen her fake and pretentious side.

Soon, Su Qing brought dishes, along with some condiments, and the two of them went next door.

"Eh? Sister-in-law, why are you living next door? Aren't you and my brother..."

Only then did Su He realize she might be gravely mistaken. The sister-in-law she assumed didn't seem to be living with her brother.

However, the relationship was definitely not simple. After all, her brother had been living in the suburbs recently. If he wasn't interested in her, how could he move to this area to be neighbors with her?

The preconceived notion had firmly rooted in Su He's mind. Anyway, she thought that even if they weren't living together, they must be dating. At worst, they had mutual feelings, just lacking a final step in the relationship.

Hearing this, Su Qing couldn't help but sigh. He had long given up explaining—telling them, they wouldn't listen; listening, they wouldn't understand; understanding, they wouldn't act; acting, they would do wrong; doing wrong, they wouldn't admit; admitting, they wouldn't change.

How many times had he said he and Shen Yi were just friends? From Aunt Liu to Uncle Li, then to Su He and their mom, Zhou Hui—who believed it?

They all thought he secretly had a girlfriend and didn't want the family to know. After all, young people these days dislike their relationships being overseen by elders.

Especially their mom, Zhou Hui. No matter how he explained, she was convinced she'd soon be a grandmother.

"I just recently moved here. And also, don't call me sister-in-law, I'm just friends with your brother. Oh, and I'm his boss now," Shen Yi explained, inviting them to sit down as she spoke to Su He.

"What? Really? When my mom heard my brother had a girlfriend, she was overjoyed and said she wanted to meet you, sis," Su He said, eyes widening in surprise.

"Oh? How did Auntie come to think we were dating?" Shen Yi asked with a playful look, her gaze occasionally glancing at Su Qing.

"Isn't it because of this big mouth in front of you? After she saw you at my place, she went home and told my parents I had a girlfriend. Even my explanations at home were useless," Su Qing said with frustration.

Zhou Hui hadn't seen Shen Yi in person, and all the information was hearsay. If it weren't for Su He's big mouth adding fuel to the fire, things wouldn't have escalated to this point. Now, in his family, this affair was almost set in stone.

Saying that, both turned to look at Su He.

"Hehe, well, I just thought sis-in-law and my brother were quite a match. Didn't expect it to be a misunderstanding," Su He said with a grin, feeling a bit sheepish under their gaze.

The fabricated love story between them indeed seemed to have started right here.

"Then why do you still call me sister-in-law?" Shen Yi asked with a laugh.

Su He: "Sooner or later, sooner or later!"

Su Qing: ...

Regarding these two sentences, Shen Yi lightly knocked on Su He's head, but didn't show any sign of displeasure.

"Alright, you two sit down. The food's in the pot, it'll be ready soon!"

With that, Shen Yi turned and walked towards the kitchen.

Once Shen Yi left, Su He let out a breath and looked at Su Qing with a hint of disappointment, asking:

"Brother, why haven't you gotten sis-in-law yet? I thought you two were already..."

"Already what? I've told you countless times, but you just refuse to believe it. Fortunately, Boss Shen is big-hearted and doesn't bother with you. If it were someone else, they would have cut ties with you for spreading such stories," Su Qing scolded, glaring at her.

"Don't scare me, sister-in-law looks like a generous person. Besides, I've never seen a boss bring their employee home for dinner. Bro, you still have hope. Win her over and add a member to our Su Family!"

Hearing this, Su Qing raised his hand to deal with her, scaring Su He into running to the kitchen to help Shen Yi.

Soon, a few homestyle dishes were served: cola chicken wings and scrambled eggs with tomatoes, plus some takeout deli items from outside, making a decent spread.

"Come on, don't be shy, let's eat, Xia He, you start too!" Shen Yi took off her apron and invited them to the table.

Looking at the two dishes on the table, Su Qing found it unbelievable. He didn't expect Aunt Shen could actually cook.

"What's wrong? Hurry up and eat."

"Hmm, sister-in-law's cooking is really good. Bro, you should try it."

Hearing this, Su Qing tasted the cola chicken wings. The flavor was indeed nice, and he remarked with a smile, "I didn't know you had this skill. I thought..."

"Thought I never lift a finger to cook and always eat out?" Shen Yi interrupted, then chuckled to herself and continued:

"Although my family was well-off, it wasn't exactly wealthy. When I first graduated and started my business, conditions were tough, so it was normal to cook for myself. Later, I got busier, so I didn't have time to cook. Okay, let's eat!"

Soon, the simple dinner was finished in a very relaxing atmosphere, and with Su He around, Aunt Shen didn't stir up trouble.

After dinner, Su Qing was in charge of washing dishes and cleaning up the mess.

Shen Yi and Su He were nestled on the sofa chatting leisurely.

"Sister-in-law, how did you meet my brother?"

"Uh, around May, I had some trouble, and your brother helped me out, that's how we met. I heard from your brother that you've finished your college entrance exam, which university do you plan to attend?"

...

With Shen Yi's experience, chatting with a little girl was a piece of cake.

In no time, Su He was starry-eyed, and Shen Yi also learned more information from her.

For instance, their home address, family members, and even that their mother already considered her a daughter-in-law.

Although she didn't take it seriously, knowing she wasn't disliked made her quite happy.

One could say this meal revealed all their family secrets, leaving no mystery.

In the evening, Su He returned home and immediately started a video call with her mom, Zhou Hui.

"Mom, look, here's a photo of sister-in-law. Pretty, right?" Su He sent over a photo of her with Shen Yi.

Seeing Shen Yi's photo while on vacation, Zhou Hui couldn't stop grinning and nodded repeatedly. She said to Mr. Su beside her:

"See, I told you our son has got it. Wow, I wonder how this girl grew up, she's just too beautiful."

Even Mr. Su next to her nodded slowly, she was indeed flawless, even without makeup, a casual shot was stunningly beautiful.

"Beautiful is beautiful, but she seems older than our son, doesn't she?"

"Older is good; older ones know how to care for people."

Seeing how overjoyed the old couple was, Su He decided to tell the truth: "Mom, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"The good news!" Zhou Hui said energetically.

"The good news is, sister-in-law is really nice to my brother. They live very close, they're neighbors, and she even arranged a job for my brother."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hui was even more satisfied with the prospective daughter-in-law, laughed heartily, and asked:

"And the bad news?"

"The bad news is, sister-in-law said she isn't my brother's girlfriend. They're just good friends, it seems like we misunderstood!" Su He said cautiously.

This statement left the old couple on the other end of the video in silence.

Hearing that sister-in-law isn't my brother's girlfriend didn't sound believable, but to Zhou Hui, it was a bolt from the blue.

"What do you mean? How come she's not the girlfriend now? Weren't they living together a few days ago?"

"Mom, don't worry, I think my brother still has a chance. By the way, Mom, about the 3000 yuan..." Su He rubbed her hands cautiously.

"No daughter-in-law, no money either. None!"

Su He: "Come on, mom, I was just..."

But before she could finish, the call was disconnected, leaving Su He dumbfounded.

She put in time and effort, and in the end, she lost 2000? That's not fair. She used her little savings for the expenses.

If the 3000 yuan from mom was gone, she'd have to cover it herself. How could a little penny-pincher like her endure that?

"Oh my, I can't take this!"

...

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