“Why are you calling her sister-in-law?”
She refused to call her that.
What right did that woman have to be her sister-in-law?
Just a poor nobody.
At first glance, it was obvious she only married her brother for their family’s money.
Afraid that Zhuo Yi would force her to call Huang Xiaoxiao “sister-in-law,” Zhuo Wenxuan stopped asking about the fish and hurriedly escaped from the kitchen.
At the same time, she sighed inwardly. Her brother was treating her worse and worse lately.
Thinking of this, a strong sense of crisis suddenly rose in her heart. It was all because of that woman that her brother had changed like this.
The thought of losing her brother’s favor was something Zhuo Wenxuan could never accept.
No, she had to speed up her plans to drive Huang Xiaoxiao out of this house.
For the past two days, she had mocked and ridiculed Huang Xiaoxiao in every possible way, yet the woman still refused to leave. Her skin was obviously thick beyond belief.
Since that method did not work, she would have to think of another way.
Sitting on the sofa with narrowed eyes, she carefully thought about how to kick that shameless woman out of the house. After thinking for a while, she suddenly thought of her younger brother. If she brought him here, he would definitely be able to drive that woman away.
Haha, she was simply too smart.
What was wrong with her?
Why was she sitting there grinning foolishly by herself?
Could there be something wrong with her brain?
As soon as Huang Xiaoxiao came downstairs, she saw Zhuo Wenxuan sitting alone on the sofa, giggling stupidly.
Noticing Huang Xiaoxiao’s gaze, Zhuo Wenxuan snapped back to her senses and glared at her. “What are you looking at?!”
Watching an idiot laugh foolishly!
Huang Xiaoxiao thought to herself.
She did not plan to talk to the child. The girl was way too irritating when she spoke, so she decided to go help Zhuo Yi in the kitchen instead.
“You finished washing up?” Seeing Huang Xiaoxiao, and noticing that her hair was completely dry, Zhuo Yi nodded in satisfaction.
“Is there anything I can help with?” Huang Xiaoxiao asked.
“No. Just sit beside me,” Zhuo Yi replied, refusing to let her help. He still remembered that her hand was injured.
“Oh, okay.” After looking around and seeing that there really was nothing to help with, Huang Xiaoxiao did not insist and casually found a stool to sit on.
After putting the dishes in to steam, Zhuo Yi stood up and took a box down from the top shelf of the kitchen.
Huang Xiaoxiao simply watched him without thinking much of it.
Then she saw the man carrying the box toward her.
She looked up at him in confusion.
Zhuo Yi crouched down, opened the box, and took out a tube of ointment.
“Give me your hand,” Zhuo Yi said.
Huang Xiaoxiao froze for a moment before realizing that he wanted to apply medicine for her.
So he had noticed her frostbitten hands.
Her nose suddenly stung, and she felt like crying.
The man’s thoughtfulness made her feel valued in a way she never had before.
The feeling of being cherished and protected by someone was truly wonderful.
Huang Xiaoxiao stretched out her hand. The swelling had mostly gone down by now.
But several places still had thin cuts on them.
“Don’t be so foolish next time. If there’s anything to do, just let Lin Ruiyang and the others handle it,” Zhuo Yi reminded her.
Huang Xiaoxiao quietly listened without arguing.
Watching the man carefully apply the ointment for her, she felt that marrying him had truly been the right decision.
“Um, I want to go back home tomorrow,” Huang Xiaoxiao said to the man who was seriously applying medicine to her hand.
She planned to share some of the food she had gotten with her family. She felt it was necessary to tell him about it first, though she was not sure how he would react.
“Do you want me to go with you? There’s still some food at home. We can bring some back with us,” Zhuo Yi said without even raising his head.
His answer struck right at Huang Xiaoxiao’s heart. She had not expected Zhuo Yi to be so generous. She had not even brought it up yet, and he had already offered first.
“Hehe, no need. I plan to share some of the fish I caught with them,” Huang Xiaoxiao said happily, feeling even more satisfied with the man before her.
The next day.
Huang Xiaoxiao got up early in the morning, and Zhuo Yi got up with her.
She did not inform her family beforehand that she was coming back.
When they arrived home, everyone was stunned for a moment.
“Why are you two here?” Lu Xiao hurriedly stood up and welcomed them inside.
“Big sister, you’re back!” Her two younger brothers became excited the moment they saw Huang Xiaoxiao.
“Dad, Mom, I’m back!” Huang Xiaoxiao called out.
“Dad, Mom,” Zhuo Yi also greeted them.
Huang Nan carefully examined his daughter. Seeing that her complexion was rosy and her spirits were much better than when she had been at home, he felt greatly relieved and nodded at the two of them. “Come in and sit!”
“Xiaoxiao, come over here. Mom wants to ask you something.”
As soon as Huang Xiaoxiao entered, Lu Xiao pulled her aside, while Zhuo Yi took the initiative to chat with Huang Nan.
“Mom, what is it?” Huang Xiaoxiao asked.
“I’m asking you, how have things been these past few days?” Lu Xiao asked with concern.
Can’t you already tell what kind of condition I’m in?
Huang Xiaoxiao really wanted to complain.
But since her mother was rarely this concerned about her, she still felt it was necessary to cooperate.
“Mom, don’t worry. I’m doing very well. You don’t need to worry about me,” Huang Xiaoxiao said with a smile.
The smile on her face was genuinely relaxed and content, making Lu Xiao stare blankly for a few seconds.
She felt that this daughter of hers seemed a little prettier than before.
“It’s good that you’re doing well.”
Lu Xiao nodded.
“You may be doing well, but your father, your two younger brothers, and I haven’t been doing so well.”
Lu Xiao began acting dramatically.
“You know your father’s old illness still hasn’t healed, and your brothers are still young…”
“Alright, Mom. Can you stop acting already?”
She had heard those same lines since childhood and was sick of them.
“Don’t worry. I brought good things for you.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and take them out already. Do you know acting is exhausting too?” Lu Xiao rubbed Huang Xiaoxiao’s head.
Huang Xiaoxiao went into the kitchen and brought out the things she had prepared earlier.
A huge bag filled to the brim almost took up the entire kitchen.
“Wow, why is there so much?” Lu Xiao exclaimed in shock.
“You didn’t empty out the Zhuo family’s house, did you?”
“Oh my, child, you really don’t know how to plan ahead. Bringing back so much at once — what will the Zhuo family think of you? Next time it’ll be hard to bring things back again. Good things should come little by little over time,” Lu Xiao scolded angrily.
“All the things I taught you before must have gone straight into a dog’s stomach. Sigh!” Lu Xiao kept sighing, clearly dissatisfied with Huang Xiaoxiao’s actions.
Standing to the side, Huang Xiaoxiao curled her lips in disdain.
That sounded nice and all, but she certainly was not being soft-handed while taking the things.
No one moved faster than her when collecting the food.
After delivering the items, Huang Xiaoxiao immediately started ordering dishes. “Mom, make lunch extra good today. I want braised fish, pickled vegetable fish soup, and sweet-and-sour fish.”
“Hehe, alright, no problem. Mom will make them all for you.” At this moment, Lu Xiao was especially agreeable.
Huang Xiaoxiao shook her head helplessly.
Only because she was her biological mother would anyone tolerate that temper.
“Brother-in-law, are you serious?” The two teenage boys were now surrounding Zhuo Yi nonstop, their eyes full of excitement.
What was going on?
She had only disappeared for a short while, yet the man had already won over the two brats.
Weren’t they still wary of him when they first came in?
So, what method had the man used to win the two boys over?
Huang Xiaoxiao was extremely curious.