Return to 88: Starting from Marrying My Sister-in-law

As the engine roar subsided, the black Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan slowly pulled up at the terminal exit.

Lu Yang glanced at his watch and tapped his fingertips lightly on the steering wheel twice—two full hours had passed since his mother-in-law's phone call, when she said, "Let my son-in-law come pick me up."

Outside the glass window, Yin Mingzhu, dragging her suitcase, was bending down to wave at a taxi, the hem of her dark blue trench coat fluttering in the wind.

Behind her was her mother-in-law, Ma Xiulan, who was trying to persuade her daughter, Yin Mingzhu, to wait a little longer...

She believed that her youngest daughter and son-in-law would not abandon her as their mother.

The mother-in-law's guess was quite accurate.

Lu Yang narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Yin Mingzhu's trench coat and the pearl earrings on her earlobes.

Ha, women, they're quite fashionable.

Yin Mingzhu was already quite beautiful. Even when she was just a student, wearing coarse clothes, she would have scored over 95 points. Now that she has started working and works at a TV station, she comes into contact with many people in the fashion industry. With just a little dressing up, she immediately becomes even more beautiful.

"Beep—"

The sudden blare of the horn startled Yin Mingzhu, who abruptly looked up.

The moment the car window rolled down, she froze for a moment, then turned her head away, not daring to meet Lu Yang's gaze.

"Mom, your son-in-law is here."

Yin Mingzhu spoke with a heavy nasal tone.

"real!?"

Ma Xiulan's eyes lit up, and she immediately exclaimed with delight.

It's been two hours already.

Although she kept saying that her son-in-law would definitely come, that maybe there was a traffic jam on the way, and she even stopped her eldest daughter from hailing a taxi, insisting on waiting for her son-in-law to arrive before leaving, what was the reality?

Can you honestly say she wasn't afraid?

Isn't it the same? They worry that once their son-in-law becomes rich, he'll forget about her, his mother-in-law, and won't respect her anymore. They never even considered coming to pick her up from the airport.

To put it simply, she had been putting on a brave face in front of her eldest daughter.

It's all right now; the son-in-law is reliable after all. It seems there really was a delay on the way.

She pushed her suitcase past her daughter and looked at the black Mercedes-Benz S-Class that had just stopped by the roadside.

Seeing the car window rolled down, and sure enough, that familiar face appeared, she immediately waved excitedly to her son-in-law, "Here, here, Mom's here."

Then she scolded her eldest daughter, "You brat, what are you standing there for? Come with me! Do you expect me to wait for them to get off the bus and carry your luggage?"

If he were an ordinary son-in-law, it would be acceptable for him to act high and mighty. But this is no ordinary son-in-law; he is a billionaire who travels in luxury cars and is frequently received and accompanied by high-ranking officials from the city and province. Making people get out of the car to carry your luggage and act as your nanny seems a bit unreasonable.
Hearing her mother urging her, Yin Mingzhu pouted, feeling that her mother was being a bit too obsequious. So what if she has money? What's so great about that?
Well, being rich is indeed impressive.

Thinking about the purpose of my leave and coming to Shenzhen, my spirits plummeted by 99%. I could only silently drag my suitcase and follow behind my mother toward the Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan with its window rolled down by the roadside.

Seeing the mother and daughter walk towards his car, Lu Yang nodded secretly. They were quite practical, unlike those pretentious little fairies in later generations who waited for him to get out of the car to help them with their luggage.

Whatever.

Come here.

Thinking of this, Lu Yang opened the car door, walked over and took the suitcases from the two of them, pulled them to the back of the car, and stuffed them into the trunk one by one.

When Ma Xiulan saw that her son-in-law was such a big boss and even offered to help her with her luggage, the wrinkles on her face deepened, and she smiled so broadly that she could hardly close her mouth, saying, "Was there a traffic jam on the way? But it's okay, Mom isn't in a hurry. Look at you, why did you have to come all by yourself and tire yourself out? Just send a driver to pick up Mom and your sister, that would have been fine."

She said that, but if Lu Yang really just sent a driver to pick her and Yin Mingzhu up, she probably wouldn't be very friendly when they got home.

So he didn't respond to her comment and smiled, saying, "Mingyue heard that you were coming back, Mom, and she was already at the airport. She insisted that I come to pick you up, saying that it was a filial duty as a child. I couldn't stop her from being filial, otherwise, what would I do if she insisted on coming to pick you up herself while she was nine months pregnant?"

The moment that tall hat was put on, the wrinkles on Ma Xiulan's face immediately doubled.

He seemed more energetic.

He said happily, "My daughter is so filial, and of course, my son-in-law is too. Business must be quite busy lately, right?"

Lu Yang got into the car, fastened his seatbelt, and turned to look at Yin Mingzhu, who was being pushed into the passenger seat by her mother.

Seeing that Yin Mingzhu was also looking at him and seemed interested in the topic, he smiled and said, "With my business at this level, if I want to be busy, I can be so busy that my feet don't touch the ground, and there will always be work to be done. But if I don't want to be busy and want to relax, I can also not be busy at all. I just need to find the right people, delegate all the work I have, and let others do the work for us. And the money will still go into our own pockets."

Ma Xiulan didn't understand capitalist rhetoric; she only thought her son-in-law was impressive.

Awesome!

No wonder he was able to start from scratch and grow his business into a huge enterprise.

The youngest daughter is so lucky.

No, maybe there's also an eldest daughter, who will also be a blessed person.

Thinking about the purpose of her trip back, her eyes began to dart around, constantly stealing glances at her son-in-law driving in the front and her eldest daughter sitting in the passenger seat.

They look like a perfect couple!

Wow, they look so much like a married couple. It seems my double insurance plan is secure now that I'm back.

But she didn't realize that her two daughters were twins. While they might not look exactly alike, they were about 9% similar. Apart from their temperament, they were practically indistinguishable. Strangers wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

The man driving in front of her is her youngest daughter's husband. They've been married for several years and have already had their second child. He and his twin sister-in-law sitting in the passenger seat look quite well-matched and even resemble each other. It would be strange if they didn't.

Throughout the journey, Lu Yang barely spoke to Yin Mingzhu, who was in the passenger seat, except for chatting with his mother-in-law. After all, they were former lovers, now brother-in-law and sister-in-law, and with her mother sitting in the back, it was bound to be awkward. His silence was also a way of hiding that awkwardness.

In itself, this should be considered a tacit understanding, but while the two of them were in sync, Ma Xiulan, sitting behind them, couldn't be happy. As time went on, her face grew longer and longer.

"No, not like this!"

"This can't go on. How can the two of them get along if they don't even talk to each other?"

"You two are such silent devils, you're driving me crazy! Back when you were kids, you were always inseparable, like you had so much to talk about. What happened to you?"

"Could it be because of me? In front of me... are they pretending? That shouldn't be the case, I didn't say anything about them avoiding each other... Oh well, I guess I should take the initiative..."

Having finally persuaded her eldest daughter and tricked her into coming back, Ma Xiulan didn't want her plan to fail.

They were almost at the son-in-law's villa, and the two taciturn men in the front row hadn't said a word, not even glancing at each other. Finally, they couldn't hold back any longer and made an excuse to ask Lu Yang to stop the car.

"I'm getting off the bus first to get my hair done, to get a big wave perm. It's been so long since I had it done, my hair's all straight now."

"You two go back first, don't wait for me, it's not like I don't know the way."

"After I finish getting my hair done, I'll pick up my precious granddaughter from school. Don't tell me Xin'er changed schools; she's probably still at the same old place, right?"

People can always find all sorts of reasons if they want to, such as getting their hair done or picking up their children from school.

The kindergarten that Lu Xin'er attends is located in their wealthy neighborhood, at most five or six hundred meters away from the villa. It's a two or three-minute walk away. Even when she was pregnant, Yin Mingyue, as the mother, would personally pick her up. There was no need for anyone else to do it for her.

Even if she's a grandmother, she can't take away her mother's hobby, right?
Okay, if you're talking about getting your hair done, then that's fine. Women are naturally beauty-conscious, and regardless of age, they have the right to get their hair done, provided that you actually are.

Lu Yang was surprised when his mother-in-law suddenly suggested that she get out of the car to get her hair done, get a big wave perm, and then pick up his daughter from school.

Nothing happened.

Because big waves are very popular these days, especially among wealthy women. If they don't have big waves in their hair and don't imitate the fashionable clothes of Hong Kong and Taiwanese female celebrities, they will seem particularly out of place.

As the mother-in-law of a billionaire, Ma Xiulan may not be the wife of a wealthy family, but she is the mother of a wealthy family's wife. Isn't it perfectly reasonable for her to get a big wavy hairstyle for herself?

Park the car on the side of the road.

After letting his mother-in-law out of the car and waiting for her to close the front door of the back seat, Lu Yang rolled down the car window and thoughtfully handed her a gold card.

"Mom, here's a card for the Jin Ding Club in our neighborhood. Take it and go try it out. I heard the owner of this club just came back from Hong Kong. He used to run a hair salon there, made some money, and now he's back in his hometown to start a business. Didn't you want to get a haircut like Maggie Cheung? Going here is definitely the right choice. I'm sure you won't be disappointed."

"Really? That's great, then I'll accept it."

When Ma Xiulan heard about this unexpected surprise, she immediately beamed with joy. "Son-in-law, drive slowly and be careful on the way. Take good care of your sister-in-law. She took a special leave to come back and see your wife. You mustn't bully her."

They were already at the entrance of the residential area, and they were still telling him to be careful on the way?
Lu Yang shook his head.

After his mother-in-law happily took the gold card he gave her and walked away, heading towards a modernly designed storefront not far away.

To ease the awkwardness, Lu Yang said to Yin Mingzhu, who was sitting in the passenger seat next to him, "How about it? Do you want to get out and go with your mom? Maybe when you get a big perm, you can instantly transform into Maggie Cheung, even more beautiful than Maggie Cheung in the movies."

Yin Mingzhu pursed her lips and shook her head.

Seeing that she was unwilling to get out of the car, Lu Yang didn't say anything more. He stepped on the gas, since it was only a two or three-minute drive home anyway.

He'll just hand the person over to Mingyue and let the two sisters have their own private conversation. Any problems can be resolved internally, saving him the awkwardness of seeing this woman now.

For a moment, the car was very quiet. After another minute or two, perhaps feeling too oppressive, Yin Mingzhu glanced at Lu Yang, who was driving intently, and said with a stern face, "Don't overthink it. I came back this time... without any intention of ruining your marriage with your younger sister. Although Mom told me that your marriage with your younger sister might be having some problems, and she told me... to handle it myself, I never thought about that..."

As she spoke, she turned her face toward Lu Yang, took a deep breath, and mustered her courage to ask, "Do you think I'm cheap?"

Lu Yang thought to himself, "Wow, you just found out?"

Of course, you can only think these words in your heart; you definitely can't just retort like that, otherwise it would be too hurtful.

After all, a sister-in-law is a sister-in-law. In the future, they will often live under the same roof and eat at the same table. She can't be treated like an outsider, otherwise, not only will she feel awkward, but Lu Yang himself will also feel awkward.

If the hard one doesn't work, then use the soft one.

As Lu Yang drove, without even turning his head, he said, "Since you didn't come back to break up my marriage with your sister, then why did you take this special leave? Heh, what's the purpose?"

Surely it's not because he wants to see his sister give birth?
When Yin Mingyue gave birth to her first child, this woman didn't come back. At that time, she wasn't a CCTV host yet. Now, she's having her second child, and she's gotten through it even more safely than with her first. And now, this woman has become a CCTV host. Shenzhen is almost 2000 km away from Beijing, even if you draw a straight line between them. It's not a convenient distance for a normal family visit. Can you believe that an older sister would give up her job to accompany her younger sister during childbirth, taking leave for more than half a month at a time? Is that a valid reason?

It's not like she gave birth to the child herself. I bet this woman has been criticized quite a bit by CCTV leaders because of this long holiday.

Yin Mingzhu knew that Lu Yang didn't really trust her, so after thinking for a moment, she bit her lip and said something else.

"I came back because I want to ask you for a favor."

Why?
Lu Yang: ...Completely confused? ???
He was so angry he almost laughed. He slammed on the brakes and pulled the car over to the side of the road.

He unbuckled his seatbelt, his face serious, and turned to look at the woman. "You're begging me? How could you beg me? How could you, Yin Mingzhu, beg someone? Tell me, what is it? Let me see if it's worth a woman like you begging for it."

If this woman dares to say it's for a certain man, he promises to coax her away, then turn around, drive off, and swear never to see her again.

Yin Mingzhu didn't dare look Lu Yang in the eye and whispered, "There's a state-owned enterprise in Beijing that's currently negotiating a partnership with foreign capital. My current production team happens to know about it and that it's not a loss-making company; on the contrary, it's been doing very well in recent years. Moreover, many of its leaders don't approve of this partnership, but they're under pressure from various quarters, so I'm thinking..."

As she spoke, she mustered her courage, looked up at Lu Yang, and said, "I think you can..."

After all that, it turns out this woman actually wanted to act as a middleman, selling a state-owned enterprise that she thought was doing well for a better price.

Lu Yang admitted that she made him laugh.

Then, with a half-smile, he said, "Why should I help you? I don't even know what this company is, and you think I can?" (End of Chapter)