BXBX NOVEL Chapter 455: Closer Ties
Chapter 455: Chapter 455: Closer Ties
"Where\'s Zhenxiu?" Yang Chen didn\'t see the youngest in the house and asked.
Guo Xuehua, engrossed in the drama, replied casually, "She\'s studying and doing her homework. The college entrance exams are in three months."
Yang Chen nodded and walked up the stairs to the second floor, knocking on Zhenxiu\'s door.
After a moment, Zhenxiu opened the door. Seeing Yang Chen, she was slightly surprised but then smiled sweetly, "Why are you home so early, Brother Yang?"
Since moving into this house, Zhenxiu\'s complexion had become much rosier and fairer. She looked more refined compared to the first time he saw her. With a balanced diet, she had also grown. Now at home, she casually tied her hair with a pink hair clip and wore loose white floral cotton pajamas, but the curve of her chest was noticeably more pronounced.
"I had dinner with colleagues and came back afterward," Yang Chen said with a smile. "How\'s the studying going? Confident about the college entrance exams?"
Zhenxiu pouted slightly, "The liberal arts are okay, but I\'m not very good at English listening. I haven\'t practiced enough. The sciences are a bit of a headache; I have to do a lot of exercises to catch up."
"Improving in the sciences in a short period is possible. If you\'re good at liberal arts, that\'s great," Yang Chen said. "If you find English difficult, you can ask your sister Ruoxi to help you, or I can assist. But I\'m not very educated and might just talk nonsense, so it\'s better to have your sister Ruoxi guide you."
"Is that okay?" Zhenxiu hesitated. "Sister Ruoxi seems very busy, always out early and back late."
"She\'s just finding things to do, pretending to be busy. You should drag her to spend more time at home," Yang Chen said nonchalantly.
Zhenxiu blinked her big eyes a few times and then suddenly giggled, "Brother Yang, you\'re so bad. You clearly can\'t persuade Sister Ruoxi yourself, so you want me to try hard."
Yang Chen, seeing his little scheme exposed, wasn\'t embarrassed and laughed, "You\'re so clever..."
At this moment, a shout suddenly came from downstairs.
"Zhenxiu, girl, your classmate is here to see you!"
Classmate?
Yang Chen looked at Zhenxiu curiously, surprised that she had already made good friends who would come to visit. He hadn\'t thought she was the type to be easily approachable.
Zhenxiu\'s expression changed, as if she had thought of something troubling. She stomped her foot, scratched her head, and looked adorably annoyed.
"Could it be that guy?"
"Who? What guy?" Yang Chen asked.
Zhenxiu blushed and quickly ran back into her room. She came out with a coat, hurriedly put it on, and rushed downstairs.
Yang Chen, puzzled by Zhenxiu\'s reaction, followed her down. Seeing her go out the door, he followed her out too.
Unexpectedly, as soon as they stepped into the yard, a loud shout almost made Yang Chen fall over, "Xu Zhenxiu! I love you! Just like a big cat loves rice..."
The voice sounded very familiar to Yang Chen. Looking closely at the big iron gate, he saw that the shouter was none other than his "brother-in-law" Liu Minghao!
Just as he saw him last time, Liu Minghao had his hair dyed yellow and was dressed in a hip-hop style. It looked like he had changed his earrings to ones studded with crystals. Even more incongruously, he had a tie stuck to his chest. His ordinary face, with this get-up, looked as thuggish as could be!
Behind Liu Minghao stood two tall young men, about the same age as Liu Minghao. They were holding up a banner with bold black characters on a bright red background that blatantly declared, "Liu Minghao loves Xu Zhenxiu!"
At this moment, Zhenxiu stood inside the iron gate, her face flushed red with anger and embarrassment. She glared fiercely at the smirking, fawning Liu Minghao, wishing she could tear him apart.
Wang Ma and Guo Xuehua had come out, while Hui Lin, startled by the loud shout, put down her lyrics and ran out with a curious look.
"Oh, so it\'s a boy who likes Zhenxiu. Nowadays, kids really can\'t be underestimated. We never saw such things when we were young," Wang Ma said with a chuckle, clearly thinking this was just childish play.
Guo Xuehua also shook her head with a smile, "We\'ve always treated Zhenxiu as a little girl, but she\'s actually a grown-up now. This commotion reminds us that she\'s at the age for love."
Hui Lin, full of curiosity, commented, "It seems Zhenxiu doesn\'t like that boy, and his outfit is so strange."
"Young people follow trends we don\'t understand," Wang Ma replied.
Hui Lin pouted, clearly lumped into the "old" category, feeling helpless.
Meanwhile, outside the gate, one of Liu Minghao\'s lackeys whispered, "Boss, I think it\'s \'Mouse Loves Rice.\'"
Liu Minghao waved his hand dismissively, "Who cares about mice? I love Zhenxiu!"
"Boss is wise!" another lackey praised.
Ignoring them, Liu Minghao approached the gate, grinning at Zhenxiu, "Dear, can\'t you see my sincerity? I told you if you didn\'t agree to be my girlfriend, I would come to your house and confess. Now you should believe in my true feelings."
Hearing this, Zhenxiu was so furious her lips turned white, and she trembled all over, almost screaming, "Get lost! I don\'t want to see you!"
Liu Minghao jumped back in shock, his expression stiff.
"Boss, sister-in-law rejected you," one of the lackeys whispered.
"Rejected my foot! My darling is just being capricious! This shows she likes me. Haven\'t you heard the saying \'A woman only gets angry at someone she likes\'?" Liu Minghao said earnestly.
The lackey thought for a moment and honestly replied, "Never heard of it."
"Whack!" Liu Minghao slapped his lackey on the head. "Well, now you have."
"Boss is wise!" the other lackey praised again.
Standing in the courtyard, listening from a distance, Yang Chen suddenly felt like laughing. He hadn\'t expected his brother-in-law to be so comical. However, it was clear that Liu Minghao\'s affection was unrequited; Zhenxiu\'s expression suggested she wanted to kill Liu Minghao rather than show any sign of liking him.
"Zhenxiu, my dear, please open the gate. I really want to hug you," Liu Minghao said, full of deep affection, as he walked forward and grasped the iron bars of the gate, looking at Zhenxiu.
Zhenxiu couldn\'t bear it any longer. She gritted her teeth, stepped forward, and kicked Liu Minghao\'s fingers!
"Ouch!"
Liu Minghao cried out in pain and immediately withdrew his hand, looking at Zhenxiu with a face full of grievance.
"Boss, sister-in-law hit you," the big guy said in astonishment.
"Nonsense!" Liu Minghao wanted to retort but couldn\'t think of a better response. He finally said, "She\'s showing her love for me by hitting me!"
"Boss, you\'re wise!"
"Wise, my foot!" Liu Minghao smacked the other big guy on the head.
Yang Chen couldn\'t stand it any longer. He slowly walked to the gate, patted Zhenxiu on the shoulder to calm her down, and then said to Liu Minghao outside, "Go home. Zhenxiu doesn\'t like you."
Liu Minghao was stunned. Seeing it was Yang Chen, he looked pleasantly surprised, "Brother-in-law! What are you doing here?"
"Zhenxiu is my sister, of course, she lives with me," Yang Chen replied with a smile. "Just do me a favor and go home. It\'s late. Unless you want to get kicked again?"
Hearing Liu Minghao call Yang Chen "brother-in-law," Zhenxiu was momentarily surprised and forgot to be angry. She looked at Yang Chen with confusion.
Liu Minghao, on the other hand, seemed to have heard something explosive. His eyes rolled around several times, and he gave Yang Chen a knowing look. "Haha, so that\'s how it is. Looks like we can become even closer in the future. Alright then, since you said so, I\'ll head back for today. But brother-in-law, you have to keep an eye on Zhenxiu for me. She\'s mine!"
"Go to hell! Who said you could claim me?!" Zhenxiu yelled angrily.
Liu Minghao laughed heartily, not caring at all, and left happily. His two lackeys followed, carrying the banner.
Even after Liu Minghao left, Zhenxiu\'s chest was heaving with anger, clearly very upset by him.
Yang Chen smiled helplessly, "Looks like our Zhenxiu has quite the charm, making someone go to such lengths. It\'s almost pitiful."
"Brother Yang! If you keep talking like that, I\'ll get really mad!" Zhenxiu pouted, puffing out her cheeks.
"Alright, alright, I won\'t say it," Yang Chen said, waving his hand sheepishly. "By the way, how did you get involved with that kid? Is he in your class?"
"No, he\'s not," Zhenxiu said, feeling frustrated. "He transferred here from Yanjing a while ago. As soon as he got to the school, he formed some kind of \'Green Dragon Gang\' with other small-time delinquents. He seems to have a lot of money; even the toughest bullies don\'t dare to mess with him. He\'s in another class, but one day while I was eating in the cafeteria, he suddenly walked by and said he wanted me to be his girlfriend. I hate delinquents the most, Brother Yang, you know that!"
Yang Chen knew that Zhenxiu referred to her time as a "bad girl," a period that had left deep scars on her. Her hatred for delinquents was understandable.
"If you don\'t like him, I\'ll talk to him next time and tell him not to bother you," Yang Chen said, patting her head.
Zhenxiu looked puzzled, "Brother Yang, why does he call you brother-in-law? Are you involved with his sister?"
Yang Chen grinned and rubbed his nose. "Well, you know how your brother Yang is, hehe..."
"Hmph," Zhenxiu shot him a look that said "I knew it," and glared at him. "Big turnip."
Yang Chen tapped her forehead lightly. "What are you talking about? How dare you speak to your brother like that? Believe it or not, I\'ll find someone to marry you off to tomorrow!"
"I\'m not getting married, and you wouldn\'t let me anyway," Zhenxiu replied playfully, her mood lightening.
Yang Chen smirked. "Men should marry and women should wed. Why wouldn\'t I let you?"
Suddenly, Zhenxiu\'s expression changed, and she asked softly, "Do you really want me to get married, Brother Yang?"
"Huh?" Yang Chen was taken aback, not understanding why she asked that.
It was as if Zhenxiu had received confirmation. Her face showed a hint of sadness, and she stomped her foot. "Brother Yang, you\'re the worst!"
With that, she ignored Yang Chen\'s confused expression and ran back into the house.