Chapter 53 The Affected Sister-in-Law

Chapter 53: The Overbearing Sister-in-Law

Chi Luoxi came home, and He Angxiao's empty, lonely life like some old man's came to an end.

In truth, He Angxiao wasn't particularly fond of lively occasions deep down. He had always avoided those fancy banquets full of clinking glasses and fake small talk.

But not being able to bear days without Chi Luoxi was a different matter from disliking lively events. The former was a bone-deep emptiness, while the latter was merely a personal preference.

This probably stemmed from his messed-up family background.

As a child, because his parents were constantly putting on a fake united front while fighting in public, He Angxiao's home was suffocatingly social.

His mother loved dragging him to all kinds of socialite parties and charity events, adjusting his bow tie while whispering in his ear: "Angxiao, you need to learn to schmooze, learn to kiss up. In this world of vanity, no one will be nice to you for no reason. You have to learn to fish for info from others, to make everyone feel close to you..."

He Angxiao had always been an odd child.

The more his mother pushed him to be slick and sycophantic, the more he rebelled, even developing a rebellious streak. Not only did he not follow her instructions, but he deliberately did the opposite. If someone asked him one question, he would answer half a sentence, and every word would be biting. His EQ was rock-bottom; he spoke blunt and harsh, often wrecking his mom's careful schemes.

Over time, his mother considered him a lost cause who embarrassed her, and stopped taking him out. He Angxiao was more than happy to be left alone, hiding in the study to read.

As he grew older, this aversion only intensified.

When he founded his company, he never followed other entrepreneurs in enthusiastically organizing grand annual meetings, cocktail parties, or team-building events.

He Angxiao's standards were simple and brutal: if you can get the job done, you stay; if you can't, regardless of personal connections, you're out.

He had no use for sucking up or playing office politics. He hated fake politeness and believed in fighting like a wolf, using real skill to get what he wanted.

This was also why, despite He Angxiao occasionally exuding an oppressive air that made it hard for people to breathe, most of those under him felt that working for him was straightforward.

Because the boss himself had zero emotional intelligence and wouldn't talk about ideals or visions, nor would he play mind games or drop hints. He only cared about results and execution, so the employees naturally didn't need to waste time guessing his subtext. Everyone spoke with their abilities, which made things easier.

While eating, Chi Luoxi said proudly, "Hubby, our drill instructor looked down on me at first, said I definitely wouldn't make it. But look, I not only did, I became the top soldier."

Chi Luoxi's face was slightly tanned, making his teeth look very white, and his eyes curved when he smiled.

Ever since the old guy got caught red-handed, He Angxiao had been afraid of being implicated, so he hadn't dared to go see Chi Luoxi, scared he'd also get called out as a student—how embarrassing would that be?

"...Yeah, you're the best at making people eat their words."

After dinner, they took a walk to help digestion, meandering to the little park near home. The greenery there was well-maintained, the evening breeze carrying the fragrance of camphor and osmanthus trees.

Chi Luoxi felt a natural affinity for such places, taking a deep breath.

After all, Chi Luoxi was a radish spirit from the mountains. He Angxiao had previously wondered if Chi Luoxi would miss Chi Family Village, and had even entertained the idea of secretly bringing a truckload of soil from the village to bury in their backyard garden, so that even if Chi Luoxi turned back into his original form and burrowed into the earth, he would feel at home and not homesick.

Chi Luoxi told him not to bother with a truckload of dirt, just prepare a flowerpot with ordinary soil.

Chi Luoxi was doing quite well as a human now. There were so many things he could do as a human, much more interesting than being a radish. If he turned back into a radish, he would feel very insecure.

Besides, Chi Luoxi felt that He Angxiao definitely wanted to play with his radish form, and he wasn't going to give him that chance.

He Angxiao did have a bit of a perverse curiosity, wanting to see Chi Luoxi transform into a round, dewy little radish, rolling around in his palm.

He Angxiao suddenly realized that Chi Luoxi didn't seem attached to their home at all.

Chi Luoxi was becoming more and more adept at being human. He had acquired basic human knowledge, was working hard to make up for his lack of formal education, and was bustling about like a real student, busy with exams, grades, and future career possibilities.

He was no longer the clueless creature who only had his grandpa in the mountains, completely ignorant of the outside world.

Chi Luoxi was becoming a max-level human.

Every time He Angxiao thought of this, a weird, hard-to-name feeling arose in his heart. Chi Luoxi was almost max-level, and he himself seemed increasingly unable to let go.

Previously, they had gone to see Jiang Ran's kid, that adorable little bundle of joy. When Chi Luoxi held it in his arms, the baby looked at him all curious and innocent.

That kind of gentle, harmless little creature, smelling of milk and radiating neediness, was exactly the type that Chi Luoxi, with his soft heart, liked best.

Watching Chi Luoxi carefully cradle the baby from the side, He Angxiao had to admit that although Jiang Ran could be a bit of a jerk, his son was indeed quite cute.

In that moment, something in He Angxiao's heart gave a soft tug.

He suddenly understood that the core meaning of a home wasn't about how big the house was or how luxurious the decoration, but about the bonds woven from flesh and blood and emotion.

He had to create some new bonds, to make Chi Luoxi love this home more, to make him more tied to this place, to him.

Too bad Chi Luoxi couldn't get pregnant.

So, one evening, He Angxiao asked acting all casual, "You mentioned wanting a pet last time. Have you decided? What do you want?"

Chi Luoxi immediately looked up and thrust his phone screen in front of He Angxiao, with a photo of a small dog with big, round eyes.

"This one!" Chi Luoxi pointed at the screen, his voice full of love. "It's called a Miniature Pinscher. Look at its eyes, so big and bright."

He Angxiao leaned in and glanced, raising an eyebrow.

To be honest, the dog he had imagined was a large, majestic breed that could guard the house, or something fluffy and cute like a Golden Retriever.

He hadn't expected Chi Luoxi to choose such a tiny thing.

The Miniature Pinscher in the photo had a slender build, erect ears, and clear eyes. It was indeed like Chi Luoxi, with a harmless, timid cuteness.

"Miniature Pinscher?" He Angxiao repeated the name, and the idea of a big dog faded under Chi Luoxi's expectant gaze.

Alright, as long as Chi Luoxi liked it.

On the day they brought the dog home, Chi Luoxi showed great enthusiasm. He had started preparing the puppy's new home days in advance, laying a soft mat in the sunniest corner of the living room, and placing a small bowl with a radish pattern that he had specially chosen.

He Angxiao, meanwhile, lugged the carrier out of the trunk, containing the three-month-old Miniature Pinscher.

Chi Luoxi stood at the door like he was welcoming a VIP, tossing flower petals in his hand and chanting, "Welcome, welcome! Ququ has come home!"

He had named the dog Ququ, which matched nicely with Lailai's name.

The two of them crouched in front of the carrier, staring at the little guy drinking water like it was a priceless gem.

He Angxiao looked at Ququ's big, moist eyes and those thin, deer-like legs, rubbed his chin, and commented, "It looks crafty, just like Lailai."

But Chi Luoxi cupped his face in his hands, his eyes turning into literal hearts, and said in a dreamy tone, "So cute! Hubby, look, its ears can move!"

Ququ was indeed very small, three months old, and when held in the arms, it wasn't much bigger than a cat. When they took it out for a walk, its slender legs moved lightly, like a little fawn, totally fitting its name.

The large yard at home was now Ququ's territory to patrol.

But it wasn't long before a stray tabby showed up, built solid and sharp-eyed, clearly a street-smart old-timer.

Ququ, as a puppy with only that milky puppy smell and zero fighting skills, had its first doggy bullying experience right in its own yard.

The tabby cat hissed and swiped at Ququ, and Ququ had no way to fight back.

Ququ was so frightened that he let out a yelp, and spent the rest of the day trembling and crying in Chi Luoxi's arms.

Chi Luoxi felt so bad for him: "That's ridiculous! That cat is way out of line!"

When He Angxiao heard about it, his first reaction was to call the property management and complain, demanding they take care of the stray cat.

But that tabby was extremely smart and vigilant, always lurking in the blind spots of the surveillance cameras. The property management tried to catch it several times but came up empty.

He Angxiao looked at Ququ, still sobbing and shivering in his arms, and said with a tone of tough love: "What a loser, getting pushed around by a cat? Aren't you embarrassed to be a dog?"

Chi Luoxi defended Ququ: "Honey, he's only a few months old, and that cat is huge. Don't be too hard on him."

Chi Luoxi couldn't bear to see Ququ getting scared by that tabby all the time.

So he found some string, and used branches and an old fishing net to make a simple catch net—one that wouldn't hurt the cat, just trap it. It was a method they used to catch sparrows back in the mountains, with a long rope tied to one end of the branch.

He placed half a piece of grilled cod under the net, then hid with Ququ behind the curtains, watching and waiting.

When He Angxiao came home from work and saw Chi Luoxi's setup, he said: "Baby, do you think that stray cat is stupid? It's survived in the wild, it must have learned a lot of survival skills. It might not fall for it."

Chi Luoxi whispered: "Honey, don't distract me. If it's hungry, it'll definitely eat."

After two days of staking out, the tabby, which seemed so sly as a fox, was actually lured by the smell of that grilled fish and stepped right into Chi Luoxi's trap.

With a swoosh, the net fell, trapping it securely.

The tabby bristled and thrashed frantically inside the net, but couldn't get free for a while.

Chi Luoxi cheered softly: "Got it! Got it!"

He Angxiao came down from the study, looked at the tabby flailing frustrated and furious in the net but unable to escape, then at Chi Luoxi, whose eyes were sparkling with excitement, and Ququ, who was barking in joy at seeing its enemy captured.

He Angxiao: "..."

Is there really such a stupid cat in this world? The whole universe just revolves around Chi Luoxi, doesn't it?

He Angxiao looked at the tabby, all puffed up and hissing at them, but only able to let out threatening meows because it was trapped, and asked Chi Luoxi quietly: "Since we caught it, how about we teach it a lesson? Get some payback for Ququ?"

Chi Luoxi agreed: "Okay!"

But when He Angxiao actually bent down to pull the cat out of the net to teach it a lesson, Chi Luoxi saw how pitifully the tabby was trembling inside the net, and felt sorry for it.

Chi Luoxi had a bit of a natural knack for communicating with animals and plants—not very skilled, but he could still connect with them intuitively.

He said to the cat: "You're not allowed to bully our little dog anymore, okay? If you do, next time we really will hit you."

The tabby stopped struggling, huddled in the net, and let out a few mournful, almost pleading meows at Chi Luoxi, sounding both miserable and pathetic.

After listening, Chi Luoxi turned to He Angxiao and nodded: "He agreed. He said he won't do it again."

He Angxiao: "..."

He looked at Chi Luoxi's smug look of a successful negotiation, was speechless for a moment, and let go of the net, releasing the cat.

As soon as it was free, the tabby darted into the grass without a backward glance, so fast it was just a blur.

But it seemed the cat had been won over by Chi Luoxi's "win cats with kindness" technique. Unlike other strays that would completely vanish, this one started to occasionally saunter into Chi Luoxi's yard with an air of "just passin' through, bro", or perch on the wall and stare at Ququ, and sometimes even steal food Chi Luoxi left by the door.

One time, it showed up limping at the door of Chi Luoxi's yard, weak meowing at him while he was feeding Ququ.

Chi Luoxi could tell it was badly injured, so he picked it up, brought it inside, cleaned its wound, applied medicine, and bandaged it.

Under Chi Luoxi's careful care, the tabby's wound healed quickly.

Once healed, it never left again.

Probably because Chi Luoxi had treated it so well, it decided he was a future poop-scooper and started to settle in permanently. During the day, it would wander around, and at night, it would lie in a corner of the living room or follow at Chi Luoxi's feet. Chi Luoxi eventually caught it, took it for a full checkup and neutering at the same time.

Chi Luoxi felt that if it was staying, he had to be fair to both animals.

So he said to He Angxiao: "Honey, we need to be fair. Ququ has a name, so this cat needs one too. You come up with it."

Ququ's full name was Chi Ququ.

He Angxiao looked at the tabby, which was annoyed by Ququ trying to sniff its tail and kept dodging. It had a bold, tiger-like head and a typical tiger-striped tabby pattern, looking pretty fierce.

He Angxiao thought for a moment and came up with a name that was both tough and imposing: "How about Tiger?"

He Tiger?

Chi Luoxi heard it and nodded: "Alright, Tiger it is." He thought to himself that his husband, though an educated city guy, had a naming sense as blunt as the folks back in his village.

Soon, the family of two became a family of four.

Chi Luoxi's daily schedule became packed.

After class, he had to rush home to feed Ququ and Tiger. He had a strong sense of responsibility and was worried the little animals would go hungry, so he diligently cleaned up after them every day, bending over to scoop the poop.

He Angxiao occasionally worried that Chi Luoxi was so eye-catching, with looks that were ridiculously good-looking, and might get pursued by someone at school.

So He Angxiao developed a new hobby: secretly lurking on the confession boards and campus forums of Chi Luoxi's school.

That day, he did see something.

It was a post from a girl, with a hint of shyness and hesitation: "Confession Wall, can you help me find this classmate I saw in the library today? I saw him in the library again today, and he's just too good-looking! I wanted to go up and ask for his contact, but he was too absorbed in his reading, so I didn't dare disturb him. I really want to get to know him!"

The photo showed Chi Luoxi wearing headphones and a white hoodie, reading a book, giving off a very strong campus heartthrob vibe.

Soon, comments appeared below.

— Isn't this the math department's heartthrob? How can you not know him? He even sang during military training and sounded really good—like he could compete on Jiangzhou's "Golden Voice".

— He's pretty famous. He doesn't live on campus, drives a luxury car to school every day. Though he looks really innocent, I admit I'm jealous of his wealth.

— Girl, I think you can go for it! He's super polite in person and seems really naive. He usually hangs out at the library and classrooms. He's sunny and cheerful—maybe he's never dated anyone.

— The comment above is right. Once, my class shared a lecture hall with him, and I saw his phone wallpaper was still the Calabash Brothers, and his pens and notebooks all had radish patterns. He seems really childlike—maybe he's still a virgin. [Evil grin]

— Is there really a rich kid who studies so hard?

— Does he even like girls?

— What the comment above said is what I was thinking. Maybe he doesn't like girls.

He Angxiao stared at the comments below, encouraging the girl to bravely pursue her love, even urging her to go for it. Some even questioned Chi Luoxi's sexual orientation, suggesting his sexuality might be questionable. A fierce wave of jealousy and possessiveness rushed over him.

Virginity?

He Angxiao snorted inwardly. Chi Luoxi's virginity had long been lost to him—he had claimed him body and soul, branding him body and soul as He Angxiao's.

He Angxiao, motivated by jealousy, used a throwaway account to anonymously submit a post.

"Dear Confession Wall, please post! I am Chi Luoxi's partner. We've been together for many years and truly love each other. We went through many hardships to get together, and we're going to get married in the future. He just wants to focus on his studies now. I really appreciate everyone's liking for him. I also know he's wonderful, so it's inevitable that some people might try to make a move on him. But he loves me very much—I'm the only one he loves in this world—so he will definitely reject others' advances. I hope everyone can find true love."

He Angxiao didn't reveal his gender, but instead used the term "marriage partner" which carries a stronger sense of legal and social contract.

The admin asked him to prove it.

He Angxiao posted Chi Luoxi's student ID card, with some details blurred out.

This post immediately caused an uproar in the comments.

— "Wow, what strong possessiveness. Such a domineering 'wife'."

— "So shady. Coming in hot with accusations, even talking about marriage—who knows if it's real or fake?"

— "??? Wait, is this a male 'wife' or a female 'wife'?"

— "No idea, anyway, they're a green tea type. Such a pretentious tone—'He loves me so much, he'll never accept others' advances, hope everyone finds true love'—what a delusional person, right?"

— "So snarky. I thought the department heartthrob was a nice, honest guy, but he actually likes this type of drama queen?"

— "I think it's so fake. Did Wall Wall even review this? What if this person is just talking nonsense? This is spreading too much. If it's fake, the heartthrob can sue this person."

Chi Luoxi was told by his roommate to check the confession wall, as it was revealed that he had a 'wife'.

Chi Luoxi thought: "Wife? What wife? Isn't he the 'wife' himself?"

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Author's note: Boss He: "Why are you all scolding me? I'm telling the truth!"

I feel like Boss He is the type who, when Little Radish is working, can't help but out himself as the 'wife'.