CHAPTER 97: CH

Watching Luis busily moving about in the kitchen, humming a little tune, Nancy’s feelings grew even more tangled. She hadn’t drunk much and was far from drunk.

From the way her brother-in-law entered the kitchen, opened the fridge, and took things out—it was all done smoothly and naturally. It was clear he often did these things at home. This wasn’t some act he was putting on for her benefit.

Unlike that bastard Daniel, who wouldn’t even pick up a fallen soy sauce bottle, a complete idiot when it came to daily life.

Comparing all the men she knew to Luis, he could make money, doted on his wife, was thoughtful, and attentive...

Nancy felt as though her sister must have saved the galaxy in a past life. Even as a live-in son-in-law, he was far too exceptional.

The most infuriating part was that despite living such a happy life, her sister had previously acted like a wronged, oppressed little wife. Was she afraid someone would steal her man if they found out?

That sly girl hid it so well and even claimed she didn’t know how much money her husband had. How was that possible?

The more Nancy thought about it, the more twisted her thoughts became. Once jealousy took hold, it was a terrifying thing.

Among the four women of the Wood family, it could be said that the eldest and the youngest had inherited their mother’s genes. Though their types differed, they were both stunning beauties. Only Lily was seen in their eyes as an outright ugly duckling.

One had to remember, Arthur had been quite handsome in his youth, which led him to suspect Lily wasn’t his biological child. He even took her for a paternity test, planting the seeds for the eventual breakdown of the couple’s relationship.

Why did her ugly-duckling younger sister manage to land such an exceptional man? She herself had been the school beauty since childhood, yet she’d been deceived by Daniel, a fake rich second-generation loser who still relied on his parents.

The more Nancy thought about it, the more wronged, furious, and resentful she felt.

Ruth came out after a quick wash, her face still flushed. She wore a spaghetti-strap nightgown that revealed a deep cleavage, and when she walked, the swaying of her chest was nothing short of spectacular, a sight impossible to ignore.

"Mother, why aren’t you wearing a bra?"

Seeing her mother in a completely braless state, Nancy couldn’t help commenting.

Even among family, there should still be boundaries between men and women. Her brother-in-law walked around the house in his underwear, and now her mother was going braless shouldn’t they exercise some discretion?

"It’s hot! Even the thinnest bra feels stifling in this awful weather."

Ruth felt somewhat guilty, her mind still echoing her son-in-law’s words from last time: Don’t wear a bra at home. Those words, as if guided by some ghostly influence, kept swirling in her ears.

Extreme guilt often leads to flustered defiance. As the fiercest tigress in the household, Ruth wasn’t about to show weakness in front of her daughter:

"Eldest, you’re so lazy just sitting there watching your brother-in-law do all the work."

"What’s the matter? Are you used to being waited on hand and foot? Why do you have no feminine grace at all? Honestly."

Nancy felt a pang of guilt at the criticism. In the past, she would’ve taken it in stride, but now, with these strange thoughts in her head, she really did feel she wasn’t acting very ladylike.

"Mother, don’t scold Elder Sister."

Luis had already brought over the food, saying with a smile, "I told her not to help. Elder Sister’s nails are so beautifully done, it’d be a pity to ruin them."

This was clearly a lie, but it was also a way to help Nancy out of trouble.

Sister in law Nancy: Favorability 55%.

Luis was very satisfied with the result, but for some unknown reason, it seemed the price had risen too quickly. It was just a trivial matter.

Nancy looked at her manicure. Ruth also took a glance and snorted disdainfully, "Spending so much money on these things instead of doing anything serious."

"Mom, have some soup to sober up."

"Big Sister, have some too. Warm your stomach first."

The fish meat they ate in the evening—the leftover fish head and bones were fried, then stewed with tofu into a particularly rich soup.

Before serving, a bit of celery, minced ginger, pepper, and a pinch of salt were added. Every sip was absolutely delicious.

"Brother in law’s cooking skills are pretty good," Nancy said approvingly as she drank the milky white fish soup.

Ruth also smiled with approval, "That’s right, my son in law’s cooking is even better than Lily’s."

There was ready made roast chicken that could be eaten just by tearing it apart, braised beef that could be sliced and plated, stir fried chili peppers with eggs, and a cold dish of preserved eggs with tofu—all excellent accompaniments for drinks.

The beer at home was already finished, so Luis and Nancy were drinking red wine. Ruth also brought a glass and said, "Pour some for Mom too."

"Mom, your wine actually tastes quite good," Luis complimented again.

Earlier, Ruth had been dragged into the teahouse by gossipy women to act as a micro business agent for imported red wine. According to Daniel, it was just cheap counterfeit wine from copycat wineries, shipped to the country and bottled as fake foreign products.

For a while, this type of red wine was rampant. Besides supermarkets and convenience stores, it was wildly popular in micro businesses.

At a purchase price of 6 dollars per bottle, Ruth bought ten cases and stored them at home. Back then, she was full of ambition, wanting to achieve great things and reach the peak of her life.

The result was predictable, it ended up collecting dust. For this venture, Ruth didn’t play cards for several days, spent all her savings, and even made Lily, who was still in school at the time, suffer quite a bit.

"Mom, you’re still drinking that!" Nancy said without any tact.

Luis quickly poured some for his mother in law. Ruth glared at her daughter and said unhappily, "Can’t I sleep better with a little drink?"

"I told you this wine is good. My son in law knows how to appreciate it and has good taste. What about you all?"

Ruth was overjoyed. After all, this matter had been criticized by her daughters and laughed at by relatives. Only Luis had broken from the past and started buttering her up.

Although she couldn’t forget those things, she found herself liking her son in law more and more. He was much more considerate than her three "black hearted" daughters.

"This wine is indeed smooth," Luis said, shaking his glass and stepping up his flattery. "The main thing is its high cost performance ratio. A few years ago, 6 dollars wasn’t expensive, but now you probably couldn’t even buy it for 60 dollars."

"My son in law has great taste!" Ruth enthusiastically clinked glasses with Luis. One could imagine how happy she was.

Nancy rolled her eyes and said, "Brother in law, I really misjudged you before. I thought you weren’t good with words. Now it seems you’re quite skilled. This is straight up flattery."

"What do you mean flattery? Can’t you speak properly?"

Ruth immediately shot her a fierce glare and said irritably, "Only your Daniel has good taste, huh? He shows up empty handed every time. If he has such good taste, why doesn’t he bring some fine wine or tea to show filial respect to your mom?"

"He drinks my wine and keeps calling it fake foreign crap. Mom has wanted to scold him for a long time."

Well, once again, the criticism was directed at Daniel, and Nancy was scolded so harshly she didn’t dare say another word.

Actually, no one in the household had touched alcohol in the past few years. Only Arthur would occasionally drink a little when he visited, but he brought his own liquor. Arthur had no interest in beer or red wine.

Daniel, the eldest son in law, was excessive. He basically never brought anything when he visited. Occasionally, he’d drink some red wine and put on an air of superior taste, condescendingly nitpicking.

The mother in law was narrow minded. Back then, she thought he was a rich second generation and tolerated it to curry favor. But now, experiencing genuine filial piety from her second son in law, her attitude naturally did a complete turnaround.

"Mom, that’s not what Big Sister meant!" Luis quickly tried to mediate.

"She’s just being sarcastic, bullying you because you’re too honest to catch it."

Ruth actually listened to the advice. In her heart, the second son in law now held a very high status.

After eating for a while, she looked at the TV and said, "You’re all drinking while watching this?"

Actually, no one had been paying attention to what was on TV. It turned out to be a special program about online loans.

It discussed all kinds of loans, illegal and criminal scam loans, usury, nude loans, as well as the high interest rates of formal loans.