He Min affectionately linked arms with Ji Shuyu to go eat breakfast, her chatter never ceasing.
She asked about life in the city and shared amusing stories from school, chirping away like a happy little bird.
Ji Shuyu listened with a smile, occasionally responding.
She was genuinely starting to like this lively and cheerful sister-in-law.
Schools on the island only went up to high school at most. He Min wanted to go to university, which would require leaving the island eventually.
But Ji Shuyu had a feeling that, for the short term at least, she probably wouldn’t be able to leave.
He Min, however, didn’t know this and was still dreaming about which university she would attend.
After breakfast, He Min returned to school; she had only come back specifically to deliver the tanghulu.
Ji Shuyu went back to the room she shared with He Yuan.
The sunlight outside the window was just right. She sat on the edge of the bed.
She needed to go to the points mall to pick out a gift for He Min.
Concentrating, the semi-transparent light screen, visible only to her, materialized before her eyes.
A dazzling array of items appeared, mostly things suitable for a young female student or a girl.
Pretty hair clips, exquisite notebooks, trendy fountain pens, soft wool scarves, even a few sets of patterns for fashionable city-ready clothing…
The points required for exchange ranged from a few dozen to a few hundred.
Ji Shuyu’s gaze was quickly drawn to one item in particular.
A pair of small, delicate pearl hair clips.
The pearls were freshwater, with a soft, warm luster, simple and elegant in design, set in fine silver mounts.
Below was the label: [Exquisite Pearl Hair Clips (pair): 180 points]
These clips weren’t overly luxurious or flashy, fitting for He Min’s status as a student.
Yet they were delicate and special enough to be considered rare treasures in this place.
She hesitated almost not at all, selecting them for direct exchange.
[Remaining Points: 2915 points]
The system’s prompt sounded. Ji Shuyu looked at the small box, wrapped in light blue silk, now in her palm.
She opened the box. The pair of pearl hair clips lay quietly on the soft velvet cushion.
In the sunlight streaming through the window, they emitted a soft, glowing radiance.
She smiled with satisfaction, carefully putting the box away.
He Min would definitely like this gift.
Young girls loved pretty things the most.
Over the next two days, Ji Shuyu gradually adapted to life in the He household.
After He Yuan returned to his unit, he was mostly away during the day.
Ji Shuyu stayed in her room reading, resting, and pondering how to continue earning points. She wanted to learn that Materials Science knowledge, but the points required were just too high.
When He Yuan returned in the evening, he would talk with her for a while before resting.
His unit had missions these days, and he was exhausted.
But with his wife, child, and a warm bed, he was perfectly content.
Her mother-in-law, Wang Shufen, took good care of the ‘technical expert’, always saving extra food for her.
Her sister-in-law, He Min, loved to dart into her room after school, chattering nonstop, adding a lot of liveliness.
That afternoon, He Min rushed excitedly into Ji Shuyu’s room again: “Third Sister-in-law! Third Sister-in-law! Look at my newly braided hair, is it pretty?”
She deliberately swung her two braids in front of her chest, looking at Ji Shuyu expectantly.
Ji Shuyu looked at her vibrant young face and smiled, nodding: “It’s pretty. Our little sister looks pretty no matter how she styles her hair.”
She paused, then took the small light blue box from under her pillow.
“By the way, your sister-in-law brought a little gift for you. See if you like it?”
“Wow! A gift?” He Min’s eyes widened in surprise and delight as she eagerly took it.
She had heard that Third Sister-in-law brought gifts for everyone in the family, but since she hadn’t mentioned one for her, she couldn’t very well ask for one outright.
She never thought Third Sister-in-law really remembered her.
She opened the box and gasped when she saw the pair of lustrous, creamy pearl hair clips.
“Oh my! Third Sister-in-law! Are these… are these pearls?”
He Min carefully picked one up, holding it up to the light, utterly enchanted.
“They’re so beautiful! Like real stars! I… I’ve never seen such pretty hair clips before!”
Her face flushed with excitement, her voice trembling. “These are too valuable, Third Sister-in-law, I can’t accept these…”
“I’m glad you like them,” Ji Shuyu said with a gentle smile, carefully pinning one of the clips onto the right side of He Min’s braid.
“It’s just a small token. You’re at the age where you love pretty things. Wear them for fun. I just hope you don’t think your sister-in-law has poor taste.”
“How could I think that! I love them so much! Thank you, Third Sister-in-law! You’re the best!” Overwhelmed, He Min threw her arms around Ji Shuyu, then quickly let go, afraid of bumping her stomach.
She bounced on the spot a couple of times, then turned to look in Ji Shuyu’s mirror, left and right, growing more and more delighted.
“My third brother must have accumulated good fortune for eight lifetimes to marry a fairy like you, Third Sister-in-law! So beautiful, so gentle, and so generous!”
She touched the hair clip, grinning from ear to ear.
Others said Third Sister-in-law was from the city and would eventually bring trouble to their family.
She didn’t believe it. Besides, with Third Brother around, even if the sky fell, there was nothing to fear.
The happy laughter and chatter from the two inside the room clearly reached Li Cuihua’s ears as she hung laundry in the yard.
“Pearl hair clips?”
She shook the wet clothes in her hands violently, water droplets flying everywhere. Her face was dark enough to drip water.
When Ji Shuyu first arrived, she had brought gifts for the whole family.
Only for her, Li Cuihua, was it a synthetic fiber scarf.
Fine, Ji Shuyu. Playing favorites right after stepping through the door.
Giving heavier gifts to her mother-in-law and father-in-law was expected.
Giving such expensive pearl hair clips to her sister-in-law was clearly an attempt to curry favor with the He family’s most doted-on youngest daughter, right?
But when it came to her, the eldest sister-in-law, she was fobbed off with a measly scarf? Who did she think she was looking down on?
Was it just because her man was an army officer, because she was carrying the He family’s golden grandson, because her mother-in-law was biased?
The more Li Cuihua thought about it, the angrier she became. She felt that beneath Ji Shuyu’s gentle, smiling face lay nothing but calculation and disdain.
This city vixen had come and stirred up trouble from the moment she arrived.
First, she talked back to her, and now she was blatantly stepping on her with gifts.
She’s the one who took over our family’s space! I won’t accept this!
Li Cuihua could no longer hold back. She strode over to the doorway of Ji Shuyu’s room.
Without knocking, she yanked the door curtain aside, planted her hands on her hips, and spoke in a sarcastic, sneering tone.
“Well! What incredible treasure did you get? So happy we can hear you all the way across the yard? Min girl, let your eldest sister-in-law have a look too, won’t you?”
“Let me see what rare city item your Third Sister-in-law brought you? Is it gold or jade?”
Her gaze was fixed on the pearl hair clip shining brightly in He Min’s braid, burning with jealousy.
The smile instantly froze on He Min’s face. She instinctively covered the hair clip in her hair, looking somewhat helplessly at Ji Shuyu.
The gentle smile on Ji Shuyu’s face also faded.
She lifted her eyes to meet Li Cuihua’s jealous, hateful stare.
“It’s not gold or jade. I just thought our little sister is at the perfect age, and she’s so sensible and thoughtful, so I gave her a pair of little trinkets to wear for fun.”
Her tone was calm, as if discussing the most ordinary of matters.
He Min also recovered her composure. Though lively, the young girl wasn’t a pushover, especially when it came to her eldest sister-in-law, whom she had never liked much.
She lowered the hand covering the clip and said with a hint of pride, “That’s right, Eldest Sister-in-law. Third Sister-in-law dotes on me. She gave me these pearl hair clips. They’re so pretty! All the rage in the city!”
“Not like you, Eldest Sister-in-law. All these years, I’ve helped you look after your children, and you’ve never given me anything.”
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