A scumbag man trying to climb the social ladder? She turns around and marries a celibate military of

He looked at Mu Xiaowan and said, "You come forward."

Mu Xiaowan nodded.

When Chu Shaoqing met his second brother's gaze, he swallowed back the words of protest that were on the tip of his tongue.

He quickly took the paper bag from Mu Xiaowan's hand. "I'll put the one I'm carrying in the back. Sister-in-law, why didn't you wear gloves? Girls need to take good care of themselves. In this cold weather, your hands will get swollen and chapped."

Mu Xiaowan: "..."

Chu Zhihui rolled her eyes. "Chu Shaoqing, what happened to you today?"

Everyone was disgusted with this sister-in-law. Chu Shao knew perfectly well how she had gotten close to her brother, yet she was still so attentive.

Besides, Chu Shaoqing isn't the kind of person who cares about others. He doesn't even show concern for his own mother. Seeing the pretty girl looking so lifeless, just like her brother, what's wrong with him today?

Most importantly, she wanted to know how the two of them met.

Besides her brother, there was no one else whom Chu Shaoqing admired so much, which made her even more curious.

"Chu Zhihui, from now on, there should be some respect for elders and juniors. I am your third brother."

Chu Zhihui is one year younger than Chu Shaoqing. Chu Zhihui has been called that since childhood and has never changed it.

Because of Chu Shaoqing's unwarranted concern, Chu Junbai's gaze involuntarily fell on Mu Xiaowan's hands.

Her fingers were long, slender, and beautiful, but now they were frozen purple.

"Brother, see? I wasn't wrong. Buy your wife a pair of gloves, the kind with extra cotton padding."

Chu Shaoqing suddenly peeked out from between the two chairs, and Chu Junbai felt like he had been caught red-handed, making him slightly uncomfortable.

To show that it was unintentional, he didn't quickly look away, but instead glared at Chu Shaoqing.

"Sit down!"

"Oh!"

Chu Shaoqing sat back for less than a minute, then put his hands back on the back of the two seats, quickly leaned forward, and grinned foolishly at Mu Xiaowan.

"Sister-in-law, do you really not remember me? Just last time at the department store, I asked you for your name, but you didn't tell me?"

Mu Xiaowan noticed that Chu Junbai was focused on driving and didn't seem interested in what was going on between them.

That's fine too. It's best to ignore her affairs; that way, we can avoid a lot of trouble.

She replied briefly, "Mu Xiaowan!"

"It sounds nice, Mu Xiaowan, Yang Ewei... what, graceful..." Chu Shaoqing wanted to praise Mu Xiaowan, but he was uncultured, so he had to ask Chu Zhihui for help.

Chu Zhihui scoffed, "Lacking culture yet still trying to show off, that's called 'graceful and charming, with a captivating and alluring air.'"

"Yes, yes, in short, my sister-in-law has a nice name, is beautiful, and is very capable. You and my brother are the most capable people in my heart."

Chu Junbai's brows furrowed even more. "Chu Shaoqing, say one more word and get out of the car."

Chu Shaoqing immediately shut his mouth and shrank back.

Chu Zhihui said disdainfully, "Serves you right!"

After she finished scolding him, she couldn't contain her curiosity and leaned closer to Chu Shaoqing, asking in a low voice, "Hey, how did you and your sister-in-law meet?"

"No comment!"

Chu Shaoqing suddenly yelled, startling Chu Zhihui. She slapped Chu Shaoqing hard across the face.

Chu Junbai rested his hands on the steering wheel, his eyes slightly narrowed.

It seems that Mu Xiaowan's previous explanation to him still needs to be examined.

She clearly knew Chu Shaoqing before. Was it her deliberate approach or her second uncle's arrangement?

Since seeing Chu Shaoqing, Mu Xiaowan has barely said a word. Is she feeling guilty and afraid that he will discover something?

Mu Xiaowan, just how extraordinary are you?

After the reform and opening up, people enthusiastically started doing business, and many restaurants opened on the streets.

After winter set in, many hot pot restaurants opened, and they walked into one that looked quite nicely decorated.

It was lunchtime, and the hot pot restaurant was packed.

Since they hadn't reserved any seats, there were no empty tables left. They didn't have time to wait and were just about to leave when someone called out to them.

"Jiun Bai!"

The group looked in the direction of the sound and saw Bai Jiao'e, An Muxue, and Chu Shaoting sitting against the wall eating hot pot.

"Shaoqing is here too. He hasn't been home for so many days, I almost didn't recognize him." Bai Jiao'e walked over and grabbed her son's arm.

"I took Mu Xue shopping for clothes. We're tired from shopping, so let's grab a bite to eat. You guys come and eat too. Come over there, let's sit together. The table is big."

Bai Jiao'e, holding her son's hand with one hand and Mu Xiaowan's hand with the other, walked straight to the dining table.

When Chu Junbai saw Mu Xiaowan turn around and look at him with a questioning gaze, he thought to himself, "Her acting skills are really good."

"Let's eat here then!"

Chu Junbai glanced at his sister and followed them.

Chu Zhihui pouted, "I should have gone home to eat."

"Junbai, sit here!"

An Muxue's eyes welled up with tears when she saw Chu Junbai, but her expression immediately turned sour when she saw Mu Xiaowan.

"Junbai should sit with Xiaowan; he has to take care of his wife," Bai Jiao'e reminded him, her words implying something more.

She pulled Mu Xiaowan to sit next to Chu Shaoting, then directed Chu Shaoqing and Chu Zhihui, "You two sit next to your sister Mu Xue."

"I don't want to!" they both said in unison.

An Muxue clenched her teeth. Those two bastards always looked down on her, and today they even made her lose face in front of that bitch and Chu Junbai.

She smiled slightly and said, "Auntie, it's all your fault. If you hadn't compared my grades with theirs, they wouldn't dislike me so much."

Mu Xiaowan thought to herself: That's really something.

"It's just that they don't work hard enough and they're all disobedient."

Chu Shaoqing and Chu Zhihui rolled their eyes together.

"Sit!" Chu Junbai said softly, and the two of them obediently sat down. However, Chu Shaoqing was a step ahead and sat next to Chu Junbai, which earned him a dissatisfied look from Chu Zhihui.

The waiter added a few more bowls and chopsticks.

Mu Xiaowan's gaze fell on the hot pot.

I never expected that there would still be such a flavorful hot pot in this day and age. It smells delicious and looks very appetizing.

Chu Shaoting saw Mu Xiaowan staring at the hot pot and sneered, thinking, "What a country bumpkin who's never seen the world."

"Second sister-in-law, is this your first time eating hot pot? Don't be afraid. Hot pot is just about putting everything into a pot and cooking it. Don't worry about it not being cooked through. It's ready to eat as soon as it's in the pot. The key is freshness."

Chu Shaoting cooked the potato slices in the hot pot, then scooped them out and put them directly into Mu Xiaowan's bowl. After giving Mu Xiaowan her slice, she added one for herself, but it was one that had been cooked in the spicy broth for a while.

"I don't usually see you eating spicy food at home. So I got you some clear broth, so hurry up and eat it!"

Hmph, even if she doesn't understand, she's not stupid!

Besides, it's not that she doesn't eat spicy food at home, but rather that the older people in her family prefer bland food, so everyone eats bland food, and she doesn't have the chance to eat spicy food.

This is clearly an attempt to make things difficult for her.

"Sister!" Chu Shaoqing was about to speak up to help when Chu Shaoting threatened him, "Shaoqing, I remember last time..."

"You rock!"

Chu Shaoqing pointed at Chu Shaoting.

It's all his fault for being careless. He was caught stealing the tape recorder from the house by Chu Shaoting, and she always uses it to threaten him.

Chu Junbai didn't speak. Chu Shaoting always acted superior and looked down on everyone. Now that a country bumpkin had suddenly become her equal, she was bound to be upset. This time, her feigned distress was genuine.

He glanced at his second aunt; she seemed to have no intention of helping and looked on with amusement.

That's some really good acting!

His eyes lingered on Mu Xiaowan out of the corner of his eye.

He wanted to see how she would handle this situation if no one helped her.