CHAPTER 478: CHAPTER 480: PHOENIX BRAND BICYCLE

The next morning, Yang Xuehua took a leave of absence, as she and Yu Shijie needed to visit the Yu Family to meet the parents.

Usually, people meet their in-laws before getting married, but Yang Xuehua and Yu Shijie got married first, then went to meet the parents.

Mr. Yu had only this one son, Yu Shijie, whom he held in very high regard. In fact, he never dared to be angry with his son, even when there were conflicts, which is why Yu Shijie didn’t get married until his thirties.

"Sister Xuehua, don’t act too timid when you visit the Yu Family. You’ve met Xue Baozhu and Yu Zhen before. If they give you any trouble behind closed doors, don’t put up with it," Xia Xiao warned Yang Xuehua, having no good impression of Xue Baozhu and Yu Zhen.

Yang Xuehua laughed, "I know."

After watching Yang Xuehua and Yu Shijie leave, Xia Xiao finished breastfeeding and was then sent off to school by Gao Jiaxing. Although they lived close to the school, it was still a ten-minute walk.

"It’d be more convenient to have a bicycle," Gao Jiaxing commented.

Xia Xiao nodded in agreement, "Indeed, it would be convenient, but you need industrial coupons to buy one, and they’re not cheap, either."

Even though Xia Xiao said this, Gao Jiaxing took it to heart. To her surprise, on the third day, Gao Jiaxing managed to get her a Phoenix bicycle.

"How did you manage that?" Although the horizontal bar made it a bit inconvenient to ride, Xia Xiao was still pleased.

Gao Jiaxing replied, "I have my ways."

He then said, "Come on, I’ll teach you how to ride."

Xia Xiao wanted to say that she knew how, but immediately stopped herself; in this life, she hadn’t learned to ride a bicycle and nearly blew her cover.

Gao Jiaxing then rode the bicycle, taking Xia Xiao to an open area to learn to ride.

It was quite difficult for Xia Xiao to pretend she couldn’t ride a bicycle when she actually could.

Fortunately, it had been many years since she last rode, so she was a bit rusty. Nevertheless, after four to five hours of practice, Xia Xiao was fully in control.

"Xiaoxiao, you’re amazing. You got it on the first try," praised Gao Jiaxing.

Xia Xiao just chuckled and said nothing.

Having a bicycle now made it much easier for Xia Xiao to get to school.

Meanwhile, Yang Xuehua had arrived at the Yu home, facing a stern Mr. Yu. She felt nervous, but she was also cautious around Xue Baozhu and Yu Zhen.

It turned out that Yang Xuehua was overly worried—Xue Baozhu genuinely wanted to establish good relations with her. Despite being somewhat naive regarding Gao Jiazhi’s matter, Xue Baozhu wasn’t foolish. Being a stepmother without her own children, it would be unwise to have conflicts with her stepson and daughter-in-law.

Yu Zhen, on the other hand, felt Yang Xuehua was unworthy of her brother. Even though Yang Xuehua had been admitted to First University, she was an older woman with a ’bad’ background.

Even though class differences weren’t as emphasized as before, the class system of the past decade still influenced some. Yu Zhen simply couldn’t understand what had blinded her brother to bypass so many young and attractive women from good families and instead choose Yang Xuehua.

So, when she got the chance, Yu Zhen spoke to Yu Shijie secretly, "Brother, your wife is quite old; can she still have children?"

Yu Shijie’s face darkened immediately as he warned her, "What nonsense are you talking about? She’s your sister-in-law. Even if you don’t like her, you have to respect her. Don’t let me hear of you disrespecting her again, or forget about me acknowledging you as my sister."

Yu Zhen pouted, displeased.

Yu Shijie didn’t bother with Yu Zhen any further and left. He Xuebing came out and said, "You shouldn’t have made such a comment."

"I was just saying. Besides, isn’t our sister-in-law almost forty? I really don’t know what’s got into my brother’s head," complained Yu Zhen to He Xuebing without any reservations.

He Xuebing replied, "Stop saying things like that in the future. The sister-in-law has a good temperament and is a decent person; otherwise, elder brother wouldn’t have fallen for her. What happens between big brother and sister-in-law is their business; you don’t need to interfere."

He Xuebing knew that Yu Zhen could be a bit willful. Mr. Yu adored his daughter and had spoiled her, which was evident in her behavior.

"Now you’re also coming down on me. Who knows if she’s actually that good; time will tell," said a disgruntled Yu Zhen, who felt her brother didn’t like her as much after getting a sister-in-law.

"Yes, time reveals a person’s true nature. That means you can stop talking about it now," He Xuebing shook his head. He didn’t want Yu Zhen to antagonize Yang Xuehua, as it would only displease Yu Shijie.

If Yu Zhen were Yu Shijie’s full sister, maybe it would be different, but she wasn’t, and Yu Shijie felt a certain distance from this half-sister.

And Mr. Yu, no matter how much he adored Yu Zhen, could not match the love he had for his son.

He Xuebing saw this clearly and thought Yu Zhen was being unwise, and couldn’t help advising her.

"You’re not just defending sister-in-law because of Xia Xiao, are you? I’ve heard that Yang Xuehua and Xia Xiao are very close," Yu Zhen remarked.

At those words, He Xuebing pressed his lips together and didn’t reply directly, but instead said, "Let’s go back. It’s sister-in-law’s first visit; we can’t stay away too long."

He Xuebing turned to leave, and Yu Zhen pressed, "He Xuebing, what do you mean? You get upset whenever I bring up Xia Xiao."

Indeed, He Xuebing was displeased. He said, "Each time it’s you who brings her up."

Since marrying Yu Zhen, He Xuebing had never mentioned Xia Xiao. Yet, Yu Zhen always seemed to find a way to bring her up, testing He Xuebing with her mentions, and this greatly irked him.

He Xuebing had heard from his family that Xia Xiao had been admitted to First University, and naturally, Yu Zhen knew this as well, which made her very unhappy.

If it were in the past, Yu Zhen might have felt superior to Xia Xiao, but Xia Xiao’s man was a company commander, currently in military graduate school. After giving birth to three sons and recently to twins, and now admitted to First University, each of Xia Xiao’s successes was a thorn in Yu Zhen’s side.

Compared to Xia Xiao, Yu Zhen, despite being Mr. Yu’s daughter, had not studied much and was merely a civilian employee in the military, managing archives.

So, next to Xia Xiao, Yu Zhen didn’t have much going for her. The thought of He Xuebing harboring feelings for Xia Xiao pained Yu Zhen deeply.

In Yu Zhen’s view, the more He Xuebing avoided mentioning Xia Xiao, the guiltier he was. That’s why she occasionally picked fights with him over it.