Chapter 134: If Only He Were My Brother-in-Law

“Ah? Cousin… h-hello, Cousin.” Le Yue’s cheeks flushed red, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.

She actually had a rather cheerful personality, except when she was in front of a handsome guy-then she would become shy.

“Hello, get in the car.” Zhang Yang smiled slightly. Holding a suitcase in each hand, he effortlessly placed the two girls’ luggage into the trunk.

Naturally, the two girls sat together in the back seat.

After a moment, Zhang Yang fastened his seatbelt and glanced back at the two girls in the rear seat.

“I’ll take you to eat first.”

“Brother, you’re actually driving a Porsche now? You’re doing so well! And you’re so handsome too-I almost didn’t recognize you just now.” Song Yumeng couldn’t hide the amazement in her voice.

Zhang Yang couldn’t help but laugh.

This was nothing yet. His current state was only the absolute lowest-end version of himself.

If even this low-end version shocked his little cousin so much, who knew what reaction she would have if his high-end version appeared.

It just showed that what he considered being low-key was only his own perception.

In the back seat, Le Yue sat beside Song Yumeng, occasionally glancing at the incredibly handsome figure in front. She couldn’t help tugging on Song Yumeng’s sleeve, exchanging silent looks with her.

It was as if she was saying-

With a cousin like this, how did you manage not to show his photo on the high-speed train earlier? Playing mysterious, huh?

Song Yumeng opened her mouth. Though she understood what Le Yue meant, she couldn’t say a single word.

At noon, in a local cuisine restaurant at BFC Bund Financial Center.

The spending here was roughly seven to eight hundred per person.

It wasn’t particularly luxurious, but treating his little cousin and her classmate here was respectable and perfectly appropriate.

“Just order whatever you like. Don’t try to save money for me.”

Seeing the two girls hesitating while ordering, Zhang Yang couldn’t help saying something.

“Cousin Yumeng’s brother, this is too expensive.” Le Yue said a little embarrassedly.

“Don’t call him that. If you’re embarrassed to call him by name, just call him Brother Zhang Yang. I’m his real cousin so I call him brother. Calling him Brother Zhang Yang isn’t too much for you.” Song Yumeng said from the side.

Blushing, Le Yue softly called out, “Brother Zhang Yang.”

Zhang Yang responded with a sound, feeling the youthful freshness and energy of a young girl washing over him.

Soon after, the dishes were ordered.

They were all very down-to-earth dishes.

Sweet and sour spare ribs, Shanghai smoked fish…

The cheaper dishes were all ordered by the two girls. Seeing how conservative they were being, Zhang Yang added a few more expensive dishes himself-steamed roe crab with minced black pork, slow-braised veal, and so on.

“My brother’s great, right? You didn’t believe what I told you on the train earlier. So, what do you think? Go back and think about it carefully.” Song Yumeng winked at Le Yue secretly.

Zhang Yang looked at them strangely, not knowing what the two were whispering about.

“Hey, what are you two whispering about?”

“Nothing, nothing.” The two girls spoke in unison, then looked at each other at the same time.

Soon, the dishes were served one after another, each looking and smelling delicious.

Since there were only girls present, Zhang Yang didn’t order any alcohol and simply asked for almond milk.

“Brother Zhang Yang, let me toast you.” Le Yue raised her cup and took the initiative to toast him.

“Sit down. You already call me brother, so there’s no need to be so polite. Just relax.” Zhang Yang smiled.

Le Yue held the cup and drank it in one go, then sat down with flushed cheeks.

During the meal, the three chatted while eating.

Gradually, the atmosphere became more relaxed. Le Yue’s repeated “Brother Zhang Yang” also became more natural, carrying a hint of closeness.

“Here, eat more. Don’t be shy.” Zhang Yang placed a piece of rib into Le Yue’s bowl.

“Thank you, Brother Zhang Yang.” Le Yue called out obediently. While eating the sweet and sour ribs, she quietly watched him whenever he wasn’t looking.

In her mind, impressions of this newly met older brother from the past few hours kept flashing-

Extremely handsome, with a very warm and gentle personality.

For some reason, she suddenly thought of her not-so-familiar brother-in-law, that cold, distant, arrogant, and domineering former brother-in-law.

Everyone envied her sister, thinking she had married a real-life domineering CEO.

Only she knew how much her sister had suffered over the past few years.

All the passion and warmth in her heart ultimately couldn’t warm a man whose heart was never with her.

Compared to that former brother-in-law, Brother Zhang Yang was practically perfect.

“If only he were my brother-in-law.” The thought suddenly appeared in Le Yue’s mind, and it immediately startled her.

After lunch, the three of them walked around the Bund.

During the day, the Bund naturally didn’t have the dazzling brilliance of Lujiazui at night.

Song Yumeng stood by the Huangpu River, gently spreading her arms and asking Zhang Yang to take a photo for her.

“Is it done, brother?” She ran over, wanting to see the picture.

Zhang Yang was quite confident in his photography skills. In this shot, his little cousin’s skirt fluttered as she spread her arms slightly-undoubtedly giving off the atmosphere of a beautiful girl in a scenic photo.

“Here you go. By the way, let me arrange a place for you to stay.”

“Ah? That’s too embarrassing. Maybe I should just go to a hotel myself?” Song Yumeng said shyly while happily looking at the photo.

Although Zhang Yang was very generous to her as a cousin.

But after all, she was only his cousin, not his real sister. She really couldn’t feel completely at ease letting Zhang Yang keep spending money on her.

“Stop pretending to be polite. Who are we to each other?” Zhang Yang shook his head with a smile. “By the way, what about Le Yue?”

“Oh, my sister is in Shanghai. I’ll just go find her.” Le Yue quickly said from the side.

“Your sister? Then I’ll drop you off later.” Zhang Yang said.

Just as Le Yue was about to say something, Song Yumeng stepped forward and hugged her arm. “Alright, don’t be polite. My brother can just give you a ride later.”

“Then… thank you, Brother Zhang Yang.” Le Yue thanked softly.

“No need to thank me. It’s just a small favor.” Zhang Yang smiled.

Soon after, Zhang Yang drove the Cayenne, planning to send Song Yumeng to the hotel first to settle the luggage.

The hotel was the W Hotel at the Bund, a luxury hotel under Marriott.

Girls loved taking photos and showing them off.

The W Hotel at the Bund had a very internet-famous style, great for photos, and an excellent location. From the floor-to-ceiling windows, you could see the “three-piece set” of Lujiazui.

Staying here meant Song Yumeng would have plenty of photos to take.

“What? The W Hotel? Long live my brother!”

Sure enough, the moment she heard this, Song Yumeng immediately cheered excitedly, while Le Yue beside her felt a little envious.

If you talked to them about extremely luxurious top-tier hotels, they wouldn’t really have a clear concept.

But if you mentioned those hotels that were constantly photographed and checked in on RedNote, they were extremely familiar with them.

That afternoon, in the lobby of the North Bund W Hotel.

Zhang Yang casually took out his Centurion Black Card and booked a Bund-view room for Song Yumeng, costing more than three thousand per night.

“Huh? Brother, your credit card is completely black. It actually looks pretty nice.” Song Yumeng caught a glimpse of a flash of black and became curious.

Zhang Yang smiled, put away the credit card, and didn’t explain anything.

Soon after, he helped carry the luggage, and the three of them went to the room together to take a look.

“Wow!”

As soon as the door opened, Song Yumeng looked at the huge floor-to-ceiling window in front of her and the Lujiazui skyline outside, and couldn’t help exclaiming.

Without hesitation, she ran in and threw herself onto the soft bed, bouncing excitedly.

Zhang Yang casually placed the suitcase against the wall and smiled as he watched his little cousin, waiting for her excitement to slowly fade.

“Cousin, you’re basically my real brother. My parents have never been this generous to me.” After quite a while, Song Yumeng still sounded excited. She ran over and hugged Zhang Yang’s arm, talking non-stop.

“Your parents aren’t generous to you?” Zhang Yang asked curiously.

“Hmph, those two cheapskates.” Song Yumeng didn’t elaborate and just muttered.

Zhang Yang couldn’t help but laugh silently. He truly didn’t expect that the couple would also be so stingy toward their own daughter. Or had he misunderstood something?

After enjoying the beautiful view from the room for a while, Song Yumeng was a bit reluctant to leave.

“Then you rest here first. I’ll take Le Yue back.” Zhang Yang said casually.

“Alright… that works too. I’m actually a bit sleepy anyway. I’ll take a nice nap first and go shopping later.” Song Yumeng thought about it and quickly nodded.

Soon after, Zhang Yang and Le Yue walked out together.

Walking alone beside Zhang Yang, Le Yue inevitably felt a little shy, since Song Yumeng, the middle person between them, was no longer there.

But fortunately, Zhang Yang started a conversation, and that slight sense of unfamiliarity soon disappeared.

“Your sister works in Shanghai?” While driving, Zhang Yang glanced at Le Yue in the passenger seat and asked curiously.

Le Yue had originally wanted to blurt out that her sister was married in Shanghai.

But for some reason, the words stopped at her lips.

“Yes.” She simply said.

Zhang Yang nodded and didn’t ask further, not sensing anything strange.

A freshman girl visiting her older sister during summer vacation, and the sister working hard in Shanghai-it all sounded perfectly normal.

In the car, Zhang Yang heard Le Yue make a phone call.

“Sis, I’ve arrived in Shanghai. I forgot to tell you in advance.” Le Yue said into the phone.

“You’ve arrived in Shanghai? Where are you now? I’ll come pick you up.”

Zhang Yang faintly heard a very elegant and refined female voice from the phone. Presumably, the person herself must also be a refined beauty.

After all, Le Yue’s looks were right there; her older sister certainly wouldn’t be any worse.

“No need, sis. I’ll be at your place soon. Mm-hmm, see you in a bit.” Le Yue said as she hung up the phone.

After some time, outside a high-end apartment complex, Zhang Yang stopped the car.

“Here, your suitcase.” Zhang Yang took the suitcase out.

“Thank you, Brother Zhang Yang.” Le Yue thanked softly. She actually wanted to invite Zhang Yang upstairs to sit for a while, but in the end she was too embarrassed to say it.

“No need to thank me. Go on up. Later you can ask Song Yumeng to come out and hang out together. I’ll head off first.” Zhang Yang got into the car, rolled down the window, waved, and drove away.

Le Yue stood where she was, watching the car disappear into the distance. She remained there for quite a while, not knowing what she was thinking about.

A moment later, she turned and walked into the apartment.

This apartment had recently been rented by her sister. After all, now that they had separated, she couldn’t continue living in the old house.

Standing outside the door, Le Yue hesitated.

Because she didn’t know her sister’s current state-whether she was still feeling lost, or if she had already let go.

Just as she was about to knock, the door suddenly opened.

“Le Yue? I was just about to call you!” The woman inside the door looked pleasantly surprised.

Le Yue looked at the figure inside-long dress, long hair draped over her shoulders, as elegant and refined as ever, as if nothing had ever happened to her.

This was her biological sister, Le Man.

“Sis, long time no see.” Le Yue smiled brightly and stepped forward to give her sister a hug.

It looked like the hug of sisters reuniting, but in her eyes it was more like comfort, because she knew how unhappy Le Man had been these past few years.

But fortunately, it was finally over.

“Huh, sis, are you sending something?” Le Yue noticed the package in Le Man’s hand.

“Mm, just some small things. I don’t need them anymore, so I’m returning them to him.” Le Man said calmly, as if nothing had happened. “By the way, go sit inside first. I’ll be right up.”

A moment later, Le Yue entered her sister’s home first.

Inside the apartment, everything was neat and tidy. The potted plants on the balcony were lush and thriving.

Everything was full of the feeling of everyday life.

She had originally been a little worried about Le Man’s condition. After all, three years of youth and devotion had ended in nothing, a sincere heart given to a man who didn’t deserve it-how could she possibly feel nothing at all?

But now it seemed everything was alright.

She sat for a while when the sound of the door opening came.

Her sister had returned.

“Le Yue, have you had lunch? How did you get here?” Le Man asked with a smile while changing her shoes.

“I ate, I ate. My roommate’s brother treated us.” Le Yue said. “By the way, he was the one who brought me here too.”

“That nice?” Le Man smiled and walked over, taking Le Yue’s hand and looking her over carefully. “University really makes a difference. You’re getting more and more beautiful.”

“Sis, um… are you doing alright lately?” Le Yue asked hesitantly.

“Everything’s fine.” Le Man said gently. “By the way, come out with me later.”

“Sure. Where are we going?” Le Yue asked.

“To get a haircut, do my hair, and buy clothes. I’m never wearing long dresses again.” Le Man tilted her head slightly, looking at the black hair resting on her shoulders. “Just because he liked long black hair, I kept my hair long and wore long dresses for him. In the end, I was nothing more than a substitute for his crush. Why can’t I just be myself?”

Hearing this, Le Yue paused for a moment, then nodded.

“Sis, you’re right. Why should you have to change just because he likes something? You’re you, not anyone’s substitute.”

“So your sister is officially saying goodbye to the past. Are you happy?” Le Man gently opened her arms.

Le Yue smiled and stepped forward to hug her sister tightly.

“Sis, since you’re starting a new life, are you ready to meet new guys?”

Le Man froze for a moment, then shook her head.

“No more. It’s too exhausting.”

Le Yue could tell now-her sister was far from as relaxed and unaffected as she appeared. The three years had affected her far more deeply than anyone could imagine.

“No way, sis, you’re still young. If you meet someone better, you won’t even consider falling for him?” Le Yue tried to persuade her.

“Sis, let me tell you-today…”