198: Chapter 198 When you have money, you speak with confidence.

Following Meng Yawen's sudden movement, Zhao Xiaoshuai realized that the plot he had imagined—flirting with the elder sister in front of the younger Sister-in-law—seemed to have been reversed.

However, it seemed even more thrilling.

He couldn't figure out what kind of psychological state that brat was in, pretending to be Sister Wenwen just to flirt with him.

Was it simple mischief? Or...

Obeying that inexplicable throb in his heart, he once again extended his mischievous foot toward his Sister-in-law.

Moreover, he simultaneously extended his other foot, keeping his young girlfriend in a state where she couldn't speak up, making her unable to notice anything wrong with the "sister" beside her.

And so, such a bizarre yet harmonious scene unfolded.

But as his foot gradually encroached upon her thigh, his Sister-in-law panicked and hurriedly wolfed down the remaining food in her bowl.

"I—I'm full!"

As his Sister-in-law was the first to flee in a panic, Zhao Xiaoshuai could only maintain his upper body's composure and quickly retract one foot.

His young girlfriend waited until her sister was far away before saying reproachfully:

"Darling, you're getting naughtier and naughtier. Xiao Yi was right there just now; I would have been so embarrassed if she noticed."

"It's fine, she won't find out."

He wanted to move again, but his girlfriend clamped her legs tightly around his foot, refusing to let him continue his mischief.

Although her legs weren't as exaggeratedly strong as Hao Jinghan's, they were still very powerful; it was actually quite hard to break free without using serious force.

Zhao Xiaoshuai didn't want to actually hurt her, so he could only obediently give up on his continued intrusion.

A dinner filled with a bit of flirtation ended abruptly, but someone would definitely have to be responsible for the fire ignited in Zhao Xiaoshuai's heart tonight.

He drove the two great beauties back, arriving at his Sister-in-law's home first.

Looking at the pitch-black sky, Zhao Xiaoshuai decided to get out of the car and personally escort her up.

Along the way, his Sister-in-law was somewhat silent, losing her usual playfulness and vitality. Now, sitting alone with him in the cramped elevator, she seemed even quieter.

For once, Zhao Xiaoshuai didn't know what to say either, feeling a small amount of regret for his actions just now. 'I didn't scare the girl, did I...?'

Seeing that they were only one floor away from his Sister-in-law's floor, he was about to speak to lighten the atmosphere when the elevator suddenly shook violently and came to a stop.

The moment the shaking started, his Sister-in-law dove into her brother-in-law's arms in a panic. Apparently, she momentarily thought it was a life-or-death situation, so she held him very tightly.

Zhao Xiaoshuai was older, after all, and had experience being trapped in an elevator before.

He didn't panic. First, he checked the floor indicator light; it had stopped. Combined with his physical senses, the elevator had simply stopped and hadn't fallen; it should have been halted at the nearest floor by the braking system.

He pressed the emergency call button and, after speaking with the staff, was told that maintenance personnel would be sent within 30 minutes.

"Xinyi, don't be afraid. It'll be okay soon."

He gently stroked her head and comforted her for a good while before his Sister-in-law slowly looked up, looking quite pitiable.

He had held her countless times since they were young, but this was the first time they had embraced so tightly like a couple.

Time seemed to stand still, and the space was so quiet that their two accelerating heartbeats could be heard echoing each other.

An unknown amount of time passed.

"Still scared?"

His Sister-in-law nodded, then shook her head.

Zhao Xiaoshuai laughed. "Are you scared or not? You're like a rattle-drum."

"When it shook just now, I thought I was going to fall and die, so I was very scared. But after diving into your arms, I wasn't that scared anymore."

"What, taking someone down with you makes you less afraid of death?"

"If I can die with you, then death isn't so scary."

Ripples formed in Zhao Xiaoshuai's heart, leaving him speechless for a moment as the atmosphere suddenly became very intimate.

He knew there were feelings between them, a kind of emotion that transcended their familial ties, but he could never quite judge whether it was ultimately family affection or something else.

He could neither see himself clearly nor judge her feelings.

The two of them stared into each other's eyes, neither turning away.

Zhao Xiaoshuai's throat bobbed, and his face unconsciously lowered, wanting to get closer, and then even closer, to that exquisite face.

When their breaths were faintly brushing against each other's faces, his Sister-in-law suddenly closed her eyes.

This action seemed to give Zhao Xiaoshuai's hesitant heart a shot of adrenaline. He licked his dry lips and was about to lean in toward those fresh and delicious pink lips.

But at that very moment, the elevator maintenance workers happened to arrive. The sound of them opening the doors could already be heard through the elevator.

Interrupted like this, he shifted his direction and ultimately kissed his Sister-in-law on the forehead.

"The rescue is here. Everything is really okay now."

The maintenance workers had rushed over late at night, working overtime. However, the young couple they rescued didn't seem very grateful. Especially the man, whose gaze toward them seemed very dissatisfied.

But he soon realized he must have been mistaken because the man transferred a thousand yuan to each of them as a tip for their hard work.

Escorting his Sister-in-law upstairs to her home, both of them seemed to intentionally forget the scene that had just occurred.

"School starts the day after tomorrow. Stay home tomorrow and settle your mind."

"Mm."

"Then I'm leaving. Your Sister Wenwen is probably getting impatient waiting in the car."

"Brother-in-law."

Zhao Xiaoshuai had just turned to leave when he heard his Sister-in-law call him again. As he turned his head, he felt a light peck on his cheek.

"Goodbye, Brother-in-law."

Then the door closed with a thud. Zhao Xiaoshuai touched his cheek and smiled, while Chu Xinyi leaned against the door, who knows what she was thinking.

He went down one floor and found the maintenance workers who were still repairing the elevator.

"Master, give me your boss's phone number. I want to give him some feedback."

The maintenance worker instinctively feared trouble, but having just received the tip, he felt bad refusing. "Then please don't say I gave it to you. It's not easy supporting a family."

"Don't worry."

When the call connected, Zhao Xiaoshuai didn't waste words or engage in polite small talk:

"I am personally investing one million. You are to immediately send more people to thoroughly inspect and repair the elevators in this building. Fix what needs fixing, replace what needs replacing."

"I want to see your team tomorrow, and everything must be done to my satisfaction within a week."

"If you can't do it, I'll spend the money on replacing your property management company. I'm not being alarmist. If you can't make the decision, write down everything I said and pass it on to someone who can."

The voice on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment. Clearly, they didn't care too much and unhurriedly spoke a few lines of official jargon before finally saying:

"We have received this gentleman's request and we understand. May I ask for your surname, sir? Once we've reported to the leadership and have a result, we will notify you immediately."

Zhao Xiaoshuai heard the perfunctoriness and continued bluntly: "Open the February 16th issue of the Chuncheng Evening News, Page B1. You'll know who I am, and you'll know whether I can do what I say."