Chapter 117: The Difficult Sister-in-Law

Zheng Xiuyan’s question struck right at Chen Zhe’s weak spot, leaving him momentarily troubled. After all, it was true that both of them had tried to escape from Zheng Xiuyan; there was no way to deny it.

“Well, um, it wasn’t that we meant to run away on purpose, it was just an instinctive reaction!”

He certainly couldn’t admit that they deliberately avoided Zheng Xiuyan, but staying silent on the matter was difficult to explain. After pondering for a while, Chen Zhe chose to respond by attributing it to an instinctive behavior.

After all, instinctively avoiding the Ice Queen was something Zheng Xiuyan could probably understand. From what Chen Zhe knew, quite a few people had tried to avoid her; using this as an excuse was barely plausible.

“Oh, an instinctive reaction? Am I really that intimidating? Do I really make you feel so pressured?”

Back at her own home, Zheng Xiuyan didn’t rush to wash up immediately. Instead, she headed straight to the living room and flopped down onto the sofa.

After hearing Chen Zhe’s explanation, her brow furrowed briefly before relaxing again. In a soft tone, she fired off a series of probing questions toward Chen Zhe.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that you’re so beautiful that it’s hard for me to handle—not that you put so much pressure on people. You have to believe me!”

Though usually reckless, Chen Zhe was quite perceptive and knew better than to speak the truth at such a moment. Hearing Zheng Xiuyan’s soulful questions, he quickly racked his brain for a suitable excuse.

After much thought, Chen Zhe decided to appeal to what girls liked to hear most: compliments about their beauty. He hastily concocted a reason that sounded like he was trying to coax a child.

Zheng Xiu Jing, who had been playfully wrestling with Chen Zhe’s hand, widened her eyes in surprise upon hearing this makeshift excuse.

She truly hadn’t expected Chen Zhe—normally quite clever—to come up with such an absurd reason that no sane person would believe, all to placate their sister. She restrained herself from revealing a condescending look.

“Hmm, that excuse is a bit far-fetched, but I’ll reluctantly let it slide!”

“However, I have a new question now. Zheng Ermao and A Zhe, why did you two hide from me when you went out? Are you trying to do something behind my back?”

Having already grown familiar with her sister’s tactics, Zheng Xiuyan wasn’t too bothered by her own sister’s methods. But when it came to Chen Zhe, she had a whole arsenal of strategies to draw information out of him.

Moreover, she had learned many effective tricks from Chen Yuqi to deal with Chen Zhe, so handling him was no challenge at all.

“We were just being careful not to disturb your hard-earned day off. After all, if it affected your sleep, we brothers and sisters would feel very guilty.”

Since the ridiculous excuse had passed earlier, Chen Zhe understood that Zheng Xiuyan had given up on pressing the matter of their escape. Now, she was simply using it as an excuse to tease and playfully torment her poor, easily bullied younger brother.

“Oh, you two really are considerate. But now that I’m up, don’t you plan to invite me to join you for a trip?”

Though it was impossible for Zheng Xiuyan to actually go out with Chen Zhe and the others—her early wake-up was due to a sudden call from her manager about an unexpected engagement—there was nothing stopping her from continuing to toy with him.

“Ah, well, okay! We’ll turn right back and pick you up now!”

Chen Zhe was instantly terrified when he heard this. After all, this was supposed to be a date between him and Zheng Xiu Jing. Taking along the super-party pooper and pressure machine Zheng Xiuyan would be a nightmare—purely a recipe for trouble. Just as he was about to find a serious excuse to refuse, he felt a gentle tap on his hand—Zheng Xiu Jing signaling him to withdraw his hand.