NOVEL WEB Chapter 33: Talk
When Ryan woke up, he felt extremely hungry. Since he had already told Lily not to buy groceries, they decided together to solve dinner at Lily's favorite restaurant.
A stroll after dinner was always the most comfortable thing. Ryan held his wife's hand, while Lily held her younger sister Vera hand—a common arrangement.
The two sisters chatted as Ryan listened with a smile, rarely speaking. However, he noticed that Vera occasionally glanced over at them. At her young age, she couldn't quite hide the inexplicable sense of loss in her heart.
Her eyes would sneak over to Ryan, landing on his hand holding her sister's, and for some reason, a wave of sourness welled up in her chest.
Lily, noticing her distraction, raised a puzzled eyebrow. "Vera, what are you daydreaming about? I asked you something, but you didn't respond."
"Huh…"
Snapping out of her daze, Vera blushed slightly. "Second Sister, what did you say?"
"Honestly," Lily sighed, "I was saying that it's too hot at your place without air conditioning. Why don't you come over and crash at ours tonight?"
Vera's face turned redder as she shook her head. "No need. I might sneak into Big Sister's room instead. If I do it quietly, Mom won't notice."
Hearing this, Ryan felt a twinge of disappointment. Lily teased, "You wouldn't dare stay at Mom's, would you?"
Rolling her eyes, Vera retorted, "Why don't you try? If Mom loses at cards and comes back, she'll pull you out of bed and scold you!"
After a stroll around the neighborhood, they returned home and took turns showering. When Ryan finished, he walked out wearing just a pair of boxers.
Lily chided him, "At least put on some beach shorts! Vera is still here."
"It's fine. She's always holed up in her room anyway."
Ryan defended himself, saying, "Besides, we're family. No need to be so formal. Your dad used to lounge at home wearing just a pair of shorts in this heat."
"At least he wore another pair of shorts over them."
"And those were so short they were practically the same as boxers," Ryan retorted.
Exhausted from the day, Ryan soon went to bed, cuddling his wife.
The next morning, Lily left for work. Around noon, Ryan noticed that Olivia, his mother-in-law, hadn't gone out as usual. Instead, she was at home washing clothes, which was unusual.
Keen to start some one-on-one interaction with his sister-in-law, Ryan walked into her room and asked with concern, "Mom, why aren't you heading to the tea house today?"
"Don't bring it up. My luck's been terrible lately," Olivia replied, looking visibly frustrated.
Olivia was wearing a casual slip dress—modest yet featuring a deep V-neckline. Despite wearing a bra, her deep cleavage and fair skin were still noticeable. With her movements, the sight of her chest was dazzling, leaving Ryan involuntarily swallowing hard, feeling a faint rush of blood.
Turning to see Ryan wearing only boxers, Olivia frowned slightly and chided him, "You're being too sloppy! Vera is still home; how can you walk around like that?"
"It's my own home! How is this 'walking around'?" Ryan argued, though with a somewhat apologetic tone. "I forgot Vera was here. I thought it was just you, and we're family, so I figured it wouldn't matter."
The underlying implication was clear: once Vera returned to school, the family could afford to be even more casual.
Olivia stole a quick glance at her son-in-law's boxers, noticing the slight bulge. Feeling a mix of awkwardness and annoyance, she pondered how to bring up the odd situation when her phone suddenly rang.
Seeing the caller ID, Olivia frowned, her expression shifting to irritation. "That damn woman! She won my money and still won't stop. Now she wants to dig even deeper?" she muttered angrily, tossing the phone aside and crossing her arms in frustration.
Sitting down heavily, her full chest heaved dramatically, momentarily dazzling Ryan. Observing his mother-in-law's outward anger mixed with an underlying restlessness, he couldn't help but notice her conflicting emotions.
Since gaining his "system," Ryan had become more observant, often analyzing his "targets'" behavior and mental states with precision.
Taking in the scene before him, Ryan didn't hesitate to pull out his phone.
Moments later, Olivia phone chimed with a notification. Letting out a sigh, she picked it up, only to widen her eyes in disbelief. She looked at her phone, then at her grinning son-in-law.
Ryan had just transferred her 10,000 Dollars.
For context, apart from covering his daughters' tuition, Arthur, Olivia's husband, only provided her with 3,000 dollars in monthly living expenses. During holidays, she might receive a bit more.
This left Olivia managing household expenses and her occasional gambling habit on a tight budget. While her eldest daughter couldn't help much, her second daughter, Lily, dutifully gave her 2,000 dollars each month.
Even so, supporting a family's daily needs required tight budgeting, and money was always stretched thin.
"Mom, is it still not enough?"
Gritting his teeth, Ryan transferred another 10,000 Dollars.
Looking at the 20,000 her son-in-law had just sent, Olivia's expression noticeably brightened, though she tried to hide her delight. Out of a sense of propriety and the principle of maintaining appearances, she hesitated.
"This isn't right, Ryan," Olivia said, feigning reluctance. "You already spent the entire 100,000 on jewelry for me and Lily. Now you're giving me even more money."
"I should transfer this back to you. Honestly, if Lily found out, she'd accuse me of favoritism, always making you spend money."
But despite holding her phone, she made no move to actually transfer the money. Ryan immediately saw through her pretense. He suddenly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, causing Olivia to jump in surprise, nearly crying out.
"Ryan! What are you doing?"
Her breathing quickened, and she looked visibly tense, her small fists clenching as she stared at him wide-eyed.
However, when she realized he wasn't doing anything inappropriate and was merely holding her, she hesitated. Feeling slightly embarrassed, she didn't push him away.
Ryan's hands didn't wander. He simply hugged her, standing face to face. Since her figure was similar to his wife's, her ample chest naturally pressed against his.
Though she instinctively pulled back slightly, the fleeting contact left Ryan's imagination running wild. He could vividly sense just how full and astonishing her figure was.
Fighting to suppress his improper thoughts, Ryan adopted an emotional tone. "Mom, you should know that I'm not much different from an orphan. Even though I'm a live-in son-in-law, I truly see this as my home and all of you as my family."
Hearing this, Olivia, who had initially been flustered, softened. She hugged him back and gently reassured him, "Silly child, there's no such thing as 'treating this as your home.' This is your home. Don't say such silly things."
The two of them remained in the embrace. Ryan inhaled her mature, subtle fragrance, while carefully limiting their contact. Yet even so, he could feel the fullness and warmth of her mature, supple body.
Ryan's suppressed desire burned like wildfire inside him, but he knew the timing wasn't right. He struggled to restrain himself, enduring the pain of self-control.
"Mom, I know you like my elder brother-in-law better. He's got a good family background, is smooth-talking, and charming. I can't compare to him. I'm straightforward and clumsy with words…"
Ryan deliberately played the vulnerable card, knowing that appearing modest and self-effacing was the best way to connect with someone as strong-willed as his mother-in-law.
Sure enough, hearing his dejected and self-pitying words, Olivia's heart filled with guilt and remorse.
She immediately hugged him tighter and comforted him. "Ryan, this is all really my fault. Over the past few days, I've been reflecting. I've realized that I've been too harsh on you in the past."
"You and Liam are both my sons-in-law, whether you're a live-in son-in-law or not. You're both like sons to me. Liam, for all his sweet talk, is stingy and unfilial. He doesn't even treat your elder sister well."
"I misunderstood you before. It's true that Lily has a reserved and stubborn personality, not the most lively or expressive. But I've observed you two recently, and I can see how much you love each other. From the bottom of my heart, I'm happy for her."