Chapter 155: Astonishment

Fang Yujia was a Master’s graduate in economics and management, and since many academic classics in this field originated from the West, she had a fair understanding of Western culture.

In Christian legend, the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus without ever experiencing mortal love, and cherry tomatoes bore fruit without pollination. Thus, believers regarded the cherry tomato as a symbol of purity, which was later extended to symbolize pure love, earning it the moniker "the fruit of love."

If her brother-in-law had gifted her a whole bag of cherry tomatoes, she might have chalked it up to mere coincidence and never connected it to the fruit of love. But since her brother-in-law had presented her with only a single one, and had done so with such solemnity, the implication was self-evident.

Rationality dictated that she should resolutely refuse. She was Xiao Cheng's sister-in-law; how could she possibly accept the fruit of love from her husband's younger brother?

Yet emotionally, the very instant she thought of the fruit of love, something deep within her heart was stirred. Emotions such as loneliness, loss, yearning, longing, and helplessness intertwined repeatedly, tearing open a breach in her normally tranquil state of mind—a defense line comparable to the Macedonian front—after which they flooded forth in an unstoppable torrent.

In the end, emotion triumphed over reason. Two blushes crept up onto Fang Yujia’s slightly plump and pretty face, making her look wonderfully shy. Hesitantly, she reached out her fair hand to accept the jade box resting in her brother-in-law’s sturdy palm.

"Thank you!"

After taking the jade box, Fang Yujia murmured her gratitude in a voice so soft she probably could only hear it herself.

As soon as those two words left her lips, a sudden sense of liberation and clarity washed over her heart, as if the clouds had parted to reveal the bright moon, or as if heavy floor-to-ceiling curtains had been pulled wide to welcome the brilliant sunshine with her whole being.

With a soft and gentle expression between her brows, Fang Yujia lowered her head and chest, not daring to meet Xiao Cheng's gaze as her long eyelashes fluttered lightly.

Seeing Fang Yujia flushed with a face full of crimson, her head bowed and chest tucked, looking both shy and timid, Xiao Cheng could not help but be stunned. Though he was someone who had never paid much attention to literature classes in the past, a line of poetry by the great rogue Xu from his middle school textbook suddenly popped into his head: *“With just this lowered head of gentle grace, she is like a water lily bashful in the breeze.”*

In the past, he had felt that such lines were merely the empty, tasteless, and pointless groaning of idle literati. But applied now to Sister-in-law Yu'er, they felt utterly apt, as though tailor-made for her.

However, Xiao Cheng could not fathom the source of his sister-in-law's deep flush at that moment. Could it be because she had drunk too much alcohol earlier, and the intoxication was only now taking effect?

"Sister Yu'er, wait..." Xiao Cheng had intended to tell her not to eat it just yet, so he could explain the effects of the Heavenly Origin Fruit in detail later, but he was interrupted by his sister-in-law's slightly nervous voice.

"Wait a moment, I have something for you too!" With those words, Fang Yujia immediately turned around. Because she turned too quickly, the soft silk of her sleep robe fluttered up around her.

Fang Yujia retrieved an exquisite leather box from the cabinet, and at the same time opened the jade box Xiao Cheng had given her, popped the "cherry tomato" into her mouth, and began to chew slowly.

Holding the box, she walked over to Xiao Cheng with a trace of shyness. A soft hum escaped her delicate nose as she handed the box into Xiao Cheng's grasp.

"This is... your eighteenth... birthday gift. I didn't give you anything back then, so I'm making up for it now!" Fang Yujia explained with lowered brows.

When Xiao Cheng celebrated his eighteenth birthday, he was still an incorrigible, rebellious punk, so no gifts were given at the time. Lately, however, Xiao Cheng had done so many things for her that she felt deeply moved. It was then she remembered that she hadn't given him a single thing for his coming-of-age birthday, prompting her to go out and purchase a present over the past few days.

Hearing his sister-in-law say this, Xiao Cheng recalled the distant past. His eighteenth birthday had indeed been a miserable affair, with only Shu Fu symbolically tossing him a minor trinket.

Xiao Cheng opened the leather box to reveal a restrained yet elegant wristwatch. Judging by the logo, it was a Patek Philippe. From its design, this Patek Philippe watch appeared to be a limited edition, likely costing one or two million yuan to acquire.

Xiao Cheng felt somewhat puzzled. Although his relationship with Sister-in-law Yu'er had greatly improved recently, it certainly hadn't reached the point where she would ruthlessly splurge a million yuan on a luxury watch for him.

He looked questioningly at his sister-in-law, only to see that the chilling aloofness which usually kept people a thousand miles away had vanished completely from between her brows. The two blushes on her cheeks had faded slightly; her brows were lowered, and her lips occasionally moved as if she were chewing something. Wait! Hang on!

"Sister Yu'er, did you just eat that fruit?" Xiao Cheng’s eyebrows twitched.

"M-hm!" A pleasant hum issued from Fang Yujia's delicate nose as she lowered her head even further.

Xiao Cheng was struck dumb with astonishment. He had intended to explain the effects of the Heavenly Origin Fruit to his sister-in-law beforehand, but because she had interrupted him, the matter had been delayed—and now his sister-in-law had gone ahead and eaten it directly.

He carefully scrutinized his sister-in-law, only to find that she showed no abnormal signs whatsoever after consuming the Heavenly Origin Fruit.

He had personally experienced the entire process of ingesting the Heavenly Origin Fruit. Its potency was extremely tyrannical; the moment it slid down the throat, it would disperse into all four limbs and bones, causing agonizing pain throughout the entire body. How could there be no reaction at all?

"Sister Yu'er, how do you feel after eating that fruit?" Xiao Cheng asked cautiously.

Fang Yujia was naturally a person of cool and detached temperament, capable of maintaining a detached view of almost anything, yet she could not maintain her usual composure when faced with this situation. She felt somewhat awkward upon hearing her brother-in-law's abrupt question.

"I feel... fine!" Fang Yujia said in a low voice.

Xiao Cheng was utterly bewildered. How could she possibly feel "fine"? She ought to be writhing in excruciating pain all over.

"Come in... and sit down for a bit!" Fang Yujia mustered her courage to say, still not daring to look at Xiao Cheng.

His sister-in-law was actually inviting him into her bedroom to sit down—an unprecedented occurrence! Had the sun risen from the west today? Stunned for a moment, Xiao Cheng complied and walked into the room, seating himself on the sofa.

Fang Yujia sat down as well, settling right beside Xiao Cheng on the couch. After experiencing a turbulent clash of emotions, she gradually calmed herself.

Once seated, Xiao Cheng kept his attention focused on his sister-in-law's physical reactions. Out of respect for the fact that she was his sister-in-law, he refrained from probing with his spiritual sense.

Fang Yujia had no idea what to say for the moment, plunging the indoor atmosphere into a silence that felt somewhat bizarre.

After a full several minutes, Fang Yujia looked up at Xiao Cheng and, mustering her courage, said in a low voice, "Xiao Cheng, let's keep today's events between the two of us. Don't tell anyone else, okay?"

"Uh, alright!"

Xiao Cheng nodded reflexively. Recovering his wits a moment later, he guessed that the matter his sister-in-law was referring to was probably her blushing episode, so he didn't press further, his mind wholly preoccupied with the Heavenly Origin Fruit.

It never crossed his mind that the gift of the Heavenly Origin Fruit he had just given her had caused a massive misunderstanding. It wasn't that he lacked imagination, but rather that his sister-in-law had always treated him with indifference until just the past ten days or so. Such a possibility was simply beyond his consideration, and he had never even thought of it.

Ten minutes passed, and the more Xiao Cheng thought about it, the more wrong it felt. How could the Heavenly Origin Fruit have no effect?

Such a top-tier spiritual fruit was effective on anyone. Could it be that because it had sat out for a day, it had really turned into an ordinary little tomato?

Yet that couldn't explain it either. According to the records in the Three Lives Jade Slip, a spiritual fruit like the Heavenly Origin Fruit could be preserved for half a year to a year even without protective measures; it wouldn't lose its efficacy after a mere single day.

"Sister Yu'er, give me your hand. Let me check!" Xiao Cheng said.

Two flushes of rosy red climbed onto Fang Yujia's pretty face once more. Biting her lip in slight hesitation, she extended her fair hand toward him.

At this moment, Xiao Cheng was solely concerned with the matter of the Heavenly Origin Fruit and paid no attention whatsoever to his sister-in-law's unusual expression.

Taking his sister-in-law's delicate hand, Xiao Cheng flattened it out, pressed his fingers against her pulse, and slowly channeled a wisp of true Qi to sense carefully. Before long, his expression grew stern.

"How could it be like this?" Xiao Cheng muttered to himself inwardly.