Wife, please behave yourself.

Chapter 135 I hate you
The summer evening breeze feels exceptionally comfortable.

Unlike the sweltering heat of the daytime, Shen Ruzhi, sitting in the back seat, leaned her face to one side, observing the shops passing by on the street and watching the pedestrians being overtaken one by one.

As I passed the streetlights, I looked up at the insects hovering and dancing in the light.

I could smell the faint fragrance emanating from the clothes of the boy pedaling hard ahead, somewhat like jasmine, though I wasn't sure what kind of laundry detergent he was using.

Shen Ruzhi liked the taste.

Even my brain, which had been tired and exhausted from studying hard these past few days, felt a little more awake after smelling this fragrance.

The boy didn't talk to the girl behind him, he just kept pedaling his bicycle. When he reached the intersection, he stopped, put one foot on the ground, and looked up at the red countdown that was jumping continuously.

Shen Ruzhi stared blankly at his back, and the distance between them gradually shortened as she approached.

Until you turn your face to the side and gently press it against your skin.

"..."

His gaze, which had been fixed on the red light countdown, shifted. Liu Songyan turned to the side, trying to get a clear look at the girl behind him, but because she was pressed so close to his back, he could only vaguely make out her even when he strained to look back.

Liu Songyan remained silent, seemingly wanting to say something, but remembering Shen Ruzhi's condition not long ago, he hesitated to speak.

As the red light ends, the yellow light flashes for three seconds, followed by the green light.

Noticing this, Liu Songyan started pedaling the bicycle again. The handlebars swayed back and forth a few times before finally moving steadily straight again.

"Liu Songyan".

"What's wrong."

Hearing the girl behind him calling his name, Liu Songyan spoke up and responded.

He continued pedaling the bicycle without stopping, moving forward at a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow.

Do you like her?

"..."

The bicycle continued to move forward, but because the pedals had stopped, only the faint sound of the chain turning could be heard.

Who are you referring to?

"Chi Jinhe".

In Class 2 of the third year of junior high school, Liu Songyan's deskmate's name came from the mouth of the girl behind him.

Feeling the other person resting their face against his back, Liu Songyan stopped pedaling and resumed pushing off at a steady pace.

"What do you think."

"You like it, don't you..."

The girl's response carried a hint of uncertainty, yet her answer seemed to suggest that she already had the answer.

He was just hoping for a wrong answer, wanting the boy riding the bicycle in front of him to refute him as sternly as he always did.

However, this time those hopes were dashed once again.

Shen Ruzhi waited for a long time but did not receive a response from Liu Songyan in front of her.

As she traveled longer distances on her bicycle, she got closer and closer to home.

The girl leaning against the other's back closed her eyes in disappointment, and her arm, which had been draped to the side, slowly rose up.

Raise your arms and slowly wrap them around your body.

She held the boy tightly in her arms.

She pressed herself against him, leaning all her weight against him, and exhaled a breath, muttering to herself in a forlorn tone.

"I knew it..."

"..."

"That's true. The way you treat her is completely different from how you treat me. Even if you two don't see each other all summer, you always smile at her whenever you meet."

Her voice was unusually calm as Shen Ruzhi stated what she believed to be the facts.

"She's so cute, both in appearance and the way she talks, she's much cuter than me..."

"..."

"I can't be as frank as her, is that why you're so cold to me?"

The question was posed to Liu Songyan again, but the boy did not respond.

He simply continued pedaling, moving forward without uttering a word.

Shen Ruzhi did not ask any further questions.

But the arms that were holding the other person tightened their grip.

Regardless of how the other person treated me at school or how they communicated with me, at least at this moment, he didn't make me put my arm down.

There was no cold tone of disdain or annoyance at him for being annoying.

Even if it's just now, she wants to enjoy the moment to the fullest.

Not to be disliked by the boy in front of him.

Just like how you treated Chi Jinhe, as long as you're a little kinder to yourself...

"It has nothing to do with appearance or tone of voice."

After an unknown amount of time, Shen Ruzhi finally heard the boy's response.

She crouched on his back and quietly lifted her face, trying to look forward, but could only see the back of his head.

"I just promised my dad that I would protect her."

"lie……"

Liu Songyan's explanation clearly failed to convince Shen Ruzhi, who was sitting in the back seat.

The answer she gave reflected her true thoughts.

If he were simply protecting Chi Jinhe, he wouldn't need to get so close to her, let alone treat her with such care and patience.

Shen Ruzhi understood him.

Knowing that the boy in front of her, who was not good at expressing himself, simply didn't want others to know his true thoughts.

"If you think so, then so be it. Anyway, no matter what I say, you'll always have something to say in your opinion."

Is this why you hate me?

"I wouldn't say I hate you, it's just that when you argue with me, it always reminds me of the days before my parents got divorced."

A good family atmosphere can nurture a cheerful child.

Conversely, a poor environment can also have an indelible impact on children who are constantly being watched over.

Liu Songyan is like that.

He witnessed everything that happened before his parents divorced, and he heard every single word of his mother's hysterical and hurtful words.

Liu Songyan didn't like that kind of atmosphere; what he wanted was a harmonious family atmosphere.

There were no arguments or debates; the couple's shared opinions allowed the family to continue with a vibrant and positive momentum.

He disliked being contradicted by anyone other than his father, and his first meeting with Shen Ruzhi last semester began in a tense atmosphere.

Whenever he heard Shen Ruzhi's defiant reply, he would always see the image of Lin Wanran from the past.

This is precisely why his attitude towards Shen Ruzhi is so different from that towards Chi Jinhe.

Upon hearing the boy's answer, Shen Ruzhi loosened her arms around his waist slightly.

After a long while, her voice came from the back of the bicycle.

"Did your aunt... often neglect you before?"

"Ignoring me is not quite the right word; you could say she disregarded me."

"But isn't she your mother?"

"It used to be, but it's not anymore."

In response, Liu Songyan continued.

“From the moment she chose to divorce my father, I was completely disappointed in her, not to mention that her terrible personality might hurt Wanqiu.” Lin Wanran is too self-centered and too selfish.

If we take the example of eating, with a table full of delicious food, parents in an ordinary family might save the best food for their children first, and then choose to eat it themselves after the children have finished eating.

However, Lin Wanran is the complete opposite.

She would only give the leftovers to others after she had eaten and drunk her fill.

It's not that there's anything wrong with this behavior, nor is it that he and his sister were disappointed over such a trivial matter.

Liu Songyan gleaned a principle from this.

That is, one's own biological mother only loves oneself.

To her, everyone else was just a stranger with various identities.

"I have no plans to get married because my parents' terrible marriage makes me feel that I'd rather believe I'm better off on my own than thinking that marriage can bring happiness."

"If you think marriage is bad, then why do you want your uncle to be with my mother?"

"Because my dad is a very traditional person."

Having given his answer, Liu Songyan continued to state the facts he believed in.

“My grandparents passed away a long time ago, when my father was still young.”

"My father's greatest wish in life was for a happy family, which is why he repeatedly chose to tolerate my mother's antics."

"Now he is raising me and Wanqiu alone, and he is thinking that he can enjoy family life after we get married and start our own families."

“But I have no intention of getting married in this life. Even if Wanqiu gets married in the future, her children will only take the man’s surname.”

"If you marry someone who lives close to home, you can bring your children back to see your father every day. If you marry someone from another place, you might only be able to come home once or twice a year."

"So I want my dad to have another child, preferably a boy, so that even if I never get married in my life, he will have something to look forward to."

The boy's series of responses reached the ears of the girl in the back seat.

Shen Ruzhi was at a loss for words, staring wide-eyed in bewilderment at his outdated ideas.

It is now 2006, not 1906.

She never imagined that Liu Songyan's sudden desire to bring their parents together was for such a reason.

She was so shocked that she couldn't come to her senses for a long time before asking in surprise.

"If that's the case, then isn't Aunt An, who's been staying at your house these past few days, quite suitable? As long as she and Uncle get together, they'll have another child."

She has never been married.

"Isn't it better not to be married?"

"She's quite old."

"Isn't she a little younger than my mom?"

"I'm afraid she doesn't have experience."

"..."

Liu Songyan's answer puzzled Shen Ruzhi. After a moment of reaction, she suddenly pulled her arm away from his waist.

Clenching his fist, he pretended to exert force but didn't really hit him hard in the back.

"So you think my mom has more experience in this area because she's had children?!"

"That's what you said."

That's exactly what you think!

After panting heavily for a few breaths, Shen Ruzhi never expected that Liu Songyan would have taken a liking to her mother for such a reason.

It's really too much.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Without holding back, Shen Ruzhi delivered another heavy punch to Liu Songyan's back.

This time the force was a little stronger, causing the boy in front of him to gasp for breath.

"Liu Songyan, you're too mean! I won't give the movie tickets to my mom when we get home, so just forget about it!"

"Didn't you already promise me? Why are you going back on your word halfway through?"

"What do you take my mother for? A tool for giving birth?"

“I already said that was your own opinion, I didn’t say that was really what I meant.”

That's what you mean! That's what you think!

Shen Ruzhi could not accept this reason, and her actions of raising her hand to punch the other party never stopped.

Liu Songyan, who was riding his bicycle, originally wanted to endure it, but as the other party became increasingly arrogant, he finally stopped the bicycle.

He spun the car around, landed on his feet, and used his balance to spin backward.

He caught the fist that was still falling and firmly controlled it in his hand.

"enough!"

He yelled at the other person in a bit of anger, but when Liu Songyan turned around to look behind him, his angry gaze gradually changed.

Looking at Shen Ruzhi's expression at this moment.

Looking at her eyes, which were already red...

He had never seen Shen Ruzhi like this since that incident at the fried noodle stall.

Looking at her teary-eyed appearance and the delicate tip of her nose twitching from time to time.

In an instant, Liu Songyan, who was originally angry, lost his temper and felt a little flustered, like a child who had done something wrong.

"You... cried?"

"no!"

With a familiar denial, Shen Ruzhi raised her hand to wipe her face.

However, when Liu Songyan asked her that question, she could no longer hold back her tears and they flowed down her cheeks.

No matter how much she wiped with her hands or arms, the tears that kept flowing wouldn't stop.

She could no longer breathe through her nose, so she was forced to open her mouth wide.

He was panting heavily, trying his best to catch his breath.

"..."

Liu Songyan tried to raise his hand, but he put it back down after only lifting it a little.

After repeating this several times, he hurriedly tried to comfort her.

"Don't cry!"

"I... Waaaaah..."

Perhaps it was because Liu Songyan's voice was too loud, but Shen Ruzhi, who had originally wanted to say something, completely lost control.

It was making muffled sobs and breathing heavily, gasping for air.

Bicycles parked under streetlights on this sparsely populated street.

The dim yellow light of the streetlights shone down.

Shen Ruzhi in Liu Songyan's eyes was tinged with a golden light.

The hand that was raised again was not as forceful as before; it was just a resigned repetition of the extreme movements.

His fist, unable to clench, fell limply onto Liu Songyan's arm.

It kept hitting him.

"I hate you……"

"..."

"I hate myself even more..."

(End of this chapter)