You're my wife, don't doubt it!

Yu Luying was pushed onto the sofa again by the two people, her hands resting nervously on her knees.

"Brother, take good care of your classmate. I'll go make her some tea!" Shen Tianyun made a move to walk out.

"No, no, I'm not thirsty!" Yu Luying said hurriedly.

“Oh right, brother,” Shen Tianyun turned to Xiao Yao and asked, “Where is your family’s tea canister?”

"I'll go soak, I'll go soak." Xiao Yao understood and ran out.

"I'm Xiao Yao's cousin. I was just looking for something in the closet," Shen Tianyun said, sitting down next to Yu Luying to cover for Xiao Yao.

“Doesn’t he… not have a cousin?” Yu Luying blurted out.

Oh my, you even know that?

"Oh dear, a distant relative, a distant relative."

Yu Luying rubbed her chin, clearly not quite believing it.

"Well, speaking of which," Shen Tianyun changed the subject, "what's your name, sister?"

"My name is Yu Luying," she replied softly after regaining her composure.

"You're Yu Luying?!" Shen Tianyun's almond-shaped eyes widened, and she subconsciously stood up and exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Yu Luying asked, puzzled. "You know me?"

"No...it's nothing..." Realizing her lapse in composure, Shen Tianyun chuckled awkwardly, "Xiao Yao often mentions you."

"Oh." Yu Luying didn't ask, "What did you say about me?"

"Sometimes, I even call your name in my dreams at night!" Shen Tianyun added, as if to say something rather unfortunate.

Yu Luying looked at her in surprise, and Shen Tianyun realized that she had said the wrong thing: Wouldn't saying this make people think that she and Xiao Yao had spent the night together?

In fact, this statement is true—Shen Tianyun had indeed witnessed her parents arguing several times, all because her father called out the name "Yu Luying" while he was sleeping.

Just as she was about to think of a way to smooth things over, a thought struck her: if Xiao Yao were to stay away from this "bad woman," it would be beneficial for both herself and her mother.

Having figured this out, Shen Tianyun said nothing, but instead cast a provocative glance at Yu Luying.

Sure enough, Yu Luying stood up, her face flushed, and said, "I'm going back."

"Won't you sit a little longer?" Shen Tianyun said with a grin.

Just then, Xiao Yao's voice came from the photo booth outside the bedroom door: "My God, what are you doing here?"

Then, his voice was deliberately lowered, but could still be faintly heard: "How did you find this place?"

"I want to see her," a clear, childlike voice said. "Is that alright?"

Xiao Yao's voice: "It's really not convenient today..."

Yu Luying wiped her eyes with her finger: "It's very convenient, let your friend come in." As she spoke, she strode open the bedroom door.

Xiao Yao and a petite, pretty girl looked over in astonishment.

Chapter 10 Grandma

2023-07-31

Xiao Yao's grandmother, Miao Jinfang, not only brought back soy sauce, but also cut two extra pounds of organic black pork.

As it turned out, she was quite prescient, because two more guests arrived at her home.

"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit..." Yu Luying sat at the table, hastily made the sign of the cross on her chest, and softly recited the pre-meal prayer.

"Wow, meat!" The blonde vocational school girl exclaimed as she reached for the braised pork, but Xiao Yao next to her slapped her hand away with his chopsticks: "Wait a minute."

"Oh." The blonde girl pouted. Her name was Shen Tian... Tian something? Oh, Tian Yun.

"Grandma should start eating first, and we should wait until everyone else has finished praying. Do you understand manners?" Xiao Yao said softly.

The way he looked was just like a father teaching a child, Miao Jinfang thought to herself.

To be honest, this child is indeed a bit impolite. When I was making the meat, Yu Luying and another girl surnamed Shen came to the photo room to help, but Shen Tianyun stayed in the room the whole time and didn't come out. I don't know what she was doing.

In stark contrast is the short girl on the right—judging from her clothes and mannerisms, she must be the daughter of a wealthy family.

"Back in the day, I was also the fourth young lady of a landlord's family," Miao Jinfang thought to herself.

"Grandma, you should eat too." Shen Jie said with a smile, waking Miao Jinfang from her reverie.

"Okay, okay, okay." Miao Jinfang beamed with joy.

Since her eldest son and daughter-in-law divorced a year ago, and her eldest son went to work overseas, this eldest grandson has been living with her.

Miao Jinfang knew that he was always a loner and didn't have many male friends, let alone girls. In the first semester of his first year of high school, he became very close to a girl named Yu Luying from the next alley, but by the second semester, they stopped seeing each other. When asked what happened, he would just stammer and give a perfunctory answer.

“Shen…” Miao Jinfang began.

"Shen Jie," Shen Jie reminded her.

"How did you and Yao'er meet?" Miao Jinfang asked with concern.

Miao Jinfang noticed that Shen Jie paused for a moment, then cast a questioning look at her grandson.

"Ah, this..." Xiao Yao was also stunned: "...We met while playing games."

"Are you still spending time in the computer room?" Miao Jinfang's face darkened, then realizing the occasion was inappropriate, she turned to Shen Jie and said, "Of course, it's good to balance work and rest, but the important thing is not to neglect your studies."

"Did you hear me? Study." Shen Jie suppressed a laugh and said to Xiao Yao in a serious tone.

"Study, study." Xiao Yao ate a couple of bites of rice.

"Which school do you go to?" Miao Jinfang asked.

"I'm from No. 7 Girls' High School, and I'm a second-year student."

"Then you're a year older than Yao Yao." Seemingly oblivious to the awkward atmosphere, Miao Jinfang said, "The Seventh Girls' High School is a good school, and Grandma Jin's granddaughter is there too..."

Finally, Miao Jinfang realized she had neglected the other two: "What about you?"

"Huh? Me?" Shen Tianyun wiped her greasy lips with the back of her hand. "I'm from Changqing Sports School, and I'm going into my third year of junior high."

Changqing Sports School? It's better than Beihong Technical School... well, it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

"A sports school?" Before Miao Jinfang could speak, Shen Jie asked incredulously, "Really?"

“Hmm,” Shen Tianyun looked at Shen Jie with a gentle expression: “My mom said that she was very strict with her family when she was a child, so she lets me decide what I want to learn and follow my interests.”

"I see." Shen Jie nodded. "What do you practice?"

“Ride a bicycle.” Shen Tianyun made a gesture of gripping the handlebars with both hands.

The girls started chatting, one after another. Even Yu Luying, who had been engrossed in eating, joined in, finally breaking the awkward situation of Miao Jinfang's one-woman show.

"Senior year of high school, it's not so bad... I'm not taking the college entrance exam, I'm preparing for the IELTS exam now... Where to go... I'll probably go to the United States," Shen Jie said.

"I don't know yet. Either you can go directly to the high school section of the school, or St. Francis' High School seems to have sports specialties? But it's very difficult..." Shen Tianyun rested her chin on her hand.

"A sports talent, that's great, let's try for it," Xiao Yao and Shen Jie, who had been silent all along, said in unison.

“Me? Fudan University.” Yu Luying’s words were concise yet firm, earning her several soft exclamations of admiration.

"So, Xiao Yao needs to work hard too." Yu Luying glanced at Xiao Yao and said slowly, "The final exams are coming up soon, and Teacher Yao asked me to tutor Xiao Yao."

"You've worked so hard, Yingying," Miao Jinfang said, touched.

"Teacher Yao said it was you who took the initiative... Ouch." Xiao Yao asked Yu Luying in a low voice, but before he could finish speaking, he was gently poked in the waist and quickly shut up.

"Oh, tutoring?" Shen Tianyun looked at the ceiling and deliberately dragged out her words: "Some people's boasts have fallen apart."

"What's wrong?" Shen Jie seemed less reserved than before and asked with interest.

"No, I just thought of something fun." Shen Tianyun cleared her throat. "My dad always brags to me about how good his grades were in school, and how he belittled me, saying I could only get into a sports school, blah blah blah..."

Shen Jie put down the cup in her hand, turned her head to the side, sprayed the water in her mouth onto the ground, and then covered her mouth and burst into wild laughter. She laughed so hard that her shoulders were shaking violently.

"Yes...hahahahaha...I'm sorry...I...hahahaha..."

"Ah, it's starting again." Shen Tianyun continued to look at the ceiling.

Unable to stop laughing, Shen Jie took out a handkerchief and bent down to wipe the floor, saying, "Grandma, I'm sorry... cough cough..."

"It's alright," Miao Jinfang quickly said, "Let me handle it!"

Yu Luying took out a pack of tissues, handed it to Shen Jie, and then gently patted her on the back.

Xiao Yao had already stood up halfway, but seeing that Yu Luying was already taking pictures, he awkwardly sat down again.

"So what does your father do for a living now?" Shen Jie asked again, stopping her laughter. The question was directed at Shen Tianyun, but her eyes were fixed on Xiao Yao.

Shen Tianyun leaned to the side: "What else can an adult do? He just goes to work, of course. We can't even see him in person, all he does is make wishes from afar, when will those wishes come true? Let's not talk about him!"

The teenagers' conversation didn't stay focused on their studies and future; soon they turned to discussing recent movies, popular songs, hobbies, and gossip about their respective schools.

“Little girl, you speak Shanghai dialect?” Miao Jinfang suddenly nudged Shen Tianyun’s arm.

“Oh right, you speak Shanghai dialect like the other two, right?” Xiao Yao said. “Grandma can understand Mandarin, but it’s quite difficult for her.”

“Huh? I can’t speak it,” Shen Tianyun said with a troubled expression. “I can only understand the Shanghai dialect.”

Miao Jinfang paused for a moment, then remained silent, simply sitting to the side and listening with a smile.

Strangely enough, although Shen Tianyun had many traits that Miao Jinfang disliked, Miao Jinfang couldn't bring herself to dislike this overly lively and mischievous child.