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

"Huh? Is it too hot?" Shen Jie asked in a panic.

"No, no, it's just right," Xiao Yao said. "It's quite comfortable."

This is the truth; compared to the comforting effect of hot water on his feet, Xiao Yao felt even warmer inside.

Washing someone else's feet was clearly a first for the young lady—her hands clumsily stirred the hot water, occasionally grasping Xiao Yao's ankles or soles and rubbing them with her fingers.

"Her hands are so beautiful," Xiao Yao thought.

Although she is not tall, Shen Jie has very long and slender fingers, and it seems a bit of a pity that she doesn't learn to play the piano.

Yu Luying's hands still had calluses, while Shen Jie's were thin and long, slender and delicate, smooth and tender, which fully demonstrated that she was not a working person.

Xiao Yao felt it was a bit of a waste to let such hands wash his feet.

"I'll do it myself..." Xiao Yao said softly.

Shen Jie's fingers were already between Xiao Yao's fingers, rubbing up and down: "Stop, aren't you in pain all over?"

"..." Xiao Yao was filled with mixed feelings and felt a little uneasy: "Wife... thank you, I'm very touched."

Shen Jie smiled and asked, "You're not angry with me anymore?"

"How can I be angry with you when you're like this?" Xiao Yao laughed.

"Look at my apology, isn't it sincere enough?" Shen Jie wiped her hands with a towel and then wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Wife, you must be an angel descended from heaven," Xiao Yao said sincerely.

Shen Jie lifted Xiao Yao's feet and placed them on the edge of the basin, then carefully dried them with a towel: "I know."

"I'll wash you too," Xiao Yao said.

“No,” Shen Jie refused, “You’re definitely up to no good.”

When Xiao Yao put on his slippers, he accidentally stepped on the side of the basin. Shen Jie hurriedly straightened it, but a few water droplets still flew out and landed on Shen Jie's feet, instantly leaving several dark water stains on her skin-colored stockings.

Shen Jie clicked her tongue in displeasure.

Xiao Yao put on his slippers, pulled Shen Jie to sit on the edge of the bed, and sat down on a small stool himself. He lifted Shen Jie's small feet with one hand and took off her socks with the other.

Chapter 89 Sharing a Pillow II

2023-01-22

Shen Jie clicked her tongue in displeasure.

Xiao Yao put on his slippers, pulled Shen Jie to sit on the edge of the bed, and sat down on a small stool himself. He lifted Shen Jie's small feet with one hand and took off her socks with the other.

After thinking for a moment, he withdrew his hand and put his feet and socks into the water.

Instantly, the entire sole of the foot, along with most of the sock, was submerged in the water, with only 2-3 cm of the sock remaining above the surface.

"Are you crazy?!" Shen Jie cursed, trying to kick him with her other foot, but Xiao Yao grabbed her.

After a two-second standoff, Shen Jie reluctantly put her other foot into the basin.

"Wait a minute." Xiao Yao stood up, ran to the soap bar to grab a bar of laundry soap, and then came back.

He first lifted Shen Jie's right foot, placed it on the basin, and carefully lathered the instep with soap.

The socks, soaked through, appeared a deeper color than usual, reflecting a beautiful sheen under the light.

There were a few lighter-colored spots on the girl's instep; those were air bubbles from her socks. As Xiao Yao lathered the soap, he instinctively tried to smooth them out, but they were so stubborn, defending the air from the intrusion of water.

Water dripped from the thickened toes of the girl's socks, some flowing back into the basin, others onto the floor. The soaking wet socks clung tightly to the girl's feet; as Xiao Yao lathered them with soap, he smoothed out some wrinkles, but created new ones in the process.

After lathering the tops of her feet with soap, he lifted Shen Jie's feet up and lathered the soles with soap.

Xiao Yao knew that there were some dark and dirty spots on the front part of her feet, especially near the fifth toe, because she had been walking barefoot on the ground while swinging on the swing.

"Look," Xiao Yao said, holding her feet up so she could see them.

Sure enough, after seeing it, Shen Jie's face flashed with embarrassment: "How annoying!"

Xiao Yao applied two extra layers of soap to the soiled areas, rubbing them between the girl's fingers. The velvet fabric connecting her toes deformed under this rubbing, expanding its elasticity.

After lathering with soap, put her right foot back into the water, then lift her left foot out and repeat the process.

"Okay, I can do it myself," Shen Jie said.

Xiao Yao nodded, watching the girl lift her left foot out of the water. Amidst the waterfall, she reached out and grabbed the edge of her sock, pulling it inside out and tossing it into the basin. Then she did the same with her right foot.

Then, she gently rubbed her two bare feet together.

After the girl finished washing her feet, Xiao Yao carried the plastic basin to the stone pool in the soap room and poured out the water.

“Well…” Shen Jie leaned against the wardrobe, watching Xiao Yao stuff the plastic basin under the bed: “I’m going back to my room. You should get some rest. Mingming, study hard for your exam.”

Xiao Yao straightened up, walked up to Shen Jie, and reached out to grab her shirt sleeve: "Don't leave today...."

"Huh?" Shen Jie was taken aback: "That won't work."

Xiao Yao shook Shen Jie's arm.

"Stop fooling around, stop acting like a little kid," Shen Jie pushed the hand that was clinging to her arm away. "Be more mature, be good."

“No, look,” Xiao Yao said, “I was doing a good deed today and got injured, right? Then you pushed me and I hit my head, right? Although it doesn’t seem like there’s anything seriously wrong now, my head still hurts a bit and I feel dizzy.”

"Thinking about the worst, what if it's a mild concussion? What if there's some internal injury or aftereffects?" Xiao Yao said vividly, "Shouldn't we have a family member stay with us to observe, just to be on the safe side?"

"Are you addicted to this staged accident scam?" Shen Jie laughed in exasperation.

"You must have seen those elderly people living alone, who die and no one notices until two or three months have passed..."

"Alright, alright, stop it," Shen Jie made a stop gesture. "Don't give me that crap. Let me tell you, Shen Tianyun lives next door. If I don't go back, won't the kids laugh at me?"

"What kind of joke are you looking at?" Xiao Yao straightened his back: "She is the joke!"

"?" Shen Jie was confused.

"A joke... the crystallization of..." Xiao Yao thought for a moment, then said, "No, don't you believe me? We've been together before, haven't we?"

“Gouzi, this isn’t about trust.” Shen Jie placed her hands on Xiao Yao’s shoulders earnestly. “Listen to me, I’ve always been a little worried about Tianyun. You know what kids in sports schools are like, right? She used to stay out all night, didn’t she? Aren’t you a scholar? You know about Mencius’ mother moving three times for her son’s education, right? If the two of us… tell me, we’re about the same age, what kind of good example would that set?”

Xiao Yao wasn't entirely convinced, but seeing that Shen Jie was hard to persuade, he compromised: "Alright then... let me kiss you before you leave."

"Get out of here!" Shen Jie said with a smile, "Are you pushing your luck?"

"?"

After Shen Jie left, Xiao Yao tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.

With final exams just around the corner, insomnia at this time is somewhat ominous.

Xiao Yao turned over and lay on his side, unconsciously touching the empty bed beside him with his hand.

Everyone knows the idiom "lonely pillow, hard to sleep," but its origin is unknown.

The Book of Songs says, "A fair maiden, I long for her day and night. I cannot find her, so I yearn for her day and night. Oh, how I long for her, tossing and turning in my bed."

In his poem "Drinking Alone Under the Moon, Part Three," Li Bai wrote, "After getting drunk, I lose all sense of heaven and earth, and fall asleep on my lonely pillow." To reach that state of mind, I'm only missing a can of beer.

Xiao Yao wanted to listen to some music to help him sleep, but then he remembered that Song Haijian had confiscated his Walkman.

Then he started to feel hungry again and regretted not eating enough at the fast food restaurant that night.

In his novel *Fortress Besieged*, Qian Zhongshu wrote that days that seem like having no bread to eat, or nights that seem like sleepless nights, are not as long and difficult as nights of sleeplessness caused by having no bread to eat.

He considered going out for a late-night snack, but he didn't have the energy to move.

At least now I can eat late-night snacks whenever I want, without having to worry about how much money I have. That's a blessing in life.

As for those who live off women or men... well, you can just live off women. It's a skill for a man to be able to live off women; not everyone is qualified for that!

……

……

Lost in thought, I began to feel sleepy—I felt like I was asleep, but also like I wasn't.

I had a dream, but it also feels like I didn't dream at all.

"Clang, clang, clang." The old-fashioned wall clock in the room started ringing, waking Xiao Yao from his light sleep, and then he couldn't fall back asleep.

I'm awake, fully awake, more so than I've ever been in my life.

Then, Xiao Yao saw the dark figure standing in front of the bed. He was terrified, felt a chill in his nose, and almost cried out.

Then, the dark figure reached out and tucked the blanket around Xiao Yao.

Her movements were very gentle. Xiao Yao thought of the nights when he had a fever as a child, and how his mother would gently tuck him in like this.

But why did such a mother ultimately betray her father...? Not only did she betray her father, but she also betrayed...

Shen Jie tucked the blanket around Xiao Yao, but didn't leave immediately. Instead, she squatted down and looked at the boy's face.

Xiao Yao held his breath and squinted to observe secretly.

After watching for about a minute and a half, the girl sighed, tried to stand up while holding onto the edge of the bed, but Xiao Yao grabbed her arm.

This time, it was Shen Jie's turn to be shocked. She let out a soft cry, and Xiao Yao also grabbed her other arm.

"What are you doing—ah."

Xiao Yao used both hands to pull the girl towards him. Shen Jie lost her balance and fell straight onto Xiao Yao.