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

Where's your umbrella?!

"Damn it, you cut your hair this short without even consulting me!" Xiao Yao said angrily.

“Where’s my umbrella! It’s an LV umbrella, it cost several thousand yuan!” Shen Jie said.

"Umbrella, umbrella, damn it..." Xiao Yao held his head, trying hard to remember and think.

Shen Jie was also a little anxious—even for her, it wasn't something worth several thousand yuan that she could just throw away so easily.

"I'll go back and find it!" Xiao Yao slapped his forehead and rushed out.

"Hey, grab another umbrella! It's raining outside!" Shen Jie chased after her.

Xiao Yao ran back to the school and spent a long time talking to the gatekeeper, Uncle Qin, before he was finally able to return to his examination room.

When Xiao Yao saw that his seat was empty, he felt a surge of frustration rising in his throat.

With a "nothing to lose" mentality, the boy checked the rest of the classroom.

When he saw the expensive LV bag, the one Shen Jie cared about so much, piled up on the inside of the podium along with two other old umbrellas printed with colorful advertisements, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, and even slumped down.

Xiao Yao returned home with an umbrella, but he was still soaked to the bone.

Tianyun hadn't returned yet, so Shen Jie got him some dry clothes and had him change in front of the mirror. She then poured hot water and used a towel to wipe his face.

"Look at how forgetful you are. I can't buy you nice things like umbrellas and bags that you don't carry with you anymore," Shen Jie said while wiping Xiao Yao's face.

“Agreed,” Xiao Yao said. “Umbrellas are often disposable for me.”

"How dare you say that?" Shen Jie said reproachfully.

Xiao Yao carefully examined the girl in front of him. She had a short bob haircut, with soft, short hair swaying around her ears. Her slightly sparse bangs were neatly aligned with her eyebrows and remained perfectly still.

Well, she's quite pretty, just like the girl he liked in junior high, she has the feel of first love, you could say she has a unique charm—but Xiao Yao thinks it's a matter of attitude.

"Why didn't you tell me you were getting a haircut?" he asked her in as calm a tone as possible.

"Oh, I didn't think that much about it." Shen Jie washed the towel in the plastic basin, then ran to the soap rack and hung it up. "It's too inconvenient to wash my hair here, and it's so hot, so I just got a haircut. I didn't expect you to control my hair after controlling my feet?"

"You, I... that body is..." Xiao Yao was speechless for a moment.

"What are you trying to say? Our bodies and hair are gifts from our parents, how can we abandon them so easily? Are you my dad? My parents don't care when I cut my hair, but you want to interfere?" Shen Jie finished hanging up the towel and came back to continue teasing.

“We are boyfriend and girlfriend. Even just politely informing each other and discussing it is a form of respect.”

"Who said we're boyfriend and girlfriend?" Shen Jie retorted casually, clearly annoyed.

"What else could we be but boyfriend and girlfriend?" Xiao Yao's voice trembled slightly, perhaps because he hadn't dried himself off properly.

"We are...we are engaged." Seeing that Xiao Yao was about to get angry, Shen Jie went up and hugged him, resting her head on his shoulder.

Hearing Shen Jie say "engaged couple," and that it was the first time she had taken the initiative to hug him, Xiao Yao couldn't stay angry: "What are you doing?"

There's something strange about him.

"You're being affectionate," Shen Jie continued, nuzzling his shoulder. "Shouldn't it be like this?"

"..." Xiao Yao almost burst out laughing: "I thought you were shaking your head at me."

"Okay, okay, I was wrong," Shen Jie said softly. "I didn't have this concept in my mind before, but I'll definitely ask you first next time I do. You like long hair, so I'll start growing it out again, okay? Or should I get hair extensions?"

"Oh well, short hair is kind of cute." Xiao Yao sighed, having no choice but to accept reality: "What are we having for dinner?"

"Oh..." Shen Jie thought for a moment, "Shall I make you some noodles?"

"You can do that too? I don't believe it," Xiao Yao said, shaking his head.

"Instant noodles will still be made," Shen Jie said with a smile. "Didn't expect that, did you?"

"...Alright."

……

The instant noodles that Shen Jie cooked... were actually not bad.

The taste was decent, not too bad.

They even thoughtfully included two eggs.

Kangshifu Braised Beef Noodles, this is the taste you get, delicious and you can see it!

"Thank you, honey." Xiao Yao clasped his hands together, exaggeratedly sniffing the steam rising from the instant noodles: "What are you eating?"

"I'll go down again," Shen Jie said, taking out another pack of Kangshifu Shrimp and Fish Cake Noodles. "I prefer this."

"Shall I cook for you tomorrow?" Xiao Yao said.

"Pfft," Shen Jie laughed, "Are we just going to live on instant noodles every day?"

“When I was little,” Xiao Yao put half an egg into his mouth, “my mom would cook noodles for me every time I had an exam, and she always had to put two eggs in them, which meant I would get 100 points.”

"What does this have to do with getting 100 points?" Shen Jie asked, puzzled.

“Noodles are 1, and eggs are 0.” Xiao Yao made a “0” gesture: “I remember it very clearly, back then the TV commercials were on every day, two eggs for a pack of Zhongcui noodles!”

“I also remember this advertisement.” Shen Jie sat down at the table, holding the packet of seafood noodles in her hand, and rested her chin on her hand. “But it seems like I haven’t seen this brand in a long time?”

“Yes, that’s why I really miss that taste now.” Xiao Yao recalled, “The first time I ate Zhongcui noodles when I was a child, the taste was amazing.”

As Xiao Yao ate his noodles, the two fell into a brief silence, both thinking about the same thing: what they missed was Zhongcui noodles, or the taste of their mother's cooking?

Shen Jie rested her chin on her hand, looking at Xiao Yao, and listening to the "slurping" sound, she suddenly reached out and hit him again.

"What are you doing?" Xiao Yao said angrily, "How many times have I told you, stop banging and hitting all the time."

"Don't make noise while eating noodles," Shen Jie said with a smile. "Christians should be as elegant as kings."

"I'm not a Christian?"

“But it has to be elegant.” Shen Jie stood up with her seafood noodles in her hand. “Alright, I’m not going to argue with you anymore. I’m going to cook some noodles too.”

As the girl walked toward the photo booth, she wondered to herself why she had blurted out Brother Bo's line.

This guy, Brother Bo... seems to possess some kind of indescribable spiritual power that influences others.

Lost in thought, Shen Jie casually struck a match and lit the gas stove.

They're already quite skilled at it; their survival and adaptability are quite strong...

After finishing their noodles, Xiao Yao, as usual, piled the two bowls in the sink between the soap dishes, saving them to wash together the next day.

"Alright, hurry up and do your homework," Shen Jie urged.

"What homework? Exams are coming up and there's no homework." Xiao Yao rolled his eyes.

"Then you should hurry up and start reviewing."

"I'm confident, I'm confident."

"...What are you talking about?" Shen Jie thought to herself, "Oh no, why is my way of speaking starting to sound like this kid's?"

"Hey, haven't you heard of the importance of balancing work and rest?" Xiao Yao said. "Did you study the night before the exam? Cramming at the last minute? Of course you need to relax and get into a good state of mind, that's the most important thing."

"Alright, alright, relax and go to sleep as you please," Shen Jie raised her hands in surrender, "just don't disturb my vocabulary memorization."

"...Play with me for a while."

"...Hehe." Shen Jie wasn't surprised by this request: "What kind of games? How about I go to the internet cafe with you to play games today?"

Going to an internet cafe to play games is a very attractive suggestion, Xiao Yao thought.

But there are things he wants to do even more.

Xiao Yao cleared a space from the mountain of clutter on the sofa, just big enough for two people to sit down: "Come read a magazine with me."

"Huh? You need someone to read magazines with you? And tell you bedtime stories?" Shen Jie facepalmed. "What magazine? Sci-Fi Emperor?"

"Poetry Journal?" Xiao Yao took out the magazine that only two people in the whole school subscribed to.

Shen Jie frowned in pain and groaned.

"Have you ever read modern poetry before?" Xiao Yao asked, holding the magazine in his hand with a delighted expression.

“I know a little about Baudelaire and Shelley, but I’m really not interested. It feels like an essay with a few extra enter keys,” Shen Jie pointed out, her eyes wide and bewildered.

“Hey, don’t be prejudiced and just follow the crowd,” Xiao Yao advised. “Try to try to feel things more carefully and understand my inner world from time to time.”

Shen Jie placed one leg on the knee of the other and leaned forward slightly, earnestly saying, "Then read to me and see if you can convey your spirit."

Xiao Yao thought for a moment, and realized that if the goal was to promote something, then the highest quality works should be presented. He put down the Poetry Journal he was holding and rummaged through the two drawers in the dresser that served as a bookshelf, and pulled out two copies of "The Poetic Essence of Humanity - A Reader of Lyrical Poems about Life," with the subtitle "Youth Reading Class * Essential Reading for the New Curriculum Standards of Quality Education."

He borrowed it from the library of St. Francis High School, but for some reason, it's his now.

Shen Jie took out her phone and started playing soothing, lyrical music: "Please, my great poet."

Xiao Yao flipped through the book in his hand, hesitating for a moment, unsure which chapter to read: "Your phone can play music too?"

“It’s a music phone. Have you chosen one yet? Don’t overthink it,” Shen Jie stood up, walked over to him, and without even looking at it, turned to a page for him: “This one.”

“Okay,” Xiao Yao cleared his throat and began to recite.

"Hmph! Be smarter..."

"Does this poem begin with 'Ah-heng'?" Shen Jie interrupted him curiously.

"No, stop causing trouble." Xiao Yao continued reading, "Be smart, give the world back to me, let me go find adventure."

"I've seen married men, I've seen decently married men, sitting comfortably by the fireplace, it's disgusting."