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

2023-07-31

The weather was nice, cloudy turning partly cloudy, and the temperature was just over 20 degrees Celsius. At the end of June, it was undoubtedly the last restraint before the sweltering heat was about to erupt.

Yu Luying, Shen Jie, and Xiao Yao walked together toward the bus stop. Xiao Yao had his hands in his pockets, Shen Jie had a smile on her lips, and Xiao Yao looked around, his forehead slightly sweaty. Yu Luying hid her expression with the brim of her hat, but her eyes would occasionally sweep over the two of them. Sometimes her eyes would meet Xiao Yao's, and she would quickly look away.

Actually, Shen Jie initially refused when Yu Luying suggested coming along. She felt... well... you can't just let her go because she wants to. First, what would it look like if she came along while we were taking wedding photos? Second, Yu Luying's status was rather special; in Shen Jie's eyes, she was practically a half-ex-girlfriend...

However, Yu Luying explained that she had always wanted to have a wedding photoshoot done by herself, so she wanted to take this opportunity to have Shen Jie show her the way and do a site visit.

In the end, Shen Jie had no choice but to agree.

At this moment, the three people were walking side by side on the sidewalk, with Xiao Yao on the inside, Yu Luying on the outside, and Shen Jie in the middle.

Shen Jie wore a pale yellow long dress embroidered with white magnolias, with a pair of white canvas shoes underneath. When she walked, the skirt fluttered, and you could see the top of her skin-colored socks. This style of dressing was not very fashionable in Shanghai in 2004, but under Shen Jie's youth and beauty, it still shone brightly.

Yu Luying wore a black baseball cap, cropped jeans, and youthful-looking sheer silk socks, along with a pair of old-fashioned but impeccably clean white sneakers.

Walking alongside two dazzlingly beautiful young women, Xiao Yao could clearly feel the envious and jealous gazes of passersby, especially the male passersby.

The idea of ​​taking the bus came from Yu Luying, who was watching them eat at "Hujian Qianlixiang Wonton". She said she knew of a special bus line to Qingpu that took the elevated road and wouldn't be much slower than taking a taxi.

Xiao Yao thought to himself, slightly uneasy, "You clearly said before that you wanted Shen Jie to show you the way."

Shen Jie initially refused Yu Luying's suggestion. She felt... well... you can't just say you want to take the bus and expect me to immediately take the bus; first, I have to try it out...

Okay, let's give it a try.

Life is about various experiences, and it's better not to be on the road, with three people crammed together in a small, enclosed space, staring at each other.

“I have a habit of taking the bus whenever I arrive in a new city. Only in such a small space can I quickly appreciate the unique scenery and culture of each city. Sometimes I like to sit by the window and watch the passing cars and people, as well as the crisscrossing shadows of trees and roads,” Yu Luying explained. “Other times I like to stand in the middle, next to the elderly people who have just finished grocery shopping and are on their way home, listening to them chat about their interesting experiences. Although the people on the bus are strangers, they are often kind and tolerant, allowing you to see a vibrant life and real people.”

Hearing these pretentious remarks, Shen Jie suddenly didn't want to take the bus anymore, because Xiao Yao had said almost the exact same thing to her before.

You two are playing along, aren't you?

However, since she had already agreed, it wasn't easy to go back on her word. Shen Jie recalled that in all the years she could remember, she couldn't say she had never ridden a bus before, but this seemed to be the first time she had ever ridden a bus in Shanghai.

The "Hongqing Line" was a typical bus in Shanghai, a common sight in 2004. At that time, the "trolleybuses" of the last century had been largely phased out, and electric buses had not yet appeared, so they ran on diesel fuel.

There weren't many people on the bus. As soon as Shen Jie got on, she smelled diesel fuel. She frowned unhappily, and her nostrils twitched slightly.

She initially chose a seat in the last row, but Xiao Yao reminded her that it would be very bumpy, so she changed to a window seat in the middle-rear left-hand double seat.

Before sitting down, the girl took out a tissue she carried with her and carefully wiped the chair surface.

This petit-bourgeois affectation disgusted Xiao Yao, but he chose to…

"I'll do it, I'll do it, give it to me."

"No need, no need, get up, I'll wipe your bottom too."

Yu Luying did not sit with them, but chose to sit in the row of seats facing right in front of her.

"Luying," Shen Jie looked up and greeted, "Come sit here."

"No need, no need." Yu Luying waved her hand, refusing Shen Jie's feigned politeness, and took out her Walkman, plugging in the earphones.

If it weren't for the limitation of symbiotic distance, she wouldn't have wanted to wade into this mess. Now that the risks have been eliminated, she just needs to maintain the status quo—she doesn't want to be a clingy third wheel, as that would hurt her self-esteem.

In this era, Shanghai's buses are basically coin-operated plus a bus card system, but these long-distance buses that cross districts still retain the job of ticket sellers.

"Where to?" The middle-aged woman in her forties walked up to Yu Luying with a bus card scanner in hand.

“The finish line.” Yu Luying started reaching into her pocket.

"Seven yuan," the ticket seller said.

Yu Luying handed over a brand-new twenty-yuan note and a one-yuan coin, then pointed to Xiao Yao and Shen Jie.

The car started slowly, and the afternoon sun suddenly peeked out from behind the thick clouds, its rays shining directly on Shen Jie's face.

"Honey, how about we switch?" Xiao Yao whispered. "To keep warm."

"Mmm," Shen Jie said, making a disapproving sound through her nose. "It's quite warm."

What was it like taking the bus for the first time?

As soon as Xiao Yao asked the question, the female driver slammed on the brakes, and the two of them lurched forward, nearly crashing into the back of the front seat.

"It's quite fun," Shen Jie said with a smile after thinking for a moment.

“I still miss the trams from my childhood,” Xiao Yao recalled. “Have you ever seen them? They had two long braids, trailing overhead power lines, two carriages, and a rotating disc in the middle…”

"Nonsense, do you think I'm the only native Shanghainese? Do you really think I never go out?" Shen Jie retorted, "I've ridden in there once."

"Huh? Didn't you just say it was your first time riding a bus in Shanghai..."

"When you mention trams, I remember that my mom took me on one when I was little, just for fun." Shen Jie's gaze softened when she mentioned her mother.

"Hmm...it's a pity they're all gone now," Xiao Yao said regretfully.

"Didn't you only come to Shanghai a year ago?" Shen Jie asked him.

“Oh, sometimes I would come to Shanghai to stay at my grandma’s house during summer vacation, and I would also usually come to Shanghai to celebrate the Chinese New Year during winter vacation,” Xiao Yao smiled as he recalled his childhood, revealing a dimple on one side of his face: “Back then, my favorite thing to do was to come to Shanghai for the Chinese New Year.”

"I had to get up at 6 a.m. to take a minibus to Nantong, then catch the 10 a.m. boat, which sailed south along the Changjiang River. At 6 p.m., we entered the Huangjiang River, and then the ship's horn sounded. Everyone rushed out of the cabin to the deck to see the Pearl of the Orient. My dad would lift me up to look at it..."

"Finally, the boat will stop at Shiwupu Wharf, where Grandma will meet us," Xiao Yao said happily. "Unfortunately, since the XX Bridge was built, there haven't been any passenger boats like this anymore."

Shen Jie reached out and touched Xiao Yao's head, and Yu Luying subconsciously turned her head to glance at her.

“I have a cousin, a male cousin, and a female cousin. Every Spring Festival, the four of us would play together,” Xiao Yao continued reminiscing. “We would play with fireworks, firecrackers, and other firecrackers in the alley, and we would also receive a lot of lucky money… But every time, my parents would say they would keep it for me and then take away most of it.”

"Huh? You get your New Year's money back?" The girl yawned and quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

"Isn't it boring to talk about these things?" Xiao Yao chuckled.

"No, no," Shen Jie said, "I just didn't sleep well last night."

"Didn't you sleep well?" Xiao Yao suddenly remembered something: "By the way, do I snore when I sleep?"

"You didn't hit me much, did you?" Shen Jie recalled, "But you would steal the blanket, and sometimes you would kick me, which was really annoying."

"Oh, really?" Xiao Yao laughed.

A gentleman wearing reading glasses turned his head, pulled his glasses down a bit, and then turned back.

Shen Jie nudged Xiao Yao, made a "shh" gesture, and her face was flushed.

The girl looked really sleepy. She took Xiao Yao's hand, rested her head against the car window, and closed her eyes.

After a while, seemingly feeling uncomfortable with the constantly vibrating car window, she rested her head on Xiao Yao's shoulder again.

Xiao Yao wanted to pull the girl into his arms, but Yu Luying was sitting to his right, and it seemed a bit impolite of him to act as if no one else was around.

He could ignore the stares of passersby, but once he put himself in Yu Luying's shoes, he couldn't help but care about her feelings, so he kept his body very straight.

A clear guitar melody flowed into Xiao Yao's ears. It sounded familiar; it must be a song Xiao Yao had heard before.

The sunshine is warm, shining into my heart. Without you, how could I be where I am today?

Ah, right, Xu Wei's "An Unforgettable Day," the title sounds a bit like a primary school student's composition, and Xiao Yao likes that style.

Sometimes I think of the stories we shared, those scenes flashing through my mind, sweet yet bittersweet.

Han Han's second novel was originally titled "A Little Thing That Was Unforgettable," but the publisher changed the title to "Like a Teenager Flying." This is one of Xiao Yao's favorite novels.

"Walking through familiar places again, I wonder where you are now. The warmth you once gave me still lingers in my heart."

Xiao Yao initially thought it was music playing on the bus, but then, finding the sound faint, he doubted it was just his imagination. Finally, he realized it was probably a song Yu Luying was listening to with her Walkman headphones. "If I see you again, what will it be like? Will I hold you in my arms again…?"

Xiao Yao gently stroked Shen Jie's dog head—uh, cat head—and involuntarily looked at Yu Luying.

The slender girl sat on the side of the seat, holding the handrail with her right hand, her eyes gazing thoughtfully at the scenery passing by outside the window.

Yu Luying was sitting near the front wheel of the bus, which was particularly high. Her two small feet, encased in pretty silk socks and white sneakers, dangled down and swayed gently.

Xiao Yao remembered that Yu Luying's shoe size was 36—they had never discussed such matters, but because of their symbiotic relationship, Xiao Yao inexplicably knew. As a girl who was nearly 1.7 meters tall, such a shoe size was really not enough for her, so Yu Luying always had an unstable center of gravity when walking and was prone to stumbling and bumping into things.

Compared to Shen Jie, Yu Luying's breasts weren't particularly large. She had a naturally oval face, and her short ponytail allowed her long neck to be admired from every angle. Even without her school uniform, she was instantly recognizable as a middle school student. Her skin was snow-white, and even when she smiled, there was an unyielding melancholy in her eyes…

Wait, why is she laughing all of a sudden? Even her row of white, even teeth are showing.

"The sunshine is warm, shining into my heart. The past is far away, year after year..."

This reminded Xiao Yao of the first semester of his first year of high school, when the poetry club had its first activity. Yu Luying was also sitting alone by the window, not talking to the other students, just like this, resting her chin on her hand and looking out the window.

She was quiet and lonely that day.

At that time, she smiled for no reason, and it looked very beautiful.

"On this day, unexpectedly, in the crowded street, you walked past me, your blue dress fluttering in the wind, your face warm in the sunset, you were more beautiful than before, like a blooming flower..."

……

"Doggy..." After an unknown amount of time, the heavy burden on his shoulders suddenly eased: "Ah, where are we? Where are we? Aren't we there yet? How long have I been asleep?"

The short, baby-faced girl spoke somewhat unclearly, her eyes glazed over.

"I don't know," Xiao Yao shifted his position, stretching his stiff and sore arms. "Aren't we almost there? We're about to get off the highway."

"I hate taking the bus." Shen Jie came to a basic conclusion: "Ugh, my legs are numb."

"Daddy will rub it for you." Xiao Yao bent down to the left.

"No, you're just trying to take this opportunity to touch my feet, take your hand away!"

"You're sleeping so soundly, it's annoying. Have you ever thought about how I feel, not daring to move a muscle for fear of waking you up?" Xiao Yao sat up straight again, glancing at Yu Luying out of the corner of his eye, and noticed that she was also rubbing her shoulders.