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

The phone rang again. Yu Luying picked it up, flipped it open, and moved her hand to the answer button.

Just then, the door was opened with a "click".

It's mom who's back!

Yu Luying instinctively turned off the phone, silenced it, and hid it behind her back in one swift motion.

"Yingying," Yu's mother called from outside the door, "Come quickly and help Mom get your things."

"Coming!" Yu Luying shouted, kneeling on the ground and sticking her buttocks out, pulling her slippers out from under the bed.

"Why are you taking so long..." Yu's mother muttered as she entered the room, "Could you help me get the groceries?"

She turned her head and saw that her daughter's hair was standing on end, her body was slightly curled up, and her feet were dangling a few centimeters off the ground, as if she were being lifted by an invisible hand.

The screams of the mother and daughter filled the entire hallway.

--split line--

"Are you alright?" Shen Jie asked with concern, noticing Xiao Yao's pale face.

“I’m fine, it’s nothing, it’s just a drop in the ocean,” Xiao Yao said, his voice trembling.

"He really is a show-off," Shen Jie thought.

"Hey, is this your first time riding a roller coaster?"

"Actually... yes." Xiao Yao thought for a moment and admitted, "I went to kindergarten, primary school and junior high school in other places. I don't think we have this kind of thing where I'm from."

"Ah," Shen Jie said, somewhat surprised, "You're not a local?"

“My parents are,” Xiao Yao explained, “both of them were sent-down youth who eventually settled and worked in Gangbo. I was among the last batch of children of sent-down youth to return to their hometowns, and I even got an extra 12 points on my high school entrance exam.”

"That's great," Shen Jie replied casually. "So, what about your parents? Did they go back to Shanghai too?"

“No…they got divorced.” Xiao Yao’s tone was somewhat somber. “Then they each remarried. I live with my grandmother now.”

"I'm very sorry……"

"There's nothing to apologize for."

The tandem bicycle had been returned, and the boy and girl walked side by side along the path in the forest park. Xiao Yao had one hand in his pocket, while Shen Jie had her hands behind her back.

“When I first came to Shanghai, I was not used to it at all,” Xiao Yao recalled. “I had no classmates or friends from the past. I felt like a stranger in a strange land, and I was very lonely.”

"You'll get used to it soon, and you'll have a new circle of friends," Shen Jie said.

"That's what I thought at first too... but I just don't fit in with everything here."

"how to say?"

"High schools here let out at 4 p.m., there are no evening self-study sessions, weekends off, and less homework... I told my classmates, 'How come high school is easier than junior high?' and they looked at me like I was an alien. They said junior high was much easier, okay?"

"Then, isn't this a good thing?"

"It's clearly a key middle school in the district, but the grade director openly encouraged everyone to date at the grade assembly. I was extremely surprised at the time, but the people around me seemed to take it for granted..." Xiao Yao said.

Shen Jie hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "So, you prefer someone who's a bit stricter?"

"No, not really..." Xiao Yao scratched his head. "Maybe I'm just the kind of person who's better suited to being strictly controlled?"

"I can understand it, yet I can't," Shen Jie said, tilting her head as she thought for a moment.

“I can’t make any friends here,” Xiao Yao said, sitting down on a wooden bench by the roadside. “I don’t go home after school. I always like to linger at school until the gatekeeper kicks me out… I just hope to run into a few classmates who are leaving late and chat with them, boys or girls, it doesn’t matter.”

"It's okay, I'll be your friend from now on." Shen Jie took out a small pack of wet wipes, wiped the bench, and sat down next to Xiao Yao.

“Friends?” Xiao Yao glanced at her, feeling that it wasn’t the time to dwell on that word: “As for me, I always try to strike up conversations with my classmates, wanting to participate in their conversations or activities. Even though I don’t have any money, I always treat them to meals, and in the end, I’m ostracized by the whole class.”

"Why?" Shen Jie asked in surprise.

“I don’t know,” Xiao Yao said, his expression tinged with sadness. “How would I know?”

Shen Jie reached out and touched Xiao Yao's upper arm a few times.

“There was a girl who I treated to dinner the week before, but the week after she found out I was being ostracized, she would roll her eyes at me whenever I spoke to her.” Xiao Yao continued, “There was even one time after school when a boy openly mocked and insulted me in front of seven or eight students who stayed behind, and the others just sat there like they were deaf.”

Shen Jie didn't say anything more, she just listened quietly.

"My blood was boiling, and I was about to punch him, but Yu Luying stepped in and told the boy to shut up." Xiao Yao smiled. "Otherwise, I probably would have been disciplined for fighting already, right?"

“If it were me, I would beat him up for you.” Shen Jie cracked her knuckles, making a distinct sound.

“Thank you,” Xiao Yao said. “That’s what Ouyang Qianqian said too—she’s my god-sister.”

“At least you have two good friends in your class, don’t you?” Shen Jie reminded her.

"Well, later I got very close to them, especially Yu Luying, because she and I were both key members of the poetry club. Later on, many people assumed that we were a couple..." A look of happiness appeared on Xiao Yao's face.

"Poetry club?" Shen Jie didn't understand.

“Poetry, modern poetry,” Xiao Yao explained. “The night gave me black eyes, but I use them to seek the light.”

"The person who said that eventually killed his wife and then committed suicide." A flash of displeasure crossed Shen Jie's face, which was then replaced by a smile.

Xiao Yao was taken aback: "Don't worry, I won't."

Shen Jie calmly pushed his hand off her shoulder: "What does this have to do with me? You can continue with your story."

Chapter 17 Uncle

"Yingying, here's your favorite crab shell pastry, freshly baked at Xinghualou."

A tall, slender man placed the snacks on the Yu family's coffee table, turned around, opened the refrigerator, took out two cans of beer, and then sat on the sofa, loudly pulling open the buckle.

"Come on in, why bother buying snacks? Wait for me a minute." Yu's mother's voice came from the communal photo booth downstairs.

"Sis, I'm skipping dinner. Tell me quickly if you need anything, there's a parish meeting later."

The man was around thirty years old, wearing a faded T-shirt, khaki shorts, and plastic sandals. His right leg was crossed over his left knee, and he was digging vigorously with his hands.

"You're drinking when there's a meeting?" Yu's mother placed two plates of food on the coffee table.

The man tilted his head back and downed his beer in one gulp, then slammed the can on the table: "What kind of life is it if a person doesn't have alcohol?"

"Nonsense!" Yu's mother commented.

“This is what the Bible says,” the man said, standing up with a grin, “Sirach 31:33.”

His face was sculpted with distinct features and sharp angles. His face, which should have been exceptionally handsome, was covered in stubble and reeked of alcohol.

Although he appears unrestrained and unconventional, the sharp glint in his eyes beneath his sword-like eyebrows is not to be underestimated—if you look closely, you will find that he and Yu Luying look three parts alike.

“Taking things out of context and misinterpreting the scriptures,” Yu’s mother reached out and tapped the man’s forehead, pressing him back onto the sofa. “Look at the state you’re in now! You don’t look like a priest at all! If Bishop Jin sees this…”

"Sister, stop nagging," the man shook his head helplessly, "If you have something to say, say it; if not, back off...?"

"Yingying, come here and tell your uncle everything that's happened to you recently," Yu's mother called to Yu Luying, who was sitting in the corner lost in thought.

"Ah, okay..." The girl came to her senses: "Uncle, it's like this..."

……

Father Yu's brows furrowed more and more as he listened: "Have you been to the hospital?"

“We went twice,” said Yu’s mother, “but they couldn’t find anything wrong with us.”

"Did you go to the neurology department?" Father Yu held up one finger. "Is it possible that it's epilepsy?"

"You're the one who's crazy!" Yu's mother retorted. "Yingying is probably possessed, which is why I was thinking of finding you, an expert, to exorcise her."

“No,” Yu Luying said helplessly, “Mom, it’s the 21st century. We should believe in science and not be so superstitious. You’re a university professor, a highly educated intellectual, and you’re saying I’m obsessed right away? What’s going on?”

"Superstition? Exorcism is superstition?" Yu's mother slammed her hand on the table and said angrily, "Yu Bo, listen to this! She talks like this to your face?"

“The Vatican is indeed being extremely cautious about exorcisms these days.” Father Yu opened another can of beer.

Yu's mother said, "I understand. First, we need to go through a proper medical institution to rule out any possibility of mental illness. Then, we need the approval of the bishop of this diocese. Don't you know Bishop Aragin? He hates this kind of thing the most..."

Father Yu raised his eyebrows and gave him a look that said, "Isn't that settled?"

"If you don't tell Bishop Jin behind closed doors, how will he know? What else do you suggest we do?" Yu's mother said irritably. "She's my only daughter, Yingying is my life. As her uncle, are you just going to watch your niece suffer?"

"Alright, let me think of a way." Father Yu downed his beer in one gulp again.

“Dr. Huang from our church seems to be an expert in neurology,” he said, standing up. “I’ll see him tomorrow, Sunday, and ask him to take a look at Yingying.”

"Forget Sunday, call now." Yu's mother pushed him back onto the sofa and slammed her phone on the table.

--split line--

After Shen Jie finished aiming, she released her left hand and heard a crisp twang of the bowstring. The arrow flew out with a "whoosh" and hit... well, the edge of the target. The fletching of the arrow was still trembling slightly.

"What's wrong with you?" Xiao Yao noticed Shen Jie hiss.

"It's nothing." Shen Jie turned to the side and rubbed her chest where the bowstring had struck her. "It's your turn."

Xiao Yao took the longbow from Shen Jie's hand, and the archery range owner came forward to teach Xiao Yao the basic bow-holding posture.

"Actually, I practiced this when I was a kid, but I didn't have much talent for it, and I haven't done it for many years." Shen Jie said, swinging her arms.

"Shen Jie, I feel like you can do everything!" Xiao Yao said enviously.

“When I was little, I loved to be mischievous and play with boys,” Shen Jie laughed. “Later, my father sent me to learn these things: horseback riding, archery, fencing, karate…”