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

As a result, no one came out of it.

Xiao Yao felt a wave of disappointment.

Around 4 a.m., Shen Jie really came out of the kitchen cabinet, but she didn't look at Xiao Yao once, nor did she cover him with a blanket. She just took her phone and went straight to the photo room.

Xiao Yao wanted to go to the photo room to talk to her, but then he remembered her request to "give me some space".

Finally, he fell into a deep sleep.

When he woke up, the sky was already turning light, the wind and rain had stopped, and some unknown birds began to sing outside the window.

Xiao Yao initially thought that Shen Jie coming out of the closet at night and going to the photo room was just a dream.

But now, in the soft morning light, Shen Jie has truly stepped out of the closet.

She was wearing the junior high school uniform and trousers I'd borrowed for her the night before, a red scarf around her neck, and short cotton socks of indistinct color. She was walking barefoot, carrying a pair of black and white sneakers with cushioned soles. She wore a large face mask, and her baseball cap was pulled low over her shoulders, making her look like a spy from a spy drama.

As the girl passed by the boy's bedside, Xiao Yao propped his head up, nimbly reached out and grabbed Shen Jie's arm, then drew a question mark in the air with the index finger of his other hand.

Shen Jie pulled her arm away, threw her sneakers on the ground with two "thuds," squatted down, and started putting on her shoes.

"I'm going out, don't overthink it."

"Where are you going?" Xiao Yao asked, his voice a little hoarse.

"Morning run," Shen Jie replied succinctly. "Go back to sleep."

Xiao Yao suddenly remembered that during past summer vacations, his mother would also leave for work while he was still sleeping in.

The boy wanted to ask her, "Will you come back?", but ultimately held back.

"I'm not running away, okay?" Shen Jie noticed what Xiao Yao was struggling with and reached out to ruffle his hair. "My things are still here."

"I'm thirsty." Xiao Yao licked his lips, which were cracked from thirst.

Shen Jie seemed not to hear and went straight to the photo room.

Then, Xiao Yao heard the sound of a thermos being poured.

Half a minute later, he saw a pretty young girl wearing a mask, her beautiful eyes showing, holding a ceramic bowl in her hand, standing straight by the bed, pulling her mask down a little and gently blowing into the bowl.

Then, he pulled up his mask and handed the bowl to Xiao Yao without saying a word.

Xiao Yao felt a surge of warmth in his heart, and quickly looked up to take a small sip of the overnight boiled water in his bowl.

He had only taken two sips when the bowl was snatched from his lips: "Where do you get the nerve? Hold it yourself."

"Oh." Xiao Yao obediently took the bowl from the girl's hands.

"Slow down, don't burn yourself," the girl said, her voice still cold.

Xiao Yao finished his water and nodded, saying, "Thank you."

Shen Jie took the bowl from the boy's hand and placed it on the dining table.

"I think I have a cold, feel me."

After a while, the girl came over and touched the boy's forehead with the back of her hand: "You don't have a fever. Drink some water and go to sleep. You'll feel better after you sweat it out."

Xiao Yao still vividly remembered Shen Jie's attitude from yesterday, so he dared not try to be clever again, nor did he dare to tell her not to go out. He could only tell her to be careful outside and come back early.

The only response he received was the wind created when Shen Jie closed the door.

Listen to the wind howling through the silence, resign yourself to fate and while away the time...

As time went by after Shen Jie left, the uneasy feeling that "she will never come back" grew stronger.

I should have insisted on following along. It's just a morning run, I wanted to go for a morning run too.

I clearly promised you I'd follow you wherever you go, but now my ability to actually do it has really become terrible.

In a daze, I had a dream in which Shen Jie came back and brought him pan-fried buns for breakfast.

I was awakened from this dream by the urgent ringing of a telephone.

"Xiao Yao! Where are you? What's going on between you and Shen Jie?" It was Yu Luying, and her voice sounded very anxious.

"...I'm at home, it's hard to explain in just a few words." Xiao Yao was unsure whether he should say too much to Yu Luying.

"Then hurry up and come to my uncle's place. I'll be waiting for you here." Yu Luying rarely spoke in such a commanding tone, which immediately cleared Xiao Yao's mind.

"What happened? Did Shen Jie go looking for you?"

"She came to see my uncle, and she wanted to talk to him behind my back. I think I overheard her saying something from outside the door: 'I'll take care of the person causing your problems.'"

"what?!"

Although there was no wind in the room, Xiao Yao still shivered.

My dear wife, you wouldn't be so desperate as to take such a risk for me, would you?

Calm down, calm down!

Chapter 136 Twin Flowers

2023-03-16

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Yao coughed as he got out of bed, hurriedly put on his clothes and pants, slipped on the AJ basketball shoes Shen Jie had bought for him, and rushed out the door.

When I got downstairs, I realized that my bicycle was not there. It took me a while to realize that I had ridden my bicycle to school yesterday, but ended up walking back with Yu Luying.

Wooden rules had no choice but to run in the morning sun.

By the time Xiao Yao reached the gate of St. Francis Secondary School, he was completely out of breath.

It seems I really lack physical exercise, Xiao Yao thought.

In the dim morning light, the school gate appeared gloomy and lifeless.

After running all this way, Xiao Yao was finally able to shake off the nervous state he had been in the previous night.

His mind is now filled with absurd speculations about Shen Jie's concept of "the person who solves problems."

He regretted his dejection last night—a real man should deal with problems one by one, whether it was his relationship with Shen Jie or things at school.

Facing the school gate, Xiao Yao took a deep breath, then turned right and around on the spot.

The Sacred Heart Church was originally built in 1870 as a small chapel, primarily to meet the needs of Portuguese sailors and foreign residents. It was expanded in 1874 and completed in 1876, opening to the public in the Spanish architectural style. During the "Ten Years" (a period of intense political upheaval in China), the church was demolished. In 1982, the Shanghai Diocese converted the former club auditorium on the south side of the original site into the Sacred Heart Church, resuming its activities.

For students at St. Francis Secondary School, Sacred Heart Church is a familiar, landmark building, but naturally, not many people actually set foot inside.

A string of lantern-shaped plaques hangs at the entrance of this small church. They are vertical and have the three large characters "天" (Heaven), "主" (Lord), and "堂" (Church) shining on them in a very rustic and ugly clerical script. In the dark night, they are a beacon of light in the darkness, but they have a strong barbershop vibe.

He thought Yu Luying would be waiting for him at the door, but she wasn't there.

Xiao Yao was already quite familiar with this place, so he went straight in through the side door.

Today is Saturday, and there are many more people in the church than on Mondays through Fridays. It looks like Mass has just ended, and the crowd is slowly dispersing.

Yu Luying seemed to have mentioned that Saturday was a day for honoring the Virgin Mary or something? I can't remember exactly.

Xiao Yao looked around but didn't see Yu Luying or Shen Jie. Father Yu wasn't there either, but he seemed to see Zhao Xiaomei.

What the heck? Zhao Xiaomei?

Is it her? It shouldn't be her. It's not her? But it really does look a bit like her.

What's wrong with this guy? He couldn't have waited all night downstairs at my house and followed me here, could he?

It shouldn't be, otherwise such devotion would be too...frightening?

No, that's definitely not it, since she arrived before me.

Xiao Yao strode towards "Zhao Xiaomei," but the girl moved with ghostly speed, disappearing from the hall entrance in the blink of an eye.

The boy returned to the classroom dejectedly—he was certain he hadn't mistaken another familiar face: Teacher Yao.

I had heard Shen Jie mention her before, but this seems to be the first time I've seen Teacher Yao in person.

Teacher Yao sat in the third row of the church with a blank stare in her eyes, her large face buried in her broad hands, her whole being shrouded in shadow.

Sitting next to him was his former teacher's wife, Kang Qianshui, who was as beautiful as a flower.

It seems that she truly stayed by the side of this "useless person" without ever abandoning him.

Feeling guilty, Xiao Yao went directly to Yu Bo's office on the second floor before they could see him.

If there's any place in this area suitable for a private conversation, it's the confessional and that's the only place.

"No way! If you're going, I have to go too!"

As soon as Xiao Yao reached the office door, he heard Yu Luying's voice through the door.

So you were here.

So, where are you going? And who are "you"? Shen Jie?

Xiao Yao had no intention of eavesdropping here. He turned the handle, found it was locked, and then raised his hand and knocked hard on the office door.

The office fell silent, then the door opened, and Yu Luying opened it.

She had large dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept well all night, but her face was flushed. Seeing that it was Xiao Yao who came in, she stepped aside to gesture for the young man to come inside, and then locked the door.

There were two other people in the room—Yu Bo, who was standing by the window, and Shen Jie, who was standing in the center of the room.

Yu Luying inexplicably wore the summer uniform of St. Francis Middle School again today, her ankles, wrapped in snow-white cotton socks, peeking out from her trouser legs and the tops of her sneakers; Shen Jie, on the other hand, wore the uniform of a junior high school student in Shanghai, with a red scarf, and black and white cushioned sneakers with pure black short cotton socks on the tops, as black as the deepest midnight.