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

“Little Daddy, look how proper you were when you were little—I was proper back then too,” Shen Tianyun said, “How come you’re always so sloppy now!”

“Hey—” Shen Jie chimed in, “I think this one is the prettiest.”

“No,” Yu Luying smiled, “I think this one is the prettiest…”

She found a photo from her elementary school days, still a group photo. Xiao Yao had grown quite a bit taller and was standing at the back of the line, with thick hair hanging on his forehead and his eyes even brighter.

"Why are you pouting?" Yu Luying asked Xiao Yao, pointing to the photo.

"He failed the exam, no need to ask." Shen Jie said confidently.

"Who fails an exam? I was a model student back then!"

"Is it delicious, fun, and mischievous?" Shen Jie teased.

“I have certificates of merit!” Xiao Yao took the photo album and flipped to a page.

"There really is one?" Shen Jie's surprise was quite deliberate.

“There’s also a Zhang, an outstanding member of the Shaoxing team,” Yu Luying said.

"I never thought our Xiao Yao would have such a glorious time. Let's see if he'll be the head of the student council and give a report to the whole school later on!" Shen Jie continued flipping through the pages.

"First and second graders were top students and class monitors; third and fourth graders were outstanding team members and vice class monitors; after that, they were nothing," Xiao Yao admitted.

A history of human degeneration.

“Eh—” Shen Jie let out that long sound again: “Your peak came a little early and was a little short.”

Xiao Yao wanted to say, "Meeting you is the beginning of my new peak," but remembering that Yu Luying was there, he said nothing.

"Pfft!" Shen Tianyun, who was standing next to her, chuckled for some reason, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

Shen Jie glanced at her, puzzled, frowned, and said nothing.

……

“Look at you, you were so nice when you were little.” Shen Jie sighed, then flipped to the last few pages of the photo album: “But when you were in junior high, you looked miserable, just like you are now.”

Xiao Yao chuckled and was about to retort when Shen Jie turned to Shen Tianyun: "Nannan, you need to quickly think of a way to open the passage to 1994."

"Huh?" Shen Tianyun said, "I'm not developing a time machine either."

“I’m going to go back to 1994 and give this guy a good rub,” Shen Jie said with a smile. “Silly Girl can come along too.”

"I don't want to," Yu Luying said with a smile, "Besides, Xiao Yao would be jealous, wouldn't he?"

"Just kidding," Xiao Yao said nonchalantly, "As long as you can go, you can hold me, who's six years old, and let me nibble on the grass. Why would I be jealous? It's all me, isn't it?"

"Be careful you don't get accused of pedophilia and arrested," Shen Tianyun rolled her eyes. "You weird auntie."

Shen Jie reached out and gave Shen Tianyun a roasted chestnut.

"Waaah—" Shen Tianyun clutched her head, half-jokingly shouting, "Do you know what will happen if I go to the Women's Federation or the Youth League for your habitual domestic violence?"

What does this have to do with me? What does "they" mean? Xiao Yao wondered.

“Who isn’t a woman and a teenager at the same time?” Shen Jie laughed.

Amidst the commotion, Xiao Yao pulled out the photo of himself from junior high school, the one Shen Jie described as having a "bitter look on his face."

He recognized that this must have been when he was in the second year of junior high school. He was already quite tall, and there was downy hair above his lip.

The boy's clothes were very simple and looked somewhat dull. His hair was cut very short, almost as short as when he had just been released from prison.

His eyes were somewhat melancholy, his lips were noticeably downturned, and he looked listless, as if he were immersed in his own world.

Xiao Yao could read the inner conflict and confusion in his eyes, and the whole photo exuded a repressive atmosphere.

Xiao Yao flipped the photo over and saw the handwritten date. Judging from the handwriting, it should be his mother's.

He silently put the photo back into the plastic wrap.

The boy sat in the middle of three girls, looking at old photos of himself with them.

He remembers these photos; each one holds a deep memory.

He saw his own smiles and sorrows, as well as the little things he shared with his mother, father, childhood friends, and cousins ​​over the years.

Looking at these photos, Xiao Yao thought of his parents and the past years, but his heart was surprisingly calm, without any sadness.

Actually, the reason I kept the photo album at the very bottom of the metal box and never opened it in the past year was because I was afraid of triggering sad emotions.

At this moment, all he felt was profound peace and happiness.

The three girls were afraid that he would be upset, so they didn't mention Xiao Yao's parents and even deliberately omitted the photos of Xiao Yao's parents.

“There’s no need,” Xiao Yao said, pressing down on a family photo. “Let me introduce you. This is my dad and my mom. They don’t want me anymore.”

The three girls looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

“You don’t need to worry about my feelings,” Xiao Yao continued. “For the past year, I’ve been depressed about this unchangeable fact, but now I don’t feel it at all.”

"Do you know why? Because of the three of you, the three of you are by my side, the three of you are looking at this photo album with me."

“I understand,” Shen Jie gently stroked Xiao Yao’s head. “You are not alone.”

“Family, wife, friends,” Xiao Yao continued, “As long as I have you all, I have nothing to be sad about, and nothing to ask for more. All I feel right now is… only…”

Xiao Yao racked his brains to find the right words.

"Peace and joy?" Yu Luying asked.

"Peace and joy," Xiao Yao told them. "I love you all."

"Ugh—okay, okay," Shen Tianyun said, "That's so cheesy."

"I'm not going to say anything," Xiao Yao said with a slight smile. "You can see."

Just then, Yu Luying's phone rang.

"Silly girl, is your mom calling you home for dinner?"

"Maybe?" Yu Luying found her phone on the sofa, glanced at the number, and answered it immediately: "Hello? Uncle?"

"..."

"What? Now?" Yu Luying said in surprise.

"..."

"Then I'll have to ask them." Yu Luying held the microphone a little further away: "My uncle is asking if you have any plans for tonight?"

"Me?" Shen Tianyun said, "I'm going to do square dancing."

"What's it to you now?" Shen Jie rolled her eyes at Shen Tianyun. "We don't have any plans, so what's wrong?"

"As for the arrangements..." Xiao Yao muttered, "I originally wanted to say a proper goodbye to Shen Jie?"

"Hello, Uncle?" Yu Luying put the phone back to her ear: "They said they're both free."

Three black lines appeared on Xiao Yao's forehead. ￣□￣｜｜

Are you even listening to me? Don't make decisions on your own!

Oh well, I'm used to it now.

"Okay." Yu Luying hung up the phone and stood up. "Let's eat quickly and finish this in half an hour."

"What exactly happened?" Xiao Yao and Shen Jie asked in unison as they tidied up the photo albums on the floor.

Twenty minutes later, the three of them devoured the fast food on the table, while Shen Tianyun was still eating slowly.

"Daddy, there's not enough rice!" Shen Tianyun complained. "Didn't I tell you? I want four servings of rice."

"Uh, sorry," Xiao Yao said, embarrassed. "I forgot again. Why don't you go out and buy it yourself?"

"Can't you just die?" Shen Tianyun blurted out, using internet slang from their era to complain, then realized she was about to get "sugar-roasted chestnuts" again and quickly covered her mouth.

It was no use; she still ate one pill without hesitation.

"You can't talk to your elders like that!" Shen Jie scolded.

Yu Luying lowered her head and smiled secretly.

“You too,” Shen Jie scolded the younger one, then the older one: “Don’t you know how much your daughter eats? You don’t care about your daughter enough.”

"We will deeply reflect on our mistakes and resolutely correct them," Xiao Yao said.

Shen Jie went in to change her clothes. More than ten minutes later, she came out wearing a gray T-shirt, gray cropped casual pants, gray N-brand shoes, and a section of gray athletic socks showing.

"Beautiful, Cinderella," Xiao Yao exclaimed sincerely.

“My sister really knows how to put together an outfit,” Yu Luying said.

"What? You only gave me ten minutes to change," Shen Jie complained. "I just threw something together."

"Sister, you're not the kind of girl who won't leave the house without makeup, are you?" Yu Luying asked with a smile.

"That's not necessarily true..."

After reminding Shen Tianyun not to destroy the house, the three of them walked through the long alley and headed towards the main road.

The sky was gradually darkening, and a gentle evening breeze was blowing, carrying a slight chill.

It was rush hour, and there were quite a few pedestrians on the road. Several people were walking hurriedly. Xiao Yao nimbly turned to the side, managing to avoid being bumped into.

"Who is that..." the boy complained.