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

As usual, I didn't reply.

Xiao Yao forcibly suppressed his inner unease, unwilling to ruin today's date because of this. He stood on the dock, watching the staff pull the tow rope to moor an electric boat to the shore, and gestured for the two of them to board.

Nowadays, all the boats in War Park have been upgraded to electric boats, the kind with a steering wheel in the driver's seat.

With no more small boats available for rowing, the two exchanged a glance and both felt that something was missing.

The dock was slightly higher than the small boat. With the help of the staff, Xiao Yao jumped onto the boat first. The staff member turned around to help Yu Luying, but the girl waved her hand and refused.

A gust of wind blew by, and the boat began to rock slightly. Yu Luying's medium-length hair fluttered gently in the wind. She frowned slightly, squatted down a little, and stretched out her right foot toward the bow of the boat.

Seeing that she refused the staff's help, Xiao Yao quickly stood up to assist her. However, his sudden movement caused the boat to tilt even more sharply. Xiao Yao stumbled, trying to regain his balance—

"Watch out!" The staff member strode up.

The man loosened the rope in his hand, and the bow of the boat moved a few centimeters away. The girl lost her footing, her right foot slipped along the edge of the boat, and half of her foot went into the water. Water splashed up, and her cotton socks and sneakers were immediately soaked. She let out a scream.

As Yu Luying slipped half her foot into the water, Xiao Yao immediately felt a chill on his toes. It felt as if his shoes and socks had gotten wet, and a cold sensation ran up his feet. He instinctively grabbed Yu Luying's arm.

This movement caused the boat to tilt even more, and Xiao Yao felt his center of gravity shifting constantly, almost causing him to lose his balance.

"Ah!" Yu Luying exclaimed again, worried that he would lose his balance just like her.

Seeing this, the staff member quickly pulled the tow rope back, but Xiao Yao quickly adjusted his posture to maintain his balance. He gripped Yu Luying's arm tightly, and with his pull, she knelt on the bow of the boat with her left knee, then pulled her right foot out of the water.

Before Yu Luying could even stand firmly at the bow, she leaped into the hull, and the two of them finally managed to maintain the boat's balance.

The staff member was complaining loudly, but the boy and girl looked at each other and laughed.

Xiao Yao started the electric boat and slowly left the dock, gradually heading towards the center of the lake. The boat moved very slowly, barely faster than walking, and its hull trembled slightly, creating ripples on the lake's surface.

When the engine roared to life, he was instantly transported back to his childhood.

Surrounded by green mountains and clear waters, with lotus flowers blooming on the lake, a gentle breeze caresses the face, and the summer sun shines on the entire lake, making people feel exceptionally comfortable.

With a slight slump in her shoulders, Yu Luying leaned in close with practiced ease.

Xiao Yao turned around and glanced at her, saw the girl's smile, and returned the smile.

The whole world became brighter.

If it weren't for what Shen Jie mentioned last night and her disappearance all day today, his heart would have been filled with contentment and happiness.

It should have been...

Yu Luying's right shoe and sock were already half wet. Xiao Yao followed Yu Luying's gaze and saw that lake water was slowly seeping out from the gaps in her shoes, leaving half a footprint under her foot.

Yu Luying was wearing shell-toe sneakers. The uppers of the shoes looked a little soft and wet, clinging to her feet. The front half of the uppers was covered with a layer of "water film" that looked like a transparent membrane, which was quite beautiful.

The toe, sides, and laces of the shoe have been "dyed" into a darker color, forming a distinct dividing line between the wet tongue, heel, and dry sock.

Although he couldn't see inside her shoes, Xiao Yao could imagine what it was like inside.

In fact, Xiao Yao doesn't need to "imagine" but can directly "feel".

The boy's right foot felt heavy; he could feel his wet shoes and socks clinging to his skin, like a heavy burden. With each step, his toes and soles were soaked in water, the temperature of the lake water creating a subtle, comfortable sensation against his skin. He could feel the moisture inside his shoes gradually seeping into his socks and the tops of his feet, making his soles cool and damp.

"Do you want to take off your shoes?" Xiao Yao said while turning the steering wheel. "Pour out the water and wring out your socks."

"No!" Yu Luying said.

“This water is unsanitary. You’ll get athlete’s foot if you drink it like this. You can ask your sister if you don’t believe me,” Xiao Yao said.

“I don’t want to!” Yu Luying said.

"If you get athlete's foot, I'll itch with you."

In reality, Xiao Yao was genuinely worried that Yu Luying had athlete's foot, but Yu Luying mistakenly thought that Xiao Yao just wanted to trick her into taking off her shoes and socks so he could peek at her bare feet.

Dear readers, you may recall that about a week ago, when Xiao Yao was studying at Yu Luying's house, he kept secretly looking at Yu Luying's feet, so Yu Luying took off her socks and said something like, "I did this so that you wouldn't fall into temptation."

How could such behavior be tolerated? This was outrageous! So Xiao Yao kept staring at her bare feet until she became uncomfortable, at which point she put on another pair of socks.

At the time, Xiao Yao was still praising his own cleverness, but today he has caused Yu Meizi a lot of trouble.

Oh well, it's the middle of summer anyway, it'll dry on its own after a while...

"Ying, I have a question for you." Xiao Yao left the vast lake and entered a narrow waterway, much like the Panama Canal.

“Okay, go ahead and ask.” Yu Luying reached out and hugged Xiao Yao’s arm.

“Where do the souls of those who were aborted—those miscarried, stillborn, and infants who died shortly after birth,” Xiao Yao rocked the bow of the boat from side to side, “go? To heaven?”

"Why are you suddenly so interested in theology?" Yu Luying asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Hey, I'm just curious," Xiao Yao replied casually, "I'm thirsting for knowledge."

“Traditionally speaking, well, theoretically speaking, one cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven without being baptized,” Yu Luying thought for a moment and told him.

"Does this mean we're going straight to hell?" Xiao Yao's heart clenched. "But they didn't do anything wrong."

“Of course, I won’t go to hell.” Yu Luying shook her head: “Although it’s not official doctrine, the mainstream theological view in the Middle Ages believed that there was a place called ‘the Infant Precinct’ or something like that—oh, I can’t remember exactly, I learned it a long time ago.”

“Baby pre-natal room?” Xiao Yao repeated the four words.

“It’s called ‘LIMBO’ in Latin, which literally means ‘the edge of hell’,” Yu Luying explained.

“I feel like I’ve seen this in the settings of some game before…” Xiao Yao said, “Tell me about this ‘LIMBO’.”

"..." Yu Luying looked troubled: "How would I know much about that place? Anyway, it's just a place without the bliss of heaven or the punishment of hell, right?"

"Wouldn't that be incredibly boring?" Xiao Yao frowned.

“Big rabbit.” Yu Luying suddenly shook Xiao Yao’s arm.

"Mm." Xiao Yao had already accepted the new nickname: "Little Apple."

"What little apple?" Yu Luying's eyebrows shot up.

“Don’t you see, it perfectly matches ‘big rabbit’?” Xiao Yao said with a smile.

"Whatever you want," said Little Apple. "Look, how's the weather today?"

“Very good,” the big rabbit looked up at the dark clouds that looked like they were about to rain, “Very good.”

"What are we doing out here?" Yu Luying continued to prompt.

"We're out having fun," Xiao Yao said.

"It's rare for us to get together, and it's such a beautiful spring day, can we talk about something light and fun?" Yu Luying said, "What Limbo Hell? It's so gloomy. Why don't you ask my uncle about it yourself when you're in doctrinal class tomorrow?"

"You're not devout at all," Xiao Yao casually criticized.

“If you’re going to be truly devout, you should distance yourself from me immediately,” Yu Luying teased him. “People like you are the source of all temptation.”

"How could I..." Xiao Yao laughed, "Alright, let's talk about something else."

"Let me drive! Let me drive!" Yu Luying reached out to grab the steering wheel from Xiao Yao: "You've been driving all this time!"

“Damn it,” Xiao Yao said, “You drive, then. Don’t rock the boat. I’m not wearing a life jacket.”

"I wasn't wearing any either."

"I can not swim!"

The two carefully switched positions, and Yu Luying happily gripped the steering wheel, kicking her feet wildly on the inside of the bow.

“Over here,” Xiao Yao bent down and pointed to the two pedals, “the one on the right is the accelerator, and the one on the left is the brake.”

"Oh!" Yu Luying said happily.

The small boat crashed straight into the shore, but thankfully it didn't run aground—the park management must have taken that into account when designing the shoreline's curvature.

"Step on the left accelerator, and you can reverse." Xiao Yao reached for the steering wheel.

"Don't do it!" Yu Luying said, "I'll do it myself!"

“I think I’m going to die here today,” Xiao Yao said. “I regret not listening to your mother and not wearing a life jacket.”

……

Yu Luying steered the boat haphazardly, and Xiao Yao panicked, but they managed to avoid capsizing it and returned to the vast lake.

A family of four came by in one of those pedal boats, and a man wearing glasses, who looked like the father, was pedaling hard.

"Friends in Shanghai! How are you?!" Xiao Yao waved to them.

"It's 13 o'clock, isn't it?" Yu Luying said reproachfully.

"Hello!" "Hello!" Those two children seemed to be among the group that shouted "heartbreaker" on the ecological animal island.

"I should have rented one of those pedal boats; it would have been a much better experience," Xiao Yao said.

“You want to step on it? You’ll tire yourself out,” Yu Luying said.

“Okay, electric ones are better,” Xiao Yao admitted.

As soon as the boy finished speaking, the electric motor emitted a vibration and then shut down.

The boat slowly came to a stop.

"Damn it." Xiao Yao repeatedly pressed the ignition button, turning the switch on and off repeatedly.

Yu Luying watched from the side, laughing so hard she couldn't stand up straight: "Is an electric one okay?"

Damn it, when did you catch Shen Jie's laughing fit? And you mocked me when I mentioned renting a pedal boat, so I went along with it and said electric ones were good too. Now that the boat is broken, you're mocking me again? You're such a hypocrite...

"Laugh, laugh, laugh, what do we do now?" Xiao Yao looked out at the shore, but it was quite a distance away.