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

“Teacher Yao still has remnants of ‘desire’,” Xiao Yao explained. “Is there any possibility that we can find a way to ‘revive’ him?”

Zhou Qi's eyes lit up: "If this is possible, it will become my goal for the future."

After finishing his boxed lunch, Xiao Yao and Yu Luying politely said goodbye to Zhou Qi.

The two left Zhou Qi's hospital room.

The hospital corridors were filled with the smell of medicine and the silence of a long wait.

The dim light cast faint shadows on the cold white walls, and the door to the ward was slowly closed, shutting out the noise of the world.

The two walked slowly along the corner. Xiao Yao's gaze wandered, often glancing at the occasional passersby, while Yu Luying stared intently ahead, her brows slightly furrowed, as if she were pondering some important question.

"I've noticed you've been frowning a lot lately," Xiao Yao said abruptly.

"I... can't see very clearly." Yu Luying squinted. "I feel like my eyesight is starting to decline."

“Ha,” Xiao Yao reached out and hooked his arm around Yu Luying’s shoulder: “It’s already quite remarkable that a diligent and outstanding student like you only started to become nearsighted in the second year of high school.”

“Hmm…” Yu Luying said.

"Shall I go with you to get your glasses tomorrow?" Xiao Yao said.

"For now... we don't need to, right?" Yu Luying said hesitantly, "It's not that serious."

"I'm suddenly curious what you look like with glasses," Xiao Yao said with a smile.

"You have this hobby?" Yu Luying asked, bending down to the left as she walked.

"No, not really..." Xiao Yao said after thinking for a moment.

The hospital corridor was deserted and desolate, like a forgotten corner. Faint moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the gloom outside.

The low arguing coming from around the corner could be heard from a short distance, but it became clearer as Xiao Yao and Yu Luying approached.

"I told you long ago not to associate with your so-called friends, but you wouldn't listen." It was a man's cold voice.

Xiao Yao stopped in his tracks.

He and Yu Luying turned their heads and saw the middle-aged couple standing there, their brows furrowed, their faces full of resentment and pain.

"No way..." Xiao Yao asked Yu Luying softly, "Is this the couple you mentioned arguing when you came up here?"

Yu Luying didn't speak, but simply nodded slightly.

“I’ve finished my meal, and we’re still arguing,” Xiao Yao said.

"Let's go, don't meddle in other people's business." Yu Luying tugged at Xiao Yao's arm.

"Should we go up and ask?" Xiao Yao was pulled a few steps, then stopped.

“Even an upright official can’t settle family disputes. Why do you, a grown man, like to meddle in other people’s business?” Yu Luying said softly.

"I'm just a Christian with a kind heart, always ready to help others and stand up for what's right," Xiao Yao casually remarked.

"Call him now, and I'll explain things to him!"

Although the middle-aged couple tried to keep their voices down, their voices still reached Xiao Yao and Yu Luying's ears in the quiet hospital corridor.

The woman was around forty years old, of medium build, wearing simple jeans and a loose T-shirt. Her short hair was messy, and she looked somewhat haggard. Her expression was distorted and trembling, her eyes darting around, her lips tightly pursed, and she was clutching a cell phone in her hand. For some reason, she reminded Xiao Yao of Yu Lihua from before.

The man was about the same age, slender, refined, with a furrowed brow, a narrow face, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. Behind the lenses, his triangular eyes were fixed on the woman in front of him.

Just as Xiao Yao had finished watching the excitement and was about to leave...

The man suddenly lost control of his emotions and rushed forward to snatch the phone from the woman's hand. The woman resisted, and the two wrestled.

Before Xiao Yao and his companion could react, the conflict escalated. The man slapped the woman hard across the face, knocking her to the ground, and then snatched the phone from her hand.

The slap was quite powerful, and the sound echoed in the hospital corridor, startling both Xiao Yao and Yu Luying.

Xiao Yao and Yu Luying stared wide-eyed, witnessing everything in disbelief.

The woman fell backward, leaning against the corridor wall, and slid down to sit on the ground.

The man then covered his eyes with his right hand.

The woman clutched her cheek in pain, tears streaming down her face.

Then, she quickly stood up, picked up her handbag, and walked silently toward the entrance of the inpatient department, leaving a series of "tap tap tap" sounds in the corridor.

The man who had attacked the person stood still, motionless, continuing to cover his face with his hands, shaking his head and sighing.

Xiao Yao stepped forward, wanting to say something to the man, but Yu Luying glared at him and tugged at his arm again.

The man who had hit them lowered his hand, didn't even look at the two of them, and walked away in another direction.

When Xiao Yao and Yu Luying left the inpatient department, Yu Luying looked a little unhappy, but she walked very fast and it was already evening, so Xiao Yao, who was following behind her, did not notice her at first.

"Which way should we go?" Xiao Yao asked Yu Luying.

“I’m going to find my uncle,” Yu Luying said succinctly.

Yu Bo and Liang Yanan were sitting at a bustling open-air barbecue stall, surrounded by the rich aroma of smoke and the lively sounds of people. Warm yellow light shone from the colored lights above the stall, illuminating the entire area and creating a lively and cheerful atmosphere.

The tables and chairs at the stall were arranged sparsely but orderly, and the aroma of grilled skewers wafted through the air, the tempting smell of meat filling the air and making one's mouth water.

The small wooden table in front of Yu Bo and Liang Yanan was filled with a wide variety of skewers, including golden and tempting chicken wings and drumsticks, juicy and tender veal chops and lamb chops, and marbled pork belly.

Yu Bo was munching on a kebab, while Liang Yanan was still wearing sunglasses. It was unclear what her hobby was, but together with her short hair and unmade-up face, it gave her earrings a different interpretation.

When Liang Yanan saw Xiao Yao arrive, she took a bottle of beer, propped the bottle neck against the edge of the table, slapped the bottle neck hard with her gloved right hand, poured the golden liquid into a transparent disposable plastic cup, and pushed it in front of Xiao Yao. The whole action was done in one smooth motion.

There was a whole dozen bottles of Bluebird Pure Draft Beer on the table, the bottles cold and damp, giving off a refreshing chill just by looking at them on this summer night.

Xiao Yao pulled over two plastic stools, pushed them to the small wooden table, plopped down, pushed the other plastic stool to Yu Luying, and picked up a lamb skewer to eat.

"Didn't you just eat?" Yu Luying said.

"You guys should hurry home after you've eaten, we still have the second half of the game here." Yu Bo took a sip of beer and rolled his eyes.

Xiao Yao seriously suspected that Yu Bo didn't want the two of them to be third wheels, so he wisely put down the skewers in his hand.

But Yu Luying still wanted to report what she had found out from Zhou Qi.

The girl glanced at Liang Yanan, thinking that since she was also investigating this case and had hit it off with her uncle—no, they were "old friends"—she felt there was nothing to avoid.

"Uncle, Zhou Qi told Xiao Yao that the shadow was something he wanted to..."

“Yes! Shadows.” Yu Bo suddenly exclaimed loudly, “We are not perfect. Everyone has shadows deep inside, which are our dark side—and so does this world. Human civilization is inherently fragile. Throughout human history, there has been barbarism triumphing over civilization and ignorance swallowing up nobility. So, many times, human civilization is really like a thin veil on a volcano. The volcanic ash that erupts in an instant can break through this veil.”

While uttering these nonsensical words, Yu Bo kept giving Xiao Yao meaningful glances.

“But we still need to try to reinforce the veil…?” Xiao Yao picked up another skewer of meat and continued the conversation, while secretly making a hand gesture to Yu Luying under the table.

At this moment, Liang Yanan also downed a glass of beer and looked at Yu Bo, interjecting: "The way to reinforce the thin veil is to organize delinquent teenagers to deliver food to the homeless, right?"

“Hey, isn’t People’s Square under the jurisdiction of Huangfu District?” Yu Bo chuckled. “Doing good deeds anonymously is good, and besides, it’s embarrassing to brag. You’re really well-informed. I thought forensic doctors weren’t popular.”

“Then you must be quite ignorant,” Liang Yanan said, opening another bottle of beer. “They’ll admit to anything to get a report done to cut in line. But I don’t need to work overtime for your little thing. Just tell me you’re a priest at Sacred Heart Church in Beihong, and I’ll know that ‘passionate priest’ is definitely you.”

"Sigh, what's with all this talk about being hot-blooded or cold-blooded—"

"You're a forensic doctor? Then that means..." Yu Luying started to say, but then stopped herself.

"Spending all day in the morgue, reeking of dead people?" Liang Yanan held up the meat skewers in her hand under the light, gently rubbing her fingers to rotate the bamboo skewers, observing them carefully.

This led Xiao Yao to make some unfounded associations. He silently put down the half-eaten skewer of meat in his hand, picked up the beer glass beside him, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Ah, Yingying didn't mean that," Yu Bo quickly tried to smooth things over, but then he changed the subject: "But isn't that what forensic doctors do?"

“That’s good,” Liang Yanan chuckled, seemingly genuinely unconcerned. “This isn’t Mika City, where there are so many unnatural deaths. Most of our work involves injury assessments; fights, sexual assaults, and the like are all trivial matters.”

“How can sexual assault be considered a trivial matter? It’s a lifelong issue for a girl.” Xiao Yao originally had no stereotypes about the forensic profession, but from Liang Yanan and Yu Lihua’s words and actions, he developed a feeling that “medical students are somewhat perverted.”

"Girls? Do you know how many of the victims of sexual assault are boys?" Although Xiao Yao couldn't see Liang Yanan's eyes through her sunglasses, he could still sense the mockery behind the lenses.

"???"

"Alright, Xiao Yao, hurry up and take Yingying home, or my sister will get worried." Yu Bo interrupted the pointless argument.

"You two ride my motorcycle back, I can't ride it today anyway." Liang Yanan tossed a set of motorcycle keys to Xiao Yao.

"Yes, let's drink until we drop tonight!"

Chapter 201 Motorcycle, Girl on the Car, Promise in White Stockings

2023-05-21

As night fell and a warm breeze blew, the summer nights in Shanghai exuded a subtle charm. Xiao Yao rode Liang Yanan's 50cc scooter, filled with youthful excitement and adventurous courage, carrying Yu Luying through the bustling city.

"What exactly is going on between this woman and my uncle?" Yu Luying asked Xiao Yao, her mind full of questions.

"Didn't I tell you? I knew they were old acquaintances. We didn't know that when we chased after them. We got into a fight, and later Brother Bo said he would buy her drinks as an apology—that's all I knew."

"Don't call me 'brother-in-law' to my face, you're taking advantage of me."

"? Isn't that what everyone calls him? Okay, okay, I'll call him Uncle from now on."

You're still taking advantage of me!

"...?"

"What secret code did you and my uncle, the one with the volcano-like veil, use?"

"Without a code, you can't tell Bo... Doesn't your uncle want to talk about the shadow in front of Liang Yanan?"