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

As he walked to the bicycle parking area outside the school gate, his phone vibrated.

Xiao Yao hurriedly picked it up to read, and when he found that the message was from Yu Luying instead of Shen Jie, he felt a strange sense of disappointment.

"Why haven't you had dinner yet? I'm about to start rehearsals, you should go home early too."

Xiao Yao replied with "Going back now," and kicked the bicycle kickstand up.

My love, Shen Jie, if I were to approach Yu Luying again now, it wouldn't be considered a betrayal of you, would it?

This chapter might leave you feeling frustrated and disheartened, but it's a necessary part of the story. I assure you, this situation between the protagonist and her won't last long. In just a few chapters, things will take a turn for the better, and become... even better than before.

Chapter 42 Ouyang

2023-07-31

Xiao Yao returned home, wanting to discuss his relationship with Shen Jie with Shen Tianyun, but his daughter did not return after he waited and waited.

Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep leaning against her bed.

I slept until dawn, so much so that I missed the morning self-study session.

Fortunately, Teacher Yao didn't say much. She just waved her hand with a dark face, signaling him to go back to his seat quickly.

Damn it... how dare he stay out all night again.

Xiao Yao slumped listlessly on the table, his head resting on one arm. His hand dangled from the edge of the table, and he grew increasingly uneasy.

In this world, what's even more outrageous than becoming a father at 15 is becoming a grandfather at 16.

No matter what, she is still his daughter.

"I'll break her legs!" Xiao Yao thought bitterly.

Although, it seems that he might not necessarily win in a head-on confrontation?

"Shen Tianyun didn't come back again last night." Xiao Yao edited the text message, but didn't send it, and then deleted it.

At this critical juncture, if I send her a message again, she'll definitely think I'm trying to hit on her.

After school, Xiao Yao followed Ouyang Qianqian to a restaurant.

Today, the child is wearing a small round hat, a British-style knee-length round skirt, dark gray stockings, and heeled leather shoes.

Xiao Yao felt extremely uncomfortable sitting face-to-face with her in the Western restaurant.

"This place isn't cheap, is it?"

"I already said I'd treat!" Ouyang Qianqian pouted. "As the older brother, you shouldn't be so wishy-washy."

Xiao Yao solemnly picked up some noodles with his fork, pressed them against the inside of the spoon, and tried to make the noodles wrap around the fork.

"Waiter, please bring this gentleman a pair of chopsticks." Ouyang Qianqian rolled her eyes, unable to suppress a laugh: "My goodness, what kind of crayfish spaghetti did you order? It's such a fusion of East and West! Don't you really want to try the Wellington steak here? Aren't you a big meat lover? You're usually so shameless, why are you being so polite to me today?"

Why are all the girls around me so rich? Is this the world where sons are raised frugally and daughters are raised lavishly? Xiao Yao cried out in his heart.

“No,” Xiao Yao explained, “Today is Friday, and I promised… I promised that person I wouldn’t eat meat on Fridays.”

Ouyang Qianqian's eyes widened: "You two have already progressed to this point, and you're still asking me if she likes you?"

"Huh? How badly?"

"Does that mean you're going to join the cult before she's even agreed to it? That's too... one-sided, isn't it?"

"No, no, don't overthink it." Xiao Yao shook his head helplessly, unsure how to explain: "We've just resumed our friendship, and I'm not going to join any religion."

I can't exactly tell the truth: because Yu Luying and I are symbiotic, I'm voluntarily preventing Yu Luying from tasting meat on Fridays out of humanitarianism, can I?

"Tsk tsk tsk tsk..." Ouyang Qianqian shook her head repeatedly: "You two, your relationship is just so melodramatic and tragic!"

"Hey, why do you always talk like that, like you're in a play?" Xiao Yao glanced around nervously, thankfully no one was looking at them: "In a public place..."

“My dear brother, let me ask you something,” Ouyang Qianqian leaned forward with a smile, “Why are you wearing your school uniform to school again today? Where did that super trendy outfit you wore last Friday go?”

"Uh……"

"Could it be that you're breaking up and going back?" Ouyang Qianqian asked, feigning surprise.

"I didn't take the person back, I just put them away—" Xiao Yao realized he'd misspoke: "Break up? Who told you that?"

"Just tell me, didn't you get dumped?" Ouyang Qianqian clapped her hands and laughed, "Yesterday at the green space, from that... distance, I could tell from your expression that you'd been dumped! I told you long ago, you can't handle that kind of woman!"

"It's not exactly a breakup, since we were never really together," Xiao Yao chuckled. "It's just another 'friend zone' card. By the way, how did you end up with a Korean guy this time? Where did you find him?"

"Oh my, let's try some foreign stuff," Ouyang Qianqian said with a smile, picking up her phone. "He's an exchange student from an international school, isn't he handsome?"

"Damn, they really are Koreans," Xiao Yao said, pretending to vomit. "Oppa? I'm going to throw up."

Ouyang Qianqian covered her mouth and laughed: "I was just kidding you, you actually believed me? He's a senior in our school, you must have seen him before, it's just a joke."

"You're a senior in high school and you're acting recklessly. Have some decency."

"I just finished the college entrance exam, okay? I'm going to the restroom." Ouyang Qianqian stood up and walked towards the restaurant entrance.

Xiao Yao listened with some boredom to the faint saxophone melody echoing in the restaurant.

This looks like... "Going Home"?

Is this a reminder to the guests to eat quickly, finish their meal early, and go home?

Xiao Yao's phone rang; it was Yu Luying.

"Hey?"

"What delicious food are you eating?" A pleasant female voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Crawfish spaghetti." Can't you taste what delicious food I'm eating?

"Which girl are you with this time?"

"It wasn't a young girl, it was with...Ouyang...Qu Yuqin."

"Xiao Yao said Ouyang is an old maid, I've noted that down, I'll tell her next time."

"I'm not! I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!"

"Hey," Yu Luying suddenly called out, "Let's go tomorrow morning. To KTV."

"In the morning? Didn't we agree to go in the afternoon?"

“Since my mom came back from South Korea this time, she’s been driving me to and from school every day, and she questions me for ages whenever I go out. I don’t know what’s wrong with her.” Yu Luying’s voice was somewhat indignant.

"No way, this is...too much?"

Could it be that this is to keep me at bay?

“I’ve thought it through. St. Francis’s Amateur School isn’t a regular school on Saturdays, so the security guard shouldn’t stop people, right?” Yu Luying said.

"I never imagined that Yu Luying would skip class one day. Hello... hello?

My phone vibrated, and a text message came in: "My mom just walked in suddenly."

Then another text message arrived: "Get ready for the performance, see you at the school gate tomorrow morning."

"Who is it?" Ouyang Qianqian had returned to her seat at some point.

"Yu Luying," Xiao Yao told her truthfully.

“My dear brother,” Ouyang Qianqian sighed dramatically, “Yu Luying is really good to you. If I were her, I would have torn you apart for all the scum you’ve done.”

"Yes," Xiao Yao admitted.

“Brother, you managed to climb up to the school beauty of No. 7 Girls’ High School—although you didn’t succeed in the end, you still have a confidante like me who’s there for you through thick and thin, always ready to be there for you…okay, it’s a day late,” Ouyang Qianqian took a sip of orange juice. “Can’t you be content? You’re clearly a protagonist’s template, yet you’re always complaining to people that you can’t find a girlfriend.”

"Where did this constant complaining come from..." Xiao Yao sighed, "Protagonist template? More like a loser protagonist template. It's true you can't find a girlfriend. I only came to you today to complain because being rejected by Shen Jie was the last straw, because I thought this was a sure thing..."

"So steady, is it Liang Jingru who gave you the courage? I won't talk about others, but what's the difference between you and Yu Luying now and a couple?" Ouyang Qianqian pointed at Xiao Yao: "In the eyes of everyone in the class, you two are already recognized as a couple. She's shy and has a lot of concerns. As a grown man, it's just a title. Do you want to get a marriage certificate and frame it or something?"

“Even the best of friends are just friends.” Xiao Yao placed his hands behind his head. “They’re not the same.”

"What's the difference?"

"Love is love, friendship is friendship, and you can't hug or kiss your friends."

"So all you've been thinking about is this little thing?" Ouyang Qianqian scoffed.

"It's not that..." Xiao Yao muttered softly, "But I really do want to know what it feels like. Is it wrong to want to know what it feels like to be in love?"

“Yes…that’s right.” Ouyang Qianqian put down her knife and fork, neatly arranging them on either side of her plate, and looked out the window.

"Do you think I'm cursed by God or the devil or something?" Xiao Yao muttered to himself, "A passive skill that guarantees rejection when I confess my love."

"Brother, you've been stuck on this for almost a year now, haven't you?" Ouyang Qianqian turned her gaze back to the dining table, puffing out one cheek. "You're doing a little better now. Before, whenever you were unhappy, you'd ask me to come out and keep you company, and I always obliged."

"Yes, I'm very grateful," Xiao Yao said with emotion. "You always say, 'Brother, hurry up and find me a sister-in-law, so that your sister won't always be the one to keep you company.'"

"uh-huh."

“But… I really can’t find my brother,” Xiao Yao said with a wry smile.

"Tsk..." Ouyang Qianqian pressed two fingers between her eyes with a headache: "I really don't know how to explain it to you so that you would understand."

“Take you for example,” Xiao Yao said, “Why is it that even if it’s you, I can only ever be your older brother?”

"What do you mean, even if it's me?!" A hint of anger appeared on Ouyang Qianqian's pretty face.

“No, what I mean is,” Xiao Yao realized he had misspoke, “at least objectively, you are more open-minded than Yu Luying.”