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

Undoubtedly, Shen Jie was a popular figure at school. Not only could her photos be found online, but also videos of her hosting the school's arts performance, breaking wooden boards with karate, and so on. On the "Seventh Girls' High School Forum," three male students from other schools posted on the first page inquiring about her.

Regarding Baidu Tieba, she's similar to Yu Luying.

To be honest, I originally intended to just take a quick look from afar and leave, but I couldn't resist striking up a conversation with her.

It's one thing to strike up a conversation, but the real problem is that he was entrapped in a bubble tea shop, inexplicably admitted that he wanted to pursue her, and was eventually forced to reveal everything about what happened in the mirror.

This woman isn't just about having a strong aura... she's the kind of person who's "powerful" in every way.

If Xiao Xiong knew about this, Xiao Yao could already imagine what he would say: "Give up, you can't handle this woman."

Shut up, you brat. Xiao Yao waved his fist at the void.

It took him quite a while to get home from No. 7 Girls' High School.

First, you have to take a bus to the bank of the Yellow River, then spend 50 cents to take a ferry, and then transfer to another bus in Jiangxi. It's quite a hassle.

Maybe I can try the subway next time.

He opened his right hand, and the QQ number on his palm was a faded color, but Xiao Yao had already memorized it.

This was, after all, the first time he had ever touched the hand of a girl his own age, so the sudden softness of her hand made him savor the memory.

After getting off the bus, he turned into a narrow riverside path—to the left was the Suzhou River with its unpleasant smell, to the right was a row of low, dilapidated Shikumen houses, and under his feet was a bluestone path.

Yu Luying lived in one of the row of houses with lights on, and Xiao Yao would always pass by her house on his way home.

During the first semester of his first year of high school, he and Yu Luying often went to and from school together, so everyone assumed they were a couple, which was only natural.

Although, they really, really are just friends.

Just as Xiao Yao was about to go through and knock on the door, the narrow wooden door creaked open, and Yu Luying walked out from inside.

The child was tall and thin, with bangs and long, straight hair as black and shiny as a pencil. She wore a simple headband and had delicate features on her small oval face: deep-set eyes, a high nose, a pointed but not protruding chin, and no smile on her lips. Her pale skin and downturned eyes gave her a melancholy air.

She wore a light yellow short-sleeved shirt and a three-quarter plaid skirt. Her fair calves had beautiful curves and extended from the hem of the skirt all the way to her white ankle socks. She wore a pair of candy-colored plastic slippers.

The girl held a plastic spittoon in her hand and skillfully poured the yellow liquid inside into the drain in front of the door.

After emptying the spittoon, she put the lid back on, lifted it with her left hand, and climbed the steps in front of the door with her two pretty little feet, one up and one down.

Her toes had barely touched the step when her smooth heel lifted lightly up in her slipper, nimble and graceful.

The delicate white socks stretched out fine lines during movement, drawing beautiful arcs in Xiao Yao's heart.

"Yu Luying!" Xiao Yao called out to her from behind before she entered the room.

The girl stopped and turned around, clutching her left arm with her right hand: "Why did you skip class this afternoon?"

"How did you know?"

"Teacher Yao even called me," Yu Luying lowered her eyelids, "I thought you were with me."

"Ah..." Xiao Yao's heart sank slightly, hoping that the homeroom teacher hadn't called his grandmother.

"She wants me to tell you to come to her office on Monday morning." Yu Luying pursed her lips.

This is really a headache...

Xiao Yao took off his schoolbag and took out the Poetry Journal: "Teacher Yu asked me to bring this to you."

A smile appeared in the girl's eyes, as if she had seen a long-lost old friend.

She took the magazine with her right hand: "Thank you."

"I heard you're sick," Xiao Yao said, slinging his backpack back over his shoulder. "What happened?"

Yu Luying bit her lip: "It's okay."

"Speak." Xiao Yao took half a step forward, his tone firm.

Yu Luying hesitated for a moment, then showed Xiao Yao the redness and swelling on her left wrist: "I was sleeping well last night when I was suddenly woken up by pain, like I had been hit with a stick. Look, it's on my wrist."

“This morning I was having breakfast with my uncle in the hall when suddenly something hit both my knees and elbows, and they all swelled up again,” Yu Luying said, pointing to her knees.

"What did the doctor say? Could it be rheumatism?" Xiao Yao asked with concern.

Yu Luying shook her head: "I went to the hospital, but they couldn't find anything. Also, this morning, I felt very bloated, but I couldn't vomit anything until noon. Around noon, my arms and legs started to feel numb for no reason..."

Xiao Yao frowned: "That sounds really weird—why don't you ask your priest uncle to perform an exorcism?"

“Superstition.” Yu Luying rolled her eyes slightly.

"Yingying!" A female voice came from upstairs.

"Oh, my mom's calling me. Goodbye." Yu Luying said in a flustered manner, carrying a spittoon as she slipped through the door.

Chapter 6 Daughter

Listening to the evening news coming from the neighbors' homes, Xiao Yao turned into his alley, stepped onto the creaking wooden stairs, took out his key, and gently opened the door to his house.

Upon entering, you'll find yourself in the kitchen, known in Shanghai dialect as the "soap room," filled with the aroma of meat, and something is simmering in a pot on the gas stove.

"I'm back!" Xiao Yao said.

Grandma isn't home; she's probably gone to Grandma Jin's again.

"Welcome back!" As always, Xiao Yao said to himself, then laughed self-deprecatingly.

He pushed open the bedroom door and almost thought he had gone to the wrong place.

The once filthy and chaotic dog kennel was transformed into a spotless place in a single day, with bright and clean windows and items neatly organized and categorized, making the space appear much larger.

On the table by the window, there was a small plate of roasted gluten and a dish of glistening braised pork, both of which looked delicious.

Immediately afterwards, the wardrobe door was kicked open with a bang, and Shen Tianyun walked out, holding a bowl of rice in one hand and four chopsticks in her mouth.

"I'm back!" Xiao Yao said.

"Ah, you're back," Shen Tianyun spat the chopsticks she was holding onto the table, put down her rice, and complained, "You didn't even bother to take them, you have no sense of propriety."

"Next time, say 'Welcome back.' Look, I brought you a cup of milk tea," Xiao Yao opened his backpack, took out the now-cold milk tea, and said in the tone of the TV series "Little Uncle," "Pearl milk tea is so delicious!"

"13 o'clock." Shen Tianyun took the milk tea, her face beaming with a smile. "My mom treated me to this, right?"

The girl was wearing a green T-shirt and only a pair of loose shorts, revealing her fair thighs, which made Xiao Yao very uncomfortable.

"Are you...the Snail Fairy?" Xiao Yao looked around again and exclaimed.

"What snails and salted radishes?" Shen Tianyun said fiercely on purpose, "Your place is a mess, so I'm cleaning it up for you. If you mess it up again, you'll be sorry."

"Did you make this?" Xiao Yao leaned forward, examining the two dishes.

"Otherwise what? I'm just doing this once in a while to celebrate our reunion. Don't expect me to serve you every day."

"Anew?" Xiao Yao discovered the key point.

"Oh, it's nothing, it's nothing. Let's eat." Shen Tianyun hurriedly asked, "How is my mother?"

Xiao Yao hesitated for a moment: "It's fine."

"Is it really that good? Is this all there is to it?" Shen Tianyun seemed quite dissatisfied.

Xiao Yao pulled out a chair and sat down opposite Shen Tianyun on either side of the table.

"You don't dislike her, do you?" Shen Tianyun stood up again, supporting herself on the edge of the table, her upper body leaning forward.

"..."

Yes, Shen Jie is very beautiful, and I would have no complaints about her being my wife.

However, when he looked at her, he didn't have the same "feeling" as when he looked at Yu Luying.

Not yet.

"I like it, but I feel like I can't quite handle it." That's what Xiao Yao decided to say in the end.

"It's alright, it's alright, Mom is a very nice person." Shen Tianyun's expression softened when she mentioned her mother.

The girl sat down, lifting her two delicate, bare feet onto the chair (Xiao Yao noticed her toenail polish), and with a "snap," shoved the thick straw into the cup lid: "Drinking a beverage that's been sitting for thirty years, you'll die, won't you?"

"Give it back to me if you're not going to drink it!"

"What did you two talk about?" Shen Tianyun bit the straw of her milk tea and took a small sip. "Tell me quickly."

“Before that,” Xiao Yao said, “you said we’d reunite, which means that you and I won’t have seen each other for a long time in the future, right?”

“You’re so annoying,” Shen Tianyun frowned. “Didn’t I tell you? My mom went out of town, and you went to keep her company.”

"So you live alone now?"

"Ang, what's wrong?"

Is this reasonable? Xiao Yao wondered to himself.

"So, what will Shen Jie do in the future? And what about me?" He picked up his chopsticks.

“My mom inherited the family business and has been expanding into new overseas markets these past two years, traveling all over the world, both domestically and internationally,” Shen Tianyun said as she thought. “You’re also working as a C or something in the group, I don’t know the specifics, but you’re just helping your mom out.”

That sounds really good, but...

If I were a stay-at-home dad, I should stay and take care of the kids. If we're the kind of couple who travel the world together... at the very least, Shen Tianyun shouldn't still be living in this old house. Even if she lives alone, shouldn't she have a nanny?

"Eat first, eat first, hurry up and try my cooking," Shen Tianyun urged, "It'll get cold if you leave it any longer!"