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

“?” Shen Jie said.

"How old are you???" Xiao Yao said.

"It was arranged by my family," Shen Jie told Xiao Yao. "It's just a marriage alliance and a transaction, it's normal."

"What's wrong with this?!" Xiao Yao exclaimed. "It's 2004!"

“Hehehe,” Shen Jie said, “It’s alright, I don’t really care about these kinds of things.”

"Do you like him?" Xiao Yao typed out the question, then felt it was rather foolish, so he deleted it. He typed it out again, deleted it again, and repeated this process twice before finally sending it.

"What's there to like or dislike?" Shen Jie replied with a rather dismissive tone: "You're just a kid who hasn't even grown all his feathers yet, he's younger than you, still in junior high."

"Huh???" Xiao Yao replied, "What little husband?"

“It’s different,” Shen Jie said. “In ‘Little Husband,’ there’s a child bride, okay?”

At this moment, Yu Luying came out of the dressing room wearing a brand new long dress.

"She's out, I'll talk to you later." Xiao Yao typed quickly.

"I'm curious what your girlfriend looks like," Shen Jie said. "Take a picture and send it to me."

How do I send pictures?

“MMS, you should take a look at it.”

"okay."

"Do I look good in this?" A clear and sweet female voice rang out from above Xiao Yao, who quickly looked up and replied, "Yes, yes, yes."

"You didn't even look properly!" Yu Luying pouted angrily and deliberately put her hands on her hips.

"No," Xiao Yao explained, closing his phone case, "I just looked up and my eyes lit up instantly. Whether it looks good or not is just a matter of a moment, you know?"

"Then I'll buy it?" Yu Luying said, "What's wrong with you today? You've been looking at your phone the whole time you've been out. Who are you texting?"

“A friend,” Xiao Yao mumbled, “What’s wrong? I can’t even look at my phone when I’m out with you. I’m so bored.”

"I'm going to pay the bill." Yu Luying turned around.

"I'll pay, I'll pay," Xiao Yao said, stepping forward.

"I don't want you to buy it for me," Yu Luying said angrily.

"Buy, buy, buy! Buy everything!" Xiao Yao said.

As you readers have probably already figured it out, Xiao Yao is now a complete scumbag—if this kind of thing happens ten or twenty years from now, he will definitely keep asking himself: What the hell am I doing?

After all, one has a girlfriend and the other has a fiancé, so what's the point of chatting so intensely every day? If they're going to cheat on each other, they're obviously being immoral; if they're just being faithful, they're just wasting each other's time.

To put it bluntly, they're all adults, and their little schemes are as clear as day—that's Sima Yi's intentions, as everyone knows.

The problem is, they are all minors.

In the logic of middle school students, many things are not quite the same as those of adults.

Most adults know that it's difficult for men and women to have pure friendship, but many middle school students don't think so.

Let me give you a simple example—when I was in junior and senior high school, my success rate in asking female classmates out, even just for a one-on-one "date," was not low. However, if I tried to take things further, they would politely decline. But after I went to college, I could hardly ask any girls out at all—if they did, it meant they had some interest in taking things further with me.

In September of this year, when I went to WX City to attend a writers' association meeting, I met a girl who was a high school sophomore in 2006. She mentioned that if a male classmate asked her out, as long as she didn't dislike him and had time, she would go on the date without any romantic intentions. I mentioned this to prove that my understanding in this regard may not be outdated.

The reason why "adopted brother" and "adopted sister" relationships are so prevalent in middle school is that some things that seem like manipulative behavior in the adult world are normal in middle school because students are so naive and believe in the existence of pure friendship among their peers.

In conclusion, Xiao Yao, like most of his peers, was naive to the point of shamelessness. He believed that he had simply gained a compatible female friend and was very happy. He had no intention of betraying Yu Luying, nor did he believe that chatting with Shen Jie was, to some extent, a betrayal of his girlfriend.

As for Yu Luying, she seemed to vaguely know that he had gone to see the Earl of Nottingham, but she never asked Xiao Yao about it directly, nor did she ask him what he did after school on September 30.

During their conversation, Shen Jie learned that Xiao Yao was the famous president of the poetry club at St. Francis Secondary School, which made her feel a little more enthusiastic and favorable towards him.

"You said your name is Xiao Yao..." Shen Jie said, "You wouldn't happen to be Fang Zhong, would you?"

“I’m Fang Zhong,” Xiao Yao said. “I was wearing Fang Zhong’s school uniform the day I came to see you.”

"You came to see me?"

"No, it was a typo the day I met you."

"Emmm, there's a problem."

",,,,,,,"

"I didn't even notice which school your uniform was from. Anyway, are you the president of that poetry club?"

"Yes."

"A talented man! A celebrity!"

"No, no, no..."

"Please sign your name for me next time."

"Stop messing around."

……

"Do you write poetry too?" Xiao Yao asked Shen Jie one day.

"Haha, I'm bad at writing essays, let alone poetry," Shen Jie replied after a long pause.

“That’s still not quite the same,” Xiao Yao said. “I can teach you that the most important thing in writing poetry is a pair of eyes that can discover life and an explosion of abundant emotions.”

"Haha, thanks, but I won't take it," Shen Jie said. "But I'm still quite envious of people like you."

"Hey, what's there to envy?" Xiao Yao said.

On the evening of October 6, Xiao Yao and Shen Jie spoke on the phone for the first time using their home landline.

"Didn't you say you were coming to my house to see the dog? It's been so many days, when are you finally coming?" Xiao Yao asked, holding the landline receiver. "The dog told me it misses you."

"Hahahaha..." A clear, bell-like laugh came from the other end of the phone: "Is Zun Du fake Du?"

“Really?” Xiao Yao said.

“I’ll definitely come when I have time,” Shen Jie said. “I’m in my final year of high school now, so my studies are quite busy. I’m not like you, a genius who can get into university without taking the entrance exam.”

"Aren't you also not taking the college entrance exam?" Xiao Yao asked Shen Jie.

“Even if you don’t take the college entrance exam, you still have to take other exams, all sorts of exams, including interviews, you think?” Shen Jie said.

“Okay,” Xiao Yao said, “I was thinking of asking you out whenever I’m free.”

"There will be time, there will be time," Shen Jie assured him. "I'll tell you when I have time."

"Okay, then," Xiao Yao said.

"Remember to bring the dog with you then."

"The dog says it's a homebody and doesn't want to go out. If you come, it'll perform a backflip for you."

The conversation lasted for over an hour, and Shen Jie took the initiative to end it. By the time Xiao Yao hung up, his ears were burning.

No sooner had I hung up the phone than, about three seconds later, the landline's shrill ringtone started again.

"Hello? What's up?" Xiao Yao answered the phone cheerfully.

"Who are you talking to on the phone?" came another girl's quiet voice from the other end of the line. "I've been calling you for almost an hour and the line is always busy. You can't answer your cell phone either. What are you doing?"

"Oops!" Xiao Yao slapped his forehead. "Sorry, I didn't mean to. My phone was charging and the sound wasn't on..."

"Who exactly are you talking to on the phone?" Yu Luying persisted.

"I...this isn't...with..."

Then it took more than an hour of coaxing and coaxing Yu Luying before she was finally able to calm down.

Then he got another scolding from his dad, who said, "Are you going to pay the phone bill?" and "You two live so close, why don't you go over to make the call?" It wasn't until Xiao Yao swore that the call was from Yu Luying and that it didn't cost them any money that he finally gave up.

On October 9th, the second day of school, after school, Xiao Yao received a phone call asking if he would do her a favor and come to "Qian Gui" KTV for her friend's birthday party after school on October 14th.

Xiao Yao readily agreed.

"Tell your girlfriend to come along," Shen Jie said before hanging up the phone.

"Yingying," Xiao Yao turned to Yu Luying and asked, "How about we go to Qian Gui KTV to sing after school on October 14th?"

"October 14th, why? Who asked you to go?" Yu Luying asked Xiao Yao.

"It's just a friend. It's her friend's birthday party and stuff. It sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun," Xiao Yao said.

"Is a place like a KTV, a mixed bag of people and a breeding ground for filth, suitable for middle school students?" Yu Luying said.

"Hey, what are you thinking? Qian Gui is a legitimate KTV..."

"What day of the week is the 14th? Let me see... Thursday, I have orchestra rehearsal after school."

On the morning of October 10, Yu Luying disappeared without a word and did not come to school.

Chapter 383 The Troubles of Young Xiao Yao

2023-11-17

When Shen Jie made that call to Xiao Yao, her voice sounded different from the last time; the pitch was a bit strange. Xiao Yao didn't think much of it, assuming she had a cold or that the phone signal was distorting her voice.

After the start of the school year, Shen Jie became exceptionally busy, and the two chatted and contacted each other much less often than during the holidays. Xiao Yao's life seemed to gradually return to its usual routine.