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

"No, no, no, no," Xiao Yao gasped, "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. Take turns."

After a brief test, the two recognized this undeniable fact.

Symbiosis, inexplicably, disappeared.

"Are you kidding me?"

--split line--

On his way home, Xiao Yao kept frantically calling Shen Jie, but after a long dial tone, he heard, "Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."

Yu Luying sat in the back of the taxi. Her toes could still feel the ice crystals in her leather shoes at first, but later they became numb and lost all feeling. Seeing that Xiao Yao didn't even show any concern for her work, but just kept calling Shen Jie like a headless fly, she was naturally annoyed inside.

She cursed Xiao Yao a thousand times in her heart, but Xiao Yao couldn't hear her, which saved her trouble.

When Xiao Yao saw that Shen Jie wasn't answering her phone, he simply told the driver to stop and turn around, heading towards the restaurant where the banquet was being held. Just after passing two traffic lights, Shen Jie finally made contact again—she took the initiative to call back.

"What's wrong? What's wrong? I haven't checked in a short while and there are already dozens of missed calls!" Shen Jie's tone was a mix of doting and reproach.

"Where are you?" Xiao Yao asked anxiously. "Are you alright?"

"What could possibly be wrong with me?" Shen Jie asked, bewildered. "I'm still at the hotel, we were just about to leave—oh no, they're here! I have to go now, I'll call you back when we get back, okay?"

Xiao Yao swallowed the words "I thought you didn't want me anymore" and blurted out, "The symbiosis is over!"

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you when I get back—what?" Shen Jie exclaimed in surprise, "What, it's gone?"

"Symbiosis!" Xiao Yao said, "Symbiosis is gone!"

"what?!"

--split line--

The next morning, Xiao Yao and Yu Luying obediently went to school to report and assemble, and boarded the bus to "Dongfang Hongzhou" to participate in the "Study Army".

Military training was incredibly tough and boring, and the weather was cold, so there wasn't much of a positive experience to speak of.

Fortunately, the organizers didn't push them too hard, so after the team finished each day, Xiao Yao still had the energy to hold Yu Luying's hand and walk along the lake in Dongfang Hongzhou, enjoying the northwest wind—at least he left a little bit of a beautiful memory in "Dongfang Hongzhou".

Yu Luying wore camouflage pants and a camouflage outfit, with two patches of white socks peeking out from where the pants met the tops of her green military boots. Her slightly long hair was loose around her neck, fluttering wildly in the evening breeze. She wore a light-colored winter coat over her camouflage outfit. Her face was expressionless. Xiao Yao walked to her left, turning his head to gaze at the girl's profile, finding her breathtakingly beautiful.

What is the point of fashion? As long as a person is good-looking, they will look good in this kind of uniform military training uniform and green cotton coat that is not distinguished by gender, Xiao Yao thought.

Thinking this, he couldn't help but lean in to kiss Yu Luying's face, but she frowned and avoided him.

"What are you doing..." Xiao Yao said.

"What are you doing!" Yu Luying scolded.

They eventually kissed.

But it was met with harsh disdain.

Another strong wind swept across the lake.

"Are you cold?" Xiao Yao asked Yu Luying.

"It's not cold, it's alright," Yu Luying said. "I'm wearing a coat."

"Is it cold during the day?" Xiao Yao asked, as if making conversation out of nowhere. "You weren't wearing a coat during the day, and it broke my heart to see you crawling around like that."

Yu Luying let out a soft laugh from her delicate nose: "You feel sorry for me? Give me a break."

"How can that be? I'm telling the truth."

“If you care about me, then you should put my feet in ice water,” Yu Luying laughed. “If you care about me, my feet are frozen solid in my shoes, and you just keep calling your wife. Me, you…”

"No, you, I, I didn't mean it was because..." Xiao Yao was speechless for a moment.

In fact, whether it was Xiao Yao, Yu Luying, or Shen Jie, they all knew very well what was going on.

If their previous assumptions were correct.

The disappearance of the symbiosis means that his relationship with Shen Jie... has at least gone into serious trouble.

In Ouyang Qianqian's words, the red thread between the two of them had turned black.

Now, Xiao Yao can only hope that his previous speculations about the symbiotic principle were wrong.

Shen Jie was able to sense Xiao Yao's anxiety, which is why she had been exceptionally warm towards him these past few days.

In fact, during the first two days of military training, Shen Jie's messages and calls came so frequently that even Xiao Yao found it a bit absurd.

He then realized that Shen Jie's frequent contact with him was not simply to soothe his anxiety.

She herself was also very anxious.

She was also afraid of losing herself, and she was also afraid of leaving her.

Once Xiao Yao realized this, his tension was actually relieved to some extent—which is easy to understand.

Then they began to worry that a natural disaster might be tearing them apart.

Or perhaps it's another man-made disaster.

"I went back to class today," Shen Jie told Xiao Yao on the phone on the third day of military training. "That's why there were fewer messages during the day."

"A girls' school?" Xiao Yao was stunned for a moment before he realized, "That's good, that's good."

When I said "pretty good," a pang of disappointment struck me: "Um, huh, did your classmates gossip about you?"

“No, no,” Shen Jie said, “they are all very polite.”

"It's just a pity about the tuition fee we paid for that school," Xiao Yao said.

Shen Jie let out two pleasant dry laughs.

"Hey, Gouzi, I have a question for you..." the girl said mysteriously, "I'm just asking casually, don't take it to heart."

"What's up? Ask away." Xiao Yao switched the phone to the other earpiece.

"My dad..." Shen Jie hesitated for a moment, but still asked, "My dad said he called you and said he wouldn't arrest me anymore, and would even transfer my living expenses into my card every month. Is that true?"

“...Yes, there is.” Xiao Yao swallowed hard.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Shen Jie asked in a very gentle tone.

“…I, I thought I was dreaming.” Xiao Yao was telling the truth, but as soon as he said it, he felt like he was insulting the other person’s intelligence: “…I mean, that phone call.”

"Oh..." Shen Jie's tone clearly indicated that she was not very satisfied.

Perhaps, subconsciously, it's because I'm afraid you'll go back? Xiao Yaoxi moved her lips twice, but no sound came out.

"By the way, I also have something to say," Xiao Yao said after a few seconds of silence, changing the subject: "I've wanted to ask you for several days, but I haven't gotten around to it yet."

"Hmm," Shen Jie replied indifferently.

"Does this mean Dad has accepted and acknowledged me?" Xiao Yao asked hesitantly.

"What do you think?" Shen Jie countered.

"How did you do that?" Xiao Yao asked Shen Jie.

“I confronted my dad,” Shen Jie answered cheerfully, “about the mirror, the future, my daughter, and Tianyun.”

"What?" Xiao Yao felt as if his heart had been struck by a sledgehammer. "What the hell did you say?"

Chapter 407 The End of Youth

2024-03-01

Before hanging up, Xiao Yao asked Shen Jie again for the contact information of his chubby cousin, "Ningning".

"I'll text you later," Shen Jie mumbled in agreement.

After hanging up with Shen Jie, Xiao Yao called Yu Luying and invited her to continue her walk by the lake.

"It's too cold outside," Yu Luying said. "I don't want to go out today."

"Then let's find somewhere to sit together," Xiao Yao said.

"Goodbye," Yu Luying said, "There's a group activity in our girls' dormitory tonight, and I want to play with them."

Then she added, "Be more sociable."

Helpless, Xiao Yao had no choice but to hang up the phone and try to "fit in."

He spent the whole night playing poker with the boys in his dorm, listening to them tell dirty jokes like "One, two, three, four; two, two, three, four; change positions; let's do it again."

Shen Jie's promised contact information for her cousin has still not been received.

The next day, the fourth day of military training, was just another ordinary day.

During the day, Xiao Yao continued his monotonous training while pondering Shen Jie's decision to tell her future father-in-law their secret.

Is it really that simple?

You passed the test so easily?

Could Shen Hongsheng really believe that?

If things are really that simple, shouldn't we have just told him from the beginning...?

Have I been trapping myself all along?

After a day of training, Yu Luying once again declined her evening date with the other two, without even coming up with a decent excuse.