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

Time flies, and soon it was Christmas Eve 2004.

In the past twenty days or so, Xiao Yao didn't know how many times he went to the gate of No. 7 Girls' High School, but he never saw Shen Jie.

He wondered if he was blind, or if Shen Jie had already transferred schools again.

After all, Shen Hongsheng had even given up his usual residence to prevent him from seeing his daughter, so transferring schools wasn't such a big deal.

As for why the father-in-law's attitude changed so drastically again, it remains a mystery.

Xiao Yao contacted Shen Jie from the future, asking her to help him "remember" where she went, but to no avail.

He went again to the "three burrows of a cunning rabbit" that Yan Xiao had helped him find out, as well as all the property addresses that Shen Hongsheng owned in Shanghai in the past year, which Shen Jie would provide in the future. But they were all the same as those in the West Suburbs Garden—either empty and locked, or with only two servants looking after the houses.

Xiao Yao recalled that he had searched for Shen Jie in the same way last time—he was getting a little tired of his repetitive "search" on the road.

What's more, last time Yu Luying was with him, but this time he's fighting alone.

Moreover, this winter is really cold.

Xiao Yao and Yu Luying's relationship visibly cooled down. He didn't know where the problem lay; he only knew that he no longer had the energy to care about her.

On Thursday, December 23, Yu Luying asked Xiao Yao at school if he wanted to go to church together the next night.

Xiao Yao was somewhat surprised, since he hadn't been in the mood to go to church at all throughout December, and therefore hadn't gone even once, and Yu Luying had never asked him about it.

Considering that this was Yu Luying's invitation—and since he was free anyway, and might as well stay home with Yu Yu—Xiao Yao agreed.

On Christmas Eve, the temperature was shockingly low, but like every winter in Shanghai in previous years, there was no romantic snow.

Chapter 408 Christmas Eve, Holy Night

2024-03-31

On Christmas Eve, the temperature plummeted, unusually cold, yet like any other ordinary winter day in Shanghai, there was no romantic snow.

It was a Friday, and school usually lets out early—I don’t know if it had anything to do with the holiday, but it was exceptionally early today.

Xiao Yao's imagined Christmas dinner didn't exist at all, because Yu Luying said she was going home for dinner—so you invited me to go to church just for fun?

He was unhappy, but he didn't show it. To be precise, he was too lazy to care. After school, he strolled slowly out of the school gate, passed a small shop, bought 7 yuan worth of fried chicken strips, and ate them as he walked. Only after he finished eating did he realize that it was Friday.

But who cares?

Will praying to God bring my wife back?

Xiao Yao lacked confidence in this.

That high and mighty being may indeed exist, but sitting atop the throne of the heavens, enjoying the worship of humankind, and coldly observing human suffering, he does not interfere in human destiny, but merely regards the struggles and ups and downs of fate as a good show, thus enjoying the amusement and passing the endless boredom.

Xiao Yao thought this way, pessimistically and cynically.

Yu Bo would claim that the guy's son—which is actually Himself—would be born for us on a cold, harsh manger on a winter night more than 2000 years ago, to experience the suffering of humankind…

"In the end, it's just a 33-year trial card," Xiao Yao muttered to himself.

He abandoned his plans to go to the church early to see the Holy Infant in the Manger or to talk to Yu Bo.

That is to say, Yu Bo should be at his busiest right now, and it would be unwise to disturb him at this critical juncture.

However, Xiao Yao was not in the mood to help, so he aimlessly wandered around a shopping mall.

Whether in shopping malls or along the streets, a strong festive atmosphere permeated everywhere.

To put it slightly exaggeratedly, every household was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and the melody of jingling bells echoed throughout the streets and alleys of the entire city.

Of course, there are also plenty of Christmas trees of all shapes and sizes, in a dazzling array.

The Christmas decorations in the mall were dazzling, prompting Xiao Yao to exclaim "Wow!" as he entered.

The entire "Snake Dream" was surrounded by lights of various colors, making the floor tiles shine, as if he were in a fairy tale world.

Christmas trees adorned with colorful balls and various exquisite decorations, and shop assistants dressed in various Christmas costumes smiling and distributing coupons throughout the mall.

The shopping mall was bustling with people and filled with noise.

"Golden Hook Cup, Golden Hook Cup, Golden Hook on the way..."

What is this? Shouldn't it be "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way"?

Xiao Yao thought resentfully.

In his song "Music Bug," Lao Lang sings: "In the bustling crowd, there isn't a single familiar face. In a world without mirrors, will we forget what we look like?"

Zhu Ziqing said, "The excitement belongs to them; I have nothing."

Xiao Yao sighed and decided it would be best to go to the church first.

As he was riding the escalator downstairs, he saw a high school couple standing close together on the escalator going up next to him.

Although the school doesn't require uniforms on Fridays, and they were both dressed casually, Xiao Yao still recognized them at a glance—the girl was Wu Xufei, who had appeared in the final "dance classroom" in Teacher Yao's lecture series, truly free-spirited. The boy also looked familiar, but he couldn't place him further.

In the few seconds that Xiao Yao was scrutinizing the two of them, the man nodded to him just as he was about to pass by.

Xiao Yao was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded to the man subconsciously, and then they passed each other, one above the other.

The boy turned around and looked at the two people's backs for a few more seconds.

To use Shen Tianyun's futuristic internet slang, Xiao Yao "broke down."

It's Christmas, after all; you can imagine the streets would be full of happy couples. Xiao Yao had long since become indifferent to it.

However, seeing people my own age, people I only vaguely know, or rather, how should I put it? Seeing these people and the sight of them brings back painful memories.

Actually, Xiao Yao hadn't thought about how to spend Christmas 2004.

In his subconscious imagination, he would go to Yu Bo's Mass with Shen Jie and Yu Luying, and then come to this "Snake Dream" shopping mall to have a nice meal.

Xiao Yao didn't intentionally think of anything in a whimsical way; it was just that in his subconscious imagination, he might "lead a yellow dog on the left and a falcon on the right," going up with the two of them from where Wu Xufei and the others had just gone.

Since the three of them cannot stand side by side on the escalator, Yu Luying might stand one step below her and Shen Jie.

As he slowly ascends, he may attract surprised and envious glances from passersby.

That's how things should be, isn't it?

……

On his solitary journey back to school, Xiao Yao felt resentment towards not only his father-in-law, Shen Hongsheng, but also towards Shen Jie herself.

No matter what, you should have contacted me, right?

Unless your dad locks you in the basement and chains you up, as long as you're still in school, even if he drives you around every day, you'll always find a way to contact me, right?

Even if it were just asking one of my close female classmates to send me a text message or make a phone call, I could still do it.

But were they really tied up in the basement?

Should we ask Liang Yanan for help again? ...

Stop talking.

Xiao Yao suddenly realized that he had called Zhou Xiaoying several times, but no one answered.

Shen Jie's phone remained switched off or disconnected throughout this period, but remained unanswered no matter how many public phones Xiao Yao tried to call her from.

This in the end is why?

Xiao Yao couldn't figure it out no matter how hard he tried.

By the time he arrived at the Sacred Heart Church across from the school, there were less than 20 minutes left before the so-called Midnight Mass was to begin.

Although the night of ion is still far away, this is how it is in this country, in Shanghai.

As mentioned earlier in this book, the Sacred Heart Church of Iesu, which Yu Bo was in charge of as "abbot," was actually quite small and was already overcrowded, with newcomers having to stand at the very back.

Seeing this scene, Xiao Yao couldn't help but secretly lament his decision to go to the "Snake Dream" shopping mall.

Christmas Mass will probably last for more than two hours, and standing as punishment must be too tiring.

Fortunately, Yu Luying saw him, stood up slightly, and bowed to him.

Xiao Yao quickly went over and sat down in the seat next to Yu Luying, who had reserved a place with her Bible. He then politely greeted Yu Luying's parents.

"That's great," Xiao Yao thought.

Even though the parents are separated, at least they can get back together.

As for my two...

Xiao Yao's thoughts drifted aimlessly, and the scene reminded him of last year's Christmas Eve, the turning point in his relationship with Yu Luying.

That day, at the urging—or rather, persuasion—of her uncle Yu Bo, Yu Luying said "Merry Christmas" to herself, ending a months-long state of hostility.

Xiao Yao suddenly remembered that there had been a time in history when the two armies stopped fighting on Christmas Eve and the soldiers went to each other's camps to eat meat and drink wine.

The story ends here, which is indeed heartwarming for Jesse. Unfortunately, in the real world, they still have to fight each other to the death.

Xiao Yao sighed inwardly.

Yu Luying is very cute today too.

Her jet-black hair hung straight down her back. She wore a thin, pure white down jacket, black flared jeans, and green and white sneakers. Because she was sitting, her socks could be seen between the pant legs and the tops of her shoes. At first glance, they looked white, but upon closer inspection, they were pinkish. They were thick wool socks, with small pom-poms hanging from the back of her ankles.

The above is merely an objective description; Xiao Yao hadn't been paying attention to such details. He covered his mouth, bent down, and whispered to Yu Luying:

"Shall we take a walk after Mass?"