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

Finally, Xiao Yao simply made a complete stand-alone decision, asking all these disobedient and troublesome adults to leave, telling them that the funeral would be held on time and that they did not need to see him again before then.

Then, Xiao Yao consulted his relatively experienced uncle about the basic procedures, and after communicating and adjusting with Yu Bo, he put together a work plan. Then, he gathered all the children who could come, including Xiao Xiong, Dai Yu, Zhang Jialong, and others, along with Yu Luying and Shen Tianyun who were already there. The group of children were divided into pairs, and each was assigned a task that they could handle. Communication tools were ensured, and Xiao Yao himself stayed in the military base to coordinate, contact and arrange for Shen Tianyun to run errands and pay related expenses.

Preparations for the funeral have finally begun to proceed in full swing.

Three days later, Miao Jinfang's memorial service was held as planned at Longhua Funeral Home.

It was the same location and the same street. Xiao Yao felt that this was the same venue that Song Haijian had used a few months ago, but Zhang Jialong was in charge of this part, so it was normal that he hadn't paid attention—and it didn't matter.

The funeral did not employ a master of ceremonies from Longhua Funeral Home. The memorial service was presided over by Abbot Yu Bo and was essentially a mass to help the soul of the deceased find peace.

The details of the memorial service are probably not what readers want to see, so I won't go into them here. However, it is worth mentioning that Mr. Karlschderlin attended uninvited, representing the "Guardians of the Brightness," and presented a substantial condolence payment.

Xiao Yao didn't stand on ceremony with him and handed the money to Yu Bo, asking him to celebrate thirty-three more masses for Miao Jinfang in the future, according to medieval tradition.

In addition, Xiao Yao met his cousins ​​whom he hadn't seen in a long time. They all thought Tian Yun was Xiao Yao's girlfriend and were amazed that their youngest grandson was so lucky.

Their assessment was that Xiao Yao and Tian Yun looked like a married couple; if it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, Xiao Yao would have almost burst out laughing.

The snow started to lessen that day, and then stopped completely an hour before the memorial service was scheduled to begin in the afternoon.

Xiao Yao and Shen Tianyun stood at the entrance of Yong'an Hall to greet the visiting guests and accept their monetary gifts.

The two women stood on the other side of the entrance to Yong'an Hall, helping to greet guests and supervise the amount of money given as gifts—they claimed that they were also entitled to a share. Xiao Yao wasn't sure if this was in accordance with the rules, but considering their good attitude today, he let them have their way.

"Go inside," Xiao Yao said to Tian Yun in a low voice, "What are you doing standing here?"

"Can't I stand here?" Tianyun whispered, "I'm a direct relative too."

“How am I supposed to explain this to my relatives?” Xiao Yao said with a wry smile. “They just think of you as my childhood sweetheart, my little girlfriend—a bad kid.”

"Do whatever you want," Tianyun said. "You're so proud to have such a good-looking girlfriend like me."

“That’s right. Didn’t my older brother and sister say that we look like a married couple?” Xiao Yao said, “It seems that you do look a bit like me. It’s all because I was good-looking first, thanks to strong genes.”

"You've got no shame, yue." Tianyun said, "If I looked like you, my life would be over."

"Oh my, you're here," Xiao Yao said, taking two steps forward to greet her. "Auntie, Yingying."

The visitors were Yu Luying and her daughter Yu Lihua.

After the two of them entered Yong'an Hall, Xiao Yao wanted to ask Tian Yun, "You're my girlfriend, so who was the person who just went in?" But then he thought better of it.

Don't go looking for trouble.

"You're standing here, waiting for her, aren't you?" Xiao Yao's eyes were fixed on the entrance to the Longhua Hall.

"Otherwise what?" Tianyun said, "Who else can we wait for?"

“She might not come,” Xiao Yao said.

He hoped he was wrong.

"She said she's not coming?" Tianyun looked at Xiao Yao.

“She didn’t say,” Xiao Yao replied. “She said on QQ that it depends on the situation.”

"That settles it," Tianyun said. "She'll definitely come."

"Mmm," Xiao Yao replied perfunctorily.

But he hoped she was right.

But as time ticked by, and it got closer to 3 p.m., the father and daughter's hearts sank lower and lower.

It's getting heavier and heavier.

"Xiao Yao," Yu Luying's timid voice came from behind Xiao Yao, "It's about to start, your uncle is calling you in."

The older and younger aunties also looked up at their phones to check the time, then turned and walked into Yong'an Hall.

Xiao Yao took a deep breath and turned to Tian Yun: "Let's go in, it's about to begin."

"..." Tianyun pouted, neither speaking nor moving, but just staring longingly at the doorway, as if she was about to cry.

Xiao Yao reached out and ruffled Tian Yun's hair, forcing a comforting smile that only a father would give her: "Let's go."

The boy paused, then added softly, "Daughter."

After the memorial service, Xiao Yao took his uncle and aunt inside and arranged for them to handle the cremation and retrieval of the urn. He also called the driver of the rented bus to pick them up in half an hour.

He led the guests to the car, counted the number of people, and then drove to the "SF Express Hotel" that he had booked the day before to have the banquet.

The boy, who had been busy like a spinning top, finally had time to take out his phone and call Shen Jie with a question mark.

After thinking about it, I didn't send it and deleted the "?".

Just as Xiao Yao was pondering how to phrase his words while looking at his phone, the phone vibrated.

The message was sent by Shen Jie.

"It's Xiao Jie~:"

I'm sorry, I've thought about it and I'll decide not to go.

It's Xiao Jie!

I will pray for her.

Xiao Yao typed "It's okay" on the keyboard and then deleted it.

He leaned heavily against the back seat of the bus, closed his eyes, and muttered to himself, "Fuck it."

Shen Tianyun, who was standing next to him, looked up at him, reached out and held his hand, and even squeezed it twice.

Xiao Yao didn't open his eyes, but instead squeezed Tian Yun's small hand twice in response.

That evening, after finishing everything, Xiao Yao bid farewell to his classmates and friends who had come to help, and dragged his tired body back to his empty home with Tian Yun.

He opened the wardrobe, intending to change out of his formal attire.

However, the first thing that caught my eye in the wardrobe was a change of clothes that I had prepared at home three nights ago, ready to take to my grandmother later.

Xiao Yao suddenly burst into tears.

A minor's breakdown can happen in an instant.

Xiao Yao held onto the open wardrobe door, his head and upper body submerged inside, his head resting on the mirror he had passed through countless times in the past six months. He cried like a 1200-kilogram wild man.

"Crying like a 1200-kilogram savage" is something Tianyun said before. Heaven knows what those stale jokes meant back then.

Tianyun came up and hugged Xiao Yao from behind, gently patting her little father's chest with her jade-like hands.

Xiao Yao turned around, her face streaked with tears, her voice hoarse: "You knew everything, didn't you?"

"What do you know?" Tianyun asked, puzzled.

"Did Grandma pass away in 05?" Xiao Yao asked Tian Yun, sobbing. "If so, why didn't you warn me sooner so I could prepare myself? Perhaps we could have dealt with it earlier and changed things—"

"I don't know!" Tianyun exclaimed. "I really don't know!"

"You don't know when your great-grandmother passed away?" Xiao Yao asked.

"Father, Uncle!" Tianyun roared, "I know you're in a bad mood, but who's having an easy time? Don't take it out on me, okay? Do you even know when your great-grandmother passed away?"

Xiao Yao fell silent.

For Tianyun, her great-grandmother, who had raised her father (for at least a year), was indeed an old woman she had never met and whose name she did not know.

And the person primarily responsible for her lack of understanding is undoubtedly Xiao Yao himself.

Chapter 413 Stepmother and Abandoned Cat

2024-06-01

Time flies, and soon it was Yu Luying's first semester final exam in her second year of high school.

Of course, it was also the final exam of the first semester of the second year of high school for the male protagonist, Xiao Yao.

The devastating snowstorm at the beginning of the year is now in the past. Although we are still recovering from its aftereffects, life goes on. We still have to go to work and school. Final exams, like death and taxes, are inescapable.

Yu Luying was not worried about the exam, but she couldn't help worrying that Xiao Yao, who had lost his symbiotic relationship with her, might become even more depressed because of his poor exam results.

He had just experienced a relationship crisis, as well as family troubles and setbacks.

To handle the old man's funeral—or rather, the aftermath—Xiao Yao frequently took leave from school. Even at this critical juncture, Xiao Yao was still on leave, and Yu Luying herself hadn't seen him for many days.

But today, I finally saw Xiao Yao come to school.

The electronic school bell rang from the school's public address system on the right side of the classroom, interrupting Yu Luying's reverie.

With Teacher Lin absent from the classroom, and without waiting for the class monitor's notification, all the students stood up, grabbed their schoolbags, rushed out of the classroom, and scattered like birds and beasts.

Yu Luying was slowly packing her schoolbag when she suddenly felt a shadow loom over her desk.

The girl looked up and saw Xiao Yao standing in front of her, carrying his schoolbag, his expression calm.

The boy's hair was washed clean and clearly combed, and his beard was shaved, but not very cleanly; you could vaguely see the bluish tinge on his chin.

That's strange, his beard used to be quite soft.

"What's wrong?" Yu Luying asked, rolling her eyes.

The remaining classmates ignored it—since everyone assumed that they and Xiao Yao were a couple, the confirmed rumors naturally lost their value for further spread and gossip.

Yu Luying felt that Xiao Yao was a little unfamiliar now.