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

“Oh, I see. It’s because I know your mother that I…” Xiao Yao said.

“Yes,” Yu Luying said with a smile, “At first, my maternal grandparents’ family was very opposed to it. My mother argued with them, saying that when it comes to matters of faith, how can we discriminate against new converts…”

"Eat your food!" Yu's father tapped Yu Luying's forehead with his chopsticks. "You're going to argue with your parents in front of everyone, aren't you?"

Yu Lihua said kindly, "It's alright, we're just chatting."

Xiao Yao was puzzled, and then he recalled his confrontation with Yu Lihua at the coffee shop.

If this fake Yu Lihua is really—for example, the real Yu Lihua in Yu Luying's memories—how come she herself married a foreign teacher who had converted to Christianity, and even argued with her own family, but now she has become the "dragon slayer who has become the dragon"?

It's possible that this Yu Lihua doesn't fit the real Yu's mother persona, or that Yu's mother's use of religious reasons to oppose her relationship with Yu Luying was just an excuse.

After the four finished their meal, Shen Jie reluctantly went to help Yu's mother wash the dishes at Xiao Yao's request, while Yu's father sat on the edge of the bed smoking, and Xiao Yao and Yu Luying sat on the sofa eating sunflower seeds.

In fact, only Xiao Yao was eating sunflower seeds.

"What year is it this year?" Xiao Yao asked Yu Luying in a low voice.

"2004, were you asleep or something?" Yu Luying laughed.

Xiao Yao noticed that "Yu's father" was looking at him again.

"Are you... happy and content?" Xiao Yao asked, forcing himself to continue.

"I'm happy, I'm so happy," Yu Luying replied with a grin. "You're acting so strange today, asking all these weird questions?"

"Hmm..." Xiao Yao scratched his head, confused again. The Yu Luying he knew would never describe her life like this.

"Is Daddy good to you?"

“That’s great,” Yu Luying glanced at her father who was smoking, “Dad took Mom and me to the amusement park yesterday and even bought me a cute little dress…”

As Yu Luying spoke, she lifted her leg and accidentally kicked the coffee table in front of her, letting out a muffled groan.

A sharp pain shot from Xiao Yao's big toe straight to his brain.

Yes, symbiosis! This connection was broken after I got separated from Yu Luying in the mirror.

He reached into his pocket and twisted himself hard.

"Ah!" Yu Luying cried out in pain.

"What's wrong?" Mr. and Mrs. Yu peeked out together.

"No, it seems like I got pricked by something on the sofa..." Yu Luying stood up from the sofa and looked back at it.

"Shen Jie, come with me for a walk and we can chat," Xiao Yao called to Shen Jie, who was washing dishes.

"Ah, okay." Shen Jie turned on the tap and wiped the sweat from her chin with her right shoulder.

Yu Luying is living a very happy life now, Xiao Yao thought.

I've never seen Yu Luying so full of energy.

If this is her paradise, then it's a lie. Do I have the right to shatter this paradise and drag her back to the original truth filled with all sorts of unpleasantness?

Does she really want me to do this? Or is this just me unilaterally manipulating her?

What is real, and what is false?

I need to discuss this with Shen Jie.

Chapter 65 Birdcage

2023-01-02

A series of crackling sounds interrupted Xiao Yao's thoughts.

Xiao Yao suddenly looked up and saw that Shen Jie had accidentally dropped the two plates in her hands and they had shattered into pieces on the ground.

She's so clumsy; it's no wonder this young lady never does housework at home.

To Xiao Yao's surprise, Yu Lihua and the man exchanged a glance, then both jumped up. One picked up Xiao Yao's short axe, while the other pulled out a crossbow from his side.

“It’s a misunderstanding, she just slipped her hand—” Xiao Yao stood up.

"Yu Luying, wake up!" It was too late. Shen Jie hurled the fireball at the woman, Sekir: "They're not your parents! Your life is a lie!"

“Life…is…fake…?” Yu Luying frowned, looking confused.

As Yu Lihua turned her head, the fireball flew past her ear and hit the glass window, but fortunately it didn't set the curtains on fire.

Damn you!

Xiao Yao jumped up from the sofa and reached out to pull Yu Luying, but she slapped him away.

"Get out! You're not welcome in my house!" She held her forehead with one hand, her emotions somewhat unstable.

Seeing that "Yu Lihua's" short axe was already about to strike her, Shen Jie was powerless to save herself.

Suddenly, Don Quixote's phantom appeared before him, deflecting the blow with his left-hand shield.

The short axe struck Don Quixote's shield solidly with a "Duang" sound, and sparks flew out from the point where the axe blade and the shield made contact.

"Don't shoot the men, kill the women first." Yu's father raised the crossbow in his hand.

Xiao Yao crawled under the coffee table, rolled on the floor, and pulled Shen Jie up by her leg.

The phantom of Don Quixote appeared before the two, once again opening his shield in his left hand for them.

"We're here to help you, how can you be so inconsiderate?" Shen Jie said anxiously, stamping her foot.

The only response she received was a whoosh as the crossbow bolt in "Father Yu's" hand flew straight toward Shen Jie!

"Yu Fu" was quick, but Don Quixote was even faster.

Before Xiao Yao could react, Don Quixote's shield flew out at an angle, knocking the crossbow bolt off its track and then flying towards "Yu's father".

Before Xiao Yao could see clearly, he heard two muffled thuds, "Pfft" and "Pfft," as "Father Yu" and "Yu Lihua" were knocked to the ground by the flying shield, and the short axe and crossbow bolt in their hands flew into the air.

Then, the flying shield, which had killed three birds with one stone, spun around and returned to Don Quixote's hands.

"Holy crap, you're Captain America?" Xiao Yao exclaimed in surprise.

The crossbow bolt stuck straight into the floor, trembling and making a sound, but Xiao Yao didn't hear the sound of the short axe falling to the ground for a long time.

Because Yu Luying caught it, the phantom of Don Quixote disappeared.

"Let's go first," Xiao Yao grabbed Shen Jie's hand and turned to run towards the door, "Let's think of another way!"

He wasn't being cowardly; rather, he didn't want a direct conflict with Yu Luying, and he especially didn't want Shen Jie and Yu Luying to clash head-on like this.

Besides, "Don Quixote" seems to have temporarily left, and it's unknown how long his skill cooldown will last. In such a small battlefield, there are flammable materials everywhere. If Shen Jie is allowed to control "Bloody Mary" to set fires everywhere, it won't be long before the two of them and Yu Luying perish in the flames.

Those who play with fire will get burned...

Xiao Yao pushed open the door and went out, and Shen Jie followed him out. But Xiao Yao found that outside the door was not the original wooden staircase, but a rather spacious wooden house, without any furniture or furnishings, and even more strangely, without any windows.

"here we go again……"

He wanted to go back through the entrance, but as soon as he got to the door, it was pushed open again, almost knocking Xiao Yao over.

The newcomer was Yu Luying, who carried a short axe and had a gloomy expression.

"You've finally figured it out?" Shen Jie said, but she kept taking steps back, making a large safe distance.

“I’ve figured it out,” Yu Luying gently stroked the blade of her hand axe, then suddenly looked at Shen Jie, her eyes flashing coldly: “Only by getting rid of you can I find happiness!”

"What's going on now?!" Xiao Yao exclaimed. "How could you even think of something like this?"

"..." Shen Jie didn't speak, but simply raised the flame in her hand.

Seeing the two about to clash, Xiao Yao inwardly groaned, when suddenly his feet stumbled and he almost fell to the ground.

"An earthquake?" That was Xiao Yao's first reaction. As a resident of the coastal area, not living in an earthquake zone, he had never actually experienced an earthquake before.

“No,” Shen Jie said, “it’s more like…on a cruise ship at sea.”

"Cruise ship?"

The room began to sway like a ship encountering a storm, and Xiao Yao also felt an discomfort as if the elevator was going too fast.

Yu Luying, however, stood very firmly, like a seasoned sailor.

Behind her, at the doorway, it seemed as if a giant eye peered into the room, before the door slammed shut and disappeared, becoming just like the surrounding wooden walls.

It all happened in an instant. Yu Luying saw Shen Jie lose her balance and swung the axe at her.

The axe wasn't flying fast, and before Shen Jie could dodge, Xiao Yao pushed her to the ground.

Then, the axe clattered down in front of Shen Jie's neck.

Shen Jie gasped in shock: "Don't push me like that!"

As she stumbled to her feet, she hurled a small fireball at the ground in front of Yu Luying's feet.

Shen Jie neither expected nor wanted Xiao Yao to make the decision to break off relations and take action. In this situation, she could only exercise her right to self-defense.

Facing the incoming fireball, Yu Luying showed no sign of backing down, letting the flames rise and explode before her eyes.

This scalded Xiao Yao and startled him—if something were to happen to Yu Luying, and it was Shen Jie who had done it, he really didn't know how he would face her.

Besides, I and Yu Luying are...

Xiao Yao turned to look at Shen Jie, wanting to say something, but saw that not far behind her, the axe had silently floated up out of thin air, and was covered in a chilling white frost.