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

A: The bond of life and death forged through adventures together in the mirror world.

B: Just so that Shen Tianyun won't disappear again.

C: All of the above.

D: Other.

If the other party's focus is not on you, will everything ultimately be just an unstable bubble in the sea?

"Shen Jie, I like you." Without any context, Xiao Yao blurted it out as if in a fit of pique.

"Yes, I know." Shen Jie's tone was like that of a mother gently coaxing a child.

"That's not what I want to hear," Xiao Yao said, getting a little angry again.

"Hmm... Xiao Yao, let's take it slow, okay?" Shen Jie patiently advised.

Xiao Yao grunted.

"What's wrong? Are you angry? Okay, okay, I'm angry too..."

"No..." Xiao Yao gasped, "My stomach is hurting again."

"Did you catch a chill from the air conditioning? Or did you eat something bad?" Shen Jie asked with concern.

"No...it's not diarrhea. It started when I was doing exercises this morning."

Xiao Yao described his sensations in detail: stinging, backache, cold sweat, and paleness.

"My lower abdomen feels cold, the kind of cold that feels burning hot when you touch it..."

Xiao Yao's description was interrupted by Shen Jie.

"Are you still irritable and easily angered?" Shen Jie asked with a chuckle.

Xiao Yao was taken aback, then recalled for a moment: "It seems like there was a little today, how did you know?"

"You're on your period!" Shen Jie seemed to be laughing so hard she was rolling on the floor.

I really envy her for always being so happy, always finding humor in life, carefree. Isn't that what youth is all about?

No, damn it, I'm younger than her.

"I was just kidding, don't be upset. If it's not okay, go to the hospital and I'll go with you," Shen Jie added, noticing that Xiao Yao wasn't saying anything.

"Weren't you unable to get out?"

"I'll definitely go with you if you need to go to the hospital."

“If that’s how you put it, I’ll go even if I didn’t intend to,” Xiao Yao said. “However, I already know where the problem lies.”

Shen Jie hit the nail on the head, reminding Xiao Yao that this was his period.

I came here last month, right when the symbiotic plant first arrived, so it's been about a month since then.

So fast.

"Where is the problem?" Shen Jie pressed.

"..." There was no way to answer that question, so I simply brushed it off: "It's nothing, just a stomachache, I'll be fine after eating something. By the way, Zhang Zhengkai has been bothering you lately—"

"No," Shen Jie said without hesitation. "I can handle my own affairs, so don't worry."

"Okay, call me if there are any problems," Xiao Yao added, still feeling uneasy.

"I will, I will."

Reluctantly putting down the phone, Xiao Yao looked up and saw a tall, short-haired girl in green pajamas standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, which startled him so much that he screamed.

"Laughing like a pervert, squirming around on the sofa!" Shen Tianyun pointed a finger at herself: "It's disgusting!"

"..." Xiao Yao was speechless: "How long have you been eavesdropping?"

"Shen Jie, I like you." Shen Tianyun deliberately imitated her tone, "I was thinking of telling you that you were secretly flirting with some girl again, and I was going to find an excuse to beat you up, but it turned out to be my mom, so there was nothing I could do!"

Thankfully, I didn't hear the part about socks.

"Oh, I was just pretending to cooperate with your mom, I didn't really hit you hard. Hehe, it's good that you're not angry anymore, come here." Xiao Yao chuckled and beckoned.

"What?" Shen Tianyun looked at Xiao Yao warily, her shoulders shrinking.

"Come here." Xiao Yao continued to wave with a smile.

Shen Tianyun hesitated and took a few steps closer, but Xiao Yao pulled her into his arms.

"What are you doing, you pervert, men and women shouldn't touch each other..." Shen Tianyun subconsciously struggled, but Xiao Yao let go and pinched her cheeks hard: "Thank you."

"Thank me for what? It hurts, it hurts..."

"Thank you for bringing my mom here," Xiao Yao said.

"That sounds like an insult!"

--split line--

The following Tuesday, when I arrived at school, I found the atmosphere in the classroom even more restless.

“Last night,” a boy said, putting one foot on a stool, “the school’s online forum was practically bombarded, you know? All sorts of insider information was being revealed, and people from other schools were even watching.”

"Really?" a girl said. "I'll go to the internet cafe after school and check it out."

"Stop looking," the boy said. "There's nothing left. Everything's been deleted. They've heavily controlled the comments. They post one thing and delete another."

"Didn't the school say that Teacher Yao was sent to No. 600 Wanping West Road (Note: Shanghai Mental Health Center)? What Teacher Yao said must all be false, right?" a girl with glasses thicker than the bottom of a beer bottle said weakly.

"I think he's either lost his mind or been coerced by someone. What normal person would jump out and say these things on their own?"

"Stop calling me Teacher Yao all the time, worry more about yourselves, the final exams are next week!"

"There's something else that's really important. Do you know who the new homeroom teacher is?" The speaker was Daiyu.

"Who is who?"

"He was just transferred from the neighboring Jiangsu Province. He's supposed to be a top-level teacher, but he's a real monster!" Daiyu said exaggeratedly. "I did a thorough background check, and every student he taught hated him!"

"What's going on? Why are they transferring people from Sujiang at this critical juncture?"

Xiao Yao didn't care too much about these things, and just quietly waited for the time to come when school was over.

--split line--

Before watching the movie that evening, Xiao Yao and Yu Luying ate "six yuan" spicy hot pot.

Don't get me wrong, the shop's signboard is called "Six Yuan", but even if Xiao Yao comes to eat alone, six yuan is definitely not enough.

At this moment, the two were sitting at a small square table outdoors on the street corner. On the table was a bowl of clear soup with some round and square objects floating on it.

Yu Luying ate alone, while Xiao Yao watched her, resting his chin on his hand.

Anyway, the taste and feeling of fullness are shared, so it's more convenient for one person to eat alone.

“I’m not trying to be mean,” Xiao Yao commented, “but you come here to eat mala tang (a type of spicy hot pot), and you don’t want it to be spicy or numbing—it’s not even very hot. What’s the point?”

The girl ignored him, simply brushing aside one side of her hair and gently blowing on the meatball on the plastic spoon.

"Life without spicy food is like missing half the fun."

Xiao Yao kept rambling on, then suddenly leaned over and joined in the blowing.

"What are you doing!" Yu Luying blushed and dodged away.

Yu Luying was wearing a matching summer sports uniform from St. Francis Secondary School today: a pink and white collared short-sleeved sweatshirt and pink and white athletic pants. Xiao Yao was wearing the same uniform, only in black and white.

As usual, the girl wore snow-white sneakers, with white socks peeking out from between her long school trousers and the tops of her shoes, covering her ankles. Unlike usual, Yu Luying wore a red headband today, and with her eyes downcast, she looked even more like a pitiful girl next door.

"The headband is cute," Xiao Yao said.

"Thank you."

……

"Also, I'm sorry," Yu Luying suddenly added.

"?" Xiao Yao reached out and drew a question mark in the air.

“I can’t eat spicy food… I know you like spicy food, and ever since we became symbiotic, you’ve avoided spicy food because of me… Thank you, I’m sorry.” Yu Luying said earnestly, “From now on, I will try my best to get used to eating spicy food, starting with mild spice and taking it one step at a time, okay?”

"Uh..." When Xiao Yao was complaining about her not eating spicy food, he was expecting her to either retort or ignore him, but he didn't expect her to apologize so seriously.

What's wrong with these girls lately? Have they all changed their personalities?

In short, they must be grateful to me for saving their lives, right?

“Not entirely.” Yu Luying shook her head.

Here we go again. Can you please stop with the mind-reading trick?

"Ahem, these are nothing. I've sacrificed so much for you." Xiao Yao blinked, showing no modesty whatsoever.

"Yes, I actually knew it in my heart." Yu Luying nodded. "Thank you."

Oh no, oh no, he's really changed his ways.

"Then, how should I thank you? As the ancients said, a life-saving favor should be expressed with such and such..." Xiao Yao teased her for a while, but then realized it was childish and stopped talking.

Yu Luying wasn't angry; she simply picked up a tissue and gently wiped her mouth.

She didn't speak, lost in thought.