You are my wife, don't doubt it!

Shen Jie did not refuse and put Xiao Yao's brand new 100 yuan into his own pocket.

"I'll go buy the ticket!" Xiao Yao began to worry whether the 150 yuan left in his pocket would be enough.

"Adult tickets are 100, students are 70." The ticket seller had a sad expression on his face, wondering "What is the purpose of life?"

Great, just right, and I still have ten dollars left to buy her a drink later.

"Student ID?" Shen Jie shook her head at the hand Xiao Yao extended. "Does your school often check student IDs? I don't even remember where I put mine."

Xiao Yao stared at Shen Jie's confused expression meaningfully and held his forehead with his palm.

Chapter 15: Forest (Part )

2023-07-31

"Who drew this world? And drew you and me, so that we can love and depend on each other like this; who made us cry? And gave me a surprise, so that I can... eh?" Xiao Yao forgot the words: "Love and depend on each other?"

"You have a good voice, very pleasant." Shen Jie sat on the back seat of the tandem bicycle and clapped her hands.

"I don't sing well, I'm always out of tune." Xiao Yao was a little embarrassed. This Shen Jie, isn't she too... too considerate?

"Don't be so modest. I'm the one who's always singing out of tune." Shen Jie insisted. She held the back handles tightly with both hands and stepped hard on the pedals: "I don't know who wrote this song, but it's a bit of a burden for you. Your voice is not suitable for such a vicissitudes of tune."

Could it be that I really didn't sing out of tune just now? Did I perform beyond my normal level?

"This is Xu... Hey, I'm just singing it casually. Do you have a favorite song? I'll sing it for you."

Xiao Yao was in a good mood, on the one hand because of Shen Jie behind him: this girl was simply a perfect sweet girlfriend, who made the nervousness of the first date disappear without a trace; on the other hand, it was because of the surrounding environment.

He didn't know what was fun about the "Forest Park" before, but at this moment, he wanted to applaud Shen Jie for choosing this place.

At this moment, they were in a vast green field. Apart from the road they were riding on, there were almost no traces of human activities. The air was fresh, the wet land after the rain was fragrant, and the wind was gentle... As far as the eye could see, there were only those huge trees in the distance, and behind the trees were undulating... Should I say it was hills or mountains? Xiao Yao wondered.

"But I don't think I've ever heard the songs you sang." Shen Jie added, "They're all old songs, right?"

"Not really..." Xiao Yao said, "I mainly like these campus folk songs, and I don't really like the current pop songs."

"School song?"

"It's not a campus song, it's a campus folk song, a genre of music... Campus songs don't have so many love stories between men and women." Xiao Yao explained carefully: "Representatives include Lao Lang, Pu Shu, Shui Mu Nian Hua, Ye Bei... The song just sung was by Xu Wei, which can also be considered a folk song."

"So that's it."

This park is good, but it's too expensive - the ticket price is already high, and you have to pay to rent a bicycle, which is charged by the hour and requires a deposit.

Xiao Yao gave up resistance and let Shen Jie pay all the expenses.

At noon, they had lunch at the barbecue area in the forest park.

"Don't you need to return the bicycle first? We're still counting the money." Xiao Yao regretted the moment he said this.

Sure enough, Shen Jie shook her head: "No, it's too troublesome, and I have to walk over there when the time comes."

In the erected tent, Shen Jie squatted beside Xiao Yao and grilled the freshly skewered meat on the charcoal rack.

"Let me do it..." Xiao Yao reached out to take the skewer, but was pushed away by the girl.

"I'll do it this time," Shen Jie said with a smile on her face, "It's good mutton. If it's roasted a little more tender, it will taste better."

"Hey, it's my first time, I have no experience." Xiao Yao scratched his head: "How come you know everything? You really don't look like a young lady."

"What era are we in? I don't live in the Forbidden City." Shen Jie put a few skewers of grilled meat on Xiao Yao's plate: "Sometimes we have a barbecue in the back garden to entertain guests."

Back garden? Isn't it the imperial garden?

"Speaking of which..." Xiao Yao's eyes fell on Shen Jie's ankles. Because she was squatting, her socks were exposed from her trouser legs and the uppers of her sneakers. The originally white socks had almost turned gray. "Why are there so much mud on your socks... Oh, and on your trouser legs too!"

"Eh? Really?" Shen Jie turned her head and looked down: "Yes, how could this happen?"

"Could it be because... when you were riding a bicycle," Xiao Yao thought: "This bicycle has no fenders, and you were sitting at the back?"

Shen Jie nodded: "Probably."

"I didn't think of that," Xiao Yao said apologetically, "I should have let you sit in the front."

"It's okay, it's nothing." Shen Jie stood up, clapped her hands, walked to sit opposite Xiao Yao, and said, "You are quite caring."

Xiao Yao thought about it and wondered whether this was a stern statement or a sarcastic one.

"Do you want pepper?" Shen Jie picked up a small jar at hand.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it myself," Xiao Yao filled Shen Jie's disposable plastic cup with beer, the foam almost popping out, "I'll toast you first."

--split line--

In the classroom of St. Francis's After-school School - in fact, it was a normal classroom, the last math class was over. In the noisy classroom, students were packing their school bags.

"Yingying, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell?" asked her deskmate with concern.

"It's okay... I just feel a little dizzy." Yu Luying's face was flushed, and she was a little shaky when she stood up. There was a faint smell of mutton in her mouth that lingered all the time, making her feel very uncomfortable.

"Are you anemic?... Hey, slow down." Her deskmate reached out and supported her.

Similar strange symptoms have become more and more obvious recently, and Yu Luying thought to herself: I can't ignore it anymore.

--split line--

"Lin in the south, Shen in the north, Yan in the east, Xi in the west... I can't remember, and Ouyang in the middle, right?"

"Xi Zhao, this kind of gossip spreads quickly." Shen Jie smiled: "Actually, it's just some bored boys from other schools posting on the forum..."

"It seems that the legend is true."

"Well, Nanlin is Lin Wanxiang, Yan is Yan Xiaoxuan, then Zhao Jiayi, and Ouyang Youyou." After drinking a little beer, Shen Jie was also a little excited: "Actually, I think Ouyang Youyou... is average. The reason why she was put in the middle is just because..."

"Because she is two characters, corresponding to the middle divine power." Xiao Yao understood: "But I have been wondering these two days, who is Bei Shen?"

"Are you annoying?" Shen Jie took out a tissue and handed one to Xiao Yao. "These are just rumors spread by boring people. In fact, there are many pretty girls in our school. The reason why there are east, west, south, north and center is actually just because of family background."

"The five great families?" Xiao Yao stroked his face.

"Change the subject, change the subject."

"Well... you should be quite popular. Did you hang out with boys before?" Xiao Yao regretted asking this question.

Fortunately, Shen Jie didn't take it as an offense: "Often... not really. Actually, I'm usually quite busy with various things, but I used to go out with my classmates in junior high school... Do you mean alone?"

Xiao Yao nodded.

"Yes...I think so, why are you asking this?"

"……fine."

"I've never had a boyfriend," Shen Jie said bluntly, "Is that what you want to ask?"

"Why?"

"No reason," Shen Jie said as a matter of course, "There are so many more important and interesting things to do in the world than falling in love, and... in the future I should listen to my family's arrangements and marry someone."

"Marriage?!" Xiao Yao almost spit out the Sprite in his mouth: "You still say you don't live in the Forbidden City? I always thought this was something that only existed in ancient times or novels. It turns out that it still exists in the 21st century?"

"Why not?" Shen Jie explained, "But generally there is no such thing as mandatory engagement without meeting each other... It's just that your parents will set a range for you, and then it's similar to a blind date."

"Then an ordinary person like me is definitely not within the range of options?" Xiao Yao said casually.

"There are such things as recruiting a live-in son-in-law, but in our family..." Shen Jie lifted her cheeks: "But who can predict the future?"

Xiao Yao seemed to be thinking about something.

"I didn't take everything the kid said seriously," Shen Jie continued, "Although I did go through the mirror and saw some things that science can't explain, and she does know a lot about me, it's still safer to take a blood test when I have time, right?"

"Test it."

"Don't just talk about me, talk about you too." Shen Jie blinked mischievously.

"What did you say about me?"

"Are there any good female classmates?"

"I guess so... I have a godsister at school. I went ice skating with her before, but she has plenty of boyfriends. She's just innocent with me."

"You and that little girl who ate with you at your grandmother's house that day, Yu or something, have you never been here?"

"I haven't been here, but I have been to Peace Park..." Xiao Yao admitted, "We often played together last semester."

Shen Jie nodded: "I can see that you like her and she likes you too. So, you don't have to worry about what that child said-"

"No, wait a minute," Xiao Yao interrupted her, "She doesn't like me."

"You know that now?"

"We had a very good relationship before." Xiao Yao fell into memories: "Then I confessed to her, and she rejected me because I was a foreign teacher. Then she distanced herself from me. After that, our relationship became very tense, and it has only been getting better recently."

"Oh, yes, I saw her praying before dinner the other day." Shen Jie was slightly startled: "Then she may not like you anymore. This is usually an excuse. There are also classmates in our class whose families are religious. They usually get baptized before getting married. In our generation, few people really take this seriously..."

"Hmm...really?" Xiao Yao nodded: "What you said makes sense. Later I told her that I could join the church, but she disagreed."

"That's it..."

--split line--

At the same time, Yu Luyingzhen returned home with tired feet.

"Have you been drinking?" Yu Luying's mother was a thin woman with short hair and a stern look.

"How...how is that possible?" Yu Luying said with a big tongue: "I have been attending classes in school this morning."

"Why didn't you answer the phone?" Yu's mother asked dissatisfiedly.

"I was riding...a bike...I didn't hear you." Yu Luying kicked off her shoes irritably and walked in wearing only her socks.

"Put on your slippers!" Yu's mother chased into the house with a shovel.

Yu Luying threw her schoolbag on the sofa, put on her slippers, walked heavily to the bed, and fell headfirst onto it.

Chapter 16: Forest (Part )

2023-07-31

Yu Luying's home is a typical old Shikumen house. Four or five families live inside the narrow front entrance, sharing a "soap room" (kitchen) and washroom.

Although it is called a washroom, you cannot use the toilet or take a bath. Apart from wiping your body with a towel dipped in hot water, you can only use the plastic bathtub.

The room that actually belonged to Yu's mother and daughter was a large single room of about 17 or 18 square meters. As soon as you entered the room, you would see the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows on the wall. In this statue, Mary frowned slightly and pointed at her heart - where there were seven sharp swords.

There is a sofa on the side near the door, and in front of the sofa is a small coffee table. Under the coffee table lies a double bass, facing the square dining table.

The square table was next to the window, and a large bed was in the innermost corner, with a small prayer table at the head of the bed.

This Baroque prayer table is small but fully equipped and is the most gorgeous and dazzling part of this simple room: in the middle is a pure gold cross, and on the left is a foreign Latin scripture - only a black and white photo of a man seems a bit out of place on it.

Yu Luying sat up from the bed, looked blankly at the photo of her father, and then lowered her eyelids again.

After a good sleep, she felt much better, so she got out of bed and groped for her slippers on the floor with her toes.

The bed next to her was empty, that was her mother's bed. As far as Yu Luying knew, there was almost no one else in the first year of high school who slept in the same bed with her mother, except herself.

The room was very quiet and there was no sound outside the door, which meant that my mother was probably out.

Whenever she realizes this, Yu Luying feels relieved.

Because of the distance between the buildings and the orientation of the rooms, the room was dark even though it was daytime - there wasn't much of the bright sunshine outside that could be shared with her, but it didn't affect the girl's mood at all.

Rather, she had become accustomed to this darkness and tranquility, like a young deer hiding in the forest.

What broke the silence was the vibration of the cell phone.

In the silence, the sound seemed particularly loud and startled her.

As expected, it was Xiao Yao calling, and she subconsciously hung up the phone.

There were (4) unread messages. Yu Luying did not click to read them, but closed the cover directly.

Then, I heard the cheerful ringtone of a new text message.

Yu Luying continued to search for her slippers with her toes, but she couldn't find them.

She lifted her right foot, placed it on her left knee, and stroked her palm.

What is he doing with his pants?

…She shook her head vigorously to dispel her imagination and patted her hot cheeks.

In one word, disgusting!