You are my wife, don't doubt it!

"I understand." Yu Luying returned the agreement to Xiao Yao.

Xiao Yao spoke out all the lines he had prepared in one breath: "I'm sorry, I dragged you into this again, but when it comes to that situation, I have to accept it even if I don't want to. Don't say things like, I've already thought about it, I want the school to punish and expel me, and give the chance to stay to Xiao Yao. This kind of weird idea - if you tell Song Haijian this, it will only further anger him. Moreover, even if I really get expelled or transfer, I still have many other opportunities, but I will never allow your future to be damaged in the slightest, especially because of me. I, Xiao Yao, am a -"

The girl ruthlessly interrupted his impassioned speech, and then said stubbornly: "Who told you that I want to expel myself from the school and leave the chance to stay for you? You are dreaming. If that happens, I will definitely run away."

"What's the first half of the sentence 'When disaster strikes, everyone flees'?" Xiao Yao reminded her.

Yu Luying's face turned red, realizing her mistake. "Anyway, since there's a chance that we can pass the test together, that would be the best. Your Chinese score is better than mine. As long as you perform normally, and I deliberately make a few mistakes in each subject, there shouldn't be any problem."

"There's no need to take that risk. Song Haijian may just want to catch you letting me down. Just do your best. As long as my grades are similar to yours, I don't think he can really do anything to me." Xiao Yao advised her.

"Let me think about it - but how did you convince Mr. Song to let us take the make-up exam? He seems very stubborn."

"It was Teacher Lin who helped me. I originally wanted to pass the math exam with 60 points, but Song Haijian, the old fox, pushed me and Teacher Lin into a corner. It's too tiring to deal with these adults. If you're not careful, you'll fall into a trap."

"Indeed, Song Haijian just predicted that after school today, someone will invite me to go home together. Will it come true?" A breeze blew by, and a few leaves swirled in the low sky, and were stepped on by the girl's feet in glass silk socks and small leather shoes.

In Xiao Yao's impression, although Yu Luying didn't have a good impression of Song Haijian, she still habitually called him "Teacher Song" when talking to him. Now she actually started calling him Song Haijian "Song Haijian", it seemed that she was really irritated.

The young man smiled faintly: "Well, classmate Yu Luying, let's go home together after school today?"

"Okay." Yu Luying lowered her head and walked in front.

"Uh, how is your leg injury? How did you get hurt?" Although they were walking together, Yu Luying was very silent. Xiao Yao had to find topics to ease the awkwardness.

"How is your leg injury? Can't you feel it yourself?" The girl replied calmly: "How it was injured... You should know it yourself."

"I'm really sorry about what happened last night." Xiao Yao still felt that he couldn't pretend that nothing happened last night.

"What happened last night?" Yu Luying asked in pretended surprise.

"OK, OK," Xiao Yao made an OK gesture: "Nothing happened."

"...Who took the initiative?" The two were silent for another minute, and Yu Luying couldn't help but ask, "Is it you, or Shen Jie?"

"Uh...this..." Yu Luying's question really made Xiao Yao feel embarrassed, as if any answer would be like covering up or shirking responsibility.

"Okay, I understand." Before Xiao Yao could answer, Yu Luying interrupted him and continued, "But I still want to remind you that I was lucky to be in the hotel room with my mother last night. If the same thing happened at a different time or in a different place..."

"OK, OK, I know what I am doing." Xiao Yao nodded like pecking at rice.

"Xiao Yao, are we still friends?" Yu Luying asked him.

"Of course, that's not a problem," Xiao Yao quickly replied, "Didn't we say it in the car yesterday? We are special friends, lifelong friends."

"Since we are still friends, can I give you a few more words of advice as a friend?"

"You say it, you say it."

"No matter what, you two haven't gotten married yet, and you're still middle school students. Even if you're not church members, you should stop doing certain things, okay?"

"Okay, Aunt Yu."

Yu Luying glared at him fiercely.

"Don't be angry, I was just kidding."

Then, there was another silence, neither long nor short.

In order to go with Yu Luying, Xiao Yao deliberately did not ride a bike when he came back. When they were almost home, it was already past four o'clock.

Although Yu Luying had a frown on her face and looked unhappy today, Xiao Yao had suffered from the pain of choosing the right time to speak, so he decided to bite the bullet and finish speaking the important matter.

"There's one more thing I have to tell you."

"Ok?"

"Shen Jie knows about the symbiosis." Xiao Yao tried to be as concise as possible.

"Yeah." Yu Luying didn't even slow down, which made Xiao Yao feel uncomfortable. Is this matter so unworthy of attention?

As if she noticed Xiao Yao's doubts, Yu Luying stopped and explained: "I knew she got off the car but didn't tell you, so I roughly guessed it."

"She is breaking up with me now." Xiao Yao calmly told Yu Luying about this and then observed her reaction.

Yu Luying was finally startled: "Sister is back?"

"No," Xiao Yao told her, "Now she has moved to 2034 and won't see me."

"I'm sorry," Yu Luying bowed to Xiao Yao, "It's my responsibility. If I had agreed to let you tell her earlier, maybe this wouldn't have happened."

"But don't be too nervous," Yu Luying told him, "She won't really break up with you, otherwise she would just go back to her father. Besides, there is an...unbreakable bond between you two, she probably just wants to make a scene."

"I thought so too," Xiao Yao told her, "God bless you, you are right."

"There's something buried in the wound. The longer it takes to heal, the more painful it will be when you open the scar - give her some time."

"Ah."

"I almost forgot, my mother asked me to go to the market to buy some vegetables, you go back first."

"I'll go with you."

"Goodbye, you should stay with Shen Jie more. She must be very depressed now, as if she was deceived and insulted, especially after what happened last night. I can understand her feelings. You really should have told her about symbiosis before what happened last night."

"Didn't we agree that we would tell her together after we returned from Zhouzhuang?" Xiao Yao pointed out.

"We agreed that you should inform me in advance. Don't pretend to be stubborn now. Besides, didn't you tell me before you came back from Zhouzhuang? And you didn't even wait for me to come with you."

"I didn't tell Shen Jie. Someone tipped her off when we were in the car."

"Someone informed on me?" The surprise on Yu Luying's face did not seem fake.

"Didn't I tell you? I was going to tell her with you when we got back—someone sent her a text message in the car, and it said everything."

"What?!" Yu Luying was really shocked this time: "Where's the text message? Let me see it!"

"It's on her phone, how could I have it?" Xiao Yao said.

Yu Luying fell silent and began to wonder who could do this.

"Yu Luying, there's something else I want to ask you." Xiao Yao thought for a moment and spoke again.

"You ask." Yu Luying replied absentmindedly.

"When Mr. Song was talking to you, he asked you if you would break up with Xiao Yao if he did this or that. Why did you agree with him?"

"Then what should I say?"

"Just tell him that we are not lovers, but just friends. There is no need to break up." Xiao Yao hesitated and said, "Why did you accept his assumption about our relationship?"

"...Ah, I understand." Yu Luying's brows furrowed even tighter.

"What did you understand?" Xiao Yao was a little confused.

"Then let me tell you why," Yu Luying took a half step closer to Xiao Yao, and raised her tightly furrowed brows. "Because even in such an occasion, I would still be very happy and excited to hear that others regard me as your girlfriend. My vanity would be greatly satisfied. I know you won't be with me, but if others think so, I can secretly feel good in my heart - are you satisfied now?"

"?" Xiao Yao was a little confused, not knowing why she was suddenly angry again.

"Ah, and you guessed right," Yu Luying continued emotionally, "Don't you want to say that I was the one who told Shen Jie the secret? Yes, that's right, it was me. Because I love you so much that I would do anything to get you, so I told on the symbiosis to destroy your relationship with Shen Jie; because you did that last night, I feel that I have been tainted by you, so now I am like my mother, thinking about forcing you to marry me immediately; so when I heard that Shen Jie was breaking up with you, I was so happy. My next plan is to kidnap your precious daughter and put her in my own belly - um."

Yu Luying couldn't continue speaking because Xiao Yao hugged her.

This was the first time in her 15 years of life that she had hugged a man other than her father, and it was also the first time she and Xiao Yao had hugged in the one year since they had known each other.

Her mind was blank, her breathing was rapid, her face was red and her heart was beating fast. Not only was she unable to speak, she couldn't even think.

The girl wanted to push him away, but her body refused to obey her brain's command.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Yingying, stop it," Xiao Yao said in her ear, "I swear to your God, you misunderstood. I have never doubted you for a second."

Yu Luying clenched her fists and punched Xiao Yao's back three times, hard.

Xiao Yao let go of Yu Luying with a grin, and the girl hissed and rubbed her back.

"I finally understand why Shen Jie beats you every day—she just can't help it."

"Yes, yes, I deserve a beating."

The wooden door on the first floor of the Shikumen house was slowly pulled open, and Yu Lihua walked out, carrying several plastic bags of garbage in her hands.

She just happened to see her daughter breaking free from the boy's arms.

"Auntie!" Xiao Yao screamed in horror.

"Mom!" Yu Luying also turned around nervously.

Yu Lihua looked around Xiao Yao without saying anything. She just nodded lukewarmly at Xiao Yao, picked up the garbage bag, and left.

gone……

The boy and the girl both calmed down, and an awkward atmosphere filled the air around them.

"That..." Xiao Yao said.

"Go back," Yu Luying said with her head down, "Go back and stay with her."

"Then, I'm leaving?" Xiao Yao said.

"Let's go." Yu Luying said in a low voice.

Xiao Yao was worried, so he reached out and held Yu Luying's fingers and squeezed them gently.

Yu Luying pinched him lightly with her backhand and said, "Let's go."

Only then did Xiao Yao leave with peace of mind.

……

The street outside my house is particularly deserted today. There are several luxury cars parked outside the exit of the alley, which are rarely seen here. There are also many middle-aged men among the few passers-by.

But Xiao Yao was preoccupied and walked in a hurry, so he didn't notice these changes.

I hugged her just now...it was just a spur of the moment move.

Thinking back on it now, I feel a little excited, but also guilty towards Shen Jie.

Although she shouldn't know about it, Shen Jie objectively has one more reason to advocate a breakup.

Xiao Yao walked while pounding his head in regret.

"Sing a song, love someone, live a life." These are the words on the album cover of "Campus Folk Songs".

When Su Jiang was in junior high school, Xiao Yao printed out this sentence and posted it on the wall of his bedroom.

But why did things turn out like this...

When he walked downstairs of his house, he finally noticed something strange in the air.

Where are all the old men and women who usually hang out and chat downstairs? These unfamiliar passers-by don't look like tourists.

Tourists won’t come here.

Xiao Yao had a very bad premonition, as if many things that had been ignored before came to his mind all at once.

How did Song Haijian know that Shen Jie was rich?

Was I too conspicuous in Zhouzhuang yesterday?

Did these guys from Hairtail really keep a secret?

He walked quickly up the stairs outside his house. The door was ajar. The setting sun illuminated the faint smoke drifting out from the crack of the door. It was the smell of a stranger.

Xiao Yao's heart sank - was there a thief in the house?

I’m just afraid it’s not a thief.

He picked up the kitchen knife hanging on the wall in the soap room.

Gently push open the bedroom door.

Compared to when I left, the room was a lot emptier. Although it wasn't messy, many things seemed to be missing - were they Shen Jie's things?

However, Xiao Yao did not pay more attention to those.

Because the room was still filled with a strong smell of cigarette smoke.

Because he saw a middle-aged man sitting on the chair in the middle of the room.

The man was about 40 to 50 years old, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with slightly graying hair parted in the middle. He was wearing a beige jacket, which looked simple yet elegant. He was holding a cigarette in his hand, with the cigarette cone burning long. Next to his shiny leather shoes were piled with extinguished cigarette butts.

Seeing Xiao Yao come in, the man quickly examined the boy in front of him, then threw down his cigarette butt and stomped it out.

"Sorry, the door was not locked, so I went in and waited. You are Xiao Yao, right?"

……

"Xiao Xiao, my daughter Shen Jie has been bothering me recently. I would like to thank you first."