You are my wife, don't doubt it!

This cute baby is not Xiao Yao himself, but the first photo on the first page of the album.

Xiao Yao’s birth photo has a hazy feel because it was taken in the dim light of the hospital. In the photo, he is naked, his face is wrinkled like a monkey, he cries like a monkey, his body is twisted like a monkey—in general, like a monkey.

The child was extremely ugly, with sparse hair on his head, a piece of tape on his belly button, and a label hanging at the end of the crib that read 1988.6.30.

"Dad was so ugly when he was little," Shen Tianyun commented, "Of course he's not that bad now either."

"Can I see your birth photo?" Xiao Yao interrupted unhappily.

"You want to take the picture yourself? Lululu." Shen Tianyun made a face.

"Definitely next time!" Xiao Yao told her.

The boy could see that Shen Tianyun was not very interested in participating in this activity, but Shen Jie and Yu Luying were both...completely focused and interested.

The two girls simultaneously stretched out their jade fingers, touched the wrinkled baby, and giggled.

The actions and looks of the two of them made Xiao Yao's nose sore and his heart almost melted.

At this moment, Xiao Yao suddenly realized.

They both seem to really like me.

If it's not the person you like, no one would smile so happily at such an ordinary, even ugly childhood photo, right?

Shen Jie turned to the second page, which was a photo of her when she was about two years old. This guy, with a pacifier in his mouth, a woolen hat, and clean baby clothes, was obviously much more pleasing to the eye.

Shen Jie looked at Xiao Yao's cute photo and was a little hesitant to recognize him, so she called Xiao Yao to come and see.

Xiao Yao stretched his neck to take a look, then nodded, feeling a little embarrassed.

"So cute~" said Shen Jie.

"Who wasn't cute when they were a child?" Xiao Yao said in a low voice.

"You just said that I was not cute at all when I was a child." Shen Tianyun interrupted.

"I never said that," Xiao Yao denied, "and even if it's not cute, the photographer can always pick out cute photos."

The three girls burst into happy laughter again.

With flowers fluttering in his eyes and laughter in his ears, Xiao Yao has already forgotten what year it is.

Chapter 171 Holding their hands and walking on the street

2023-04-24

This album contains photos of Xiao Yao at different ages, recording his entire growth history from birth to kindergarten, elementary school and junior high school. The people in the photos are sometimes Xiao Yao alone, sometimes he is with his family, and sometimes he is playing with some friends.

"Now he's in kindergarten..." Yu Luying didn't know whether she was asking Xiao Yao or talking to herself.

Xiao Yao glanced at it and said, "Yes."

The photo was a group photo. Xiao Yao was standing in the front row. His face was round and chubby, his eyes were big, his nose was small, and he had a smug smile on his face. He looked a little cute and a little naughty. His hair was black and a little curly, like a small table.

In the photo, Xiao Yao is wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt with a small cartoon pattern on it and a pair of dark blue pants. His clothes look very neat and without a single wrinkle.

"Little daddy, don't you see how serious you were when you were little? I was serious when I was little too," Shen Tianyun said, "How come you are so sloppy now?"

"Eh..." Shen Jie continued, "I think this one is the most beautiful."

"No," Yu Luying smiled and said, "I think the most beautiful one is this one..."

She flipped to a photo from elementary school, still a group photo. Xiao Yao had grown a lot taller and was standing in the back row of the team. His thick hair hung on his forehead, and his eyes had become brighter.

"Why are you pouting?" Yu Luying asked Xiao Yao, pointing at the photo.

"I failed the exam, so why ask?" Shen Jie was confident.

"Who failed the exam? I was a top student!"

"Delicious, fun and naughty?" Shen Jie teased.

"I have a certificate!" Xiao Yao took the photo album and turned to one part.

"Is it true?" Shen Jie's surprise was very deliberate.

"There is also an outstanding Shaoxian team member here." Yu Luying said.

"I didn't expect that our Xiao Yao would have such a glorious future. Let's see if he will be the team leader and give a report to the whole school later?" Shen Jie continued to flip through the pages.

"I was a three-good student in grades one and two, class monitor, an outstanding team member in grades three and four, and deputy class monitor. After that, I was nothing." Xiao Yao admitted.

A history of human degeneration.

"Ah..." Shen Jie made this long sound again: "Your peak came a little early and a little short."

Xiao Yao wanted to say, "Meeting you is the beginning of my new peak," but when he thought of Yu Luying's presence, he said nothing.

"Pfft!" Shen Tianyun next to him sneered for some reason, then quickly covered his mouth with his hands.

Shen Jie looked at her in confusion, frowned, and said nothing.

……

"Look at you, you were so nice when you were little." Shen Jie sighed and turned to the last few pages of the album: "When you were in junior high school, you had a miserable face, just like you do now."

Xiao Yao chuckled and was about to complain back, but Shen Jie had already turned to Shen Tianyun: "Nannan, you should quickly think of a way to open the passage to 1994."

"Huh?" Shen Tianyun said, "I'm not developing a time machine either."

"I'm going to 1994 and give this guy a good rub," Shen Jie said with a smile, "Silly girl can come too."

"I don't want to," Yu Luying smiled and said, "And Xiao Yao will be jealous, right?"

"You're kidding," Xiao Yao said nonchalantly, "As long as you can go, you can just hold the six-year-old me and chew on me on the grass. Why would I be jealous? Isn't it just me?"

"Be careful to be arrested for smelting copper," Shen Tianyun rolled her eyes, "Strange auntie."

Shen Jie raised her hand and gave Shen Tianyun a sugar-roasted chestnut.

"Wow..." Shen Tianyun held her head and yelled half-truthfully, "If I go to the Women's Federation or the Youth Office for your habitual domestic violence behavior, do you know what will happen?"

What does it have to do with me? What does "we" mean? Xiao Yao thought.

"Who isn't a woman and a teenager?" Shen Jie said with a smile.

Amidst the commotion, Xiao Yao pulled out the photo of himself from junior high school, which Shen Jie described as having a "miserable face".

He recognized that this should be when he was in the second grade of junior high school. He had grown quite tall and had fuzz above his lips.

The boy's clothes were very plain and looked a bit dull, and his hair was shaved very short, not much longer than when he had just been released from prison.

His eyes were somewhat melancholy, the corners of his mouth drooped noticeably, and he looked listless, as if he was immersed in his own world.

Xiao Yao read the inner conflict and confusion from his eyes. The whole photo revealed a depressing atmosphere.

Xiao Yao turned the photo over and saw the handwritten date. Judging from the handwriting, it should be his mother's.

He silently put the photo in his hand back into the plastic cover.

The boy sat in the middle of the three girls and looked at his past photos with them.

He remembered these photos, each of them holding deep memories.

He saw his smile and sadness, as well as every detail of his time with his mother, father, childhood playmates, and cousins.

Looking at these photos, Xiao Yao thought of his parents and the past years, but his heart was surprisingly calm, without any sadness.

In fact, the reason why I put the photo album at the bottom of the iron box and never opened it in the past year was because I was afraid of evoking sad emotions.

At this moment, all he felt was deep peace and happiness.

The three girls were afraid that he would be sad, so they did not mention Xiao Yao's parents and took the initiative to omit the photos that showed Xiao Yao's parents.

"No need," Xiao Yao stretched out his hand and pressed a family photo: "Let me introduce you, this is my father and my mother, they don't want me anymore."

The three girls looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.

"You don't have to worry about my feelings," Xiao Yao continued, "For a year, I have been depressed because of this unchangeable fact, but now I don't feel anything at all.

"Do you know why? Because there are three of you. You three are with me. You three are looking at this album with me."

"I understand," Shen Jie stroked Xiao Yao's dog head gently: "You are not alone."

"Family, wife, friends," Xiao Yao continued, "As long as I have you, I have nothing to be sad about, and nothing to ask for more. All I feel now is... only..."

Xiao Yao racked his brains to find the right words.

"Peace and happiness?" Yu Luying said.

"Be safe and happy." Xiao Yao told them: "I love you."

"Hiss—alright, alright," Shen Tianyun said, "It's so corny."

"I won't say anything," Xiao Yao said with a smile, "Look."

Just then, Yu Luying's cell phone rang.

"Silly girl, is your mother urging you to go home for dinner?"

"Maybe?" Yu Luying found her cell phone on the sofa, glanced at the number, and picked up the phone directly: "Hello? Uncle?"

"..."

"What? Now?" Yu Luying said in surprise.

"..."

"Then I want to ask them." Yu Luying held the microphone a little further away: "Uncle wants to ask if you have any plans tonight?"

"Me?" Shen Tianyun said, "I'm going to do square dance."

"What's up with you again?" Shen Jie rolled her eyes at Shen Tianyun: "We don't have any plans, what's the matter?"

"Arrangements..." Xiao Yao muttered, "I originally wanted to say goodbye to Shen Jie properly?"

"Hello, uncle?" Yu Luying put the phone to her ear again: "They said they are all free."

There are three black lines on Xiao Yao's forehead.

Are you listening to me? Don't make decisions on your own!

Never mind. I'm used to it.

"Got it." Yu Luying hung up the phone and stood up: "Let's eat quickly. The battle will be over in half an hour."

"What's going on?" Xiao Yao and Shen Jie asked in unison while picking up the photo albums on the floor.

Twenty minutes later, the three of them had quickly devoured the fast food on the table, and only Shen Tianyun was still eating slowly.

"Little Dad, there's not enough rice!" Shen Tianyun complained, "Didn't I tell you? I want four servings of rice."

"Uh, sorry," Xiao Yao said, ashamed, "I forgot again. Why don't you go out and buy it yourself?"

"Can you die?" Shen Tianyun blurted out, complaining using the Internet slang of their time, and then realized that she was about to eat "sugar-roasted chestnuts" again, and quickly covered her mouth.

It was no use, she still ate one pill whole.

"You can't talk to your elders like that!" Shen Jie scolded.

Yu Luying lowered her head and smiled secretly.

"You too," Shen Jie scolded the younger one, then the older one: "Don't you know how much your daughter eats? You don't care enough about your daughter."

"Reflect deeply and make corrections resolutely," said Xiao Yao.

Shen Jie went in to change clothes. After more than ten minutes, she came out wearing a gray T-shirt, gray cropped casual pants, gray N-shaped shoes on her feet, and a piece of gray sports socks showing.

"It's beautiful, Cinderella." Xiao Yao praised sincerely.

"Sister really knows how to match clothes." Yu Luying also said so.

"What? Just give me ten minutes to change my clothes," Shen Jie complained, "I just put them together casually."

"Sister, you're not the kind of girl who won't go out without makeup, right?" Yu Luying said with a smile.

"That's not the case..."

After instructing Shen Tianyun not to demolish the house, the three of them walked through the long alley and headed towards the main road.

The sky has gradually darkened, and the evening breeze blows gently, bringing a little coolness.

It was the rush hour after work, and there were quite a few pedestrians on the road, some of whom were walking in a hurry. Xiao Yao nimbly turned sideways and avoided being hit.

"Who is that..." the boy complained.