You are my wife, don't doubt it!

"No, wait a minute," Shen Jie just came to her senses, "What do you mean you can't go out for a month without anything to do? Are you putting me under house arrest?"

"What's house arrest? This is called house arrest. If you do something wrong, you must accept the punishment of the family law."

Shen Hongsheng said loudly.

"Isn't this enough?" Shen Jie shouted, pointing at her own face.

The girl's eyes were still a little red and swollen, with some tear marks in the corners of her eyes, and her lips were trembling slightly. Her right cheek was swollen and bruised, and she could even vaguely see a...handprint?

The girl's whole body was shaking.

"Xiao Jie, don't be anxious," Luo Yunxuan quickly advised: "Old Shen..."

Shen Hongsheng waved his hand and said, "No need to persuade her anymore. You just keep pampering her. Look at what she has become."

"You should know that I have the habit of jogging every morning." Shen Jie told Shen Hongsheng.

"I remember Johns also has the habit of jogging in the morning." Shen Hongsheng said.

"Boss," Johns pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose, "You're going to make my relationship with the lady worse and worse."

"One week." Luo Yunxuan insisted.

"...three weeks." Shen Hongsheng gave in.

"Two weeks." Luo Yunxuan said.

"Sir." Johns followed suit.

There was a knock on the restaurant door, and then Shen Hongsheng's work assistant walked in quickly, leaned over and said something in his ear.

Shen Hongsheng stood up and said, "I'm full, enjoy your meal."

Shen Jie, Luo Yunxuan and Johns stood together and saw them off respectfully.

Shen Hongsheng walked to the door of the restaurant, took the hot towel from the waiter, wiped his hands, and returned to Shen Jie.

He stretched out the back of his fingers and touched his daughter's face.

Shen Jie shrank subconsciously and stopped herself from moving.

Shen Hongsheng gently stroked Shen Jie's cheek: "Does it still hurt?"

There was genuine concern in the man's eyes.

"It's much better now." Shen Jie looked at the table and answered in a low voice.

"Two weeks." Shen Hongsheng said finally.

He walked out of the restaurant, and the two waiters came back in. The atmosphere in the entire restaurant became relaxed and cheerful as the host left.

"Xiao Jie..." Luo Yunxuan stood up, walked around Shen Hongsheng's seat, sat next to Shen Jie, and reached out to stroke the girl's shoulder.

"Thank you, Aunt Luo." Shen Jie calmed herself down and looked at this sister who looked only a few years older than her.

"You know your father," Luo Yunxuan said, "Be good these days and tell your aunt if you have anything to say..."

--split line--

"You said that the man is still alive. What does that mean?" Xiao Yao asked cautiously.

"It means literally, my biological father is still alive." Yu Luying told him concisely: "Don't tell anyone, the reason I told you is just because... I feel that we are related."

"I guarantee it will rot in your stomach." Xiao Yao made a gesture of zipping his mouth.

Since she emphasized "biologically", Xiao Yao thought that she must not like this father very much.

"Don't tell my sister either," Yu Luying added.

Xiao Yao's first reaction was, how much did I suffer last time to help you keep the secret? However, since this was purely her family affair, she nodded and said, "I understand."

"So..." The boy cleared his throat and looked at the black and white photo on the prayer table: "This is not a memorial service, but some kind of... curse?"

"If you insist on understanding it that way, it's not impossible." Yu Luying said a little embarrassedly.

"Your uncle said that Christians can only bless and not curse." Xiao Yao scratched his head.

"Yes, that's what my uncle told my mother," Yu Luying's eyes fell on the, uh, black and white photo of her "biological father," and then my mother argued, "What's wrong? Can't I just put it here to repent for his prayers?"

"Are we praying for his repentance?" Xiao Yao corrected him.

"Yes." Yu Luying stuck out her tongue slightly.

"But it's no use trying to deceive the priest," Xiao Yao said thoughtfully, "because God cannot be deceived."

"Yeah," Yu Luying sighed, "My uncle said the same thing."

"Your Bible says to love your enemies, but in the end, how many people can do it?" Xiao Yao sighed: "Ah, I'm not making fun of your faith, I'm just sighing--"

"I know, you don't have to be nervous." Yu Luying shook her head and said, "Not many people can do it, but ideals are always beautiful, right?"

Xiao Yao thought for a few seconds and said honestly: "To be honest, I still prefer the happy revenge in the Old Testament."

"The Old Testament will be fulfilled in the New Testament." Yu Luying didn't seem to want to talk about this topic anymore: "Are you still going to do the questions?"

"Do it, do it." Xiao Yao said.

Yu Luying urged Xiao Yao to concentrate on his test paper. Xiao Yao hadn't finished a few questions when she spoke again, "But... I said this, and it seems like you're not very surprised? Did you already know it?"

"Why should I be surprised?" Xiao Yao continued to look at the paper, turning the pen in his hand: "Your last name is Yu, and your mother's last name is also Yu. If it was just the father who passed away, who would change the daughter's last name? Even your mother - such an outstanding woman, I don't think she would do this."

In fact, Xiao Yao was still surprised, but in order to appear cool, he pretended to be calm.

Xiao Yao had actually wondered why Yu Luying took her mother's surname after her father passed away, but in order to avoid offending her, he never asked.

He thought of some possibilities, for example, Yu Luying's father was a son-in-law, but the Yu family didn't look very rich; for another example, Yu Luying's father was simply a... a... what was the word Tianyun mentioned, a tortoise man? So the daughter took her mother's surname.

However, even though Xiao Yao had been watching "The Emperor of Science Fiction" since fifth grade, her imagination was not as rich as this one, as she divorced her husband, lied that he had passed away, and then paid tribute to his portrait at home.

"Oh." Yu Luying said.

"What happened to him? Did he cheat?" Xiao Yao continued to bury his head in the test paper, but he couldn't even finish reading a single question: "I'm just asking this. If you think you can say it, then say it. If you don't want to, forget it."

"Xiao Yao," Yu Luying put her chin on the glass tabletop, "I think you have really matured a lot in the past two months."

"Why... suddenly say this?" Xiao Yao said.

"If it were in the past, you wouldn't be so cautious when speaking, um, for fear of offending others," said Yu Luying.

"Hey, what's so mature about this?" Xiao Yao said with a smile, "I'm just a frightened bird - I'm just scared of this society."

"That person didn't cheat on her," Yu Luying said softly, "It's just a simple divorce."

"Oh?" Xiao Yao thought to himself, how could she hate him so much? She placed the other party's "portrait" on the table after a divorce and cursed the other party to die early every day. This Yu Lihua is too cruel.

Xiao Yao recalled the happy family of three in the "Parent-Child Education Center". He had seen the face of "that man" (color version) and saw that Yu Luying was very attached to her father.

What is it that makes her unwilling to even say "Dad" or "father", and only willing to say "biological father" and "that person"?

The boy put down his pen, raised his head, and looked at the girl in front of him quietly. Although he was full of doubts, he said nothing.

"Ask whatever you want to ask," Yu Luying lowered her eyelids, "I won't be angry."

"So, who filed for divorce and what was the reason?"

"Of course it was that person," Yu Luying told Xiao Yao, "In fact, he was the one who forcibly abandoned my mother. As for the reason..."

Xiao Yao waited quietly for what was to come.

"The reason, I want to know the reason too." Yu Luying said with a sad face and trembling lips.

……

In Xiao Yao's impression, Yu Luying is a girl who hardly swears.

If Shen Jie "doesn't talk much", then Yu Luying "almost never talks".

Therefore, even without looking at the content of this sentence, it was enough to surprise Xiao Yao.

"Then..." Xiao Yao swallowed with some difficulty: "He hasn't come to see you in all these years?"

Yu Luying chuckled. "If it weren't for this black and white photo, I would have forgotten what he looked like. He had his own wife and children. Over the years, the only proof of his existence was the small amount of child support that was transferred to him on the 1st of every month - and later, even that was gone."

"Why don't you have any? You're not even an adult yet. You're telling me to do that." Xiao Yao used the imperial language: "So, you have brothers and sisters."

"I don't know, I've never seen it, and I don't care."

"...Oh." Xiao Yao said.

"Do your parents give child support?" Yu Luying asked curiously.

"My grandma is raising me, so my dad should give her money," Xiao Yao stretched and said, "As for whether my biological mother gives money or not, that's a matter between her and my dad. I'm too lazy to ask. Anyway, I won't get a penny."

Yu Luying smiled and said, "What biology... why are you learning from me?"

"I didn't learn from you," Xiao Yao curled his lips and said, "That guy is even worse than your dad. She is a serious cuckold to my dad, and not just once."

"Uh..." Yu Luying stretched out her hand awkwardly and held Xiao Yao's wrist: "Tell me about your family. The other day when my sister, Tianyun and I were looking at your photo album, I saw... I saw your aunt's face cut out in several photos. We didn't have the courage to ask..."

"Yes, I cut it off." Xiao Yao nodded.

"But, only a few were cut, the rest were kept." Yu Luying asked cautiously.

"Well, after cutting a few photos, I suddenly felt that it was very troublesome and ridiculous," Xiao Yao nodded and said, "I just stuffed the whole album into the bottom of the box. Who knew that your sister would dig it out?"

"Ha." Yu Luying smiled. "Don't blame me, I actually dug it out when I was helping her find a skirt."

"It doesn't matter." Xiao Yao shrugged.

"It seems that we are really the same kind of people." Yu Luying held Xiao Yao's wrist tightly. Xiao Yao responded to her by turning his wrist and gently pressing her fingers with his fingers.

Their eyes met.

Chapter 181 Yu Luying Opens Her Heart

2023-05-04

Their eyes met.

The two were silent, as if time had stopped.

Xiao Yao unconsciously leaned towards Yu Luying's face and slowly approached her.

Her beautiful and pure face was like the brightest star in the night sky, attracting his attention firmly.

He could feel her gentle breathing, so sweet.

The two young faces are getting closer and closer.

Yu Luying stared at him with wide eyes, as if she was at a loss for what to do with his sudden intimate gesture.

Perhaps Xiao Yao's approach was too slow, giving Yu Luying time to recover. She suddenly let go of her hand and leaned back slightly: "Do the questions!"

"Oh, okay." Xiao Yao said quickly.

There was an awkward atmosphere in the room, and the atmosphere between the two became subtle and complicated. Xiao Yao looked up at Yu Luying from time to time, but her eyes always avoided his gaze.

Her expression became like an ice sculpture, beautiful yet unapproachable.

"Um..." Finally, Xiao Yao cleared his throat, trying to break the ice.

"Hasn't your mother met the right person in all these years?" "I'm not ready yet, give me some more time!"

Both of them spoke at the same time.

"Huh..." Xiao Yao was obviously relieved: "Don't take it to heart."

The two looked at each other and laughed, and the ice in the air melted slightly.

"Well," Yu Luying bit her pen, "Have I ever told you before that our Yu family has been Catholic for about 10 or 20 generations?"

"I think they have said that," Xiao Yao recalled, "It seems that it can be traced back to the generation of Xu Guangqi in the late Ming Dynasty?"

Yu Luying nodded and said, "According to the family tree, this is the case."

Xiao Yao didn't understand why Yu Luying suddenly started flipping through the family tree, but he just waited quietly for her to continue.

"Well, the church prohibits divorce, you know that, right?" Yu Luying asked again.

"I know now." Xiao Yao told Yu Luying: "Then what about your dad - your, that guy, unilaterally divorcing your mom?"

"That's the problem," Yu Luying said. "From the perspective of church law, my mother's marriage to that man is still valid. If she remarries, it will be considered bigamy and she will not be able to receive Holy Communion for the rest of her life."

"Eucharist?"

“It’s the one that everyone lines up to receive at the end of every mass.”