You are my wife, don't doubt it!

……

"You've said so much nonsense, do you believe it now?" Shen Tianyun asked Xiao Yao lazily while sitting on the bed in her room.

Shen Jie walked around the room in 2004 for eight times, just like a child who had just moved into her new room. She wanted to pick up everything and examine it carefully.

She walked to Xiao Yao's bedroom door, opened it, and was shocked by the scene outside.

"I can't get out." Shen Tianyun said lazily.

Shen Jie started hitting her head, pulling her face, and doing similar actions, but after just a few minutes, she stopped these inappropriate behaviors.

She took off her sunglasses and rubbed her eyes.

Xiao Yao looked at her big eyes. They were still so beautiful, with no signs of drooping at the corners of her eyes and no wrinkles. However, her pupils were dull and no longer had the brilliance of the past.

Shen Jie looked at the fog outside the window with a very complicated expression.

"Let's go back to my place and talk," she said finally.

Shen Jie opened the door of the closet and leaned her upper body inside. Before Xiao Yao could stop her, her head hit the hard mirror with a loud bang.

This mistake made her feel like she had made a fool of herself in front of the two "juniors". She made a hissing sound while rubbing her forehead and looked back at Xiao Yao embarrassedly: "I forgot."

Fortunately, neither of the two children laughed at her. Xiao Yao just squeezed into the dressing closet with a smile, took Shen Jie's hand again, and brought her back to 2034.

"You mean," Shen Jie sat down on the chair next to the dining table again, "the 17-year-old me can walk through this mirror by myself, but I can't?"

"A history of human degeneration." Xiao Yao joked.

Shen Jie showed her first smile after entering the door. When she smiled, the curve of her mouth was still the same as when she was 17 years old.

Xiao Yao saw the smiling wrinkles on her forehead and at the corners of her eyes. It turned out that they were all covered by thick makeup. Only with such a smile could they be fully exposed.

The woman took out the cigarette box again, but did not open it.

"I'm sorry, do you mind?" Shen Jie apologized to Xiao Yao, "I'm still a little shocked and haven't recovered yet. I need to calm down."

"It's okay," the boy showed a clear and clean smile: "It doesn't matter."

Shen Jie opened the cigarette box and took a look, then said that the box was empty and instructed Shen Tianyun to buy cigarettes for her.

But Xiao Yao clearly saw that there was still a lot of cigarettes in the cigarette box.

"The kind you want is only available far away. I'll ask someone to run errands for you. It's faster than me going there." Shen Tianyun said.

"Just go when I tell you to go. Why so much nonsense!" Shen Jie began to regain the calmness and dignity she had when she first entered the door (Shen Tianyun's side).

Shen Tianyun looked at Xiao Yao, and when she saw Xiao Yao nodded at her, she stuck out her tongue, made a face, and ran away.

After the girl left, Shen Jie closed the door, locked it, and let out a long sigh.

The woman turned back to look at Xiao Yao with a soft gaze: "Is it really you?"

"Nice to meet you, please take care of me." Xiao Yao finally had the chance to say the lines he had prepared long ago.

The next second, Shen Jie pounced on him unexpectedly.

! ? ?

This happened too suddenly and was completely beyond Xiao Yao's consideration. He subconsciously wanted to push her away, but he didn't know where this petite woman got so much strength - he was pressed on the sofa, completely unable to move.

Xiao Yao didn't like the smell of Shen Jie - she no longer had the fragrance of a young girl, but was replaced by a strong smell of... rouge? Perfume? Or something like that.

The boy could not taste any sweetness, only an unpleasant smell of smoke.

In fact, he felt some physical... discomfort?

Xiao Yao struggled subconsciously like a person falling into water, and then his resistance gradually weakened.

"How many people have admired your youthful appearance? Who can withstand the ruthless changes of time? How many people have come and gone in your life? As long as you are here, I will always be by your side..."

For some reason, this song rang in my head.

Resistance slowly turned into obedience.

The boy's eyes widened, his arms around Shen Jie's waist, and he responded to her very calmly.

……

……

After an extremely inappropriate emotional outburst, Shen Jie finally let Xiao Yao push her away from him.

She stood up, turned sideways, and hurriedly adjusted her clothes and hair, avoiding Xiao Yao's eyes, as if her husband had just broken into the room.

The boy subconsciously wanted to wipe his mouth, but was afraid of hurting her, so he forced himself to hold back.

After a long while, Shen Jie calmed down.

She sat in front of Xiao Yao again, upright, reserved, calm and decent.

"Can I see your hand?" Shen Jie made another request.

"Haven't you checked everything?" Although he knew what she was going to do, Xiao Yao still reached out his hand.

Shen Jie stroked the black mole in the middle of Xiao Yao's palm and murmured to herself, "Is it really you?"

Xiao Yao smiled helplessly and said, "You still don't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just..."

"I see."

"I...I also want to see your birthmark?" Shen Jie blurted out, and then added: "If you don't mind?"

"This...that part, it's a bit embarrassing to meet you for the first time, right?" Xiao Yao said after a moment of hesitation.

"Why is this our first meeting? We have been married for more than ten years?" Shen Jie said.

Her tone seemed to have changed back to that innocent girl.

Xiao Yao thought about it for a moment and said, "That's true in theory, and it's okay to show it to you, but... well, after all, we just met, so it's still a bit embarrassing, right?"

Although Xiao Yao refused to take off his pants, since he knew where the birthmark she was talking about was, Shen Jie also felt that it further increased the sense of reality - after all, it was something Shen Tianyun was unlikely to know.

"I understand." Shen Jie nodded and said, "You should be blaming me for being suspicious in your heart, right?"

"It's not that bad," Xiao Yao said, "When Changsheng and I met for the first time, it took us a long time to confirm each other. Normal people would not be able to get into the right state immediately if they suddenly encountered such a thing."

"Well," Shen Jie nodded: "I want you to know that I am very happy to meet you - it's true."

"Nice to meet you too." Xiao Yao nodded.

The two of them stared at each other for more than twenty seconds, and no one spoke. The atmosphere on the field became a little awkward again.

The so-called "most familiar stranger" may refer to this feeling now.

"Well, Shen Jie, I also have something to ask you," Xiao Yao broke the silence: "I hope you can answer me truthfully."

"You ask." Shen Jie said softly.

"How did I die?" Xiao Yao asked calmly.

Shen Jie was obviously surprised.

Xiao Yao asked "How did I die" instead of "Am I dead?" This is because he felt that if he asked "Am I dead?", Shen Jie would definitely deny it, while asking "How did I die" would imply to her that he already knew.

To put it bluntly, it's just clichés.

After asking this question, his heart was pounding as he waited for the verdict of fate.

"Who told you that you were dead?" Shen Jie answered without hesitation: "I don't know if you have ever been to a future longer than that, but at least in 2034, you are still alive and well - have you been to a future longer than that?"

"Never been there." Xiao Yao said.

The young man observed Shen Jie's expression and judged her reaction. He felt that this was not a lie and felt a little relieved. "Then, the next question is, why haven't I appeared in your life for many years?"

It's still the same clichéd way of asking.

"..." Shen Jie remained silent.

"Are we two... no longer together?" Xiao Yao further probed.

Chapter 238 Xiao Shenyao's Redemption

2023-06-19

*This chapter is also called "Trapped on the Other Side of Freedom"

"Are we two... no longer together?" Xiao Yao further probed.

"How could you come up with such an idea?" Shen Jie's face turned a little red, of course not because of shyness, but because of anger.

Is this a bit like being angry out of shame? Xiao Yao thought.

He didn't say anything, but just looked at Shen Jie meaningfully.

The boy wanted to tell Shen Jie about the photo album of his daughter that he had accidentally seen, the composition paper inside, and the various clues they had experienced during the past few months, as well as...

In the end, he chose silent deterrence and said nothing.

The long-term absence of my future self no longer needs further proof. Since it is not death, then why...

Xiao Yao was determined that he must get a reasonable explanation today.

"Do you think that because you married into a wealthy family, I won't have much affection for you, and this marriage is just a matter of mutual benefit and different dreams?" Shen Jie said quietly.

Xiao Yao shook his head slightly.

Indeed, he had such worries earlier, and even when he saw Shen Jie's condescending and aggressive look, he was more certain of this guess.

However, all of this disappeared with Shen Jie's pounce just now.

"Then, do you think it was you who changed your heart?" Shen Jie seemed to be able to see through Xiao Yao's thoughts.

Xiao Yao still shook his head and denied this conjecture: "That's not right. According to common sense, if I am really the kind of heartless person who abandons his wife and daughter in the future, Changsheng shouldn't be so close to me. And when you see me, even if you still rush over, you will probably slap me a few times."

"My husband has really been so smart since he was young." Shen Jie's expression seemed sincere when she praised him, but she was holding back a giggle.

"There is another possibility," Xiao Ermos continued to deduce: "I am a good father and a good husband, but you made some principled mistakes that let me down, so I chose to leave. In this way, you and Changsheng may still have feelings for me, and you have no right to blame me...?"

Shen Jie was a little surprised. After a few seconds, she started laughing while pounding her stomach on the table.

"You...you...imagine yourself wearing a green hat...is this...so fun?"

"Well, it's okay?" Xiao Yao said awkwardly, "But you haven't changed your habit of laughing so hard in 30 years."

"No...no..." Shen Jie said, "I haven't been this happy for a long time."

Xiao Yao waited helplessly for her to smile enough, and there was actually a little bit of doting in his narrowed eyes.

Considering the huge age difference between the two people, the picture does look a little weird.

When the laughter finally stopped, Xiao Yao reached out and pressed the back of Shen Jie's hand: "Promise."

Shen Jie raised her head and looked into the boy's pure eyes: "You must know?"

"I must know today." Xiao Yao nodded, conveying his determination with words.

Shen Jie lowered her head and thought for a long time, as if she was brewing something.

"My husband, Tianyun's father, Shen's son-in-law, Xiao Yao, you are still in jail." The woman's eyes were fixed on the table.

Xiao Yao was startled.

The atmosphere suddenly became depressing and serious.

...But if you think about it carefully, this answer is really damn reasonable.

I had guessed so many things before, but I had never thought of this possibility. I was really in a blind spot in my thinking.

"What crime have I committed?" After a silence that was neither long nor short, Xiao Yao finally remembered what he should ask.

"Xiao Yao did nothing wrong, Xiao Yao is innocent!" Shen Jie suddenly became excited again: "Xiao Yao's biggest sin in his life is to marry into the Shen family for me..."

Xiao Yao was originally quite depressed, but seeing her like this, he hurried to comfort her.

After Shen Jie calmed down, she whispered, "You took the blame for my father."

"What—" Xiao Yao opened his mouth wide: "That damn guy! Me, for him?"

"I," Shen Jie said sadly, "I advised you for a long time, but you insisted on doing this and abandoning us, mother and daughter. You're right. When we met, I should have slapped you in the face first."

"No, wait a minute," Xiao Yao tried to sort out his thoughts: "That guy - your father, what did he do?"

"People who do business to that extent have completely clean hands. Do you believe it?" Shen Jie chuckled with some disdain: "It just depends on when the opponent will catch us..."