You're my wife, don't doubt it!

Wait, why isn't Yu Luying here yet? We're supposed to leave in 8 minutes, right?

Could it be that her mother is locking her up at home and she can't get out?

If that's the case, if I rashly go to the boathouse, wouldn't we all end up foaming at the mouth again?

If this happened in the car, it could be fatal. Realizing this, Xiao Yao quickly got up, intending to get out of the car first and then contact Yu Luying or Yu Bo.

Then Yu Luying... and Zhao Xiaomei got into the car together.

Yu Luying was wearing the same plain-colored long dress she had worn before, with brown open-toe buckled shoes, barefoot and without socks.

Zhao Xiaomei wore a floral blue denim jacket over a pink T-shirt, light blue high-waisted jeans, and white canvas shoes. A large white lace trim was visible between the pant legs and the shoe uppers, it was unclear whether it was part of the pants or the socks.

Just as Xiao Yao was about to walk towards Yu Luying, she went straight to sit next to Zhou Yao—Yu Luying's deskmate in class and also a member of the literature club.

"Good morning, Xiao Yao." Zhao Xiaomei walked straight over and sat down next to Xiao Yao, the faint fragrance of citrus and lilies surrounding her.

"What are you doing, ouch?" Xiao Yao asked impatiently, his tone becoming a little irritable.

"Xiao Yao, is no one here?" Zhao Xiaomei didn't seem angry at all, and smiled to reveal two cute little tiger teeth.

"Actually... no." Xiao Yao forced a smile: "Good morning, Zhao. Um, sorry about earlier."

It wasn't that he didn't know how to refuse; firstly, one can't hit a smiling face, and Zhao Xiaomei came to celebrate his birthday yesterday, bringing gifts and opening champagne; secondly, Shen Tianyun told him this morning that she disliked Zhao Xiaomei because she wasn't pretty enough, and Xiao Yao was somewhat rebellious because of this, wanting to refute her with his actions.

Besides, doesn't Shen Jie always say that we should be kind to those who are good to us?

Anyway, Yu Luying has already been taken by Zhou Yao, so we'll think of another way later.

That said, what exactly is wrong with Zhao Xiaomei's looks...? Shen Tianyun's taste is really high.

Thinking of this, he unconsciously glanced at Zhao Xiaomei out of the corner of his eye.

From the side, her slightly wavy chestnut-brown short hair, faint dimples, and slightly upturned lips, along with her full apple cheeks that glowed like white jade in the morning sunlight, made her incredibly sweet and charming.

"Actually, there must be quite a few people pursuing Zhao Xiaomei, right?" For some reason, Xiao Yao blurted out.

"In terms of quantity alone, it's not bad." Zhao Xiaomei smiled, revealing her two little tiger teeth again: "It's just a pity that they're all ordinary women."

"Utterly ordinary-looking women" is a rather novel way to describe men, Xiao Yao thought. But isn't the most superficially attractive person in this car yourself?

He wanted to ask Zhao Xiaomei what she liked about him, and wanted to reiterate to her that he already had a girlfriend. However, considering that she hadn't explicitly confessed her feelings, it would seem strange for him to say these things first.

"This is really worrying," Xiao Yao thought.

“Only someone like Xiao Yao could get Xiao Mei to participate in school activities during summer vacation,” Zhao Xiao Mei continued. “Xiao Mei also had a lot of fun at yesterday’s birthday party.”

Xiao Yao knew, of course, that Zhao Xiaomei had come over mostly for his sake, but he hadn't expected her to be so direct. He didn't know what to say for a moment, so he could only chuckle awkwardly and pretend to look out the window.

Actually, it's a happy thing no matter what, that a girl would go to such lengths for you.

But I'm sorry you're late, I'm in a difficult position too.

Wait, something seems off... what could it be?

If there really is such a person pursuing me so passionately, then why would I be single until I'm 30 in the original timeline? That doesn't make sense.

Could it be that Shen Tianyun was unaware of her high school romance? That makes sense too.

Another possibility is that the original timeline version of himself was fixated on Yu Luying and ignored the flirtatious advances of other girls.

When did I become so stubborn...?

The most likely explanation is that Zhao Xiaomei's appearance is a "variable" in the current timeline.

Teacher Yuan took attendance on the bus, and then the bus started moving. The bus drove around the city, stopping and starting, which made Xiao Yao feel a little carsick. In addition, he was indeed tired from the past two days. Although Xiao Yao tried hard to stay awake, he still fell asleep without realizing it.

When I woke up, I felt a weight on my right shoulder, and the scent of citrus and lily grew stronger.

Xiao Yao knew without even looking that Zhao Xiaomei had "accidentally" fallen asleep on his shoulder.

That's a bit too deliberate, I say.

"Zhao Xiaomei, Zhao Xiaomei." Xiao Yao gently nudged her twice with his right shoulder, softly calling her name.

"Ah, ah! I'm so sorry!" Zhao Xiaomei looked as if she had suddenly woken up, her head bobbing up, and her right foot, which was resting on her left knee, kicked Xiao Yao as if by knee-jerk reflex: "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

This time, Xiao Yao saw it clearly; the lace was the edge of a sock, and it looked really nice.

This reminded him of the birthday party last night, when Zhao Xiaomei deliberately twisted her toes at him during the murder mystery game.

Xiao Yao wanted to say, "Zhao, please have some self-respect," but in the end, he couldn't bring himself to say anything harsh and just shook his head and said, "It's alright."

"Does Xiao Yao think it looks good?" Zhao Xiaomei followed Xiao Yao's gaze and looked at the edge of her socks.

"Okay—it's alright." Xiao Yao deliberately adopted a cold tone.

Zhao Xiaomei suddenly placed her right foot parallel to the ground on her left knee, grabbed Xiao Yao's hand, and pressed it against the lace trim of her socks around her ankle: "Not only are they pretty, but they're also very comfortable to wear. Xiao Yao, you can try them out."

Xiao Yao almost got up again with "What are you doing—", but after looking at the drowsy literature club classmates around him, he ultimately chose to remain silent.

Five seconds later, he withdrew his hand, but the warmth of Zhao Xiaomei's palm, and the temperature of her ankle, mixed with the unique softness and roughness of the lace fabric, lingered on his fingertips for a long time.

Xiao Yao felt even more frustrated and decided it was best not to stay any longer: "It is quite comfortable—Zhao, please move aside, I need to talk to another classmate."

Zhao Xiaomei didn't persist in arguing. Instead, she turned to the right with a demure expression, placing her two slender legs on the aisle to make way for Xiao Yao.

Xiao Yao hastily escaped Zhao Xiaomei's trap of gentleness, and, holding onto the soft backs of the chairs, staggered over to Yu Luying and Zhou Yao.

“Zhou Yao, classmate—Zhou Yao,” damn it, when did I pick up Zhao Xiaomei’s habit of saying the same thing: “I need to say a few words to Yu Luying, could you please…”

The girls around Xiao Yao cast meaningful glances at him, while Zhou Yao stretched her already long face and said, "That depends on whether Yu Luying is willing or not."

Yu Luying whispered a few words to Zhou Yao, and Zhou Yao reluctantly stood up and went to the back row.

Xiao Yao sat down next to Yu Luying, feeling the heat of Zhou Yao sitting beneath him.

"You're here? I thought you were having a great time at Zhao Xiaomei's."

The voice was Yu Luying's voice, but her lips didn't move at all—could it be that I was hallucinating because I was too tired?

"Yu Luying," Xiao Yao called out, composing himself.

Yu Luying didn't answer him, but simply took off her left earphone and put it into Xiao Yao's right ear.

It's Xu Wei's "Travel".

"The evening breeze rustles the pine trees, making the wind chimes sound like heavenly music."

Standing in the quiet corner of this city, let all the noise fade away.

Only green mountains are hidden among white clouds, and butterflies freely flit through clear streams.

Look at the sunset blooming on the horizon, and a flock of birds flying westward.

This is also a song that Xiao Yao really likes. He remembered his first date with Shen Jie, when they were riding a tandem bicycle together in Gongqing Forest Park, and this was the song he sang loudly.

Yu Luying remained the same as before, sharing the same interests and understanding with him.

It had been a while since Xiao Yao had listened to music with Yu Luying like this, he thought.

By this time, the bus had already left the city. Yu Luying had a camera hanging around her neck, and she would occasionally raise it to take three consecutive photos of the farmland and dilapidated houses flashing past the window.

"Won't the picture be blurry if you shoot it like this?" Xiao Yao asked her.

“Just say what you want to say. I know you don’t care about these old houses,” Yu Luying said calmly.

"?" Xiao Yao was a little confused: "Can't I even have a casual chat with you?"

The girl didn't say anything, but just kept taking pictures with one eye open and the other closed.

"What happened between you and your mother yesterday?" Xiao Yao had no choice but to get to the point.

“That’s great,” the girl replied cheerfully. “I want to thank you for bringing me to Qingpu, and I also want to thank Teacher Song for telling my mother about this.”

"?" What are you talking about?

"Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll never find a suitable opportunity to confess... confess this matter?" The girl deliberately lowered her voice, afraid that someone across the room might overhear.

It turns out that after Song Haijian bumped into the three of them at the 7 Days Inn yesterday, he immediately called Yu Lihua—this part was not surprising at all.

Yesterday afternoon, Yu Lihua rushed home in a panic and started working on it without saying a word. Fortunately, before anything serious happened, Yu Bo arrived in time.

With Yu Bo as a witness, Yu Luying and Yu Bo explained the whole story about symbiosis to Yu Lihua.

"To avoid my mom thinking we've been keeping this from her for too long, I told her it only started the day I had my epilepsy at Yushan. Next time my mom asks you, don't let it slip," Yu Luying instructed.

"Your mother asked me?" Xiao Yao said.

"Yes, my mom said she wants to talk to you."

"Alright then," Xiao Yao thought, "that's only natural."

Yu Luying explained to Xiao Yao how relaxed she felt now—Xiao Yao understood it and, to use an inappropriate analogy, it was like a fugitive who was finally caught one day and felt relieved when he was handcuffed. Even if he would be severely punished, his heart was filled with the feeling of being free under the frosty sky.

But in reality, very few people will realize the need to turn themselves in before reaching that point—at least Yu Luying is that kind of person.

Although Xiao Yao still didn't understand: after all, symbiosis wasn't Yu Luying's fault, and it was fundamentally different from committing crimes.

“Oh right, about Song Haijian,” Xiao Yao changed the subject, “I’ve thought about it carefully, and I plan to talk to that guy surnamed Song. If he wants to punish me, he can punish me, Xiao Yao, myself, double the punishment is fine with me.” He gritted his teeth, “At worst, I, Xiao Yao, will drop out of school and become a street thug, but I will never implicate you.”

"What a coincidence! My mom was planning the same thing. You two will definitely get along well." Yu Luying smiled gently, as if she had remembered something interesting.

"Then all we need to do is persuade Song Haijian." Xiao Yao ignored Yu Luying's teasing.

"There's no need to do any work. Teacher Song is just saying that the bad student Xiao Yao will be expelled, and the good student Yu Luying will be punished. Then the good student's mother will go to her former good student—our respected Dean of Students, Teacher Lin—and explain the consequences. Teacher Song will then readily agree, and the good student will remain innocent while only the bad student will be hurt. That's how the perfect outcome is achieved."

Xiao Yao was somewhat surprised.