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

Xiao Yao and Shen Jie ate "Wan San's Trotters" again. Shen Jie said in the morning, "I don't want big pig's trotters," but now she was eating them with great relish.

It was just tough on Xiao Yao; he had to eat pig's trotters for lunch and dinner, which was really getting tiring.

By the time we came out after dinner, it was almost dark.

"Zhang Hall and Shen Hall should be closed by now, right?" Shen Jie looked around.

"Probably—I don't know," Xiao Yao said, "but shall we go to Shuangqiao first?"

"Okay~~~" Shen Jie deliberately dragged out the last syllable, looking obedient.

Compared to the boat resorts during the day or at dusk, the boat resorts at night have a different charm—the lights of the boat resorts are lit up, and the lanterns on the boats are strung together; boats are connected to boats, and lanterns are linked to lanterns, near and far, winding and turning, reflecting a beautiful picture of the moonlit lakes of Jiangnan under the bright moon.

In the gentle night breeze, Shen Jie stopped at a gap in the riverbank, let go of Xiao Yao's hand, went down a few steps, squatted down, and gently stirred the surface of the river with her hand.

Xiao Yao also squatted down with her, staring blankly at the duckweed and green algae on the river surface.

"Dog, do you think there are any fish in this river?" the girl in black asked casually.

"Maybe," Xiao Yao said. "I don't know."

"Hey, how about I go down into the river and catch you a fish?" the girl in black said, reaching out to hold the heel of her small leather shoes. Her rounded heel slipped out of the shoes, revealing a little bit of her sock through her skin.

"Huh?!" Xiao Yao's heart skipped a beat.

Shen Jie's foot was already in the river when Xiao Yao grabbed her leg—if she had been half a second slower, the toe of her sock would have been submerged: "Wife, I was wrong!"

"What did you do wrong? What did you do wrong?" Shen Jie asked, blinking her big eyes in confusion.

Xiao Yao knew that everything had been exposed, and the question, "Where did you go wrong? What did you do wrong?" was a typical harbinger of an impending storm.

I don't know what I did wrong. Zhao Xiaomei and I were maintaining a normal social distance: "I'm sorry... I don't know what I did wrong, but honey, please don't go into the water. The water is dirty, and it's dangerous late at night. Besides, you didn't bring any spare clothes, did you?"

"What's there to be afraid of in danger? What's a change of clothes?" Shen Jie's expression seemed incredibly sincere, but her tone sounded sarcastic no matter how you looked at it: "Zhao Xiaomei, an ordinary classmate, went into the river to catch fish for you without saying a word. I'm your wife, how could I lose to her?"

“No,” Xiao Yao explained, “I didn’t let her go into the river. She did it on her own—I couldn’t stop her.”

This is actually the truth, but it sounds a bit strange when I say it.

"Yes, yes, it's all because of my husband's damn charm, isn't it?" Sure enough, Shen Jie's face darkened.

Xiao Yao knew that whatever he said now would be wrong, so he simply kept his mouth shut.

"Oh, I forgot, you should have already tasted the fresh one. Was it fishy?" Shen Jie feigned surprise. "How about I get you one that isn't fishy? And perform a synchronized swimming routine for you here?"

"Don't be silly—" Xiao Yao said with a wry smile.

Chapter 122 Shen Jie's First Time

2023-02-27

The girl in black put her little leather shoes back on, stomping her feet on the ground inside: "What's all this fuss about? Or do you just enjoy the thrill of the wild?"

A small figure in white appeared before Xiao Yao, who told him to continue the conversation and recount in detail what had happened that afternoon with Zhao Xiaomei, so that Shen Jie would not continue to overthink things. Another small figure in red strongly objected, demanding that Xiao Yao confess to Shen Jie that he had some improper thoughts about Zhao Xiaomei and promise to repent and never do it again, in order to win her forgiveness.

"What? Just because you're dating someone doesn't mean you can't hang out with your classmates normally?" The little man in white said righteously, "You're not her slave, are you? Nothing happened between you and Zhao Xiaomei. She wanted to hold hands and climb the bridge, but you refused. Judging by actions, not intentions, God can see it. You're very enlightened, aren't you?"

Yes, it's fortunate that I had a strong will and withstood the corrosive influence of Xiaomei's class-based sweet-coated bullets, otherwise I would really be a dead crab now—perhaps this is the best reality of "Heaven is watching what people do"?

"Stop with your nonsense about judging actions over feelings! You didn't do anything because you don't love her, but what did you do when you did love her? Love can disregard everything except feelings. You hypocrite, get the hell out of here!" The little man in red was furious and raised his trident to stab the little man in white.

Xiao Yao waved his hand impatiently, shooing away the two little people fighting in front of him. He looked up and saw the girl in black gracefully going up the stairs, her skirt fluttering in the wind. So he quickly followed.

"Wife, don't be angry." Xiao Yao followed behind Shen Jie and reached out to take her hand, but she pushed him away.

Oh, what a headache.

What Xiao Yao didn't know was that Shen Jie didn't really care about him hanging out with Zhao Xiaomei.

Firstly, there was indeed no physical or verbal transgression.

Secondly, she did not really see Zhao Xiaomei as a real threat;

Thirdly, the fact that her man was in high demand satisfied Shen Jie's vanity—and she was even more pleased that Xiao Yao and Yu Luying were really not together.

Suddenly taking off his shoes and pretending to go into the river to catch fish was a whim to tease Xiao Yao. However, seeing Xiao Yao's panicked and clumsy appearance, he found it cute and his playful impulse kicked in for the first time.

It could be said that Xiao Yao was extremely lucky. When Zhao Xiaomei said, "Xiaomei saw you holding Yu Luying's hand in the car," she deliberately turned her head to the side and lowered her voice to appear mysterious. In addition, a couple of passersby happened to walk between them at that time, so Shen Jie did not hear her words at all.

They walked in silence to the bottom of the double bridge. Shen Jie felt she had done enough and it was time to stop, so she turned around and bowed to Xiao Yao.

Xiao Yao jogged up and took the girl in black's arm: "Baby, are you not angry anymore?"

Shen Jie laughed and said, "Don't hold my arm, it's too girly, like you're calcium-deficient."

Xiao Yao let go of her, his left arm dangling in the air as he pondered the difference between "someone else holding his arm" and "himself holding someone else's arm"—a question he had never considered before.

"Hey, Gouzi, tell me the truth," Shen Jie obediently put her arm around Xiao Yao's as they walked onto Shide Bridge. "How have I treated you?"

"Like reborn parents."

"No glib talk allowed!"

"You really can't find a girlfriend this good anywhere else in the world."

“Listen up, Gouzi,” Shen Jie said softly, “Everything that other girls can give you, I can give you, and I can do it even better.”

Xiao Yao's nose tingled, and he was so moved that he almost cried both above and below: "You didn't have to go to this lengths for me..."

The boy shook his head vigorously, dispelling the image of Shen Jie, dressed in a long skirt and black stockings, playing a flower-skirting game on the river in the boat village.

It's truly exhilarating.

"Anyway, I treat everyone properly, with normal friendships and classmates," Xiao Yao said, trying to make amends while still feeling touched. "If you don't want me to associate with anyone, just say the word and I'll do it immediately."

"Okay~ You said it yourself." Shen Jie said with a smile.

Xiao Yao's heart skipped a beat, wondering if she would issue the first injunction on the spot?

"Ah—that, right," Xiao Yao quickly changed the subject, "I heard that lovers who hold hands and walk across the Twin Bridges will have a long-lasting happiness and will never break up."

Shen Jie chuckled: "You still believe in these things?"

"There's no harm in trying, it's just for good luck," Xiao Yao said.

Shen Jie let go of Xiao Yao's arm, grabbed Xiao Yao's hand with her half-gloved hand, and held her umbrella in her left hand. The two of them turned around and went down Shide Bridge, then climbed back up Shide Bridge, went down the bridge from the other side, and then stepped onto Yong'an Bridge. After walking through both bridges in one go, they finally returned to the top of Yong'an Bridge.

Xiao Yao put his right arm around Shen Jie's waist, and Shen Jie rested her head on Xiao Yao's shoulder.

Although she was still worried about Song Haijian and Yu Lihua's threats, Shen Jie should be able to leave for the time being.

Xiao Yao sighed happily.

"Doggy," the girl called softly.

“Yes, I’m here,” Xiao Yao said.

"Why did you say those things to Yu Luying's mother when you were in the teahouse?"

Xiao Yao felt a chill run down his spine. He thought to himself, "Why the hell is this happening again? How much did you hear? Can't we combine the cases and file a single prosecution? Can't you stop making me so vulnerable?"

"We...we talked too much. What did you mean by that?" Xiao Yao tried hard to control the trembling in his voice.

"How could you be so mean?" Shen Jie poked him in the back. "Do I have to say it again?"

"?"

"Well, well, that thing..." Shen Jie turned her head away, not letting Xiao Yao see her face: "What, what, what, I truly love her, what, what, I want to marry her, what, what, what, what the hell?"

Xiao Yao was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, "You've been following me for so long, and this is all you've heard?"

However, even so, it is still very troublesome to explain.

"Say something!" The girl turned around, her face flushed, her beautiful eyes sparkling in the moonlight.

Clearly, Shen Jie didn't give him much time to make up stories.

Xiao Yao decided to tell the truth: "Yu Luying's mother is forcing me to break up with you and get together with Yu Luying."

This wasn't a particularly unexpected answer for Shen Jie, but what she wanted to know was why.

"Why?" the girl in black asked.

Xiao Yao originally intended to casually make up a story about Yu Luying being depressed at home because she liked him too much, and that her mother found out when she was whining, which is why her mother was angry and stood up for her daughter. But then he thought, wouldn't saying this be sowing discord between the two sisters? If it broke the tacit balance between the three of them, no one would have a good outcome.

“I don’t know,” Xiao Yao said. “How would I know—I’d like to know too.”

"Hmm..." Shen Jie put her right index finger to her lips.

“It’s really inexplicable,” Xiao Yao said. “When do parents usually interfere in the affairs of their children?”

“I did interfere,” Shen Jie said, “but these kinds of things aren’t always about forcing your own child to marry this person or that person. What kind of thinking is it to force someone else’s child to call you ‘Dad’? You wouldn’t have done something behind my back that would betray my silly sister, would you?!”

"Absolutely not, absolutely not!" Xiao Yao felt like his brain was about to crash, so he could only shake his head like a rattle drum.

"Does Luying know about this?" Shen Jie asked Xiao Yao.

“She definitely knows now,” Xiao Yao told her, “but she didn’t know beforehand; her mother’s attack was also a surprise.”

“I guessed so,” Shen Jie nodded. “Do you think I should go ask Silly Girl?”

"That's not a good idea," Xiao Yao said, scratching his head. "It would be so embarrassing."

“That’s true,” Shen Jie said.

Damn it, wait a minute, why am I still stubbornly holding on here? Didn't Yu Luying and I already decide this morning in the car that we would confront Shen Jie together after we got back from Zhouzhuang?