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

"And this is..." The old landlord looked at Yu Luying.

“My classmate,” Xiao Yao pulled Yu Luying aside and introduced her enthusiastically, “is my girlfriend, who came back with me for the summer vacation—this is Teacher Ji.”

"Hello, Teacher Ji." Yu Luying gave a slight bow and greeted her somewhat shyly.

"Oh my! Oh dear!" The "old landlord's" eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and he pinched his thigh hard: "Such a pretty young girl, from Shanghai?"

*Two chapters today, one more to come, I'm proofreading it.

Double updates again today. There's another chapter coming up later; I'm proofreading it.

Chapter 210 First Time Sharing a Pillow

2023-05-27

Xiao Yao and Yu Luying stood by the flower bed on the Party School's playground, awkwardly chatting with "Teacher Ji," who looked like a fat, wealthy man.

The "Teacher Ji" showered Yu Luying with compliments about Xiao Yao, saying that he was the smartest kid in the Party School compound since he was little, loved by everyone, that he got into the county middle school's experimental class with such and such a high score and such and such a high ranking, and that he was suddenly transferred to the Shanghai war zone for intensive study a month before the high school entrance exam, and got into a key middle school in Shanghai despite the completely different textbooks.

The implication, of course, is: young lady, you've made a great deal by buying this.

Of course I know that you, Teacher Ji, meant well, but you shouldn't have mentioned "key middle schools in Shanghai"—I already told you she's my classmate, how could she not know what level a "district key school" in Shanghai is?

Xiao Yao awkwardly tried to signal to Teacher Ji, but the latter ignored him and continued chatting and laughing with Yu Luying. Yu Luying, with a gentle smile, enthusiastically and generously praised Xiao Yao along with Teacher Ji, completely abandoning her usual introverted and shy demeanor. The praise made Xiao Yao blush, wishing the ground would split open so he could disappear into it.

After receiving the invitation to "come over to my house," Xiao Yao and Yu Luying said goodbye to Teacher Ji, who was just going to buy soy sauce at the school gate, and crossed the school's basketball court.

Yu Luying clung to Xiao Yao's arm. Among the group of shirtless kids playing ball on the playground, a few recognized Xiao Yao and greeted him.

After passing through the small playground, you will find the teachers' office building. Behind the teachers' office building, under the grapevines, are three four-story staff and family residential buildings.

Xiao Yao's home was right in the middle of the three buildings. A large red "8" was painted on the building, but it was already fading and peeling. They ran into a few acquaintances on the way, and after some pleasantries and introductions, Xiao Yao finally led Yu Luying to the stairs.

Although the staircase was old, it was at least made of concrete, regular, flat, and spacious. Compared to the stone staircase at Xiao Yao's grandmother's house, which was so crooked it couldn't even accommodate a complete foot, it was far superior.

The door to the first-floor apartment was open, and a girl who looked like a junior high school student was doing her homework at a small table. She had a pretty, delicate face.

The girl was wearing plastic slippers and sheer short stockings (past the ankle), revealing ten chubby little toes that looked especially translucent within the stockings.

A man with the air of a civil servant stood to the side scratching his head. When he saw someone approaching, he stood up and said, "Xiao...Xiao Yao? Why are you only just getting back?"

"I'm sorry, Uncle Zhou," Xiao Yao said apologetically, nodding. "I'm late."

“It’s my older brother!” Zhou said seriously, “I’m not even thirty years old yet.”

"Okay, Uncle Zhou."

"Hello, Brother Zhou..." Yu Luying greeted him generously from the side.

"This is..." Uncle Zhou's eyes widened when he saw what was behind Xiao Yao, much like Teacher Ji's: "You, your friend?"

“Yes,” Xiao Yao said gracefully as he took Yu Luying’s hand. “She’s my current classmate, and she came back with me.”

"Hello, Brother Yao! Hello, Sister!" Only then did the child who was doing homework look up from his work.

"Forget about your older brothers and sisters, just look at your questions."

"Shuyi? It's been a year, you've grown so tall!" Xiao Yao greeted her.

“Oh dear, she’s fallen behind in class since starting junior high. Her parents ask me about it every day, it’s driving me crazy.” Uncle Zhou shook his head and then urged, “You’d better go to her house and take a look. If you don’t fix it soon, I won’t have any water and I won’t be able to cook.”

"Oh!"

Xiao Yao rushed up to the fourth floor. The passageway outside his door was flooded with water seeping from the cracks in his own door, and water was dripping down the stairs.

The staircase leading from the third to the fourth floor was completely soaked with water at the landing. This explained why the neighbors on the third and second floors had been frantically calling them, and why they were getting impatient.

If I come back a day or two later, the neighbors will inevitably call the police to unlock the door and I'll have to go in and fix the water pipes myself.

"Yu Luying!" Xiao Yao leaned on the stair railing and shouted down at Yu Luying, who was still on the second floor, "Don't come up!"

"What's wrong?" Yu Luying looked up and asked loudly.

Their voices echoed in the empty hallway.

“It’s all wet up here, your socks will get wet!” Xiao Yao continued to lean on the railing and shouted down.

"Wet..."

"It fell..."

"of……"

Yu Luying stopped and looked down at her Adidas Superstar shoes. Although her feet weren't wet, she could feel through Xiao Yao that her soles were soaking in cold water and that her shoes were getting wet.

"Oh!" Yu Luying exclaimed, "Then I'll wait for you here."

Xiao Yao took out his keychain and searched for a long time before finally finding the old key. He put it into the lock and tried to turn it, but it wouldn't turn. He grabbed the doorknob with his other hand and pushed, pulled, and shook it for a long time before finally opening the door to his home, which he hadn't seen for a year.

As soon as I opened the door, what hit me wasn't the familiar old smell—the scent of my former home—but the unpleasant odor of moldy wood in the damp air, and the floodwater that filled the entire house.

The plumber who was supposed to be doing repairs arrived in no time. Xiao Yao's main task was to open the door, keep watch, and then pay him.

After tinkering for what felt like an eternity—about an hour—the water pipe problem was finally solved. After roughly clearing away the puddles, Xiao Yao went downstairs to find Yu Luying, intending to call her up.

When he went down to the second floor, he heard Yu Luying's gentle voice.

"It is important to note here that the factorization must continue until each polynomial factor cannot be factored further."

It turned out that she was at Uncle Zhou's doorstep, explaining a problem to his niece.

Uncle Zhou then came out as well.

"Xiao Yao, is everything done? The water's finally back on."

Xiao Yao apologized to Uncle Zhou again and was about to invite Yu Luying to his house, but Uncle Zhou stopped him again.

"You haven't been back for so long, are you in no hurry to leave? Why don't you have dinner at my house tonight?"

"No need, it's too kind of you—"

"Come on over when I call you. I'll go to the market first to buy you a fish. The mandarin fish are really plump this year." Without waiting for a reply, Uncle Zhou prepared to leave.

“This…” Xiao Yao quickly gestured to Yu Luying to speak.

At this point, Uncle Zhou finally revealed his true intentions: "You two watch the house for me for a while, and while you're at it, please ask this little Yu to explain some problems to Shuyi."

Yu Luying finally spoke up: "Okay, we've got this covered."

So that's what they were waiting for me.

Watching Uncle Zhou walk away happily, Xiao Yao looked at Yu Luying.

"Why do you only make me do practice problems when you're teaching me?" Xiao Yao asked meaningfully.

“Teaching according to aptitude,” Yu Luying said with a smile.

Yu Luying continued explaining the problem to the child. Seeing Xiao Yao sitting idly to the side, she asked him to go upstairs and tidy up the room first.

"Why am I the one who has to clean up?" Xiao Yao's gaze unconsciously swept over Zhou Shuyi's rounded heels, which were encased in stockings.

"That's your home."

"My house doesn't need cleaning."

"Do you believe it?"

"I do not believe……"

Xiao Yao had no choice but to go upstairs by himself.

This old house is about 70 square meters in size. The dining room is right outside the door. It is not very spacious or bright, and it is obviously quite old. A calendar from 2002 hangs on the wall. The mahogany dining table and chairs are neatly arranged, and a faint smell of wood permeates the room.

To the right of the dining room is a small kitchen with rudimentary equipment, and clumps of grease and cobwebs everywhere. To the left of the dining room, the living room is partitioned off into a small study by a display shelf.

The "study" leads to an unsealed balcony, at the far end of which there is a chicken coop made of red bricks.

Another door in the dining room leads to the bathroom and two bedrooms.

Clearly, the larger bedroom originally belonged to Xiao Yao's parents; the furniture was simple and plain, and the bed was covered in dust, but at least there were pillows, sheets, and a duvet cover. The smaller room was Xiao Yao's former bedroom; the bed had no fabric, revealing the bare wooden planks.

The bathroom wasn't big, but at least it had a flush toilet, a bathtub, and a washing machine—as for how clean it was and whether it was even usable, that was another matter.

This house has been vacant for over a year; everywhere you touch, it's covered in dust. The mahogany furniture shows signs of age, and a musty smell permeates the air. Due to well-known reasons, the floor is damp everywhere, especially the mahogany floor in the bedroom, which has warped slightly in several places due to the moisture and the recent water damage.

If my father saw the floor in this state, he would surely get angry again out of heartache.

The old house's dilapidated state highlighted the passage of time and its ruthlessness. However, despite its somewhat decaying appearance, Xiao Yao still felt a sense of warmth and familiarity—after all, this was once his warm haven and the paradise of his childhood.

Xiao Yao had to admit that he was somewhat looking forward to Yu Luying coming to clean the house while he chatted outside. But now that the situation had reversed, there was nothing he could do but silently pick up the broom and dustpan.

...It's such a mess, how am I supposed to clean it up? Should I hire a cleaning lady?

……

"You two have such a good relationship as neighbors." Not long after, Yu Luying strolled into Xiao Yao's house, looking around curiously.

“That’s right,” Xiao Yao said happily as he saw her arrive, closing the door behind him and locking it with a click. “They’re all my dad’s former colleagues; I know them all, unlike some in Shanghai…”

At this moment, Xiao Yao was clearly not very interested in discussing the neighborhood relations between the old and new eras. Instead, he put his arm around Yu Luying's slender waist from behind.

"What are you doing?!" Yu Luying's voice was a little nervous, both because of Xiao Yao's action of locking the door from the inside, and because she could sense Xiao Yao's rise through the symbiotic relationship.

"I want to devour you whole," Xiao Yao whispered in Yu Luying's ear. "It's just the two of us here now, this is our own space... Without your mother, without my daughter, you can scream your lungs out and no one will come to save you..."

"Let go! Uncle Zhou is back. He told me that if you bully me, you'll be in big trouble!"