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

Before he could finish saying "you," Xiao Yao's phone rang again.

Both of them tensed up—could it be that the wicked mother-in-law had come back with another surprise attack?

Thankfully, the screen displayed the words "My dear wife".

“It’s your sister,” Xiao Yao told Yu Luying.

“Go pick him up,” Yu Luying said. “I’m going to take a shower.”

"Hey, honey..." Xiao Yao said as he slipped out of the room and paced down the hotel corridor. "Honey, are you doing well in your studies?"

Fortunately, Shen Jie's tone remained normal, and she didn't seem to be sarcastic about his clumsy lie before dinner, which made Xiao Yao relax a bit.

After some casual conversation, banter, and exchanging daily updates, Shen Jie changed the subject: "I haven't been going out much lately, just browsing the internet sometimes, and I've noticed some rumors circulating online."

"What rumors?" Xiao Yao felt a chill run down his spine as he recalled the messy comments he had seen on the "St. Francis Middle School Tieba" forum last time.

"The 'change of heart' incidents are still happening, at least two or three times," Fortunately, Shen Jie seemed to be talking about something else: "I've sent you the link, you can go to the internet cafe to take a look when you have time."

"Could you tell me what happened?" Xiao Yao asked Shen Jie.

“It’s a bit like Teacher Yao’s situation,” Shen Jie said. “He’s a very nice person, honest and simple, but one day he suddenly jumps out and says that he has some kind of dirty secret that no one knows about—in fact, it’s all just his inner thoughts and desires. One of them is getting a divorce, another said that his daughter has turned against him, and yet another said that he was fired from his job and is experiencing social death.”

"Have these people all become 'useless'?" Xiao Yao's heart skipped a beat.

“That’s the strange thing,” Shen Jie said, “It seems like there’s nothing wrong with that. At least you can still go online and post things, or give interviews or something…”

"You suspect that it was Earl Nottington and Joan and her gang who did it?" Xiao Yao asked Shen Jie.

“It’s either the two of them,” Shen Jie said bluntly, “or it’s that their group includes more than just Earl Nottington and Joan.”

"Holy crap," Xiao Yao exclaimed, "you finally spelled the Earl of Nottingham right!"

"Where are you? Are you at home?" Shen Jie suddenly changed the subject and asked.

"It's so late, where else could he be but at home?" Xiao Yao asked suspiciously.

"No, I just heard faint footsteps," Shen Jie asked hesitantly, "Was it a girl's footsteps?"

“This old house can’t compare to your mansion. It’s all precast concrete slabs upstairs and downstairs, so it’s normal to hear noises. What’s wrong with you now? You’ve become so paranoid. You weren’t like this before,” Xiao Yao frowned, looking back at the waitress who had just walked by with some annoyance. “I might have heard my own footsteps just now. You know I like to wander around when I’m on the phone. Where did any girl’s footsteps come from?”

"Okay," Shen Jie replied somewhat reluctantly, "So, you're home alone now? Where's Silly Sister?"

"Silly girl?" Xiao Yao said truthfully, "She went back to the hotel her mother booked for her in advance, where else could she have gone?"

"Oh~~~~~~~" Shen Jie's voice trailed off: "Oh right, I suddenly remembered, you haven't shown me what your hometown looks like yet?"

"Hmm?" Xiao Yao said.

"Why don't you hang up and take a few pictures for me to see?" Shen Jie said, then added, "I just want to see what your old house looked like."

Goodness, what's going on between you two, you and Yu Lihua?

He said goodnight to his wife in a light tone, and reluctantly hung up the phone. Xiao Yao quickly dug out those photos again, thought for a moment, and then removed the ones he had sent to Yu Lihua.

You guys are launching wave after wave, a relentless, coordinated attack!

I'm too difficult.

Fortunately, neither Yu Lihua nor Shen Jie made any requests such as "Take a selfie with your right hand touching your left ear, with your home as the background, and send it to me."

In that case, we'll have to use this phone by borrowing someone's head.

The next question is—I left Yu Luying's luggage at the Party School's house. Should I go downstairs and buy her a change of underwear, pajamas, or something like that?

Good grief, so much drama, and I forgot to bring my wallet too.

Let's go back and check first.

Xiao Yao pushed open the half-closed hotel room door and saw Yu Luying holding a hairdryer, drying her wet short hair.

It looks like she's already taken a shower.

But why is she still wearing the same light green dress she wore during the day...?

Ah, that's right, it's because she had no clothes to change into.

But why did you put your pantyhose back on?

Xiao Yao was a little confused.

"You, you've already washed it, haven't you?" Xiao Yao asked. "Did you wash it with your clothes on?"

"Where are my clothes?" Yu Luying asked Xiao Yao. "I searched for ages and only found your duffel bag."

She emphasized the word "your".

"Oops," Xiao Yao hissed, "I just grabbed the wrong one. Both bags are white and not much different in size. You were walking faster than a rabbit, and I just grabbed the wrong one in my haste."

Yu Luying: "..."

Xiao Yao: "Don't glare at me like that. You didn't take your own things. Luckily, I remembered and grabbed a handful—well, just pretend I didn't remember either."

Yu Luying: "..."

Little Apple walked silently to the bedside, lifted her leg, pulled back the blanket, and was about to crawl inside.

"Uh..." Xiao Yao said, "Can I sleep here?"

Little Apple glared at him, then moved to the other side of the bed without saying a word.

Then, I picked up one of the large pillows from the pile on the bedside table and placed it next to me, under the blanket, as a dividing line and buffer zone.

Xiao Yao didn't rush to bed, but went into the bathroom instead.

Little Apple waited a while, but didn't hear the sound of running water coming from the bathroom, so she turned off the light.

Then, Xiao Yao came out of the bathroom: "Oh no, why can't I get into the mirror here?"

"What are you going to do in the mirror again?" Little Apple asked.

“What if, you say, there’s a one percent chance, your mom shows up in the middle of the night,” Xiao Yao explained, “where am I supposed to hide? Wouldn’t I be completely caught off guard?”

"Don't be silly, she won't come," Yu Luying said.

She was about to say, "Hurry up and get on," when she abruptly stopped the car.

What do I look like now that I've said that?

Actually, there was no need to say this, because Xiao Yao had already come up from the other side of the bed, all excited.

"Turn off the lights," Yu Luying said.

Xiao Yao lay in bed, feeling both excited and nervous.

This was their first time sharing a bed overnight, following their first time "taking a nap" together.

This is one small step for mankind, but one giant leap for me and Yu Luying.

When Xiao Yao was a kid, he played—well, he played a Japanese dating simulation game called "Artificial Girl"—where the male protagonist could increase his intimacy level with the female protagonist simply by sleeping together, even if he did nothing else.

Xiao Yao firmly believed this.

Yu Luying placed a pillow between the two of them, like a "38th parallel" between deskmates, creating a hidden boundary, perhaps to prevent Xiao Yao from bumping into her or touching each other's sensitive areas.

Xiao Yao was a little unhappy, but he also understood in his heart—he didn't want to do anything that would embarrass the other person on this special night.

Xiao Yao gently reached out his arm to Yu Luying and carefully embraced her.

He could feel her body temperature; her breath mingled with his heartbeat.

The distance between them shrank to the closest point (if you ignore that damn pillow), as if there were only the two of them left in the world.

Lying beside Yu Luying, Xiao Yao carefully examined her face.

He thought she was even more beautiful and charming at that moment, her short hair slightly messy, exuding a faint fragrance.

She was wearing a light green dress, which made her look gentle and lovely.

Xiao Yao couldn't help but recall the day they went on their date at the War Park. Yu Luying was also wearing this dress, and on that day she was like a beautiful flower in spring, attracting his attention.

As was his usual habit, Xiao Yao intended to sleep wearing only his underwear, but Yu Luying stopped him and forced him to take his vest off halfway.

“What kind of indecent behavior is this?” Xiao Yao complained. “Isn’t it normal for men to go shirtless in the summer?”

"You're being uncivilized!" Yu Luying said. "We should respond to the city's call and be lovely Shanghai residents."

"Anyway, I'm just a rude country bumpkin from Dongru, but this is Dongru countryside, isn't it?" Xiao Yao said angrily. "Who decided that going shirtless is uncivilized? You know, this world is really weird. Before, it was okay for men to show a little skin, while women were covered up completely. Now, it's all reversed. Young girls can wear whatever they want, even showing their belly buttons, but men, they all wear long pants in the summer, and if they show their belly while cooling off, they're called uncivilized..."

"Have you ever seen me wear a short skirt or shorts?" Yu Luying replied in the darkness, "Have you ever seen me show my belly button?"

“No,” Xiao Yao said frankly, “that’s also one of the things I particularly like about you.”

“But this is my personal habit,” Yu Luying said. “If you use it to force my sister… how should I put it? I don’t really have a problem with male chauvinism, but it also depends on both parties…”

Yu Luying carefully considered the following words, afraid of hurting Xiao Yao's self-esteem.

“I understand,” Xiao Yao gently stroked Yu Luying’s back, the tender touch bringing him comfort. “I know I’m a little spoiled, but…”

“Xiao Yao, you need to understand that feelings are a consumable commodity,” Yu Luying advised gently. “Shen Jie likes you now, so she’s willing to do anything for you… I feel the same way, but what about the future…”

"She likes me now?" Xiao Yao asked, confirming. "You think so?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Yao regretted it a little—would his point of view make Yu Luying unhappy?

Fortunately, Yu Luying didn't seem to mind—at least not outwardly: "What are you thinking? Of course she likes you. We're both girls, do you think I wouldn't notice?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yao took a deep breath, trying to calm his excitement: "I find it a bit strange."