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

Finally, the conversation naturally turned to his childhood, elementary school, and junior high school.

"The letter your grandfather wrote to you before he passed away?" Yu Lihua asked. "Auntie, may I take a look? — If you don't mind."

"I don't mind, I don't mind."

Xiao Yao had almost gotten used to Yu Lihua's friendliness, but her politeness and respect still made the young man feel flattered.

“Little Apple,” Xiao Yao turned around and waved to Yu Luying, “Give me that letter.”

"A letter? What letter? Ah, oh." Yu Luying started rummaging through her bag.

"Little Apple?" Yu Lihua was slightly taken aback.

“Ah,” Xiao Yao said somewhat awkwardly, “it’s just a nickname we use to call each other.”

"You named her that?" Yu Lihua asked Xiao Yao.

“Ah,” Xiao Yao said, “It’s just random shouting.”

Yu Luying found the letter and handed it to her from behind. Yu Lihua carefully unfolded the letter, shook it in her hand, glanced at Xiao Yao, stopped, and began to read it carefully.

……

"Put it away carefully, don't let anyone break it." Yu Lihua handed the letter back to her daughter.

Xiao Yao suddenly couldn't help but chuckle, thinking that Yu Luying seemed like a maid.

Little Apple folded the letter again, put it in her bag, and instead of retreating five meters away, she walked side by side with Xiao Yao and her mother.

“Your grandfather was a scholar—a cultured man,” Yu Lihua commented first. “Even his name suggests he was a cultured man.”

"Ah, yes, it seems he taught at a private school." Xiao Yao nodded.

“His grandfather said he was quiet and reserved since he was a child. Mom, isn’t that funny?” Yu Luying interjected.

“That’s normal,” Yu Lihua said. “Your mother was also quiet and reserved when she was a child.”

Both children secretly laughed.

“Xiao Yujing, Xiao Changsheng, good names, really good names,” Yu Lihua turned to her daughter and asked, “Little Apple, do you think they sound nice?”

"I don't like it," Yu Luying said honestly. "And what's with this 'Little Apple' thing? Mom, don't keep calling it that."

“It’s okay if you don’t like it,” Yu Lihua turned to her daughter and earnestly instructed, “Since it’s Grandpa Xiao Yao’s last wish, your children will be named after him. If you have your own preferences, you can have them when you have a second child…”

"What do you mean by first or second child!" Yu Luying was furious and stamped her foot. "Mom, listen to what you're saying, in front of Xiao Yao."

"Still shy? What's wrong with saying this?" Yu Lihua scolded, "Wait until you two get married, then... clap, clap, clap, clap..."

Yu Luying didn't want to listen to Yu Lihua's fantasies about married life, so she quickened her pace and walked ahead: "I saw the cross!"

Unlike Yu Luying, Xiao Yao couldn't simply run away, so he could only listen to Yu Lihua's endless daydreams about "life after you get married."

At first, I felt a little awkward, but then I felt warm and romantic. Then, I unconsciously started to daydream and imagine this beautiful future. Finally, my nose started to sting, and I wanted to kill myself on the spot.

Fortunately, we had already arrived at Fang Bing Catholic Church.

Fangbing Catholic Church in Dongru County, Nantong City, also known as Dongru Fangbing Catholic Church, is located on the west side of Fuhua Road in Daxiang Town, Dongru County. In fact, it is situated next to the national highway, surrounded by a desolate area.

Although it's called Fangbing, it's actually located on the national highway between Xiao Yao's town and Fangbing town, just closer to Fangbing.

That's why it was such a struggle to walk after leaving Fangbing Bus Station.

In Xiao Yao's original imagination, a rural church like Fangbing Church should be in the Chinese style, short and dilapidated, with a thatched roof, and maybe even look like an ancestral hall. He never expected that when the huge cathedral that suddenly rose from the ground came into view, it really gave him a big shock.

This church is really tall and big, and from a distance it looks like it's in the Gothic architectural style.

Xiao Yao didn't know much about architecture, but from his scattered impressions, he knew that buildings with a slender and imposing silhouette, topped with sharp spires, were called Gothic—hmm? Why did he think of Yu Luying?

The brick and wood structure looks quite decent, with vibrant colors and a texture reminiscent of a Disney castle.

To put it bluntly, it's like a toy.

Moreover, the color is also strange. Although Gothic architecture doesn't particularly emphasize color, it usually features a dark main color scheme with stained glass. This church, however, is a bit... Russian?

In any case, in Xiao Yao's eyes, "big" and "tall" are justice.

“This guy looks better than Brother Bo—better than our uncle’s cousin,” Xiao Yao said to Yu Luying.

Yu Luying scoffed, took a step back, took out her camera, half-squatted down, and took a picture.

Upon hearing the words "our uncle," Yu Lihua glanced at Xiao Yao and said, "The Sacred Heart Hall was originally quite large. What you see now is just an annex of the original Sacred Heart Hall."

As they were talking, a short, stout man in black trousers, black leather shoes, and a blue shirt came out to open the door. Only when the man got closer did Xiao Yao realize, by the white Roman collar around his neck, that this was a priest, not the doorman.

The priest was unremarkable in appearance, around forty or fifty years old, with a face that was... rather ugly, but without any particularly outstanding features. His medium-length black hair was already showing some gray, and the wrinkles on his face showed the marks of time.

"Father Li, is that right? I'm sorry to have troubled you," Yu Lihua said politely.

"Father Li." "Father Li."

“No trouble at all,” Father Li said. “Father Yu is a good friend of mine!”

“We were just passing through and thought we'd stop by to pay our respects to the Holy Spirit,” Yu Lihua said.

“Okay, okay,” Father Li nodded.

Despite saying she was there to "pay homage to the Holy Spirit," Yu Lihua wasn't in a hurry to enter the church. Instead, she followed Father Li to his office first.

The three sat down on the sofa, each holding a cup of hot tea that Father Li had brewed for them.

Yu Luying and Xiao Yao listened to Yu Lihua and Father Li chatting about trivial matters in the two parishes, talking about the Zhang family priest and the Li family nun, all of which seemed rather boring.

Smile, drink tea, clear your mind, nod, and smile along.

He would sneak a peek at his phone every now and then to see if Shen Jie had replied to his messages.

After they finally finished chatting, Father Li took out the key and led the three of them into the sanctuary.

Upon entering the sanctuary, Xiao Yao felt...emmmmmmm.

Well, it really is the kind of traditional Chinese ancestral hall I imagined.

The decorations inside are even more elaborate than those outside.

"It's still not as good as our uncle's territory after all," Xiao Yao whispered to Yu Luying.

Criticisms aside, and it may be ugly as it may be, since we're already here, let's pay our respects.

After reading "Pater noster," "Ave Maria," and "Gloria Patri" with the Yu mother and daughter, Xiao Yao stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked around twice as if he were just observing.

You know what, this confessional pavilion is actually quite pretty.

Father Li, draped in a purple sash, sat inside, while Yu Luying knelt outside the confessional. The partition between them had been lifted, leaving only a thick gauze curtain separating them, making it impossible for either of them to see each other's faces.

Xiao Yao stood at a distance and watched. He suddenly remembered the first time he had "personally" witnessed such a scene, which was in Teacher Yao's hall.

There, he and Shen Jie overheard Teacher Yao telling Yu Bo some shocking things.

As soon as Yu Luying stood up, Yu Lihua walked over and knelt down on the other side of the pavilion.

Father Li adjusted his posture and rested his head on the other side.

Yu Luying slowly walked towards Xiao Yao.

"You told him everything about us?" Xiao Yao asked in a low voice.

Yu Luying ignored him.

“What if he turns around and tells your mother?” Xiao Yao said.

“Impossible,” Yu Luying said. “Disclosing a confessional secret is a serious crime punishable by excommunication. Even if you tell the priest you killed someone, he can’t call the police.”

“It’s a bit like a confessional—the priest hears you talk about these things every day, but he can’t tell anyone else. It must be very painful for him,” Xiao Yao said.

"So they've long since mastered the art of letting things go in one ear and out the other," Yu Luying said.

As they were talking, seeing Yu Lihua stand up, Xiao Yao also quickly walked towards the confessional pavilion.

"Where are you going?" Yu Luying called out to him from behind.

“I want one too,” Xiao Yao said succinctly.

"Hey! Hey..."

……

“Father, I have sinned,” Xiao Yao said in a deep voice.

"..." There was no sound coming from inside.

"Hello, hello? Can you hear me?" Xiao Yao asked, as if he were on a cell phone.

"Go on," Father Li finally spoke.

“I’m not a member of the church yet, and they said I can’t go to confession because I haven’t been baptized yet,” Xiao Yao said. “But I do have some things in my heart that I regret and feel very bad about, and I have to get them off my chest. Can you listen to me?”

“You say it,” Father Li repeated.

"Will you keep it absolutely confidential, just like you would when listening to a real confession?" Xiao Yao asked him.

“Yes,” Father Li said.

“Last night, my girlfriend and I… something unexpected happened because we drank too much. Although nothing actually happened in the end, still… well, she should have already told you, right?” Xiao Yao said.

"..." The other party remained silent.

"Then I felt like I was a terrible person, really." Xiao Yao continued, "I knew perfectly well that there was no future between us, so I didn't plan to touch her. That was my bottom line."