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

“What you’re saying,” Ribbonfish interjected, “is it because of Shen Jie and the fact that she acted as our matchmaker?”

"But knowing you isn't a good thing, is it?" Yan Xiao's lips curled into a sly smile.

"Haha, my wife always likes to make these kinds of jokes," Daiyu explained to Xiao Yao somewhat awkwardly.

"I'm not your wife," Yan Xiao reminded him seriously.

"If she's not my wife, then what is she?" Daiyu chuckled awkwardly while desperately trying to wink at Yan Xiao, his eyes saying, "At least give me some face in public."

"Playmates," Yan Xiao blurted out without hesitation.

Xiao Yao covered his eyes with his hands, feeling embarrassed for Daiyu.

Is this a little devil? Or a little imp? Never mind, I don't really understand their anime terminology.

He even began to suspect that what Daiyu called the great harmony of life was just him bragging (Note: Shanghai dialect, meaning "to boast").

It's not that we don't trust you, we just want to see what you've got.

“Ahem,” Xiao Yao cleared his throat and said, “Yan Xiao, this matter is very important to me, and I believe it is also very important to Shen Jie—if you are willing to help us, both she and I will be grateful for your kindness.”

Since she doesn't acknowledge the favor of introducing him to the ribbonfish, then so be it, Xiao Yao thought.

No matter what, as long as she's willing to help, that's fine.

Upon hearing this, Yan Xiao sighed and said, "I will seriously consider it—but before that, I want to ask you a question: Now that you have the address, what can you do? What are you planning to do?"

"I plan to have a serious, open, and honest talk with her father, and do my best to show him my sincerity and determination," Xiao Yao said, using the words he had prepared beforehand.

“To be honest, I don’t think this will be of any use,” Yan Xiao shook her head and said, “You know what? You’re already famous on our school’s online forum, a legendary figure.”

"Huh?" Xiao Yao said.

Why is it that damn Tieba again?

"Once I get the address, I'll have Daiyu send you a text message, probably within the next couple of days—I'll let you know if I change my mind too." After saying this, Yan Xiao stood up, turned and left without saying goodbye to Xiao Yao.

Ribbonfish hurriedly stood up, made a "make a phone call" gesture to Xiao Yao, and then chased after Yan Xiao.

Chapter 228 Don't force your daughter to get engaged on Children's Day

2023-06-09

After saying goodbye to Daiyu and his "playmate" Yan Xiao, Xiao Yao walked back towards the church, lost in thought.

Although Yan Xiao agreed to help, he couldn't just wait idly by.

Firstly, we don't know if she has the ability to accomplish this; we can't put all our eggs in one basket. Secondly, even if she can, time waits for no one.

Princess Peach is imprisoned in the Demon King's castle, desperately awaiting rescue, while Mario doesn't even know where the Demon King's castle is. Although the story always arranges for an old man with a white beard to guide the hero at this point, like Xiao Yao who could simply lie at home and wait for Shen Changsheng and Shen Jie (adult version) to return, if Xiao Yao could afford to wait, why bother asking around everywhere?

Speaking of this future version of Shen Jie...

Although he hadn't really looked forward to it or fantasized about it before, when the day of their meeting was finally approaching, he couldn't help but feel nervous and start imagining things.

This kind of imagination contains almost no element of desire.

Xiao Yao doesn't like women older than him.

When he was in junior high school, he thought all high school girls were old women.

Now that he's in high school, he thinks all college girls are old women.

Xiao Yao couldn't understand why Zhang Zhengkai, a junior high school student, was obsessed with a high school girl.

From a young age, Xiao Yao didn't have a good impression of the older sisters.

They are always very fierce, always glare at me, and even physically assault me—note, physically assault, not physically assault.

And having suffered from the effects of age, one is basically powerless to resist.

Of course, it's fine if someone like Shen Jie is a year older than you, but if they're two or three years older, it's really a bit "unbearable".

And Shen Jie in 2034... Xiao Yao counted on his fingers, and realized that she was older than his own birth mother.

The thought of facing such an "old wife" made Xiao Yao feel strange and uneasy.

Of course, romantic love is unlikely, but familial love, like Yu Lihua's?

Calling it friendship is a bit strange; it's more like a bond of kinship—perhaps, I and this "Shen Jie" comrade can really...respect and love her as if she were my mother.

In fact, treating one's "wife" as one's "mother" with filial piety may sound strange at first, or even somewhat incestuous, but upon closer examination, from the perspective of kinship rather than lust, the feelings between the two are actually close and similar.

A few days ago, during a catechism class, Xiao Yao casually flipped through some reading materials during a break, and one passage in particular left a deep impression on him.

It speaks of the special, intimate feelings that traditional Europeans held for the Virgin Mary.

Xiao Yao couldn't remember the exact words, but the gist was that reverence for divinity, imagination, dependence, and affection for one's mother and wife were all embodied in the religious symbol of "the Virgin Mary."

She is the role model and embodiment of all ideals for women.

For some reason, Xiao Yao was able to grasp this point very well.

As a beginner, he had not yet invested too much emotion in the unseen and intangible Virgin Mary, but this emotional dependence on "mother and wife" was completely projected onto Shen Jie, who was visible and tangible.

If Yu Luying is his adorable little girlfriend, then Shen Jie is, to him, the concept of "wife and mother," even containing a touch of transcendent divinity.

He poured his heart and soul into it.

If priests heard this idea, they might frown and accuse themselves of "idol worship"? But Xiao Yao just couldn't help feeling that way.

Anyway, on the night before Shen Jie left, I sang to her, "How many people have admired your youthful beauty, but who can withstand the ruthless changes of time? How many people have come and gone in your life, but know that I will always be by your side." Shen Jie said to me, "I don't believe it, unless you spend time with me 30 years from now"—that's what she said, right?

Xiao Yao didn't really understand what "spend some time with her" meant, but he would try his best to do it literally.

And, love "her".

Regardless of which "she" it is.

Ultimately, there is only one "she" in this world.

Even though she's become an old lady, she's still "her" after all.

That was, after all, Shen Jie, the Shen Jie he loved most. (Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel apologetic to Yu Luying.)

Moreover, let's put ourselves in each other's shoes and think about things from that perspective.

I, Xiao, will grow up and grow old day by day as the years go by, until one day, for example, thirty years later, I will become a pot-bellied, unshaven, and weathered middle-aged man.

At that moment, by sheer coincidence, I traveled back to 2004 in a time machine or a mirror and met my wife when she was young.

As a result, the young girl looked down on him because of his age. She was polite and courteous on the surface, but kept a distance from him. How disappointed and heartbroken he must have felt!

My love for Shen Jie will definitely transcend the boundaries of time and age, the young man secretly resolved in his heart.

There is a third question, which is also very important.

After meeting Shen Jie from the future, I will definitely get some information about the future world from her.

Xiao Yao both wanted to know this information about the future world and wanted to avoid knowing it.

Otherwise, he would have already hung Shen Changsheng up, pointed at her with a belt, and forced her to confess.

So, after I meet Shen Jie in the future, can we still tacitly and implicitly avoid talking about the future?

It must be impossible.

I will definitely ask her many questions and get many answers.

Xiao Yao had no idea how much impact these answers would have on his current life.

To give an inappropriate example.

Xiao Yao was like a poor person who was afraid to check how much money he had in his pocket, afraid to check his bank card balance and credit card bill.

If he were to write online novels in the future, he would surely be afraid to check his daily subscriptions.

In fact, while ostriches can prevent many problems from being solved, they ultimately solve nothing. Those truths about the "future" are like his bank account balance, like his subscription numbers—they're there, beckoning him, like Pandora's box, like the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in Eden, always tempting him.

Xiao Yao walked along, lost in his own thoughts, until he reached the entrance of the Sacred Heart Church.

Just as I was about to push the door open, my phone rang again.

Xiao Yao stopped in his tracks, glanced at the caller ID without any expectation, and answered the phone expressionlessly.

"Hey, Mr. Xiong, I thought you were dead."

"..."

"Heaven and earth bear witness, it is you who appear and disappear like a ghost, a dragon whose tail is never seen."

"..."

"Pretty much, yes, that's true. Where did you hear about it?"

"..."

"Tieba, Tieba again. I really need to go to Canhua Internet Cafe and take a good look. These bastards are all trained like secret agents..."

"..."

"What else can we do? We're frantically trying to find out her address. Once we get it, we'll just have to go there."

"..."

"Then it's definitely best to start with diplomacy and then resort to force. We need to present the facts and reason with her, appeal to her emotions and explain the situation to her, and try to win over her father with love..."