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

“There’s nothing I don’t understand,” Xiao Yao replied immediately. “I listened quite well.”

However, he did not breathe a sigh of relief.

"I'm getting old, my memory isn't what it used to be," Yu Bo tapped his temple with his bent knuckles. "What was today's topic again?"

“In response to your question, it is a sacred matter of marriage,” Xiao Yao replied fluently.

“Ah, yes, it’s the Sacrament of Marriage,” Yu Bo said. “How do you understand the Sacrament of Marriage?”

Xiao Yao frowned slightly.

Is this a midterm exam, or a surprise inspection?

"Ah, there are so many elements..." Xiao Yao said as he recalled.

"Let's just chat casually."

“Yes, what impressed me most,” Xiao Yao said, “is that a marriage cannot be dissolved unless one of the parties dies.”

“Not bad,” Yu Bo said.

“People who have been baptized and people who haven’t cannot marry,” Xiao Yao said.

“The main subject of the sacrament of marriage is a man and a woman,” Yu Bo said slowly. “Just like in the beginning, when He created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, He created a man and a woman.”

"Yes, two men or two women definitely won't work," Xiao Yao said, his eyes darting around as he downplayed the issue.

"Is it okay to have one man and two women?" Yu Bo asked.

“That won’t work either,” Xiao Yao said.

“As we mentioned before,” Yu Bo continued, “legal sexual activity can only occur in…”

“In a sacred marriage,” Xiao Yao interrupted him, “I will keep both of these points in mind, Father.”

When he said the word "priest," Xiao Yao emphasized the pronunciation.

"I'm sure you will." Yu Bo said.

"Father, did you call me here today just to say this?"

Xiao Yao felt that Yu Bo's reprimand was justified, whether from the perspective of a priest or an uncle. However, given his guilty conscience, he naturally wanted to slip away quickly, especially since—

“Kid, you should remember, I’m not some old-fashioned person.” Yu Bo sighed and said, “When I was your age, in high school, I also had a crush on our class monitor for a long time.”

"Could it be that the class monitor you mentioned also happens to have the surname Liang?" Xiao Yao blurted out jokingly.

Generally speaking, Xiao Yao is not the kind of person who makes jokes indiscriminately regardless of the occasion or the person he is talking to; he just desperately needs to shift the focus of the conversation away from himself.

To everyone's surprise, Yu Bo readily admitted, "Yes, it's her."

Now it was Xiao Yao's turn to be speechless: "Ah~~~~~~"

After a long pause, he finally said, "Oh, it really is her."

"Hmm," Yu Bo said nonchalantly, "Don't look at her like this now. Back in school, in terms of beauty and personality, she was no less than our Yingying."

"Tsk," Xiao Yao clicked his tongue for a long time: "Really?"

“Really,” Yu Bo said earnestly, “why would I lie to you?”

“Well,” Xiao Yao carefully chose his words, “you two really, really… look so old…”

“That’s not true,” Yu Bo said without hesitation. “They rejected me.”

"And then you became a monk in a fit of anger?" Xiao Yao laughed.

“Not really,” Yu Bo told Xiao Yao. “Objectively speaking, there’s no direct or necessary connection.”

“Oh…” Xiao Yao said, “But if she agrees, won’t you stop being a monk and get married instead?”

"You're just a middle school student, do you really think you can stick with something just because you promised?" Yu Bo raised his eyebrows. "Not to mention, there are so many real-world obstacles..."

Seeing that the atmosphere of the conversation was becoming somewhat sad, Xiao Yao hurriedly stuck out his tongue and shut his mouth.

……

……

"But she rejected you, how come you two are still so close?" Xiao Yao couldn't help but break the silence: "Is it true that once you grow up, grudges from your school days are often wiped clean?"

“Of course not,” Yu Bo said gently, “I will never forget the day I confessed my feelings to her on the playground…”

"I'll test it!" Xiao Yao said, "What year was that? How could you be so open-minded?"

“Liang Yanan was just stunned for a moment,” Yu Bo ignored Xiao Yao and continued, “She came over and hugged me.”

"Wow~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~" Xiao Yao made that kind of jeering sound.

“Then, say it in a voice only the two of us can hear,” Yu Bo said, “Yu Bo, I don’t like you, but now you can take my hand and leave the crowd.”

Xiao Yao looked completely dumbfounded: "..."

“The moon that doesn’t belong to me shone on me for a moment,” Yu Bo said to Xiao Yao. “Do you understand? That’s love, even if it’s not necessarily romantic love between a man and a woman.”

“I totally understand!” Xiao Yao nodded vigorously. “But you two were so high-profile, didn’t the teachers call you in? In those days…”

“They were found,” Yu Bo said. “The two of them were found separately, made to write self-criticisms, and their parents were called in. Liang Yanan also wrote one.”

"You mean," Xiao Yao said incredulously, "just because the moonlight shone on you for that moment, just because you confessed your feelings in public, that made that young girl have to go through the medical examination with you."

"Am I an idiot?" Yu Bo asked.

"That's so stupid," Xiao Yao said.

“But love is revealed in it,” Yu Bo said. “Do you know what the other side of the coin of love is?”

“Should it be… a sacrifice?” Xiao Yao said, “Like a sacrifice on a cross.”

"Do you remember the first time I met you?" Yu Bo asked Xiao Yao.

“I remember,” Xiao Yao said. “I pestered Yu Luying to come here, and you grabbed me by the collar and almost beat me up.”

“At the time, I thought you were a local thug, which is why I was so violent,” Yu Bo told Xiao Yao. “Later, when I found out you were Yingying’s classmate and learned the whole story, I advised Yingying to reciprocate your kindness.”

"Really?" Xiao Yao said in disbelief, "As her uncle, instead of protecting your niece, you're encouraging this little brat who's been pestering her to walk into the lion's den?"

"Don't you believe me?" Yu Bo raised an eyebrow and said, "Otherwise, why do you think she suddenly started talking to you after Christmas?"

"Is it really you doing the work?" Xiao Yao was greatly shocked.

He knew perfectly well that Yu Bo wouldn't lie, but he found it hard to accept for a while, simply because the story was so bizarre.

"Shouldn't you thank me properly for this?" Yu Bo said.

"Thank you, Brother Bo!" Xiao Yao said excitedly.

“I did that,” Yu Bo told Xiao Yao, “not only to cultivate Yingying’s way of dealing with people and situations, but also because I could see that you, little rascal, are not a bad person at heart.”

Xiao Yao was touched by this recognition: "Brother Bo..."

"So now, I also know that you won't let me down." Yu Bo revealed his true intentions: "I also hope you understand that what I just said to you wasn't out of any personal prejudice against you..."

“I understand, Brother Bo,” Xiao Yao said.

“Yingying’s life over the past ten years or so has not been happy. You should already know a lot about her situation without me having to tell you,” Yu Bo said. “I have never objected to you becoming my nephew-in-law. It was the same in the beginning as it is today. But you must be very careful not to hurt her unintentionally—do you understand what I mean?”

“I understand completely,” Xiao Yao said.

At this moment, the resistance I felt earlier had vanished, leaving only lingering fear and guilt.

"Alright, go play now." Yu Bo straightened his back again and announced the end of today's lecture.

"Brother Bo, there's one more thing." Xiao Yao showed no sign of leaving.

“Speak,” Yu Bo said.

Xiao Yao briefly reported to Yu Bo that Shen Jie was now imprisoned by her parents and was about to be forced into an arranged marriage because of her past relationship with him.

"It's actually... progressed to this point?" Yu Bo was slightly surprised and remained silent for a while.

"Is such that."

“I understand, I will pray for her,” Yu Bo said.

"???"

"What's wrong?" Yu Bo asked knowingly.

"That's it? That's it?"

"I am just a lowly clergyman, what action do you want me to take?" Yu Bo deliberately rolled his eyes.

"Don't give me that crap," Xiao Yao said. "You really don't want to get involved in this?"

“What right do I have to interfere? It’s their family matter, it’s not my business. Even if I were the Pope, I could only send a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, would that be too much of a deal?” Yu Bo said, “Besides, what right do you have to interfere? Didn’t you break up with Xiao Shen?”

Which sentence did I say that I broke up with Xiao Shen? Xiao Yao wondered.

“First, to me,” Xiao Yao said, “no matter what happens, she is at least my friend, someone with whom I have a special relationship; second, to you, she is also your catechism student and a member of your Shadow Warriors; third, even if she really has nothing to do with us, the Yu Bo I know, Father Yu, is a man with a simple sense of justice, definitely not someone who is indifferent to matters that don't concern him. I believe that only in this way can one be worthy of calling oneself a servant of God…”

"Here it comes, here it comes, trying to flatter me, huh? Trying to morally blackmail me, huh?" Yu Bo said this, but couldn't hide the smile on his face: "So what do you want me to do?"

"I..." Xiao Yao was speechless for a moment.

Yu Bo had already started pacing back and forth in the small garden: "First of all, the fact that her parents restricted her freedom before she turned 18 is not considered an infringement in public order and good morals around the world, as long as it is not particularly long-term and abusive."

“I understand that too,” Xiao Yao said. “The key point is the forced engagement of underage children—Father, is this a violation of justice?”