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

--split line--

Shen Jie swung her arms as she walked down the long corridor of the short-term rental apartment.

A kind-faced old lady was leading the way.

The girl's phone rang. She glanced at the number; it was "Silly Girl's."

"Hello," Shen Jie said.

"It's me." A baritone voice came from the telephone receiver.

“I know it’s you,” Shen Jie said. “Aren’t you coming to help me look at houses? It’s getting dark—I’ll send you the address in a bit, hurry up and come over.”

"I—" Xiao Yao swallowed hard on the other end of the phone: "You, you send me the address, I, I might have to go a little later."

"What are you doing? What are you busy with? You've been chatting all afternoon, haven't you?" Shen Jie suddenly became unhappy: "We don't even have a place to sleep tonight. I'm carrying all these bags. Do you think it's appropriate for me to look for a place by myself?"

At this moment, Daiyu was carrying large bags and small bags, along with Shen Jie and Xiao Yao's luggage, following behind the girl Qibu. When he heard her say "large bags and small bags", he looked up and glanced at her with a somewhat sorrowful expression.

Shen Jie angrily hung up the phone; Daiyu could tell she was genuinely angry.

"I'm not watching anymore, what's the point? He looks like an idiot." Shen Jie turned to Daiyu and said, "I'm staying here, get your ID card."

"Um, isn't the environment a bit...well..." said the ribbonfish. "How about we look at two more places?"

"I'll stay here. How much is it per day?" Shen Jie asked the landlady.

“Normally it’s 25, but since you were introduced by Xiaoxiao, it’s 20 a day—or do you want it to be paid monthly?” The landlady held up two fingers, revealing half of her teeth when she smiled.

Chapter 274 The Resentful Wife

2023-07-23

As Shen Jie stepped into the residence she planned to stay in for the next few days, she instinctively frowned slightly, without even realizing it herself.

She turned around and saw the ribbonfish standing hesitantly at the doorway: "Huh?"

"Sister-in-law, I won't go in." As she spoke, Daiyu placed Xiao Yao and Shen Jie's bags on the floor inside the room. "Xiaoxiao is still waiting for me downstairs. We agreed to go out for dinner together—Xiao Yao hasn't come back yet. Sister-in-law, would you like to have some with us?"

"Okay~ forget it." Shen Jie blurted out, "Forget it, you guys go, I won't be a third wheel."

"It's okay, it's okay." The ribbonfish remained enthusiastic, but the expression on its face betrayed its true feelings: "Let's go together."

"Then I'll gladly accept your offer. Let's go." Shen Jie revealed a sly smile.

ribbonfish: "?"

--split line--

At this very moment, Xiao Yao and Yu Luying are sitting on the bus home.

"Home" obviously refers to Yu Lihua's home.

The last rays of the setting sun streamed through the car windows, casting dappled light and shadows onto the seats and floor. With each vibration of the vehicle, Xiao Yao and Yu Luying leaned against each other, bouncing along with the car.

Passengers sat or stood in the aisle, each lost in their own thoughts. Some looked down at their phones, some closed their eyes and swayed gently, and a few middle-aged men getting off work noticed a stunningly beautiful high school girl with bright eyes and white teeth, leaning on the shoulder of a seemingly ordinary man of similar age wearing black-rimmed glasses.

"Tsk tsk tsk, kids these days," the uncle thought with a touch of bittersweetness. "Back in our day..."

It's strange, since it should be summer vacation now, why are there still girls in school uniforms? Besides, their clothes look a bit wet and dry—which seems unusual.

It was supposed to be wet, but it seemed to have dried most of the way, though it was still a bit messy and wrinkled, clinging to my body.

The sweatpants had mostly dried out, but slight dampness was still visible at the knees and cuffs. The pink sweatpants clung tightly to her long, slender legs, which were so long and thin they looked as if they would break at any moment, a sight that tugged at the heartstrings.

The girl's white sneakers were dry and clean, without a single stain. The shoes were simple yet durable, perfectly complementing her crisp school uniform. She—it seemed—wasn't wearing socks; her slender, fair ankles peeked out from between the shoe and trouser leg, making them appear even more delicate and her rounded ankles even more adorable.

What's wrong with kids these days? Wearing sneakers without socks, don't their shoes smell? I don't understand... The uncle shook his head inwardly.

Damn, I missed my stop!

……

Xiao Yao gently tugged at Yu Luying's slender wrist.

"Hmm." Yu Luying gave a soft hum through her nose.

"Does it have to be today? Can't we go tomorrow?" Xiao Yao said with a long face, "Your sister—uh, Shen Jie—is currently carrying her luggage and looking for a place to live. If I don't show up, do you believe she'll nag me for a year?"

“There’s nothing I can do about it,” Yu Luying said. “Didn’t I tell you? My mom threw a tantrum and said, ‘If Xiao Yao doesn’t come for dinner today, he’s never coming back.’ I rushed over early this morning just to tell you about this.”

Xiao Yao wondered, "Didn't you rush over here so early in the morning to provoke Shen Jie and get her to make me break up with you?"

After getting off the bus, Xiao Yao tugged at her short-sleeved shirt, which was almost dry, and said, "Hey, tell me the truth."

"What?" Yu Luying asked.

"Is this really your mother's idea?" Xiao Yao asked.

Yu Luying shook her head, revealing a cold smile: "Does it matter?"

He left those four words behind and walked quickly forward without looking back.

"..." Xiao Yao stood there stunned for a moment before sighing and taking small steps to catch up.

The two wandered around to the old commercial street and, as usual, bought some fruit. On Yu Luying's recommendation, Xiao Yao also bought a small jar of high-quality Longjing tea.

"The ring on Shen Jie's ring finger, did you buy it for her?" Yu Luying asked casually on the way home.

“Uh, that’s hers.” Xiao Yao didn’t think that was lying.

“Oh, I don’t think you can afford it either,” Yu Luying said.

The two had barely entered Yu Luying's house when Yu Lihua started yelling, "What's with your clothes? Did you go swimming?" before Xiao Yao could even greet her as "Auntie."

“No,” Yu Luying said casually, “I was with Xiao Yao, playing a water fight with two kids. He wanted to play, so I joined him.”

"Oh dear, Xiao Yao, it's not that I'm criticizing you..."

Xiao Yao: "?"

"Hey, Yu Luying, where are your socks? Why are you barefoot?"

--split line--

Meanwhile, Shen Jie was sitting on the bed in her rented room, gently stroking her white socks.

I was planning to choose a house together today and move in together, and then I would reward him.

"Now, you can just watch and think about it," Shen Jie made up her mind.

She looked up at the wall, but there was no clock there.

I had no choice but to look at my phone.

It's already past 8 o'clock.

He hasn't come back yet.

She was the one who chose the house, moved, packed, and cleaned, but Xiao Yao openly ran off with that little vixen.

The more I took a step back, the more angry I became.

Shen Jie clutched her head and let out a cryptic cry, like that of a little fox.

Dinner was eaten with Daiyu, Yanxiao, and me at a random place downstairs.

To thank the two for their hard work, Shen Jie naturally paid the bill herself.

How long have you been back? An hour? Two hours?

Shouldn't we stop here?

Shen Jie finally couldn't resist and dialed Yu Luying's phone number.

"Beep—Hello, the number you dialed is currently busy."

Oh right, that little brat blocked my number this morning—no, this afternoon.

Shen Jie stood up and used the narrow spring wire bed as a trampoline, bouncing around on it while unleashing vulgar curses in the Shanghai dialect.

The girl quickly stopped this strenuous exercise because large beads of sweat had begun to appear on her forehead.

She stretched her head into the path of the oscillating fan, but all she felt was a blast of hot air.

That's a bit ridiculous. Shouldn't it be dark by now?

Shen Jie had no way of knowing, because the small single room that had been partitioned off had no windows. Once the door was closed and the lights were off, it would be completely dark.

It does resemble a dungeon, but it's quite a place to take a long nap.

She sat down quietly on the 1.5-person-wide steel spring bed, turned off the light, and immersed herself in complete darkness.

There was only near-absolute darkness, but no accompanying stillness.

The reason, of course, is that the barriers around her, which can be euphemistically called walls, do not have the soundproofing function that walls should have.

She could hear the clattering of slippers in the hallway, loud coughing from next door, and the low voices of a man and a woman talking.

The voices sounded both far away and close at hand.

Shen Jie tried to distinguish and think whether these were the sounds of her neighbors talking or the sounds coming from their television.

...But why am I even thinking about this? Whatever it is?

Go to sleep. Just sleep for a while, and Xiao Yao will come over.