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

Because Yu Luying had informed her mother in advance, Yu Lihua had bought the side dishes ahead of time, and by the time Xiao Yao and the others stepped into the house, most of them were already cooked.

Yu Luying was pushed by Yu Lihua to take a quick shower in the shared bathroom on the next floor, and then changed into her own pajamas before coming back up.

"Xiao Yao, why don't you go down and rinse yourself too?" Yu Lihua said, looking at Xiao Yao.

Xiao Yao also felt a bit unwell and almost agreed, but then suggested that he didn't seem to have brought any spare underwear, so they should give up.

Yu Lihua patted her head and muttered that she could keep half a dozen men's underwear at home in the future. Yu Luying patted her head several times and said that she was drunk before she even started drinking.

At dinner, Yu Lihua opened a bottle of red wine, and the three of them ate and drank—this was also the time when Shen Jie, Daiyu, Yan Xiao, and the others were having dinner together.

Yu Lihua complained that Xiao Yao hadn't come to see her for several days, so Xiao Yao took the opportunity to apologize, saying that it was Auntie's birthday a couple of days ago, and I happened to have important guests at my house. Yu Luying didn't tell me that it was Auntie's birthday that day, otherwise I would have rushed over no matter what.

"What? A couple of days ago?" Yu Lihua exclaimed in astonishment, "My birthday? No—"

Then Yu Luying stepped on his foot under the table.

"It's no big deal, it doesn't matter," Yu Lihua said with a smile. "I'm already this old, birthdays are just a way to get a year older, who really takes them seriously anymore? I'll just make myself a bowl of noodles and that's it."

Xiao Yao turned to look at Yu Luying, a thoughtful expression on his face. The latter, however, remained expressionless, picking at the rice and celery in her bowl, then picked up her wine glass and took a sip of red wine.

After the meal, Xiao Yao helped the Yu mother and daughter clear the table and chairs and wash the dishes—actually, he didn't help much, but mainly made it seem like he was willing to do something.

After finishing everything, he prepared to slip away, but Yu Lihua brought out a large watermelon that had been chilled all day.

The watermelon was so plump that Xiao Yao's vision went black.

Helpless, he could only eat melon seeds while chatting with the Yu mother and daughter.

The watermelon was sweet, crisp, and icy cold—in short, delicious—but Xiao Yao couldn't enjoy it, wasting such a good thing.

After finishing their meal and tidying up, Xiao Yao wanted to submit his resignation again, but Yu Luying said to Yu Lihua, "Mom, Xiao Yao said he has never attended evening classes before and wants you to teach him. He wants us all to attend an evening class together."

Xiao Yao frowned: "?"

You surnamed Yu, don't go too far!

Whether Yu Luying heard Xiao Yao's thoughts or not, she turned around and made a face at him.

Yu Lihua was delighted to hear this and brought out the brick-like "Daily Praise". She taught Xiao Yao how to recite it while the three of them recited it together. By the time they finished reciting the last "Amen", another hour had passed.

Fortunately, Yu Luying did not cause any further trouble, nor did she invite him to stay overnight. Instead, she took the initiative to escort Xiao Yao downstairs.

"How are you planning to get there?" Yu Luying asked Xiao Yao. "Ah... this address, let me see. First, take bus XX, then transfer to bus XX..."

"Stop messing around, it's so late, I'll just take a taxi." Xiao Yao said with a wry smile, "Hey, let me check your phone again, I need to double-check the address, don't memorize it wrong."

"Let me get you some paper and write it down. You wait here for a moment."

"No need, no need, I've got it." Xiao Yao shook his head and said.

Just then, an empty car slowly drove towards them.

Xiao Yao waved hurriedly, and seeing the car begin to slow down, he turned around and gave Yu Luying a farewell hug: "I'm leaving?"

“You must remember…” Yu Luying said, leaning on his shoulder.

"I will remember my promise, and I will not mess around with her when I go back."

"Who told you that?" Yu Luying said, "I told you to remember to buy a new phone tomorrow—do you have the money? If not, I'll give you some."

"No, no, no, no, yes, yes, yes."

Xiao Yao got into the car, and as the car turned off the side road, he looked back and saw Yu Luying still standing there.

The taxi headed southeast. The address Shen Jie sent should be the maximum distance with Yu Luying's house as the center and the known symbiotic distance as the radius.

This is actually a very dangerous thing—what if the symbiotic distance suddenly shortens again? What if Yu Luying goes out and heads northwest? And, I can't go too far east or south either…

When we get back, I need to remind Yu Luying not to wander off, and I also need to talk to Shen Jie about this.

The scenery outside the car window became increasingly desolate as they drove further. What was once a typical night view of Shanghai gradually transformed into a combination of Xiao Yao's old apartment building and Yu Luying's shikumen house.

When Xiao Yao woke up from a short nap—mainly because of the bumpy ride—he found that the area outside the window was desolate.

What is that? Is it a lake or... a field?

What urban village?

This area should still be considered part of the city, right?

Does it count as...? I'm not sure.

"Sir, we've arrived. Cash or card?" With a violent jolt, the car came to a stop, and the driver turned around to ask.

“Cash, cash,” Xiao Yao said.

After the taxi drove away, Xiao Yao stood somewhat bewildered on the bustling—you know, it was quite bustling—little street, staring blankly at the dilapidated big house in front of him.

In terms of environment and infrastructure, this urban village is not as good as his hometown, Dongru, but the flow of people is much greater.

And... among the passersby, there seem to be many pretty girls?

Following the "Accommodation, turn left, 50 meters" sign on the wall, Xiao Yao found a rather long wooden staircase, dark and gloomy, resembling the gaping maw of a giant sea monster.

Walking up the stairs into the body of the giant sea monster, you've reached the second floor.

The lights were on, but not bright enough. There was a bar that looked like a small hotel, but no one was there. Behind the bar, there seemed to be a toilet and a bathroom. To the right of the bar was a long corridor with doors lined up one after another on both sides.

Xiao Yao knocked on the bar and craned his neck to see if any NPCs would appear. Instead, he saw a naked man wearing only briefs carrying a plastic basin walking towards him from the corridor. Behind him were two young women, who were dressed a little more than the man—their shirts covered at least most of their upper bodies, but it would be an exaggeration to say that their shorts completely covered their buttocks.

"Excuse me..." Xiao Yao glanced at the tattoos, some large and some small, that all three of them had, and then decided not to ask them anymore.

"What's wrong, little brother?" Just as Xiao Yao stood frozen in place, a cheerful female voice came from behind him.

Xiao Yao turned his head and saw a pretty girl who looked a few years older than him, leaning against the bar with a thin cigarette... no, a lollipop? She was smiling at him.

She is called a "girl" because she does look not much older than me, but if the word "girl" refers to "student," then it is somewhat inaccurate.

A black top, black shorts, black fishnet stockings, and a white belt that adds soul to the whole outfit. She wears black ankle boots and has a small butterfly tattoo on her forearm. Her eyes are bright and her expression is friendly.

"Ah... well, I'm looking for someone." Xiao Yao scratched his head and said, "Where's the person at the front desk?"

"You mean Granny Yu? I don't know, maybe she went for a walk," the pretty girl said with a smile. "Little brother, the girls here generally don't like people coming here without saying a word, you know?"

"What?" Xiao Yao asked, puzzled. "I'm looking for my girlfriend, surnamed Shen. She just moved in today. Do you know which room she's in?"

"Your surname is Shen? You just arrived today?" The girl stroked her pointed chin. "Are you quite short?"

“Yes, yes, he’s very short.” Xiao Yao also got excited.

"Didn't she already go to work at the store? Go look for her there. She shouldn't be out on her first day... uh," the girl said.

"A shop? What shop?" Xiao Yao was getting more and more confused.

Just as they were arguing, an old woman came up through the entrance to the "giant sea monster," who was probably the "Grandma Yu" the girl had mentioned.

The old woman immediately recognized who Xiao Yao was looking for: "Yan Xiao's friend, I know. She came with a short, dark-skinned boy today."

“Yes, yes, yes,” Xiao Yao said.

Granny Yu led Xiao Yao to a great depth in the corridor and stopped in front of a door marked 222.

He reached out and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" A sleepy girl's voice came from inside the room.

"Little girl, are you asleep?" Granny Yu said, "There's a young man who says he's looking for you. He says his surname is Xiao."

Xiao Yao heard a loud thud on the floor inside, then ran over, pulled open the door latch, and ran away again.

"Let him in!" the girl shouted.

Granny Yu nodded to Xiao Yao and left. Xiao Yao then quietly pushed the door open, turned back to close it, and locked it again.

"What's going on? It's only a little past 10 o'clock and you're already going to bed? And the room is pitch black," Xiao Yao thought.

Before closing the door, Xiao Yao could see the exact location of the bed by the light in the corridor, and then, relying on his memory, he slowly groped his way there.

As he walked, he took off his AJ basketball shoes with his feet.

Once he reached the edge of the bed, he reached out and lifted the blanket, then crawled straight into bed.

Then he hugged the girl lying in bed tightly.

Ah, it smells good.

Xiao Yao concluded that she had her back to him, otherwise she wouldn't be so flat.

The girl in his arms curled up and asked in a kindergarten-like voice, "Who are you?"

"Hello, classmate, I'm your future husband," Xiao Yao said casually.

"Then who am I?" The girl buried her head deep in the blanket.

"You are my wife, don't doubt it!" Xiao Yao announced.

"No, I'm a cat mommy~~" The girl in his arms was still whining, but suddenly her expression changed: "Who told you to get into bed wearing your outer clothes and pants? And why are they still wet?! Are you trying to kill me?!"

Xiao Yao immediately rolled off the bed and began to take off his clothes.

"Serve me," the girl said in the darkness.

"Huh?" Xiao Yao was stunned for a moment, and blurted out subconsciously, "Stop messing around, okay?"

"What do you mean?" Shen Jie's tone carried a hint of coldness.

"Uh, no, no, I mean, maybe next time," Xiao Yao took off his trousers, looked around but couldn't find a place to put them, so he simply threw them on the bare ground: "I'm just too tired today."