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

“It’s quite interesting,” Shen Jie said.

That night, we went to "Free Man Internet Cafe" again and hung out until after 3 a.m. We stopped by the barbecue stall to say hello to Meiyu, but didn't order anything else.

Back in the room, we slept back to back. In the morning, Shen Jie woke me up on time, and I went to St. Francis Secondary School alone.

Shen Jie forbade him to take a taxi and told him to take the bus, but he still secretly took a taxi in the end.

"Alas, it's hard to go from extravagance to frugality," Xiao Yao thought.

They still have money, so why are they living like this?

The last section of the catechism was "Pity in Form" and "Pity in Spirit." After the course, everyone had a meal together and took a group photo. Yu Bo announced that this group of students would receive the "Sacraments of Initiation" on August 15, the Feast of the Assumption of Mary.

Xiao Yao privately told Yu Bo that he wasn't ready yet and needed more prayer and preparation, so he suggested waiting until next Easter to be with Shen Jie.

Yu Bo looked a little disappointed, but still said that it was Xiao Yao's free will.

The afternoon was supposed to be a private date with Yu Luying. Considering the 37-degree heat and sunny weather outside, Yu Luying didn't want to go anywhere or go shopping.

Going to Xiao Yao's house was out of the question, and as for Yu Luying's house... it wouldn't be convenient to talk to her at home, but it was a bit "tempting" if her mother wasn't there. After thinking it over, they found a room in the church, took advantage of the church's air conditioning, and whispered to each other.

"Studying on a temporary basis? You mean coming to our school?" After listening to Xiao Yao's account of his argument with Shen Jie at the "Friendship Store" yesterday, and his bizarre plan to have Shen Jie study at St. Francis Secondary School on a temporary basis, Yu Luying fell into thought.

Then, Yu Luying asked Xiao Yao, "Is this the topic you and I are going to talk about on our date?"

Xiao Yao chuckled and sat down next to Little Apple, putting his arm around the girl's shoulder. He bent down to touch the openwork socks on her feet, but then noticed the portrait of Saint Thérèse on the wall staring at him, and withdrew his hand halfway.

“I always thought she was a noble lady,” Yu Luying said to herself, seemingly unaware of Xiao Yao’s actions. “I never imagined she was the daughter of a nouveau riche, with the mindset of a nouveau riche.”

Xiao Yao: "?"

“This kind of nouveau riche, I think you’d be better off marrying me,” Yu Luying calmly assessed.

Xiao Yao: "?"

What happened? Are they no longer hiding their wolfish ambitions?

"Just kidding," Yu Luying explained. "I just wanted to put her down a bit."

"?" Xiao Yao calmed his pounding heart: "Oh, don't do that."

“From my perspective, I don’t want her to study here on loan.” Yu Luying switched her legs.

"Why?" Xiao Yao asked Yu Luying.

Yu Luying's face flushed red instantly, and she became shy and awkward, completely losing the confidence she had shown just moments before when she confidently said, "Why don't you marry me?"

“Because…because…the school was originally, originally,” Yu Luying gripped her shoulders, her mouth not moving, “a space that belonged to just the two of us.”

"No reason why, if I can't figure it out, then forget it," Yu Luying said in a deliberately indifferent tone.

"Oh." Xiao Yao pretended not to hear Yu Luying's inner thoughts and played dumb.

“But from a rational point of view, I think you are right,” Yu Luying said. “You have to find her a school to study in, you can’t just let her drift through life like this.”

"Will you help?" Xiao Yao asked excitedly.

“How can I help? I’ll ask Director Lin.” Yu Luying said, “I’m not helping because I’ve forgiven her, it’s purely because she saved my life.”

"Nizi, still being stubborn," Xiao Yao thought with a chuckle.

Chapter 279 Hello, Xu Qingwei

2023-07-29

Many years later, Xiao Yao would recall the afternoon of August 2, 2004, when he and his classmate Yu Luying had a private meeting in a small storage room on the first basement floor of Sacred Heart Church. The main topic of their conversation was Shen Jie's temporary enrollment at St. Francis' School.

Xiao Yao clearly remembers that Yu Luying was wearing the summer uniform skirt of St. Francis Secondary School that day—not the sportswear she wore for swimming a few days earlier, but a light yellow short-sleeved shirt with lace trim on the collar and cuffs.

She wore a plaid skirt that just went past her knees, revealing her fair and tender calves, and on her feet she wore white openwork socks and lightweight summer sneakers with perforations.

As a student at St. Francis Secondary School, Xiao Yao also had an almost identical pale yellow shirt, only without the lace trim, and paired it with trousers. Meanwhile, the plaid skirt of this school uniform was above the knee, but on Yu Luying it was below the knee; either she had it altered, or she had chosen a larger size.

St. Francis Secondary School has about five sets of uniforms: two for summer, two for spring and autumn, and one for winter. At the same time, the uniforms for the classes of 03, 02, and 01 are different. Therefore, in most cases, you can recognize which grade a student belongs to at a glance on campus.

Of course, there are exceptions. If you see someone wearing a senior high school uniform sitting in a junior high school class, you'll know that they are probably an international student, or rather, a student who has repeated a grade.

If Shen Jie's transfer to another school is successful, Xiao Yao plans for her to join the second year of high school. He imagines the school will provide her with the new uniforms of the 04 cohort, making her stand out in the second-year classroom, like a student who skipped a grade.

Of course, we all know that, generally speaking, no one can skip from the first year of high school to the second year.

The basement room was very cool, presumably because it couldn't tolerate direct sunlight.

The air was a little humid, and the air conditioner was humming softly; overall, it was a pleasant experience.

The air was filled with a unique blend of the old church's and the library's distinctive scents, which Xiao Yao loved. In the center of the room stood two or three rows of bookshelves, surrounded by sofas made of genuine leather—or perhaps faux leather.

On the east wall hung a crucifix, below which was an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. On the west wall hung portraits of Saint Teresa the Younger and Saint Mary Greta. To the north was a photograph of the late Pope Pius XI, whose glasses had no rims, were round and small, reminding Xiao Yao of his first pair of glasses from junior high school.

Overall, apart from the statue of the Holy Heart, Xiao Yao didn't recognize any of the people hanging there, but somehow he felt a sense of peace and tranquility.

As if afraid that so many great men wouldn't be able to keep Xiao Yao in check, Yu Luying left the door slightly ajar—but anyway, no one would come to this floor anyway.

“How can I help? I’ll ask Director Lin.” Yu Luying said, “I’m not helping because I’ve forgiven her, it’s purely because she saved my life.”

"Nizi, still being stubborn," Xiao Yao thought with a chuckle.

As the top student in her grade, Yu Luying naturally had a good relationship with the school leaders.

“Director Lin can’t make this decision, can he? But it wouldn’t hurt to ask.” Xiao Yao said, “By the way, Director Lin is your mother’s student, I had forgotten.”

"You don't want my mother to get involved in this, do you?" Yu Luying asked Xiao Yao with a strange expression.

"Uh, no, it's nothing, I'm just out of my mind," Xiao Yao waved his hand.

“If that doesn’t work, my uncle should be able to put in a good word.” Yu Luying’s slender fingers were resting on her chin.

“I heard that it’s much easier to enroll in a school on a temporary basis than to transfer schools. You just need to pull some strings, or you don’t even need to. It’s very lenient to enroll on a temporary basis,” Xiao Yao said.

“It’s definitely easier than transferring schools,” Yu Luying said. “As for being more relaxed, who told you that?”

“I forgot,” Xiao Yao said.

“It will definitely cost money, and it won’t be a small amount. You’ll have to figure that out yourselves,” Yu Luying said.

"There shouldn't be any problems..." Xiao Yao asked. "Approximately how much will it cost?"

“It will cost at least tens of thousands,” Yu Luying said.

"Mm," Xiao Yao said.

"Did Shen Jie bring her ID card and household registration book?" Yu Luying seemed to suddenly remember something.

"Why would you bring your household registration book? It's not like we're eloping to get married." Xiao Yao chuckled.

“Isn’t that right?” Yu Luying retorted.

"Ahem, I definitely brought my ID card, but... I think it would be best to use a fake name," Xiao Yao said.

"A fake identity?" Yu Luying was taken aback.

She knew, of course, why Xiao Yao wanted to use a fake name, but...

"Aren't you dreaming? How could a few kids like us possibly come up with a fake identity?" Yu Luying said.

"Ask our uncle?" Xiao Yao said.

“My uncle is a priest, not a godfather,” Yu Luying said. “The Vatican is not on the island of Sicily either.”

“Nobody said he was,” Xiao Yao said with a grin.

“Okay, I’ll ask around for you.” Yu Luying said reluctantly, “If that doesn’t work, there’s another way, as long as you can solve the money problem—that is, IB.”

"What B?" Xiao Yao asked.

“The International Baccalaureate Program is an education system promoted by an international organization,” Yu Luying explained.

Xiao Yao: "?"

“Learning this skill alone is not recognized in China, but it is recognized in most countries. Once you find a qualified educational institution, you should only need an ID card and pay money to register,” Yu Luying said.

Xiao Yao: "...I understand, I'll look into it."

“I’m telling you,” Yu Luying leaned towards Xiao Yao, “Shen Jie doesn’t want to study, right? It’s like the emperor isn’t worried but the eunuch is. What if you’ve arranged everything for her and she still refuses to go?”

"Then I'll spank her, and she'll have to listen to me," Xiao Yao said cheerfully.

"Are you really raising her like a daughter now?" Yu Luying said with a smile.

“If you don’t listen, I’ll hit you too… cough cough, well.” Xiao Yao turned his head and looked at the surrounding walls: “Men are the head of women, and wives should obey their husbands, as the Bible says.”

"Get lost!" Yu Luying said, her eyebrows raised. "After reading the entire Bible, all you've remembered are these two sentences."

“To be honest, the Bible has said this more than once…” Xiao Yao said, “Most importantly, I must do the right thing and not let her do whatever she wants or have wild ideas—do you think I’m doing the right thing?”

Yu Luying considered it carefully for a few seconds, then nodded slightly: "I personally think so."

"Where did she hear that 'studying is useless' theory from?" Xiao Yao said indignantly.

"How many second-generation rich kids with poor educational backgrounds have you met?" Yu Luying said, "Basically, second-generation rich kids will embellish their educational background."

“That’s exactly what I meant,” Xiao Yao said.

“Besides, her father only has a junior high school education, how is that possible?” Yu Luying said.

"Impossible?" Xiao Yao didn't quite understand these things.