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

“What’s wrong with you?” Yu Luying complained, “This is the countryside, not like the city, where there are all sorts of roads. You’re going around in circles like this… When you ask a girl out, shouldn’t you meet her at the hotel entrance first? You just send her a text message and expect her to come to you on her own? What do you take her for, a prostitute—” She swallowed the last word, realizing it was inappropriate, “If it weren’t for the child, I think she would have broken up with you long ago.”

Xiao Yao was somewhat embarrassed, knowing that Yu Luying was right and that he had handled the matter inappropriately. However, this stargazing spot had only just been found, and he couldn't think of a good solution for the time being: "Uh—be more confident. Without Tianyun, no one will even give me a second glance, okay?"

"You still know that?" Yu Luying grinned at him. "If you hadn't cast this curse on me, I would never have spoken to you again."

"Oh dear," Xiao Yao thought her funny face was quite cute, and playfully put his arm around the girl's shoulder: "Saying things like that is hurtful, isn't it?"

“And it’s so late, aren’t you worried about her safety leaving her alone?” Yu Luying said.

"I'm doing this to be with you, aren't I? If I go back to pick her up, you'll be all alone again. I'm worried about your safety too—it's a difficult choice."

"What else can you do besides being glib?" Yu Luying shook off the hand on her shoulder: "All you have left is your mouth."

"Oh, listen to me! I overheard your grandfather and your eldest uncle saying—"

“I don’t want to hear what those people are saying,” Yu Luying covered her ears with her hands. “They can say whatever they want, I don’t want to hear it, and you’d better pretend you didn’t hear it.”

"?" Xiao Yao didn't understand why Yu Luying said that, but serious matters couldn't be joked about, so he reached out and pulled off one of the girl's arms: "Stop messing around, listen to me."

With the girl looking reluctant, Xiao Yao told her exactly what he had overheard in the bathroom, and then added his own understanding and analysis.

Yu Luying patiently listened to Xiao Yao's retelling of the conversation between Yu Texuan and Yu Baolu, and then interrupted him as he rambled on about his own thoughts: "I know—this has nothing to do with you."

Xiao Yao: "..."

Seeing the boy's astonished expression, Yu Luying realized that her tone was harsh and quickly softened it, saying, "What I mean is, this is my family matter, so don't worry about it too much—I know you care about me, and I appreciate your kindness."

After saying that, she snuggled into Xiao Yao's arms and deliberately twisted her body a couple of times. Then, worried that Shen Jie might suddenly refresh her mind, she quickly sat up straight again.

“How could I not care about your affairs? I’m your husband—I’m your boyfriend, okay?” Xiao Yao persisted. “Besides, this matter is directly related to me.”

“What does this have to do with you?” Yu Luying said.

“Your uncle is up to no good, using my name to prove that you made bad friends. I can’t sit still like this…” Xiao Yao said anxiously.

"What did my uncle say you said wrong?" Yu Luying said calmly, "I just made bad friends."

"You—!" Xiao Yao was displeased.

Yu Luying reached out and stroked Xiao Yao's hair: "Alright, haven't you heard the saying 'I'm telling you to wear a hat,' or 'I'm telling you not to wear a hat'?"

Xiao Yao: "?"

“If someone wants to cause you trouble, whether you step out with your left or right foot first can be used as evidence,” Yu Luying told Xiao Yao.

"That being said, he... I... you, are still a topic of conversation." Xiao Yao was somewhat discouraged.

“This isn’t the first time Grandpa has mentioned wanting to leave some of his businesses to me,” Yu Luying told Xiao Yao.

"Well, when I told you earlier, you didn't seem very surprised, so I guessed it," Xiao Yao said. "You're not honest with me, you're always hiding things from me."

“Xiao Yang tried to persuade me several times to accept it,” Yu Luying said, stroking her ankle through her socks. “I wasn’t interested, and I even argued with her about it a few times.”

"Who's Xiao Yang? Yu Yage?" Xiao Yao suddenly remembered that he seemed to have seen her before and even spoken to her—right between the school and the church, it seemed like summer vacation hadn't started yet: "Is she Paul's uncle's daughter?"

"Hmm," Yu Luying said.

"What did she advise you on? What did you disagree with? What were you arguing about?" Xiao Yao was a little confused.

"Don't you understand?" Yu Luying said, "I don't want to accept favors from the Yu family."

"What?" Xiao Yao's eyes widened, hardly believing his ears. "Why?"

Also, what does "the Yu family" mean?

"Why what?" Yu Luying glanced at Xiao Yao with some confusion: "A brave man does not eat food offered with contempt."

"...What hero? You're just a little woman."

"Then I am a lady too."

"..." Xiao Yao paused for a moment before speaking, "No, what do you mean by charity?"

"Otherwise what?" Yu Luying's tone was relatively calm at first, but as she spoke, she gradually became agitated: "He was so heartless to my mother back then. They've treated my mother and me like this since we were little. Now he's almost buried, and he only has a few days left. He's thinking about blood ties—trying to buy family ties with money? No way! I won't sell, we won't sell."

Xiao Yao: "..."

“That’s what I told Xiaoyang before,” Yu Luying continued, “I will obey God’s commandments and do my duty. I will call him Grandpa and Uncle. I can visit him during holidays and see him one last time. After he rests in peace, I will pay for a priest to hold 33 Masses for him. Isn’t that more than enough? I can’t do any more. As for his money, my mother and I don’t want a single penny of it—”

"Why are you doing this?" Xiao Yao asked, puzzled. He instinctively tried to persuade her, "Who would turn down money? Wouldn't it be foolish not to take the money?"

Yu Luying gave him a deep look.

“What I mean is, this isn’t ill-gotten gains; it’s your rightful share,” Xiao Yao added.

"There's no right or wrong answer. Who says an elderly person's money has to go to their son or grandson?"

"You're prepared to fulfill your responsibilities and obligations, and then give up your rights, just to prove a point. Who are you trying to impress?" Xiao Yao was getting a little anxious: "How did you inherit their beliefs?"

"That's my mother's belief."

“The happiest person about what you’re doing is your eldest uncle,” Xiao Yao said. “He’ll take all the family fortune and give it to your little lamb sister so she can eat her fill. He’ll be laughing his head off behind your back.”

"Xiao Yao, that's enough!" Yu Luying said angrily, repeating the same question: "What does this have to do with you?"

Xiao Yao: "Your business is my business!"

Yu Luying: "My business is my business!"

Seeing that the girl was getting a little carried away, Xiao Yao shut his mouth and considered whether he should change the subject.

“However, your little lamb sister is quite a nice person,” Xiao Yao said. “Unlike her father, she actually came to persuade you…”

“Xiao Yao, let me tell you,” Yu Luying suddenly raised her head, not responding to his words, but continuing on her own, “My mother has been self-reliant and living well all these years, and she raised me to this age. I am confident and capable of supporting myself in the future. If you really intend to marry me, although my family can’t be as wealthy as the Shen family, I will definitely not hold you back.”

"..." Xiao Yao opened his mouth in astonishment, forgetting to close it: "I just wanted to fight for your interests, is that wrong?"

"Why do you care?" Yu Luying said, "You wouldn't happen to be thinking that Shen Jie's family is almost done eating your money off you, so you're rushing to come and eat my money now, would you?"

Yu Luying meant to say this in a half-joking tone, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she didn't even realize it herself. Seeing Xiao Yao's face darken instantly, she immediately regretted it, feeling that she had spoken without thinking and made an inappropriate joke.

Her remedy was to hook her arms around his neck and throw herself into his arms before Xiao Yao got angry, trying her best to disguise her previous words as a coquettish gesture.

Since she offered him a way out, Xiao Yao went along with it: "Yes, I not only want to live off you, but I also want to eat everything about you, to devour you completely. Will you give me that?"

"I...I'm afraid of pain," Yu Luying buried her head deeply in Xiao Yao's arms, "But if it's you...is it okay?"

Xiao Yao: "?"

He was still pondering the meaning of those words when he heard a "crack" sound behind him as a tree branch snapped underfoot.

Yu Luying looked up, patted his shoulder, and broke free from his embrace.

Xiao Yao turned his head and saw a small, dark figure standing there, and his heart immediately skipped a beat.

"Excuse me," the person said, then turned and left.

"Wait a minute!" Xiao Yao scrambled to his feet and staggered after the fleeing figure.

Shen Jie was no match for Xiao Yao. There was only one path through the reed field, and she was reluctant to jump into the field because she cherished her feathers. Soon, Xiao Yao grabbed her wrist from behind.

Shen Jie instinctively tried to flinch, but failed. She turned and threw a punch at Xiao Yao's face, but Xiao Yao caught her fist.

The girl struggled a few times but couldn't break free: "Let go!"

Xiao Yao refused to let go.

"Labor and management will count to three! One, two—"

Xiao Yao said, "What are you doing running around like this in the middle of the night?"

"It's the middle of the night, and you asked me to come out to see the stars. I searched high and low to find it, and you haven't even finished your last session yet!" Shen Jie said angrily. "Can't Xiao Yao improve his time management skills a bit?"

“It’s not that the last game wasn’t over,” Xiao Yao explained, “I originally planned for the three of us to play together tonight—”

"You should have said so earlier, or I wouldn't have come," Shen Jie said.

“I know,” Xiao Yao said sincerely, “which is why I couldn’t say it sooner.”

Shen Jie: "..."

The girl glared angrily at the boy, then suddenly stepped forward and threw a straight punch.

Xiao Yao was careless this time and failed to dodge. He was struck squarely in the chest, and a sharp pain shot through him.

“You two were inseparable all day long,” Shen Jie said in a low voice. “You asked me to go stargazing with you tonight. I was actually quite reluctant to come, feeling like I was doing something sneaky. But you had to bring her along too. Can’t you be apart for even a moment? Don’t I have any time to be alone with you?”

The girl realized that her last sentence had revealed her inner neediness, and she became even more ashamed and angry, her eyes even reddening.

“No, Shen Jie, it’s just that the two of us—” Yu Luying covered her chest and slowly walked over. Her appearance reminded Shen Jie of Xi Shi clutching her heart: “I just have something to tell you.”

"What are you saying?" Shen Jie raised her eyebrows and said, "Are you telling me that the symbiotic distance between you two has now shrunk to five meters?"

“Shen Jie, don’t be angry,” Xiao Yao advised. “Calm down. The reason we invited you here is really just to have a proper talk.”

Shen Jie took a deep breath, exhaled, and then took another deep breath.

“Okay, I’ve calmed down,” Shen Jie said. “Let’s talk.”

Xiao Yao and Yu Luying exchanged glances, both wondering if Shen Jie, in such a volatile state, should have chosen this opportunity.

"Speak up?" Seeing the two of them looking at each other without saying a word, Shen Jie raised her eyebrows again and said loudly and coquettishly, "Didn't you want to talk?"

Xiao Yao tugged at Yu Luying's skirt sleeve and nodded to her.

Yu Luying twirled her fingers, took a step forward, and stared blankly at Shen Jie.

Then, she changed to twisting the ends of her hair – wrapping the ends of her hair around her index finger and then releasing it.