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

They looked weak, pitiful, and helpless.

Shen Jie quickly slipped behind another large pillar and secretly observed.

Yu Luying just stood there, glancing around from time to time, but she didn't take out her phone to look at it.

After waiting for about ten minutes, suddenly, a well-dressed and handsome middle-aged man walked towards her and said a few words to Yu Luying.

Yu Luying nodded repeatedly.

The two started talking.

Shen Jie's heart was pounding.

What should you do in this situation?

Should I take a picture with my phone first?

Or just rush over and slap her across the face, saying, "Well, you little hussy, you dare to cheat on me!"

At this point, the panicked man will ask himself who he is.

She answered confidently, "I'm her boyfriend's wife!"

The girl chuckled at the farcical scene playing out in her mind, then looked more closely at the two people.

After exchanging a few more words, the man took something out of his pocket and handed it to Yu Luying.

Yu Luying took the item, bowed to the man, said something, and the man simply waved his hand before turning and leaving.

Yu Luying put away her phone and turned to walk towards the entrance of the Dongqi Hotel.

What did they secretly trade?

If you directly question Yu Luying, you will not only expose your lewd act of stalking her, but you may not even be able to get the truth out of her.

Let's start with that man and find out what he's made of!

Chapter 298 "Young Girl in Love" Shen Jie

2023-08-17

*This chapter is also known as "Which Girl Doesn't Dream of Romance?"

Shen Jie followed the man for a while. He seemed to have received a debt collection call, and after begging for forgiveness, he impatiently scolded another caller—he didn't seem as charming as he appeared. She inquired with the hotel lobby staff and nearby fishermen, only learning that he was a recent arrival from out of town. Locals knew very little about his name and identity, and the hotel, adhering to confidentiality principles, couldn't reveal anything. In the end, she only obtained some superficial information.

Seeing that it was almost lunchtime, the girl relied on her memory and walked back the way she came.

When I passed by the Dragon King Temple, I needed to relieve myself. Seeing that the temple didn't charge an entrance fee, I went in and found a public toilet to take care of the matter.

He shook the water droplets off his hands and walked out. Seeing that he still had time, he took a stroll around the area.

Behind the Vajra Hall is the Dragon King Hall, which enshrines the four Dragon Kings of the East, West, South, and North... The unlucky one whose golden cudgel was taken by Sun Wukong must be the East Sea, right?

As I walked through the halls and temples until I reached the deepest part, I was surprised to find that there was no main hall for the Buddha. Instead, the main hall enshrined a giant male Guanyin statue, which I found rather strange. It seems that male Guanyin statues were only common in temples before the Tang Dynasty, and were often found in the central and Hexi Corridor regions. I never expected to find one here.

The girl took a few photos.

After lingering on the Wanghai Pavilion for a while, looking at the windmills and the sea not far away, the girl was momentarily lost in thought and began to ponder questions like "Who am I?", "Why am I here?", and "What the hell am I doing?"

This was the first time in seventeen years that Shen Jie's emotions had been stirred by a man of the same age.

She didn't really care about these things before.

When exactly did the fulfillment of obligations begin to resemble love so much? Is this what they call getting too caught up in a role?

Of course, since you're going to spend your whole life with someone, falling in love with him is definitely not a bad thing.

If it weren't for the cold reception from the other party.

From the frustration of being rejected on a recent date to the delight of catching Yu Luying's little weakness, I, Shen Jie, am clearly not such a shallow person.

For the first time since meeting that person, she experienced this feeling of being out of control—whether it was his or her own, this feeling amplified her anxiety about being away from home.

As mentioned before—this is not Shen Jie: Shen Jie is annoyed by this version of herself.

Entrusting one's sense of security and daily mood to another person is never Shen Jie's style of conduct.

If I had known this would happen, I would have gone to summer camp with Xiao Yao, letting the two of them have fun, while I stayed behind to plan the details of our future with Meiyu.

Let's just forget about it. Otherwise, it would be even more ridiculous to stay there every day agonizing over why the man doesn't answer the phone or reply to messages.

Otherwise, he could just flip the table and revoke the special permission he granted for the two of them to date. If Xiao Yao dared to disobey, he could go home and apologize with a clear conscience.

Go home and apologize? ... Shen Jie was startled by this fleeting thought.

Whether in the "Corpus Chapel" or strolling around here, my mind has never been at peace.

Shen Jie actually really liked the atmosphere of the mortuary.

The small side room contained about twenty small chairs, a soft carpet, gentle lighting, and the hum of an air conditioner.

The temperature there was always very low, and people spoke in hushed tones, afraid to breathe loudly or make any noise. Some people were reading, some were silently chanting scriptures, some were dozing off (Xiao Yao often looked drowsy), and some were meditating. The atmosphere was somewhat like the library of the Seventh Girls' High School, but not quite the same.

On either side of the small altar in front, there is a long electronic candle, and in the center is a vessel made of precious metal. In the center of the vessel is a large, perfectly round, white, unleavened wheat cake, which is viewed through a small piece of glass.

According to the priests, this means—no, this is the flesh of God.

Shen Jie found it hard to imagine such a thing. After all, that pancake just looked like a pancake. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, "The senses are insufficient, but faith shall supplement them." The girl was unsure if she truly understood, but at least, for the first time in her life, she calmed herself down and searched for God, for herself, and for inner peace in a state of emptiness.

Peace... Joy...

She hasn't found it yet.

It was not found in the mortuary, nor in the clay sculptures of the temple.

Shen Jie descended from Wanghai Pavilion, preparing to leave. Although the temple occupied a considerable area, it was quite dilapidated, with few worshippers and hardly any monks to be seen. In the main hall of Guanyin, she only saw a young novice monk dozing off, with a small sign in front of him that read "Registration for Marriage Seeking".

Fate...?

As they approached the temple gate, a short, stout middle-aged man walked towards them. The two brushed past each other, then stopped at the same time and turned around.

"Ouch!" "Ouch!"

"It's you!" "It really is you!"

The visitor was none other than Master Shihui, dressed in plain clothes.

"Aren't you in Shanghai?" Shen Jie asked curiously.

"I'm here to take care of some business," Shi Hui said with a laugh, "I'm helping them with some... accounting and auditing work. What are you doing here, young lady?"

Shen Jie briefly told Shi Hui about the summer camp, and the two of them were amazed, saying, "What a coincidence!"

“However, the Lotus Sutra says that all worldly conditions are like this,” said Master Hui. “There is no need to be too surprised.”

Shi Hui invited Shen Jie to offer three sticks of incense in the Guanyin Hall again and draw a fortune stick, patting his chest and saying that it would be free with him there.

Shen Jie politely declined Shi Hui's offer.

"If I go about things haphazardly, even God and Guanyin would frown upon me," the girl thought somewhat sarcastically.

After saying goodbye to Shi Hui, Shen Jie returned to the Sheng'ai Hotel and saw a small group of people holding up signs arguing with several security guards.

Shen Jie inquired and learned that these were local fans of Dicky Cheung who had somehow gotten wind of the situation and came to see their idol. When the security guards wouldn't let them in, they started pushing and shoving each other.

Most of these people were local fans from Dongqi, but a few had come from nearby neighboring areas, and they were all very excited.

Shen Jie shrugged, walked past them as if it were none of her business, and headed to the restaurant for some affordable seafood, when she happened to see Xiao Yao walking towards her.

When she saw the tall figure in the green T-shirt walking towards her, Shen Jie's heart skipped a beat, and she turned her head away.

Just before she turned her head away, she saw Xiao Yao smile at her unconsciously.

When he turned his head back, Xiao Yao had already walked into the middle of the security guards and fans.

"Is he meddling in other people's business again?" Shen Jie thought.

After finding out what had happened, Xiao Yao turned to the man who appeared to be the security chief and asked, "Security guard, are you a member of the church?"

"Yes, what's wrong?" It's rare for someone to ask a security manager this kind of question, so the uncle was taken aback.

“Look at these people, there aren’t many of them, and it’s not easy for them to come all this way,” Xiao Yao advised. “Shouldn’t the church’s doors not be open to everyone?”

“This isn’t a church,” the security guard said hastily. “It’s an internal group activity, and we have regulations…”

“These people,” Xiao Yao stepped closer and lowered his voice, “if even one of them is inspired by what you call the brilliance of faith in their idol, wouldn’t you be doing a great service?”

The head of security was stunned by what he was saying, wondering if this person was in charge of some camp or event. Before he knew it, the group of fans had already swarmed in, and the security guards did not stop them.

Shen Jie shook her head inwardly. Generally, events involving venues with clear ownership require prior communication, and for many venue providers, this is one of their daily sources of income. Letting people in so recklessly, aside from the potential risks of a lack of organization and planning, might also draw criticism from the church's relevant personnel.

Could it be that this is the Xiao Yao I like?

how is this possible.

Without speaking to Xiao Yao, Shen Jie continued walking towards the dining room, but inadvertently caught sight of a thin but vigorous old man standing in an inconspicuous corner, looking thoughtfully in the direction Xiao Yao was standing.

Hey, this old gentleman looks familiar. Isn't he the same old gentleman who gave the opening speech at the summer camp...?

He's still here? I thought he'd left a long time ago.

……

……

That afternoon, Xiao Yao was harassed by Shen Jie's text messages and phone calls during his beloved history class.