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

“I’m sorry… I… I went a bit too far,” Zhang Zhengkai said.

“I know,” Xiao Yao nodded, “It’s okay.”

“I really like her. She is unique to me,” Zhang Zhengkai told Xiao Yao. “But she is not to you. She is just one of many flowers that you happened to pick at random.”

“I like her very much too, and she is unique to me as well,” Xiao Yao calmly corrected, “So this is your misunderstanding.”

“I have my doubts about this,” Zhang Zhengkai said.

“I hope you believe me; I completely empathize with how you feel,” Xiao Yao said.

“You’re not me, how can you empathize?” Zhang Zhengkai retorted.

“You’re not me, how do you know I wouldn’t feel the same way?” Xiao Yao said seriously, “I’m not arguing for the sake of arguing—you’re not the only one who has experienced liking someone.”

"Whatever," Zhang Zhengkai shrugged. "If Zhuangzi says so, then so be it."

"Yes, whatever Lao Tzu says goes," Xiao Yao thought.

“Do you know what? You’re scaring her right now,” Xiao Yao told Zhang Zhengkai. “Is this an expression of love?”

"Shen Jie is terrified?" Zhang Zhengkai's expression was a mixture of sadness and amusement. "She's terrified of me?"

"Don't you know what you've been doing lately?" Xiao Yao asked, while trying to observe Zhang Zhengkai's eyes and micro-expressions.

Chapter 366

2023-10-30

"Shen Jie is terrified?" Zhang Zhengkai's expression was a mixture of sadness and amusement. "She's terrified of me?"

"Don't you know what you've been doing lately?" Xiao Yao asked, while trying to observe Zhang Zhengkai's eyes and micro-expressions.

He noticed that the boy in front of him had a genuinely confused expression on his face.

“I won’t hurt her, and I don’t have the ability to hurt her,” Zhang Zhengkai said. “The main point is that I won’t hurt her.”

“She doesn’t dare to leave the house now, and she needs me... the two of us to accompany her wherever she goes,” Xiao Yao turned around, glanced at Yu Luying’s back, and accused, “As far as I know, this is all thanks to you.”

"Ah," Zhang Zhengkai said.

He looked at Yu Luying with awe and suddenly "understood" why Xiao Yao had brought her along.

This must be Xiao Shenjie's new female bodyguard, right?

Don't be fooled by her skinny arms and legs... she doesn't look like she's anything special at all!

But you can't judge a book by its cover.

“I,” Zhang Zhengkai hesitated, twitching his small nostrils, “I did wait for her downstairs at your house several times during the summer vacation… but I didn’t mean any harm! I just wanted to talk things out with her!”

"So, did you get what you wanted?" Xiao Yao asked calmly, "Did you make things clear?"

“Xiao Yao,” Zhang Zhengkai said warily, “So you asked me out today just to warn and threaten me in person, right?”

"So, did you get there?" Xiao Yao asked politely again, "Did you make things clear?"

“We’ve only waited one time,” Zhang Zhengkai said. “Did you make it clear? I did make it clear, but her thinking wasn’t clear enough.”

"Hmph." Xiao Yao smiled faintly, revealing a shallow dimple: "As long as it doesn't follow your line of thinking, it's just that your thinking is unclear."

Zhang Zhengkai: "..."

"By the way," Xiao Yao changed the subject, "did you see how we thrashed Xiao Rizi 3-0 to win the Asian Cup? It was truly a triumphant moment."

"Isn't it 3-1?" Zhang Zhengkai coldly reminded him.

"Yes, yes, 3-1, the referee called a goal." Xiao Yao patted his head, feigning embarrassment.

"That's right, a goal is a goal, why shouldn't it count? If the home referee is biased towards the winner, it's not a respectable way to win the championship."

"You're right." Xiao Yao verbally agreed, but then shook his head and slowly asked, "You didn't watch that game at all, did you?"

"Whether I see it or not is none of your business," Zhang Zhengkai said, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

"The referee did disallow one of their goals, but you didn't know it. You didn't watch the game, but you came to the football bar—why is that?" Xiao Yao continued to press.

“I don’t know what kind of bar you’re talking about,” Zhang Zhengkai said, shaking his head decisively.

“You followed and attacked Shen Jie. If the two of us hadn’t arrived in time—” Xiao Yao stared into Zhang Zhengkai’s eyes and continued speaking earnestly.

"Following?! Ambushing?!" Zhang Zhengkai immediately leaned forward and asked, his surprised and bewildered expression not like acting: "What are you talking about? Xiao Shenjie was attacked?"

Xiao Yao wasn't some seasoned detective with keen eyesight, nor did he possess such strong micro-expression analysis skills. He could only pin his hopes on a certain agent—if such an agent existed—lurking in the lobby of the Shunfeng Hotel at this moment, who had such professional discernment and could see through even the smallest details.

Seeing that Xiao Yao remained silent, Zhang Zhengkai grew anxious: "What exactly happened? Tell me quickly!"

Xiao Yao pondered for a moment, then briefly recounted to Zhang Zhengkai what happened that night when they watched the Asian Cup at the bar, as well as the attack on Shen Jie when school started, only omitting the descriptions related to the Shadow World and embellishing it as a simple attack.

"Did you call the police?" Zhang Zhengkai clenched his small fists nervously. "You mean, in the alley where you fought with Feijitou and the others and rescued me?"

"I didn't call the police, why would I call the police?" Xiao Yao said. "Right, right there in that alley, the exact same location. I was wondering how you could repay kindness with enmity?"

"Why didn't you call the police?" Zhang Zhengkai said, dissatisfied. "Her safety was seriously threatened!"

Xiao Yao didn't answer the question directly—in fact, he couldn't answer it either—so he changed the subject, saying, "Don't change the subject! You're trying to tell me that none of those are you, right?"

“Those are not me, I swear,” Zhang Zhengkai solemnly declared. “And knowing these things makes me very worried.”

"I'm worried," Xiao Yao said, pouring himself and the other person a glass of beer.

“Yes, I didn’t know about these things before, but now I’m very worried about Xiao Shenjie’s safety,” Zhang Zhengkai said. “And you said that person looks a lot like me? Is he deliberately impersonating me?”

"Hmm..." Xiao Yao took a small sip of beer: "I'm not sure what to say."

“On the night of the Asian Cup final, I stayed in my room and didn’t go anywhere,” Zhang Zhengkai said. “My parents—and my housekeeper, and many other people can testify to that.”

An alibi, right? Xiao Yao thought.

"Didn't you come to our school to look for Shen Jie after school on September 2nd?"

“I haven’t come to see Shen Jie since the start of the semester. You know, I’m in my final year of junior high, and I’m pretty busy. Besides, I know that you two have already… already…”

"Huh?" Xiao Yao said.

“In fact, I only found out now that Xiao Shenjie is studying at your school,” Zhang Zhengkai said. “How did you manage to do that?”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yao inwardly groaned, realizing he had been careless.

He then realized that he had subconsciously believed him and was following his line of thought.

Xiao Yao shook his head, trying hard to dispel this dangerous tendency.

"No, why are you shaking your head?"

"It's nothing," Xiao Yao said, taking another sip of beer. His voice was a little muffled, and he said, with a mix of truth and falsehood, "Since you say so, I believe you—I will continue to investigate this matter from a different angle."

"Ah, I know why you didn't call the police." Zhang Zhengkai clenched his right fist and slammed it against his left palm: "You're afraid the police will take Xiao Shenjie back to you, right?"

"no."

“We all know—her father and I, everyone knows she lives in your house,” Zhang Zhengkai told Xiao Yao. “Including when you went to summer camp before, if we wanted to arrest her, we would have done so long ago.”

"..." Upon hearing that Zhang Zhengkai knew about the summer camp, Xiao Yao's heart skipped a beat, but he pretended to be calm and picked up his chopsticks: "Eat your food, eat your food."

Could it be that the phone call I dreamed about that night, the one from Shen Hongsheng, was actually real?

“So please call the police, don’t try to be Sherlock Holmes yourself,” Zhang Zhengkai said sincerely. “I only have this one request now—at least you have to guarantee her personal safety with you.”

"I understand, I'll call the police," Xiao Yao said dismissively—but the second half wasn't dismissive: "I promise you, I will protect her safety with my life."

"That's good," Zhang Zhengkai said, taking a sip of his drink. "If there's anything I can help you with—"

"I'll call you right away," Xiao Yao said.

Looking at Zhang Zhengkai like this, he felt a pang of sadness.

Shen Tianyun once mentioned that in later generations, this kind of person was called "Boiling Sheep." Xiao Yao didn't know why they were called that, but in short, they were universally disliked.

However, in this era, people still refer to it as "being loyal and righteous".

Xiao Yao couldn't help but feel sympathy for them.

"You are truly a man of great loyalty and righteousness," Xiao Yao said sincerely.

"Ha!" Zhang Zhengkai shouted.

Now that things had come to this point, the tense atmosphere between the two had eased somewhat, and the two young men began to eat and drink.

"Oh my god, did I forget to recite the pre-meal prayer?"

“What are you praying for?” Zhang Zhengkai pointed at Xiao Yao and said, “If there really are gods, a villain like you who sleeps with other men’s wives and daughters will definitely go to hell.”

"Hahaha, really? I'm Narita Hakuko."

"Then I'm the Great Hero Ling?"

Yu Luying had her back to the two of them and frowned slightly.

Without playing drinking games or clinking glasses, the two young men were both slightly tipsy in no time.

"Brother," Zhang Zhengkai said drunkenly, "Why don't you invite the young lady to sit down and eat with us?"

Xiao Yao glanced back at Yu Luying: "No need."

“We’re eating while others are watching, we’re full while others are starving, we’re sitting while others… okay, they’re sitting too,” Zhang Zhengkai continued, “Is this good? This isn’t good. Even if she’s a bodyguard hired by Xiao Shenjie…”