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

"Who are the bodyguards Shen Jie hired?!" Yu Luying was a little angry and couldn't help but turn around and snap, "And you, drink less!"

"Yo yo yo yo yo," Zhang Zhengkai said, "So cute and fierce—if you're not coming, fine!"

It was almost lunchtime, and the number of customers in the hall was gradually increasing. Yu Luying didn't want to take up a table for nothing, so she sat down at the table with Xiao Yao and Zhang Zhengkai.

She neither ate nor drank anything, nor spoke; she simply stared at the book she had brought.

“Brother Zhengkai,” Xiao Yao slurred, moving to Zhang Zhengkai’s side and sitting next to him, “You might not believe me when I tell you this, but you have to believe me.”

As he spoke, he placed his hand heavily on Zhang Zhengkai's shoulder.

“Brother,” Zhang Zhengkai said, holding his wine glass and shaking his head, “I’ll believe anything you say.”

“Actually, when Shen Jie came back that day, she told me everything about you,” Xiao Yao told Zhang Zhengkai. “It was about you waiting for her downstairs and bothering her.”

"That's it?" Zhang Zhengkai laughed heartily. "Isn't it normal to tell you?"

"After that, I gave her a good talking-to," Xiao Yao said passionately, even speaking with a northern accent: "I tried to persuade her to treat you better. Well, she almost got angry with me."

"You," Zhang Zhengkai said, "you, who were born into this family, are trying to persuade her to treat me better?"

“If you don’t believe me, ask her. Is that right, Lao Yu? Is there such a thing?” Xiao Yao said.

"Hello, don't drink anymore!" Yu Luying scolded again, "Yes, yes, yes."

"What did you say to her?" Zhang Zhengkai asked, glancing sideways.

So Xiao Yao recounted exactly what he had said to Shen Jie that day—of course, omitting some parts that shouldn't have been mentioned.

Zhang Zhengkai was somewhat touched and instinctively picked up his glass to toast him, but then he remembered that his sweetheart was still in this guy's bed, and his hatred level surged up again. So he silently finished the glass by himself.

“Brother, I’m sorry,” Xiao Yao continued, his words slurred, “but what you just said wasn’t right.”

"Which sentence... is wrong?" Zhang Zhengkai asked, his eyes glazed with drunkenness.

“No,” Xiao Yao said, waving his finger in front of Zhang Zhengkai, “I know you like her, but for me, she is absolutely irreplaceable by anyone—my feelings for her are exactly the same as yours.”

Yu Luying glanced at Xiao Yao.

"Is it true?" Zhang Zhengkai put his arm around Xiao Yao's neck.

“Absolutely true,” Xiao Yao said.

“You better be true,” Zhang Zhengkai said, “because that way…it will make me feel much better.”

"Hahahaha, I understand." Xiao Yao raised his glass again: "Come on, bottoms up!"

Zhang Zhengkai didn't clink glasses with Xiao Yao, but simply shook his glass at him as a gesture of greeting: "Cheers."

"Glug glug... glug... hiss... ah!"

“By the way, Xiao,” Zhang Zhengkai said, “you brought the bodyguards out and left Xiao Shenjie alone at home. What about her safety?”

“My grandmother was also a hidden master of the imperial palace,” Xiao Yao casually made up. “Don’t interrupt, listen to me.”

"What do you say?"

"I know I'm sorry, but I can't help it. I really don't want to hurt you, I don't want to hurt anyone, but you know how things are? Fate plays tricks on people, you know?" Xiao Yao got more and more excited as he chuckled: "Let me tell you, if I liked her even a little bit less than you, I would definitely be a brother and give her to you, do you believe me?"

"Believe it, believe it, believe it," Zhang Zhengkai said.

I believe you.

“This is a difficult dilemma,” Xiao Yao sighed. “It’s like having two versions of her, putting you in a difficult position, you know? If I give too much to this one, I’m troubled; if I give too little to that one, I feel guilty. If I could have both of hers combined into one, she wouldn’t have to shed tears. If I could have both of hers combined into one…”

Yu Luying snatched the remaining half-bottle of wine from Xiao Yao's hand: "Shut up."

"Hahahaha." Xiao Yao and Zhang Zhengkai looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“It’s the same with you, the principle is the same—I treat you like a brother,” Xiao Yao said, getting more and more out of control: “If you say the word, I can give you anything, I can help you with anything, except for her, I can’t.”

“I understand,” Zhang Zhengkai said.

“I have no face to ask you to forgive me, and even less face to ask you to continue being my friend,” Xiao Yao said. “If we switched places, I still wouldn’t be your friend—I’d fucking stab you in the heart.”

"It's good that you understand," Zhang Zhengkai said cheerfully.

“If we switched places, and Xiao Shenjie had her eye on you, you definitely wouldn’t give her to me,” Xiao Yao continued.

“It’s no use if I give it to you,” Zhang Zhengkai said, patting Xiao Yao. “Women are not private property; it still depends on her own wishes.”

"Right? It's good that you understand this principle." Xiao Yao said as he reached for the half-empty bottle of wine in front of Yu Luying.

Yu Luying picked up the bottle with a blank expression and placed it on the ground, next to her feet.

"You'd better stop now," the girl silently told herself.

"I'm not drunk. My mind is perfectly clear. I'm just completing a mission for the organization," Xiao Yao answered in his mind.

That statement isn't entirely untrue.

First of all, Xiao Yao was indeed drunk and in high spirits, rambling on and on about everything.

However, he wasn't drunk.

Xiao Yao's words and the direction of the conversation were all in accordance with the general plan he had discussed with Yu Bo. His purpose was to test Zhang Zhengkai, so that he would lower his guard and reduce Zhang Zhengkai's malice towards him and Shen Jie.

If that shadow was indeed formed from "malice," then doing this would at least make Shen Jie safer in the short term. Although it's not a permanent solution, it would buy time for herself and the organization.

"Hey, I suddenly had an idea," Xiao Yao said on a whim, launching into another impromptu speech: "Why don't you beat me up?"

"Huh?" Zhang Zhengkai said.

"If you beat me up, you'll feel better, and I'll feel better too. We'll be even, isn't that great?" Xiao Yao said deliberately. "After we finish eating, let's go downstairs and find a secluded spot. I promise I won't fight back—"

"No! I object!" Yu Luying stood up and slammed her hand on the table, her voice clearly indicating she was drunk.

Strange, she clearly didn't drink a drop of alcohol, Zhang Zhengkai thought.

"You fucking dream," Zhang Zhengkai slammed his fist on the table and cursed, "I don't want to! Oh, you think it's so easy to even things out? I'll owe you this beating, but don't think you can get away with this so easily!"

"Okay," Xiao Yao quickly replied.

He also realized that he had used too much force just now. Seeing that Zhang Zhengkai did not agree, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and took the opportunity to back down.

“Even if you have to fight, you have to fight back,” Zhang Zhengkai said seriously. “Let’s have a duel between men.”

"Huh?" Xiao Yao said, "A knightly duel?"

Chapter 367: Give him your daughter in return?

2023-10-31

“Even if you have to fight, you have to fight back,” Zhang Zhengkai said seriously. “Let’s have a duel between men.”

"Huh?" Xiao Yao said, "A knightly duel?"

"Let's see who dares to lay a hand on me!" Yu Luying said fiercely, clenching her knuckles so tightly that she couldn't make a sound, and even winced in pain.

Honestly, why are you imitating adults by pinching your knuckles when you have nothing to do? What if you dislocate them?

Mind your own business. Don't you even consider me a human being?

Oh, I was just saying that to him, I'm not serious, why are you panicking?

"Haha, haha, no, no," Xiao Yao laughed it off. "We're from Shanghai, we're civilized, we use words, not fists."

“The municipal government’s initiative,” Zhang Zhengkai continued, “is to encourage people to be lovable Shanghai residents.”

"Let's eat and drink!"

"Eat, eat, eat, o(*￣︶￣*)o hehehe."

"A smile can erase all enmity!"

"Get lost, it's not that easy!"

"Brothers are like hands and feet, wives are like clothes! Hey, why are you stepping on me!"

Who stepped on you?

"A wife is like clothes. If you fucking steal my clothes, I'll chop off your arms and legs while I'm shirtless!"

“Hey, don’t be like that, brother,” Xiao Yao suggested, “To save my brother, I’ll make it up to you however you want.”

"Even if you gave me the whole world, it wouldn't make up for it!" Zhang Zhengkai waved his hand dismissively.

"How about I compensate you with one..." Xiao Yao's eyes darted around, "Wife?"

"Ha!" Zhang Zhengkai said, "You surnamed Xiao, you not only insulted me... but also... Am I someone who lacks women? Am I lacking women? Wait..."

He glanced at Yu Luying subconsciously, gaining a new understanding of Xiao Yao's intention in bringing this "beautiful bodyguard" to the banquet today.

"?" Xiao Yao realized what was happening and grabbed Yu Luying's shoulders. "No, this won't do. This is my...my...watch..."

Yu Luying twisted her body forcefully, breaking free from Xiao Yao's clutches: "I have a good idea."

"Oh? What a great idea," Xiao Yao said with interest. "Tell me about it."

A mischievous smile appeared on Yu Luying's lips: "Give him your daughter in return."

Xiao Yao: "?"

Zhang Zhengkai: "?"

Xiao Yao & Zhang Zhengkai: "What Shen (Xiao) Bu Hui?!"