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

“Father Yu, do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. Put yourself in others' shoes. Since I do not want others to treat me this way, I cannot treat her this way, nor can I treat anyone this way. Doesn’t Jesus also tell us to love the people around us?”

"Damn it, you idiot, you're talking to me about Jesus? What do you know about Jesus?" Yu Bo laughed and scolded. "However, I do understand why Yingying fell for you, you idiot."

“I really don’t understand. You’re a professional,” Xiao Yao said earnestly. “Why don’t you tell me about Jesus?”

"Next time for sure—I don't have time right now, so I'll keep it short. Listen carefully: that Zhao Xiaomei is very shrewd. If she just wanted to carry out her so-called plan, she could have done it secretly without telling you anything, or taken advantage of your inability to refuse to lure you into her trap."

"However, she knows perfectly well that you are incapable of doing such a selfish thing, yet she not only tells you this clearly but also tries to recruit you. When you explicitly refuse, she says she will take unilateral action—it's hard to judge which part of her series of actions is her true purpose."

"Whatever her purpose is, what she did makes me very uncomfortable," Xiao Yao said with a worried expression.

"What torments you is not her, but your kindness. It is your kindness that makes it impossible for you to refuse others decisively, it is your kindness that makes it impossible for you to condone fighting evil with evil, and it is also your kindness that makes it impossible for you to stand idly by and watch others sacrifice for you."

"Should I be an unkind person?"

"Of course not, kindness is one of your few virtues."

"So direct."

"You're welcome."

"Father Yu, do you think kindness is truly a valuable quality?"

“Your brother Jesus called you ‘simple as a dove, shrewd as a snake,’ now you need to focus on the latter.”

"Simple as a dove, cunning as a snake..." Xiao Yao murmured these eight words of wisdom.

"Kindness is an innate quality, but goodwill is a choice." Yu Bo told Xiao Yao, "Kindness that makes a good choice when there are other options is truly valuable. So, do you think you have other options?"

"It seems like I'm always being pushed along by other people's choices."

"That's because you lack the power to support you in making your own choices. In reality, kindness is not power, but kindness requires power."

“I have power now, Father Yu. I have the power to protect me, like Don Quixote. But I don’t want Zhao Xiaomei to frame me, nor do I want to use this power to eliminate those who oppose me. I don’t know what I can do.”

“You don’t even have Zhao Xiaomei’s home phone number.”

"..."

"Alright, didn't she ask you to meet her outside the school at 7 o'clock? Let's go and intercept her. We'll do as much as we can."

"Us?" Xiao Yao said.

"Your affairs have really delayed my own affairs."

"Thank you, Father Yu!"

"Bring your daughter along too—don't keep anything from your wife anymore."

"What if she went in earlier or through another entrance?"

"Then let's go talk to your teacher, Mr. Song. It's fine, I'll take care of it."

Xiao Yao put down the phone, rubbed his burning ears, and went into the closet.

Two beautiful young girls were lying side by side on the bed, fast asleep.

"Shen Jie, Shen Jie, wake up." Xiao Yao shook one of them.

"What's wrong..." The girl opened her sleepy eyes.

"I actually ate the bowl of wontons I had this morning with Zhao Xiaomei."

Strap

2023-03-22

I need to make some adjustments recently.

Firstly, I've been experiencing writer's block lately and haven't been able to keep up, as you can tell from the fact that my daily update times are getting later each day.

Secondly, the changes in the follow-up orders for 139 and 140 have made me further doubt whether the quality under the current rush to produce can meet my own standards (of course, this is a secondary reason).

Thirdly, the next chapter will take us to a new level, and as everyone knows, side stories are not easy to write.

This adventure in the Hall of Fame won't be too long; it's expected to be released within 1-2 chapters.

Fourthly, I actually caught a cold a few days ago, and I suspected it was the flu, but it hasn't been confirmed. I didn't have a fever a few days ago, but today I feel particularly bad. I took my temperature, and it was exactly 38 degrees Celsius. I'm completely out of commission.

For the reasons mentioned above, there will be a slight delay for a few days. However, there's no need to be discouraged. After being featured on the app's homepage later this month, there should be a period of intensive updates.

See you soon.

Chapter 142 Good Fortune Is Actually All Around You

2023-03-26

Around 6 p.m., Xiao Yao, Shen Jie, and Yu Luying stood at the main gate of St. Francis Middle School.

After Xiao Yao told Shen Jie about Zhao Xiaomei's plan, Shen Jie's first reaction was to sit back and wait and see.

After a minor argument with Xiao Yao, she agreed to Yu Bo's plan.

Yu Luying was notified by Yu Bo.

Although Xiao Yao didn't understand why Yu Luying had to be involved in this matter, she still came.

Shen Jie was still wearing her clumsy disguise—a middle school uniform from Shanghai, with a bright red scarf fluttering at the collar. Instead of school trousers, she wore black knee-length shorts and sandals.

Xiao Yao had some reservations about the elements of "barefoot" and "above the knee," but Shen Jie retorted with, "I'm your friend, not your technician."

The boy knew she was trying to rebel again, but with important matters at hand, he had no desire to argue and could only let her be.

Even so, she was still somewhat unhappy, constantly missing the obedient and well-behaved Shen Jie from before.

Yu Luying wore the St. Francis Secondary School uniform on her upper body, but a light-colored long skirt on her lower body, and white gymnastics shoes with snow-white short stockings.

However, at this moment, Xiao Yao was not in the mood to appreciate Yu Luying's outfit.

The three walked into the Sacred Heart Church behind them, went straight to the second floor, and pushed open the door to Yu Bo's priest's office.

Yu Bo was already there waiting for the three of them.

He was wearing a black Roman tunic—a long, fitted skirt/robe that reached his feet, with a wide apron around his waist—and he had just closed a violin case on the table.

"Uncle, what are you doing with that violin?" Yu Luying rushed up to him first. "I've never seen you play the violin before. Can you play it?"

"Don't move around," Yu Bo laughed. "Why can't I play the violin? This is my secret weapon. Maybe if I play a piece like 'Moon Reflected in the Second Spring,' your teacher Song will suddenly realize the truth."

The three boys were all taken aback and looked at each other in bewilderment.

However, they had no interest in arguing about it.

Xiao Yao urged, "Let's go then, lest Zhao Xiaomei goes in by herself in a little while."

However, ten minutes later, when the four of them walked out of the side door of the Sacred Heart Church again, they were all dumbfounded.

Because the original school and gate are gone, replaced by a magnificent... monastery?

This monastery appears to be a typical example of a Carolingian monastery, with a church, library, and other buildings. The church is the centerpiece, and the other buildings are arranged in a horseshoe shape in an enclosed manner. It encompasses almost all the architectural forms from important periods in architectural history, such as the Carolingian capital decorations from the early Middle Ages, the layout of an old Gothic monastery, and the Baroque church and library—the whole monastery gives a sense of disharmony and oppression.

In comparison, Father Yu's church looked like a woodshed.

"Did you see that?" Yu Bo asked the three boys beside him in a calm and composed tone.

"I thought I was seeing things," Yu Luying said hesitantly.

“Look at the sky,” Shen Jie reminded them.

Xiao Yao looked up and saw a huge black moon, so large that it had a suffocating sense of oppression. The bright moonlight that it once shone with because of the sun's light had disappeared without a trace, and it had become an ordinary member of the billions of celestial bodies in the dark and empty universe.

In a glowing green light, the four realized that the "Shadow Time," which had first appeared at the birthday party, had arrived again.

This explains why, even though I didn't pass through any mirrors, I arrived at such a bizarre and wonderful scene.

“This monastery,” Yu Luying said, “is it the St. Francis Secondary School that Uncle envisioned?”

"Huh?" Yu Bo didn't react for a moment.

“I think there’s some truth to Silly Girl’s guess,” Shen Jie said coldly.

Since the symbiotic relationship was exposed, Shen Jie and Yu Luying are no longer as close as before. Even so, they have never publicly argued and have continued to address each other as before.

Xiao Yao also felt that this conjecture made a lot of sense. After all, the school's predecessor was a church-run middle school, and Sacred Heart Church was just an affiliated church of the school. As a clergyman, it was reasonable for him to cherish the past glory and view the school in this way.

"You mean, this is my... palace?" Yu Bo stroked his chin. "What a joke, how could someone like me have a palace?"

"However..." the boy pondered, then asked, "When exactly did we suddenly enter the Shadow Time?"

“I don’t know,” Yu Luying recalled, “It seems like it turned out like this right after I came out of the church.”

“Based on our previous experience, Brother Bo shouldn’t be able to sense the shadow time,” Shen Jie added.

Fortunately, unlike last time, the three were not immediately surrounded by the army of manic shadows. Instead, they walked further away from the school and came to a bustling street. The monastery in the distance disappeared, and looking in that direction, the school was still the same as before.

"So, this shouldn't be the same time-lapse phenomenon we encountered at Xiao Yao's house last time..."

After a moment of contemplation, Yu Bo spoke again, pointing out: "The only possibility in the current situation is... that the four of us have simultaneously gained the ability to enter the Shadow World directly without having to pass through the mirror."

"How could this happen?!" None of the three children had much faith in this conclusion.

But Yu Bo didn't care at all: "Alright, there's no use in looking back and forth. Since we're here, let's enjoy ourselves. I know that everyone here is quite skilled in the Shadow World. Let me see for myself today."

After saying that, Yu Bo picked up his violin case and strode towards the school.