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

"You went to the internet cafe again? To play Bloodline II?" Shen Jie's tone was slightly teasing. "I downloaded it today too."

"I didn't go to an internet cafe, I didn't go today. I went to study hard," though I didn't actually study at all: "Did you register?"

“Hmm,” Shen Jie responded through her nose, “I chose the Elf Mage.”

"Mage and knight don't coordinate very well..." Xiao Yao muttered.

"So what do you want me to practice?"

No, how come it's all you?

“I…” Xiao Yao said.

Another woman's voice came from the other end of the phone, and then Shen Jie turned around and called out, "Hey! I'm on the phone with my classmate, I'll be there in a bit!"

"Uh……"

"Xiao Yao," Shen Jie answered the phone again, "I can't talk for too long. Are you free this weekend?"

"If you ask me out, I'll make time, even if I'm not free."

“It’s a classmate’s birthday,” Shen Jie paused, “we’re going to KTV, do you want to come along?”

"Okay," Xiao Yao readily agreed. "What's Qian Gui? A restaurant?"

“KTV…” Shen Jie’s voice sounded somewhat speechless.

"Your classmate went to a karaoke bar all night for their birthday party? So Shen Tianyun learned it from you?" Xiao Yao laughed, "Like mother, like daughter..."

“…It’s afternoon for us,” Shen Jie said.

"Oh, I was just kidding." Xiao Yao realized that the other person didn't find it funny.

"I'll send you the specific time and address later," Shen Jie said. "I'm hanging up now."

"Hey, wait a minute..."

"Ah."

Xiao Yao composed himself: "Is your mother very strict with you?"

"Also?" the girl said, "It's alright, just so-so."

Will your mom hit you?

"Never played it."

Xiao Yao returned home, watched TV with his grandmother for a while, chatted for a bit, then went back to his room and locked the door.

He looked through the mirror; it was already 10:30 p.m., and Shen Tianyun's room was still dark.

Xiao Yao took his workbook out of his schoolbag and began to carefully do his homework.

Xiao Yao felt he was doing a great job.

His mind and thinking were noticeably clearer than last week.

Considering that he had inexplicably learned Yu Luying's cooking skills, Xiao Yao was almost certain that his symbiotic relationship with Yu Luying had a positive impact on his learning ability.

Did I share Yu Luying's knowledge, or her intellect?

By the time I finished my homework, it was almost midnight, and Shen Tianyun finally came back.

"Where did you go?" Xiao Yao put down his pen and asked calmly.

"To do square dancing." Shen Tianyun leaned against the wall with one hand and took off her white and green sneakers with the other.

"Won't you be sued for disturbing the peace if you're doing square dancing at this hour?" Xiao Yao thought for a moment and said, "Never mind, let me ask you something."

"Ask." Shen Tianyun threw the green boat socks into the dirty laundry basket in the corner of the room, then grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from her face.

Will your mom hit you?

“I’ve never hit you,” Shen Tianyun said matter-of-factly. “Why don’t you ask me if you’d hit me or not?”

“I really want to hit you right now. Suppose, and I mean suppose,” Xiao Yao carefully chose his words, “if someone in your class lost something in the classroom, and everyone thought you stole it, what would you do?”

"What should we do?" Shen Tianyun sat down on the edge of the bed, placed one leg flat on the other knee, and reached her slender hand between her toes: "Whoever says it's you, go find them and reason with them face to face. If words don't work, then take action."

"Stop picking your toes! How can such a pretty girl be so rude...?" Xiao Yao scolded.

"Annoying." Shen Tianyun muttered, put her feet down, and put her middle finger in front of her nose to smell it.

“No,” Xiao Yao continued, “What if no one specifically framed you? No one came to cause you any trouble, it’s just that everyone thinks so in private.”

“Then recite a poem: ‘Hammered and chiseled from the deep mountains, it faces the raging fire with indifference. It fears neither being shattered to pieces,’” Shen Tianyun was initially nonchalant, but seeing Xiao Yao’s displeasure, she stuck out her tongue: “Catch the thief and clear your name?”

Xiao Yao nodded: "That's what I think too, but how do we investigate? The teacher doesn't support it."

“If the teacher doesn’t support it… then call the police and check the surveillance footage.” Shen Tianyun said, “The school has surveillance cameras. As long as the school doesn’t turn a blind eye, let alone stealing, you can even lose conduct points if you pick your toes in class.”

"There aren't any cameras in the classroom!" Xiao Yao rolled his eyes. "It's a violation of privacy, isn't it?"

"Invasion of privacy? That's what you said when you took me to register at the school. Look, the one in my room was later removed. Well, there must be one in the school corridor, right?"

--split line--

The next day, after arriving at school, Xiao Yao noticed that Zhou Qi's seat was empty.

"Where's Zhou Qi?" the class representative asked him when collecting homework.

"How would I know? She's not... anyone to me."

"Weren't you with Teacher Yao?"

"..."

Yu Luying's eyes were a little swollen, which made Xiao Yao's eyes feel puffy too.

After class, Xiao Yao was called into Teacher Yao's office.

"Let me also tell you something," Teacher Yao said, shaking her head and blowing on the hot tea as usual. "Yu Luying is fine. I've talked to her mother. It's a family matter, so don't ask too many questions."

"Oh……"

"It seems you two have a good relationship; she still messages you immediately when something happens," Teacher Yao said meaningfully.

"Uh, no..."

"Actually, the teachers don't object to you dating," Teacher Yao said hesitantly, "Yu Luying's main problem is her family background. If it's not meant to be, don't force it."

"Uh-huh?"

"Look at you, a handsome young man, get your hair done," Teacher Yao nagged as she sat up and straightened Xiao Yao's collar. "If you keep your clothes neat and clean, and your exam scores catch up... you won't have to worry about not having girls who like you."

"Aren't my clothes clean...?" Xiao Yao looked down and examined himself.

“Oh, right, and one more thing,” Teacher Yao said seriously, “It’s inevitable for young people to make mistakes once, but they must never repeat the same mistake, or girls will hate it.”

"That's exactly what I wanted to tell you, Teacher Yao," Xiao Yao finally found a chance to speak: "I want to check the surveillance footage in the classrooms and hallways to find that bastard who stole the underwear!"

"Nonsense," Teacher Yao said, taken aback. "How could there be surveillance cameras in the classroom?"

"A corridor, a corridor will do," Xiao Yao insisted.

“For things like this, checking the corridor surveillance footage requires contacting the school security department,” Teacher Yao advised. “Then the principal, the grade head, everyone will know. If a girl in a certain class had her underwear stolen one year, or if a lecherous thief in another class had something similar, things will blow up… Do you think the girl herself wants things to escalate? Young people, don’t be so simplistic in your thinking…”

The conversation was interrupted by the pre-class bell. Xiao Yao politely said goodbye to Teacher Yao and returned to the classroom.

"Strange, really strange," Little Bear said, shaking his head during lunch. "Why is your homeroom teacher so desperately trying to suppress this matter?"

"There's only one truth," Hua Ang slammed his fist on the table: "The culprit is the teacher himself!"

"Don't talk nonsense!" Xiao Yao said irritably, "Teacher Yao is a very nice person and has been very good to me."

“Since they won’t let us access the surveillance footage, we’ll have to resort to more primitive methods,” Shen Bin said: “conducting investigations through field visits.”

"I'll go with you this afternoon!" Little Bear volunteered.

"This is so troublesome..." Xiao Yao hugged his head.

Chapter 27 The Entangler

In the afternoon, the investigation and case handling officially began.

A tall, thin boy from a neighboring class, wearing glasses, seemed confused about being stopped: "Yes, I have kidney disease, and I have a monthly check-up without fail. This perfunctory check-up at school, it's not even worth it, I might as well just sleep."

Beside him, his buddy tugged at his shoulder: "What's wrong? Lost something? Everyone loses things every day, right? Whether it's your humanity or your life, if you bring something out and lose it, you have to accept it. If you can't afford to lose it, then don't bring it out."

Xiao Yao wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Yes, yes, yes, that's right."

The girl downstairs, seemingly clueless, adjusted her glasses: "Yeah, I'm number one in my grade, and I'm number one in line for the physical exam, so I'm number one when I get back too. What? You lost your spare underwear? Why do I need to change? Do I need to change after the exam? I didn't know! Is it okay if I didn't change...?"

Hua Ang waved his hands repeatedly: "It's alright, it's alright, just pretend I didn't ask."

Shen Bin then approached a senior in the second year of high school: "Yes, but I didn't notice. What, why? I was being punished by standing, not on guard duty, why should I pay attention to that side? Wait, which girl lost it? Was it that tall girl with long hair who plays the cello? Good taste, huh? What's your relationship with her?"

Shen Bin smiled and said, "It's nothing. I wish it were something. What could it be?"

The infirmary nurse said, "Why are you asking this? There are many reasons why someone might change their underwear. Random guesses are pointless, and I can't jump to conclusions. Besides, I think you've missed the point. The point isn't why she changed it, but who and how—who knows she changed her underwear? Surely no one would be interested in new underwear from a clothing store, right?"

The little bear took a few steps back: "No interest, no interest, Teacher Qian, please don't look at me like that~"

…………