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

“Let me guess,” Xiao Yao said, “that with Father Yu’s encouragement, you mustered your courage, fought alongside the priest, defeated the evil Pokerhead, and won your freedom?”

Xu Wuchen shook his head: "You only guessed half right."

"Oh?"

“Father Yu did encourage me to try the pompadour, but he himself did not interfere,” Xu Wuchen recalled. “He said he could not interfere with other people’s minds and wills.”

"...And then?" Xiao Yao increasingly felt that this was the kind of thing Yu Bo would say.

“The Airplane Head is very powerful, and I am no match for him,” Xu Wuchen said. “But he always held back. I was knocked down time and time again, but I got up again and again.”

It sounds like an episode from Doraemon.

Finally, the man with the pompadour said he was pleased to see that I had the will and courage to defy him.

"It wasn't until then that I realized that it was the airplane head that protected my kind side in this spiritual home, and peeled away the violent side to face the outside world."

"Is that so...?" Xiao Yao murmured to himself.

"In the end, I decided to leave this comfortable place and go with Airplane Head to face the challenges outside," Xu Wuchen said, revealing the ending of the story.

"So, you had a dream and suddenly understood?" Xiao Yao laughed.

“Brother Su said,” Xu Wuchen reached into the collar of his T-shirt to show Xiao Yao his small cross: “Look, I have sent you like sheep among wolves, so you must be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

"So, I've decided that I will never again be someone who threatens others with power and violence, but if anyone tries to hurt me or someone I want to protect, I will still give them a good beating without hesitation."

Xu Wuchen gently clenched his fist, and Xiao Yao gave him a thumbs up.

Xiao Yao followed Xu Wuchen to the "homeless community" he had mentioned earlier—it was just a triangular open space sandwiched between a long-abandoned construction site, a pile of illegally dumped garbage, and an unfinished dead-end road. It was enclosed by some messy bamboo poles and wooden pieces, and inside were some shacks made of cardboard boxes covered with canvas and plastic sheets, of varying heights, mixed in with the piles of various kinds of broken and broken things, indistinguishable from each other.

There were indeed only two elderly people here.

Xu Wuchen gave the boxed lunches in their hands to one of the elderly men, saying that he was the "great-grandfather" of the place.

"Grandpa" shared a box of rice with another old man and his own pickled vegetables. The rest of the food was put into a very clean styrofoam box. Grandpa said that he would distribute it to his companions who hadn't earned any money that day.

After exchanging pleasantries, Xiao Yao noticed that the plastic sheet at the entrance of one of the shacks moved slightly. A hand with fair skin but conspicuous dirt lifted the plastic sheet, and the person in the shadows inside, realizing that Xiao Yao and the others had not left, withdrew again.

Xu Wuchen was about to take his leave when Xiao Yao wanted to ask him more questions, but Xu Wuchen insisted that it was almost time to meet up with him, so Xiao Yao had to give up.

After walking a short distance away, Xiao Yao asked Xu Wuchen, "Did you spot another person there?"

"Whether we find it or not, does it matter?" Xu Wuchen asked rhetorically.

"What if it's some kind of imprisonment or something?" Xiao Yao recalled some less pleasant news reports.

“Hehe, you just asked me why I was able to take their money without fear of their resistance. Let me tell you, people who have fallen to this point are basically those who value survival above all else. If they had, or ever had, the courage to fight to the death for that little bit of money… they wouldn’t have ended up as living homeless people,” Xu Wuchen said.

"I don't think so..." Xiao Yao muttered to himself.

Xu Wuchen changed the subject: "Do you think they really need these few meals from us?"

"Don't you need it?" Xiao Yao asked in surprise.

"They need it, and they don't need it. They won't starve without this meal, but with it, they can't escape their predicament. Each of them has a bellyful of grievances and secrets, but ultimately, getting to this point is their own choice."

"Whatever we do, it must be done with respect—if she doesn't want us to see her, then we won't see her," Xu Wuchen explained.

"Is Father Yu organizing you—our meal delivery—just for pointless self-gratification? Isn't there a real way to solve the problem?" Xiao Yao said.

“If you approach it with a condescending, albeit condescending, attitude, it might really be meaningless,” Xu Wuchen shrugged. “However, I don’t know about others, but for me, delivering food is meaningful in itself.”

"Ah."

“Our presence here will make the local thugs think we're protecting this area, so they'll be more hesitant to do anything bad. It's a kind of atonement for my past mistakes, no, my crimes,” Xu Wuchen sighed. “As for the ‘real solution’ you mentioned, even if it exists, it's beyond my capabilities. Let the big shots worry about it.”

As he spoke, Xu Wuchen looked at Xiao Yao with a deep sense of anticipation in his eyes.

A surge of power welled up in Xiao Yao's chest.

For some reason, without any cause, sign, or evidence, he could feel that the power of the fortress in his heart had increased by another level.

Is this the power of trust and bonds?

Yes, Old Tang, no stamp.

Helping an elderly lady cross the street is much more efficient than mindlessly grinding for monsters.

……

As agreed, everyone gathered at the entrance of the War Movie City at the previously agreed time, and then took the subway back to the church to have a government-sponsored meal.

After the meal was the "sharing and exchange" session, which involved sitting in a circle in the conference room where classes are usually held, and speaking one by one in a clockwise direction.

“We completed the food delivery task, and we also achieved a spiritual connection,” said Daiyu, standing in her position with a piece of paper in her hand. “Although this day—this half-day of work—was tough, we gained more inner peace and a sense of satisfaction.”

Xiao Yao let out a long yawn.

It wasn't that he wasn't interested in the event in front of him or the speech about ribbonfish; it was just that it was time for him to take a nap during his afternoon break.

"It's already past two o'clock..." Xiao Yao turned his head slightly and whispered to Yu Luying, "When are we going to see Zhou Qi?"

"Shh." Yu Luying placed her index finger on her upper and lower lips.

After the ribbonfish finished speaking, a sparse round of applause rang out in the room.

Next up is Zhang Jialong.

"...A warm feeling welled up in my heart. I realized that this was not just a practical activity, but also about the connection between people. I realized that in this noisy city...we have forgotten to pay attention to those who really need help...An unprecedented sense of fulfillment...realizing...that in all aspects of life, we can use our own strength to help others..."

...The writing styles of these two bastards are exactly the same; it's probably because the class monitor coordinated their work.

……

Zzz…

Zzz…

Xiao Yao was suddenly woken up by a large, heavy hand: "Ah, ah!"

Looking up, she saw Yu Bo, who was glaring angrily, and Yu Luying, who was covering her mouth and secretly laughing.

Everyone else had disappeared.

"I...I fell asleep?" Xiao Yao stood up and said, "I didn't mean to! Where is everyone?"

“It’s over,” Yu Luying told Xiao Yao.

“Let’s go,” Yu Bo said succinctly, “to the hospital to see Zhou Qi.”

"Why are you so enthusiastic, Zhou Qi?" Xiao Yao was curious about Yu Bo's attitude.

"We went through all that trouble to rescue her from the palace, shouldn't we go and thank her?" Yu Bo replied casually.

"Stop lying to me." Xiao Yao pouted.

"My uncle wanted to check if Zhou Qi was safe, after all, Teacher Yao and Teacher Song are both..."

“Okay, I understand.” Xiao Yao nodded.

Yu Bo said seriously, "If Zhou Qi is alright, I want to know the ins and outs of how she got involved in this. You are friends, so maybe you can get the truth out of her."

"Friends?" Xiao Yao smirked.

As the three walked out of the side door of the church, Yu Bo turned back and locked the door.

When he went to get his car, Xiao Yao and Yu Luying were standing at the church entrance when they saw the ribbonfish.

This guy was standing at the side gate of St. Francis' School, embracing Yan Xiao.

It's that kind of pose where you hug each other around the waist, lean back, and whisper to each other.

Yan Xiao wore a black T-shirt and wrapped a sports jacket around her waist, exuding youth and vitality.

When Daiyu saw Xiao Yao, she gave him a non-standard American-style salute.

Yan Xiao's sneakers are really nice, Yan Xiao's wide-leg pants are really nice... Damn it, Gou Daiyu got a good deal, Xiao Yao thought.

"You're even jealous of something unrelated?" Yu Luying said with displeasure, "How about I make every beautiful woman your wife?"

"What?" Xiao Yao turned around awkwardly, mimicking the way Daiyu hugged Yan Xiao, and put his arm around Yu Luying's waist.

Then, it was slapped away.

Xiao Yao took a step forward and reached out again.

“Uncle,” Yu Luying said.

Xiao Yao quickly withdrew his hand, turned around, and stood at attention.

A black sedan silently "glided" over.

Yu Luying sat in the back seat, and Xiao Yao sat in the passenger seat, secretly sending messages to Shen Jie.

Don Quixote: I saw Yan Xiao again, the beautiful girl you introduced to Daiyu.

Don Quixote: Damn it, those two are flirting right in front of our school gate, how arrogant!

Don Quixote: ...Wife, when you get out in a few days, let's go to the school gate and be all lovey-dovey.

……

Seeing that Shen Jie did not reply to him immediately, he sent another message, "We're on our way to see Zhou Qi now," and then stuffed his phone into his pocket.

Unlike usual, the car stereo wasn't playing Gregorian chants, but rather Pu Shu's "Those Flowers".

"That laughter reminds me of my flowers, quietly blooming for me in every corner of my life. I once thought I would stay by their side forever, but today we are separated in the vast sea of ​​people. They must be old now. Where are they? We have gone our separate ways..."