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

Xiao Yao couldn't help but glance at the piece of flesh that was accidentally exposed on the girl's back after she squatted down.

Since there's no one around, should I remind her?

"Let me explain what happened yesterday. I was just about to tell you." He couldn't help but glance at it again.

“Tell me, I’ve been waiting this long—no need to look anymore, Grandma, it’s so hot, you must be exhausted,” the girl said happily, standing up with a plastic bag of peaches. “What supernatural phenomenon is it this time?”

"Here's what happened," the two said, turning into a long alleyway, "Yesterday was Shen Jie's classmate's birthday, and I went with them to dinner and karaoke..."

When Xiao Yao recounted that crazy King's Game, the girl's pretty face scrunched up: "Do middle school students these days play this wildly?"

"No, that's not it, Shen Jie said..."

"A person's circle of friends is like a mirror, reflecting what kind of person they are."

By this time, they had passed through the alley and arrived at the old goods street. Yu Luying took a liking to a Hello Kitty plush pillow, hugged it to her arms, and rubbed it: "Auntie, how much is this?"

Xiao Yao frowned, but ultimately did not refute her malicious speculation about Shen Jie.

"You ran into Zhou Qi, why didn't you report it to the police?" After Xiao Yao finished telling her about his strange encounter after going to the toilet, Yu Luying smacked her lips with her little fist.

"Are you kidding me? Do you think the people would believe a cop like me? They'd definitely throw me out."

"So you think I should believe your nonsense about seeing things through mirrors?"

“You will,” Xiao Yao said.

Yu Luying took out a pen from her pocket and drew the pattern on her palm.

Divider, measuring tape, glasses, and a "G".

"Is this the pattern?" the girl asked.

"It should be... pretty close," Xiao Yao assessed.

“This is the symbol of Freemasonry,” Yu Luying said.

"Freemasonry? I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before. It's related to your church, right...?"

“There’s no positive connection, and he’s not a good person,” Yu Luying said. “My uncle is quite knowledgeable about these things, so we need to let him know about this.”

“That’s what I think too,” Xiao Yao nodded. “Shall we go ask now?”

“He went on a pilgrimage with my mom after Mass this morning. He’s the priest leading the group, you know.” The girl picked up her flip phone, which had a rabbit pendant on it. “No matter what, Zhou Qi is our classmate. We can’t just leave him like this.”

“That’s what I meant too,” Xiao Yao casually echoed.

"How about you take me to that KTV you visited yesterday?" Yu Luying thought for a moment, then put her phone down again.

“Okay—but no, I can’t let you be in danger,” Xiao Yao straightened his back seriously. “I also can’t put myself in danger, because that would put you in danger as well.”

"Are you reciting a tongue twister?" Yu Luying's eyes curved into crescents: "If you're timid, just say you're timid, it's not shameful, huh?"

Night fell.

Chapter 38 June

Since the beginning of June, time has been rapidly marching towards the final exams.

The atmosphere in the classroom grew increasingly tense with the rising temperature. The overhead fan whirred loudly, but Xiao Yao kept pulling up his collar.

I really want to go shirtless in the classroom.

"I just don't understand, would it kill you to install an air conditioner in the classroom?" This text message was sent by Xiao Yao to Shen Jie at 9 a.m., and she finally replied at 4:30 p.m.: "Uh, so none of your classrooms have air conditioning..."

A prestigious private school; we can't afford to mess with them.

Speaking of which, ever since that day at the karaoke bar, Shen Jie's attitude has become more and more worrying.

Simply put, messages are being replied to slower and shorter, with fewer and fewer words, and phone calls are often not answered. After a few words, the person will say they have something to do and want to hang up. As for meeting up, forget about it. Don't ask, they'll just say they're busy.

Undoubtedly, something happened, but Xiao Xiong strongly advised Xiao Yao "not to keep too close an eye on things," so he could only suppress his temper and maintain sporadic contact with Shen Jie.

However, it's impossible to say that one is completely free from anxiety.

Zhou Qi was ruled missing on campus by the police, which put a lot of pressure on the school, especially on teacher Yao.

Therefore, not only did the after-school tutoring fall through, but Teacher Yao also sat at the back of the classroom from morning to night every day, supervising and accompanying the class around the clock.

This made the atmosphere in the class even more tense.

However, some good things did happen. Although there was no formal agreement, Xiao Yao and Yu Luying inexplicably started going to and from school together every day again.

Yu Luying was still afraid of what people would say, so the two of them would separate before going to school and meet up again at that place after school.

Occasionally, Yu Luying would even make lunchboxes for Xiao Yao.

"No one's home, so I made this for myself. I accidentally made too much, and it would be a waste if I couldn't finish it," Yu Luying always explained.

It was Yu Luying's good attitude that suppressed Xiao Yao's anxiety and prevented him from going to block the entrance of the No. 7 Girls' High School again.

Since his failed confession, Xiao Yao has been trying to restore a normal bilateral relationship with Yu Luying, but it always backfires.

Who would have thought that the secret to success was simply "making Yu Luying feel like she was no longer single"?

Xiao Yao was completely baffled.

What would Yu Luying do if she found out that her relationship with Shen Jie had cooled? Xiao Yao dared not take the risk.

In fact, Yu Luying's caution was largely unnecessary, because no one cared about their gossip or the underwear theft incident anymore—all attention had been diverted by the topic of Zhou Qi's disappearance.

Even Shen Jie called Xiao Yao and said, "I heard someone went missing from your school? Oh, I saw it in the newspaper. Oh? Was it someone from your class?"

Rumors started flying everywhere.

Some people claimed that the unidentified female corpse retrieved from the Suzhou River a few days ago was Zhou Qi, but the final identification result was not.

Some people believe that Ouyang Qianqian is a suspect because on the day Zhou Qi disappeared, someone saw Ouyang Qianqian arguing with her.

Even Xiao Yao was included on the list of suspects, but these voices ultimately had no impact.

That day, Xiao Yao's grandmother went to visit the old man she had just met, and he forgot his keys again. While waiting for his grandmother to return home, Yu Luying finally let him into the house again.

“More and more people believe that Teacher Yao is involved in this matter—and I’m not just talking about supervisory responsibility.” Xiao Yao sat on the sofa, peeling and eating peaches for her.

“I’ve heard about it too, and it’s all very detailed,” Yu Luying said, hanging the washed clothes out to dry outside the window one by one. “They’re saying that Teacher Yao and Zhou Qi have an improper relationship.”

"Teacher Yao... that can't be right." Xiao Yao touched his nose in distress: "These people really dare to say anything."

The girl was wearing dark high-waisted jeans today, which made her body proportions very obvious (4:6 body ratio).

“They have indeed been quite close, but I’ve never thought about it that way.” Yu Luying washed her hands and dried them on her apron. “Go take a bath in the hall after you eat. You keep putting it off.”

"No way, I'd be more than happy to go take a shower with you," Xiao Yao replied casually, deftly dodging the incoming dictionary.

“Didn’t you say that Teacher Yao also took my underwear?” Yu Luying raised her eyebrows.

“I never said that,” Xiao Yao waved his hand. “I said suspicion, suspicion. Honestly, everyone can see how professional Teacher Yao is and how he treats the students in our class. Before, everyone said they liked him, but now that something has happened, they all act like they’re kicking him when he’s down. I can’t stand it.”

“No, not really,” Yu Luying served Xiao Yao his meal, sat down at the table, and made the sign of the cross on her chest: “...It’s mainly people from other classes who are talking about it.”

Xiao Yao also sat down at the table: "Grandma Jin tricked my grandma into going on some cruise ship. She'll be on board for two or three months, how much money will that cost? Do you think it's reliable? Don't let her get scammed. She's so rich, why is she so stingy with me all the time...?"

"Isn't it because I'm afraid you'll take the money to go online?" Yu Luying replied absentmindedly, "Xiao Yao."

"What's wrong? Why do you look so serious?"

"It's been more than a week since you went into that... mirror at the KTV and saw Zhou Qi, right? Was it the day before my mom passed away?"

Yu Luying's pose, touching her chin and gazing at the sky at a 45-degree angle, is kind of cute.

"I think so." Xiao Yao took out his phone and looked at the calendar.

"I don't want to wait for my uncle to come back; he might not even know anything." Yu Luying lightly tapped the table. "Shall we go to that KTV and investigate?"

"Why are you suddenly so energetic?" Xiao Yao looked into the girl's bright eyes; her usual sickly demeanor had vanished completely. "I told you, I can't let you be in danger—"

“I know you don’t like Zhou Qi, and I also know about your past conflict with her,” Yu Luying advised.

"It's not a holiday, it's that she wronged me," Xiao Yao corrected earnestly.

“But she is, after all, our classmate, and a living, breathing person,” Yu Luying put a chopstick above her lips, pouting to hold it in place. “If we have clues but do nothing, if… I won’t be able to live with myself.”

Wait, are you being coquettish?

Xiao Yao pondered for a few seconds.

"Okay." He paused. "When are we going?"

“Today is Wednesday…” Yu Luying reached out and flipped through the calendar: “The orchestra has a charity performance the day after tomorrow night, and we have a rehearsal tomorrow night, so how about I go to class on Saturday morning?”

“Okay, you decide,” Xiao Yao put down his rice bowl. “By the way, did you manage to get the tickets for the charity performance?”

"Ugh, you're so annoying, yeah, yeah, yeah." Yu Luying took out two long bills printed on glossy paper from her schoolbag: "Bring your Miss Shen along, so you can give me some advice."

"She's tone-deaf, what does she understand? And she's offering opinions?" Xiao Yao thought to himself, "This isn't appropriate," as he put the ticket away. "Want to do homework together tonight?"

"Grandma's not home yet? Hurry back after you finish your shower," Yu Luying said, her usual cold expression returning. "You have a girlfriend, why are you bothering me?"

Girlfriend...? Xiao Yao wondered.

Yu Luying's phone rang. She glanced at the number, made a "shush" gesture, and walked to the window.

"Hello, Mom?..." The girl's cheerful voice suddenly froze: "What? You're already downstairs?"