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

Xiao Yao finally made up his mind.

When the ferry docked in Jiangxi for the next time, Xiao Yao got off the boat, put his hands in his pockets, and walked towards the spot where the "white crow" had appeared the day before.

"I thought you were too scared to come."

He didn't see the white crows, but only the eccentric and exaggerated Earl of Nottingham leaning lazily against a telephone pole.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," Xiao Yao said politely.

“I have indeed kept you waiting,” the Earl of Nottingham told him. “After we leave here, you must treat me to six dollars’ worth of spicy hot pot.”

"...Get out...from here?" Xiao Yao asked, puzzled. "What do you mean? Also, can you tell me who you are?"

“I am someone who has been in a similar situation before,” Earl Nottington told Xiao Yao. “Someone pulled me out of it, and I am here today to repay that favor.”

Xiao Yao was completely confused and strongly demanded that the Earl of Nottingham explain more clearly, but the Earl remained silent.

After taking a bus, a ferry, and a subway—thankfully, this was Shanghai, and no one commented on or paid much attention to the Earl of Nottington's outlandish attire—the Earl of Nottington led Xiao Yao to the front of a middle school after they got off the bus.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone through layers of clouds and mist onto this ancient and majestic building.

Rows of red-walled, gray-tiled school buildings are arranged in a neat and orderly fashion on campus, surrounded by lush trees and vibrant flowers.

Xiao Yao's gaze passed through an iron gate; the building directly opposite the school gate looked quite old.

The boy stood before the ancient school gate, carefully examining the scene before him. It was a five-meter-high red wooden gate, exuding a sense of age and vicissitude. Engraved on the door frame were nine large golden characters: "Seventh Girls' Middle School of Magic City," the calligraphy dignified and imposing. On either side of the gate stood a lifelike Qilin sculpture, its claws outstretched, seemingly guarding the school.

Xiao Yao remembered that he had never been to this school before, but it looked so familiar and strangely familiar...

I must have passed by by chance one day, but I don't remember it.

"Why did you bring me here, Nordin..." Xiao Yao asked, turning his head.

……

"Damn, where is everyone?" Xiao Yao exclaimed in astonishment.

Is this guy trying to make fun of me?

Girls' high school...

The Earl of Nottingham must have brought me here to find a student?

Although the intention is unclear...

But at this time of day, shouldn't the school have already let out long ago?

And this damn riddle-maker... he just takes people to the place and leaves, he could at least show me a picture!

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

Xiao Yao stood there bewildered for half an hour, or in other words, walked back and forth in front of the No. 7 Girls' High School like an idiot for half an hour, which naturally aroused the vigilance of the old man in the gatehouse.

Just as the gatekeeper was about to come out and unleash his killing spree, a short girl walked out of the school gate.

The girl had long pigtails and unusually large eyes that seemed to have stepped out of an anime, or as clear as crystals submerged in water, yet with a slightly upturned corner that added a touch of allure. The pure pupils and the bewitching eye shape blended wonderfully into an extremely beautiful charm, and her thin lips were as pale as water.

She was wearing what looked like a girls' high school uniform: a red and blue plaid pleated skirt that just reached her knees, paired with a plain shirt and a bow tie in the same color as the skirt, and dark mid-calf cotton socks and black leather shoes—but there was none of the disharmony often seen in school uniforms: the shirt was made of clean, soft, and opaque fabric, with the collar and cuffs fitting perfectly, and the clever design of the skirt's waist belt further concealed her height disadvantage.

Like Ouyang Qianqian in her class, she didn't carry a backpack, but just a square tote bag in her hand. She wore a small beret on the back of her head, which made Xiao Yao wonder how the hat didn't fall off.

Just like this school, this girl looked familiar—like someone I'd seen before.

A pure white crow cackled as it flew low overhead, its claws scratching at the top of Xiao Yao's head.

"Okay, okay," Xiao Yao said.

However, I lack practical experience in striking up conversations with strange girls.

Despite her short stature, this little girl is quite fast—while Xiao Yao was hesitating about how to start his conversation, the petite girl had already walked several hundred meters away.

Xiao Yao subconsciously and hurriedly took a few steps to catch up, and the girl stopped and looked at him strangely.

At the same time, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye that the old gatekeeper was also walking this way, leaning on his iron cane.

He quickly squatted down, untied his shoelaces, and then began to tie them.

The old gatekeeper stopped a distance away, continuing to watch him warily, while the petite woman continued to move.

What on earth am I doing...

Something opened the bag's flap, jumped out, landed lightly on the ground, and ran away.

When did this elusive dead cat sneak into my backpack? I definitely didn't see it when I packed my bag this morning—

Xiao Yao stood up and was about to chase after his cat when the large civet cat ran straight to Shen Jie's heels and, without any politeness or shyness, rubbed its head against the girl's ankles, which were wrapped in black cotton socks.

The girl was startled and instinctively lifted her leg to dodge, even taking two steps back. After seeing the big cat clearly, her furrowed brows immediately relaxed, her lips curled up, and her eyes curved into crescents.

The girl squatted down, reaching out with one hand to hook the cat's chin, while rummaging through her small backpack with the other, trying to find some treats the cat liked.

The big cat was also putting in extra effort, its eyes narrowed to slits, using its whiskers to prick Shen Jie's hand. Later, it simply lay down, exposing its white belly, letting the girl pet it. All that was missing was one more cat to perform a backflip for her.

Xiao Yao walked to the girl and the cat, stopped, and looked at them with a smile.

Which TA should I use? Oh well, whatever.

"Your cat?" the girl asked him.

"Hmm." The boy nodded. "I came out to walk the cat."

The girl stood up, covering her mouth and laughing hysterically: "Nonsense, who walks a cat? What's its name?"

“Its name is ‘dog’,” Xiao Yao answered the girl in a serious tone.

"You're lying, you're too funny." The girl laughed even harder, unable to straighten up.

"Is it that funny? Laughing like that is so unladylike," Xiao Yao thought to herself.

"Dog." The boy called out, and the cat immediately stopped rolling around on the asphalt road, pounced over, and scratched at Xiao Yao's trouser pocket with its paws, hanging on Xiao Yao's lap.

Xiao Yao picked it up.

"So it really is called a dog," the girl exclaimed. "You're quite the oddball."

“To be honest,” Xiao Yao hugged the cat and gently stroked its fur, “you look familiar. Have we met somewhere before?”

"Isn't that cliché?" the girl mocked him. "You probably recognize every pretty girl you see."

"Haha, no, no way." Xiao Yao scratched the back of his neck. "I really mean it..."

"Hey," the girl said, putting her hands behind her back, her left foot on the ground, and her right foot tapping the ground with the tip of her little leather shoe, "Could you give me another hug?"

"Huh?" Xiao Yao was taken aback. "Oh, a cat?"

The girl was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Oh, right, it's a cat, of course." Xiao Yao handed the cat over with both hands: "Cuddle it as you like."

"I really envy you." The girl took the "dog" from her.

"What do you envy about me?" Xiao Yao asked as he walked a few steps alongside the girl.

"My parents won't let me keep a cat, I hate it." The girl's lips drooped slightly.

“Like this…” Xiao Yao said.

He heard a strange laugh, and looked up in the direction of the sound, whereupon he saw the white crow perched on the eaves of someone's low house.

"Go away, go away," Xiao Yao urged.

Chapter 382 My Cat Can Do Backflips

2023-11-16

Throughout the entire October holiday, besides eating, sleeping, and doing homework, Xiao Yao also kept in touch with Shen Jie.

Ah, yes, the girl left her her phone number and QQ number, and even told her her name.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xiao Yao bought a new mobile phone that could log in to QQ (since he had plenty of pocket money anyway), and also registered a new QQ number—because he had forgotten the QQ number he registered in junior high school.

He couldn't explain why he went to such lengths, but he knew that chatting with Shen Jie was... kind of fun.

"Is the Xishan Resort in Suzhou fun?" Don Quixote asked oO舒荷Oo.

"It's not fun." The girl's reply was quick, but also brief.

Xiao Yao waited a while but received no response, so he typed: "Is the main thing to do to help my parents relax...?"

Just as Xiao Yao was deciding whether to send the message, another message arrived: "What about you? Any fun things to recommend?"

Xiao Yao was a little excited because Shen Jie usually wouldn't contact him unless he did, and she would only answer his questions briefly. She rarely took the initiative to continue the conversation like this.

"I'm shopping with my girlfriend," Xiao Yao answered truthfully. "She's trying on clothes inside, and I'm sitting on the sofa outside watching her bags. It's so boring."

“Hahahaha,” Shen Jie said, “You stinky man, you’re always looking at the pot while holding the bowl, huh? But that’s how it is when you go shopping with your girlfriend, little brother, you’ll get used to it.”

"And you, sis?" Xiao Yao asked, seizing the opportunity, "Do you have a boyfriend?"

Before she could even send the message, Shen Jie sent another one back.

"Luckily, my fiancé is different from you. He never gets annoyed when he goes shopping with me."

Xiao Yao's hand holding the phone trembled, and he opened his mouth wide in front of the screen.

“???” Xiao Yao said.