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

"Good heavens!" Shen Jie said, "That's not just two movie theaters anymore, how come all the restaurants on Huanghe Road next door have turned into movie theaters too?"

“Zhizhen Garden has also been turned into a theater,” Yu Luying said.

"What's so special about Yellow River Road?" The White Knight let out his classic, signature laugh again: "The vicious network woven from lies and suspicion didn't just appear after the birth of the technology called the Internet, but it was born with the birth of human civilization and developed with the development of technology."

"Over thousands of years, countless warriors have challenged this beast, but no one has been able to refute the slander that always comes from behind."

"And this hydra, which was born in the age of mythology, has long since become a completely different creature through these cycles of destruction and rebirth, and has long since lost its weaknesses."

"See for yourselves."

Following the direction the white knight pointed, Xiao Yao and the others looked down at the city. The outlines of the city buildings were no longer visible; all they could see were clusters of ghostly flames, which were faintly connected by dark blue lines.

A dozen or so small clusters of ghostly flames connected upwards to a larger cluster of ghostly flames, just as the nine heads of a hydra are connected to its body, and this larger cluster of ghostly flames is just one of the nine heads of an even larger hydra.

These ghostly flames spread across the land of China like a spider web under the night sky, boundless and limitless.

Yu Luying murmured, "I thought you were saying the movie theater was a hydra, but it's just one head of the hydra; I thought the whole city was a hydra, but Shanghai is just one head of the hydra... Long live human civilization, long live the hydra."

Her voice trembled as she said this, then she chuckled.

Xiao Yao quickly put his arm around her shoulder and gently comforted her.

The White Knight escorted everyone back to the ground, once again instructing them not to launch any counterproductive attacks, before turning and leaving.

Xiao Yao finally managed to calm Yu Luying down.

Shen Jie and Zhao Xiaomei asked, "Are we just going to let this go like this?"

Xiao Yao shook his head and replied resentfully, "Since we can't eliminate it, let's make it work for us."

"what?"

Ultimately, Xiao Yao decided to "fight violence with violence" and "fight poison with poison," using "evil" to stop "evil."

They occupied the large, dark cinema on Huanghe Road, controlled a group of "film and television workers," and had Xiao Yao personally write the screenplays. They produced a series of new films, such as "Young Hero Xiao Yao," "The Amazing Yao*Xiao," "Xiao Yao: I'm Crazy for Singing," "Saint Lu Ying," and "The Last Habsburg Queen." At the same time, they also introduced a series of new educational films, such as "Starting with Me, Say 'No' to School Violence," "Be a Lovely Middle School Student," "Cyber ​​Violence Is Never Justice," and "Don't Be a Follower of Misinformation." They also took control of the backstage areas of these two cinemas, the War Cinema, and all the cinemas on Huanghe Road, and played these films on a rotating 24-hour loop.

This had some effect, but it was not satisfactory, because the number of moviegoers also decreased significantly.

In the end, Zhao Xiaomei came up with a good idea.

During the film's runtime, the group rushed to St. Francis' School, occupied the school's communications room, and began using the "campus radio station" to broadcast messages to the entire school's loudspeakers, ultimately achieving their goal of "solving the problem."

Back in reality, everyone discovered that the rumors had completely disappeared, both online and offline.

Not only that, wherever Xiao Yao went at school, he would receive some... excessive, overly enthusiastic respect that made people feel uncomfortable.

Although the outcome was good, Xiao Yao still felt somewhat... in fact, very uneasy.

He felt he had clearly crossed that line, and the entire school had been hypnotized by the group.

“What’s the difference between what we’re doing and what Earl Nottington and his men are doing?” Xiao Yao said.

Shen Jie and Yu Luying squeezed his palms on either side to comfort him and reassure him not to think too much.

However, this undoubtedly violates the consistent principles of the "Guardians of Mingye," but Yu Bo did not comment on the matter—pretending to be unaware of it.

In fact, Xiao Yao once doubted whether he really didn't know about this.

Autumn has passed and winter is coming. Before we know it, December is just around the corner.

In the midterm exams, Xiao Yao and Yu Luying once again secured first and second place in the grade, respectively—this time, no one would gossip about it anymore.

Shen Jie—while Xu Qingwei failed three courses in total, which made her very unhappy and frustrated.

Xiao Yao and Yu Luying agreed to tutor her, but Shen Jie still looked sullen.

As mentioned before, spring and autumn are extremely short in Shanghai. Once summer is over, winter arrives, and the transition period is only a few days long.

So, Xiao Yao quickly bid farewell to his beloved girlish autumn clothes and changed into bulky long johns and a padded jacket.

They call them "little cotton-padded jackets," but they're actually the new winter uniforms issued by St. Francis Secondary School, and all three kids have one.

Although it's a school uniform, it looks really good. So much so that Grandma Miao Jinfang initially thought it was bought for Xiao Yao by Shen Jie or someone else, and even said, "Did Jie Jie buy you new clothes? They're quite nice."

"No, no, no," Shen Jie quickly explained, "It's the new school uniform that the school issued. We all have one."

As she spoke, she and Yu Luying took out theirs to show their grandmother.

"Tsk!" Grandma said, "Beautiful."

The next two events are military training in Dongfanghongzhou and wedding photography in Navara.

As is well known, the military training was originally scheduled for October, but it was delayed due to the narcolepsy incident on campus and other factors, and was finally scheduled to begin on Tuesday, November 30.

The originally planned autumn military training turned into a Russian-style military training, which naturally caused the students to complain and curse, but they were helpless.

The students said that the school urgently issued these extra thick winter coats in preparation for this inhumane military training; otherwise, if the students got sick from the cold, the school would not be able to bear the responsibility.

However, for Xiao Yao and Yu Luying, the problem was not about autumn or winter, but about the five-meter symbiotic distance.

Since this problem arose just before the start of the semester, Xiao Yao and Yu Luying have been chained up like dogs for three whole months. Even though they had a 19-day break in between, they had been trapped for long enough that the two people who originally loved each other had started to... develop a slight tendency to "dislike each other."

They say there's always a way out, but today is November 26th, and Xiao Yao and Yu Luying still haven't figured out how to ask the school for leave.

Admittedly, all the teachers and students in the school have a special respect for Xiao Yao, but rules are rules. If one of the three—"work-study," "agriculture-study," or "military-study"—is missing, then one will not be able to graduate or take the college entrance examination.

The three boys were deeply troubled by this matter.

As for Navara Wedding Photography, the shooting date was repeatedly postponed due to various issues on Xiao Yao and Shen Jie's side, as well as the store's own situation, and was finally settled on December 12th.

Taking wedding photos in winter is a nightmare! It sounds almost as bad as doing military training in winter.

However, considering that the issue of military training, which they had no choice about, had not yet been resolved, Xiao Yao and the others were no longer in the mood to worry about the problem they had paid for.

"We're going to Navarre to pick out clothes on December 5th..." Shen Jie marked circles and crosses on a calendar with a red pen: "We're going to military training on the 30th, how many days is it? Will we be able to come back in time?"

“We’ll be back on the 4th, which is perfect timing,” Yu Luying confirmed. “But the 5th is Sunday, what about Sunday Mass?”

“I have a headache,” Shen Jie said. “December 12th is also a Sunday. I have to go early in the morning, and I guess I’ll be busy all day.”

"That's not relevant. We can go to the Xujiahui lobby on the evening of the 11th. Saturday night is Sunday too—the key question is, when are we coming back on the 4th? And when do we need to go on the 5th?"

“I’m completely overwhelmed,” Xiao Yao commented. “Even Salazar isn’t as busy as I am.”

"Who is Salazar?" Shen Jie asked. "Oh right, I remember now. I can go to military training by myself, right? You two should ask for leave quickly."

“We want to,” Yu Luying said, “but we haven’t thought of a reason to ask for leave yet, and it’s both of us asking for leave at the same time…”

“Don’t people at school stop gossiping about you now?” Shen Jie said.

"By the way, are we still going to the hot springs tomorrow or not?" Yu Luying asked.

“Go ahead,” Xiao Yao said. “Is there anyone who says they won’t go?”

“There’s never a day without a break,” Yu Luying complained. “It’s even busier than Salazar’s.”

"No, who exactly is this Salazar?!" Shen Jie exclaimed.

Regarding the arrangement of going to Tangshan to soak in hot springs, regardless of who first came up with the idea, Xiao Yao was the most enthusiastic in the end.

On November 27th, Xiao Yao, Shen Jie, and Yu Luying said goodbye to their grandmother and Tian Yun and boarded a car heading to Nanjingtang Mountain.

In addition to swimsuits and stockings, Shen Jie's bag also contained a sailor uniform and a maid outfit.

The hot spring hotel they booked had a private hot spring bath. To prevent any unexpected situations, they ultimately decided not to book two rooms, but instead booked one large room.

Actually, since they've been a "long-married couple," it wasn't a major issue for Shen Jie to "play around" with Xiao Yao. The problem was that Yu Luying's presence made her feel very awkward.

It's very awkward.

Although we've been together before...

In short, she still helped Xiao Yao stuff all these random things into her own luggage.

For Xiao Yao, there are many more issues to consider than this.

Indeed, in the depths of winter, there's little that could be more pleasant and enjoyable than spending a weekend relaxing in a hot spring with two good friends. At such a time in life, one should certainly raise a glass in celebration.

But he had too many things on his mind to worry about, and the pressure was too great, which even dampened SeSe's spirits.

On the way to Tangshan Yishang Hot Spring Resort, Xiao Yao received that phone call.

He was sitting by the window, his head against the glass, his phone in his left hand, playing Snake while lost in thought.

Shen Jie sat to his right, holding his right hand with her left, while her right hand was also on her phone, texting someone.

Yu Luying sat behind Xiao Yao and Shen Jie, her head down, silent, seemingly doing something.

Just then, Xiao Yao's phone rang.

He answered the phone somewhat impatiently: "Hello? Who is this?"

Then, his tone changed abruptly.

Shen Jie felt a bad premonition and looked at Xiao Yao strangely. Then, the boy actually called out in a trembling voice, "Dad?"

Is he Xiao Yao's father? After searching for so long without finding anyone, does such a person actually exist? Shen Jie wondered.

Immediately afterwards, Xiao Yao said, "She's right next to me. Okay, I'll give her the phone."

"Hiss," Shen Jie said.

Xiao Yao handed the phone to Shen Jie, mouthed "your dad" in his lips, then, realizing it was unnecessary, whispered "your dad".

Shen Jie's face instantly fell, and she forced herself to take the phone from Xiao Yao's hand: "Hello? Dad?"

"Xiao Jie," a familiar, yet hoarse voice came from the other end of the phone, tinged with suppressed sorrow, "Grandma, it's over."