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

That's right, this is Shen Tianyun's room now.

Xiao Yao originally planned to seal off his grandmother's room and keep everything inside as it was, but Tian Yun suggested that since she and Xiao Yao were teenagers, it was inconvenient and unpleasant to share a bed with their father for a long time, so she hoped to move into her grandmother's room.

Although he was reluctant, he felt that Tianyun's words made sense and he couldn't refute them, so he agreed.

The boy collected all of his grandmother's belongings and put them in a large iron box, which was then temporarily placed under his grandmother's small square table—now Tianyun's.

Xiao Yao's gaze fell on the large iron box under the small square table. He wanted to open it and take out the contents to take a look, but after hesitating for a while, he still couldn't muster the courage. Instead, he picked up the small photo frame on the table and gently stroked his grandmother's face.

I've lived with her for so long, but I've never thought about getting to know her.

Grandma, please bless me—and your great-granddaughter—from heaven.

Xiao Yao closed Tian Yun's door, returned to his own room, picked up his phone again, and saw a missed call and an unread text message.

He hoped it was from Tianyun, but the sender was Daiyu, and the message asked Xiao Yao if he wanted to go to an internet cafe or bowling together the next day.

Xiao Yao is no longer interested in internet cafes, bowling, or ice skating, but since it was an invitation from a friend, he still intends to accept.

This is also a kind of "place to stay".

However, with Tianyun still out of contact, Xiao Yao felt disappointed and frustrated, so he did not reply immediately.

He pressed the play button on the tape recorder, and then began tidying up his room to distract himself.

The rain slanted down onto the windowpane.

Yellow leaves withered on the windowsill;

A young man carrying an umbrella.

He walked through the rain curtain,

Suddenly, his gaze fell upon them.

People passing by all stared at him.

But he played a harmonica;

The melody of goodbye still faintly lingers.

When we met again, it was no longer the same…

Xiao Yao frowned subconsciously.

The melody was so familiar that it reminded him of someone he didn't want to think about.

I really liked this song when I was in junior high school, and after I recommended it to Shen Jie, she also liked it—at least on the surface she pretended to like it.

During the Asian Cup summer vacation, I heard this song at that... football bar? Shen Jie was also there at the time. Later, I often listened to this song with Shen Jie, and we listened to it many, many times.

"Afterwards, when spring flowers bloom and autumn moon fades..."

The winter sun sets, and summer insects chirp.

Who will sing and who will listen?

Who cried out for youth, and who will answer...?

Xiao Yao pressed the button with a "click" and turned off the recorder.

What is this? An envelope? What's inside?

Xiao Yao had a guess, but he wasn't sure. He gently pulled the letter out of the envelope, and the pleasant smell of the letter paper wafted out.

It is a "love letter" that Shen Jie wrote to herself.

Handwritten.

It seems like she wrote it at her own request? Oh, no, it was written by her own initiative...?

Xiao Yao frowned slightly as he read the neat handwriting on the letter.

He felt like he had Alzheimer's disease. How could he recall things that happened not long ago, yet the details seemed as blurry as if from a past life?

Xiao Yao carefully reread the letter, chuckled softly, folded the letter, and held it up to the flames in the coal stove.

Just as the letter was about to touch the flames, his hand stopped.

Just then, Xiao Yao heard the sound of a key turning in the door of the photo studio outside, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Immediately afterwards, Tianyun pushed—actually, she smashed open her bedroom door.

"What are you trying to burn?!" Tianyun looked at the letter Xiao Yao was still holding up. "Are you crazy? Burning paper for fun at home!"

Xiao Yao calmly put away Shen Jie's love letter, put it back in the envelope, and placed it in the closet drawer.

Then he walked over to Shen Tianyun, pulled her into his arms, and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

Tianyun struggled, but Xiao Yao still managed to kiss her face.

"Are you crazy?" Tianyun finally broke free from Xiao Yao's embrace and deliberately rubbed her face vigorously with the back of her hand. "Are you not used to not having a wife and are using me as a substitute?"

"Nonsense! You're spouting such unfilial nonsense again!" Xiao Yao scolded, then reached out to pinch Tian Yun's round cheeks: "Where have you been all this time? Why didn't you answer the phone? You know why... I'm going to beat you up today!"

"Oh dear," Tianyun curled her fingers and covered the corners of her mouth, "No, my phone just died!"

"Nonsense! If your phone is out of battery, why wouldn't it be called 'off'? I called you and no one answered!"

"Knock knock knock." Before Tianyun could answer, the door to the photo room was knocked on again.

"Who is it?" Xiao Yao shouted.

“Me,” Yu Luying answered crisply.

Shen Tianyun's lips curled down.

"What's wrong?" She couldn't explain just now, so why is she here again? Xiao Yao opened the door to the photo room, completely bewildered, only to find that Yu Luying had changed into a set of clothes suitable for exercise and showed no intention of coming in.

"Emergency assembly," Yu Luying lowered her voice, "Operational meeting."

Ah, a war council.

Xiao Yao thought to himself with a hint of happiness.

Yes, the Watchers of the Brightness, the "organization" that fights against the Shadows and their accomplices.

This is also my place of refuge.

"Tianyun!" Xiao Yao called out as he turned around, "The food is on the table. If it's cold, heat it up and eat it yourself. Don't make a mess of the room—I'm going out for a bit!"

"Hmph!" Tianyun responded loudly from the inner room.

Xiao Yao put on his down jacket and followed Yu Luying downstairs. Yu Luying walked quickly, heading towards another exit of the alley.

"Didn't Brother Bo tell us to gather?" Xiao Yao asked, a little confused.

"Yes," Yu Luying said succinctly.

"Aren't we going to the Sacred Heart Church?"

“No,” Yu Luying said.

"?"

Xiao Yao followed Yu Luying out of the alley, thinking she was going to take a taxi, but instead saw a familiar-looking car parked at the alley exit, with Yu Baolu rolling down the window.

"Get in the car," Yu Baolu said.

Neither of the two men surnamed Yu explained anything to Xiao Yao. The car drove several kilometers, winding and turning, before stopping in the parking lot of a magnificent "Vienna Hotel".

Next, Xiao Yao followed Yu Baolu and Yu Luying to the 22nd floor in the elevator and entered a large, luxurious private room.

This is probably what they call a "presidential suite".

Upon entering, he saw familiar faces—Grandpa Yu Texuan, His Excellency Karl Schering, Daiyu, Zhao Xiaomei, Luzia, and many others were all there. Even Teacher Yao and Ouyang Qianqian, who had previously refused to acknowledge her identity, were present. In addition, there were four or five other people that Xiao Yao did not recognize, both men and women, of varying ages.

“Now everyone is here,” Yu Bo said. “The reason we’re calling everyone together today is because we have an important operation to plan. Everyone here has their own mission. According to reliable sources, Shi Hui, who has seized the Saint Cloth, is planning to use its power to expand his strength and carry out targeted destruction in Shanghai. He wants to turn this city, especially our Beihong District, into their core stronghold.”

"While his ultimate goal remains uncertain, their operation has begun in any case," Karlschderin added in broken Chinese. "As you've probably all seen in the news, for the past two weeks..."

Xiao Yao didn't listen to what Karl Schderin was saying; his eyes were fixed on the girl who was lazily leaning against the large bed.

"...The Heart Thief Gang..."

Shen Jie was holding a cushion, wearing a baseball cap, a loose-fitting straight-leg shirt, and dark blue cotton socks. Her feet were facing the direction Xiao Yao had come in, but her eyes were not looking at him at all. She seemed to be focused on listening to Karl Schdelerin's speech.

"...Freemasons..."

Xiao Yao shook his head, trying to bring his attention back to the meeting.

"...So the reason we didn't meet at the church is because they've already installed a bug there?" Ribbonfish repeated, somewhat incredulously.

“We’ve already found three,” Yu Bo explained. “We don’t have time to conduct a full search of the entire church.”

"So we're going to take action tonight? Isn't that too hasty?" Lu Jia lay down next to Shen Jie and reached out to stroke the girl's shoulder.

"We've already finalized the agreement with our informant in the police department."

"Speed ​​is of the essence in war," replied Grandpa Yu Texuan. "Our countermeasure has been planned quite thoroughly. The reason we are only informing everyone now is to maintain secrecy as much as possible. We need to get ahead of the Freemasons."

"Are you sure the Heart Thief Gang and the Freemasons are connected?" asked a boy Xiao Yao didn't recognize.

"Gray, gray." Yu Bo snapped his fingers at Xiao Yao, who then looked away and forced himself to focus on the current battle meeting.

...It wasn't very successful.

He truly hadn't expected that Shen Jie would continue to participate in the "organization's" operational meetings—and operations.