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

Tianyun reached out and squeezed the thickness of the red envelope, then took it and glanced at the color of the bills through the envelope opening before revealing a satisfied—quite satisfied—look: "Just for tonight!"

"That sounds weird," Xiao Yao chuckled as he climbed onto the bed. "Our cabbages are way too expensive!"

"That's right, you don't even know who raised it." Tianyun started the mutual flattery mode.

"Go wash your feet!" Xiao Yao's expression suddenly changed. "Also, how many times have I told you, don't put your coat on the bed, and leave your boots on the shoe rack by the door!"

"Huh?" A muffled groan startled Xiao Yao. Then, the head of a tabby cat popped out from the side of Tian Yun who was leaning against the wall, its big, round eyes wide open, as if asking, "Why did you step on me?"

"And another thing!" Xiao Yao grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up: "No, you, don't, let, the, cat, on, the, bed!"

"I want it!" Tianyun snatched the cat from Xiao Yao's hands and hugged it tightly. "I want to sleep with it. With it, there's you; without it, there's no you!"

Helpless, Xiao Yao could only urge Tian Yun to wash her feet, and he washed his own feet as well. After everything was tidied up, they went to bed to rest.

The two lay on the bed with their heads together, separated by a cat curled up asleep between them, each casually scrolling through their phones.

Xiao Yao suddenly felt that the cat was warm and cozy, which was really nice in the middle of winter.

“Tianyun baby, I love you too,” Xiao Yao whispered.

"Huh?" Tianyun said, "Oh."

Xiao Yao casually clicked on "It's Xiao Jie~" on her QQ space, and her expression suddenly froze.

He saw a picture and post that Shen Jie had just published two hours earlier.

The background is the low yellow wall of Xiahai Temple—it should be Xiahai Temple—and the figures are smiling Shen Jie, Shen Hongsheng, and Luo Yunxuan, whose belly is already showing.

The caption for this post is:

The body is born from the formless.

It is as if various images have appeared out of nowhere.

The illusory mind originally has no consciousness.

Both sin and blessing are empty, and there is nothing to dwell on.

"Holy crap," Xiao Yao blurted out.

"What's wrong?" Tianyun asked.

"It's nothing." Xiao Yao quickly closed his phone.

Chapter 416 A Private Seat at the Bottom of the Huangpu River

2024-06-18

February 11, 2005, the third day of the Lunar New Year.

That evening, Xiao Yao went out to buy groceries.

Originally, the relatives on Dad's side had planned to get together tonight and had invited Xiao Yao.

Because of the funeral controversy, Xiao Yao didn't really want to pay them any attention.

But since I still have a responsibility on my shoulders, I agreed.

Then, considering that the third day of the Lunar New Year is a Friday and there wouldn't be much good food to eat, I suggested changing it to the fourth day.

Unexpectedly, these relatives actually changed the time just for "one person".

Xiao Yao went to two farmers' markets, but both were closed. Helpless, he went to Lanzhou beef noodle shops that don't celebrate the Spring Festival and got two bowls of rice with toppings to eat that night.

As I walked into the alleyway carrying a plastic bag of takeout containers, it was already getting dark.

As Xiao Yao walked, he exchanged a few messages with Yu Luying, complaining to her about not being able to buy groceries.

While waiting for Yu Luying's reply, Xiao Yao subconsciously opened "It's Xiao Jie~" on QQ Space.

He couldn't help but want to take another look at the post with the ridiculous poem.

……

"Only shooting stars streak across this starry sky."

You can request access to her space, and view it once she agrees.

[Delete record] [Request access]

"What the hell...!" Xiao Yao frowned slightly and unconsciously stopped in his tracks.

The sound of a car approaching came from behind Xiao Yao, followed by a sudden stop.

But he didn't care at all.

The engine was still running, humming softly. Several people jumped out of the car, followed by a flurry of footsteps approaching Xiao Yao.

When he finally became alert and turned his head to look, he only saw a bunch of black suits and a sack being put over his head!

Xiao Yao felt a chill run down his spine; he had been careless and hadn't dodged.

……

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" Xiao Yao gasped for breath, his vision went completely black, and he screamed inside the sack before being lifted up and thrown into a place.

With a "thud," Xiao Yao's head hit a hard object, followed by a sharp pain.

However, he felt something soft beneath him, and with the smell of gasoline, the sound of the engine, and the vibrations, he could easily tell that he was in a car.

In the midst of the violent struggle, several thick ropes were tied around the van through the sack, followed by the sound of the van door being slammed shut, and the van began to slowly start moving.

Xiao Yao cursed himself inwardly for his carelessness and negligence; Brother Bo had clearly warned him...

Is this the Freemasons or the Heart Thief Gang? Unable to win on the field, are they resorting to underhanded tactics outside? Or what?

How will they treat me? How can I extricate myself from this situation?

"If you don't want to die, you'd better behave yourself!" a strange male voice shouted, and the voice sounded quite old.

Xiao Yao stopped struggling and lay down quietly.

But his brain was still spinning rapidly.

The car moved intermittently, taking about half an hour—it might have taken less or more, Xiao Yao couldn't tell.

The car slowly came to a stop, followed by the sound of the car door being opened.

Xiao Yao noticed that it was completely silent outside the car.

Then, his body was lifted horizontally again and "flew" through the air for a distance that was neither too long nor too short.

The roar of the van was left behind. Xiao Yao felt the biting cold wind and heard the sound of the river waves crashing against the shore.

The boy's heart clenched again.

They wouldn't be going to...

Xiao Yao's body was thrown into the air and crashed heavily to the ground, making him see stars. His whole body ached as if it had been broken apart, and his mouth was full of the taste of blood.

Fortunately, he was greeted by this hard concrete ground, which gave him a sense of solid comfort.

Hopefully, this isn't just temporary.

Xiao Yao coughed violently inside the tightly bound sack.

He heard the thugs whispering, but he couldn't make out what they were saying.

A few minutes later, Xiao Yao felt two strong hands help him sit up. Then, the edge of the burlap sack above his head was cut open, and light and fresh air rushed in.

"Don't move! Don't shout! Otherwise, it's too easy to fall into the water and drown this time of year," the male voice warned.

Xiao Yao nodded as he took deep breaths of the fresh northwest wind.

He dared not turn around, lest he see the faces of these thugs, who would not leave any survivors: "You... who exactly... cough cough, who are you? Could you have arrested the wrong person? cough cough."

Xiao Yao was afraid of angering them, so he didn't dare to speak too loudly. Apart from the constant whispering, no one paid any attention to him.

"You've arrested the wrong person? Are you saying your name isn't Xiao Yao?" The male voice from before finally answered.

Xiao Yao believed denying his identity was pointless: "If it's me, at least let me die knowing why! Who exactly are you people?"

“I also want you to die knowing why.” This time the voice changed, the Chinese had a distinct accent, clearly belonging to a foreigner: “Turn your head.”

"No, if you saw your faces, you wouldn't leave any alive."

"Damn it, didn't you want to die knowing why?" the male voice cursed. "If you don't turn around, I'll kick you off the plane!"

Xiao Yao lowered his eyelids, looked at the dark waters of the Huangjiang River, and then looked up at the myriad lights of Jiangdong—so close, yet so far away.

He slowly turned his already stiff neck to look at the thugs.

Xiao Yao didn't recognize any of the burly men in black suits, except for one person.

That was the private car driver whom Shen Hongsheng called "Xiao Liang".

Of course, there is another person he is also very familiar with.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, tall and thin, with an English appearance, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, he gave me a refined and elegant smile.

"Do you understand?" Shen Jie's Uncle Johns asked Xiao Yao.

“I understand,” Xiao Yao spat out a mouthful of blood, “It’s Shen…”

“I’m sorry, I have no personal grudge against you,” Johns the butler bowed slightly to Xiao Yao in apology, “but no one can survive after hurting the young lady.”