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

whistle.

Jiang Tao.

The cries of seagulls.

Xiao Yao had become numb to the fishy smell.

A chilling wind, like a dull knife cutting into flesh.

Xiao Yao lowered his head and wrapped the small blanket around himself even tighter.

Then I sneezed.

He doubted how useful a dry blanket could actually be wrapped around wet clothes.

"Are you alright?" On the ferry, Daiyu reached out and hugged Xiao Yao's shoulder. "Are you feeling better?"

Xiao Yao shook his head and muttered "Go to hell," but his body remained still as he leaned against Daiyu's chest.

"How about that? Luckily I have sharp eyes." Daiyu hugged Xiao Yao and said, "You owe me another life."

"Hmm." Xiao Yao raised his eyelids and looked at the two burly men in reflective vests not far away—he couldn't tell if they were security guards or police officers: "What a coincidence."

“Hey,” said the ribbonfish, “I’m going to see Yan Xiao.”

"Yan Xiao, yes. How's Yan Xiao been lately?" Xiao Yao asked casually.

The two people in reflective vests began to disperse the onlookers surrounding Xiao Yao and the fish.

“I feel that she is still conscious, or rather, she has become conscious.” Daiyu told Xiao Yao earnestly, “When I was talking to her yesterday, I saw that her eyes were glistening, as if she was crying.”

"Huh?" Xiao Yao said.

"Let's put that aside for now," said the ribbonfish. "What exactly is going on on your end?"

Xiao Yao turned his head and looked at the river. The ferry was already approaching the dock on the Lujiazui side of the river.

He couldn't help but recall the time he and Shen Jie had taken the Huangjiang Ferry together.

Then I remembered the days before I met Shen Jie, when I would idly ride the ferry back and forth after school.

“It was Shen Hongsheng who ordered it,” Xiao Yao told Daiyu.

Just as he was about to continue speaking, the ship suddenly rocked violently for a moment, then gradually stabilized—the ship docked and anchored.

With the help of the ribbonfish, Xiao Yao stood up and followed the two men in reflective vests off the boat, heading straight to the police station in Lujiazui to report the case.

Because the case was a kidnapping and murder, the police station took it very seriously, and two officers took Xiao Yao to a room on the second floor.

The police officer who received Xiao Yao was serious but also very helpful. He brought a small heater for Xiao Yao, who was shivering, while Dai Yu temporarily excused himself to go out and buy Xiao Yao some clothes to change into.

The two policemen, one wearing glasses and the other with a buzz cut, were diligently taking Xiao Yao's statement, occasionally interrupting him to ask a few questions.

"Regarding what happened last night," Glasses frowned, "how did you manage to hold on until this morning before being rescued by the ferry?"

Xiao Yao was taken aback.

I was so confused before I came that I didn't even think about this.

“I clung to a piece of driftwood that floated on the river, and drifted all night…” Xiao Yao stammered for a long time before making up a story.

"But you said they put you in a sack and tied you up with rope..."

Xiao Yao inwardly groaned, and before he could even think of something to say to smooth things over, the crew-cut man interrupted, "What did you say was the name of the person behind this? Shen Hong... Hong..."

“Shen Hongsheng,” Xiao Yao said.

"Is that Shen Hongsheng?" the bespectacled man asked. "The boss of Miwei Group?"

“It’s him.” Xiao Yao nodded vigorously.

Xiao Yao had previously watched a futuristic movie called "The Mermaid" in Shen Tianyun's room. In the movie, when the male protagonist went to report a crime, the police officers had expressions like, "We are professionals, we will never laugh," and "It's nothing, I just remembered something happy."

And right now, the person with glasses and a buzz cut exchanged a glance with this expression.

Immediately afterwards, the two men sternly threatened Xiao Yao about the legal consequences of making a false police report.

"Well then," Glasses said finally, "based on your description, the crime scene shouldn't be in our jurisdiction. Why don't you go to the Beihong District Public Security Bureau and ask?"

Daiyu bought Xiaoyao some dry clothes, and Xiaoyao changed in the bathroom. Then, he and Daiyu took the subway to the Beihong District Public Security Bureau to report the case.

Having spent the night at the bottom of the river, his phone was naturally ruined. Xiao Yao borrowed a phone from Daiyu to let Tianyun and Yu Luying know he was safe, and then recounted the incident to Daiyu.

The ribbonfish also asked, "How did you manage to stay alive in the river overnight?" But seeing that Xiao Yao was unwilling to answer, it didn't press the matter.

When the two arrived at the Beihong Public Security Bureau, Tianyun and Yu Luying were already waiting there.

"Okay, okay, get down, get down." Xiao Yao said, indicating that he couldn't take it anymore: "You're too heavy."

"You're the one who's too heavy!" Tianyun said, her eyes red, clearly having shed a lot of tears.

The police officers who took the case, like Lu Jiazui and the other two, initially took it very seriously. However, after Xiao Yao accused Shen Hongsheng of being the mastermind and explained his possible motives, they became serious and whispered among themselves. In the end, they told Xiao Yao and his group to leave their phone numbers and wait for further notice, which was clearly an attempt to evade responsibility.

"These are all corrupt cops!" Tianyun roared outside the police station, "Should we report them to the Municipal Public Security Bureau? Or the Discipline Inspection Commission?"

"Tianyun, don't panic." Yu Luying was relatively calm: "Let's go back first and discuss this further."

Xiao Yao, Daiyu, Yu Luying, and Shen Tianyun returned to Xiao Yao's grandmother's former residence and discussed the matter at length.

In order to explain the details clearly to Daiyu and Tianyun, Xiao Yao and Yu Luying discussed it and told them the secret of symbiosis. Daiyu and Tianyun were both frightened.

"Let my uncle investigate this matter?" Yu Luying took out her phone, about to dial: "How could we forget about him?"

"No." Daiyu snatched the phone from Yu Luying's hand: "We can't tell Brother Bo."

"why?"

“We’ll have to solve this ourselves,” said Ribbonfish. “Brother Bo might not agree to us doing this.”

"What are we supposed to do? Do you mean we should go back to Shen Hongsheng's palace to take revenge?" Yu Luying immediately understood what Daiyu meant.

"Doesn't your organization forbid doing this?" Tianyun shouted. "What do you intend to do to Grandpa?"

“We won’t do anything to your grandfather,” Xiao Yao comforted Tian Yun.

"Dairy! Don't come up with any bad ideas on your own! Nobody said we were going to take revenge on Grandpa!" Tianyun turned to Daiyu and scolded him.

"Yes, yes, yes." Ribbonfish laughed awkwardly, "I was wrong, I'm a villain, my heart, is it alright now?"

That evening, Xiao Yao went to his father's relatives' house for a dinner party as agreed, and Yu Luying immediately called two security guards from the Yu family to accompany him.

That night, the two bodyguards in black slept on the floor of Xiao Yao's house.

Xiao Yao originally wanted the comfort of his daughter's embrace, but with these two strangers in the house, he felt ashamed.

The two bodyguards took turns keeping watch at night, and the one who slept during the first half of the night snored so loudly that Xiao Yao couldn't sleep at all.

This might be an attempt to shift blame, because whenever he closes his eyes, he recalls that nightmarish night at the bottom of the river...

I recalled that when I had just surfaced on the river, a ferry was heading straight for me from a short distance away.

He recalled the despair of struggling with all his might in front of that massive steel structure, only to feel as if a force was pulling him toward the ferry.

The two of them followed along the way when they went to Sacred Heart Church for Mass the next morning.

After the Mass, Xiao Yao, Daiyu, Yu Luying, and two bodyguards stood at the side gate of St. Francis Secondary School.

“I’ve learned a method,” Ribbonfish said confidently, “that allows you to make someone repent without killing the shadow.”

"So, you mean you can make someone repent without crippling them?" Xiao Yao was surprised: "Like what the Heart Thief Gang is doing now?"

“That’s right,” the ribbonfish nodded.

"But how did you know that?"

“Lucia has this ability, have you forgotten?” The ribbonfish’s eyes darted around as he said, “I asked her for advice.”

"Is that so?" Xiao Yao pressed his temples. "I don't recall anything like this. And why would she sue—"

“Don’t ask too many questions about the details,” Daiyu interrupted Xiao Yao. “Lu Jia herself definitely won’t get involved in this matter; she’s very rigid. Don’t mention this to her either. Let’s just have the three of us deal with Shen Hongsheng.”

“But what if the organization finds out…” Yu Luying weakly voiced her objection.

“Not today. If I don’t go back soon, Tianyun will definitely suspect what I’m doing.” Xiao Yao shook his head: “This matter can’t be rushed. I need to think about it.”

"Why aren't you in a hurry? Are you sure they won't come back after they find out you're not dead?" Daiyu slapped his thigh: "The police don't care. Do you want to live the rest of your life without bodyguards?"

"Can it really prevent the other person from becoming a cripple?" Xiao Yao asked Daiyu.

“Sure,” said the ribbonfish. “Besides, he almost crippled you, why would you care if he crippled you or not?”

"PING—BOOM!" Not far away, a firecracker suddenly went off, startling Xiao Yao.

As the vehicle sirens in alarm, the man with the ribbonfish burst into a tirade of profanities.

The following Monday, Xiao Yao, Daiyu, Yu Luying, and two bodyguards from the Yu family who were filling in for them boarded a car bound for the West Suburbs Garden.

One bodyguard drove the car, Yu Luying sat in the passenger seat, while Xiao Yao, Daiyu, and another bodyguard squeezed into the back seat.

"Do we really have to do this?" Xiao Yao muttered. "We've been fighting against the Heart Thieves all along..."

"Brother Xiao," Daiyu said, his eyes fixed straight ahead, "you're quite popular in class now, aren't you?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Xiao Yao asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Isn't that the result of stealing hearts?" the ribbonfish said. "You gained happiness, and they also became better people, transforming from people trapped in collective unconscious bullying into friendly and humble people."

“Ribbonfish, I think your idea is a bit dangerous,” Yu Luying said, turning around to object.