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

"What do you mean by saying you lost my mother?" Shen Tianyun asked angrily, hands on her hips.

"She ran away." Xiao Yao briefly told his daughter what had happened that day.

He talked about how Shen Jie ran away from her wedding and came to him for help, and how he argued with her and made her run away, but he didn't mention that Yu Luying had ever come.

"I really want to hit you on the head with a stick!" Shen Tianyun roared, "What did you argue about that made my mom run away? She ran away from home because of you! Are you even human?"

"I'm not human!" Xiao Yao exclaimed anxiously, "What's the point of asking what's going on now? The key question is, where are we even going to find them?"

"How would I know?"

"Calm down and think about it carefully!"

The two discussed it for a while, but they really couldn't figure out where a little girl who had no money and no cell phone could go.

"Mom likes coffee, why don't you go to the nearby coffee shops and see if you can find one?" Shen Tianyun suggested at the end.

"Alright then." Xiao Yao started putting on his shoes. "But what if she comes back and there's no one home?"

"Are you stupid?" Shen Tianyun nearly fainted from anger: "I'm at home!"

"You can't leave the bedroom anyway."

Finally, Xiao Yao decided to leave the door to the photo room, as well as the door leading from the photo room to the bedroom, slightly ajar, since he figured there wasn't much to steal anyway.

Night falls, and lights illuminate every home.

Xiao Yao pushed his bicycle out the door, only to find that the rear tire had gone flat at some point. He took it to the tire repair shop, but the old man there had already left work early.

It's really a leak in the house that happened to rain in the night.

A surge of anger welled up in Xiao Yao's heart. He slammed his bicycle down in front of the repair shop and went to the nearby Madier Café—where he had just recently negotiated with Yu Luying's mother.

After wandering around for a long time without seeing Shen Jie, he went out and asked passersby for directions. He also went to two or three cafes in the nearby area, but to no avail.

Where else can I find a coffee shop? This is a problem for someone who can't even bear to look at a coffee shop sign.

He called Yu Luying and got information about two more coffee shops that were a bit further away, but he still couldn't find her.

Shen Jie's phone is currently in Shen Tianyun's possession, and Xiao Yao is keeping in touch with Shen Tianyun by phone.

“I’ve looked everywhere, but I can’t find him,” Xiao Yao said. “I’m at McDonald’s now, this is the third one I’ve been to. I’ve also been to KFC, but I haven’t seen him there either.”

"Yes, I also went to KTV and the Shui Mu Nian Ice Rink—"

"No, Qian Gui is a KTV."

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Yao once again scanned the people inside the McDonald's, unwilling to give up. McDonald's is open 24 hours, and several unshaven homeless people had already booked their spot for tonight, including one who even looked quite young.

Unfortunately, that wasn't Shen Jie.

Xiao Yao's heart clenched.

He looked at the people sitting with their legs curled up—some were sleeping on the table, an uncle was rummaging through a nylon bag, seemingly checking the bottles he had collected that day, and an old man was eating a white steamed bun that had been broken in half. The bun was solid, and there were some greenish things inside that didn't look like pickled vegetables.

Xiao Yao always felt that he was quite unfortunate—abandoned by his parents, isolated by his classmates, harassed by his teachers, had no pocket money, couldn't go online, his novels were always rejected, he had few friends, couldn't find a girlfriend, and so on.

Only now did he realize that at least he had a warm or cool place—depending on the season—no wind, and complete darkness when the lights were off, allowing him to stretch out his legs and sleep peacefully. Every day, every meal, he could eat meat.

Fortunately, even swearing, the song is ambiguous.

A stray cat slipped in silently, but was quickly spotted by the staff and kicked out.

If it were me, I might be able to stay a stray cat for a couple more days, but Shen Jie is a large Ragdoll cat who even has different types of cat food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. How could someone as pampered as her endure sleeping outdoors?

Xiao Yao felt a pang of heartache.

Around nine o'clock, he received a call from Yu Luying.

“I just went to the small hotels around here, but I didn’t make any progress,” Yu Luying said.

"Have you contacted every single one? What about chain hotels?"

“There are so many small hotels, how could we possibly find them all?” Yu Luying’s tone was somewhat tired. “Chain hotels are even less likely to be the answer. Her ID card is still on your table, and big hotels are much better at protecting the confidentiality of their guests’ information.”

"I understand," Xiao Yao said weakly, wiping the corner of his eye. "Thank you for your hard work and for still being willing to help me."

"I wasn't helping you; I was just concerned about the sister who saved my life." Yu Luying paused. "Besides, in the end, I also bear some responsibility for this, don't I?"

"Oh, whatever, thanks anyway."

"Xiao Yao," Yu Luying called out.

"Ah."

"I have to go back, it's nine o'clock, otherwise my mom will go crazy again."

"it is good."

“You should go back soon too, Shanghai is a big city,” Yu Luying advised. “She’s an adult—well, she’s not a child anymore, she’s capable of taking care of herself.”

"Probably," Xiao Yao said.

"If she doesn't want you to find her, then you won't. She'll come back naturally once she calms down."

"But what if she doesn't have any money with her?"

“So she can’t have gone far, she’ll come back to you,” Yu Luying said patiently. “Why don’t you go home and wait for her? Maybe she’s been waiting at the door for ages.”

Xiao Yao thought to himself, "No way."

He gave a few perfunctory replies, hung up the phone, and strolled out of the McDonald's.

I don't know when it started, but it started raining again, not heavily.

Xiao Yao ignored him and walked silently down the street.

The city has unfolded its lonely map; how can I find the place where you wait for me? Like every child in love, I find myself growing lonely strings on the street.

The wind was freezing, the rain was cold, and the leaves of the trees on both sides of Dongdaming Road fell onto the sidewalk.

Shen Jie couldn't possibly be unaware of the large temperature difference between day and night in Shanghai.

In Teacher Yao's water dungeon, Shen Jie and I almost froze to death.

Where is she? Is she cold?

Sancta maria, sancta maria, let this lost lamb go home.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and Yu Luying sent a message to complain. Xiao Yao then spent ten yuan to buy a transparent plastic umbrella and stood under the eaves of a closed shop to take shelter from the rain.

Just as he was shaking the water off his hair, his phone vibrated again. The familiar caller ID clearly showed it was Shen Jie.

Xiao Yao was a little excited; his fingers trembled twice when he answered the phone, and he finally pressed the button on the third try. When he picked up the phone and heard Shen Tianyun's voice again... although he was somewhat prepared, he still felt a sense of disappointment.

"So be it, so be it," Xiao Yao said to himself.

The fact that his daughter was still alive meant that his relationship with Shen Jie had not yet taken an irreversible turn for the worse. In other words, things were not as bad as he had feared.

No matter how difficult the current situation is, as long as I can see my daughter and hear her voice, I can see the future and hear hope, and I can face everything calmly.

"You mean her friend? I called Zhou Xiaoying a long time ago, but she didn't know anything either, she just gave me a good scolding."

"What do you mean by saying you've contacted your mother? Oh, the future Shen Jie?"

"She told me to go to an internet cafe to look for her? Why? She's not me."

"...I understand, I'll go look for it then."

"No, which internet cafe is it?"

By the time Xiao Yao had visited four or five internet cafes, including "Canhua," it was past midnight.

He dragged his exhausted body and weary soul along the wet main road toward his home.

The rain had stopped. He folded up the plastic umbrella in his hand and used it as a walking stick, poking at the ground repeatedly.

As he passed under a bridge, he stopped and saw three or five homeless people wrapped in blankets.

Although he thought it was unlikely, Xiao Yao still examined each of the bodies one by one.

He couldn't find Shen Jie inside, and just as he was about to leave, he looked up and saw a pile of debris next to the bridge arch.

Among that pile of clutter was a large, cracked dressing mirror.

Xiao Yao glanced at it, and just as he was about to walk away, he glanced at it again.

In that room, you can only see the homeless people sleeping behind you; you can't see yourself.

--split line--

Xiao Yao believes that he has fallen into a complete mental blind spot.

He should have realized long ago that, as a human who also possesses the ability to see through mirrors, Shen Jie might have hidden herself in another world.

……Bar?

After thinking for a moment, he plunged into the mirror.

Then, my first reaction was, wow, it's so green...

He cautiously observed his surroundings—a world shrouded in a verdant filter.

It's still under the bridge, still with those homeless people, only now there are a few more warm campfires, and... windproof doors on both sides of the bridge.

The homeless people gathered around the fire to warm themselves, with plump turkeys and suckling pigs laid out on the tablecloths beside them, making Xiao Yao a little hungry.

Suddenly, he realized that everyone was watching him.