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

However, although he prevented the ribbonfish from disrupting morale, Xiao Yao knew that he was telling the truth.

What should I do?

Just then, the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue that Xiao Yao had placed on top of the cabinet, which Yu Bo had just given him, began to emit a white light.

The white light from the statue gradually intensified, illuminating the entire room. The shadows howled, but dared not enter the room.

This gave everyone a little breathing space.

The group faced off against the shadows outside the window for a short while. The shadows did not dissipate; instead, the light on the statue dimmed somewhat.

"The statues seem to be holding on, they're coming again!" the little bear shouted.

In an instant, the green filter disappeared completely, and the bright fluorescent lights illuminated the entire room once again.

"Oh wow wow~ They say women don't love bad boys in the city—huh? That's it?" Zhang Jialong continued playing music and dancing, then kicked the ribbonfish's leg: "What's going on?"

Xiao Yao glanced at the clock in the room; it was still exactly ten o'clock.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang." It knocked ten times.

Shen Tianyun landed on the ground, her small and cute belly button being covered again by her fallen top.

Ouyang Qianqian finished her horse stance and stood up.

Yu Bo raised his head and took another big gulp of wine.

Shen Bin continued clapping.

Outside the bedroom door, Zhao Xiaomei groaned, rubbing her forehead, before getting up again, pushing open the bedroom door, and walking in.

"What's wrong with me?" Zhao Xiaomei said, "I was on the phone when I suddenly collapsed in the corridor. Did I really drink too much?"

"Maybe," Xiao Yao said.

"What are you two doing?" Zhang Jialong asked Xiongji Daiyu, who was holding a mop and a chair, with a puzzled look.

"Huh?" Xiongji reacted quickly, poking Daiyu's arm and singing, "I just don't understand. Mom said true love is wonderful, but I don't have a girl..."

As Xiongji sang, he pretended to play a mop like a guitar, but Daiyu just blankly put down his chair.

"What's wrong with these curtains?" Ouyang Qianqian asked, pointing to the window.

“The curtains…were they like this when you came?” Xiao Yao quickly asked.

Just then, the door to the photo room started banging again.

"Oh no, we've probably made too much noise and the neighbors are coming to our door."

Shen Jie ran to open the door, and less than ten seconds later, her uncle, who lived next door, walked in with a big belly and a tray in his right hand.

On the tray was a bottle of red wine, two or three small dishes, and a steamed fish.

"Uncle, why did it take you so long to arrive?" Shen Jie complained.

"Hey, you've got to get things done," Uncle sniffed the air. "What are you little devils burning? Don't cause any trouble!"

When Xiao Yao saw his uncle, he recalled the thrilling battle he had just fought in the photo booth and felt a little scared.

"Young people like you only know how to eat hot pot, you should also order some side dishes." The uncle said as he placed the tray he was carrying on the dining table.

The group looked at each other, too embarrassed to say, "We're already full."

Shen Jie ran to the photo room and got a large piece of leftover cake for her uncle, who in turn gave Xiao Yao a red envelope that was neither too thick nor too thin.

"Uncle, you mustn't, you mustn't," Xiao Yao declined.

This wasn't just polite talk; Xiao Yao's financial situation was much better than before, and he didn't care about a few hundred yuan anymore. Besides, he knew that his uncle worked very hard driving a taxi from dawn till dusk.

“Here you go, just take it,” my uncle said.

Xiao Yao reluctantly accepted it, thinking about how he had almost choked the man just now, and secretly prayed that his uncle wouldn't be affected and do something as foolish as Teacher Yao.

The uncle noticed there was another adult in the room, so he nodded and exchanged a few pleasantries with Yu Bo. He then told everyone to "eat and drink well" and left Xiao Yao's house while eating cake.

"How about we call it a day? It's already ten o'clock, it's getting late," Xiong Ji suggested.

"Huh? But we haven't had enough fun yet," Chen Lu said with a grin.

"Alright, it's getting late." Zhang Jialong rubbed his forehead in confusion. "I've had too much to drink. Is this the way to the restroom?"

"That's a wardrobe!" Xiao Yao exclaimed in shock, trying to stop them, but it was too late.

With his eyes glazed over from drunkenness, Zhang Jialong stepped into the wardrobe.

Xiao Yao, Shen Jie, and Shen Tianyun all suffocated in an instant.

"What? This is a mirror?" Zhang Jialong's foot touched the mirror, but he couldn't pass through it. He reached out to push it, but the mirror still didn't budge.

"What's wrong with you! You've only had a little bit to drink and you're already like this?" Chen Lu quickly stepped forward to help Zhang Jialong out and apologized to his host repeatedly.

"It's okay, it's okay." Xiao Yao was still a little shaken.

Everyone greeted Xiao Yao in turn, shaking hands or waving. Xiao Yao and Shen Jie then escorted everyone downstairs.

"Bye-bye!" "Bye-bye!" "See you next time!" "Thank you for the hospitality!" Under the calm and ordinary moonlight, everyone exchanged pleasantries and bid each other a reluctant farewell.

Who could have imagined that just a few minutes ago, when time seemed to stand still, the bright moon appeared about to crash to the ground, and the alleyway was filled with terrifying shadows?

Perhaps they are still crammed into this alley, right next to us, just temporarily at peace.

Xiao Yao felt a chill run down his spine.

"Xiao Yao, Xiao Mei is about to go back." Ignoring Shen Jie's presence, Zhao Xiao Mei grabbed Xiao Yao's sleeve and said to herself.

"Ah, ah, goodbye." Xiao Yao silently pulled his sleeves back.

"See you at the literary society tomorrow," Zhao Xiaomei said with a radiant smile.

"Okay, see you at the Literature Club," Xiao Yao said. "Ribbonfish—wait a minute before we go!"

Zhao Xiaomei finally loosened her grip on Xiao Yao's sleeve.

Xiao Yao grabbed the still-shaken Daiyu and led him back to his room on the second floor.

In the messy bedroom, there are still seven people: Xiao Yao, Shen Jie, Yu Luying, Yu Bo, Daiyu, Xiong Ji, and Shen Tianyun.

The crowd looked grave and began to tell Yu Bo about the horrific events that had just occurred.

"You mean," Yu Bo held out a hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, "that if I slam my wine glass on the table, time will stop?"

“This,” Shen Tianyun’s eyes were also glazed over, “No wonder the curtains got burned just because I jumped!”

"These... these shouldn't have any logical order, right?" Xiao Yao said, embarrassed.

"Stop talking nonsense, I'm asking about the chronological order."

“That’s right, Father,” Shen Jie replied. “Are you aware of this phenomenon?”

Yu Bo hesitated for a moment, then took out a cigarette and lit it.

"It's time to tell you. I didn't think it was necessary to create panic for you," Yu Bo said calmly. "Have you heard of Shadow Time?"

"Shadow Time?" everyone repeated in surprise.

"There is a theory that time is not completely continuous. In the gaps between seconds, there is hidden time, which some people call shadow time."

"Hidden in the sense of concealment?" asked the ribbonfish.

“The shadow of a shadow.” Yu Bo continued to explain: “There are no records of the specific rules for the appearance of shadow time, but what is certain is that for ordinary people, shadow time is very difficult to perceive, that is to say, it is almost as if it does not exist.”

Shen Tianyun and the ribbonfish's eyes both turned into the shape of "@@".

“Some people say,” Yu Bo said, twirling the charred curtain fabric in his hand, “that in Shadow Time, the real world and the Shadow World will switch places, but in the end, this is just an unproven hypothesis.”

"Was it Zhuangzi who dreamt of a butterfly...?" Xiao Yao asked hesitantly.

"Or was it the butterfly dreaming of Zhuangzi?" Yu Luying said.

"Wait, what's this 'Shadow World'?" Ribbonfish exclaimed, but no one paid him any attention.

"By the way, you just said it was very difficult, almost, is that what it is?" Xiao Yao caught the meaning in Yu Bo's words.

“Some phenomena are believed to be related to the occurrence of shadow time. For example, sometimes you will find that small things that you have inexplicably lost will reappear in obvious places after a period of time; sometimes you will feel that the noisy crowd around you will suddenly become silent, and then immediately return to its original noise. The so-called disappearance that I mentioned to you before is also said to be that these people are lost in shadow time—but these cannot be confirmed.”

"Why can this statue resist the invasion of shadows during shadow time?" Xiao Yao suddenly thought of something else: "Is there anything special about this thing? And which holy king's relic is it?"

“Icon, not a deity,” Yu Bo corrected. “It’s nothing special—I wouldn’t give you something so good. It’s just a common item that our church’s relic department usually sells, but I personally consecrated it.”

"Saint?"

"It's similar to a blessing or consecration ceremony," the ribbonfish interjected.

"In short, I'm not surprised at all that the sacred object would affect these... aggregates of negative energy." Yu Bo's tone made Xiao Yao think that he was just guessing.

"So, why did the five of us experience the shadow time just now?" Shen Jie asked the question that everyone present wanted to ask.

“I don’t know,” Yu Bo said with a slight smile.

"?" Xiao Yao was confused.

"How would I know?" Yu Bo murmured, his expression tinged with sadness.

“Then,” Xiao Yao asked another question, “would shadows in Shadow Time actively attack humans?”

“It shouldn’t be,” Yu Bo said without hesitation. “Otherwise, humanity would have gone extinct long ago, wouldn’t it?”

"So, is the reason we were attacked because we experienced the Shadow Time?" Xiao Yao continued to speculate, "Because we discovered them, that's why they attacked us?"