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

"By the way," to avoid being overheard by those around him as he continued to overthink, Xiao Yao struck up a conversation with Yu Bo, "You must have met more than just the three of us, right? Did you invite Daiyu and the others, Lu Ziya and the others?"

"I can't say." Yu Bo rolled his eyes and glanced at the rearview mirror.

"Did they agree to join?" Xiao Yao pressed further, "Or even act as assistants?"

"It's unspeakable," Yu Bo said. "Don't try to trick me into saying anything."

"Tch," Xiao Yao said, "Why all the mystery? I'll just ask them myself later."

“That’s your problem,” Yu Bo said.

“Speaking of which,” Xiao Yao continued, “that Master Shi Hui, the Venerable Master Shi, is just an assistant, you know?”

“You heard what Mr. Shi said,” Yu Bo replied, “Only believers can become members.”

"Then where did he get such a strong fortress realm from?" Xiao Yao asked Yu Bo.

Yu Bo was taken aback: "I didn't know. He was already this strong when I met him—he said he attained enlightenment through meditation."

"Do you believe it?" Xiao Yao asked Yu Bo.

"What do you mean?" Yu Bo asked Xiao Yao.

Then came a silence that was neither long nor short.

“I listened to a lot of Mr. Shi’s talk today, and I feel really confused,” Shen Jie said to Yu Bo. “It’s like my worldview has been completely shattered.”

"My dear wife, you've spoken my mind," Xiao Yao thought.

Yu Bo smiled slightly: "It's normal, there's just too much information at once."

“Mr. Shi’s view on the French Revolution is very… negative,” Shen Jie continued. “It’s different from what we learned in elementary school. I always thought it was a milestone of progress.”

"My dear wife, you've spoken my mind again," Xiao Yao thought.

“It depends on how you understand progress,” Yu Bo said, turning on his turn signal and glancing back at the road. “And why do we conventionally consider progress to be a positive term?”

“Uh…” Shen Jie said.

“However, Mr. Shi is still too… radical,” Yu Bo said, turning the car around a sharp corner. “That’s always been his style. I mean, in terms of his way of expressing himself, he’s rather direct and blunt, and doesn’t really consider the listener’s ability to handle it.”

Xiao Yao keenly noticed that Yu Bo was referring to Mr. Shi's radical and straightforward way of expressing himself, rather than his radical views.

Yes, it certainly takes some time... to think about this completely new perspective.

Mingye Watchers... Freemasons... Channel... Integration...

How should I put it? I always felt there was something strange about the "organization." Although it sounded very respectable, it exuded an eerie aura...

How could that be? Yu Luying angrily retorted in her mind, what's so strange about it?

Even if you ask me that, I... can't really explain it," Xiao Yao replied. It's just a feeling, you know?

"Approximately how many members does the organization have worldwide?" Xiao Yao interjected. "Is this recent resurgence of shadowy activities particularly prominent in Shanghai, or is it happening all over the world? Are there other Fortress Messengers abroad?"

"Based on the data I saw last year, it was around 27000 people," Yu Bo replied.

"Good heavens! Chives stir-fried with scallions!" Xiao Yao said, "Then, what about the other two questions I asked?"

Yu Bo's response was to slam on the brakes, roll down the window, and huff and puff at the outside.

"Uh……"

Just then, Xiao Yao's phone rang.

The number looks familiar, but who could it be?

"Hey, Xiao Yao? Where the hell have you gone?"

"Ah! Grandma! Aren't you on the cruise ship?" Xiao Yao exclaimed.

"I'm back!" Grandma roared into the receiver, "Are you still here raising little girls?!"

"No! Let me explain!" Xiao Yao's heart skipped a beat.

Explain, how do you explain it?

"When will you return?" Grandma asked Xiao Yao.

"Around noon, we should be there by noon," Xiao Yao said. "I'm taking Shen..." He glanced at Yu Bo and said, "I went back to my hometown and am on my way to Shanghai right now."

Yu Bo dropped the three little ones off downstairs at Yu Lihua's house, said a few words to Yu Luying, and left, leaving the three little ones staring blankly by the river.

"Then, I'll go up first?" Yu Luying said.

"How about a simple hug?" Xiao Yao opened his arms.

Yu Luying neither refused nor came forward; she simply stood there, her body slightly tense, as Xiao Yao gave her a hug.

"Okay, okay." Yu Luying patted Xiao Yao's waist slightly with her stiff arm.

Then, she hugged Shen Jie warmly, and the two girls whispered to each other for a while.

After Yu Luying went upstairs, Xiao Yao received another call from an unfamiliar number—this time, he really didn't recognize it.

"Hello, Xiao Yao, this is your Uncle Paul." A kind, gentle voice came from the other end of the line.

"Ah, Uncle... Uncle, hello." Xiao Yao was startled and stammered.

“We will meet in a place where there is no darkness,” Yu Baolu said.

"Huh?" Xiao Yao said.

There seemed to be a pause on the other end: "Ah, it's nothing. I called to let you know that I've already sent people to investigate your grandmother's area, and so far they haven't found any of Shen Hongsheng's people tailing you—I think you might need to know this if you're going home."

Xiao Yao thanked him repeatedly and hung up the phone.

"Is he really reliable?" Shen Jie asked with some suspicion. "Why do I feel like this Uncle Paul is more dangerous than my father?"

As soon as Xiao Yao and Shen Jie stepped into the house, their grandmother, whom they hadn't seen for more than a month, came to greet them.

"Grandma!" Xiao Yao buried his face in his grandmother's arms. "I missed you so much!"

"Grandma." Shen Jie greeted her grandmother while changing into slippers as if she were in her own home.

She held onto the shoe rack with one hand, half-squatting down to reach for the small leather shoes on the ground. Her movements were very gentle, as if she were caressing a fragile treasure.

The girl first took off her left shoe, revealing a pair of white cotton socks underneath. Although she had worn these socks for two days, the instep still retained their color. Her feet were small, only about size 34, looking like a child's feet. The instep had a beautiful curve, and her ten toes, encased in the cotton socks, nodded slightly and rubbed up and down, as if greedily breathing.

She slipped her left foot into her slipper, then her right. The sock on her right foot was a little wrinkled, and five very faint toe prints were faintly visible, especially on the arch of her foot, where some wrinkles had been left from walking.

There were some dried marks on the toes of the girl's socks. These marks looked like white powder, but upon closer inspection, one could see that the shape and color of these marks were a little strange.

They look like tiny spots...

Shen Jie had just changed half of her shoes when someone suddenly pounced on her and gave her a bear hug, almost suffocating her.

The girl was completely bewildered by the sudden hug.

She tried to look up to see clearly, but could only see a head of silver hair.

"Grandma, please don't..." Shen Jie blushed slightly, "I can't breathe."

"Grandma!" Xiao Yao called out anxiously.

Grandma loosened her grip a little, cupped Shen Jie's small face in her hands, and looked her up and down. The wrinkles on her face were almost squeezed together: "You, you really are my future granddaughter-in-law?"

"Grandma!" Xiao Yao called out shyly.

The overwhelming joy in her grandmother's voice made Shen Jie smile shyly. Seeing the look of rapport on her grandmother's face, the girl said, "Grandma..."

"What a pity, what a pity!" Grandma suddenly looked Shen Jie up and down with a regretful tone and said, "What a good girl, how could she have come to our family... what a waste! Our women's lives are so hard..."

Shen Jie: "?"

"Grandma!" Xiao Yao exclaimed in surprise and anger.

"Grandma, you've misunderstood. Xiao Yao and I haven't reached that stage yet..."

Hmm? Xiao Yao thought.

"This little girl is still shy, but Yunyun told me everything." Grandma grinned slyly. "Xiao Yao! You little rascal, ha! Ha!"

"..." Seeing that she could not deny it, Shen Jie had no choice but to admit it frankly: "Grandma, since you know, you should know that in the future, it will not be me who follows him, but him who follows me."

"It's all the same, it's all the same." Grandma's voice was filled with joy: "What era are we living in? As long as you're doing well, that's all that matters..."

“This is your only grandson,” Shen Jie said with a smile.

Grandma: "? No way, I have another grandson."

Xiao Yao & Shen Jie: "Cough, cough cough."

Grandma: "Oh, right, let your brother meet him too, let him see him, I guarantee he'll be green with envy."

“Grandma…!” Shen Jie said.

“That’s a good idea,” Xiao Yao said seriously.

For Xiao Yao, he could never get tired of showing off and getting slapped in the face, no matter how many times he did it.

Grandma couldn't help but reach out and pinch Shen Jie's delicate chin, receiving a warm smile in return, before finally letting go of her embrace.

"Grandma, let's go inside and talk," Xiao Yao suggested.

"Yes, this old woman of mine is getting senile, and I've been standing in the photo booth for ages. You all go in quickly, Yunyun is inside too—I'm going to the market to buy a couple of side dishes." Grandma said as she opened the door to the photo booth to leave.

"Grandma, don't bother—" Before Shen Jie could finish speaking, her grandmother had already disappeared with a brisk pace.