On the fourth day after leaving home, Bai Youwei finally got her wish and took a hot bath.

Without servants to help, washing was a bit tricky, but she still thoroughly cleaned herself from head to toe.

Shen Mo knocked on the door every few minutes.

On average, Bai Youwei would respond to him once for every two knocks.

Later, when Bai Youwei had washed almost completely, she looked at her pale skin, dark wet hair, and glistening water droplets… and couldn’t help but develop “wicked thoughts,” wanting to tease Shen Mo by deliberately staying silent.

—

“…Bai Youwei?” Shen Mo knocked on the door again, his tone irritated. “Bai Youwei, answer if you can hear me.”

Bai Youwei: “…”

It was hard to say exactly what kind of psychology this was, but in any case, she just wanted to see a crack appear on that cold, stern face of his…

Even if it made him angry, it would surely be interesting.

Of course, she also looked forward to seeing something else appear on his face, but as for what exactly… she couldn’t quite say right now.

“Bai Youwei, are you there or not? I’m coming in.” Shen Mo’s voice sounded somewhat gritted. “…You’d better not be playing a joke on me.”

Bai Youwei smiled under the showerhead and used a dry towel to wipe her long hair.

Actually, her hair quality wasn’t that great. Because she wasn’t particularly healthy herself, her hair tended to be fine and soft, though thanks to meticulous care, it was very smooth, and its light ink color was also quite beautiful.

She carefully wiped her hair, and when she reached the ends, she saw her own legs.

They were legs that had lost their shape from prolonged sitting—pale, emaciated, even somewhat atrophied…

Bai Youwei’s movements froze.

Strange, why had she wanted him to see this scene?

That subtle feeling of elation in her mood earlier seemed to scatter like it had been blown away by a gust of wind, leaving only a bland tastelessness.

The bathroom door handle rattled. Shen Mo seemed to really intend to come in and look.

“I’m fine.” She said in a hoarse voice, her tone calm. “Stop rushing me, it’s annoying.”

The rattling stopped.

After a moment of silence, the man outside irritably threw out two words: “Hurry up.”

Bai Youwei gave the same response as always: “If you think I’m slow, then come in and help me wash?”

There was no sound outside the door.

Bai Youwei slowly dried herself and put on her clothes.

The hot steam in the bathroom gradually dispersed, and the mirror covered by vapor became clear again. She tidied her hair in front of the mirror, and the doll in the mirror also held a handful of synthetic fiber and tidied itself.

She didn’t know if it was because her mentality was naturally different from ordinary people, but anyway, she felt that looking at the doll in the mirror for a long time wasn’t really that scary.

And if you looked carefully, the doll was indeed exquisite—with a full forehead, soft hair, and even eyelashes that were distinct, root by root.

She was combing through the long hair she had worked so hard to grow, when the figure in the mirror stopped combing after a while, seemingly very aggrieved, and actually started crying inside with hunched shoulders.

Bai Youwei was very curious—how could a doll cry?

She stared fixedly at herself in the mirror, watching as “she” welled up with large tears that fell down her cheeks, crying so genuinely and sincerely, yet so weakly and helplessly…

It felt inexplicably familiar.

But she was certain she had never seen such a scene before. Because she could never cry like this, like a good-for-nothing.

Bai Youwei looked at the mirror, looked at that “self,” and gradually became lost in thought.

Her thoughts ran down a bizarre little path as she wondered: Why am I crying? What am I crying about?…

“Ahhh!!!”

A scream suddenly came from outside!

Bai Youwei jolted awake. She discovered that she had unknowingly moved right up to the mirror, and the tearful doll inside had actually reached half a hand through the mirror!

Bai Youwei immediately gasped!

Then anger rose from her heart, and she grabbed the towel in her hand and viciously threw it over!

“What the hell are you crying about?!”