The cucumbers hadn’t grown well—thin and twisted, not as pretty as those from vegetable greenhouses. Thinking of Teacher Cheng’s earlier mention of pickling sour cucumbers, Shen Mo set the cucumbers aside for now and first washed the small tomatoes and loquats.

The tomatoes were tiny, about twenty of them, just enough to fill a glass.

The loquats had been picked at night. When picking, he hadn’t paid attention, but now using a flashlight, he discovered quite a few weren’t fully ripe, with pale yellow mixed with faint green.

Shen Mo sorted through them, threw away several that were too unripe, and brought them back to the room.

Bai Youwei immediately wanted to eat.

“Wipe your hands first.” Shen Mo handed her a damp towel.

She quickly wiped a few times, then impatiently picked the largest loquat and bit into it.

“Eat the tomatoes first. I couldn’t see clearly at night—these loquats aren’t fully ripe and will be a bit sour.” Shen Mo said.

Bai Youwei had already bitten into it. She chewed and spat out the skin and pit. “…Not sour at all, quite sweet. You just said this is called loquat? It’s delicious.”

“Never had it before?” Shen Mo peeled one with slightly reddish skin and handed it to her.

“I’ve had it, but in stewed dishes… like snow pear stewed with loquat, or peach gum with loquat. Never had fresh ones.” Bai Youwei finished another in a few bites, her eyes curving into crescents. “This one is even sweeter than the last!”

“Is it that sweet?” Shen Mo saw her eating happily and peeled one for himself, taking a bite. “…”

“Sweet, isn’t it?” Bai Youwei asked with a smile.

Shen Mo: “…”

…He’d thought she was teasing him again, but the smile on her face didn’t seem fake, and her eyes were bright and sparkling, like a clear spring reflecting the bright moon—limpid and pure.

She truly found it sweet.

The tart loquat in his mouth, he silently chewed a few times, spat out the pit, and got up to drink water.

When he came back, he took away all the loquats she’d been holding.

“What are you doing?” Bai Youwei glared at him uncomprehendingly. “I still want to eat.”

“Loquats are cooling in nature. Eating too many isn’t good.” Shen Mo stuffed the small tomatoes into her hands. “Eat these.”

Bai Youwei pouted. “Who hasn’t eaten tomatoes before? What’s so special about them? I just want to eat loquats.”

Shen Mo said, “Tomorrow I’ll pick sweeter ones for you.”

Only then was Bai Youwei satisfied and stopped making a fuss.

After eating the small tomatoes, she was still hungry. Shen Mo carried her downstairs, reheated the bowl of noodles she’d left earlier, and cooked a poached egg for her.

Usually, she didn’t eat much of this kind of instant noodles, but today she even drank all the broth.

Shen Mo watched her hold the bowl and drink soup. For a moment, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: This porcupine had quite a temper, was vengeful and harsh, and when she got angry, you didn’t know how to handle her. But as long as you were willing to coax her, even the tiniest bit of sweetness could be brewed into full honey by her.

…Actually, she was quite easy to care for.

He reached out and ruffled Bai Youwei’s hair.

Bai Youwei put down the bowl and looked up at him. “Why do you always touch my head?”

Shen Mo asked with a smile, “Don’t you always touch my hand too?”

Bai Youwei: “Because it’s hard and interesting.”

Shen Mo copied her: “Oh, I think it’s soft and interesting, so I touch it.”

Bai Youwei listened, her bright eyes blinking. Seeing that Cheng Weicai and Tan Xiao had gone aside to wash pots and dishes, she reached out with both hands to hold Shen Mo’s hands, looking at him and asking softly, “There are even softer places. Do you want to touch them?”

Shen Mo: “…”

Half a second later, he withdrew his hand and tapped her forehead with the back of his hand.

“Ow!” Bai Youwei winced in pain, covering her forehead and glaring at him. “Why did you hit me!”

Teacher Cheng and Tan Xiao both looked over. Seeing the siblings were fine, they turned back to their own tasks.

Shen Mo just found it amusing, pinching the flesh on her cheek: “Be more proper in the future.”

Bai Youwei’s mouth pouted high. She wanted to curse at him!… Thinking of the loquats she’d just eaten, she felt a bit greedy again. She gently licked her lips and thought, forget it. Considering how good he is to me, I’ll humor him for these couple of days.