Shen Mo suspected this might have been her true intention all along.

“Enjoying it?” he asked.

“It’s not bad,” Bai Youwei smiled, the hands clasped around him restless, shifting and fidgeting. “Unwinding, you know…”

The corner of Shen Mo’s mouth curled up. “Oh? So this is the kind of unwinding you had in mind?”

Bai Youwei nodded immediately.

Shen Mo said: “I’m afraid that won’t be very relaxing.”

“Hmm?” Bai Youwei blinked, puzzled.

Shen Mo: “You’ll be exhausted.”

Bai Youwei: “…”

Shen Mo: “The kind where you won’t be able to get out of bed.”

Bai Youwei: “…”

Shen Mo patted her head lightly, his tone perfectly reasonable. “You should just go rest. You just came out of the game — watching a late-night film isn’t appropriate. If you really want to watch something, I’ll keep you company tomorrow.”

Bai Youwei’s eyes went wide. “You can’t go back on your word. It’s settled — tomorrow, I can’t get out of bed.”

Shen Mo felt both helpless and quietly amused. He asked again: “Do you want to head back?”

“Yes,” Bai Youwei said immediately, and stood up, hooking her arm through his. “Let’s go, let’s go — back to the room to rest.”

The two of them left their seats, weaved through the crowd, and departed the hall, making their way to the elevator.

They had only just turned the corner when they spotted Fu Miaoxue and Du Lai in the corridor, wrapped up in each other.

Since Fu Miaoxue had come out of Labyrinth No. 1, she had stopped wearing that layer of black gauze. It seemed as though she finally felt like a person again — her clothing was no longer wrapped so tightly around her, and she was now comfortable showing her hands, her neck, her face.

She had her arms around Du Lai’s waist and smiled at Bai Youwei. “Leaving already? You’re not going to keep watching? It’s so lively in there~”

“What’s the fun in being crammed together with a crowd of people, smelling nothing but sweaty feet? That kind of lively is all yours to enjoy.” Bai Youwei looked at her with imperious disdain. “We’re heading back to rest.”

“Back to rest?” Fu Miaoxue grinned, not quite innocently. “…Didn’t you two just come out of the game? You’re heading back this early — at your age, shouldn’t you be worried about wearing yourselves out~”

“Who are you calling old?! Do you think you’re the only young person here?!” Bai Youwei’s eyes snapped wide with indignation. “Not only are you young, you’ve clearly got a small brain to match! Are you a chicken or something? Born with a chicken brain?!”

Fu Miaoxue blanked for a second, then her own temper flared. “Hey! Can’t you tell I was being concerned?! Treating my good intentions like they’re nothing! You’ve got nerve, calling me names!”

“Good intentions?! More like rotten intentions through and through!”

The two of them erupted into an argument.

Du Lai held Fu Miaoxue back. Shen Mo restrained Bai Youwei.

The elevator doors slid open at exactly the right moment. Shen Mo ushered Bai Youwei inside with a guiding arm, and the brief quarrel came to an abrupt end.

It hadn’t resolved anything, and Bai Youwei was still simmering, her expression dark.

Shen Mo said, “Why bother arguing with her? You can’t get anywhere with it — it’s a waste of time.”

“Every time I run into her I end up in a bad mood! How can one person be so insufferable!” Bai Youwei fumed. “I’m sure she’s just showing off, because she won again this time. We had to grind our way through, and she — she got lucky enough to face kings who just voluntarily surrendered two rounds in a row!”

Shen Mo laughed faintly. “So behind all the sharpness, you’re actually feeling a little put out?”

Bai Youwei said nothing, her face the picture of displeasure.

Fu Miaoxue’s first battle had been won with Du Lai’s help. Her second battle, she had come up against Leonid and Chen Hui, who surrendered outright. Her third battle, she’d faced Yan Qingwen — who also surrendered.

There was no denying it: Fu Miaoxue’s luck was absurdly good.

Her one genuine crisis — being trapped inside a dreamscape with no way out — had even had people going to great lengths to rescue her.

Bai Youwei thought of the events at the manor, and some of the bitterness eased. She said gruffly, “When the fourth battle comes around, let’s see who she has to look smug at then.”