“Teacher Cheng is Old, Tan Xiao is Young, I’m Disabled, and you…” Bai Youwei narrowed her eyes and curved her lips. “You’re Sick!”
Shen Mo: “What sickness do I have?”
Bai Youwei: “Straight man cancer!”
Shen Mo: “…”
Bai Youwei: “Hahahahaha…”
She completely couldn’t hold it in—her sense of humor was particularly low tonight.
On the side, Tan Xiao said melancholically, “Why am I ‘Young’? I’ll be 20 at the end of the month.”
Bai Youwei stated confidently, “You’re the youngest among us! If you’re not Young, what are you?”
“Impossible!” Tan Xiao stared at her with wide eyes. “I can’t possibly be younger than you! How old are you?”
Shen Mo thought of something, and the corners of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.
Bai Youwei said, “Never mind how old I am—I’m older than you anyway!”
Tan Xiao didn’t believe it and exclaimed in shock, “You look so small! You definitely haven’t come of age!”
Bai Youwei said coolly, “Sorry~ After the car accident, I never developed properly.”
After she said this, everyone didn’t know how to respond.
However, Bai Youwei didn’t seem to care. Her mood remained good, and she continued teasing Tan Xiao. “You call him Brother Mo, so according to the ways of the martial world, what should you call me?”
Tan Xiao’s face was full of misery. “…Sister Weiwei.”
Bai Youwei’s eyes immediately curved into two crescent moons.
Shen Mo felt she was beyond saving. He shook his head silently, continuing to poke the fire with his stick. The firelight reflected in his dark pupils, flickering bright and dim like fireflies fluttering actively in the night sky.
A large charred mass was poked out—lotus-leaf-wrapped braised chicken, braised pig trotters, and braised duck neck.
The flavor was still the same as before, but after being wrapped in lotus leaves for secondary processing, the vacuum-packed food seemed to rise a level in quality, with rich lotus leaf fragrance mixed into the sauce aroma.
Bai Youwei reached out for food.
Shen Mo glanced at her. “You can still eat?”
Sweet potatoes are very filling.
Bai Youwei licked her lips, looking at the chicken in his hands. “Let me taste it.”
Shen Mo tore off a chicken leg. Finding it too much, he used a small knife to cut off part of it before handing it to her.
After finishing the chicken leg, Bai Youwei gnawed on duck neck, getting both small hands greasy, then ate two more tender lotus seed pods.
Shen Mo was genuinely worried she’d upset her stomach. Frowning, he asked, “Do you think there’ll be a famine after entering Hangzhou?”
“It’s rare to have such a good appetite, so of course I should eat more.” After finishing, Bai Youwei sucked her fingers and replied airily, “Otherwise it would be a shame to waste this good mood.”
Shen Mo thought to himself: Your good mood certainly didn’t come easily.
…
After finishing dinner, everyone washed up and prepared to rest.
Shen Mo had driven all day, so tonight’s night watch duty fell to Tan Xiao. Teacher Cheng wasn’t sleepy yet, so he kept him company.
Perhaps because his physical constitution had grown stronger, the old gentleman felt that staying up late wasn’t much of a problem.
“Should we extinguish the fire?” Tan Xiao asked.
At night, a burning bonfire was a conspicuous target.
Shen Mo said flatly, “Leave it. If we want to heat water or cook something tomorrow morning, it’ll be convenient.”
“Then I’ll go get more wood.” Tan Xiao was full of energy.
Cheng Weicai instructed, “Try to pick dry pieces. Wet wood doesn’t burn well and produces a lot of smoke.”
Finding dry wood in a modern city really wasn’t easy. Tan Xiao chose to burn tables and chairs from the service area.
Here, Bai Youwei had already finished washing up. Humming a tune, she returned to the tent and was just about to bend down and crawl in when she suddenly froze.
The stuffed rabbit she’d put in her bag had appeared again by the tent’s entrance flap.
She knitted her brows and turned to look around—Shen Mo was organizing his toiletries, Tan Xiao and Teacher Cheng had gone to move tables and chairs. There was no one else nearby. Who would have moved her rabbit?