When he returned to the hotel, it was already quite late. Tan Xiao and Cheng Weicai sat by the fire talking, with unwashed dishes beside them—they’d obviously already eaten.

He didn’t see Bai Youwei.

“Brother Mo, your noodles.” Tan Xiao proactively handed over a bowl.

Shen Mo didn’t take it, saying, “I’ll go upstairs to call her.”

“I just took up a bowl. She didn’t eat. It’s hot—Weiwei probably has no appetite.” Teacher Cheng said. “When we get a chance, let’s pickle some sour beans and sour cucumbers ourselves. They’re appetizing.”

Tan Xiao was surprised: “Old Cheng, you can pickle sour cucumbers?”

“Sure.” Teacher Cheng nodded, explaining seriously. “It’s not hard. You just need cucumbers, green peppers, salt, vinegar, garlic…”

“Aren’t you a teacher? Don’t tell me you’re actually a cook!”

“Ah… when you live alone for a long time, you pick up some cooking skills…”

“Then can you pickle radishes? I especially love eating those!”

“First, we’d need to have radishes…”

The two chatted about household matters. Shen Mo walked around them and went straight to the hotel’s second floor.

Without electricity, the corridor was pitch black.

After reaching the second floor, the hallway had no windows and was also pitch black. Only the room where Bai Youwei was staying showed a little light.

Shen Mo unconsciously slowed his pace.

Moving forward in darkness and silence, the feeling wasn’t good. A vague sense of guilt sprouted in his heart. Although he’d only been out for a short while, he still felt he shouldn’t have…

Shouldn’t have left her alone in this darkness.

Shen Mo walked to the room entrance. Bai Youwei sat with her back to him in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. Outside, moonlight poured in, coating the entire room with a layer of silvery white radiance. The edges of her silhouette also glowed with hazy light.

The candlelight in the room seemed small and pale in the moonlight.

Not too dark.

This realization made his heart relax slightly.

He walked into the room and put down his bag.

Bai Youwei heard the sound, glanced back at him, then coldly turned her head back, acting indifferent.

Shen Mo smiled silently and asked her, “Teacher Cheng said you had no appetite. Are you still eating dinner?”

Bai Youwei looked out the window and said, “I have quite an appetite.”

Shen Mo: “Then why didn’t you eat?”

Bai Youwei: “Not in the mood.”

Shen Mo: “…”

He was silent for a while, following her gaze outward, seeing high and low buildings, layers upon layers of dark shadows, the heavy black night sky.

“What are you looking at?” Shen Mo asked.

Bai Youwei still had a sarcastic tone: “Looking at what charms the outside world has that could lure you away for half the day without a trace.”

Regarding her intermittent fault-finding, Shen Mo used to feel a bit displeased, but now he was almost immune to it.

He smiled helplessly and said, “But I still came back in the end, doesn’t that mean this place has greater charm than outside?”

He rarely bantered like this, so Bai Youwei was stunned for a full two seconds, looking at him strangely: “You’re in such a good mood, you didn’t really have some romantic encounter outside, did you?”

Shen Mo didn’t speak. He turned and took out small tomatoes, small cucumbers, and loquat fruit from his bag.

Bai Youwei immediately reached out: “I want to eat!”

“Didn’t you say you weren’t in the mood?”

“But you coaxed me, so now I’m in the mood.”

Shen Mo laughed. “When did I coax you?”

Bai Youwei pointed at the pile of vegetables and fruits in his hand. “Didn’t you pick these for me?”

Shen Mo teased her: “Why couldn’t they be for Tan Xiao and Teacher Cheng?”

Bai Youwei replied matter-of-factly: “If they were for them, why would you bring them up here? You would have given them to those two downstairs just now.”

Mm, quite logical.

Shen Mo turned and walked away.

Bai Youwei panicked and called out, “You’re really going to take them down?”

“I’m going to wash them.” Shen Mo turned into the bathroom, his tone carrying a laugh. “How can you eat them without washing?”