Shen Mo raised his eyebrows slightly.

—Interesting. He hadn’t even gone upstairs to apologize, yet the other party had come downstairs to make amends first.

The female teacher appeared refined with delicate features, fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes that curved slightly, carrying a polite smile.

Seeing that neither Shen Mo nor Teacher Cheng showed any intention of taking it, she gently set the ceramic jar aside, saying kindly: “The rice and vegetables are all washed clean. If you find it agreeable, I’ll bring down some more later. We have many students, so we make quite a lot…”

Her gentle explanation both made people feel welcomed and subtly suggested the porridge was “clean” with nothing added—quite thoughtful.

Shen Mo felt the other party was a very cautious person.

But caution was appropriate. After all, leading a group of middle school students and unexpectedly encountering strangers, it was naturally best to avoid making enemies if possible.

“Thanks.” Shen Mo took the jar, using a few words to diffuse the conflict. “We just arrived in Yangzhou and only want to find a temporary place to stay. We won’t be here long.”

Teacher Cheng also explained at the side: “We came to Yangzhou looking for someone. We didn’t expect the city to be covered in thick fog. My home is on Jiangyang Road. Rest assured, we’re really not bad people.”

The female teacher’s gaze swept across Shen Mo and Teacher Cheng’s faces, then glanced at Tan Xiao who was huffing and puffing while moving luggage in the distance. She didn’t probe further.

She smiled tactfully: “We’re also temporarily resting here. You go ahead with your work. I still have students to care for, so I’ll head up first.”

As the female teacher went upstairs, several students on the upper floor were poking their heads out, seemingly very afraid the teacher would encounter difficulties downstairs.

Seeing the teacher return safely, they all breathed sighs of relief in unison.

Watching this scene from below, Cheng Weicai sighed repeatedly, saying to Shen Mo with concern for the nation and people: “Little Shen, the world is too chaotic now. Everyone is compatriots. From now on when we meet others, we should help when we can.”

Shen Mo nodded: “That’s how it should be.”

This wasn’t perfunctory. He truly felt that people fighting among themselves after a great disaster was really stupid.

Teacher Cheng sighed several more times, perhaps touched by the scene and reminded of his own students whose fates were now unknown, feeling somewhat sorrowful.

“You should go inside and rest.” Shen Mo pointed to the first-floor dormitory.

Teacher Cheng waved his hand. With his heart unsettled, he couldn’t rest either. He went over to help Tan Xiao organize the luggage.

Tan Xiao had just piled the luggage haphazardly after bringing it down. The old man was more meticulous, sorting and categorizing things properly—at the very least, food couldn’t be placed alongside stinky shoes.

Shen Mo watched for a while without interfering, then picked up the jar and went to Bai Youwei’s dorm room.

The vegetable porridge was cooked until glutinous and white, fragrant and steaming hot. As soon as Shen Mo entered, Bai Youwei caught the scent.

Her clear, bright eyes immediately lit up, and she said: “I’m hungry.”

Shen Mo: “……”

After “feeding” her for two days, this was the first time he’d heard her voluntarily say she was hungry.

It seemed instant noodles and crackers really had wronged her.

“The teacher upstairs sent it.” Shen Mo carried the ceramic jar to the table. Just as he was thinking about where to find a spoon, he discovered a small wooden ladle hanging from the jar’s carrying string.

That female teacher was indeed meticulous and thoughtful.

The ceramic jar was small, somewhat like those used for brewing Chinese medicine. The porridge inside was roughly enough for two people.

Bai Youwei took out a wet wipe packet, pulled out a sheet to wipe the spoon, then ate the porridge straight from the jar.

She ate spoonful by spoonful without saying a word, eating quite earnestly.

“Not afraid of poison?” Shen Mo asked with a smile.

“Ha, would she dare?” The corners of Bai Youwei’s mouth curved up like a cat who’d gotten a bargain and was still showing off. “A woman leading a group of little brats living in a place like this—who knows how on edge they are every day. If something happened, they’d barely have time to hide. How could they possibly provoke trouble on purpose?”

Shen Mo smiled.

What Bai Youwei said matched his own thoughts.

“Mmm… this porridge is really well cooked.” Bai Youwei’s cheeks puffed out as she asked, “Hey, does she have a sick student?”

Shen Mo was slightly stunned. “Why do you say that?”