From across the room, Shen Mo spotted Yu Chaohui and Bai Youwei talking. He furrowed his brow slightly, then released Tan Xiao.

Tan Xiao blinked and looked at Shen Mo. “Brother Mo, are we stopping practice?”

“The sequence of moves I just taught you — do it 30 more times.” Shen Mo said, and walked directly toward Bai Youwei.

Bai Youwei saw Shen Mo coming and waved at him with a smile. “Done training?”

“More or less.” Shen Mo replied evenly. His gaze swept across the two of them before settling on Bai Youwei. “Why did you suddenly come to the training room?”

“I was bored sitting in my room~” Bai Youwei smiled, grabbed Shen Mo’s arm, and made him bend down so she could lean close to his ear and whisper, “Teacher Cheng made egg pancakes — with the canned luncheon meat pan-fried, then stuffed inside the pancake with pickled cucumbers. It smells amazing~ When are we going back to eat?”

Shen Mo laughed despite himself, straightened up, and ruffled her hair. “We’ll go back now.”

He turned and called out to Tan Xiao in the distance: “Once you’ve finished 30 sets, come by our room.”

“Got it!” Tan Xiao replied.

Shen Mo glanced toward Yu Chaohui, sitting on the bench. His tone was calm. “Get some rest early.”

Yu Chaohui nodded silently.

Shen Mo pushed Bai Youwei’s wheelchair toward the exit.

Bai Youwei glanced back curiously a couple of times. Yu Chaohui was packing up his things, preparing to return to his room.

“Treating him differently — aren’t you worried he’ll feel resentful?” Bai Youwei asked quietly.

“He already resents things. A little more doesn’t change much.” Shen Mo said as he walked, his tone mild. “Forcing him to come along would only make him feel even more like an outsider among us. Since Fang Yu’s incident, he’s been stuck in that shadow and can’t find his way out. All we can do is wait for him to work through it himself.”

“What if he can’t work through it?” Bai Youwei asked again.

Shen Mo glanced at her. “Whether he does or doesn’t is his own business.”

Bai Youwei grinned. “That’s so cold~”

“Cold?” Shen Mo pushed the wheelchair to the elevator bank and pressed the up button. “If his physical fitness isn’t enough, or his technique is lacking, I can help him train and improve. If he’s in danger, I can go rescue him. But if he can’t work through his own feelings… that’s not something I can help with.”

Not only couldn’t he help — he had no obligation to get involved. Every person had to take responsibility for their own life.

Ding —

The elevator arrived.

Shen Mo pushed Bai Youwei inside.

Bai Youwei said leisurely, “He’s devoted himself to following you, so you should at least show some concern~ Otherwise, once I become King, how would we handle it if he resented me?”

She was testing Shen Mo.

She wanted to know what Shen Mo’s attitude was toward becoming King.

Shen Mo did look over, and asked, “You want to be King?”

Bai Youwei’s heart skipped a beat, but her expression stayed calm. Her tone was careless as she said:

“Think about it — as the war drags on, there will inevitably be questions about who fills which role. If you’re King and choosing subjects for a battle, do you pick him or me? If you pick me, he’s unhappy; if you pick him, I’m unhappy; if you pick both of us and put us together, whether we can cooperate pleasantly is also an issue. So… wouldn’t it be better if I were King?”

She glanced at Shen Mo’s expression and continued, “You’re his superior — he would definitely be far more willing to cooperate with you. Even if he were eliminated, he wouldn’t hold a grudge…”

Ding —

The elevator arrived at the floor.

Shen Mo didn’t immediately step out. He looked down at Bai Youwei.

“…What?” Bai Youwei blinked and asked. “You… also want to be King?”

Shen Mo said nothing.

Bai Youwei hugged his arm, putting on an adorable, wheedling act. “Let me do it~ I want to be King~”

Shen Mo asked her, “Just now in the training room — is that what you were talking to Yu Chaohui about? Trying to make him change his mind and support you as King?”

Bai Youwei: “…”

—