Bai Youwei comfortably ate a meal of vegetable porridge.

The porridge was cooked until thick and sticky. After eating, her mouth felt somewhat tacky, so she soaked two mint leaves in a glass jar, drank a few sips of mint water—cool and refreshing—and felt even more comfortable.

Shen Mo was outside checking the SUV’s condition. After finishing his tinkering, he came in covered in sweat. Entering the room, he saw Bai Youwei reclining on the thick, soft latex mattress, eyes squinting as she drank plain water, and couldn’t help but chuckle softly: “You’re quite comfortable.”

“Happiness is all about comparison.” Bai Youwei held the glass jar, smiling with narrowed eyes. “Watching you all busy coming and going, hot and tired, while I just need to stay in the room eating and drinking—of course this feeling is comfortable.”

Shen Mo: “……”

After a few seconds, Shen Mo said: “Being comfortable is good.”

Comfortable meant she wouldn’t trouble him. Now if he kept her well-fed and well-watered every day, properly cared for, then someday he could hand her over intact to her mother…

……

After that… what would she do?

This question gave Shen Mo a moment’s distraction.

He truly found it hard to imagine how, with Bai Youwei’s personality, she would live in this kind of world.

“Hey.” Bai Youwei hugged the plump glass jar, beckoning to him with her small hand.

Shen Mo walked over.

She handed him the jar. “Aren’t you thirsty? Here, drink water.”

The water was clear and transparent, with two or three fresh green leaves floating in it, creating a cool-looking hue in the water.

“Where’d this come from?” Shen Mo took the jar with one hand.

Bai Youwei pointed outside the window. “There’s a large patch growing in the flower bed behind the dormitory building.”

“When you have time, you can pick more. Mint leaves are quite effective for reducing inflammation and pain.” He said this flatly, then tilted his head back to drink.

Bai Youwei stared at his rolling Adam’s apple.

After a moment, she brazenly grasped his other hand and gently squeezed it.

Shen Mo continued drinking silently without speaking or moving, though his gaze carried a slightly stern warning as he glanced at her.

This kind of warning had no effect on Bai Youwei.

She simply pretended not to see, continuing to squeeze, touching the rough layer of calluses on his palm, then poking at them with her soft fingertips, quite fascinated.

“Last time I touched them, I thought they were quite interesting… like dog paws.”

Shen Mo: “……”

What kind of bizarre description was that?

Bai Youwei held his hand and pressed it against her own face, rubbing it. The rough texture created a slightly scratchy sensation against her skin—a wonderfully strange experience.

And tactile sensations were often mutual.

She could feel him, and he could equally feel her—quiet, soft, docile…

The room was silent.

Shen Mo watched her wordlessly. The sweetness of water and coolness of mint wandered through his chest and lungs. The atmosphere seemed somewhat unusual.

He wanted to break this atmosphere. Then thinking that she rarely let down her guard like this, he let her be.

From upstairs suddenly came a unified exclamation:

“Wooow!—”

Both came to their senses simultaneously.

Shen Mo paused, his expression calm as he withdrew his hand. “I’ll go check upstairs.”

Bai Youwei frowned and glared at the ceiling, turning away somewhat bored and uninterested, silently gazing at the patch of mint grass outside the window without acknowledging him.

Shen Mo watched her for a while, set down the jar, and left.

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away.

Bai Youwei kept her back turned. Her eyes glanced this way and that, unconsciously landing on the jar on the table.

She picked up the bottle, thinking about how the man could hold it with one hand. She couldn’t help comparing with her own hand, then leaned close to where he’d drunk from and lightly sniffed.

No particular scent.

She extended her pale, slender finger, fished out a mint leaf from the glass jar, and put it in her mouth to chew.

She felt that with that person gone, things were a bit boring…

……