After stepping out of the glowing square, Bai Youwei found that she had not arrived at the rest hall — she had come back directly to the headquarters cafeteria.

Zhu Shu was not beside her.

Before entering the game, Bai Youwei had been having breakfast with everyone in the cafeteria. Now it was the dead of night, and the cafeteria was naturally empty.

Zhu Shu wasn’t here — she’d probably returned to the rest hall along with Yan Qingwen and the others.

Bai Youwei rubbed her legs, walked out of the cafeteria, and took the elevator back to her room.

Time inside a game and time in the outside world could sometimes be slightly off, sometimes longer, sometimes shorter, and sometimes exactly the same. Bai Youwei remembered leaving the game at around nine o’clock, but now, walking through the deserted corridors of the building, it felt much later — at least eleven or twelve at night.

Her footsteps sounded very loud in the oppressively quiet hallway.

Bai Youwei instinctively softened her steps. She arrived at her room door — it was unlocked, and opened with a gentle push.

Shen Mo must have left it unlocked, worried she wouldn’t be able to get in if she came back in the middle of the night.

Bai Youwei pressed her lips together, not quite sure why she felt like smiling — and a little like playing a prank and giving him a scare…

She crept quietly into the room and gently closed the door behind her.

The man lying on the bed sat up almost immediately.

“Who’s there?”

His voice was not loud, but it carried a sharp pressure — like a hawk startled from sleep. His dark eyes swept across the room with keen, cold alertness, and just a touch of danger.

Bai Youwei stood frozen in the doorway.

She’d been startled…

Shen Mo quickly realized it was her. The entire aura around him vanished in an instant. He got out of bed, took her hand, then touched her head, and finally cupped her face and pressed it gently against his. His voice was warm: “All taken care of?”

“Mm…” Bai Youwei answered in a daze, then came back to herself and reproached him, “You just scared me!”

Shen Mo laughed softly and reached up to flip on the overhead light, brightening the room.

“Are you tired? Would you like a bath?” He went to the bathroom to run hot water, and said with a smile, “I didn’t recognize your footsteps.”

Bai Youwei walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, kicking off her shoes, and gave a petulant little huff. “You couldn’t even recognize my footsteps.”

Shen Mo didn’t argue. He smiled calmly and said, “That’s right. I couldn’t.”

Because she spent most of her time in a wheelchair.

Bai Youwei flopped back lazily and muttered, “I overused my legs this time. From now on, I can’t walk a single step. My legs need to recover.”

Shen Mo came back and scooped her up in his arms, asking with amusement, “So these legs that need recovering — are they going to take a bath or not?”

“Of course~” Bai Youwei draped her arms around his waist, languid as a cat, rubbing her head against his chin, wheedling as she nuzzled, “Carry me~”

Shen Mo said, “I’ll carry you to bathe, and while you’re at it — when you’re done, I have a gift for you.”

“A gift?” Bai Youwei perked up immediately, eyes brightening as she looked at Shen Mo. “What kind of gift?”

“You’ll find out in a bit.” Shen Mo smiled, and said no more.

Such a serious man, suddenly behaving this mysteriously, this romantically — Bai Youwei found herself genuinely impressed.

Strange.

What could it be?

Bai Youwei soaked in a rose essential oil bath in the bathroom, turning the question over in her mind. Were there any upcoming holidays? Christmas was approaching — but Shen Mo didn’t seem like the type to celebrate Christmas.

Besides, if it really were a Christmas gift, he should wait until the actual holiday to give it to her.

…Could it be her birthday? He’d only recently found out her age — there was no way he’d know her birthday.

So what was the reason?

There should be some occasion for giving a gift, shouldn’t there?

Bai Youwei thought about it, and thought about it, and thought about it… and suddenly froze. A lightning-flash of a thought struck her mind.

Could it be…

She pressed both hands to her chest, sat bolt upright in the bathtub, and thought in stunned disbelief: Could he be — about to propose to me?!

—