Ever since Song Mingchuan fell ill, Professor Song’s presence at the base had dropped to nearly zero.

If Du Lai hadn’t brought it up, Bai Youwei would never have remembered the base even had someone like him.

She was heading back to her room, her heart churning with frustration, and was just about to open the door when Chu Huaijin stepped out from inside at that exact moment. Their eyes met, and both of them froze.

Chu Huaijin looked somewhat uncomfortable. He forced a brief smile and then hurried off.

Bai Youwei watched his retreating figure with suspicion and asked Shen Mo, “What was he doing here?”

Shen Mo watched Chu Huaijin disappear into the distance and said calmly, “He came to ask us to move out. After all, the base has no intention of supporting us anymore.”

Bai Youwei was startled. She had felt a flicker of indignation before, but now all that remained was surprise and confusion.

She was silent for a long time, then asked Shen Mo with some hesitation, “I haven’t… offended anyone recently, have I?”

She still retained some self-awareness — knowing her own prickly nature, she thought it entirely possible she had inadvertently offended Professor Song without realizing it.

Shen Mo gave a faint smile, ruffled her hair. “Don’t overthink it. Let’s pack up our things.”

There wasn’t actually much to pack — just the towels, toothbrushes, blankets, and pillows they’d grown accustomed to using. Everything else they needed for daily life was already in the dollhouse.

As the two of them tidied the room, Bai Youwei stopped and started speaking several times, each time holding herself back.

They had been invited to stay here in the first place, and she’d never cared much for this place to begin with — but to be unceremoniously swept out the door like this, without even a clear explanation, left a feeling that was simply impossible to put into words.

Bai Youwei turned it over and over in her mind and still couldn’t make sense of it. She finally couldn’t hold back. “Could that old man be delirious from illness?”

He was lying in a hospital bed kept alive by an oxygen machine — how had he suddenly started meddling in the base’s affairs?

Shen Mo said, “Chu Huaijin didn’t spell it out, but from the way he phrased things, Professor Song has already made all his contingency arrangements. He’ll have someone speak with Fu Miaoxue and Du Lai as well — if something goes wrong on their end… they’ll probably need to move out too.”

Bai Youwei’s eyes went wide at that. “…So he’s letting Fu Miaoxue and Du Lai enjoy the advantages first, and then using that as leverage to pressure them. Is that what he’s doing? That’s incredibly cunning.”

Just imagine — when Du Lai and Fu Miaoxue were scrambling to fill their ranks, suddenly receiving the base’s full and wholehearted support, with every aspect of daily life becoming remarkably convenient, the two of them elevated to a position of prestige… they might reconsider the idea of surrendering.

Shen Mo was quiet for a moment, then said, “I’ll go notify Ashalina and Alon. Are the others in the dollhouse?”

“Yes, Xiaoxin and Teacher Cheng are there.” Bai Youwei said. “Tan Xiao isn’t — she’s probably downstairs in the computer room again.”

Shen Mo quickly finished tidying up and went out to inform the others.

Bai Youwei called after him from the doorway: “I’ll wait for you all downstairs!”

Shen Mo lifted his hand to show he’d heard.

Bai Youwei turned back to look at the familiar furnishings of the room, her feelings complicated. This whole thing was just… utterly inexplicable.

She tossed her luggage into the dollhouse, bundled herself up in her down jacket from head to toe, nice and warm, and rode the elevator down.

The people in the headquarters building didn’t seem to know yet that she and Shen Mo had been asked to leave. She ran into a few staff members along the way, and they all greeted her with cheerful smiles.

Bai Youwei waited in the lobby on the first floor for a while. She heard the elevator chime and turned to look — out walked Fu Miaoxue, lifting the hem of her long black princess-style dress, stepping forward with haughty poise on her high heels.

Du Lai followed behind her, dragging along an assortment of large and small bags.

Fu Miaoxue spotted Bai Youwei and stared at her down jacket for two full seconds. Then, as if something had suddenly dawned on her, she rubbed her arms and whined coyly, “Oh my, darling! It’s so cold out there~”

Bai Youwei: “……”

*You don’t even have pores. What are you complaining about being cold for?*

Du Lai smoothly draped a scarf around Fu Miaoxue’s shoulders.

Bai Youwei slanted them a look and asked, “Where are you two headed?”

Fu Miaoxue let out a sharp huff and spat out two words: “Moving. Out.”

—