The sickly one in F4 was the group's darling.

Shen Tinglan stood up, walked around the dining table, and opened the refrigerator door. He took out two slices of ham, a slice of cheese, and a small handful of chopped scallions, his movements swift and efficient. He placed these items in front of Bai Ci.

"Put it in."

"The noodles are cooked..."

"Put it in." Shen Tinglan's tone left no room for argument.

Bai Ci put the ham, cheese, and chopped scallions into the pot and stirred them with chopsticks. The cheese slowly melted in the hot soup, turning into milky white strands that clung to the noodles. The ham's oil seeped out, creating a light golden sheen on the surface of the soup. The bright green scallions, scalded by the hot soup, immediately released their aroma.

The overall appearance of the noodles has undergone a qualitative leap.

Bai Ci looked down at the pot of noodles, and his eyes suddenly stung. It wasn't because of the bowl of noodles, but because the memories of this body were flooding back. The original owner had lived in this villa for so long, and no one had ever told him "the food in the refrigerator is for public use" when he was hungry, and no one had ever added a slice of ham to the pot for him in the middle of the night.

"What are you standing there for?" Shen Tinglan sat back down opposite him. "Eat."

Bai Ci lowered his head and took a bite.

Salty, fragrant, hot.

The moment the noodles slid down her throat and into her stomach, Bai Ci felt as if she had come back to life.

"...Delicious." This time it really was delicious.

Shen Tinglan didn't speak, but leaned back in her chair and watched him eat. The kitchen fell silent, with only the soft sound of chopsticks touching the edge of the pot remaining.

Bai Ci took a few bites, looked up, and found Shen Tinglan still watching him. Shen's gaze wasn't cold; it was more like he was observing something illogical.

"Aren't you going back to sleep?" Bai Ci asked.

"You woke me up," Shen Tinglan said. "I can't fall back asleep now."

Bai Ci felt that there were many layers of meaning in that sentence, but he decided not to think about it too much.

"Would you like some?" He tentatively pushed the pot forward. It was his instinct as a rabbit; sharing food was the most basic act of kindness.

Shen Tinglan glanced down at the pot. Bai Ci had eaten half of the noodles, the egg was broken, and the yolk had spilled out and mixed with the cheese. The pot looked like it had survived a minor natural disaster.

"Those are the chopsticks I used to eat from..." Bai Ci realized and quickly took the chopsticks back.

Shen Tinglan stood up, took a new pair of chopsticks from the chopstick holder, then picked up a mouthful of noodles from the pot and took a bite.

Bai Ci stared at him in disbelief.

Shen Tinglan chewed twice expressionlessly and swallowed.

"generally."

"Then don't eat it." Bai Ci pulled the pot back.

Shen Tinglan picked up another piece of food with her chopsticks.

Bai Ci: "..."

Bai Ci stared at his pot, noticing the noodles had visibly decreased, and Shen Tinglan had swept away most of the cheese with her chopsticks, along with the ham slices. He subconsciously pulled the pot two inches closer to himself, his hands loosely cupping the rim, like a rabbit guarding its food, its paws encircling its carrot.

Shen Tinglan watched his action, her chopsticks hovering in mid-air.

"...What are you protecting?"

"You've already taken two bites," Bai Ci said softly.

"so what?"

"This is my noodles."

"You just asked me if I wanted to eat."

Bai Ci opened his mouth, realizing that he had indeed asked. He looked down at the few noodles left in the pot, then looked up at the chopsticks poised to strike in Shen Tinglan's hand, a conflicted expression on his face as if "politeness and hunger were fiercely battling."

Shen Tinglan just watched him struggle.

"So possessive of food."

Bai Ci didn't refute, but she didn't remove her hand from the edge of the pot.

Shen Tinglan turned her chopsticks and took another mouthful of noodles from his pot.

Bai Ci: "You said one half."

"Hmm, it's alright." Shen Tinglan put the noodles in her mouth, chewed them, "but it's still better than your boiled noodles."

Bai Ci glanced at the few remaining noodles and half a soft-boiled egg in the pot, then simply shut his mouth and stopped talking. He gripped his chopsticks tightly and buried his head in his food, eating quickly and efficiently. He moved his chopsticks back and forth between the pot and his mouth, his cheeks bulging as if afraid that Shen Tinglan might change his mind and snatch another bite at any moment.

Shen Tinglan's chopsticks were still suspended in mid-air as she quietly watched him empty the pot like a whirlwind.

"...Eat slowly."

Bai Ci ignored him, stuffed the last half of the soft-boiled egg into her mouth, chewed it several times with her cheeks puffed out, and then swallowed it. She then looked down at the empty pot, made sure there wasn't a single noodle left, and put down her chopsticks.

Are you afraid I'll fight you for it, or are you afraid the noodles will run away by themselves?

Bai Ci pursed his lips but didn't answer. However, he pushed the pot towards the center of the table; it was empty, so it didn't matter if he pushed it there, implying, "I've finished eating, see what happens."

"I'm done eating." His voice was still a little muffled and soft after he had just swallowed.

Shen Tinglan looked at the empty pot, then at the little bit of soup still clinging to Bai Ci's lips.

"I can tell."

He leaned back in his chair, his tone indifferent: "You don't need to eat so fast next time. Nobody's going to take it from you."

Bai Ci's gaze unconsciously fell on the chopsticks in his hand.

Shen Tinglan followed his gaze and looked down, noticing that her chopsticks, which had been holding food, hadn't yet been put down, and paused slightly in her speech.

"...What happened just now doesn't count."

"Bye-bye," Xiaoqi's voice finally broke down, "He was holding chopsticks in his hand when he said 'No one's going to take it from you.'"

"I saw it," Bai Ci replied in her mind.

"He just grabbed three bites of food."

"......I know."

Shen Tinglan stood up.

"Wash the dishes, wipe the stove, mop the floor," Shen Tinglan casually instructed. "Wash your feet before going upstairs, and put on the slippers in the entryway. Don't let me see any footprints on the floor tomorrow. After you're done, go back to your room and sleep. Don't come down again, okay?"

"able."

"By the way, the food in the fridge is for shared use. Next time, don't just steal eggs like you're doing something sneaky. If you don't eat it, there will be leftovers that we can't finish, and then we'll have to throw it away when it expires."

Shen Tinglan turned and walked towards the door, but stopped halfway there and suddenly added with a hint of amusement, "At least the pot didn't overturn."

The door closed behind him.

The kitchen fell silent again. Bai Ci sat on a high stool and looked down at her hands that had gripped the edge of the pot.

"Bai Bai, you looked so serious about guarding your food just now."

Bai Ci remained silent.

He picked up three chopsticks.

"...Didn't you tell me not to say it?" Xiaoqi added, feeling wronged.

Bai Ci stood up, walked barefoot to the sink, picked up the pot, and began to wash it. After washing it a couple of times, she stopped.

"Cook an extra packet next time."

"Bye-bye," Xiaoqi said seriously, "I think he'll try to steal it again next time."

Bai Ci found that she didn't seem to dislike this at all.

Bai Ci placed the cleaned pot upside down on the drainer, wiped the stove with a rag, and squatted down to mop up the water stains on the floor. After doing all this, he went to the entrance hall.

This is a luxurious walk-in closet. Bai Ci was dazzled; the entire wall of dark walnut cabinets stretched all the way to the ceiling, and each cabinet door was inlaid with a brass nameplate: Ji Huaizhou, Lu Ciyuan, Shen Tinglan, Bai Ci.

Bai Ci opened the shoe cabinet door below, which contained only a few pairs of old shoes and slippers. After changing her shoes, she turned off the lights and went upstairs.

Bai Ci found her way to her room, pushed open the door, and threw herself onto the bed.

"Xiao Qi".

"exist!"

"Wake me up early tomorrow."

"What time is it?"

Bai Ci was thinking to himself that the two shoes were still under Shen Tinglan's window, one in the bushes and the other stuck in the gap between the drainpipe and the wall.

Before dawn, while those three were still asleep, I sneaked down in the dark and retrieved the shoes. I couldn't let Shen Tinglan find out, otherwise, he'd probably keep talking about this until the end of the semester.

"Before dawn," Bai Ci said, "while they are still asleep."

"Understood, covert operation." Xiao Qi's voice was lowered, carrying the excitement of an accomplice. "Infiltrate the crime scene and retrieve key evidence."

"...It's just picking up shoes."

"Code name 'Operation Shoe Retrieval' is now in the countdown preparation phase."

Bai Ci didn't respond to that, but pulled the blanket tighter around herself and fell into a deep sleep.

Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, casting a thin, silvery line on the floor. In the distance, the surface of the artificial lake was ruffled by the wind, scattering shards of moonlight across its surface.