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

The air was quiet for about two or three seconds.

For Bai Ci, those two or three seconds were probably longer than the three hundred years he spent cultivating in the mountains.

Shen Tinglan's voice drifted down from above, low and hoarse from just waking up, with a sense of utter helplessness and familiarity. She said lazily, "Last night it was climbing through the window, today it's crouching in the bushes... what new tricks will you come up with tomorrow?"

Bai Ci raised her head, half-squatting and half-kneeling in the bushes, her face covered in mud, her hair adorned with fragments of withered leaves, holding two wet and dirty old shoes in her arms, and a faint red mark on her forehead.

The morning light hadn't fully broken in yet; the gray-blue light shone on his face, making his pale skin almost transparent. His amber eyes were wide with fright, like a small animal that had been captured, innocent and embarrassed.

Bai Ci opened her mouth, but finally managed to utter four words: "I'm doing my morning exercise."

Shen Tinglan rested one hand on the window frame and propped her head up with the other, looking down at Bai Ci.

"Morning exercise." He repeated the two words, his tone flat, yet with an indescribable hint of mockery.

Bai Ci nodded quickly, her eyes darting away, not daring to meet his gaze.

"Before dawn, you were crouching under my window, in the bushes, doing your morning exercise?"

Bai Ci's nod froze in mid-air, becoming a subtle angle that was neither a nod nor a shake of the head.

"What kind of exercise do you do in the morning?" Shen Tinglan asked again, as if she were genuinely inquiring about the morning exercise plan.

Bai Ci's mind raced, and he blurted out, "Push-ups."

Shen Tinglan glanced down at his squatting posture, clutching two shoes tightly in his arms, like a small animal building a nest in the bushes.

Why do you hold your shoes when doing push-ups?

Bai Ci's ears were so red they looked like they could bleed. He lowered his head, staring at the shoes in his arms, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible: "...I'm afraid they'll be blown away by the wind."

Shen Tinglan remained silent, and Bai Ci dared not speak either.

In the stillness of the early morning, only the sound of the artificial lake in the distance and the occasional bird call could be heard.

Shen Tinglan spoke, her tone indifferent, as if stating a fact that was not open to debate:

"You kicked your shoe off under my window last night. This morning when you went to pick it up, the shoe hit you in the face, and then you knelt in the bushes and told me you were doing push-ups."

Bai Ci's lips twitched slightly, but then she pressed them together tightly. Every word Shen Tinglan said was true.

Shen Tinglan looked at him for a while.

"Do you think I never look out the window?"

Bai Ci lowered her head, her voice muffled: "You should be sleeping at this time."

"I did want to sleep after you woke me up twice," Shen Tinglan said, "but you were rustling under my window for five minutes. Do you know how far the sound travels at 5:30 in the morning?"

Bai Ci wanted to say "I don't know," but he had indeed broken a dead branch, gasped when the branch scratched his hand, and groaned when his shoe hit his face. Every sound was enough to penetrate the window and disturb Shen Tinglan.

"I'll be gentler next time," he apologized softly.

"You want a next time?"

Bai Ci quickly shook his head, shaking it like a rattle drum.

Shen Tinglan watched him shake his head and remained silent for a while.

Then, he said something that made Bai Ci's brain completely shut down: "Under that rose bush on the right, you still have a sock."

Bai Ci was stunned. He recalled that when he climbed out the window and kicked his legs yesterday, one of his socks had been rubbed off.

Bai Ci stood up, walked to the rose bush on the right, squatted down, and gently brushed aside the withered leaves and fallen flowers. Sure enough, she saw an old gray sock, crumpled up, covered in dew and dirt, lying quietly by the flower bed.

He picked up the socks, his feelings a mix of emotions.

Shen Tinglan watched as the boy's face turned red from the tips of his ears to the roots of his neck, as red as a boiled shrimp. His eyes held a faint helplessness, as well as a hint of gentleness that was barely perceptible.

"Thank you," Bai Ci said, her voice barely audible.

Shen Tinglan didn't respond to the thank you, glanced at Bai Ci, and then closed the window.

With a soft "click," the window closed, shutting out the subtle awkwardness between the two.

......

Back in her room, as she closed the door, Bai Ci leaned against it and let out a long sigh.

He put his shoes and socks on the floor, sat down on the edge of the bed, and buried his face in his hands.

Xiao Qi asked cautiously, "Bai Bai, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm wondering when he started watching it."

"The window was already ajar when you crouched down to clear away the leaves." Xiaoqi's voice sounded a little guilty. "I wanted to remind you, but you were so focused on clearing away the leaves that I... couldn't bring myself to interrupt you."

"You knew about the whole thing?"

Xiao Qi paused for a moment, then whispered, "Bai Bai, I'm the system. Every sound within a 30-meter radius of this room enters my perception range; it's hard for me not to notice."

Bai Ci fell silent.

"You betrayed me."

"I didn't!" Xiaoqi cried out in alarm, "I just... I just thought the way you buried the pill bugs was so cute. If he saw it, he might even think you're kind..."

"He'll just think I'm weird." Bai Ci buried her face in the blanket, her voice muffled. "At 5:30 in the morning, I was squatting under someone's window, digging a hole and erecting a tombstone for a dead pill bug."

"He didn't laugh at you," Xiaoqi said seriously.

After a while, Bai Ci peeked half her face out from under the covers, her light brown pupils sparkling in the shadows of the blankets, lost in thought.

"...He even knows where my socks fell off."

Xiaoqi paused for a moment, then tentatively said, "Bai Bai, your tone doesn't sound like you're complaining."

Bai Ci got up, picked up her shoes and socks, went to the bathroom, slowly washed the shoes clean, rubbed the socks clean, and then put them on the windowsill to dry.

By the time I finished doing all this, it was already light outside the window, and the soft morning light shone in, falling on the floor, making it feel warm and cozy.

Bai Ci stood by the window for a few seconds, then turned to wash up. After washing up, his stomach started growling again. He remembered that he had only eaten a small bag of noodles last night, which wasn't enough to satisfy his hunger. He decided to go downstairs to see if there was a simple breakfast in the kitchen.

Bai Ci suddenly thought of a question: "Xiao Qi, weren't Ji Huaizhou and Lu Ciyuan... here last night?"

"Right, with such a commotion last night, they should have noticed." Xiao Qi paused, "I'll use my senses to investigate their room."

A moment later, Xiao Qi replied, "There really isn't anyone here."

Bai Ci gave a soft "hmm," bent down to put on her slippers, and quietly walked downstairs, secretly relieved that no one was there.

He always felt a little intimidated by those two people; he preferred to face Shen Tinglan rather than Ji Huaizhou and Lu Ciyuan.

Bai Ci put aside her thoughts and stopped thinking about it.

I have a lot to do today: buy clothes and attend a family dinner.