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

The next morning, Bai Ci was awakened by the chirping of birds outside the window.

He stared at the ceiling for a while, his eyes dry and sore, as if he had been crying or hadn't closed them much all night.

He didn't remember when he fell asleep, only that Ji Huaizhou had come and given him a bitter pill that made his tongue numb, and then left. After that, his memory was cut off in a shallow, intermittent drowsiness.

It's rare for Xiaoqi to come out and make a fuss so early in the morning, as if she's afraid of disturbing him.

He struggled to sit up; his head wasn't hurting as much anymore, but he felt a general weakness, typical of someone recovering from illness. His arms were limp, and his hands and feet still lacked strength.

He paused for a while, then walked to the window and pulled the curtains open a little. It was an ordinary overcast day outside, with a thin layer of morning mist shrouding the back hills.

"Xiao Qi".

Xiao Qi's voice quickly surfaced from her consciousness, responding softly: "Bai Bai, you're awake. Your vital signs are much better than last night; a little more rest and you'll recover. How are you feeling now?"

"I can't quite put my finger on it," Bai Ci said. "It's just...very quiet."

[Quiet? What quiet?]

"This building," Bai Ci turned her gaze from the window and slowly looked around her room, "is a little too quiet for me."

Xiao Qi was silent for a moment before whispering, "Lu Ciyuan went to the Northern Continent, and Shen Tinglan doesn't seem to have left her room yet today."

Bai Ci didn't say anything. After quickly washing up, he went downstairs. When he passed Shen Tinglan's room, he glanced at it subconsciously. The door was closed and there was no sound.

Ever since he moved into this building, Shen Tinglan always seemed to wake up earlier than him. Before, when he went downstairs to get a drink of water, he would always see him in the living room, either leaning against the sofa reading a book or standing by the kitchen bar drinking coffee. Later, when they became more familiar, he would slowly look up and say, "You're up early today" or "There's some porridge that Aunt Zhou left in the kitchen."

But not today.

The entire corridor was empty, and Bai Ci felt a faint, inexplicable unease. He went downstairs, but the living room was also empty.

The bags that Shen Tinglan brought back last night are still piled up by the entrance hall, untouched.

A very faint sound came from the kitchen.

Ji Huaizhou came out carrying breakfast.

"woke up?"

"Mm," Bai Ci responded, walked into the restaurant, and sat down in her usual spot.

"Does your head still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt anymore, but my whole body feels weak and I can't muster any energy."

Ji Huaizhou gently placed the plate on the table; the porridge was still steaming.

"The pill from last night worked. I'm still weak and need to rest and recover slowly. Let's eat breakfast first."

"Senior Ji, did you not sleep much last night?"

Ji Huaizhou sat down opposite him, as if he had expected him to ask this question. "Well, I came to check on you twice in the middle of the night. You slept quite well."

"Thank you for your help, Senior Ji."

Bai Ci nodded. He looked at the warm white porridge in the bowl, not really having an appetite, but his gaze unconsciously drifted to the side. The seats where Shen Tinglan and Lu Ciyuan usually sat were empty.

Lu Ciyuan had already gone to the Northern Continent and wasn't there. But Shen Tinglan was used to being self-disciplined, and he had never been seen sleeping in. A thought flashed through Bai Ci's mind: Could Shen Tinglan be avoiding her?

"Senior Ji," he whispered, "is he... still not up?"

"Who?"

"Brother Shen..."

Ji Huaizhou smiled faintly, his expression unreadable: "He was exhausted when he got back yesterday, and then he was up all night. He's catching up on sleep right now."

Bai Ci frowned slightly. Had things gotten really bad?

"What's wrong with him?" Bai Ci asked.

"What else could I do?" Ji Huaizhou's tone carried a hint of deliberate helplessness, half-jokingly, "He's also a disobedient one. He knows he has a chronic illness and can't touch a single cigarette, but yesterday he insisted on secretly smoking. He was feeling unwell but stubbornly refused to say anything, and he tossed and turned for most of the night. I had to scold him before he finally obediently lay down to rest."

Bai Ci paused for a moment: "...He can't touch cigarettes? Is Brother Shen allergic to cigarettes?"

"More or less." Ji Huaizhou glanced at him, his tone deliberately serious. "It's a bit more serious than an allergy. His constitution is special; smoking directly triggers his old ailments, harming his body and mind. What happened yesterday was already considered mild."

Ji Huaizhou subtly observed Bai Ci's expression. His words were a mix of truth and falsehood. He kept Shen Tinglan's true situation from him the entire previous night, while subtly ensuring Bai Ci remembered that "Shen Tinglan mustn't touch cigarettes." From now on, whenever Bai Ci saw Shen Tinglan touch cigarettes, he wouldn't even need to say a word; Bai Ci would stop him himself. By balancing both sides, Shen Tinglan truly owed him a huge favor this time.

However, Shen Tinglan was unaware that his excuse of "feeling unwell" had already been revealed to Bai Ci. When they met downstairs later, that person would probably pretend to be normal and casually make up an excuse of oversleeping to get by. A faint hint of amusement flashed in Ji Huaizhou's eyes. Perfect, let Bai Ci bump into him and see how he can keep up the act.

Bai Ci held the spoon, remaining silent.

He recalled yesterday, when Shen Tinglan leaned against the back of the car, a small ember between her fingers. He was too disoriented then, too exhausted to think much of it, only finding Shen Tinglan's smoking habit unfamiliar. Now, with Ji Huaizhou's words, he realized that the cigarette Shen Tinglan was smoking was actually a way of triggering her old ailment.

Bai Ci glanced at the empty seat next to him, unable to describe the feeling in his heart.

Shen Tinglan, a man of such composure, what kind of turmoil could make him stand in the cold wind and light a cigarette, knowing full well he shouldn't? Aside from what happened in the car yesterday, he couldn't think of any other reason. That cigarette was because of him. This thought, like a fine thorn, pierced Bai Ci's heart.

Shen Tinglan was forced into this situation by him, which is why she used this method to relieve her emotions.

He still didn't know how to get over what happened yesterday, but he couldn't bring himself to sit here and drink porridge peacefully after learning that Shen Tinglan was suffering from a smoking-related illness and was still lying in her room.

"So, is he still...?" he began, his voice hoarse, "is he still in pain?"

"He's on medication, he won't die," Ji Huaizhou said. "He brought it on himself, he can't blame anyone else. But you, your food's getting cold."

Bai Ci didn't move. After a while, he raised his head and met Ji Huaizhou's gaze.

"You're a restless one too," Ji Huaizhou said. "None of them are easy to deal with. In this building, only Lu Ciyuan has a relatively good constitution, and even he's been gone for almost half a month."

Bai Ci paused. He could tell that Ji Huaizhou wasn't insulting him, but rather saying: "It's exhausting watching over all of you at the same time." Yet, he still felt somewhat ashamed.

"Am I a lot of trouble?" he said softly.

"Quite self-aware."

"But I didn't do it on purpose," Bai Ci said in an even softer voice.

He truly didn't mean it. He just didn't know how to face Shen Tinglan, how to reconcile the fear he felt yesterday with the bittersweet worry he felt now. He was conflicted, yet afraid that Shen Tinglan was in pain. Both emotions were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't swallow either one.

Ji Huaizhou felt his tone had been too harsh and glanced at Bai Ci. The boy's face was deathly pale, his eyelashes drooping, as if the last vestige of his spirit had been drained away. He softened his tone again:

"I'm not blaming you, nor am I saying I'm ignoring you. Finish your breakfast first, so Aunt Zhou doesn't work for nothing."

Bai Ci stirred the porridge with a spoon, only taking a few bites after a long while, her mind already wandering upstairs.

Ji Huaizhou glanced at him and said, "Stop stirring, or the porridge will get cold."

Bai Ci snapped out of his daze, looked down, and saw that the porridge in the bowl had become somewhat thin from stirring, and the steam on his face had almost dissipated. Feeling a little embarrassed, he glanced up at Ji Huaizhou.

"What, are you waiting for your brother Shen to come down?" Ji Huaizhou asked.