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

Shen Tinglan looked at Bai Ci's curved eyes, a hint of a smile playing in them. His back still ached, but Bai Ci's words eased the heavy weight in his chest by half an inch, and he chuckled very softly.

"Okay," he said. "If the students complain that the teacher talks too much, we can't have this class. It seems like being a teacher isn't worth it."

"Then what do you think is a good deal, teacher?" Bai Ci leaned forward slightly, her eyes filled with a hint of playfulness, and looked directly at him.

Shen Tinglan looked up to meet his gaze, her eyes slowly sweeping over the boy's bright eyes and brows. The dull pain in her back continued to throb, but she didn't answer immediately. After a moment of silence, she spoke in a low voice:

"It's only worthwhile if the students behave well."

"No, that won't do. I have my own judgment. get out of class is over now, Ms. Shen, it's time to rest."

Shen Tinglan paused.

"it is good."

Shen Tinglan closed his eyes briefly, remaining silent. He quietly relaxed his tense back, finding a relatively comfortable position. The blockage in his shoulder blade, which had been rubbed open by the medicated oil, was still slightly swollen, but much more relaxed than in the morning. Bai Ci sat beside him, hugging a cushion, quietly sitting for a moment, as if suddenly remembering something.

"Brother Shen." He sat up straight.

Shen Tinglan opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Aunt Zhou said there was some warm white fungus soup in the pot before she left. Would you like some? I'll go get it."

"No need, you—"

"Sit still and don't move."

Without waiting for Shen Tinglan's response, he stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

Before long, Bai Ci returned with two bowls of white fungus soup, warm steam rising from the porcelain bowls. He carefully placed one of the bowls on the coffee table in front of Shen Tinglan.

"Put it here, let it cool a little before drinking." Bai Ci sat down again beside him, holding her own bowl, the sweet, gelatinous aroma lingering around her nose.

Shen Tinglan lowered her eyes to look at the white fungus and goji berries floating in the bowl, her gaze gently falling on the boy's slightly red fingertips as he held the bowl, and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work."

"It's nothing, just a little something for Teacher Shen during her break."

Bai Ci lowered his head and slowly blew on the air, taking small sips of the drink.

"Is it sweet?" Shen Tinglan asked.

"I didn't put any sugar in it." Bai Ci looked up, her eyes sparkling. "You didn't put any in your bowl either."

Shen Tinglan glanced at him and the corners of her lips curved slightly.

"I'm just telling you that we're drinking the same thing."

Shen Tinglan sat up slightly, picked up the bowl, and took a spoonful. The soup was lukewarm, the white fungus melted in her mouth, and the aftertaste of red dates lingered on her tongue. It wasn't sweet, but it was warming.

Just then, my phone vibrated.

Bai Ci put down the porcelain bowl, picked up her phone, and saw two messages from Lu Ciyuan on the screen.

The first item is a location: an airport in the northern continent.

The second post was followed by a photo: a gray, rainy day, a row of container-style buildings, and distant mountain ridges hidden in the clouds, making everything indistinct. Below the photo was a caption: "Arrived. It's raining outside the airport, so I didn't see any snow-capped mountains. Even the beef noodles in this crappy place are awful. I'll bring you something else when I get back."

Bai Ci opened the photo and zoomed in. There was nothing there, only rain, only fog, and a road stretching into the blurry distance. He exited the photo and typed four words: "Be careful."

Bai Ci subconsciously tapped the button, and Lu Ciyuan's voice came through the receiver, carrying the unique sound of the wind from the Northern Continent and a hint of lazy laughter: "I know, you too."

At the end of the audio message, Song Yan's voice suddenly came from the background, a bit far away but quite loud: "Brother Lu, what are you carrying in your inner pocket? You've checked it three times since you got off the plane—"

Lu Ciyuan's voice suddenly faded by half a beat: "Get lost."

The audio connection dropped.

Bai Ci stared at the screen for two seconds. Inner pocket? Touch it three times? What does that mean?

Before he could think about it, a very soft "Eh" suddenly came to his mind.

Xiao Qi's voice broke out, not as loud as usual, but in a tone that tried hard to remain normal:

[Bye, the system task progress has been updated.]

Bai Ci was taken aback: "What update?"

The "Heart of Gratitude" quest is one-third complete. Lu Ciyuan's feedback has been overwhelmingly positive; the system has determined his satisfaction level to be off the charts. Points rewards will be calculated and distributed upon completion of all quests.

After saying this, Xiaoqi paused for a moment. Instead of immediately responding with "You're amazing!" or "As expected of Bai Bai!" as she usually does, she waited for Bai Ci to speak.

Bai Ci hummed in agreement and did not ask any further questions.

There was silence for a few seconds.

Xiaoqi spoke again, this time her voice was a little lower than before, but her tone was still trying hard and light, as if she was competing with herself:

[That "Nightblade" you sent, its feedback rating is S. The fluctuation value for it on the system panel is ridiculously high. At first, I thought there was a data error, and I checked it twice before I dared to confirm it.]

After saying this, it finally couldn't hold back and let out a genuine burst of joy:

"You've got a knack for giving gifts."

Hearing this tone, Bai Ci felt a sudden pang of sadness. He loosened his grip on his phone and looked down at the half-eaten bowl of white fungus soup on the coffee table.

"...Well, as long as it's delivered to the right place."

Xiaoqi simply hummed in agreement and then remained quietly in place.

After a few seconds of silence, Bai Ci spoke again:

"Xiao Qi".

【……exist.】

"You used 'ding' from now on instead of that 'eh' you just used. 'Eh' sounds like you're not confident about the mission," Bai Ci said. "'Ding' sounds more reliable. I'm used to it, and I don't have to be so tense all the time."

A moment of silence passed through my mind.

Okay! I'll write it all down!

Bai Ci snapped out of her daze and placed her phone on the side of the coffee table.

Turning his head, he realized Shen Tinglan was quietly looking at him: "Lu Ciyuan?"

"Yes. He's arrived at his destination; it's raining there."

"He's quite free," Shen Tinglan said. "He had time to send voice messages as soon as he landed."

"The first thing I did after landing was to let you know I was safe, because I didn't want us to worry."

Shen Tinglan said "Oh," with a slight upward inflection at the end, revealing no emotion.

"I told him to be careful, and then I didn't reply," Bai Ci added. Realizing it was unnecessary, she picked up her bowl, lowered her head, and took a sip.

Shen Tinglan didn't respond. She gently traced the rim of the porcelain bowl with her fingertips, picked it up, slowly took a sip of the white fungus soup, then put it down. After a long while, she finally spoke, "The white fungus soup is good. Aunt Zhou's cooking is better than before."

Bai Ci: "..."

He took a deep breath, intending to skip over the awkward moment.

"Brother Shen, wait for me a moment."

Shen Tinglan watched him walk towards the entrance, her eyebrows twitching slightly.

After a while.

Bai Ci now held a dark gray velvet box, about the same size as the dark blue box she had given Lu Ciyuan, only darker and more subdued in color.

He stopped in front of Shen Tinglan and handed her the box.

"Here you go, I picked it out at the workshop yesterday," Bai Ci said. "I originally wanted to give it to you as soon as I got back, but I haven't had a chance to."

"Was it specially chosen for me?"

"Mm." Bai Ci nodded slightly.

Shen Tinglan had just reached out her hand when her fingertips were about to touch the velvet box lid.

Ji Huaizhou gripped the armrest, his gaze falling directly on the two people in the living room.

"Looks like I've come at the wrong time," Ji Huaizhou said casually, his gaze falling on the flat box. "Quite the leisure."