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

As the footsteps grew closer, Bai Ci felt a slight tightness in his chest, and his heart beat faster for no apparent reason, but he quickly calmed down.

This is the Bai family's dressing room. He is a member of the Bai family, and his elder brother specially arranged for him to come here to change clothes.

He stands here uprightly, with no need to feel guilty or explain himself to outsiders.

Having figured this out, Bai Ci completely calmed herself down, her face expressionless, and continued to calmly tidy her clothes.

"Bai Bai, why was your heart beating so fast just now?" Xiao Qi's voice suddenly came out, carrying a lighthearted sigh of relief.

"...An instinctive reaction." Bai Ci paused, "Hearing someone coming, my ears jumped first."

Xiao Qi couldn't help but laugh: "You're a human now, not someone with real ears. Besides, this is your brother's walk-in closet. You don't need to be afraid of whoever comes in."

"I knew, that's why I didn't run away."

"You've made great progress, bye-bye! Last time at the villa, you almost tripped when you heard Shen Tinglan's footsteps."

"...That time it was midnight. It was different."

"Okay, okay, it's different, it's different." Xiao Qi's smile hadn't faded, but her voice softened and became more serious. "Anyway, remember this: you have your older brother backing you up now, you're not the Bai Ci who had no one to care about you anymore."

"Hmm," he said.

With a soft click, the heavy metal door was pushed open from the outside.

A wisp of crisp cologne mixed with a faint tobacco scent drifted in on the breeze, gently stirring the calm, cool air in the dressing room.

Xu Yan and Zhou Xu entered one after the other.

"Bai Bai, your shoes are still in the outer room." Xiao Qi's voice suddenly rang in my mind, tinged with a hint of nervousness.

"Uncle Chen said he'd pack up when he got back," Bai Ci replied in his mind.

"But--"

"in spite of."

Xiao Qi hummed in agreement and then fell silent.

"Huh, why is the door open? Didn't Third Young Master say this dressing room requires a password?"

Xu Yan glanced around and saw no one in the empty outer room. He looked surprised.

Zhou Xu looked down and smoothed the wrinkles in his cuffs, casually replying, "Perhaps the maid just finished cleaning and forgot to lock it."

"How could you overlook this? You're too careless," Xu Yan said, frowning.

The two had been playing around at the banquet in the front hall when they accidentally spilled a glass of red wine all over their clothes, leaving large, dark red stains that were both embarrassing and unsightly, making it impossible for them to continue their socializing.

Just then, Xu Yan bumped into Bai Jiheng passing by in the side corridor. He shamelessly stepped forward to complain, and Zhou Xu chimed in to support him.

Bai Jiheng was too lazy to deal with these trivial matters. After being stopped and talked to for a long time by the two, he impatiently waved his hand, told them the password to the dressing room, and told them to go pick out some clothes, change, and hurry back.

Xu Yan tugged at the sticky collar, staring at the indelible wine stains on his chest. His face was extremely ugly, as if he had swallowed a fly: "This was a custom-made item that my dad just brought back last week. Now it's completely ruined."

"Be content." Zhou Xu walked past him with a relaxed gait, heading straight into the depths of the dressing room. "The Third Young Master didn't get angry on the spot and was willing to give us the password, which is already a huge favor. Hurry up and pick out something to change into, don't delay our business."

This dressing room is Bai Jiheng's exclusive private space, divided into inner and outer sections.

The outer room is a spacious fitting area with a neat and tidy custom-made solid wood wardrobe that covers the entire wall. The temperature-controlled glass cabinet on the side displays limited-edition watches, collectible cufflinks, handmade leather belts and other high-end accessories, each of which is very valuable.

The floor is covered with a soft cashmere carpet, a genuine leather fitting stool is placed in the center, and a full-length mirror with a diamond-encrusted frame sits to the side, exuding a luxurious feel.

In the corner are several custom-made matte leather cases, specially designed to store his racing protective gear and personal limited-edition items.

The inner room is a separate dressing room. The sliding door is half open, and warm light shines through. You can see a cloth bag with the Bai family's white falcon crest on the shelf.

Relying on their friendship with Bai Jiheng, the two went straight to Bai Jiheng's personal clothing rack area, intending to pick out two nice clothes to impress him.

Zhou Xu stood in front of a row of dark-colored clothes racks, running his fingers along the collars one by one.

The clothes racks were arranged by color scheme, displaying a variety of custom-made items, from shirts to jackets, each one perfectly ironed without a single wrinkle, and each collar adorned with the Bai family's white falcon emblem.

He picked out a dark gray coat, took it off, and turned to the side to compare the fit in the full-length mirror.

Just then, Xu Yan's voice suddenly came from the direction of the fitting room bench, tinged with a playful doubt: "Hey, whose shoes are these?"

Zhou Xu turned around upon hearing the sound.

I saw Xu Yan looking down at a pair of old sneakers at the foot of the stool.

The shoes were covered in dried mud, and the most eye-catching thing was the shoelaces, one white and one gray, a messy color scheme. The white one had been worn for a long time, and the edges were already frayed from washing. The gray one had been wrapped around the shoelaces an extra time to make it fit the length, making it look sloppy and worn out.

With just one glance, the scene of their chance encounter on the winding mountain road of Qinglu Mountain that afternoon instantly flashed into Xu Yan's mind:

The boy who hiked up the mountain, wore a bizarre hoodie, publicly refused their offer of a ride, and showed them no respect whatsoever, was wearing the exact same shoes.

He straightened up, his gaze slowly sweeping across the entire dressing room, finally settling on the half-open sliding door of the inner dressing room.

"Is someone inside?" Xu Yanchong raised his chin as he entered the changing room, a slow smile curving his lips.

Zhou Xu glanced at the changing room, then at Xu Yan's ill-intentioned expression, and frowned slightly.

He put down his coat, walked over to Xu Yan, and said in a low voice, "Xu Yan, this is Third Young Master's territory. Don't cause trouble."

"Who caused this? I'm just curious." Xu Yan also lowered his voice, his tone revealing barely suppressed excitement and mockery. "How did a poor guy who hiked up the mountain dressed in cheap clothes end up here? Don't you find that interesting?"

Zhou Xu was silent for a moment. Of course he remembered the kid on the mountain path. When he was rejected in public, the other party didn't even give them a second glance.

The feeling of being completely ignored wasn't exactly infuriating, but it was definitely uncomfortable. At the time, he just thought the other person had a bit of a personality and didn't take it to heart.

But he knew even better that this was Bai Jiheng's place. Bai Jiheng was usually easygoing and easy to talk to, but there were two things he couldn't touch: his car and his private space.

But now, that kid's personal belongings have appeared in Bai Jiheng's private territory, which seems very strange.

"It might just be the same model," Zhou Xu said, but his tone was uncertain.

"The same style? The worn-out soles, the white and gray shoelaces, the frayed edges—this shabby combination of poor taste—and you think you can find someone else wearing the same thing?" Xu Yan scoffed. "Young Master Zhou, when did you start thinking so positively?"

Before Zhou Xu could say anything more, Xu Yan had already started walking towards the locker room. Zhou Xu hesitated for a moment, but still followed.

—Inside the half-closed dressing room, Bai Ci overheard every word of the conversation between the two people outside.

From the moment the two discovered the old shoes and recognized the origin of the mountain path, to their secret speculations and verbal probing, all their calculations and banter were heard.

He clearly recognized that Xu Yan, who spoke in a frivolous tone and was full of malice, was the one who had deliberately tailgated him on the mountain road that afternoon, sped up, and made fun of him by throwing exhaust fumes in his face, and even opened the window and reached out to provoke him.

Bai Ci folded the clothes he had changed out of and put them into the cloth bag that Uncle Chen had given him. He zipped it up and then picked up the cufflinks from the shelf. Uncle Chen had given them to him before he left, saying that they would match the cardigan well. He slowly fastened the cufflinks.

"Bai Bai, that guy surnamed Xu is coming over." Xiao Qi's voice was tense.

"Um."

"Aren't you going to prepare? Want to turn on your aura filter?"

Bai bid farewell to his fine cufflinks and stood up straight.

"Need not."

The words had barely left his mouth—

With a loud "bang!" the sliding door was violently pushed open, the force so great that it made the tracks slam open with a dull thud.

Xu Yan leaned against the door frame with one hand, looking down at the boy inside, a smile already playing on his lips, the kind that anticipates seeing a panicked expression.

But he didn't see it.

Bai Ci stood in front of the shelf, her newly fastened cufflinks gleaming subtly silver under the light.

He looked up at me, his light brown pupils calm and still, showing no sign of panic, guilt, or even surprise.

Xu Yan's smile froze for a moment, then widened even further, a dark smugness rising in his eyes.

"Oh, it really is you."