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

Xu Yan tilted his head slightly, his narrow eyes slightly upturned, and a nonchalant smile played on his lips, but his eyes held an uncontrollable ferocity.

He wasn't bad-looking; his features were regular, and thick eyebrows framed a pair of shrewd, outward-looking eyes. However, a large, dark red wine stain had spread across the front of his shirt, from the collar down to his waist, ruining the once-sharp, dark fabric. His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, revealing a limited-edition watch on his wrist. His posture was relaxed, yet still carried the arrogance and swagger typical of wealthy scions.

His gaze settled heavily on Bai Ci, scrutinizing and disdainfully examining the young man before him.

He had expected to see a panicked, stammering thief desperately trying to explain himself, but the other person just looked at him coldly and indifferently, without showing any sign of panic.

The clean-cut, tailored white knit sweater perfectly accentuated the boy's slender yet upright figure. A silver falcon badge adorned the collar, its subtle shimmer under the warm yellow light, eye-catching yet understated. The cuffs were neatly buttoned, their delicate, intricate patterns complementing the garment perfectly.

The boy stood there, slender but by no means weak, with the soft light from the side casting a thin layer of warmth on his face.

Xu Yan had to admit that after changing his clothes, the boy's demeanor was completely different, unlike the disheveled mountain boy from that afternoon.

The boy's skin was excessively pale, his eyebrows and eyes were clean, and his light brown pupils reflected the light coldly, clear and distant. Yet, there was no emotion in those eyes, no panic, no anger, not even disdain, nothing at all.

This calmness and indifference made Xu Yan feel worse than any provocation.

Xu Yan spoke slowly, his tone drawn out, his gaze fixed on Bai Ci's face, carrying an intense sense of pressure: "What a coincidence, what are you doing here? Do you know where this is?"

Xiao Qi's voice instantly tightened in Bai Ci's mind, full of vigilance: "Bai Bai! He really came looking for trouble!"

"I know," Bai Ci thought to herself.

Bai Ci glanced at Xu Yan, but only for a moment before looking away and continuing to concentrate on flipping up the last piece of the cuff, her movements unhurried and deliberate.

This complete disregard made Xu Yan feel inexplicably suffocated. He felt that he, the young master of the Xu family, was not even as worthy of being taken seriously as a small cufflink. His restlessness and anger grew stronger.

But the next second, Bai Ci's casual remark completely froze the relaxed smile on his face.

"This is the Bai family's walk-in closet. You opened the door too forcefully and damaged it. You need to pay for it."

Xiao Qi breathed a sigh of relief and whispered praise, "Bai Bai, stay calm! Your aura is off the charts!"

Xu Yan: ? ? ?

I silently cursed a certain plant: grass.

He had considered all possible reactions from the boy: panic, stuttering, guilt, or feigning composure.

What he didn't expect was that the other party didn't explain why they were there, but instead started to criticize him and demanded compensation for the losses with a sense of entitlement.

Just like in the afternoon, it was a curt "No need," without even a polite "thank you." At that time, he could still comfort himself by thinking that the person was just pretending to be aloof.

But now, he stands in this room, wearing Bai Jiheng's custom-made clothes, speaking to him with the same nonchalant and aloof attitude.

Xu Yan finally understood that this person wasn't faking it; he genuinely didn't take him seriously. The pent-up frustration that had been building up inside him all afternoon surged back up, making his throat feel tight.

"You're quite the hypocrite, trying to make me pay you back?"

Xu Yan stomped forward, taking a sudden step closer. The soles of his shoes rolled over the soft cashmere carpet, producing a dull, suppressed sound. The atmosphere around him suddenly became tense, his hostility palpable: "This is Young Master Bai's private property. Who do you think you are? You dare to talk to me about compensation?"

"Bye-bye!" Xiao Qi's voice exploded in my mind, "Why is this guy like a mad dog, relentlessly attacking me! You weren't the one who provoked him this afternoon; he was the one who started the mockery first, and now he's turning around and accusing you of being high and mighty!"

Bai Ci silently reassured Xiao Qi, "He just wants to see me panic. If I don't panic, he'll get furious."

"Aren't you afraid at all? Do you want me to activate your aura filter so you can overpower him?" Xiao Qi asked quickly.

"What's there to be afraid of? He broke the door, and I'm not the one who has to pay for it."

Bai Ci raised her eyes, her clear and cool gaze meeting Xu Yan's approaching face.

"Besides, he's not scary enough for me. He's like that wild fox whose tail was stepped on by the cave in the mountains. All he can do is howl in place and he has no other skills."

Xiao Qi was silent for a moment, then said with a gloating tone, "Got it! Then I can watch the show with peace of mind! But Bai Bai, that friend behind him..."

Behind him, Zhou Xu walked up slowly. Unlike Xu Yan, he did not press forward or exert pressure. He simply stood calmly at the door of the dressing room, his posture relaxed and indifferent.

His light-colored shirt also had a few wine stains, scattered on the cuffs and hem, so faint as to be almost imperceptible, making him look much more presentable than Xu Yan in his disheveled state.

Zhou Xusheng was slender with delicate features and a relaxed demeanor, quite different from his flamboyant appearance on the mountain road that afternoon. Yet, it was clearly the same person, only his demeanor had naturally softened due to the change of setting.

His gaze slowly swept across the dressing room, finally landing on Bai Ci. First, it lingered on the misty white knit sweater, its cut perfectly fitting the body, the fabric delicate, the stitching neat—a top-tier custom-made garment that was practically impossible to find on the market. Then, his gaze shifted to the right, noticing the bulging cloth bag on the shelf, bearing the Bai Falcon family crest, something only the legitimate direct descendants of the Bai family were entitled to use.

Zhou Xu frowned slightly, his mind filled with doubt. The boy who had been hiking on the mountain road that afternoon was now standing in Bai Jiheng's private dressing room, wearing custom-made clothes and carrying a white falcon-shaped cloth bag. Stealing? He couldn't steal such composure. Coincidence? Zhou Xu didn't believe in coincidences.

But he didn't say anything. Xu Yan's fire had already been lit, and he couldn't put it out, nor did he want to. He just crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame, his gaze fixed on Bai Ci, waiting for an opening.

"I'll ask you one more time, what are you doing here?"

Xu Yan's questioning rang out again, his tone increasingly sharp, laced with aggressive malice. His gaze swept unabashedly over Bai Ci, then settled on the white falcon-shaped cloth bag on the shelf, each word dripping with sarcasm and speculation: "This afternoon you were putting on airs on the mountain path, and tonight you sneaked into the Bai family's dressing room. What? Did you come here to apply for a cleaning job, or are you just a thief?"

Bai Ci raised her eyes, her clear and innocent gaze meeting his fierce and malicious eyes head-on without flinching.

"Neither."

The boy's voice was clear and calm, without the slightest inflection, each word landing distinctly: "I am from the Bai family, I've come to change my clothes."

Upon hearing this, Xu Yan burst out laughing. He turned to look at Zhou Xu behind him, his eyes filled with "Come and listen to this absurd nonsense."

Zhou Xu didn't respond to his words. He simply adjusted his crossed arms slightly and tapped his fingertips lightly on his sleeve twice, a habitual gesture when he was deep in thought.

Xu Yan was so enraged that she paid no attention to his unusual behavior.

Zhou Xu's thoughts sank: the Bai family. He said "the Bai family," not "guests of the Bai family," not "acquaintances of the Bai family"—a difference of one word, yet worlds apart.

If it's true, then this young man was on a completely different level from ordinary scions of noble families from the very beginning. If it's false, looking at his neat and meticulous clothes, impeccable demeanor, upright and steady back, and the completely unpretentious composure in his eyes, there's not a single flaw to be found in his lying.

However, this person has never appeared in Bai Jiheng's life, nor has he ever mentioned him. Perhaps he doesn't say anything because it's unnecessary, or perhaps for some other reason.

Zhou Xu temporarily suppressed his doubts and continued to watch the standoff.