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

The ward was quiet, with only the gentle breeze from outside the window softly lifting the gauze curtains.

Bai Yanzhi sat on the leather sofa to the side, his long, slender fingers rapidly tapping on the laptop keyboard, concentrating on handling the company's official business.

Bai Ci leaned against the headboard, holding a glass of warm milk in her hand, staring blankly at the lampshade on the ceiling.

Just then, Bai Jiheng's low voice came from the corridor outside the door, a light "...You're coming back?" He slipped in through the crack in the door.

Bai Ci's body suddenly stiffened.

He subconsciously turned his head, his ears instantly perked up, and he even subconsciously slowed and softened his breathing, focusing intently on the sounds outside the door.

Unfortunately, the heavy door blocked out most of the sound, making it muffled and fragmented. He could only vaguely grasp a few scattered words and couldn't piece together the complete content at all.

Bai Ci's heart sank suddenly.

Come back? Who wants to come back?

The person who could make Bai Jiheng, who was usually so easygoing and carefree, speak in that tone was definitely not an ordinary person.

It wasn't my elder brother, Bai Yanzhi. He was inside, working at his desk, not moving an inch.

It wasn't Shen Tinglan either. Third Brother always spoke to Shen Tinglan with a barbed tongue and a constant barb, never with such a gentle tone.

Then there's only one person left.

Bai Ci's heart tightened, and she hurriedly called out to Xiao Qi in her mind, "Xiao Qi, who is Third Brother talking to on the phone?"

Xiao Qi's voice was brimming with the excitement of someone sharing their knowledge, a typical gossip-loving tone: "It's your nominal second brother, Bai Luochen, the one who's been away at sea and hasn't returned, remember? He keeps a giant python named Momo!"

These words struck Bai Ci like a thunderbolt, leaving her completely stunned.

A vivid and terrifying scene instantly flashed through my mind.

A dark-colored python, as thick as a bowl, with a cold and heavy body, coiled around a snow-white and delicate little rabbit, one, two, three times.

The little rabbit kicked and struggled desperately, but couldn't break free at all.

The giant python remained coiled up, as steady as Mount Tai.

Standing next to him was a young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, his sleeves neatly rolled up to his elbows. He held a lab recorder in his hand, his eyes lowered as he carefully recorded the data. His demeanor was gentle and refined, like that of a gentleman.

But the next second, he raised his hand and gently pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold glint that just brushed past the faint smile on his lips.

Beneath that gentle exterior lies an unconcealable chilling ruthlessness that sends shivers down one's spine.

"No, no, no..."

Bai Ci jerked her head away, forcibly banishing the horrifying image from her mind. Her heart pounded wildly, and her palms turned cold with fright.

But the body is more honest than the mind. The fingers have unconsciously clenched the edge of the blanket, and the whole person has shrunk two inches into the blanket, with the back pressed tightly against the mattress, as if in this way, they can get away from the python that is still nowhere to be found.

"Bye-bye," Xiao Qi said in her mind, "Isn't your imagination a bit too much? You've never even met Second Brother and Mo Mo; it's all just your wild imagination!"

"It's precisely because I've never seen it before that I'm scared," Bai Ci thought to herself. "If I'd seen it before, I would have run away immediately; if I haven't, I can only imagine."

"Then just ask your older brother, he'll definitely know the answer!"

"I won't ask."

Why?

"...Asking would make me seem like a coward."

Xiao Qi paused for a moment, then said in a subtle tone, "Bai Bai, you've already cowered the whole time by wrapping yourself up like a spring roll, there's no need for you to deliberately prove anything."

"Go! Go! Go."

Without saying a word, Bai Ci wrapped the blanket up even tighter, making it completely airtight.

In the corridor, Bai Jiheng had no idea that his phone call had scared the people in the room into a pulp.

He leaned lazily against the corridor wall, his posture casual, and spoke nonchalantly into the phone: "Things? Nobody touched your things. Uncle Chen locked your box of stones in the storage room; only you know the combination, not even my older brother."

He heard someone say something expressing their distrust, and Bai Jiheng scoffed.

"Those lousy stones of yours, I wouldn't even accept them for free; they're too heavy and take up too much space. Last time, with that slice of your Mirror Abyss Stone, I just touched it with tweezers, and you immediately sent me a message threatening to melt down my trophy. I was just helping Uncle Chen move boxes; who touched your things?"

pause.

"Fine. Your stones, those few boxes of broken stones are your life. I'd be a dog if I touched them."

He paused again, this time Bai Jiheng's voice was half a octave lower, less playful, and more of a sincere warning.

"But don't let your snake crawl near me. MoMo is incredibly grumpy when it's shedding its skin. Last time it was upset, it wrapped itself around my custom-made sofa. I waited three months for that sofa to arrive, you know?"

"I moved a chair and stood there facing it for half an hour. It stared at me, and I stared back at it. In the end, it gave in and left. If it dares to do something like that again, I can't guarantee I can still maintain my gentlemanly manners."

The person on the other end of the phone clearly didn't take his warning seriously, speaking in a relaxed and casual tone.

Bai Jiheng was too lazy to argue any further, so he softened his tone and casually asked about the flight and return date: "...Alright. Come back soon. Big brother hasn't been sleeping well these past two days."

He hung up decisively, turned around and pushed the door open, only to be met with Bai Ci's wrinkled little face. Her lips were slightly pursed, and her eyes were staring straight at him, clearly wanting to ask but not daring to. Her ears were perked up, and her fingers unconsciously tugged at the corner of the blanket, trying to untangle the loose thread.

That hesitant, anxious look on his face couldn't be more straightforward.

Bai Jiheng instantly understood.

The little guy probably listened intently to that phone call in the hallway just now, but he didn't hear it clearly, and he's feeling really frustrated.

Intending to tease Bai Ci, he casually walked to the sofa, sat down, picked up the celadon cup on the coffee table, and slowly took a sip of tea, completely ignoring Bai Ci's expectant gaze.

Not only that, he deliberately chatted with Bai Yanzhi, rambling on about banquets, business matters, and all sorts of other things, but he never mentioned the phone call he had just received, Bai Luochen's imminent return, or the dreaded python Mo Mo.

Bai Ci was in agony, her heart pounding with anxiety. She wanted to ask her second brother when he would return and whether the python would run away, but she was too shy to ask him directly. She could only steal glances at Bai Jiheng, hesitant to speak.

After a long chat, Bai Jiheng casually picked up an orange from the fruit plate and slowly peeled it.

Bai Ci stared intently at his hand as he peeled the orange, silently waiting for him to speak and explain.

I waited for ages.

The other party remained silent throughout, not mentioning the phone call at all.