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

The large bedroom fell silent instantly, leaving only Bai Yanzhi and Bai Ci.

The faint, intermittent sobs from before still lingered in the air. Bai Yanzhi didn't urge him, but gently patted his back. Only when Bai Ci's shoulders stopped trembling did he soften his voice and ask softly:

"Feeling better?"

Bai Ci nodded gently, lowered her head, and moved to sit down on the edge of the bed. Her eyes were red from crying, her nose was pink, and she looked listless and weak.

Bai Yanzhi walked to the bedside table and poured a glass of warm water.

"Drink some water to soothe your throat."

Bai Ci obediently took the cup and sipped it slowly. She had cried so hard just now that her throat was dry and parched. The warm water helped her feel a little better, and the bitterness in her heart slowly dissipated.

As soon as the tension eased, drowsiness washed over him; his eyelashes drooped, and his head bobbed down. Crying is very tiring, especially for someone as weak as him.

"Tired?" Bai Yanzhi asked.

Bai Ci nodded, then shook his head, then nodded again. He actually wanted to say something to his older brother, to thank him, to apologize for accidentally wetting his brother's clothes with his tears, and to promise to replace the handkerchief tomorrow. But he was too sleepy, his mind was foggy, and he couldn't even make sense of what he wanted to say.

Seeing his dazed look, Bai Yanzhi took the tilted cup from his hand and gently pressed his shoulder.

"Lie down."

Bai Ci obediently leaned back, the back of her head sinking into the pillow.

He dimmed the bedside lamp by one notch, and the warm yellow light enveloped the boy's pale face, softening the remaining blush.

"Big brother." Bai Ci's voice was already slurred.

"Um?"

"Will my third brother not buy me candy tomorrow? It's such a small thing, after all."

Bai Yanzhi's lips curved into a very slight smile: "He will buy it. Go to sleep."

Bai Ci felt as if he had received some incredible assurance, and his tense shoulders finally relaxed completely. He turned over, curled up into a ball, and buried his face in the blanket.

Bai Yanzhi looked at the small bulge in the blanket and remembered how his younger brother looked when he first came to the Bai family.

She was thin and small, and would shrink back when she saw people. She couldn't answer a single question even if asked ten times. She wouldn't utter a sound even if she was wronged, but would just bite her lip and shake her head, her eyes red but refusing to let the tears fall.

But now, I dare to cry in front of him, dare to hold his handkerchief and wipe my tears, dare to nestle on his shoulder with a red nose, and pour out my grievances little by little. I dare to mumble in my drowsy state that my third brother won't buy me candy anymore, and take it for granted that he will come to my rescue.

He reached out and pulled the blanket up from Bai Ci's shoulder, tucking the corners of the blanket in.

The boy unconsciously turned his face in the direction the finger was pointing while he was asleep.

Bai Yanzhi's lips curved slightly.

"Good night."

A muffled reply drifted from under the covers, soft and sweet, so sleepy it was hard to even speak clearly: "...Goodnight, big brother."

He sat for a while longer, until Bai Ci's breathing had completely calmed down, before quietly getting up.

Xiaoqi quietly dimmed the system interface brightness, switched the monitoring mode to silent, and then wrote a line in the background log:

"The host has entered deep sleep, expected to last 7-8 hours. Heart rate is stable, blood oxygen is normal, tonight will be a good night's sleep."

The door was closed gently.

In the hallway, Bai Jiheng was leaning against the wall, scrolling through his phone. He heard the door open and looked up.

"Asleep?"

"Um."

"You're not crying anymore, are you?"

"no."

Bai Jiheng put his phone back in his pocket and walked towards his room. After taking a few steps, he stopped: "Tell the kitchen to prepare plenty of strawberries tomorrow—strawberry candy, strawberry cookies, strawberry jam, stock up on everything they can make."

Bai Yanzhi raised an eyebrow: "Didn't you just say you weren't going to buy it?"

"So that someone won't say I don't keep my word."

One by one, the corridor wall lamps went out, and the entire Qinglu Manor sank into the deep night.

In Bai Ci's bedroom, the newly replaced window gleamed with a faint silver-gray light, the latches firmly sealing the gaps. The night breeze was kept out, leaving only moonlight to stream in, thinly draping over the boy's relaxed brows and eyes.

In her sleep, Bai Ci's lips curved into a slight smile.

I probably dreamt of osmanthus cake and strawberry candy.

Bai Luochen arrived home after midnight.

The helicopter landed on the helipad on the west side of the estate, and the night wind stirred up by the rotor blades rippled across the lawn.

Butler Uncle Chen was already waiting at the edge of the tarmac, followed by two servants who helped carry the luggage.

Bai Luochen bent down and emerged from behind the hatch, wearing a dark gray windproof jacket with the collar pulled tightly shut, revealing only a section of his pale, thin chin. He carried two sealed metal boxes, one labeled with a biological sample number and the other labeled "Fragile Mineral Slice".

"Second Young Master." Uncle Chen stepped forward and took the metal box from his hand.

Bai Luochen said succinctly to Uncle Chen, "Turn the humidifier in the study to 65%. There's a paper record in compartment number three of the sample box; scan it and send it to my email by tomorrow morning."

"Yes." Uncle Chen replied, his gaze falling on the direction of the hatch behind Bai Luochen. "Second Young Master, Mo Mo's temperature-controlled transport container—"

"No need." Bai Luochen turned his head and whistled softly towards the cabin door.

A soft, rustling sound suddenly came from inside the cabin.

A dark python, as thick as a bowl, poked its head out of the cabin door, its vertical pupils gleaming with a dark, cold light in the moonlight.

It swam slowly down the gangway, its scales scraping against the metal steps with a soft rustling sound. Its pace was neither hurried nor slow, as if it had just woken up from a deep sleep, still carrying a hint of languor.

"Mo Mo." Bai Luochen called softly, and the python immediately raised its head and swam towards him.

Both servants took a half step back at the same time. Although they all knew that the snake the second young master kept was docile, they still couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts when they saw a four-meter-long python land on the ground.

Momo swam straight to Bai Luochen's feet, skillfully climbing up his leg. Its sturdy body wrapped half a circle around his waist to stabilize its center of gravity, its head resting affectionately on his shoulder, and its tail tip hanging down, loosely curling around his wrist.

Bai Luochen glanced at Momo and patted its head: "Behave yourself, you've gained weight recently."

A low gurgling sound escaped from Mo Mo's throat, sounding like a reluctant, muffled protest.

Uncle Chen remained calm and composed, simply stepping aside to make way for the young master: "Second Young Master, your room has been cleaned in advance, and the constant temperature breeding terrarium has been adjusted."

"Yes, Uncle Chen, you should get some rest. Everyone's asleep."

With a giant python coiled around his shoulder, Bai Luochen walked towards the main building. His room was at the far end of the second floor of the east wing, with the back garden right outside the window. He chose this room because Momo could sunbathe in the garden without having to see too many people.

After walking a few steps, he stopped, looked up at the tightly closed window on the second floor of the main building, and a faint light flashed in his dark eyes.

The window was fitted with a brand-new limit lock, leaving only a narrow ventilation gap, a style never before seen in the manor.

His gaze swept over indifferently, then he lowered his head and leaned closer to Mo Mo on his shoulder, whispering a short sentence.

"With one more person in the house, it looks like it's going to be quite lively."

Momo's tail tip tightened slightly, rubbing against his wrist as if it understood and was responding.

A person and a snake walked along the glass corridor toward the main building, their figures gradually blending into the night.

Bai Ci's room on the second floor.

Xiaoqi's sensory detection panel suddenly displayed a notification: Bai Luochen's biological signal detected, matching degree 97%. Note: Carrying a live biological signal - python.

It glanced at the heat source signal of the snake on the screen, then at Bai Ci, who was sleeping soundly in bed.

Bai Ci curled up into a small ball, half her face buried in the pillow, her breathing light and even, the blanket having been kicked off halfway at some point.