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

The next morning, the thin mist on the top of Qinglu Mountain gradually dissipated.

Bai Ci was awakened by the sunlight. The off-white curtains weren't fully drawn, and a beam of golden light shone through the gap, landing directly on his eyelids. He rolled over, pulled the blanket over his face, then rolled over again, noticing two faint tear stains on the pillow, already dried and hard to the touch.

Last night, he stood at the door of his room and saw the newly replaced window. He couldn't hold back his tears. His eldest brother hugged him, his clothes soaked with tears. His third brother said his eyes were as red as a rabbit's, and then said he would buy him candy.

Bai Ci buried her face in the pillow, letting out a muffled groan that she couldn't quite describe as expressing any emotion. It was a little embarrassing, but her older brother said she didn't need to apologize for crying at home.

"Bye-bye! You're awake!" Xiao Qi's voice popped out of my head, full of energy, like a night watchman who had stayed up all night finally getting their shift over. "My physical condition is excellent today! My stamina has recovered to 65%, and my heart rate and blood pressure are all normal! A new day has begun!"

"Good morning, Xiao Qi!"

Bai Ci rubbed her eyes, threw off the covers and sat up, her hair still messy from sleep. She glanced out the window. The sun was shining brightly, and the trees in the courtyard swayed gently in the breeze; it was a lovely morning.

On the bedside table sat a thermos and a small dish of cut fruit, with a note pressed beside it. Bai Yanzhi's handwriting read: "Drink water first when you wake up. Don't go out on an empty stomach. Come to the dining room for breakfast."

Bai Ci held the note and read it several times, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turning up. He then carefully folded the note and put it in the bedside drawer, next to the handkerchief he had crumpled yesterday.

He drank half a glass of warm water and ate a piece of fruit.

"Bai Bai, did you sleep well last night? Did you have any dreams?" Xiao Qi's voice was unusually light, revealing an unconcealable guilty conscience.

"It's fine, just hungry." Bai Ci yawned, her tone languid. "Last night I dreamt I was eating steamed buns, but someone snatched them from my mouth just as I was about to take a bite."

"Wow! Who's being so mean, stealing things even in my dreams!"

Bai Ci rubbed his eyes and recalled truthfully: "It should be Third Brother, but there was another person whose face I couldn't see, but there seemed to be a big, dark thing coiled up behind him."

"Hahaha, really!... Dreams are always the opposite of reality. By the way, Bai Bai, what are your plans for today?"

"Let's go down and eat first, we'll talk about other things later." Bai Ci patted her empty stomach, her mind filled with nothing but rice. "Eating is the most important thing."

Xiao Qi quickly chimed in, "Bai Bai, why don't you go for a walk in the back garden first? Then we can go to the restaurant for dinner. The sun is shining brightly outside! The air is so fresh! It's perfect for a walk on an empty stomach!"

Bai Ci wondered why Xiao Qi seemed to be talking a lot today.

"Xiao Qi".

"Um?"

"Are you hiding something from me?"

"No! Absolutely not! Am I that kind of system?" Xiao Qi's voice rose another half octave. "I just think you've been cooped up in your room for too long these past few days and need to get some fresh air. Besides, the flowers in the back garden are blooming and smell especially good. Don't you like being close to nature? Go see the flowers, smell the fragrance, and it'll lift your spirits—"

Bai Ci felt that Xiao Qi was indeed acting strangely today, but at the moment his mind was full of "what to eat for breakfast" and he didn't have the extra mental energy to investigate.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door, and Uncle Chen pushed the door open and came in.

"Good morning, young master. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Great, good morning, Uncle Chen! What's for breakfast today?" Bai Ci's eyes lit up.

"Fresh strawberries this morning, freshly baked osmanthus cake, and your favorite red date and millet porridge," Uncle Chen replied with a gentle smile. "The young master specifically instructed me this morning to prepare everything according to your taste."

He paused, then added, "By the way, young master, the second young master returned in the early hours of the morning."

Bai Ci looked up at Uncle Chen, her light brown eyes wide open.

"Who...did you say came back?"

"Second Young Master, Bai Luochen," Uncle Chen repeated, "arrived early this morning. He brought Momo with him."

My second brother is back.

MoMo is back.

That giant python, several meters long and as thick as a bowl, that can shed its skin, push open its enclosure, and climb up the heating pipes onto people's beds in the middle of the night, is now living in the same manor as him.

Bai Ci called out in her heart, "Xiao Qi."

"……exist."

"Last night, my second brother brought Momo back. Did you detect it?"

Xiaoqi paused for a moment, then decided to be honest and let it go: "The heat source was detected in the early morning, but you were in deep sleep at the time, and your heart rate was unusually stable. It was an excellent period for recovery, so I didn't want to wake you up, for fear that you would be startled and your heart rate would spike, affecting your recovery."

"Um......"

Okay, Xiaoqi is a system, not an access control system. It has no obligation to wake him up at 3 a.m. and say, "Your second brother is back! Your second brother is back! Your second brother is back!"

There's really no need to wake him up in the middle of the night and give him a fright.

If you were to wake him up in the middle of the night and find out that a large snake was sleeping next door, he would most likely not dare to close his eyes all night.

"Alright." Bai Ci was very perceptive and knew that Xiao Qi was taking care of him. He wasn't really angry at all. He just deliberately made a light complaint, "I'll remember this debt for you. Don't try to cover things up next time."

Xiao Qi immediately admitted defeat, replying softly, "Understood, I'll remember this, and I'll definitely report to Bai Bai right away next time!"

Bai Ci composed herself, looked up at Uncle Chen, and said gently, "Uncle Chen, I'll change my clothes and then come downstairs for dinner."

"Okay." Uncle Chen nodded and left the room.

Bai Ci rummaged through his wardrobe. He now had a general idea of ​​the Bai family's dressing standards. He deliberately chose the most ordinary light beige crewneck sweatshirt, a low-key and clean style that didn't stand out at all.

The reason is simple.

The second brother is rumored to be both obsessive and aloof, and he also keeps a giant python; his personality is unpredictable.

Dressing too conspicuously will draw attention, and if you get noticed, you'll have to talk, and if you talk, you might say something wrong. And if you say something wrong, I don't know how my second brother will react. So I'll dress more discreetly and observe first.

Xiaoqi's inner monologue: There are only four people in the restaurant, can we really keep a low profile?

Bai Ci changed her clothes and went out. The corridor was empty, and there was no one in sight.

It seems Bai Luochen has already gone downstairs.

Bai Ci walked quietly towards the restaurant, her ears constantly alert, listening to every sound around her, not daring to relax for a moment.

Outside the long corridor is a meticulously maintained garden, bathed in morning light, with glistening dewdrops—a truly beautiful sight.

But he had no interest in admiring the scenery at all; his mind was filled with one question: What does his second brother look like?

He realized that his image of Bai Luochen was pieced together entirely from snippets of conversation between Bai Jiheng and Uncle Chen: obsessive, aloof, a research fanatic, raising giant pythons...

The image pieced together from these fragments is roughly that of a terrifying scientist wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with a blank expression, who could summon a snake from behind him at any moment to devour someone.

He took a deep breath, mentally prepared himself, and walked to the restaurant entrance, where he heard people talking inside.