No strange things are allowed to evolve!

Windsor was stunned.

No, of course not.

Jiang Shu shook his head and answered seriously:

"In my opinion, every person is like a snowflake. Even in the vast expanse of white snow, you can't find two snowflakes that are exactly the same. They are all unique."

I am a person full of curiosity and a spirit of exploration about the unknown, which is why I left home and traveled to the outside world.

For me, nothing is good or bad; it's just a matter of whether I've seen it or not. And I won't judge its quality after I've seen it, because I believe that everything and everyone has a reason to exist and the right to happiness.

So do you understand? I want to see the eight heads you mentioned, not because I want to make fun of you or anything.

I can see that this matter is constantly troubling you and you can't let go of it, so I just wanted to see your heart, which has become heavy because of this secret.

I want to see you stumble and fall along the way as you grow, to see the grievances you endure alone in the dead of night because you are not understood, and I also want to see your most authentic self when you let down your guard.

I also want to know if you gain the confidence to face yourself because of being appreciated, and if you can achieve a more positive and brighter life after resolving your inner conflicts.

I just... hope that my existence can leave a tiny, even tiny, mark on this world, at least in someone's heart.

Windsor was stunned.

She was filled with regret that she had assumed such malice towards such a kind person.

And... he really hit the nail on the head...

Without realizing it, Windsor felt her vision becoming somewhat blurry.

By the time she realized it, her face was already wet.

"Huh... what's going on..."

She frantically wiped her face and rubbed her eyes haphazardly.

Jiang Shu grasped her wrist at just the right moment.

"It's alright," he comforted gently. "Let me take a look, and everything will be alright, don't you think?"

"no, do not want..."

Windsor turned her head away, avoiding Jiang Shu's hot gaze, and spoke in a soft voice, almost like a dream.

"Don't ask me...you can decide for yourself..."

......

Strawberry Milkshake slept very restlessly.

I don't know if it's because the bed is a bit hard, or because of the noisy cats outside.

In fact, she often hears cats meowing when she goes to sleep at night, since she lives on a manor where not only cats but also many other animals roam.

So logically, they should have gotten used to it by now.

However, perhaps because this is a hatchery, the cats are probably different from those familiar there. They don't meow loudly and pitifully, but rather make a suppressed, delicate, and sweet sound.

The worst part is that it comes in waves.

Whether the ringing continues until she gets used to it, or it stops after a while, she can fall asleep.

But it happens in bursts.

So Strawberry Milkshake could only stare at the ceiling in agony, plugging her ears.

However, that sound, like a kitten's whining a hundred times louder, seemed to have been sent directly into her brain, and she couldn't shake it off.

She was starting to lose track of whether she was actually hearing it or hallucinating.

At first, she felt that the sound was coming from directly below the room, and it sounded somewhat muffled because of the floor. But after a while, it seemed as if she had moved to a more open space outside, and the sound was very ethereal.

But when she got up and opened the window to look, she could only see thick bushes below.

She simply didn't have the time or energy to catch that hateful cat.

So all I could do was lie back in bed and pray that it would leave soon.

Fortunately, after a long and tiring day, Strawberry Milkshake was exhausted, so despite the difficulty, she managed to drift off to sleep.

But even if you fall asleep, it doesn't mean you're enjoying sleep.

She was troubled again by strange dreams.

She dreamed that there were two people, a man and a woman, climbing a mountain.

Instead of climbing step by step up the stairs, it was a slow ascent on a very steep and rugged wild mountain where there was no path.

This was no easy task, so it was obvious that the two were very tired, taking turns breathing heavily.

The woman stopped climbing.

The man asked, "Can't you even handle that?"

“I’m just not used to it,” the woman replied.

"It's okay, it's just that your rhythm is off. Just keep up with mine," the man comforted her.

The two then continued on their way.

Finally, the woman could no longer climb.

The man had no choice but to stop and rummage through his bag for food to replenish his energy.

In her dream, she couldn't see what the strawberry milkshake was, but she felt it must have been an apple.

Because she overheard their conversation.

"Let's try this one this time. I haven't tasted this before."

"Hey, aren't they all the same? What's the difference in taste?"

"Of course there is a difference, because the altitude is different, so the fruits that grow there will naturally not taste the same."

"Oh dear... please don't wipe it like that, I've already washed it, it's not dirty."

"It's not that I think it's dirty."

"I know..."

After eating the apple, the two continued climbing, panting heavily.

After climbing for a while, the woman suddenly squatted down.

The man said with a hint of helplessness, "Are you planning to admit defeat?"

"No, I didn't lose to it." The woman's tone was slightly unconvinced. When she stood up again, she had a bunch of wildflowers that she had picked when she squatted down.

“I just…” she sniffed shyly and with a touch of ecstasy, “I just like this smell.”

......

With dark circles under her eyes and messy hair, Strawberry Milkshake looked like a newly unearthed zombie as she slowly sat up from the bed.

She had a strange dream all night and now felt a bit of a headache.

She didn't understand why she had such a dream.

It is said that dreams are the windows to the soul, a reflection of the subconscious in reality, but she never climbs mountains, nor does she like the fragrance of flowers.

She could only attribute it to environmental issues.

"I feel like it would be better to find a cave..."

She yawned, then mechanically looked towards the bedside.

The bed was still empty.

He didn't come back that night.

Strawberry Milkshake stared blankly for a while.

Some people felt disappointed because the guy said he was going to find a ride-sharing service and then never came back, leaving them stranded there for the whole night.

Some were relieved that he hadn't returned when he was in deep sleep, which greatly reduced his alertness and perception during dreaming.

After staring blankly at the empty bed for a long time, Strawberry Milkshake finally snapped out of it.

She smiled.

"What's wrong with you? You say you don't mind living with me, but are you actually a little scared of me?"

"So that's why you made up an excuse to leave, but actually you just spent the night somewhere, right?"

"What a stubborn guy."

With that in mind, Strawberry Milkshake got up and quickly washed up.

Because she originally planned to live under the same roof as Jiang Shu, she didn't take off her clothes when she went to sleep, and she didn't put on her clothes when she got up.

After checking that nothing was missing, she opened the door and went downstairs to look for Jiang Shu.

It was not yet fully light at this time.

She felt that Jiang Shu was probably curled up somewhere, dozing off, and maybe even in her dreams she was outwitting herself.

What she had to do was find him, wake him up, and if he didn't look too pitiful, she could even make a little fun of him before letting him go back to his room to sleep for a while.

Jiang Shu might refuse, but that's okay.

"If you don't sleep well, how will you continue your journey? You're not just delaying yourself."

He'll definitely give in if you just say that.

That was the original plan for the strawberry milkshake.

However, she was stunned when she saw Jiang Shu having breakfast with Windsor.

Aside from Jiang Shu not following her script, wasn't your breakfast a bit too lavish?

It could even be described as somewhat greasy.

It's one thing that there's a lot of meat, but why is the fibrous thing served with the meat instead of a scallion or garlic, but a piece of ginseng?

Do you really need to replenish your body like this so early in the morning?

goo—

This made the stomach of the strawberry milkshake, who had only eaten a piece of bread before going to sleep last night, rumble.

She suddenly felt a little wronged.

"Oh? You're awake." Jiang Shu looked up at her when he heard her voice. "Let's eat something together."

The strawberry milkshake struggled for a moment, but its appetite ultimately prevailed over its dissatisfaction.

She took her seat.

Seeing this, Windsor stood up and smiled gently at her: "I'll go prepare another set of tableware."

"Thank you for your help."

Watching Windsor walk into the kitchen, Strawberry Milkshake asked Jiang Shu, "Why didn't you come back last night?"

"Oh." Jiang Shu's expression was natural, as if he didn't care. He pointed to the carriage outside the window and said, "After I reached an agreement with her yesterday, I was busy assembling the carriage for her. I was busy all night, and before I knew it, it was dawn."

"Uh..." Strawberry Milkshake's expression softened slightly: "Then why didn't you ask me for help?"

"I saw you went to bed early, so I figured you must be tired and didn't think to wake you." Jiang Shu finished the ginseng in a few bites, then casually forked a piece of meat with his fork and handed it to her: "Eat up, we can set off after the guests check out."

"Oh."

Strawberry Milkshake responded with a sound of agreement, but didn't say anything more. She simply took the fork that Jiang Shu handed her and began to chew gently.

A short while later, Windsor returned with a clean set of cutlery.

Then she let out a soft "hmm".

Why did you give her your fork?

"It doesn't matter, does it?" Jiang Shu picked up another fork. "Anyway, I haven't used it yet, so it's clean."

Upon hearing this, Windsor finally sat down.

Then she smiled apologetically at the strawberry milkshake: "I'm so sorry. I only found out yesterday after he explained it to me that you two are not actually lovers, just friends. I was so oblivious that I thought it was okay for you to share a room. I hope I didn't cause you any trouble."

After she finished speaking, she carefully observed the reaction of the strawberry milkshake.

The latter didn't think there was anything wrong with it. On the contrary, because of this small detail, he gave Jiang Shu a good score in his mind and changed his opinion of him quite a bit.