Actually, Su Mengli’s reminder wasn’t even necessary. The moment Mo Xiangwen pushed open the door, he spotted Bai Shishi in the room.
She lay on the upper half of his bed, a thin blanket draped casually over her body.
Her legs, clad in white pantyhose, dangled off the side of the bed. Her feet, below the knees, hovered in the air, swinging gently back and forth.
At the sound of the door opening, Bai Shishi immediately lifted her head. When she saw it was him, a bright, cheerful smile bloomed on her face.
“Xiao Yi? Weren’t you supposed to help out in the kitchen?” Far from feeling guilty at being caught, Bai Shishi looked positively delighted.
Mo Xiangwen felt his eyelids growing so heavy they might as well have been glued shut. His voice came out thick with exhaustion. “Yeah… all the dishes are prepped. The clay pot’s just simmering now. Mengli’s watching the fire. I’m back to catch some shut-eye.”
As he spoke, he couldn’t hold back a massive yawn.
“Ah, then hop in bed quick, Xiao Yi.” Bai Shishi promptly threw off the blanket she’d been using and patted the mattress invitingly. “Get some rest. Here’s your blanket back.”
By now, Mo Xiangwen’s brain felt like it was filled with mush. Exhaustion crashed over him in waves, leaving no space for any other thoughts.
He nodded in compliance, shuffling to the bedside almost on autopilot. He kicked off his shoes and clambered onto the bed.
The instant his body sank into the soft mattress, that bone-deep weariness intensified.
He mumbled something incoherent. “Shishi, wake me if anything comes up…”
The words had barely left his mouth—before Bai Shishi could even respond—when he plunged into deep sleep.
“Mm, sure—” Bai Shishi nodded, on the verge of replying, only to realize his eyes were already closed. His breathing had slowed into long, steady rhythms.
Perched on the edge of the bed, Bai Shishi tucked the blanket around him. She reached out with a slender finger and gave his cheek a gentle poke.
“If you’re this wiped out, you should rest more.” Bai Shishi pouted in mild dissatisfaction. “You’re always so chatty when you’re the one nagging me to get some sleep.”
She gazed at his serene sleeping face and listened to the even cadence of his breaths. The faint, savory aroma drifting in from the kitchen mingled with the sudden tranquility of the room, stirring her own drowsiness.
As she watched him, her eyelids grew heavy and began to battle for supremacy.
She rubbed her eyes but ultimately couldn’t fight off the sleepiness. Too lazy to shift positions, she curled up her legs, rolled onto her side next to Mo Xiangwen, and nestled her small frame against the bed’s edge. Before long, she too had drifted off.
Some indeterminate time later, amid the fog of sleep, Mo Xiangwen vaguely registered a faint rustle and a gentle warmth nearby.
He struggled to pry his eyes open just a sliver. There was Bai Shishi, curled into a little ball, fast asleep right beside him.
His muddled mind didn’t process much. Driven by habit and instinct, he drowsily extended a hand, tugged half the blanket free, and draped it over her huddled form.
With that small task complete, he let his eyelids flutter shut once more and surrendered to sleep again.
……
Roughly thirty minutes passed.
In the living room, Su Mengli timed it perfectly and switched off the flame under the clay pot, allowing it to cool naturally on the stove. As she returned to the living room, she didn’t spot the Bai Shishi she’d expected—instead, she found Su Mengyao lounging on the sofa.
“How’s Nuoya doing?” Su Mengli asked.
“Mm, she doesn’t seem to be sleeping peacefully. Tossing and turning a lot.” Su Mengyao shook her head. “She must have taken her medicine earlier, though. Her breathing and expression look pretty steady now.”
She paused for a beat before adding, “At least that’s how it seems to me. I’m not as clued in as you are, sis. If you’re that worried, why not check on her yourself?”
Su Mengli gave a slight nod. “All right, I’ll go take a look at Nuoya.”
She took a couple of steps toward the door but suddenly turned back with a casual warning. “Oh, and no sneaking any snacks.”
Su Mengyao’s expression darkened. She was about to shoot back a fierce glare when her eyes locked onto the crooked, lopsided ponytail dangling at the back of Su Mengli’s head.
“Sis, what the heck is up with that ponytail?” Su Mengyao blurted in astonishment. She hesitated for a moment, carefully choosing her words before continuing. “It’s… uh, so offhand?”
“I mean,” she hastily amended, her survival instincts flaring, “it’s not really your usual style.”
Cued by the question, Su Mengli reached back and touched her ponytail.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Her tone was utterly nonchalant. “You weren’t around earlier, so I had Xiangwen help me out on the fly.”
Su Mengyao blinked, convinced she’d misheard. “Xiangwen… tied it for you?”
“Yep.” Su Mengli eyed her curiously. “Why? What’s the big deal?”
“…Wouldn’t you normally head back to your room and do it yourself?” Su Mengyao asked softly, genuinely puzzled. “Even a quick job by you would beat Xiangwen’s skills by a mile, right?”
Su Mengli saw no point in explaining. She strode over to her sister and thrust her fingers right under Su Mengyao’s nose.
Caught off guard, Su Mengyao inhaled a potent blast of onion, ginger, and garlic spiciness. She recoiled with a wrinkled nose. “Eww!”
“See?” Su Mengli pulled her hand back and shot her sister an exasperated look. “How exactly was I supposed to handle it myself? You were holed up in Nuoya’s room forever.”
The pungent aroma clicked everything into place for Su Mengyao. Her face lit up with her trademark playful grin. “Aw, I was just curious, sis. You actually let someone else do your hair.”
She slipped around behind Su Mengli. “Want me to fix it for you? Otherwise, everyone’s gonna see this hot mess later.”
Su Mengli didn’t overthink it and nodded. “Sure, thanks for the help.”
“You got it.” Su Mengyao swiftly untied the mangled hair tie and ran her nimble fingers through her sister’s long locks.
The two sisters had helped each other with their hair more times than they could count.
“By the way, sis,” Su Mengyao said as she expertly gathered the strands. “Didn’t you say you’d bring up that Studio funding with Old Dad? How’d it go?”
“I already talked to him about it.” Su Mengli thought back briefly. “Dad’s cool with it either way, but Mom wants to meet Xiangwen first before deciding.”
“Huh? Why’s that?” Su Mengyao’s hands never stopped moving.
“No idea.” Su Mengli furrowed her brow slightly. “And after I filled them in on Xiangwen’s situation, even Dad said he wants to meet him.”
“Ahahaha…” Su Mengyao’s laughter carried a knowing undertone as her fingers worked even faster. “Then just loop in Xiangwen. We can all pick a time to get together.”
In short order, a sleek, tidy ponytail was complete.
“There! Perfect!” Su Mengyao clapped her hands in satisfaction.
“Great. I’ll go check on Nuoya now.” Su Mengli turned and headed for Yan Nuoya’s room.
“Mm-hm.”
Su Mengli pushed open the door to Yan Nuoya’s room. She found Yan Nuoya sitting alone on the edge of the bed, her head slightly bowed, long hair spilling over her shoulders. She radiated a weary, enervated air.
“Nuoya?” Su Mengli’s voice held a note of concern at the sight. “You okay? Need a hand with anything?”
“……”
At the sound of her voice, Yan Nuoya slowly raised her head.
Those eyes, usually as clear and stunning as purple amethysts, were now veiled in a thin haze. They lacked focus, appearing somewhat vacant.
Several seconds ticked by before her gaze sharpened, like a camera lens coming into focus. A glimmer of awareness returned, as if she’d just snapped back from some distant place.
“It’s Mengli…” Yan Nuoya’s voice was raspy from sleep and laced with obvious daze. “I’m fine… I’ll get up now…”
Su Mengli took in her pallid face and sighed silently to herself, though she maintained a warm smile. “Dinner’s ready. We’re waiting for you in the living room. If you’d rather rest more, we can set aside a portion for you.”
“Mm, sorry about this…” Yan Nuoya massaged her temple. “I’ll be right out.”
A short while later, Yan Nuoya stepped into the living room.
She glanced left and right but didn’t see Mo Xiangwen anywhere.
Spotting her arrival, Su Mengyao waved her over. “Nuoya, feeling any better?”
Yan Nuoya waved off the concern and asked, “Where’s Xiangwen?”
Su Mengli pointed toward Mo Xiangwen’s room. “Xiangwen helped with the cooking earlier. He looked completely wiped out, so I sent him off to rest.”
Su Mengyao shot Su Mengli a look of astonishment, her tone dripping with disbelief. “Sis, you’re even putting the sick guy to work?”
Su Mengli’s lovely features hardened slightly. She fixed her sister with a glare before explaining. “He insisted on pitching in. I couldn’t talk him out of it.”
“That’s Xiangwen for you,” Su Mengyao ribbed. “Sure, he sent us to buy the groceries, but no need to haul his sick self into the kitchen. The dude’s ill and still won’t depend on us even a little.”
Yan Nuoya, however, looked even more taken aback. “Groceries? Cooking?”
“Check the group chat.” Su Mengyao gestured at her phone.
Yan Nuoya fished out her phone and quickly scanned the messages. With her quick wits, she pieced together the whole story in moments.
“Xiangwen did the cooking?” She turned to Su Mengli, a hint of incredulity in her voice. “He knows how to cook?”
“It was more like we did it together.” Su Mengli clarified. “But judging by how he handled things, he definitely knows his way around the kitchen.”
“I see…” Yan Nuoya nodded, coming to terms with it.
She clearly didn’t know either. Weren’t we supposed to be kindred spirits? Traitor. Yan Nuoya pursed her lips in dissatisfaction, but a warm, fuzzy feeling welled up in her heart.
Su Mengli thought for a moment before saying, “That said, once we reached the stage of simmering it low and slow in the clay pot, I sent him back to rest. I have no idea if he’s awake yet.”
A flicker of concern passed through Yan Nuoya’s purple eyes. “I’ll go check on him. Might as well wake him up while I’m at it?”
“Sure, that works.” Su Mengli didn’t object.
Yan Nuoya lightened her steps as she approached Mo Xiangwen’s bedroom door. She grasped the cool metal doorknob, twisted it gently, and pushed the door open as quietly as possible before slipping inside.
With the curtains drawn, the room was dimly lit.
Her gaze immediately went to the bed on the left side of the room.
There lay Mo Xiangwen, flat on his back with his eyes closed, his face serene and his breathing deep and steady. He was clearly in a deep sleep.
Not far from him—less than a pillow’s width away—Bai Shishi was sleeping soundly as well.
She lay curled up, covered by more than half the blanket that Mo Xiangwen had clearly shared with her. In the dim light, their sleeping faces looked extraordinarily peaceful.
Yan Nuoya paused in the doorway, her steps faltering for a moment.
Her beautiful purple eyes clearly reflected the scene before her. The slight daze in her gaze from moments ago sharpened into perfect clarity.
Should she wake them?
Yan Nuoya’s eyes lingered on their sleeping faces for a moment.
Mo Xiangwen was probably as exhausted as she was, and Bai Shishi looked like she was sleeping deeply too.
A soft, indescribable emotion quietly rose in her heart, diluting the initial surprise and that faint, ambiguous feeling she hadn’t even fully registered yet.
Never mind… let them sleep a little longer.
She let out a silent sigh and gently closed the door behind her.
Back in the living room, Su Mengli and Su Mengyao both looked her way.
“How’d it go? Did you wake him?” Su Mengyao asked first.
Yan Nuoya shook her head gently and said softly, “No… Xiangwen’s out cold. Let him sleep a bit more.”
“What about Shishi?” Su Mengli asked. “Is she still in there? I haven’t seen her come out.”
Yan Nuoya paused for a moment before nodding. “She’s still in the room.”
Su Mengli shook her head. “Fine, let Xiangwen sleep some more. He doesn’t look like he’ll be up anytime soon.”
“As for Shishi, there’s no point waking her now anyway.”
She turned to Yan Nuoya with concern. “Nuoya, are you hungry? Want to grab a bite first?”
Yan Nuoya subconsciously touched her stomach, gauging her hunger. She still didn’t feel much appetite.
She shook her head. “Not hungry… no appetite.”
Su Mengli eyed her pale face and weary expression, her voice gentle. “Then go lie down for a bit longer. You need the rest too.”
Su Mengyao nodded in agreement. “We’re not hungry yet anyway. Once Xiangwen’s up, we can eat then. I’ll come get you.”
Yan Nuoya did feel bone-tired, lacking the energy to argue, so she nodded. “Yeah… sounds good.”
Back in the study, the room—which had once felt a tad cramped—now struck her as vast and echoing with an odd silence.
Perfect, she thought. She liked the quiet. Yan Nuoya lay back down on the bed.
Exhausted as she was, sleep wouldn’t come. She tossed and turned, unable to settle.
She closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind and drift off.
But the scene from Mo Xiangwen’s room floated vividly into her thoughts.
Mo Xiangwen’s sleeping profile, Bai Shishi nestled peacefully beside him.
Her thoughts tangled into a chaotic knot. She couldn’t even say what she was thinking about, or why.
She couldn’t put it into words herself. The image was simply burned into her mind, impossible to shake.
Her body screamed for sleep, but her mind raced like a wild horse set free.
Yan Nuoya rolled over, burying her face in the soft pillow, desperate to block out the jumbled thoughts and force herself into slumber.
