The rain and sunshine combined to make the air humid and oppressive, as if they had stepped into a giant steamer.
Bai Tao shielded her eyes from the sunlight as she chattered away.
“Although it’s a small basement, the location is pretty good. You know how good the location is, right?”
Pei Jin said nothing.
He had already observed the surroundings. The location was indeed quite good.
“The monthly rent is eight thousand.”
Bai Tao held up eight fingers before folding four of them down.
“You only need to pay four thousand.”
Pei Jin hummed in agreement.
“The medical expenses were eight hundred.”
Bai Tao continued calculating. “And then there are the two outfits I bought for you.”
She paused, her eyes darting around.
“You only need to give me ten thousand in total.”
Pei Jin stopped and frowned.
“Those two outfits cost five thousand two hundred?”
Bai Tao immediately put on an exaggerated expression of disbelief, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open, as if saying, How could you doubt me?
“Yes. I was worried you wouldn’t be comfortable wearing cheap clothes, so I specially bought you these luxury items.
“Although they look understated, like an ordinary old man’s undershirt, they’re actually.”
She raised her fingers and counted each item one by one.
“This undershirt was 1,990. These pants were 2,990. And your underwear was 5,500. I even gave you a 300-yuan discount, so don’t be ungrateful.”
Pei Jin looked at her.
The sunlight fell across Bai Tao’s face. Her expression was serious, as if she wasn’t joking at all, but there was a suppressed smile in her bright eyes.
Then Pei Jin laughed.
It was a laugh that was both angry and helpless, carrying a hint of resignation.
The icy coldness on his face seemed to crack open at that moment, revealing a faint, slightly awkward warmth underneath.
He lowered his eyes and pulled the hidden tag from his waistband.
Several lines of words were clearly printed on the white cardboard.
“RT-Mart Special Offer, Pure Cotton T-Shirt, Price: 29.9 Yuan.”
Bai Tao’s gaze landed on the 29.9-yuan price.
She fell silent for half a second.
Then she turned around and walked backward in front of Pei Jin.
An awkward, guilty, yet forcedly polite smile appeared on her face.
“Hahahaha.”
Bai Tao gave a dry laugh.
“Was my joke funny? Okay, then give me back my five thousand.”
Pei Jin walked behind Bai Tao, one hand in his shorts pocket.
He watched her small and delicate figure moving backward.
The sunlight fell across her shoulders, the ends of her hair, and the tip of her nose, bathing her in a pale golden glow.
The breeze blew her hair, lifting a few strands beside her ears.
This stupid woman.
Why was she so different from what he had expected?
He lowered his eyes and shifted his gaze from Bai Tao to the road ahead.
The sunlight cast the long shadows of the two of them onto the ground. One walked in front while the other followed behind, their shadows occasionally overlapping.
“Don’t walk backward. You’ll fall.”
Bai Tao paused, turned her head, and obediently straightened up to walk beside him.
A mechanical female voice came from the navigation app.
“Turn right in 100 meters.”
Pei Jin raised an eyebrow slightly as he followed Bai Tao into the residential complex.
Although the complex looked somewhat shabby, the security at the entrance was decent.
Probably because it was located within the Third Ring Road, the buildings were somewhat old, but the residents were wealthy and influential, so the property management couldn’t afford to be careless.
Bai Tao walked ahead, swiped her access card, glanced back at him, and smiled somewhat guiltily.
“Come on, this way.”
Pei Jin followed her through a short corridor.
The cement floor beneath their feet looked old, with a thin layer of moss growing in the corners.
Bai Tao entered a building and stopped in front of an iron door leading to the basement.
She had already told him beforehand that it was a basement, so Pei Jin had been mentally prepared.
Even so, he was still startled when he saw the interior.
It was extremely shabby.
There was a small sofa near the entrance. Behind it was a bare wooden bed without even a curtain.
The entire space was probably only a dozen square meters. The kitchen, living room, and bedroom were all crammed together.
An empty clothesline hung against the wall, while the wires connected to the light bulb above were exposed, swaying slightly in the air.
Pei Jin subconsciously raised his hand.
His palm touched the ceiling.
It was damp and rough.
The cement wall felt cold and coarse, carrying the distinctive dampness of a rainy day.
He withdrew his hand and looked down at his fingertips.
This was the first time Pei Jin had ever stood inside such a simple room.
The things in the Pei Family’s house suddenly seemed like something from a distant past, separated from him by a thick, blurry pane of glass that he could no longer see through clearly.
Bai Tao stood to the side with her hands clasped together, smiling shyly at Pei Jin.
“How about it? Is it okay?”
Her voice was much softer than usual, carrying a tentative and cautious tone.
“If you’d like you can sleep on the bed, and I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward the sofa.
In her mind, she gave herself a thumbs-up.
Bai Tao, you’re amazing.
You’re letting Pei Jin sleep on the bed. Definitely not because the bed is too hard for you to sleep on. You’re doing this because you’re kind-hearted, helpful, naive, lovely, simple, kind, beautiful, and brave.
All right.
The bed really was too hard.
At least the sofa was tolerable.
When Bai Tao had lived here alone, she hadn’t felt that the room was particularly shabby.
She would wake up in the morning, stretch, and think that life wasn’t too bad.
But now that another person had entered the room, the tiny space suddenly felt unbearably crowded.
Pei Jin frowned and glanced around.
The basement didn’t smell particularly fresh. There was a faint musty odor, but fortunately, it wasn’t too strong.
After staying there for a while, he got used to it. At least it wasn’t nauseating.
He was penniless now, so he couldn’t afford to be picky about where he lived.
Having a place to stay was already a blessing.
If Bai Tao hadn’t taken him in, he might have had to return to the bicycle shelter where he had started and make do there for a few days.
But.
Pei Jin’s gaze moved between the bed and the sofa.
Wasn’t this a little too lacking in privacy?
The bed and sofa were far too close together, with no partition between them.
He would be staying here, while Bai Tao would be sleeping there.
There were only two or three steps between them.
There wasn’t even a curtain.
Bai Tao stood beside Pei Jin and felt a chill run down her spine.
The girl who had picked up Pei Jin in her previous life must have lived much better than she did, right?
At the very least, she should have had a proper single room with a private bathroom, a water heater, and a balcony for drying clothes.
Unlike Bai Tao’s place, where the toilet was so small that it was difficult to turn around, and she had to heat water herself whenever she wanted to take a shower.
Bai Tao suddenly regretted renting this place.
Although living in the suburbs made it inconvenient to find a job or commute to work, for the same amount of money, she could have rented a one-bedroom apartment.
She glanced at Pei Jin’s back, then looked at her own sofa, which was covered with a trench coat.
She suddenly felt a little discouraged.
Was this really not going to work?
Pei Jin stood outside the door, looking at Bai Tao standing obediently inside.
She had lowered her head, her hands hanging at her sides, looking like a student who had made a mistake and was waiting for the teacher to reprimand her.
The scrape on her arm from yesterday had already scabbed over with dark red scabs, but it was still strikingly visible against her fair skin, making her look rather pitiful.
Pei Jin’s gaze lingered on her arm for a moment.
Just like that?
She was still going to get close to him?
Everything Bai Tao did was abnormal.
When they were children, she had cautiously approached him to play.
She would hold a Barbie doll in her hands, her eyes sparkling as she asked whether he wanted to play house.
She would be the mother, and he would be the son.
He had been in a bad mood back then and had scolded her.
Bai Tao’s eyes had reddened, and she had run away crying.
After that, she never came to see him again.
But now.
He had strangled her.
He had pinned her against the wall and made it difficult for her to breathe.
Yet she had braved the pouring rain to come back for him.
She had dragged him from beside a garbage bin to the pharmacy, stayed by his side all night, and even shared half of her tiny home with him.
Pei Jin thought about it for a long time, but he couldn’t figure out how to explain her behavior.
Finally, he spoke in a low voice.
“Do you still have money?”
Bai Tao froze.
She turned around, her eyes filled with apprehension and surprise.
If Pei Jin didn’t want to stay here and wanted to borrow money from her to rent another place, she could accept that.
“Ah? Yes.”
She nodded.
Pei Jin looked away as though considering his words.
“Then let’s go out and buy a curtain first. At least we can separate the bed from the sofa.”
He paused.
“Consider the money a loan from you.”
“Ah… ah, okay, okay.”
Bai Tao’s voice suddenly became much lighter.
“It’s fine. I can pay for this. After all, I’ll need it too.”
“Okay.”
Pei Jin followed Bai Tao to the RT-Mart outside the residential complex.
The air conditioning inside the supermarket was extremely strong, a sharp contrast to the sweltering heat outside.
Bai Tao shivered as soon as she entered, then pushed a shopping cart.
The two of them wandered around the supermarket for nearly half an hour.
They picked out two sets of the cheapest sheets and duvet covers. They were plain-colored, one light gray and the other light blue, and felt fairly soft to the touch.
She bought two pillows as well, one firm and one soft.
Bai Tao silently put the soft one into the shopping cart without saying who it was for.
Finally, she picked up two summer quilts.
They were thin and could be folded into small bundles, but once unfolded, they were just enough for one person.
As Bai Tao pushed the cart toward the checkout counter, she silently calculated the expenses in her head.
Thankfully, it was summer, so the quilts weren’t expensive.
In winter, buying two thick quilts would have kept her awake for three nights.
Back in the basement, the two of them began tidying up.
Pei Jin made the bed quickly and efficiently.
He smoothed out every corner and wrinkle, doing it much more neatly than Bai Tao.
Bai Tao watched for a couple of seconds and immediately felt inferior.
So she deliberately folded the blanket on the sofa into a crooked square, pretending that she was good at tidying too.
Then came the curtain.
Pei Jin stood beside the wooden bed and gestured to indicate its height.
Bai Tao pulled a box of nails from the drawer.
They had probably been left behind by the previous tenant. They were quite rusty, but still usable.
Pei Jin took the hammer and drove a nail into the wall with a few strikes.
Bai Tao unfolded the large floral fabric.
It had a dark blue background covered with large white peony blossoms.
The design was rather tacky, but certainly distinctive.
She hung the fabric from the nail, took two steps backward, and looked at it.
Although it was a little tacky, at least it separated the bed from the sofa.
Bai Tao nodded in satisfaction.
After everything was finished, Bai Tao collapsed onto the sofa, exhausted.
She pulled out her phone and started scrolling.
One leg rested over the armrest while the other was curled up beneath her, leaving her lazily nestled in the small corner.
Pei Jin went into the bathroom.
The moment he entered, he saw two small pink pieces of clothing hanging from the clothesline.
He froze.
The tips of his ears gradually turned bright red.
The clothesline was pulled low by the weight of the garments, hanging right at the level of his nose.
Their faint fragrance drifted into his nostrils, impossible to ignore.
It was a sweet, indescribable scent.
Pleasant and intoxicating.
Pei Jin shook his head.
He realized that his thoughts were starting to become somewhat inappropriate, so he quickly turned away.
The next second, Bai Tao suddenly remembered the two small pieces of clothing hanging there.
She jumped up and hurried over.
Just in time, she met Pei Jin’s gaze as he turned around.
His ears were noticeably red.
Bai Tao, who had been feeling shy and embarrassed, suddenly felt much less embarrassed.
She teased him lightly.
“It’s fine. What’s the big deal? This is the only place I can hang my little clothes to dry. I can’t exactly hang them outside, can I?”
Pei Jin nodded.
He washed his shoes and clothes, including his CK underwear, and then hung them as far away from Bai Tao’s clothes as possible.
Just looking at them made his ears turn red again.
Pei Jin had never been in a relationship.
He had masturbated before, so it wasn’t as if he had no sexual desires.
He just didn’t understand why looking at those three small pieces of clothing hanging inside such a cramped bathroom made him feel so strangely aroused.
However, the pants he was wearing had two holes in them.
Bai Tao suggested that he could wear them as ripped jeans, but he refused.
Bai Tao told him to fold them up and put them aside. The next time they went out, she could buy a pair of scissors and use them as cleaning rags.
Because Bai Tao had said that she would sleep on the sofa from now on, Pei Jin didn’t sit on it after washing up.
Instead, he brought over a stool and sat beside Bai Tao, watching her play with her phone.
There was about a meter between them, and the large floral curtain behind them swayed slightly.
Bai Tao could feel Pei Jin’s gaze on her phone screen, which made her somewhat uncomfortable.
She scrolled through a few posts, exited, then opened them again.
Her fingers moved randomly across the screen, but she wasn’t really paying attention to anything.
She wanted to ask why he wasn’t using his phone.
Then she remembered that Pei Jin’s phone had been stolen.
“By the way, who stole your phone?”
She turned toward Pei Jin, her eyes lighting up.
“Let’s call the police!”
Pei Jin stared at her, thinking about it as well.
He nodded and was about to speak when Bai Tao suddenly stood up and began searching for her coat.
“What are we waiting for? Let’s go. Let’s go now.”
“No rush.”
Bai Tao peeked out from the bathroom door, a hair tie still dangling from her mouth.
She mumbled, “Why not? The sooner we call the police, the sooner we can get it back. What if those people sell your phone?”
Pei Jin wanted to say, It’s just a phone. You should rest before you go.
But he swallowed the words.
For him now, it wasn’t just a phone.
It was his connection to the outside world.
Without it, he couldn’t look for a job, he had nowhere to stay, and he couldn’t even receive money.
Not that he had much money to transfer anyway.
Pei Jin stood up and pushed the stool back under the table.
“Let’s go.”
The two of them left the room one after another.
Bai Tao walked ahead, glancing down at the navigation app.
“Where’s the nearest police station againOh, turn left and walk 800 meters. It’s pretty close.”
She held her phone up to her eyes and squinted at the screen to make sure.
Then she turned around, found the correct route, and led Pei Jin outside.
Pei Jin followed lazily behind her, one hand in his pocket.
The sunlight was somewhat dazzling.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and casually brushed several stray strands of hair away from his forehead, revealing his smooth forehead.
After walking for a short distance, Bai Tao suddenly turned around.
“Pei Jin.”
“Hmm?”
“What if we call the police and they can’t find it?”
Her eyes were fixed on him as she waited for his answer.
Pei Jin thought for a moment.
His voice was indifferent.
“Then we’ll just buy another one.”
Bai Tao quickly added, “Do you have money?”
“No.”
Pei Jin looked away.
Bai Tao smiled and turned back toward the navigation app.
Her tone carried a barely concealed hint of smugness.
“Then beg me, and I’ll buy you one.”
Pei Jin didn’t speak.
The corners of his lips twitched slightly, making it difficult to tell whether he was smiling.
The two walked forward in silence for a while.
The air was stuffy and hot.
Bai Tao’s stray hairs stuck to her forehead with sweat. She wiped them away with the back of her hand and continued looking down at her phone.
“Bai Tao.”
“Hmm?”
“Underwear size.”
Pei Jin’s voice was completely indifferent, as though he were asking about something trivial.
Bai Tao’s steps paused.
Then she continued walking as though nothing had happened, though her pace quickened considerably.
“How would I know? I just grabbed one at random. I saw that you were so thin, so I picked a size. Who knows whether it’ll fit? I can’t return it, so you’ll just have to make do.”
Pei Jin didn’t look at her.
His gaze remained fixed on the road ahead.
But from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of her ears slowly turning pink, as though they had been burned.
He didn’t ask anything else.
A faint smile appeared at the corners of his lips, so subtle that it was almost imperceptible unless someone looked closely.
Bai Tao walked quickly ahead, her head lowered and her heart pounding.
The next second, a hand suddenly reached out from behind.
It grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled her backward.
Bai Tao stumbled and slammed her back against a warm wall.
A dilapidated electric scooter whizzed past her.
The old man riding it looked to be at least seventy, his white hair flying in the wind.
A bag of wilted vegetables hung from the scooter’s rearview mirror.
Without even turning his head, the old man muttered, “Didn’t you see someone riding a scooter?!”
Bai Tao opened her mouth, wanting to retort.
But the old man had already ridden away.
“Aaaaah! I’m so angry! I’m so angry! I’m so angry!”
Bai Tao stomped her feet furiously.
Her entire body was like a cat with its fur standing on end, her fists clenched and waving wildly at her sides.
She had no idea how close she was standing to Pei Jin.
Pei Jin glanced down at her.
Then he silently took a step backward.
The distance between them changed from uncomfortably close to a normal social distance.
Bai Tao didn’t notice at all.
She was still angry, her cheeks puffed out.
After taking a breath, she continued looking down at the navigation app.
“Let’s go.”
It was a twenty-minute walk to the police station.
Not particularly long, but not exactly short either.
It was only one bus stop away.
Bai Tao hadn’t planned to take the bus. She had thought that twenty minutes of walking wasn’t too much and that she could enjoy the scenery along the way.
But when she reached the entrance of the residential complex, she felt as though her legs no longer belonged to her.
“Pei Jin, I’m tired.”
Bai Tao squatted on the steps at the entrance, her voice muffled.
“Mm.”
“Let’s take the bus.”
Pei Jin looked in the direction she was pointing.
The bus stop sign was densely covered with route numbers and stop names.
Several people stood beneath it.
Some were looking at their phones.
Some were standing on tiptoes to see which bus was coming.
An older woman was idly drawing circles on the ground with her foot while carrying a bag of steamed buns.
Pei Jin looked at the bus stop sign and frowned slightly.
He had never ridden a bus before.
As the eldest son of the Pei Family, he had always been driven around in a private car.
He had never waited by the roadside for a bus that might take a long time to arrive.
Nor had he ever been crammed into a small metal carriage with strangers.
Bai Tao didn’t care about any of that.
She stood up, dusted off her skirt, and walked toward the bus stop.
Pei Jin remained silent for two seconds before following her.
The bus arrived quickly.
Bai Tao stood at the front door with practiced ease, took out her phone, opened the QR code, and scanned it twice.
Done.
Pei Jin glanced at her.
The bus was already packed.
Bai Tao found a place in the middle of the carriage, placed one hand on the handrail, and hung her entire weight from it, swaying back and forth as though she were on a swing.
As soon as the bus started moving, her body swayed with it.
She didn’t seem to mind.
In fact, she seemed to be enjoying herself.
When the bus turned, she leaned outward with the angle of the vehicle, then bounced back.
It was almost like being on a roller coaster.
A faint smile played on her lips.
Pei Jin stood behind her, holding onto the handrail steadily.
The bus was crowded.
There was only about half an arm’s length between the two of them, and they inevitably bumped into each other whenever the bus started or stopped.
Bai Tao didn’t seem to notice at all.
Pei Jin’s gaze, however, lingered on her for a long time.
These movements were too natural.
So natural that it didn’t seem like this was her first time.
Pei Jin’s eyes darkened.
In his twenty-four years of life, he had never ridden a bus.
But Bai Tao was the eldest daughter of the Bai Family, pampered since childhood and never expected to lift a finger.
Why was she so familiar with all of this?
She should have been just as clueless about buses as he was.
The bus suddenly braked.
Bai Tao’s body lurched forward.
Pei Jin reached out and caught her by the shoulder, steadying her.
Bai Tao turned around, smiled at him, and said, “Thank you.”
Then she went right back to playing with the handrail.
Pei Jin withdrew his hand and let it hang by his side.
He looked at the back of Bai Tao’s head.
His dark eyes were filled with an indescribable scrutiny.
Had he really never taken a proper look at this seemingly foolish woman before?