Translator: 549690339
This dollhouse, though it looked old and eerie, contained clean and well-arranged living necessities.
The bathroom had hot water, the kitchen had an induction cooker, though it lacked modern appliances like a refrigerator, television, and air conditioner, it essentially replicated British rural life.
Mr. Cheng had prepared a half tub of hot water for Bai Youwei.
Shen Mo asked her if she wanted Zhu Shu or Su Man to assist her.
She did not know these two women well enough, she didn’t like getting too intimate with strangers, even of the same sex.
Moreover, she only had a fever, she was not so weak that she needed help to bathe.
However, letting her stay alone in the bathroom was out of the question. If something happened, with her small stature, she would not be able to climb out of the bathtub on her own.
Bai Youwei suggested to Shen Mo: “We could draw the shower curtain.”
They shared rooms and meals all the way here, it wasn’t necessary to put up pretences about the proscription of contact between men and women in this situation.
Shen ‘a gentleman’ Mo, with his clear conscience, believed safety came first.
During her bath, the splashing of water could be heard in the bathroom.
He stood on one side of the shower curtain, listening to the sounds on the other side.
When there was no sound, he would call out Bai Youwei’s name.
Bai Youwei complained, “Don’t keep calling my name then not say anything after, it’s so strange. If you’re worried about me, we can talk.”
Shen Mo chuckled, “I thought you didn’t want to talk.”
Bai Youwei sighed, her voice soft and tired: “I indeed don’t have the energy to talk, but if I don’t, I’m afraid I might fall asleep while bathing.”
“Hold on just a little bit more, there’s a bed in the adjacent bedroom, you can sleep after your bath,” Shen Mo said.
Bai Youwei contemplated before asking: “How many bedrooms are there here?”
He paused for a moment, then decided to reveal all the details of the house to her.
“This house consists of three floors, or to be precise, two and a half. The first floor has a living room, dining room, kitchen, and storage room. The second floor has three bedrooms and a small study room, and there is an attic on the top half floor.”
“Are there lots of dolls here?” Bai Youwei asked.
Shen Mo nodded slightly, then remembering she couldn’t see him, said: “There are quite a few dolls scattered across the house, stuffed teddy bears, rabbits, cats and dogs, and even tin frogs and toy soldiers.”
Suddenly, the door downstairs opened with a creak.
With it came a rush of wind and rain, and people’s voices.
Tan Xiao’s voice stood out: “If it wasn’t for the glasses! We would have reached the top of the mountain early on!”
“What the heck are you talking about! You clearly couldn’t find the right direction and ran randomly in the woods! I was the one that guided you out, okay!”
“If it isn’t for your glasses, why would I go into the woods?!”
Li Li’s voice was close to breaking: “I said the glasses must be nearby! Who asked you to go into the woods to look for them ah ah ah!”
“Ah, come on, both of you stop arguing…”
This was Mr. Cheng’s voice.
Shen Mo in the bathroom listened for a while and whispered: “Yan Qingwen should have found them and brought them back.”
“Now that everyone is here, the game can start at any moment…” Bai Youwei closed her eyes, struggling to keep her spirits up, “I’m done bathing, help me out.”
Shen Mo handed a towel into the curtain. When Bai Youwei had wrapped herself, he came in to carry her.
The lower half of the towel was soaked through, and her washed hair was also dripping wet. Shen Mo drenched himself as he carried Bai Youwei and settled her onto a wooden stool, with her leaning against him weakly. He then took a dry towel and slowly helped her dry her hair.
While drying her hair, Shen Mo took a quick glance at her discarded dress.
The dress was soaked and muddied, with threads unraveling at the hem, as if it had been torn by something.
“I’ll help you wash it later and put it near the fireplace to dry. It should dry quite quickly,” he said.
Bai Youwei shook her head gently, “No need, I’ll just wear the clothes from the closet.”