Translator: 549690339
Shen MO replied naturally, “Let’s give it a shot.”
He then asked Tu Dan, “Did you guys get the mud?”
Tu Dan curled the corners of her mouth and smirked, “Yep, we got it.”
Although she said she got it, she didn’t seem too thrilled, as did the students around her, wearing complex expressions.
However, they weren’t close enough for Shen MO to probe.
After exchanging pleasantries, they busied themselves.
Shen Mo’s team was to clean up a heap of leftovers and greasy plates.
Tu Dan’s team was evidently prepared. They brought bundles of ropes and different colored flags. By exploring the route and getting the results, they planted differently colored flags at the intersections—
Red for dead ends, green for passable routes, and yellow for unexplored paths.
These fifteen or sixteen-year-olds, still half children, had more energy than adults. They were so busy that they had quickly planted numerous colorful flags nearby.
There was no progress on Shen Mo’s side.
Bai Youwei whispered to him, “I want to take a shower.”
Shen MO didn’t respond verbally but gave her a look which clearly asked, “Are you sure you have to pick this moment?”
Bai Youwei got the message.
“I have to shower, I can’t stand the smell of meat on me, it’s uncomfortable.’ She shouldn’t be uncomfortable.
Because once she became uncomfortable, it would make everyone around her feel uncomfortable too.
“We have to explore anyway. If we find a place to take shower along the way, just wait for me, it’s not a big deal,” Bai Youwei said nonchalantly.
A passing female student heard her and couldn’t help but make a surprised face.
Inside a maze, their lives were hanging by a thread. Not only did they have the mood to eat barbecue, but they even wanted to find a place to take a shower now?!
Did they come here on a vacation?
Finding it tedious to argue with the delicate and coquettish Bai Youwei, Shen MO casually agreed.
—The maze walls were a chaotic patchwork. A bus was squished against a double bed, half a bathroom stuck to the kitchen, a toilet suspended in cement. It was a regular freak show. With her obsession for cleanliness, it was unlikely to find a suitable place for a shower, wasn’t it?
The four of them got ready to explore.
To avoid interfering with Tu Dan’s team, they set off in the opposite direction.
Bai Youwei asked Shen MO to turn on the phone’s built-in pedometer.
Walking and recording simultaneously.
Whenever they encountered a fork in the road, she stopped and recorded, like 38 meters ahead – left turn – intersection 1, 89 meters ahead – right turn intersection 2… The more detailed the numbers, the more accurately they could reproduce the site map on paper.
Whenever she came across a minimally damaged shop, Bai Youwei would note it down as well to ensure they didn’t scramble around like headless flies when gathering supplies.
Fairly speaking, when Bai Youwei wasn’t acting out, she was truly a reliable partner.
But when she started to…
“I want to take a shower.” Bai Youwei stopped in front of a budget hotel chain, refusing to take another step.
Shen MO glanced ahead, “There are two intersections left and this corridor will be explored.”
“I’m not moving. I’m not going anywhere unless I can shower,” she sat sulking in the wheelchair. “I want to take a shower right now.”
The teacher looked around and said, “There’s a ladder over there, I’ll go get it.” Tan Xiao also went to help move the ladder.
Forgot to mention that only half of this hotel chain squeezed into the wall. The part with the elevator and stairs was gone, so to access the second-floor rooms, they needed to find a way to climb…
The three unlikely companions, old and young, went to great lengths to enable Bai Youwei to take a shower.
Bringing a ladder wasn’t enough; they also salvaged boxes, tables, cabinets, sofas from nearby…the hotel’s lobby ceiling was too high. After stacking several layers, they finally managed to set the ladder on the second floor. Shen MO carried Bai Youwei on his back to the second floor, “I’ll wait for you at the door. Don’t take too long, call me every three minutes. If you don’t want to talk, just hum so I know you are okay… Don’t wash your hair, drying it would be a waste of time, it’s best if you rinse and come out.”
Bai Youwei: “With so many requirements, why don’t you help me shower?”