You are all bad women! Don't come over!

"Your feet are wet..." Shen Mochen lifted his head, his face showing some apology.

"It's okay, please don't worry about it." Liu Chaoyan smiled reassuringly, not minding at all.

"Please wait a moment..." Shen Mochen stood up, quickly took a pair of white socks from the cabinet, and handed them to Liu Chaoyan, "These are my sister's socks, if you don't mind, you can change into them. I've washed them clean."

"Sure, thank you so much."

Liu Chaoyan gratefully took the socks and sat on the edge of the bed, gently lifting her leg, slowly pulling off her previous white silk ankle socks.

The entire motion was graceful and fluid, the angle at which her thigh lifted, the spot her sole aimed at, the curvature of her curled toes... every movement was supremely elegant. Bathed in the sunlight filtering through the window, she was like a dynamic painting, with each frame depicting the work of masterful artists.

Shen Mochen swallowed hard, a simple action somehow stirring his heart.

He immediately turned to fetch slippers for Liu Chaoyan, placing them in front of her: "These are my sister's slippers, wear them for now... and give me your taken-off socks, I will wash them for you later... oh, if you mind, let's wait for Caiyu to come back, and I'll handle it then."

"Okay, that would be very kind of you," Liu Chaoyan said with a slight nod, looking down to slip on the slippers.

Shen Mochen picked up the socks and headed to the bathroom, the socks slightly damp. He wrung them out and dropped them into the laundry basket. He then looked at his palm and turned on the tap to wash his hands.

Liu Chaoyan watched Shen Mochen's back and smiled softly.

"You should go back to bed and rest," Shen Mochen returned to the bedroom, and Liu Chaoyan stepped forward with a wry smile, "I'm really embarrassed, I came to take care of you, but now you're taking care of me."

"I'm fine, just a little cold," said Shen Mochen, nearly forgetting again his own pretense of being ill.

"The quilt is all wet, let me help you with that..."

As Liu Chaoyan spoke, she lightly snapped her fingers, and Shen Mochen felt a gust of wind - the quilt unexpectedly flew up from the bed, out of the bedroom, then out of the living room.

Shen Mochen peered out, only to see the quilt whirling at high speed on the balcony, forming a mini tornado. He watched, astonished, and soon, the quilt returned to Liu Chaoyan's hands.

Liu Chaoyan ran her hand over it a few times and smiled at Shen Mochen, "It's all dry now, get back into bed, and I'll make it for you."

Shen Mochen got back into bed and unlike a normal person making the bed, Liu Chaoyan used the wind to spread out the quilt in the air, then slowly laid it over Shen Mochen. She just tucked in the corners for him.

"By the way, I just saw the blood on the bedsheet..." Liu Chaoyan said, sitting on the bed.

"Blood?" Shen Mochen feigned ignorance again, "I don't know, eh, but when my sister comes back, she will sleep in the bed, maybe it's hers..."

Liu Chaoyan just brushed off the topic with a smile, "By the way, I heard from Caiyu that your sister is also a Buque?"

Shen Mochen nodded, "Yes, but she's different from you, she's planning to retire after her two-year compulsory service is over... she should be retiring and returning home in a couple of days."

Liu Chaoyan laughed, "Don't say that, no matter how long one serves, they've fought for the people just the same."

"Ha ha, we don't have such lofty ideals, it's just a national obligation."

Shen Mochen thought to himself, they were just in it for money and prospects. Even if it weren't for the compulsory service, Yin Caiyu would never join Buque, and Shen Mochen wouldn't have let her.

You think everyone is as foolishly committed as Cai Yuncui!

"So your sister is about to retire, which means she's just over 18 now?" Liu Chaoyan asked.

"Ah yes, her birthday was just last month."

"But I heard from Caiyu that you will have a birthday in a few days... If I may ask, you two aren't biological siblings?"

"Eh... yes, we're not biological, but we might as well be!"

Shen Mochen paused, surprised by Liu Chaoyan's sharpness, and then simply shared a bit about his own background with her.

After hearing Shen Mochen's story, the corners of Liu Chaoyan's mouth lifted slightly, "Oh... I see. What an enviable relationship."

"Ha ha, it's indeed a very special kind of fate."

"Everyone in the Shen family is really remarkable, coming from humble beginnings, yet so resilient, it's admirable!"

One can only grit their teeth and be strong, coming from such a place; it's not like I want to be this way, I can't just lie down and wait to die. Shen Mochen thought to himself.

"Not really, we all come from a poor background, just got lucky, nothing to boast about..." Shen Mochen humbly replied.

Liu Chaoyan patted lightly on the quilt covering Shen Mochen's chest, "Great winds arise from the tips of grass, and great waves start from gentle ripples. It is often said that many kings and lords have humble beginnings, who's to say you two won't rise up eventually? Shen, you shouldn't underestimate yourself."

Listen, this young lady speaks with such class! Whether it's heartfelt or just courtesy, at least it sounds pleasant to the ears! Shen Mochen touched his chest.

As the two chatted idly, Cai Yuncui finally came back.

"I went to the pharmacy and found out it wasn't open. The clinic wasn't open either, so I waited a bit. I'm sorry for being late..." Cai Yuncui walked in with a large bag of medicine, her face showing contrition.

Shen Mochen shook his head, "Caiyu, I'm really sorry for the trouble."

Cai Yuncui dismissed the concern, placing the medicine on the desk, "What's this about trouble?"
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Liu Chaoyan smiled and went to pour water. Shortly after, she came back holding a teacup with both hands, offering it to Shen Mochen, "This time I cooled it down, it won't burn you."