Dreaming of Her

The voice spread through the quiet Study Room, carrying a hint of teasing ambiguity, like ice beads rolling across a jade plate, striking the heartstrings.

Heart pounding like thunder, Wen Yicong could only forcefully suppress the panic rising in her chest.

She lowered her lashes slightly, avoiding Mo Shaoshang's unreadable gaze, trying to keep her voice steady: 'I'm really sorry... for making a fool of myself.'

After saying this, she paused briefly, then moved her lips to explain in a small voice: 'I didn't expect your pet to be a snake. I was quite startled.'

After hearing Wen Yicong's words, Mo Shaoshang neither agreed nor disagreed, simply turned around and walked a few steps toward the special glass enclosure.

Light outlined a tall, cold, rigid silhouette. He watched the white shadow slowly crawling within the enclosure, his thin lips parting, his tone flat and without inflection: 'Silvio's new home is under construction. When it grows a bit larger, it will move out.'

Silvio? So it has a name.

Wen Yicong was stunned. Driven by curiosity, she mustered her courage and edged closer to the glass enclosure, keeping a relatively safe distance, re-examining this cold-blooded creature.

It seemed to have calmed down, coiled upon a length of dead wood, its vertical pupils cold and indifferent, fixed on what lay ahead.

'It...' Afraid of disturbing it, Wen Yicong's voice was very soft, 'what breed of snake is it?'

Mo Shaoshang answered: 'Albino Silver Ring.'

Wen Yicong knew little about snakes, and had never seen this Albino Silver Ring before. Unable to help herself, she asked again: 'You said it hasn't reached adulthood. How big is it now?'

'Not even a year old.'

What?

Wen Yicong was dumbfounded, involuntarily looking at the glass enclosure again. To be fair, although this snake's size wasn't enormous, it already had a certain scale to it, and it looked so frightening—yet it was still a... Baby snake?

She blinked, and cartoonish images of little snakes inexplicably surfaced in her mind.

Quite the contrast of cuteness.

This thought made Wen Yicong unable to suppress a smile, her fear diluted. She bent down, observing this 'snake Baby' more carefully through the special glass.

'Silvio...' she recalled the name she had just heard, asking, 'that's Italian, isn't it? What does it specifically mean?'

Mo Shaoshang gave the answer: 'Forest dweller.'

Forest dweller... quite fitting for the feeling snakes give people—mysterious, ancient, from a hidden primal realm.

Time passed second by second. The two quietly watched Silvio like this, neither speaking again. The tension in the air seemed to dissipate along with it, replaced by a strange calm.

After a while, Mo Shaoshang turned off the wall lamp above the glass enclosure, and this corner was once again swallowed by dimness, leaving only a vague outline.

'Has Teacher Wen rested enough?' He looked at Wen Yicong.

'Almost...'

'Then let's continue.'

The latter half of the lesson went much more smoothly than the first.

When it ended, Wen Yicong puffed out her cheeks and quietly exhaled, gathered the course materials on the table, and stood up.

'Then that's it for today,' she said. 'Mr. Mo, once you've decided on the time for the next lesson, let me know.'

Mo Shaoshang nodded: 'Alright.'

A proper, dignified smile floated onto Wen Yicong's face: 'Goodbye. Goodnight.'

Seeing that the other party seemed about to rise, she added: 'Please stay seated. I'll see myself out.' After saying this, she didn't linger, picked up her folder, turned, and left the Study Room.

*

The Study Room's door closed softly, light footsteps fading into the distance.

Mo Shaoshang put on white gloves and walked to the special glass enclosure.

Silvio seemed to sense its master's approach, its posture shifting slightly, its pale head lifting, its vertical pupils like ice, fixedly locked onto the other party.

Mo Shaoshang opened the temperature-controlled refrigerator embedded in the wall and took out a small transparent sealed box.

The bottom of the box was lined with clean white paper towels, upon which lay a piece of prepared food.

His expression unchanging, he used tweezers to pick it up and placed it on the defroster.

A few minutes later, the program simulating live body temperature ended, and Mo Shaoshang opened the feeding port on top of the glass enclosure.

The instant the feeding port opened, the Albino Silver Ring's body suddenly tensed, displaying a poised, ready-to-strike stance.

The entire space fell into absolute silence.

'You like her too, don't you.'

Mo Shaoshang said softly to the Albino Silver Ring. Then his wrist moved slightly, and he threw the food.

In a flash, a white shadow suddenly darted up.

The entire hunting process was precise, swift, and utterly silent.

*

The night had grown deep.

A sudden evening breeze rose, dispersing the clouds, starlight and moonlight faintly scattered down. The entire Manor House had winding paths, dense tree shadows, and the massive, imposing outline of the main residence stood in the moonlight, beautiful almost to the point of being unreal.

The Study Room and Wen Yicong's bedroom were both on the third floor, not far apart.

She quickened her pace, almost jogging back to her room. Only when her back pressed against the door did she lightly exhale in relief.

Setting aside the composure she had put on, fatigue and unease slowly welled up.

She took out her pajamas and went into the bathroom to shower.

The shower turned on, water streaming down.

Warm, very comfortable. In a short while, it washed away the weariness and scattered thoughts from her whole body.

After blow-drying her hair and brushing her teeth, she lay back on the bed to apply a face mask. While doing her skincare, she took out her phone to check.

Several unread messages lay waiting in WeChat.

One was from her mother Shen Yulan: [Nongnong, have you settled in? Are you getting used to it?]

Wen Yicong felt a warmth in her heart and replied: [Yes, yes, all settled in.]

Shen Yulan: [Did you drink the chicken soup?]

Thinking of that chicken soup that had done great service, Wen Yicong's lips unconsciously curved up as she typed: [I drank it. I even brought some for the little one to try, the little one really liked it. Mom, you're amazing!]

Shen Yulan: [Cover-mouth laugh] [Little girl, you just know how to flatter me. As long as you like it, next time Mom will make more good things for you.]

Wen Yicong: [Okay!]

Shen Yulan: [Alright, it's getting late, go to sleep. Your dad and I have to rush to scenic spots tomorrow, we're going to sleep too.]

Wen Yicong replied with a kissing emoji: [Goodnight!]

After chatting with her mother, Wen Yicong exited the dialog box. Just then, Zhang Yao's message popped up again.

Zhang Yao: [How's it going? Everything smooth over there?]

Looking at this line of text, Wen Yicong's fingertips hovered over the screen, and somehow, the image of that Albino Silver Ring in the Study Room surfaced in her mind again. The snake's cold, grim pupils watching her, at one moment overlapping with Mo Shaoshang's blue-black eyes, deep as evening mist...

Wen Yicong's heart tightened slightly, and she suddenly came back to herself.

After pondering for a few seconds, her fingers slowly tapped on the screen, replying: [Um...]

Zhang Yao: [?]

Wen Yicong inhaled and exhaled three full times before suppressing the impulse to gossip about that Albino Silver Ring: [Smile] [Very smooth]

Zhang Yao: [That's good.]

Zhang Yao asked some more specific questions about Airi, and Wen Yicong answered them one by one, discussing the designated rehabilitation plan with this friend who had considerable achievements in her professional field.

The discussion ended at eleven at night.

Wen Yicong turned off her phone screen, cast aside all the chaotic thoughts, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.

Perhaps because she wasn't quite used to the new environment yet, this sleep wasn't very restful. The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, she woke from her dreams.

After washing up and changing into comfortable clothes, Wen Yicong went downstairs to the first floor.

Just then, the morning light first appeared, a touch of orange-red blooming on the pale blue sky's edge, the thin mist light as a layer of gauze, lightly shrouding the distant greenery, the dewdrops on the grass leaves trembling, about to fall, reflecting broken gold-like light.

Birds were singing, the breeze gently blowing, the entire Manor House waking up.

When Wen Yicong had previously communicated with Heng Shu, Heng Shu told her that the Manor House's three meal times were usually based on Mo Shaoshang's schedule and weren't fixed.

She didn't know if Mo Shaoshang was up yet, so she could only go to the dining room first to check.

When she arrived, the dining table only had a few exquisitely plated small dishes, the staff working in an orderly manner, no sign of Mo Shaoshang.

At this time, Heng Shu, coming out of the kitchen, saw her and smiled in greeting: 'Good morning, Teacher Wen.'

'Good morning, Heng Shu.' Wen Yicong also smiled.

'Would you like to dine now? I'll have someone prepare it right away.'

'No, no need. I'll wait for Mr. Mo.' Wen Yicong waved her hand.

It's said that guests follow the host. How could she not wait for the host and just brazenly sit down and eat by herself? Too rude.

Heng Shu's lips curved slightly upon hearing this, and said: 'Then please wait a moment, Teacher Wen. I'll go upstairs to invite the Master.'

Wen Yicong: 'Is Mr. Mo already up?'

'Yes.' Heng Shu nodded. 'The Master is keeping Airi company.'

Upon hearing this, Wen Yicong pressed her lips together in thought for a few seconds, tentatively proposing: 'Otherwise, shall I go?'

Heng Shu guessed that Wen Yicong wanted more contact with Airi, and smiled: 'Then I'll trouble you.'

*

Climbing the stairs up to the third floor, Wen Yicong moved lightly, following her memory to arrive in front of Airi's bedroom.

The door was ajar. She raised her eyes.

Just for a moment, her gaze condensed slightly.

She saw warm golden morning light slanting in from the window, casting a circle of bright light spots on the floor.

Airi's small figure squatted in the halo of light, all attention focused on a toy car. Seemingly not knowing the correct way to play with this toy, he turned the car's wheels, again and again, his gaze infatuated and lost, oblivious to everything around him.

And not far from Airi, a figure sat.

The man wore a set of dark casual clothes, his back to the door, the morning light cutting out his tall and slender figure. Against the warm-toned background, the aggressiveness about him seemed to fade somewhat, yet still exuded an unapproachable loneliness.

Mo Shaoshang also held a toy car in his hand.

He slightly lowered his head, imitating Airi's movements, intently turning the wheels again and again, the cold, stern lines of his side profile, traced by the light, showing a certain... indescribable softness.

This scene was quiet and warm.

Wen Yicong stood at the door, hesitating, after a good while finally mustering the courage to raise her hand and knock on the slightly open door.

'Knock knock.'

The knocking didn't draw Airi's attention. But the handsome man beside the child, his movements slightly paused, raised his eyes to look at her.

'Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Mo.' A friendly smile spread across Wen Yicong's face as she slowly walked in, saying, 'I've come to invite you downstairs for breakfast.'

Mo Shaoshang nodded, casually putting the toy car in his hand back into the toy box.

Perhaps because the sunlight had weakened the aggressiveness about him, or for some other reason, Wen Yicong discovered that she didn't seem so nervous anymore.

She walked to Airi's side and squatted down, reaching out to touch the little one's soft, fluffy curly hair, thought for a moment, and asked: 'Does Mr. Mo usually get up this early too?'

Mo Shaoshang's tone was flat: 'Didn't sleep well last night.'

She instinctively followed up: 'What happened?'

Mo Shaoshang heard this, turned his head to look at her.

The young rehabilitation therapist was seriously looking at Airi, her lashes gently fluttering in the sunlight, like butterfly wings, like autumn breeze, naturally brushing past the calm surface of a lake.

Mo Shaoshang was silent for a moment, then answered calmly: 'Always dreaming.'

Dreaming of her.

Author's note: —————— Note: Venomous snakes cannot be kept as pets. The setting in the text serves the plot; please, little friends, don't imitate ^ ^. —— Full venue red packet