Wen Bai had another dream.
In the dream, Wen Bai walked down an empty corridor.
This was a place that should have been crowded, a place he couldn't come to alone.
It was also a place they weren't allowed to come to.
Wen Bai had once sneaked here, and here he had met someone...
"Who are you? How did you get here?"
Wen Bai turned around and indeed saw the man again, exactly as he remembered him.
Only this time, Wen Bai was enveloped by a strange feeling, a feeling he had never experienced before.
He didn't know how to describe it; his heart felt hollow, as if he were both very far and very close to the person in front of him.
Wen Bai remained silent, just as he had before.
The man walked over, bent down slightly, and took his small hand.
Little Wen Bai raised his small face and said something he had never said before: "I'm looking for someone, someone like me."
The man looked down at Wen Bai, then pursed his lips. "Do you know what you're saying?"
Wen Bai nodded. "He's gone. I've come to find him. He usually goes with me to get nutritional supplements."
The man murmured, "I don't know how these people see people. How could they let him wander off here alone."
Wen Bai raised his voice. "Will you help me?"
The man paused, as if thinking of something. After a brief silence, he said, "I'll take you back first, and then I'll help you find your friend."
Wen Bai was confused. "Friend?"
The man said calmly, "Yes, aren't you looking for your friend?"
Wen Bai thought for a moment. "Yes, my friend."
Why wasn't this dream over yet?
Wen Bai felt it was a dream.
He looked at the man in front of him; it was too real.
This didn't feel like a dream.
The man took him back to the room where many children were.
Wen Bai sat quietly on his small bed, waiting for his friend to return.
That person had promised him to wait.
But those adults, they were all good at lying.
Everyone here was lying.
However, he didn't have to wait long. The man appeared before Wen Bai, holding the crying child's hand.
Little Wen Bai looked at the face that was exactly like his own.
The eyes, red and swollen from crying, slowly drew closer.
The other child hugged Wen Bai's small body, burying their tear-dampened face into Wen Bai's small neck. "I thought I would never see you again."
The man did not enter, only glanced from the doorway before turning and leaving.
The dream fragmented.
Wen Bai woke from his dream with a start.
As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw the small face sleeping by his pillow, a smiling face identical to his own.
For a moment, Wen Bai couldn't tell where he was.
Was this a dream, or reality?
System 001's voice chimed, "Host, are you alright? Host!"
Wen Bai's distress had forced System 001 to awaken from its dormancy.
Wen Bai stretched out his small hands and rubbed his head. "I'm fine."
"Host, what's wrong? Your emotions were fluctuating greatly just now."
System 001 had never seen Wen Bai exhibit such intense emotions.
Since they had met, Wen Bai had always been so placid.
"Just a dream," Wen Bai said, then closed his eyes again.
Seeing Wen Bai's unwillingness to elaborate, System 001 didn't press further. It simply redeemed a factor to remove negative influences and applied it to Wen Bai.
However, this time, Wen Bai didn't calm down as quickly as before.
System 001, sensing Wen Bai's fluctuating emotions, was perplexed as to what could be the problem.
The sky soon brightened.
Duo Shu was tidying up for the three young masters in the house.
He felt a strange illusion, as if he were a single parent taking care of children at home every day.
"Do you want to go out and play?" Mo Xingchen asked, his eyes sparkling, as Duo Shu helped him get dressed.
Mo Xingchen was restless. It was only their third day in Jiang Lin, and he was already trying to convince Wen Bai and Wen Jue to go out.
Coincidentally, Wen Bai, since arriving in this world, hadn't had a particularly satisfying meal yet.
And Wen Jue was still thinking about the many un-seen medicinal herbs belonging to Old Mr. Bai.
Soon, they made their decision.
Wen Jue returned to his courtyard to tidy his small pouch.
Wen Bai asked Duo Shu to bring enough silver.
Mo Xingchen, ever since proposing the idea that morning, had been eagerly anticipating it.
Mother Wen, upon hearing that the children wanted to go out, did not object. She even offered to take them herself.
She didn't feel any lingering trauma from the children being abducted once before, which would prevent her from letting them go out again.
After breakfast, Mother Wen watched as the three little ones finished their respective herbal teas before taking them out.
Mother Wen walked behind, while the three little ones led the way.
As soon as they left the Wen residence, the little ones were like wild horses unleashed.
Oh, no. Only Mo Xingchen was like a wild horse, darting around, with his two servants trailing closely behind, afraid of him getting lost.
Wen Bai and Wen Jue walked obediently beside Mother Wen.
Wen Jue held a small slingshot and a jujube, constantly fiddling with it, as if adjusting its position.
Suddenly.
"Ah!"
With Wen Jue's soft cry, the jujube shot towards Wen Bai's face.
If it had hit, Wen Bai's little face would have turned red.
However, in the next second.
Wen Bai's head tilted as if by chance, narrowly dodging the projectile.
Wen Bai turned his head to see Wen Jue looking at him with a bewildered and helpless expression.
Wen Bai didn't mind and cautioned, "Be careful."
Wen Jue replied, "Okay, brother."
His tone, however, sounded a little too excited.
Then, Wen Jue handed the slingshot to Fu Qi, who was beside him.
Wen Bai looked with some novelty at the sugar figurines being sold. Unlike the sugar figurines he had seen in many worlds, these were made from fruit.
The fruit was carved into the shape of small figures, coated with a layer of transparent, glistening juice of the same color, and then set with a soft white powder on the outside.
Wen Bai's gaze lingered for just a second longer.
Duo Shu, with keen observation, bought three portions, and directly handed one of the sugar figurines Wen Bai had been looking at to Wen Bai.
Wen Bai accepted it with a blank expression and took a bite. "Mmm, crisp, sweetly refreshing, and not greasy."
The group passed a stall selling novel little toys. A child emerged from within, holding a small toy.
Mo Xingchen's eyes widened instantly, and his legs stopped moving.
What was that? He had never seen it before.
He wanted a small toy too, but he had no money.
At home, his mother didn't give him much money and restricted his purchases.
His gaze shifted backward, and he immediately spotted Duo Shu putting away a stack of silver notes that had accidentally been pulled out.
Mo Xingchen immediately turned back, grabbed Wen Bai's sleeve, and forcefully pulled Wen Bai towards the shop by the street. "Wen Bai~ Wen Bai! Let's go in and take a look. I just saw a little trinket, you'll definitely like it."
As expected, Duo Shu, seeing Wen Bai walking away, handed one of the sugar figurines in his hand to Wen Jue before immediately following them.