"Don't, don't cry!"

Wenmo, at a loss, surrounded her and quickly pulled out two tissues to help wipe away her tears.

About ten seconds later, Xia Lian slowly raised her head, the mist in her eyes gradually receding, and she forced back her tears.

"I didn't... cry..."

Seeing Wen Mo's anxious expression beside her, she rubbed her eyes. After her emotions had completely calmed down, she returned to her previous taciturn demeanor.

Seeing that Xia Lian had completely calmed down, Wen Mo's anxious heart slowly settled down.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have bullied you just now." He scratched his head and apologized awkwardly.

Wenmo really didn't mean to make her cry, but he didn't expect that such a quiet girl would occasionally show such a vulnerable expression.

“Wen Mo didn’t bully me…” Xia Lian shook her head gently, raised her eyes, and slowly said, “Wen Mo is very good to me.”

After the commotion, the room became even quieter, and the two of them fell silent, each with their own thoughts on their own.

Wen Mo kept his head down, occasionally glancing cautiously at her expression out of the corner of his eye, his hands rubbing together anxiously.

After Xia Lian cried, she no longer showed any expression. Her face became cold and aloof, exuding an inexplicable chill.

Just as Wen Mo was about to speak, Xia Lian broke the silence first.

"Wenmo..."

"Huh? Oh, I, I'm here." He seemed a little nervous, not expecting Xia Lian to speak first, and even stuttered a bit.

He immediately perked up his ears, listening intently to her next words, "What is it?"

Xia Lian didn't raise her head, but gently pinched the left side of his clothes, pulling them closer together, and whispered, "Could you... please don't send me away..."

"ah?"

After he finished speaking, Wen Mo raised his eyebrows and froze, making a confused expression.

He doesn't remember saying anything so offensive.

He simply rubbed his aching brow, remained silent for a while, and then led her back to the next room.

The cool air from the air conditioner seemed to clear their minds a bit.

The room fell silent.

Why do you feel like I'm trying to get rid of you?

Wen Mo couldn't help but ask, while his gaze shifted to Xia Lian, tapping her shoulder to signal her to raise her head before speaking.

The two were more than a head apart in height, but the difference became much smaller after they sat down, and Xia Lian could meet his gaze when she raised her head.

Looking into Wen Mo's eyes, Xia Lian's expression stiffened, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

"It's okay, just say what you want to say."

Wen Mo couldn't figure out what she was thinking, so he kept asking her, hoping to gradually understand what was hidden behind her strange expression.

“Because…” Under his gaze, Xia Lian seemed slightly relieved, and finally slowly uttered a few words, “I caused Wen Mo trouble…”

Upon hearing this, Wen Mo frowned, carefully considering what exactly she meant by "trouble." "Sorry, I didn't quite understand."

"Wenmo is a good person." She continued speaking as if she hadn't heard, each word uttered clearly, "Wenmo gave me a room... I'm really grateful, so I can't be picky..."

From her stammering words, Wenmo eventually extracted a few keywords and gradually understood what she was saying.

"Just because of that?"

Wen Mo was a little confused. This was the reason she almost cried, and she hadn't realized that Xia Lian had caused any trouble.

"Um."

The room was brightly lit, and the fear and disappointment in Xia Lian's eyes were clearly visible.

"You seem very afraid of causing trouble for others." He observed the girl's face.

Hearing this, Xia Lian trembled slightly, covering her head and ears with her hands, her expression gradually turning terrified. "Because causing trouble... will lead to something bad..."

Something bad happened...

Wen Mo pondered the sentence carefully, and then realized why Xia Lian had held back her tears and insisted on staying in the room she had just stayed in.

As for whether anything bad might happen... he wouldn't believe it.

"Who told you that?" Wen Mo sighed softly, his gaze softening as he spoke seriously.

Xia Lian slowly raised her eyes to meet his earnest gaze. After regaining her composure, she murmured, "Mom told me..."

He listened carefully, and some thoughts began to form in his mind.

Xia Lian's mother... To be honest, Wen Mo still thinks there's something wrong with her parents, or maybe something has happened to them.

A slight ripple stirred within him, but he didn't delve into the issue. Instead, he gently patted Xia Lian's back. "Listen, I don't know what you're thinking, but you can relax a little with me."

No matter what you do, it won't cause me any trouble, and I can't possibly kick you out, because this place is not only my home, but also yours.

Wenmo subconsciously reached out and placed his hand on her head, gently rubbing it, lowering his voice, and slowly comforting her with the gentlest tone he had ever used.

Xia Lian lowered her head and remained motionless, her body gradually relaxing from its initial stiffness.

"Now tell me, do you want to sleep in a room with air conditioning, or in that dusty, unheated room next door that's probably sweltering at night and has mosquitoes?" Wen Mo's tone was gentle, and he tried to smile softly, like a hypnotist throwing this question at her one last time.

...

"Are you really going to sleep on the floor? I already said it's no big deal to switch places with me, I don't mind."

Seeing the girl sleeping on the floor, Wen Mo couldn't help but ask her again if they wanted to switch places.

Xia Lian shook her head seriously, "I can sleep on the floor."

Wen Mo scratched his cheek and sighed softly, ultimately unable to persuade her otherwise.

His original plan was to let Xia Lian sleep in his own bed, while he would make do on the floor for a few nights until the room next door was almost cleaned up and the air conditioner was fixed before letting her move in.

That's the downside of sharing a room: one person always has to sleep on the floor; you can't have two people sleeping in the same bed.

But this girl insisted that Wenmo sleep in the bed, and wouldn't listen to anything she said.

"It breaks my heart to see you sleeping on the floor." Wen Mo propped his face up with his right hand, leaning over the edge of the bed and looking at Xia Lian below.

If his father found out that the girl slept on the floor on her first day of moving in, he'd probably give Wenmo a good beating with a belt.

Upon hearing this, Xia Lian was slightly stunned at first, then quickly hid under the covers and covered herself up, leaving only her forehead showing.

"Wenmo, you should also... take care of yourself..."

Her muffled voice came from under the covers.

It was as if the girl was trying to hide her inexplicable panic caused by shyness.