Bai Weiran rested his cheek on his hand and watched Qing Ning eating porridge for a while.

As expected of a wealthy young lady, even in her disheveled state, her eating manners were still very cultured and pleasant to watch.

But Qing Ning's manners were not the textbook kind taught by etiquette schools; she had her own unique style while maintaining politeness. After letting the porridge cool down to a suitable temperature for eating, she scooped it into her mouth spoon by spoon, eating quickly with small bites, like a kitten, giving off an impression that the food was delicious.

Other than serving his family and ex-girlfriend, Bai Weiran had never cooked for anyone else, yet it seemed interesting to watch her eat now.

Qing Ning was starving and had eaten almost half of the bowl before she regained her senses and realized The mask man was staring at her. She put down her spoon and looked away.

"The taste is terrible," she complained.

Bai Weiran responded calmly.

"That's inevitable; you'll have to endure this awful food for some time."Used to dining on delicacies as the high-profile heiress of a conglomerate, Qing Ning must have frequented luxurious clubs and private dining restaurants run by chefs from various national banquets. Even her family's chefs—serving typical home-cooked meals—could achieve top-notch standards. It would be a wonder if the dishes Bai Weiran cooked himself, learning from a few recipes in his small kitchen, managed to impress her.

Nevertheless, he thought the taste was quite good, personally.

Qing Ning intended to provoke Bai Weiran but ended up feeling like she was punching cotton. She felt annoyed.

When her first plan failed, she contrived another.

"You didn't even peel the shrimp!" she snorted.

"How can you serve it like this?"

Bai Weiran laughed instead of getting angry when he heard this comment, reminding him of his younger sister.

His sister was quite a difficult person, especially arrogant and proud, much like Qing Ning.

But since she was born late, family elders and outsiders treated her as a gem, embodying the old saying "give precedence to daughters over sons."Bai Weiran was well accustomed to it.

"I'll peel them for you," he said gently.

When Qing Ning heard this, she wanted to make a fuss.

"Oh, are your hands even clean? Can I really eat the shrimp you peel?"

However, she saw Bai Weiran unwrapping a pair of new chopsticks, peeling the shrimp in the porridge cleanly using only the chopsticks, and putting the white and plump shrimp meat back into her bowl.

Qing Ning was momentarily speechless and didn't want to accept the kidnapper's thoughtfulness. She sat at the table, staring at the shrimp meat in a standoff.

After a while, she begrudgingly put the shrimp meat into her mouth.

Though Qing Ning was arrogant, she wasn't stupid. She knew getting kidnapped was bad enough, but constantly annoying her kidnapper was worse.

From yesterday to today, besides abducting and imprisoning her, as well as kicking Ling Luo down from the 28th floor only to rescue him later, The mask man hadn't done anything substantially harmful.

His tone and attitude towards her were gentle and considerate.Every time she thought about it, her face turned paler.

These were the battle clothes she had once wanted to wear, but in the end, she felt too ashamed to put them on.

And now she had to wear them in front of a man other than her teacher?

She'd rather die!!

Qing Ning's eyes turned red with anger.

Unexpectedly, The Masked Man sat in a chair, with an open book on his lap, shifting his gaze from the book to her.

"…You're dressed too indecently, go change."

There was no hint of lasciviousness, flirtation, or lewdness in his tone.

His voice just sounded like a father scolding his daughter for wanting to wear a super short skirt out.

Qing Ning: …

××

The girl entered the bathroom and cautiously locked the door behind her.

Bai Weiran could tell from the sounds that she was busy behind the door, probably using anything she could find to block the entrance, protecting herself from The Mask in case he turned out to be a pervert.

It's fine, it's a normal reaction.

After five minutes, a crisp and angry shout came from the bathroom.

"Ah——————!!!”

Then came the messy sounds of things being thrown around, and the girl rushed out of the bathroom, leaning against the door frame and accusing him angrily.

"What did you give me to wear? What is this?!”

Bai Weiran nodded in satisfaction.

Isn't this much more modest?

The girl was wearing a cheap, full-body tracksuit that was even more rustic than the school gym uniforms, and it was an ugly, dirty gray that looked like old bricks that had been weathered by wind and rain. If she wore a straw hat, she could go straight to the fields to plant rice without any sense of incongruity.

The white shirt inside the tracksuit even had the words 【Don't bother me】 written on it.

Her skin was indeed covered up tight, not a single spot exposed.

But the ill-fitting and unflattering color made her look fat, bloated, and ugly.

Qing Ning never wore such hideous clothes in her life!

Everyone loves beauty, especially a young lady like Qing Ning who has grown up surrounded by high-class taste.

Not wanting to let a strange man continue seeing her skin, she reluctantly put on the tracksuit, but only felt more and more uncomfortable after coming out, especially when seeing his smile. She couldn't hold back any longer. Even though she was frail and delicate, she was still an immature teenage girl. Her eyes reddened, her lips pressed tightly, and wearing the ugliest outfit of her life, tears flowed down her cheeks.

It was impossible to change back, but she couldn't bear to wear the tracksuit either.

"You either wear this, or you wear a torn sheet or some ragged clothes." Bai Weiran shrugged.

"Miss Qing Ning, you wouldn't want your beloved teacher Ling Luo to find out that you're spending every night alone in a room with a strange man, wearing nothing but a skimpy dress or wrapped in a blanket, would you?" He found her weak spot and squeezed it!

The girl's expression immediately turned sour, like a frostbitten eggplant. Her tears stopped, but her eyes and nose were still red, and the tear mole under her right eye looked especially pitiful.

The contrast between her haughty attitude and her sudden submission, as well as the delicate, vulnerable sense emanating from the slender girl, inspired a mixture of pity and destructive impulse.

A glint flashed in Bai Weiran's eyes as he beckoned her over.

"Come here."

A stack of books was slammed onto the desk with a bang.

The girl shuddered in fright, not understanding Bai Weiran's intentions.

He said calmly, "You need to start studying hard tonight."

Study as hard as you can, read thoroughly and understand deeply, and straighten out that sickly mind of yours that can only hold one man. Open up your horizons with all your might!!