Fu Hua spoke seriously.
At night, a crescent moon hung in the sky.
Moonlight spilled down, carrying a faint chill.
Zhao Bai pulled down the rolling shutter while Bronya silently made the bed.
The last time they had been this close was when he had rested on Bronya's lap. This time, though they had separate blankets, they shared one bed, wedged among the forest of tables and chairs. Moonlight poured through the gaps, casting alternating light and shadow across Bronya's face and invisibly magnifying every facial expression.
Of course, a poker face magnified a hundredfold was still a poker face.
Zhao Bai could not fall asleep no matter how he tried.
Steady breathing reached his ears, as cold and unchanging as Bronya herself.
But in an instant, the direction of that breathing changed.
Bronya turned over.
Zhao Bai felt his ear itch. Bronya was probably lying on her side, her breath brushing past his ear.
His ear itched.
So did his heart.
To seize the initiative, Zhao Bai turned over as well, facing Bronya directly.
They stared at each other.
Whoever gave in first would be embarrassed.
Zhao Bai lasted less than a few minutes before her stare utterly defeated him.
"Are you going to Singapore?"
The moment she spoke, Bronya gave Zhao Bai an indescribable sense of foreboding. He wondered if she kept Heavy Cannon Rabbit invisible beside him every day to spy on him.
She knew him inside out.
Zhao Bai nodded.
He asked, "I'm going out this time mainly as a precaution. Do you have anything that can cover my face? A mask, a face covering, something like that. I might need it to hide my identity."
"Bronya's stockings. Do you want them?"
"Yes."
Bronya immediately lowered her head, staring straight at the blanket with both eyes