Today, I Have Yet to Become a Doll

The tent was dim and gloomy. Light seeped in through the gaps, blurring everything inside. The people inside could only vaguely make out each other's faces.

Shen Mo said, "Close your eyes."

Bai Youwei closed her eyes for a while, then opened them again. "You're not closing yours, how do you know if I closed mine or not?"

Shen Mo was used to her little tricks. He looked down at her and asked indifferently, "Can't sleep?"

"I want to sleep." She moved her body a little closer to him. "I just wanted to see what I look like in your eyes…"

He subconsciously held his breath.

In the silent darkness, her scent drifted over, light, sweet, and slightly cool, like honey mint with a hint of floral fragrance. Perhaps it was the scent of her shampoo.

She was completely unaware that they were too close. She looked at him directly, her voice almost inaudible. "Eyes are reflective surfaces, right…?"

Shen Mo looked at her quietly for a moment, then asked, "Can you see clearly?"

"It's too dark, I can't see clearly." She shook her head gently.

Her hair brushed against his arm, tickling him slightly. He subconsciously moved away.

Bai Youwei reached out and grabbed his retreating arm. "You look at mine too."

She widened her eyes earnestly, tilting her face up for him to see.

She had a pair of beautiful doe eyes, which often gave people the illusion that she was innocent and fragile. But if she smiled a little, her eyes would narrow slightly, revealing a cold charm, like a proud little cat.

"See it?" she asked him. "Human or doll?"

Shen Mo was silent for a moment before replying, "Can't see clearly."

He calmly pulled her hand off his arm and said in a flat tone, "Go to sleep."

This time, she didn't move closer. Instead, she yawned lazily and murmured to him, "Shen Mo, remember to find a mirror tomorrow and look at yourself, you must look…"

She turned over, her back facing him, her breathing gradually becoming slow and long.

As if she had fallen asleep…

Shen Mo let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, unsure why.

…

The night was long, and he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep.

The sound of a puzzle game came from the tent next door. It was Tan Xiao playing games, the sound of her passing levels echoing intermittently, entertaining herself.

Later, the surrounding sounds grew fainter and fainter, until even the game sounds disappeared.

The maze was immersed in silence.

Shen Mo estimated that it was about time. He got up quietly and went outside the tent.

He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one for himself, and took a slow drag. The pale white smoke swirled before his eyes.

Away from that faint minty sweetness, his mind seemed to clear up a bit.

Sometimes he felt like she understood everything, and sometimes he felt like she was just teasing him.

He didn't know when a simple task of picking someone up had become so tricky. Then he thought, if he hadn't gone to pick her up, where would he be now?

It would probably be very boring…

Shen Mo smiled silently, exhaling a thin stream of air, gently blowing away the smoke in front of him.

The work of keeping watch was boring and tedious.

He sat in front of the tent, quietly observing his surroundings.

A girl's whisper came from one of the tents:

"The mirrors here are so scary. We shouldn't have come in if we knew this would happen…"

Another girl's voice was cold: "Didn't you insist on coming in because you were worried about not getting any props?"

"Chen Hui, why are you talking like that…" The girl sounded aggrieved. "Everyone wanted to come in, I didn't want to be left alone outside, that's why I came in."

"We're already here, don't think too much about it, go to sleep."

"But I can't sleep, keep me company for a while…"

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Well…did you notice? That cripple actually went to take a shower. Even his hair wasn't dry when he came back."

"What's wrong with him taking a shower? Go to sleep, it's almost three o'clock."

"You don't know? Many paralyzed disabled people have no feeling in their lower body and are incontinent. They always have a strange smell, so they have to bathe frequently…"

Shen Mo thought to himself: No, she smells good.

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