The Scent of the Quilt

Bai Xia, the young woman, was busily packing her daily necessities in the rented room. Clothes and shoes she usually wore were all haphazardly stuffed into her already small suitcase.

Mo Bai, meanwhile, sat on the small bed Bai Xia had slept on, watching with keen interest as she rummaged through her belongings.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, as Mo Bai sat on the bed, he felt a faint, sweet aroma permeating the air. It was strangely pleasant, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint its source or nature.

‘Another detail, however, left him rather perplexed: ‘Does his little deskmate sleep without wearing anything?’

Mo Bai could already imagine it; if he hadn’t stopped himself in time, he might very well have touched her just now. If Bai Xia had discovered that, it would have been truly impossible to explain.

As Bai Xia finished tidying the living room and headed to the bathroom, Mo Bai, driven by curiosity, gently pulled the quilt she had used to his nose and inhaled.

Sure enough, the sweet scent became even more pronounced.

The young woman’s natural fragrance, mingled with the lingering, ambiguous scent on the bedding, caused Mo Bai’s heart to quicken involuntarily.

‘Are all girls this fragrant?’

While he knew Bai Xia always carried a subtle fragrance, the scent on the bed was remarkably potent. Unable to find a better explanation, Mo Bai could only attribute it to the unique constitution of a blood race.

Then again, it might simply be because Bai Xia slept there every day, allowing the scent to thoroughly “marinate” the quilt.

Unbeknownst to Mo Bai, the intense, sweet scent of the young woman on the quilt was actually a result of Bai Xia’s activities on the bed that morning.

Of course, Bai Xia would never reveal such a detail. If Mo Bai ever learned she had been imagining him while doing ‘that,’ she feared he might just execute her on the spot.

“Brother Mo… should I bring toiletries and such?”

Bai Xia, having reached the bathroom, suddenly poked her small head out, only to serendipitously catch Mo Bai in the act of secretly sniffing her quilt.

The moment their eyes met, the air seemed to freeze.

Bai Xia stared in astonishment at Mo Bai, who was currently holding her quilt.

To her surprise, however, Mo Bai remained remarkably composed. He even casually put her quilt down and began speaking to her as if nothing untoward had happened.

“Just bring your clothes; I have everything else at my place,” the young man said with an unruffled expression.

Yet, his fingers slowly stroked the corner of the quilt beside him. “Though… your quilt does smell quite nice. Is it like this for all girls?”

“H-how can you just sniff someone else’s quilt, Brother Mo!”

The young woman lacked the boy’s brazenness; her ear tips immediately flushed crimson with shame, especially considering this was a quilt she had “used.”

Bai Xia hastily dropped the toiletries in her hand. Her small feet, clad in pink slippers, scurried frantically to Mo Bai’s side.

She shoved her quilt into a corner and then cast a disgruntled glance at her deskmate, resembling a small cat fiercely guarding its food.

“Honestly… I’m facing you as a girl now, Brother Mo, so please show me a little respect! You shouldn’t just touch a girl’s personal belongings without asking.”

Bai Xia pouted, muttering her complaints under her breath, her adorable face flushed with a mixture of shyness and indignation.

This sight, coupled with her disgruntled yet slightly wronged expression, made Mo Bai want to pull his little deskmate into his arms and cherish her.

‘So cute! This isn’t one of those disgusting outsiders at all; she’s clearly a young woman waiting to be pampered.’

Watching the slightly resentful Bai Xia, Mo Bai couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

He reached out and ruffled the soft hair on the young woman’s head. “Alright, alright, my bad, my bad. I was just a little curious.”

“Curiosity isn’t an excuse!” Bai Xia indignantly slapped Mo Bai’s hand away.

As if afraid he would sniff it again, she pushed the quilt further into the corner of the bed.

Normally, if Mo Bai had done something like this, Bai Xia might have felt deeply embarrassed but wouldn’t have said anything.

However, the current situation was different. After all, she had held that quilt between her legs earlier, and it was inevitable that some shameful traces from the morning might still linger.

If her deskmate were to discover any clues, she would rather just die.

‘Truly… if only I had known, I wouldn’t have done that this morning.’

“Brother Mo, if you have nothing to do, you can look at your phone. I’ll be done packing very soon.”

With that, Bai Xia resumed packing her small suitcase, stealing glances at Mo Bai from time to time, terrified he might approach her quilt again.

Though Mo Bai didn’t understand why Bai Xia had suddenly become so sensitive, he obligingly turned his back, pretending to scroll through his phone.

However, the faint, lingering smile on his lips betrayed his playful desire to tease her.

Compared to the unremarkable boy he usually was at school, this shy and endearing young woman truly captivated him.

He deliberately increased his phone’s volume, feigning intense focus on a video, yet his peripheral vision remained fixed on Bai Xia’s flustered attempts to pack her luggage.

Seeing that Mo Bai truly seemed to have stopped paying attention to her quilt, Bai Xia finally let out a small sigh of relief.

Excluding toiletries, Bai Xia didn’t have many items to actually fit into her suitcase.

Aside from her everyday clothes, there were only a few intimate garments and various small odds and ends, like phone chargers.

In just a few minutes, Bai Xia had packed her suitcase full. As for the bedsheet and a pair of pure white cotton panties still hanging nearby, Bai Xia hesitated for a moment before deciding to leave them behind.

“Brother Mo… what about here…” Bai Xia, having finished packing, slowly stood up, pulling her suitcase behind her.

Her long, snowy white hair was a little disheveled from her earlier exertions.

Mo Bai put away his phone, his gaze lingering on Bai Xia for a moment.

The young woman’s docile, waiting demeanor softened his heart, and he couldn’t resist reaching out to smooth the stray hairs from her forehead. “Once you’re ready, we can leave. As for this place, we can just terminate the lease then.”

“Terminate the lease?” Bai Xia paused, a flicker of reluctance passing through her ruby-like eyes.

She gazed around the small room she had lived in for so long, her fingers unconsciously stroking the handle of her suitcase.

‘But I’m probably just staying there temporarily, right? Do I really need to terminate the lease?’

‘Although I know the other party might be a difficult and troublesome criminal gang, besides being somewhat attractive, I don’t seem to have anything else worth their extensive efforts.’

‘Perhaps if I stay for ten days to half a month and they realize I’m not that easy to kidnap, they might just give up?’

“But… I can’t just keep living at your place, Brother Mo, can I?” Bai Xia mumbled softly.

Bai Xia wasn’t actually resistant to the idea of taking refuge at her deskmate’s house; in fact, she was quite happy about it.

However, the thought of living at Mo Bai’s place indefinitely…

‘I mean… if my deskmate expects nothing in return and just lets me move in to eat and live for free, how would I be any different from those freeloaders?’

‘That would be taking too much advantage of him.’

So, no matter how she looked at it, Bai Xia wasn’t keen on living at Mo Bai’s house indefinitely.

Moreover, considering their respective identities, it felt rather inappropriate.

Observing Bai Xia’s conflicted expression, Mo Bai likely guessed what the young woman was worrying about.

He then raised a hand and gently tapped her on the head.

“Ouch! Brother Mo, what was that for…” Bai Xia mumbled, covering her head with a slight pout of grievance.

“Of course, you won’t be living for free. At my place, you’ll have to help me with chores,” Mo Bai said, deliberately schooling his features into a stern expression, though the amusement in his eyes refused to be hidden.

“For example… helping me tidy my study, or occasionally cooking. Besides, even if you don’t want to live with me permanently, you definitely can’t come back to stay in this apartment.”

“Th-then… alright,” Bai Xia responded softly, her snowy white hair falling forward as she lowered her head, concealing her slightly flushed cheeks.

She stole a quick glance at Mo Bai, then swiftly averted her eyes, her flustered demeanor making it incredibly difficult for Mo Bai not to be captivated.

“Once you’re done packing, we’ll get going.”

“Then… I’ll try my best not to cause you any trouble, Brother Mo… Please take care of me.”