马车在青石路上微微颠簸，梅雨抱臂靠在厢壁上，注视着对面的李夏尔缓缓舒展久未活动的四肢。她的嘴角时不时抽动一下，像是想笑又强行忍住；唇瓣微张似要开口，最终却只是轻轻抿住——一副左右脑互搏的纠结模样。

李夏尔轻轻揉了揉曾被重击的腹部，眉头微皱，抬眼望向她：“You’re lucky I’m a gentleman. So—where’d you take me?”

梅雨一秒切换严肃表情，清清嗓子简短答道：“My place. It’s safer.”

李夏尔慢条斯理地向后靠进软枕，歪着头打量她，眼角弯起浅浅的弧度：“Safer? Kidnapping a guy doesn’t exactly scream safe to me.”

“You call that a kidnapping?”梅雨眼睛瞬间睁圆，“You were rotting in that cell, and I just got you out. Tell me how that’s not an improvement!”

李夏尔微微向前倾身，放轻声音：“Easy, girl. I’m not going anywhere… yet. Just tell me—am I free to go once I hold up my end?”

“Of course.”梅雨连连点头，生怕他不信。

“Here I was, thinking you’d make me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”他轻轻摇头，语气里带着说不清的意味，“What a good kid… Guess not.”

“So, tell me—how do we get back?”梅雨终于不再强压笑意，真心实意的笑容在她脸上漾开。

李夏尔手指叩了叩护目镜的边框，视线掠过她的脸：“You aren’t just making small talk. You really don’t know, do you?”

梅雨脸上的笑容未变，但眼角已微微敛起：“What are you implying?”

李夏尔目光中带着真诚的探寻：“My guess is dull. Yours, though… might be a lot more interesting.”

“Who knows? Maybe it is.”

雍也纯：放空。

空气陷入了短暂的沉默，车轮辘辘滚动，像是在催促着谁先开口打破这场无声的较量。

李夏尔换了个姿势，手肘随意地搭在膝上：“Alright, since we’re both stuck in this mess—why don’t we start with something simple? Tell me about yourself.”

“Well, my name’s Mei Yu. I grew up in Chengdu, playing the violin. Just graduated high school before all this happened.”

他轻笑了一声：“High school, huh? Had a grand plan for your future?”

“Something like that. I had goals—becoming a dentist, maybe a lawyer, and… a few other things I wanted to do. Didn’t expect… any of this.”梅雨偏头想了想，摊手的动作透出百分之一亿的无奈。

李夏尔似乎对她的回答毫不意外：“Yeah, I get that. Life’s got a funny way of throwing you off course.”

“What about me? What do you think?”他耸耸肩，顺势问道。

“Why don’t you just tell me instead?”

李夏尔勾了勾嘴角：“Born and raised in New York. Played soccer for a few years. And you—yeah, you already noticed the part about me that’s truly worth noticing—my eyes. Can’t lie—it stuck.”

“Don’t mention it. But now, here you are. Looks like we’ve both got a lot to figure out.”梅雨保持微笑，微微前倾缩短了两人之间的距离。

“Not we, sweetheart—you. I already know where I stand. Still, if you’re nice enough… maybe I’ll share a secret or two.”李夏尔嘴角扬起，但那双眼睛并没有在笑，反倒带着审视与探究。

马车缓缓停在新宅侧门的石阶前，雍也纯率先下车，掀起车帘。

舒颜在旁静立等候。她的目光先是落在探身而出的梅雨身上，随即不着痕迹地掠过还在车里的那位装扮古怪的陌生男子。