My wife is a witch princess.

It's that kind of exhaustion again, like you haven't slept at all. It's been like this a lot lately. He looked it up last time and found that lucid dreams are still dreams, so this shouldn't happen.

The image of dusk from his dream flashed through his mind, and the knife trembled slightly. He frowned and banished it from his thoughts.

Don't think about it; the more you think about it, the more energetic you'll become.

Xia Li sat by the window, sitting upright with her head down, looking at her phone screen.

She maintains this upright posture no matter where she is. Song Che sometimes thinks that this is probably a habit she developed in that otherworldly castle, but now she looks like a primary school student listening attentively in class.

Before setting off, Song Che asked her to choose a movie to watch on the way.

She scrolled through the video app for a while before finally clicking on an animated film called "WALL-E".

"How do I choose this one?" he asked at the time.

Xia Li looked at the rusty little robot on the poster and thought for a moment, "It doesn't look like it can talk."

"Ok?"

“If it doesn’t speak, you don’t have to guess what it’s thinking.” She paused, “so it’s easier to understand.”

Song Che glanced at the robot named WALL-E, then looked at Xia Li.

That reason... is quite typical of her.

Sometimes he felt that Xia Li's straightforward way of speaking, although it often left people speechless, at least didn't require guessing and was quite fun.

"Okay, let's look at this then."

The movie has been playing for about twenty minutes.

On the screen, little robots were rummaging through a mountain of garbage, collecting things. Xia Li was very focused on everything she saw, and quickly became absorbed in it, so Song Che didn't pay any attention.

He turned back and looked out the window at the receding telephone poles.

The road to Taixi was longer than he had imagined.

I didn't sleep well again last night. In my dreams, something bad happened every evening, over and over again, and in the end, it always ended with death. I woke up with my back covered in sweat, and stared blankly at the ceiling for a while before I realized I was awake.

Having too many of these dreams makes everything seem shrouded in dust during the day.

"...Why did it leave that plant behind?"

Suddenly, Xia Li's voice came from the side.

Song Che turned his head and noticed that Xia Li had paused the video at some point. The scene was frozen on the little robot placing a tender green plant into an old boot.

"Ok?"

“This,” Xia Li tapped the plant on the screen, then pointed to the robot, “its job is to compress garbage. Plants are garbage too. Keeping it doesn’t seem reasonable.”

Her tone was very serious.

At times like these, her otherworldly way of thinking becomes particularly apparent. Unlike herself, who thinks in circles, going around in circles until she gets confused.

"Because it felt that plant was special," Song Che said. "Look at how many things it searched through the garbage dump, but it was so careful only of the plant. Because... it was life, and life is special."

“Small robots are also lives.” Xia Li had just learned about the concept of robots and disagreed with his statement.

“That’s true.” Song Che smiled. “It knows how to cherish this plant, almost like a living person.”

Xia Li stared at the screen in silence.

After a few seconds, she asked, "Like when you bought me a broom?"

Song Che was taken aback: "What?"

“That day at the supermarket, you bought that broom not for cleaning.” Xia Li turned to look at him. “You knew it wasn’t practical, it was expensive, and it wasn’t the best choice. But you still bought it.”

That broom... indeed, I remember Xia Li was about to pout and look unhappy, so I bought it.

“…That’s different.” He looked at the headrest of the seat in front of him. “The broom is what you wanted.”

"You don't have to buy it."

If I don't buy it, you're going to kick me!

"If I refuse, you'll keep thinking about it. It's too dangerous to fly on a broomstick."

“I will remember it…” Xia Li looked at the little robot on the screen again, “It left the plant because it remembered it.”

"Almost." Song Che put the earphones back in his ears. "Let's keep watching, there are other robots coming up."

Xia Li didn't ask any more questions and pressed play.

The little robot, holding the plant, continued working in the city ruins under the setting sun.

Song Che closed his eyes, trying to doze off for a while, but the twilight from his dream kept replaying in his mind. He frowned, then opened his eyes again. Lately, these dreams had been becoming more and more frequent, like some kind of bad omen.

But he didn't want to think about it too much; the thought made his chest feel tight.

The bus stopped at a rest stop for ten minutes.

Song Che went downstairs to buy a bottle of water. When he came back, he saw Xia Li still sitting in the same spot, looking out the window at the people coming and going at the rest stop.

She watched intently, her gaze following a little girl being led by her mother from the convenience store entrance to the bus. The little girl held a rainbow lollipop in her hand, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

"Want some candy?" Song Che sat back down, unscrewed the bottle cap, and took a sip of water.

He thought that if Xia Li said she wanted one, he would go and buy one.

Xia Li shook her head: "She's smiling."

"Kids are all like that, they're happy with anything sweet," Song Che said casually. He was like that when he was a kid, a lollipop could make him happy for half a day. But not anymore, candy is too sweet, and it hurts his teeth if he eats it.

“It wasn’t because of the candy.” Xia Li’s gaze was still following the little girl who had already boarded the bus. “She stepped in a puddle and her shoes got wet. Her mother knelt down to wipe them off for her and said a few words to her. But she was still smiling.”

Song Che followed her gaze.

The mother and daughter in the front row: the mother was taking spare socks out of her bag, and the little girl was obediently holding up her feet, her lollipop held high, as if afraid of being touched.

That scene... was indeed quite heartwarming.

He suddenly wondered what it would be like if Xia Li had a mother.

He suppressed the thought as soon as it popped into his head.

Thinking about these things is useless.

"Quite cute." Song Che thought the little girl's smile was a bit like Tao Xiang's, both sharing a carefree and joyful spirit.

“Hmm.” Xia Li turned her head back. “Humans sometimes have opposite emotional reactions.”

Song Che thought to himself, "You're quite observant."

The car restarted.

Xia Li continued watching the movie, while Song Che took out his phone and checked the information about Taixi Welfare Home.

There was very little information available online, only an address and a few old photos. He took a few screenshots, mentally planning how to start the conversation when he arrived.

His volunteer status was obtained using Nan Hui's certificate, and whether he could actually sneak in was another matter. He was actually a little uneasy, after all, it was an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. But he couldn't show it on his face, especially in front of Xia Li—she already lacked a sense of security in this world, and if he seemed uncertain, she would become even more nervous.

Song Che mentally reviewed the possible questions and answers several times, like memorizing key points before an exam.

Just as I was thinking this, my shoulder suddenly felt heavy.

Xia Li had fallen asleep sometime earlier, her head tilted to the side, resting on his shoulder. A few strands of her silvery-white hair were scattered on his arm, cool to the touch. Her breathing was light; the movie was still playing, and half of her earphone cord had slipped out of her ear, allowing her to hear the dialogue.

Song Che sat motionless, even his breathing became soft.

This feeling... is different from when she's awake.

Xia Li rarely had such a completely relaxed moment, and she had never slept like this leaning against him before. Most of the time, she was quite alert and full of energy, always waking up earlier than him.

The road was uneven, and the bus bounced a bit, causing her head to sway, her loose strands of hair brushing against his neck.

It was a little itchy, so I couldn't help but scratch it.

Song Che stared at the seat in front of him, his mind blank.

After a few seconds, he slowly realized that Xia Li trusted him.

At least on this bumpy train, in this unfamiliar world, she was willing to fall asleep leaning against him.

This realization made him happy, yet also somewhat heavy-hearted.

Being relied upon by others is a burden, but... it's not so bad.

The Xia Li in my dream would be like that too.

In his dreams, she always smiled, looked at him with gentle eyes, and said things that were incomprehensible to him. Anyway, Song Che didn't understand, but he was completely unguarded, just like now—unguarded, and even a little clumsy, he fell asleep leaning against him.

But the feeling in the dream was illusory, and there was always this thing called dusk that scared me. But now, it's real weight and temperature.

Song Che slowly relaxed, carefully adjusted her posture to make her lean more steadily, and then gently put the earphone that had slipped out back into her ear.

I moved very gently, afraid of waking her.

The scenery outside the window continued to flow backward.

Song Che remained in this position and gradually began to feel sleepy.

The nightmares that haunted him seemed to have temporarily receded, leaving only a calm weariness. The weight on his shoulders made him feel grounded, as if he had an anchor point, preventing him from drifting too far away in his dreams.

He closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly this time.

……

When the car arrived at the station, Song Che was gently woken up by Xia Li.

"We're here." She had already sat up straight and was bending down to adjust her coat, which had slipped down to her knees—it was Song Che's coat, which had been draped over her at some point.

Song Che blinked blankly and looked out the window.

It was getting dark, and the station lights were already on. He actually fell asleep, and slept the whole way without even dreaming.

This was probably the deepest sleep I've had recently.

"Finished watching the movie?" He rubbed his neck, which was a little sore.

"Yes." Xia Li handed the coat back to him. "The robot has found a new home."

"That's good." Song Che took the coat and put it on, then got up and took the backpack off the luggage rack.

They found a new home... a good ending.

"Let's go, we still need to transfer."