Thinking of those scenes now, her bedsheet would still get wet, but...

"Xiaoxi, Xiaoxi..."

"Hmm?"

"Why are you zoning out again?"

The round-faced girl beside Ji Xiaoxi waved a hand in front of her, "The team leader just said we can go out for dinner. What do you want to eat?"

"I..."

Just as Ji Xiaoxi was about to answer, something caught her eye, and she was stunned. But at that moment, the traffic light at the crosswalk turned green, the crowd surged, and Ji Xiaoxi couldn’t find that figure she had just seen.

Ji Xiaoxi stood in a daze for a moment, and as the bus started, she withdrew her gaze, though with a hint of self-mockery in her eyes.

This kind of misperception, like an illusion, was not the first time it had happened to her, and Ji Xiaoxi was somewhat used to it by now.

She felt that she might truly be beyond saving...

The young girl bit her lip, her eyes filled with unsolvable sorrow.

...

"Xiaoxi is very aloof. Although she seems normal when interacting, she always appears to have a heavy heart. Her favorite thing to do is to hide away and daydream by herself..."

"She is always buying flowers, only white roses, and then watches them wither. It’s unclear why..."

"Miss Ji seems not very good at socializing, which is not only evident in group settings but also in her usual communications. Apart from her parents, she barely has any other contacts..."

"Oh, and it seems that Xiaoxi has poor sleep quality. She often dreams in the middle of the night and talks in her sleep, saying... well, some very strange things that are hard to describe..."

In the study of the hotel suite, Zhou Wang sat in front of the computer, browsing through a folder named "Ji Xiaoxi."

In this travel group that Ji Xiaoxi joined, from the team leader to her fellow roommates, all had been bribed by Zhou Wang before the trip.

These people were paid five-figure sums, but their task was not complicated: just to record Ji Xiaoxi’s itinerary in detail, watch for any unusual behavior, and then compile and send it to the specified email.

However, Zhou Wang hadn’t had time to check recently, because no one had called him, indicating there likely hadn’t been any special circumstances. Zhou Wang, being extremely busy, temporarily forgot about this matter.

When he unexpectedly ran into Ji Xiaoxi today, Yu Duo was also there, so Zhou Wang naturally couldn’t do anything. After realizing that Ji Xiaoxi seemed to notice her, he took a dazed Yu Duo, standing beside him, and walked away.

Back at the hotel, Zhou Wang remembered this incident, so he opened his computer and began to browse through the secret reports sent by the "spies."

Since many days had passed, even though there was not much noteworthy in Ji Xiaoxi’s itinerary, the numerous detailed records still took Zhou Wang quite a while to read through.

Ji Xiaoxi’s schedule could only be described as "uneventful" and "dull and boring," yet somehow Zhou Wang read it very carefully.

As he browsed through line by line of text, the daily life of a young girl seemed to vividly unfold before him—

When she was on a pilgrimage at Zang Mountain, she walked towards the mountain as if entranced, with headphones in, almost going missing because no one noticed...

At the Chaka Salt Lake in Qing Province, they sat by the lake, listening to an elderly couple recount their love story, from when they were young educated youths to growing old together, sticking to each other through thick and thin, which moved everyone to tears, but Ji Xiaoxi cried particularly hard, for reasons unknown...

And during their visit to Yunnan Province, Ji Xiaoxi often zoned out and even asked the team leader where Jing City was, specially requesting a day off...

Zhou Wang’s gaze swept over, seemingly also witnessing her joys, sorrows, hesitations, and confusions.

For a long time, Zhou Wang didn’t recall how much time had passed until a knock on the door brought him back to reality. Still holding a cigarette, he suddenly realized that night had fallen.

Su Yajing peeked her head in, "Brother, are you still busy with work... The food is ready, would you like to eat now?"

"Oh, coming."

Zhou Wang took a deep breath, temporarily gathering his scattered thoughts, closed all the emails, and got up to leave the room.

In the dining room illuminated by crystal chandeliers, four girls were already seated. Seeing Zhou Wang enter, their giggles ceased abruptly, and they seemed to recollect something. Except for Yu Duo, who remained relatively composed, the other three girls shyly looked away.

Everything that happened last night seemed vivid still; heaven knows how awkward it was when the three girls gradually woke up around dusk.

Shen Yutong couldn’t find her panties, and Cui Min’er, with a white stain on her lips not realizing it, was photographed by the quick-acting Su Yajing. After reacting, Cui Min’er fought with Su Yajing for half a day. Somehow, they also roped in Shen Yutong, pinning her down for a photo.

If it was just the photos, that would have been fine, but last night, Su Yajing, completely let loose, discovered she couldn’t beat Shen Yutong in figure nor Cui Min’er in looks. To win Zhou Wang’s favor, Su Yajing decided to flaunt her asset in "creativity."

She then took a lipstick and wrote some obscure Chinese characters, like "夯" or "莪," in some indescribable places...

That had left Shen Yutong and Cui Min’er dumbfounded, and now seeing Su Yajing dare to photograph the evidence, there was no way Cui Min’er would let Su Yajing off the hook.

Later, Cui Min’er and Su Yajing reached an equal and friendly agreement. Turning to see Shen Yutong watching the fun, their hearts felt unbalanced.

So, the two girls held Shen Yutong down, added some marks, and took a photo, playfully ending the matter.

Sitting at the dining table now, Zhou Wang’s appearance reminded them of the past events, causing a subtly awkward atmosphere.

Zhou Wang could only dig up some light-hearted topics to discuss while eating, finally dissipating the awkward vibe.

As dinner neared its end, Zhou Wang glanced at the four girls probingly, "Well, tonight..."

Just as Zhou Wang started speaking, all four girls’ expressions shifted slightly.

Shen Yutong stood up first, "Well... I need to discuss joining the team with my manager tonight, so I’ll head back to my room first."

Cui Min’er wore a pained expression, albeit poorly acted, "I’m not feeling well, so I’ll go rest too."

With that, Cui Min’er hurried away in a panic.

Yu Duo followed closely, looking like she had something important to address, "Sister Min’er, wait, I have something to discuss with you..."

In almost a blink, the dining table was left only with Zhou Wang and Su Yajing, exchanging glances.

Su Yajing didn’t expect her three sisters to act so swiftly, as if they had planned it. If it were any other time, she would wish they all disappeared, leaving Zhou Wang all to herself. But after last night, understanding Zhou Wang’s true prowess, Su Yajing, still feeling sore, couldn’t dare be alone with Zhou Wang.

"Brother, I..."

Su Yajing, wearing a mournful expression, could barely force a smile.

"Got it, you’re not feeling well either, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, but if you really want..."

"Go rest, it’s fine."

Hearing that, Su Yajing, mumbling hesitantly, took it as a huge relief and quickly ran off without looking back.

Zhou Wang, watching the now-empty dining table, couldn’t help but find it amusing.

He genuinely had no other intentions; after all, he was already exhausted from last night. He merely wanted to ask if they wanted to play mahjong, real mahjong...

Seeing how the girls avoided him as if he were a snake, Zhou Wang sensed that the upcoming days would be tough, perhaps suggesting that three monks have no water to drink.

Shaking his head to dispel unnecessary thoughts, Zhou Wang considered other matters.

The Ao Island trip was nearing its conclusion; next, Zhou Wang planned to visit Korea, to sightsee abroad and, incidentally, settle Cui Min’er’s qualms.

However, before that, there was something he needed to confirm.

Gauging the date, Zhou Wang figured the time was ripe, so he took out his phone and sent a message on WhatsApp to a contact:

"Have you made up your mind?"