After finishing his first meal on the plane, Dai Lijun put on his eye mask, asked the flight attendant for a blanket, and closed his eyes to sleep. Not long after, his snoring began, greatly annoying Wang Qiqi, who was reading nearby.

Wang Qiqi glared at the man who clearly intended to make things difficult for her, wishing she could just kick him. "Truly a pig, eating then sleeping, sleeping then eating."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do, read a book like you?" Just as Wang Qiqi reached out to pinch the idiot's nose, she found the supposed sleeper had actually opened his eyes and was looking at her. This startled Wang Qiqi. Though the idiot spoke sleepily, his sudden awakening was enough to scare a whole crowd stiff.

"Heavens, why aren't you asleep?" Wang Qiqi pulled back her hand and patted her chest. How could someone who was snoring deeply, clearly in a heavy sleep, suddenly wake up like that?

Dai Lijun had actually woken up because he wasn't sleeping comfortably. He hadn't expected to overhear Wang Qiqi saying, "Are you planning to make a move?" Otherwise, given Wang Qiqi’s thick skin, she would never display such a frightened expression.

"No way, I just saw your blanket slipping off and was about to cover you up properly," Wang Qiqi said, noticing the blanket had indeed shifted slightly on him. She pointed at the blanket and added, "Okay, go back to sleep."

Dai Lijun looked down and saw his blanket had indeed slid down. He wondered if he had wrongly accused Qiqi. "Thanks."

Dai Lijun tried to go back to sleep. Wang Qiqi turned to look at Han Tao in the aisle seat across from them. He had also started sleeping, while Shi Man stared out the window, maintaining her exact previous posture without moving at all. "Manman, why don't you rest for a bit?"

No reply came. "Manman, would you like something to eat?"

Still no answer. Wang Qiqi sighed. She picked up the book in her hands and continued reading. Although the snoring around her made her desperately want to fall asleep herself, Shi Man's condition worried her. While nothing unusual was likely to happen on a plane, doing something foolish was very easy, and Wang Qiqi was genuinely concerned about Shi Man's current state—it was far too quiet.

"I'll eat in a bit, and then I'll sleep," Shi Man said faintly. "You sleep. Don't worry, I won't do anything foolish." If he really had turned unfaithful, it wouldn't be entirely abnormal. He hadn't returned during the Spring Festival. Last time the idiot went to the US, Shi Man had wanted to go too but got tied up with urgent matters and missed it. With so many temptations out there, it was quite normal for him to stray, but it just made her feel deeply sad. Didn't they all agree to hold on for two years back then?

Wang Qiqi looked at the seemingly strong Shi Man, raising an eyebrow. "Are you really okay?" Shi Man now gave Wang Qiqi the impression that this foolish girl was trying too hard to appear strong. "Actually, if you’re unhappy, crying might be better."

Crying was the best outlet for relieving stress, but Shi Man didn't want to appear a wreck in front of Dai Lijun. She wanted him to see her strength. "I’m fine. I’m truly fine. I don't want to face him with swollen, puffy eyes." If she happened to run into that 'other woman,' Shi Man knew the principle of never losing face. "Qiqi, if, if something did happen between me and him, I won't go to study abroad in the US next year."

Wang Qiqi understood Shi Man’s feelings. She longed to tell her, 'Go wherever you want to study, and I'll go with you,' but she lacked the courage and the confidence. Shi Man faced this situation after only one year apart from Feng Xuanxiang; Wang Qiqi truly couldn't imagine what the outcome would be after being separated from Han Tao for three years. Long separations were an enormous challenge to a relationship, and Wang Qiqi dared not gamble on it. "Then what are you planning to do..."

"Maybe not go abroad, maybe Europe, maybe Australia..." Shi Man didn't seem to care. "The outside world is vast, Qiqi. Didn't you always talk about wanting to travel the world? But now I think I might complete that mission faster than you. When the time comes, I'll select some nice things and bring them back to sell in the country."

"Great. We have a shop in Jingcheng anyway, or maybe you could open one yourself." Wang Qiqi didn't think Shi Man absolutely had to sell the items she sourced through Song Yao's shop.

"I'm not planning to open a shop myself; that's too exhausting and too much pressure. I'd rather sell them through your sister's shop." Shi Man thought collaborating with Song Yao was fine; running a shop meant too many worries, and finding a good employee was hard enough. Besides, a shop owner always had to be present to oversee things, a responsibility Shi Man didn't feel she could handle well. "Besides, I trust working with your sister."

"You can trust that; my sister isn't short-sighted." What Wang Qiqi appreciated most about Song Yao was that no matter how polished she had become, she remained loyal to her friends. She had never once considered finding her own channels to cut Wang Qiqi and the others out and make more money. "Besides, maybe we’re overthinking this. Perhaps Feng Xuanxiang is being so mysterious because he's planning a huge surprise for you."

A huge surprise? Shi Man managed a faint smile. She felt she knew him well enough. He wasn't a romantic person. In the entire time they had been dating, he had only given her a bouquet of red roses on the day he confessed; she hadn't seen a flower since. However, compared to Han Tao, he was comparatively extravagant. Qiqi hadn't even received flowers from Han Tao to this day, which made Feng Xuanxiang secretly proud that he was much more romantic than Han Tao. But he never sent flowers afterward, claiming they were only momentarily beautiful and it was better to save the money for good food. Could such a practical man really have a surprise in store? "I hope it's not a shock, but I'm prepared for whatever surprise he might spring. I think I can face the result."

"But I'm considering whether I should just take a trip around the US before returning home to spend time with my parents." This was her second summer in the US, and Shi Man realized she hadn't spent much quality time with her parents. "If possible, I'd like to take them traveling for a bit. They can't travel abroad, but we could tour domestically. The great grasslands would be nice this time of year." Last time the four of them went out, Shi Man and Feng Xuanxiang had even shared a horse. She remembered that riding was quite pleasant.

Riding horses? The mention of horseback riding reminded Wang Qiqi of a great location: Montana. She heard the summers there weren't too hot, it was full of ranches, some of which welcomed tourists, and the fees weren't too high. Wang Qiqi shared her idea. "What do you think?"

Shi Man had no objection to visiting Montana, but the issue was, "The horses the foreigners ride must be quite large, right? Look at our height. We’ve never formally ridden a horse before. That other time, someone was leading the horse in front of us just for show; we didn't get that feeling of galloping at all. What if something terrible happens if we ride horses there this time?" The consequences of falling off a horse could be terrifying, and Shi Man certainly didn't want to end up that way.

Wang Qiqi wasn't worried about that. In China, as long as money could be made, some operators wouldn't prioritize safety, but foreigners were different. "They should have riding classes. Not everyone who visits knows how to ride. If we learn easily, we can gallop, and if not, we can forget it."

"Deal." Shi Man thought that made sense. Foreigners placed a high value on human life; they worried about fatal accidents, and the resulting compensation would be a huge problem. "Once I learn, I can even show off to my parents when I return home."

Wang Qiqi hadn't expected to find a topic that might shift Shi Man's focus. This made her breathe a sigh of relief. No matter what, Shi Man's brows were no longer tightly furrowed; she was engaging in conversation. Wang Qiqi enthusiastically relayed some information about Montana she had read in a certain web novel from her past life. "We could eat the freshest beef there, and maybe even see horse races." Summers in Montana seemed to have many activities and were quite lively. There was also some kind of second-hand market gathering; maybe they could find things they needed. Even if they couldn't use them in the US, they could bring them back to China.

Shi Man hadn't been very keen on the idea of going to Montana initially; she just needed a place to stay. She couldn't just keep imposing on Qiqi. Even if Han Tao didn't mind, she would feel awkward. She couldn't let her own relationship troubles cause a crisis in her friend's relationship. But under Wang Qiqi's description, she grew quite interested in this land of open skies. "That sounds great. We can stay there for a while. If it’s really nice, I might stay for a month by myself, and you can go back to be with your man." It sounded like a beautiful place, and more importantly, the temperature wasn't high, which made Shi Man—who disliked both winter and summer—very happy.

"Hmph, you're being too much! Such a wonderful place, and you won't take me, you're trying to kick me out." Wang Qiqi pouted, clearly displeased.

Dai Lijun woke up from his dream and saw the two women beside him chatting animatedly. He yawned. "How about we switch seats? I'll take the innermost one." No wonder he hadn't been sleeping comfortably; he felt like there were mosquitoes buzzing around him the whole time—it turned out these two were constantly talking.

Shi Man shot Dai Lijun a look. "Truly tactless. Why are you, the third wheel, sitting here? You should have swapped seats with Han Tao. You'd be alone. Hmph, but this works out too; being tactless means you won't notice those girls flirting with you, and your Vivi can relax a bit more..."

Dai Lijun listened to Shi Man rattle off this entire tirade filled with disdain and nearly choked on his breath. Honestly, he regretted it right then—why hadn't he swapped seats with Han Tao earlier? Maybe if he'd changed places, all this trouble would have been avoided. Too bad there’s no medicine for regret in the world. (To be continued...)