Shi Man had long lost the initial excitement as she watched the various landscapes drift past the window. She had only one thought: subjecting herself to this ordeal just to save a little money was a huge loss. Thinking this, Shi Man glared at Wang Qiqi, whose face was none too pleasant either, and snapped, "Wang Qiqi, you figure out how you want to handle it next time you make me take a long-distance train for a trip."

There were planes, and they were only a little over a thousand yuan more, but the issue was that those didn't require forty-plus hours of travel. Not only were the meals on the train expensive, but the taste was truly awful. After just one meal, Shi Man felt that the airplane food she always complained about was actually quite delicious.

Wang Qiqi felt a pang of regret too. Sigh, why did she impulsively decide to experience how to travel to more places with the least amount of money? She wasn't that poor kid from her past life thinking about saving every cent. She had some money in hand these past couple of years; while she wasn't exactly pampered, she at least had certain standards for accommodation and travel. "I know, I absolutely won't do this kind of thing again." In the dead of winter, not having had a single hot meal for so long made Wang Qiqi desperately want to jump off the train and immediately book a flight. But she knew if she did that, Shi Man would certainly mock her endlessly later. For the sake of her pride, Wang Qiqi swallowed her anger. Anyway, she had already endured over thirty hours of suffering; there were only about ten more hours until dawn.

"I'm finding a good place to eat as soon as I get off the train," Shi Man saw Wang Qiqi’s appearance and knew this wasn't the best time to tease her; it was better to focus on adjusting the rest of the journey. "And I want to eat something good."

Wang Qiqi had no objection to Shi Man's suggestion. "We should eat something local and unique." When you go to a place, you should eat the local delicacies. Even if it might not suit their tastes, it would at least possess a unique flavor. "Tonight, we'll find a decent hotel to stay in—one with a good environment."

Shi Man had been worried that Wang Qiqi would stick to the original plan. Fortunately, the girl had completely sobered up; otherwise, she would definitely have protested. Having been tricked once, they couldn't be fooled again.

Originally, Wang Qiqi planned to spend three to five days in Kunming before heading to Lijiang. However, due to a flaw in planning the route, the two spent two days just recovering their strength. Added to Shi Man’s frequent interest in poking around distinctive roadside shops, by the time they had explored Kunming pretty thoroughly, a week had already passed.

"Next stop, Dali," Shi Man suddenly remembered something as they were about to buy train tickets. "I want to see where Duan Yu lived." Although that was fiction, didn't the Dali Kingdom actually exist? "And Butterfly Spring, Erhai Lake..." Places that once felt so distant now seemed so close, and Shi Man certainly didn't want to miss them.

"Weren't we going to Lijiang first?" Wang Qiqi recalled that the date she had set with Li Qian for Lijiang had already passed by three days, and now Shi Man was talking about Dali. She didn't know when she would finally get to Dali. Knowing Shi Man, she would definitely spend a full five days in Dali, as there were likely many unique shops there, which would be a huge bonus for Shi Man.

"There’s a train leaving for Dali from Kunming after eleven at night. We can sleep on the train and arrive in Dali in the morning," Shi Man said, relaying information she had overheard a couple of days earlier. "That way, we leave at night, sleep on the train, and can start exploring as soon as we arrive, saving us one night's accommodation fee."

Wang Qiqi hadn't expected Shi Man to have figured all this out, but this news didn't make her happy. "Sleeping on the train again?" Good heavens, she had barely managed to get two solid nights of sleep, and now they had to spend another night on a train. "Do you think there will still be sleeper tickets if we buy them today?" Dali was also a well-known tourist city, and an overnight train arriving in the morning was the perfect travel option for budget-conscious tourists. "Didn't you want to choose a more leisurely way to travel?"

"For us to get to Dali, it’s either a long-distance bus or a train. You tell me which one to pick," Shi Man glared, finding Wang Qiqi utterly detestable. It was fine when she suggested the train, but her suggestion was rejected—what was that if not authoritarianism?

"The train, of course," Wang Qiqi replied quickly. Wang Qiqi felt that in a mountainous area, the train felt safer. "What I mean is, we could totally pick a train that leaves in the morning and arrives in Dali in the evening. We’re not in a rush." Since quite a bit of time had already passed since their original agreed-upon date, Wang Qiqi felt adding another day wouldn't matter.

Shi Man looked at the person who had been nagging about exceeding the agreed time earlier, and now it seemed none of that mattered. "Let's stick with the evening train. We'll go buy tickets. If there are tickets for tonight, we leave. We can save two days."

Shi Man thought that with this time saved, she'd rather spend it properly exploring Dali. "I promised Sister Yaoyao I'd procure more ethnic items to take back." Since the profit-sharing ratio had been adjusted slightly, Shi Man's motivation had significantly increased, and she had completely solidified the career she wanted to pursue. Her best partner was Song Yao. Shi Man loved browsing and discovering interesting things, coupled with having the perfect travel companion, so procurement was the most suitable line of work for her. Moreover, she hated sitting in the shop all day dealing with different customers and conversations, things Song Yao enjoyed. Since their previous collaboration had been pleasant, they both felt they should continue working together happily. As for Song Yao, she also felt Shi Man’s eye for quality was far better than Wang Qiqi’s. This time, upon learning Wang Qiqi and Shi Man were going to Yunnan, Song Yao had explicitly told Shi Man to buy extra things back. Therefore, this trip was not purely for leisure.

Wang Qiqi looked at the serious Shi Man and suddenly felt an urge to regret things. "You won't have this procurement task every time we travel somewhere, will you?"

Shi Man nodded. "Yeah, don't look so glum. Remember, the money earned is split by everyone." Wang Qiqi was truly something; as a woman, she didn't seem to have much interest in shopping. Sometimes Shi Man really wanted to knock open her head to see if the structure inside was truly feminine.

While queuing to buy train tickets, Wang Qiqi kept praying that the evening train would be sold out of sleeper berths. To their surprise, their luck held out, and there were two tickets left. Hearing the ticket agent, Shi Man, who was sitting nearby, shouted out in excitement, "Qiqi, I told you we are the luckiest!" Hahaha, tomorrow she would be standing in the ancient, picturesque Dali, and her mood soared. Of course, what made her even happier was Wang Qiqi’s less-than-pleasant expression.

The misfortune of others was one's own greatest joy; Shi Man strongly agreed with this statement, remembering how smug someone had been when she resisted taking the train to Kunming earlier.

Wang Qiqi watched Shi Man, who was practically vibrating with excitement, feeling a bit unloved by fate. "It's just seven or eight hours on the train; it’s fine. Didn't I always take trains just as long when I went to Beijing for reporting assignments?" Once she thought it through, it didn't seem so bad. Didn't Wang Qiqi always take a bumpy, long train ride to Beijing for her reporting gigs? Wang Qiqi felt the pressure was minimal.

Since this train's final stop was Dali and its origin was Kunming—two major tourist hubs—when waiting in the departure hall, they noticed many people carrying large backpacks, speaking Mandarin with accents from all over the country. Although strangers, they all shared the same destination and were mostly young, so their camaraderie grew quickly. They shared amusing travel anecdotes, and the naturally outgoing ones even started discussing meeting up in Dali to travel together, as traveling in a group was usually more lively. Wang Qiqi wasn't very interested in these conversations. Moreover, after checking out of the hotel that day, she had walked around quite a bit while hauling luggage, and her feet were already sounding the alarm. As for Wang Qiqi’s delicacy, Shi Man’s only thought was that she lacked training. Shi Man chatted with the younger girls nearby about their travel experiences and frankly admitted she was surprised that girls who looked about her age had far more travel experience than she did.

Among the crowd laden with bags and parcels, Wang Qiqi and Shi Man, each carrying only a small backpack and a rolling suitcase, looked the most relaxed. "See? If you had listened to me, we would be just as weighed down with luggage as they are," Wang Qiqi whispered into Shi Man's ear.

Although they didn't spend the most time shopping in Kunming, they couldn't resist having the self-proclaimed big spender, Shi Man, who swept up quite a haul that was subsequently shipped to Song Yao’s shop in Beijing. Some items were specifically for Shi Man herself, which she had planned to show off in Dali and Lijiang, but Wang Qiqi had firmly suppressed that idea—no way would those places lack such things.

Shi Man had expected the overnight train to be less crowded, but to her surprise, there were still so many people, especially seeing several middle-aged women in ethnic attire carrying large burlap sacks. She felt a wave of relief. "Okay, okay, you were the best. Right, that young girl from earlier asked if she could join us to travel to Dali." Shi Man knew Wang Qiqi was very wary of outsiders, and Shi Man was too, but this girl gave her a clean impression, especially her eyes.

Wang Qiqi hadn't expected Shi Man to chat with some girls and secure a travel companion. "What do you think?" Although Wang Qiqi was somewhat hesitant internally, she felt adding one more person wasn't an unacceptable situation.

"She's a nice girl," Shi Man pointed to a young girl with a ponytail sitting nearby, listening to others talk. "I think it's fine. She looks quite harmless. We won't share a room with her, just travel together. We can split the expenses, and with one more person, we can order more dishes." Neither of them had huge appetites; they preferred tasting things. In Kunming, ordering dishes for just the two of them had been difficult: ordering too much meant waste, but ordering too little meant missing out on many tasty options. With one more person, they could at least order one extra dish.

"I have no objection," Wang Qiqi replied. She knew this was probably a key reason Shi Man wanted to include her. Moreover, Shi Man had grown up in a slightly more complex environment than Wang Qiqi, making her judgment of people sharper. Since Shi Man said it was fine, Wang Qiqi figured it wouldn't be bad. Besides, Wang Qiqi figured as long as they avoided dangerous, secluded spots and kept their money close, what could someone with ill intentions really do?

The rest was handled by Shi Man. Wang Qiqi followed Shi Man onto the train in a half-asleep state, found their bunks, stored their luggage, and went to sleep immediately. Her movements were swift, which Wang Qiqi found admirable, acknowledging Shi Man's capability. Shi Man, however, was terrified, especially climbing up and down the narrow steps. She kept worrying. "Qiqi, you don't have to be this exhausted, do you?" Shi Man thought—she had energy for sightseeing, but as soon as it was time for shopping, Qiqi would flag, often asking if they could rest, which Shi Man found exasperating.

Wang Qiqi pulled her blanket over herself. "How can I not be tired? I didn't get to sleep until two in the morning yesterday." Ugh, traveling while earning money was tough. She had hoped for a leisurely sleep-in, but what with buying tickets, checking out, and shopping, Wang Qiqi felt it was already a feat just to last this long.

"Oh? Were there many orders yesterday?" Shi Man had fallen sound asleep as soon as she got into bed yesterday, as even with good stamina, a full day of walking was draining. She was surprised Wang Qiqi had still worked. Shi Man genuinely admired Wang Qiqi; she was a workaholic, not forgetting work even while traveling. Translation work, plus thesis writing. Shi Man knew Wang Qiqi was constantly emailing Feng Xuanxiang to discuss the pros and cons of the thesis draft and how to improve it. Just hearing about it made Shi Man tired; only Wang Qiqi had the patience to persist. "You didn't submit late, did you?"

"Not many, but they were all urgent," Wang Qiqi replied. She wished she could have delayed the assignments, but the emails marked them as urgent. Being responsible, Wang Qiqi could only rally her remaining energy to finish the tasks. "I’m not talking anymore; I need to sleep." Wang Qiqi felt a dull ache in her head all day; her body had already sounded clear warnings signaling she needed rest.

Wang Qiqi awoke again at six the next morning, with over an hour left before the train arrived. She actually wanted to sleep more, but she knew if she slept any longer, she'd lose at least three or four hours, so she forced down the drowsiness and climbed out of the bunk to attend to her personal hygiene in the small bathroom. "Qiqi, you're awake." Shi Man habitually looked toward Wang Qiqi’s bunk upon waking and found her gone. She hadn't expected Wang Qiqi to be up so early.

Wang Qiqi grunted. "Since I'm awake, I won't sleep anymore. You rest a bit longer." Wang Qiqi noticed the dark circles under Shi Man's eyes, indicating she hadn't slept well either.

Shi Man shook her head and emerged from under the covers. "I didn't sleep comfortably at all; I'd rather get up and move around." There had been bumps and snores, and what Shi Man found even more unsettling was hearing her grind her teeth, which felt quite horrifying. "Right, we'll wait for Zhao Rongrong outside the station entrance later."

Zhao Rongrong? Hearing the unfamiliar name, Wang Qiqi paused her rummaging through her bag for a book. "The nice girl you mentioned?" She couldn't possibly have bought a hard seat ticket, could she? This made Wang Qiqi worried about how compatible they would be for the rest of the journey. She knew that Shi Man and she prioritized good food over price, but if they were traveling with someone overly concerned with cost, how would things go? Wang Qiqi felt anxious.

"Yes, that girl arrived at the station and found there were no more sleeper tickets, so she had to sit up all night." Although it was only about eight hours, Shi Man deeply felt that her behind would hurt intensely. "If I were her, I would have chosen tomorrow's train." An overnight journey followed by sitting up all night.

"Oh, I see," Wang Qiqi thought that this still didn't explain whether the girl had money or not. Wang Qiqi had scanned her yesterday and noticed that despite not being petite, she was carrying a large backpack, leading Wang Qiqi to suspect she was a backpacker. Never mind; she'd let Shi Man handle this problem later. Wasn't Shi Man the one who invited her? Should she solve the issue herself? Wang Qiqi thought uncharitably.

Wang Qiqi and Shi Man waited at the station exit for a long time without seeing Zhao Rongrong. "Are you sure you arranged the right spot?" So much time had passed. The formerly bustling station had few people exiting now, and looking around, there was no one waiting by the exit.

Shi Man started to get impatient. "Impossible." What was this girl doing? There was only one exit; she absolutely couldn't have missed it.

Just as the two were about to lose patience, they finally spotted the young girl. The shadow next to her explained why she was delayed: she was supporting an elderly person whose legs were not good.

"She's quite a kind person," Wang Qiqi murmured, having clearly seen the two strangers—the girl kindly helping an elder walk out. Her heart must be good.

Shi Man nodded beside her. "She is quite nice."

Zhao Rongrong had been worried that her randomly arranged travel companion might have left, given how long she was delayed. "I'm so sorry." Regardless of the reason, she was late.

Shi Man shook her head, signaling it was fine. "What are you going to do about this grandma?" An elderly person with poor mobility, carrying a large woven sack—the contents couldn't be small. They hadn't noticed that the two of them were already dragging their own bags forward.

"Her son came to pick her up," Zhao Rongrong said. As soon as she helped the elderly woman out of the station and took a brief rest on the steps, a man hurried over.

When he saw the elderly woman sitting safely on the steps, he let out a sigh of relief. After thanking Zhao Rongrong and the others repeatedly, he supported the woman and slowly left. "What do we do next?" Shi Man broke the silence first once the atmosphere calmed. "Qiqi, are you rested? Rongrong, are you okay after riding the train all night?"

Wang Qiqi yawned. "I’ve been awake long enough. Let’s go look around. At most, I won't join when you go into the small shops." Wang Qiqi felt that if they excluded the time Shi Man spent shopping, this trip would have been quite relaxing. Unfortunately, the time spent shopping was nearly equal to the time spent visiting scenic spots, which is why Wang Qiqi felt tired.

"You’re calling it quits before the battle starts, Qiqi. Are you even a woman?" Shi Man teased without reservation. "Alright, let's get breakfast first, then find a place to store our luggage." Shi Man suggested this. "Then we can ask the locals where it's best to go first." Although they knew the major known attractions in Dali, they had no idea about the specific locations or how to get there.

"No problem," Wang Qiqi and Zhao Rongrong both agreed. Carrying all that luggage while exploring would be suffering rather than enjoying themselves.

The three of them looked through several hotels before finally finding a place that felt decent and wasn't too expensive to stay at. "Should we go see Butterfly Spring today?" Shi Man said, pushing her luggage to the corner and tucking the more valuable items inside her own clothes.

"Sounds good," Wang Qiqi said. Upon entering the room, she immediately grabbed the clothes she needed to change into and rushed into the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower first."

Shi Man found it amusing to watch Wang Qiqi run as if someone were chasing her. "Take your time washing. Zhao Rongrong said she wants a shower too." Both were such clean people, yet Qiqi had been fighting sleep just to get onto the train yesterday.

Wang Qiqi knew Zhao Rongrong also needed to shower. "I need to wash my hair. Aren't you showering?" She had her own room. Wang Qiqi was squeezed into sharing a bathroom with Shi Man. Wang Qiqi was nervous when she heard the receptionist mention there was a triple room available earlier, but thankfully, the person said they needed two rooms. "Zhao Rongrong is very considerate; she knew we wouldn't share a room with her."

Shi Man didn't see it that way. "I suspect she was worried about what we might do to her." Two against one was an advantage, no matter what. "I just noticed her wallet is LV—the real one." Although her backpack didn't reveal much, Shi Man suspected the backpack was also designer. "She doesn't seem like someone from an ordinary family." A girl in her early twenties carrying such an expensive wallet, combined with her demeanor, made Shi Man doubt she was faking wealth.

"That's good then." Wang Qiqi had not the slightest interest in understanding the situation at Zhao Rongrong’s home, "But we still need to remain vigilant." Being away from home, especially in Yunnan, made Wang Qiqi feel that raising her guard was the better option. "Keep all your important things secure."

"Hurry up and take your shower; I need to bathe too." Shi Man informed Wang Qiqi before taking her laptop to check her emails online. She quickly replied to a few messages to Feng Xuanxiang, updating him on her current itinerary. Then, she examined the incoming assignments, intending to see which manuscripts were suitable for her translation before mentioning them to Wang Qiqi.

Although she was a bit tired, Shi Man mentally tallied up her earnings. The money she had made so far was enough to cover the expenses of this entire trip, and the fact that she wouldn't need to touch her savings made Shi Man quite pleased.

The first day back at work was full of adjustments, especially for Bu Bu, who was used to sleeping until noon and truly struggled to get out of bed. Yesterday, she had seen snow falling and had daydreamed about how wonderful it would be if she woke up to find the ground completely blanketed in white. Alas, what a pity... RS