"Why?" Ziye gasped, alarmed. Red Hair shrugged.

"What else can he offer you besides food?" Ziye: ... For a moment, she couldn't think of anything An Junlie could offer her, but then again, she wasn't after anything from him.

She simply felt relaxed and secure in his presence. When she was being hunted by Bai Lanxue, An Junlie hadn't been able to come to her rescue.

Though she felt a pang of regret, she hadn't made an issue of it with him, understanding he was tied up chairing a legion assembly and couldn't leave. Red Hair took her silence as agreement.

"Love is too much of a luxury for me, but, little brat, I truly wish there was a man who understood you and cherished you." Ziye nearly swerved into a roadside tree trunk again. Luckily, experience kicked in, and her control over the bicycle had reached a new level; she smoothly corrected the handlebars back onto the proper path.

"Then tell me, who is suitable for me?" Red Hair pondered for a long moment. "Tang Wen?

I never thought much of him before; he always seemed like such a pretentious show-off. But the aura he projected in front of Bai Lanxue while saving you was quite impressive.

If you were with him, at least no one could bully you." More than just an impressive aura—Ziye hadn't even told Red Hair about how cool Tang Wen looked saving her from the Crimson Tiger in the primeval forest of Silver Sigil Star! Speaking of which, she still hadn't properly thanked him for saving her life last time.

However, Ziye knew one thing clearly: there was absolutely no romantic entanglement between her and Tang Wen. Ziye didn't know why she suddenly thought Tang Wen was a better fit for her than An Junlie, but this was hardly the time for heart-to-heart talks about feelings.

She steered the conversation elsewhere. "Is it the same for you and Lan Li?" Red Hair waved a dismissive hand.

"It’s different. Lan Li and I are just a relationship of mutual need.

It makes no difference to me that Lan Li is a clone." Ziye: ... Struggling to find a reply, Ziye finally said, "I’m on Bicycle Planet cycling with my teammates.

I’ll call you back on the hypersignal when I return." She hung up the call and settled into a steady pace. Spence, who had been trailing her, finally let out a sigh of relief.

Just now, Ziye had been weaving erratically—one moment veering left, the next right, sometimes steering as if controlled toward a rock, other times charging drunkenly at a tree trunk. It had been incredibly dangerous.

Poor man, watching from behind, he was soaked through several layers of clothes with sweat. He wanted to ask Ziye what on earth was going on, but this wasn't the right moment for chatter, so he held his tongue.

Ziye, completely unaware of this distress, hung up the hypersignal and sped up to catch her front-line teammates. Mountain bikes truly lived up to their name; their advantage on rugged terrain was unmatched—nothing less than perfectly stable.

After cresting the first mountain, the six of them reached the base for a brief rest before preparing for the second ascent. Just then, a team of cyclists passed by not far away.

Every bike was excellently equipped, and each one looked as if it had traversed trails and grassy plains, bearing the dust and weeds of the journey. Encountering fellow travelers on the road was fate, and everyone had a custom of exchanging greetings.

But when Ziye raised her hand, she froze. Damn it, wasn't that tall figure on that ridiculously cool mountain bike in the middle An Junlie?

Blast! An Junlie was out riding bikes?

And with a group of strangers! The twins were even more stunned.

Aiya, were they blind? Their dignified CEO of Angels was riding a mountain bike, and what was with that basket specially attached to the front, holding a round, pale-white plushie?

And wasn't that little thing perched on his shoulder Ziye’s pet? If their regiment commander saw him like this, wouldn't their eyes be gouged out!

Even if his bodyguards didn't do it, they felt like doing it to themselves! The Commander’s image, summed up in one phrase: utterly shattered.

Everyone wore specialized cycling helmets. The three companions who rode ahead hadn't looked closely and didn't recognize An Junlie.

The twins stayed silent, and Aix, leading the group, announced, "Let’s move out too, follow them." Seeing that they didn't mention it, Ziye kept quiet and started moving forward silently. Little Sprout was overjoyed to see her and quietly zipped over to Ziye's side, positioning itself at the head of her handlebars and cheerfully greeting her: "Hi, Ziye little dummy." Ziye returned the smile: "Hello, Little Sprout big dummy." Little Sprout’s smile vanished immediately.

"You're the big dummy." Ziye shook her head. "La la la, I won't listen, I won't listen.

I’m at most a little dummy; you’re the big dummy." Little Sprout scoffed internally, This master is not a dummy; the alien is the big dummy. He doesn't even know how to clean up Dou Zai’s poop.

Ziye was surprised. "Dou Zai pooped?" Little Sprout said haughtily, "No, this master stopped it." Ziye raised an eyebrow.

"How did you stop it?" Little Sprout boasted, "This master wouldn't let it." Pfft! Ziye nearly burst out laughing.

Little Sprout, you are ruthless! She silently made a mental note: during the next rest stop, she absolutely had to clean up Dou Zai’s droppings, or the poor thing would get backed up!

After the two teams merged, they forged through mountains and water—literally. For some shallow water crossings, Ziye didn't even have time to gauge the depth before the leader just charged through, pedaling wildly through the spray to the other side.

The ones behind could only close their eyes and crash into the water. By the end of the day, while thoroughly entertained, they were more profoundly exhausted.

The cycling team operated on the principle of finding lodging wherever they stopped, securing rooms in a hotel that night. Ziye was as tired as Dou Zai, wishing only to collapse on the floor and move not an inch.

When she had first encountered An Junlie during the day, she had intended to ask him what exactly happened between him and Red Hair, but sheer exhaustion made it impossible to attend the barbecue banquet the male companions had invited them to. "Dou Dou, are you tired?" Ziye asked weakly, addressing Little Sprout, who was draped nearby on the sofa.

Little Sprout barely lifted an eyelid. "Not very tired." Ziye sighed.

"Then pour me a glass of water." Little Sprout: ... Seeing it didn't move, Ziye tried again.

"Or, you could release the robot for me." Little Sprout: "...This one is dead. Burn incense if there's an emergency." Ziye was displeased.

"No, you can’t die. Even if you are dying, you must first call room service and summon a robot for me before kicking the bucket." Little Sprout buried its head in its wings, pretending not to hear.

A moment later, the doorbell rang. Ziye assumed it was the service Little Sprout had called and happily said, "Dou Dou, go open the door." Little Sprout, having failed in its attempt to play dead, reluctantly activated the remote control.

Ziye, sprawled on the floor, heard footsteps approaching from behind. Soon, a cup of steaming water was extended before her.

The hand holding the cup had clearly defined knuckles. Too lazy to reach for it, Ziye stretched her head over and drank a couple of sips from the cup before sinking back down.

The next second, those hands landed on her back... -RS