Ziye fumbled desperately, pulling the quilt tightly around herself, and shrieked, "Don't you dare come over here."

An Junlie was perfectly obedient. "Okay, I won't."

Ziye watched him warily from the corner of her eye while furiously buttoning her clothes. "Go get my things."

An Junlie looked at her twice, stepped off the bed, and stood up, adopting an extremely serious expression. "Do you need the underthings?"

Ziye shot him a sidelong glance. How had she never noticed how utterly infuriating this man was before?

She fastened the last button, feeling marginally less tense, and sat up from under the covers, still wrapped securely in the quilt. "I need them to be comfortable for riding."

An Junlie retrieved an outfit from her suitcase and placed it on the edge of the bed. Ziye glanced over; the top item was a black set of lingerie complete with tiny wings.

God, I just want to die.

However, An Junlie was not in the mood to tease her this time. After setting the clothes down, he said, "I'll go out. You change in here." He then walked to the door and pulled it shut behind him.

Ziye didn't get out of bed immediately. She sat there for a moment, making absolutely sure he wasn't coming back in. Then she jumped off the bed, darted to the door, and listened closely. Hearing no sound outside, she decisively locked it and jiggled the handle a few more times just to be certain it wouldn't open, before scurrying back to the bed to dress.

To her relief, although she was wearing An Junlie’s shirt, she saw no strange marks on her body. A heavy weight lifted from her chest.

The commotion had been too distracting earlier for her to properly recall how everything had happened, but now, with her mind clear, she finally pieced together the sequence: she had gone to take a shower the night before, and then...

Because she had fallen asleep, An Junlie had put his shirt on her?

There was a saying: If you don't do it, you won't die.

Ziye took this painful lesson to heart. She had to tell Little Sprout that if she ever accidentally fell asleep while bathing again, Little Sprout was responsible for poking her awake—otherwise, the consequences were dire!

Ziye finished dressing, washed up, and scrutinized herself in the mirror from every angle. Seeing nothing amiss, she cautiously cracked the door open just a sliver. An Junlie was nowhere in sight.

Little Sprout was listlessly playing with Beanlet.

Perfect!

She truly didn't know how she could possibly face him right now. If she could avoid it, she would.

She whispered mentally, Alien, where did he go?

Little Sprout puffed up its body and replied languidly, He went out.

Phew, her worry had been for nothing.

Ziye pushed the door open confidently, stepped out, scooped up Little Sprout, and hoisted Beanlet into her arms. "Quick, let's get out while he's gone."

As she reached for the doorknob, the door suddenly swung open from the outside. Ziye’s hand froze mid-air as she watched An Junlie appear in the doorway.

"Ahhhh—!" Caught red-handed! Ziye let out a sharp scream, ducked low, and scrambled out from under his arm, sprinting away as if chased by a dog.

An Junlie turned just as Ziye reached the far end of the corridor, moving with impossible speed, almost as if she had mastered Qinggong.

...What? An Junlie stared after her disappearing figure, bewildered. He hesitated, then decided not to pursue.

There was a method in this world far quicker than sprinting after someone: using a Com-Link.

An Junlie activated his Com-Link and dialed her number.

The instant Ziye's Com-Link began to ring, she didn't answer or silence it; instead, she spun around to see if he was chasing her.

Thank heavens, he wasn't.

She took a sharp breath, set Beanlet down, and answered the call.

On the Com-Link, An Junlie’s voice held concern. "What happened? Why were you running so fast?"

Ziye: ...Could she possibly explain that fleeing was an involuntary, stress-induced action resulting from the sudden shock of finding the cat right in front of the mouse who was trying desperately to avoid it?

In simpler terms, it was the reflex of a creature realizing its escape route was blocked.

An Junlie couldn't hear her silence, so he asked again, "What's wrong?"

Ziye steadied her nerves, shook her head, and replied, "Nothing, I just remembered the team needs to assemble and I’m late, so I was hurrying." Without waiting for his response, she hung up, re-embraced the heavy Beanlet that could potentially break her arm, and walked toward the assembly point.

In reality, there were still five minutes until the meeting time.

Little Sprout flapped its wings and zoomed around her head, suddenly chirping, "Ziye you silly goose, are you feeling shy?"

Ziye stumbled, nearly pitching forward. She stopped abruptly, turned her head toward Little Sprout, and muttered, "No need to state the obvious..."

"Caw caw caw—" Little Sprout mimicked a crow's call, beating its wings hard as it flew ahead. After a short distance, it suddenly turned back. "I won't tell the Alien!"

When they arrived at the assembly spot, the Twins were already there. They were having an enthusiastic spar under a flowering tree, practicing the combat style taught by Red Hair. Ahead of them sat a cozy, slightly bohemian coffee shop with a few tables and chairs set up outside, all possessing a classical air.

Several female tourists were seated at the chairs, watching the Twins fight with keen interest, occasionally letting out soft laughs. Li Chunyu sat at another coffee table, intensely focused on his light-screen, likely crunching numbers for an equation he hadn't finished.

Ziye looked at him, then at herself, and was deeply struck by embarrassment.

—Compared to Li Chunyu, she felt she wasn't working hard enough.

She shrugged, clutching Beanlet, and headed toward Li Chunyu's table.

Before she got close, the Twins spotted her. They stopped their sparring, and Splinter was the first to greet her, laughing, "Hey, Little Yezi, heard our Captain was crashing on your bed yesterday?"

He hadn't lowered his voice, and the nearby patrons all glanced over.

Ziye’s face darkened. She suddenly wanted to unleash a flying kick and send Splinter soaring to the horizon.

Couldn't they please stop bringing up such mortifying incidents?

Aix laughed heartily, "Idiot, give Little Yezi some face. She is, after all, our future Captain’s mistress!"

Ziye turned and walked away.

Those two idiotic Twins—she really didn't want to talk to them anymore.

The Twins rushed up on either side of her, smiling widely. "Don't be like that. Come, come, I'll help you carry him." With that, they very considerately took Beanlet.

Beanlet blinked slowly, glanced at the Twins, and laboriously shifted his body to present his rear end to them.

Ziye couldn't help but smile faintly. Good boy, worthy of being her pet; her affection hadn't been wasted.

She looked around and didn't see Bell and Bobo. "Where are the other two? Where did they go?"

Regarding that, Aix looked a bit puzzled. "Hey, Little Yezi, we hear women have better sixth senses. Tell us, did they have a fight? The atmosphere has been weird these past few days."

Splinter nodded in agreement. "I feel the same way. Whenever I talk to them, they’re strange. But if I ask, they just say nothing’s wrong. It’s bizarre."

Ziye had been too preoccupied these past two days with Red Hair’s words and An Junlie’s sudden arrival to pay attention to such things. Now, she was slightly surprised. "Aren't they the model couple? How could they...?"

Just then, Bell and Bobo emerged together.

Because of the Twins' comments, Ziye took a closer look at Bell. She had dark circles under her eyes, looking like she hadn't slept well. Although she and Bobo walked out together, they weren't chatting and laughing like usual; instead, they maintained a distance of about two steps between them. Bobo’s expression was blank, and he only managed a smile and a greeting when he saw the three of them watching: "You’re all up early. Where are we heading today?"

The Twins stood shoulder-to-shoulder, grinning, and greeted them, "We're going to the café, Chun’er is there."

Bobo nodded, and they all walked over together.

Ziye hadn't thought much of it initially, but she noticed Bell wasn't usually this silent. She lagged a few steps behind and gently nudged Bell’s shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Bell shook her head, forcing a smile. "Nothing, just feeling a bit under the weather."

Ziye patted her shoulder and smiled. "You're the expert in this area. Take good care of yourself, don't tarnish your reputation as a doctor."

Bell mumbled an "Mm," and smiled without replying.

The five of them reached Li Chunyu. Splinter pressed a hand onto his light-screen. "Darling, how much have you calculated today?"

Li Chunyu sighed when his screen was covered. "Stop messing with me. I’ve calculated this spot three times and still can't get the right answer."

Ziye leaned closer, trying to see the problem, but Aix stopped her. "No looking now. We can talk about that later. Speaking of which, the mountain trek yesterday shook my very soul. How about we head to Lovers' Lane today and try to mend things? What do you all think?"

Bell elbowed Aix lightly in the abdomen. Aix, who avoided physical contact with teammates, especially the girls, stepped aside to evade the blow. "No sneak attacks!"

Bell shot him a sidelong glance. "You guys can go mend your souls. Bobo and I will do something else."

Li Chunyu tried to mediate. "Aix just... just..."

Ziye finished the thought smoothly. "We all get it. Everyone is great, it’s just that Aix’s soul is broken."

Splinter slammed the table and burst out laughing.

Aix sighed in defeat. "Fine, I was wrong. I just meant that road is really nice. I think its original name was Cloud Haze Road or something; it's stunningly beautiful, and most couples walk there, hence Lovers' Lane. Let's go, everyone."

Ziye stood next to Bell and saw clearly that Bell's brow had furrowed slightly when Lovers' Lane was mentioned.

Now, she firmly believed the Twins' assessment. Bobo and Bell really did seem to be having some issues.

However, since they weren't saying anything, she didn't want to press the issue, especially in front of everyone.

Before heading to Lovers' Lane, the six of them ate breakfast together and then set off on bicycles toward the legendary path. After riding for about two or three li, they saw masses of flowers in the distance, stretching as far as the eye could see, resembling a cloud of haze.

The yellow leaves and purple blossoms instantly seized their attention.

For some reason, Ziye was suddenly reminded of that incredibly classic saying: Red paired with purple is like dog dung; yellow paired with purple is worse than death.

But yellow and purple together were truly the most eye-catching combination, clashing to the extreme, yet dazzling with a radiant light that transformed it into a unique visual feast.

Lovers' Lane was pedestrian-only.

Everyone stopped their bikes and stepped onto the legendary path...