The next morning around 7 a.m., Chen Xun was woken up by his phone alarm.

He rubbed his eyes. He hadn't slept well last night. The image of the three thugs lying on the ground in the convenience store kept replaying in his mind, as well as Yang Xiaotao's trembling body when she rushed into his arms.

After washing up and going out, I ran into Li Qian, who was also coming out of her room.

"Good morning," Li Qian greeted. She was wearing a light purple short-sleeved shirt and her hair was tied in a ponytail, making her look refreshing.

"Good morning." Chen Xun nodded. "Where's Xiao Tao? Still not up?"

"I'll go get her."

Li Qian knocked on Yang Xiaotao's door.

After a long while, the door opened a crack.

Yang Xiaotao poked her head out with messy yellow hair and slightly swollen eyes.

"What's wrong?" Li Qian frowned. "Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Yang Xiaotao shook her head, then nodded.

She glanced at Chen Xun, her eyes darting away, and whispered, "I had a nightmare."

Chen Xun understood, but didn't say it aloud.

The three of them went downstairs to have breakfast.

The hotel breakfast was a buffet. Yang Xiaotao took a small bowl of porridge, sat there stirring it with a spoon, and didn't eat a single bite for a long time.

"Xiao Tao," Li Qian put down her chopsticks, "something's not right with you."

"Huh?" Yang Xiaotao looked up.

"She's been acting strange since this morning," Li Qian said, staring at her. "Her eyes are swollen, and she doesn't seem to be in good spirits. What happened last night?"

Yang Xiaotao lowered her head and continued stirring the porridge.

"N-nothing..."

"Really nothing?" Li Qian didn't believe her.

Chen Xun said, "Maybe it's because I'm not used to sleeping in a different bed."

Li Qian glanced at Chen Xun but didn't ask any further questions.

But Chen Xun could sense that she must have noticed something.

The atmosphere was a bit tense.

Chen Xun took a sip of soy milk and said, "The weather's nice today, how about we go to the aquarium?"

Yang Xiaotao's eyes lit up: "An aquarium?"

"The Linghai City Ocean Park is quite famous," Chen Xun said. "Since we're already here, let's go check it out."

"Okay, okay!" Yang Xiaotao immediately perked up.

Li Qian looked at Chen Xun, then at Yang Xiaotao, and finally nodded: "Okay."

After breakfast, the three of them set off by car.

The Linghai City Oceanarium is located in the eastern part of the city, and it takes more than 40 minutes to drive there.

On the way, Yang Xiaotao regained some energy and started chattering again.

"Hey bro, does the aquarium have dolphins?"

"have."

"Are there sharks there?"

"have."

"Where are the penguins?"

"There should be some."

"YYDS! I want to see penguins!"

Chen Xun glanced at Li Qian in the rearview mirror.

She kept looking out the window without saying a word.

Upon arriving at the aquarium, Chen Xun went to buy tickets.

[Purchased tickets for Li Qian, costing 120 yuan]

[Target's Favorability: 100]

[Trigger 10x Rebate]

Critical Hit Rate: 45%, Critical Hit Success

[2400 yuan has been successfully credited to your account]

[Purchased tickets for Yang Xiaotao, costing 120 yuan]

[Target's Favorability: 67]

[Trigger 10x Rebate]

Critical Hit Rate: 8%, Critical Hit Failure

[1200 yuan has been successfully credited to your account]

Chen Xun looked at the payment notification on his phone and felt reassured.

This was a good deal.

Once inside, Yang Xiaotao was like a wild horse, dragging Li Qian around everywhere.

"Qianqian, look! That fish is huge!"

"That jellyfish glows!"

"A sea turtle! A sea turtle is swimming!"

Li Qian was pulled along by her, and a smile finally appeared on her face.

Chen Xun followed behind, looking at the system panel.

Li Qian's favorability rating is still 100, full.

Yang Xiaotao's favorability fluctuates slightly between 67 and 69.

We arrived at the dolphin show area just as the show was starting.

The three of them found a place to sit down.

The trainers directed the dolphins to jump through hoops and balance balls, eliciting gasps of amazement from the audience.

Yang Xiaotao watched without blinking.

Li Qian was also very focused, clapping along from time to time.

After the performance, there is a photo opportunity with the dolphins, costing fifty yuan per photo.

"Big brother, I want to take a picture with you!" Yang Xiaotao raised her hand.

Chen Xun looked at Li Qian: "And you?"

Li Qian hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Chen Xun went to pay the bill.

[I bought a photo of Li Qian with a dolphin, which cost me 50 yuan.]

[Target's Favorability: 100]

[Trigger 10x Rebate]

[Critical Hit Rate: 45%, Critical Hit Success!]

Critical Hit Multiplier: 4x

[2000 yuan has been successfully credited to your account]

[Paid 50 yuan for a dolphin photo with Yang Xiaotao]

[Target's Favorability: 68]

[Trigger 10x Rebate]

Critical Hit Rate: 8%, Critical Hit Failure

[500 yuan has been successfully credited to your account]

Chen Xun raised an eyebrow.

Li Qian's critical hit rate is pretty good.

After taking the photos, Yang Xiaotao looked at the group photo on her phone and grinned foolishly.

Li Qian carefully saved the photo and whispered "thank you".

"It's nothing," Chen Xun said.

Upon arriving at the souvenir shop, Chen Xun bought a dolphin keychain for each of them.

Two more rebates have been credited to my account.

After leaving the store, we passed the jellyfish exhibit area.

As the lights dimmed, bioluminescent jellyfish floated in the tanks, like a starry sky.

Yang Xiaotao pressed her face against the glass, her eyes sparkling.

"So beautiful..."

Chen Xun stood beside her.

Suddenly, Yang Xiaotao quietly reached out and took Chen Xun's hand.

Chen Xun was stunned for a moment.

Yang Xiaotao didn't look at him, still staring at the jellyfish, but her fingers clenched slightly.

Her hands were small and a little cold.

Chen Xun did not pull it away.

A few seconds later, Li Qian walked over from the other side.

She paused for a moment when she saw their hands clasped together.

Chen Xun felt Yang Xiaotao loosen her grip.

"It's time to go to the next pavilion," Li Qian said calmly.

"Oh, okay." Yang Xiaotao turned around, her face slightly flushed.

We had lunch at the aquarium restaurant.

The system returned another payment to Chen Xun.

After finishing their meal, Chen Xun asked, "Where do you want to go this afternoon?"

"The zoo!" Yang Xiaotao exclaimed immediately.

Li Qian had no objection.

Linghai Zoo is right next to the aquarium, just a few steps away.

After buying her ticket, Yang Xiaotao headed straight for the predator enclosure.

After seeing the tigers and lions, we went to see the monkeys.

When you reach the giraffe enclosure, you can buy feed to feed them.

"I want to feed them!" Yang Xiaotao ran off to buy feed.

Chen Xun and Li Qian stood outside the railing waiting.

The giraffe slowly walked over and lowered its head.

Yang Xiaotao held up the feed, and the giraffe ate it with a flick of its tongue.

"Big brother, Qianqian, come and feed them too!" Yang Xiaotao called out as she turned around.

Chen Xun went over and bought some feed.

Li Qian also came over and stood next to Chen Xun.

The two stood side by side, holding up the feed together.

The giraffe came over and ate what Chen Xun was holding first, then what Li Qian was holding.

Li Qian smiled.

This was the first time Chen Xun had seen her smile today.

"She's quite cute," Li Qian said.

"Indeed." Chen Xun nodded.

After feeding the giraffes, we went to see the pandas.

Yang Xiaotao was excited throughout, and Li Qian was much more relaxed than in the morning.

Chen Xun looked at the system panel and saw that the favorability ratings of the two people had increased slightly.

Yang Xiaotao reached 70, while Li Qian remained at 100.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the three of them came out of the zoo.

Yang Xiaotao said she was tired, and slumped down in the back seat as soon as she got in the car.

Li Qian sat in the passenger seat.

The car was quiet on the way back.

Yang Xiaotao pretended to be asleep in the back.

Li Qian looked out the window, lost in thought.

Chen Xun focused on driving, but he could sense that the atmosphere in the car was a little subtle.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but something just feels off.

An hour later, the car drove back to Beixian County.

When they arrived at the apartment building, Chen Xun parked his car.

Yang Xiaotao "woke up" and got off the bus, rubbing her eyes.

Li Qian also got off the bus.

The three went upstairs.

I opened the apartment door; it was quiet inside.

"Xin Yue hasn't come back yet?" Yang Xiaotao glanced at Lin Xin Yue's room door.

"They're probably still in their hometown," Li Qian said.

Chen Xun glanced at the time; it was a little past five in the afternoon.

"What do you want to eat tonight?" he asked.

"Whatever," Yang Xiaotao said.

"I'm fine with anything," Li Qian said.

Chen Xun nodded: "Then I'll order takeout."

He took out his phone, and Yang Xiaotao and Li Qian went back to their respective rooms.

The door closed.

Chen Xun stood in the living room, listening to the silence from both rooms.

He shook his head and opened the food delivery app.

Today's day trip to Linghai brought me nearly 10,000 yuan in system rebates.

The money was made.

But the atmosphere feels increasingly complicated.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like