Why did the system take my request to take photos with a cosplayer seriously?

The man was gone, leaving only a faint trace of his presence.

After a moment of stunned silence, Hua Qing slowly sat up, her long hair disheveled.

Not only the men, but all her teammates who played five-player matches with her last night had already gotten up early; she was the last one to get up.

Hua Qing lifted the covers, got out of bed, and went into the bathroom. After a quick wash, she changed into a simple long dress, walked out of the bedroom, and went down the stairs.

The sizzling sound of oil frying in the kitchen came from where Wenjing was busy.

In the living room, Zhao Yanxi and Lin Man sat side by side on the sofa, each holding a cup of coffee.

Hearing the noise on the stairs, the two of them turned around at the same time.

"Good morning, Sister Hua Qing."

Zhao Yanxi smiled at her: "There's porridge in the kitchen, Xiao Jingjing just cooked it."

"Ah."

Hua Qing responded and turned to walk into the kitchen.

Wenjing was putting fried eggs into a plate when she heard footsteps and turned around to look at her.

"Sister Hua Qing, the porridge is in the pot, and the side dishes are on the counter. Please help yourself."

"it is good."

Hua Qing took a white porcelain bowl from the cupboard and opened the lid of the clay pot. Steam rose up, carrying the aroma of rice mixed with the sweet scent of red dates and goji berries.

Lately, Wenjing has been preparing nourishing and beautifying recipes for them, to improve their appearance and strengthen their bodies so they can withstand the demands of men.

Hua Qing scooped a bowl of porridge, added some pickled cowpeas and fermented bean curd, and sat down at the table to drink it slowly.

Zhao Yanxi and Lin Man also moved over from the sofa, while Wen Jing brought the fried eggs and several side dishes to the table, took off her apron and draped it over the back of the chair, and sat down next to Hua Qing.

Occasionally, a bird chirped outside the window. Four women sat around a table, quietly eating their breakfast.

Zhao Yanxi was the first to break the silence.

She complained, "Ding Heng is really something. He just left in the middle of the night without even saying goodbye."

Wenjing picked up a piece of fermented bean curd: "I woke up when he left, but I was still groggy and thought I was dreaming... I only realized he was really gone when I woke up in the morning."

Lin Man remained calm: "Bai Ma had some family matters to attend to, so it's normal that she left in a hurry. Didn't the boss leave a message? Accompany her back for a while, and she'll be back in a couple of days."

"In a couple of days?"

Zhao Yanxi put down her spoon, her tone resentful: "He said two days, and he actually said two days? Who knows if he's going to go on another date with some other vixen, and Baima is covering for him."

"Yan hope".

Wenjing gently nudged her elbow: "Don't talk nonsense, Baima is Ding Heng's sister."

"Sister, sister..."

Zhao Yanxi smiled wryly: "We're not related by blood, so what kind of sister am I?"

Hua Qing lowered her head and drank her porridge, without replying.

Lin Man laughed out loud: "Why are you worrying about these things? You know the boss's personality. Can you stop him from doing whatever he wants? Instead of overthinking here, you should think about how to kill time later."

Zhao Yanxi pouted, picked up the spoon again, and put a mouthful of porridge into her mouth.

"I'm just bored... With no man around, I don't even have anyone to keep me entertained."

"Aren't we human?"

"You can't..."

Zhao Yanxi stopped mid-sentence.

There was a moment of silence on the table.

Then Lin Man burst out laughing.

"Are you even more thirsty than I am?"

"Isn't this the peak of menstruation these days? How can we live without a man...?"

Zhao Yanxi, without any restraint, spoke her mind without hesitation.

The girls burst into laughter, and the atmosphere became much more lively than before.

Zhao Yanxi continued to ask, "You guys think... Ding Heng accompanied Baima back to her hometown because there was something going on at home?"

"if not?"

"I just felt that something was wrong."

Zhao Yanxi lowered her voice: "Think about it, he spent several days in the capital with Long He, and then we just arrived in Chengdu, barely had time to settle in, and he turned around and ran off with Baima. What a coincidence!"

Wenjing took a bite of her fried egg and mumbled, "Maybe something really happened to Baima... After all, they're siblings, so we have to help each other out."

"I just feel something's off."

Zhao Yanxi shrugged, unable to pinpoint what was wrong.

Hua Qing rarely chimed in, saying, "He knows his limits. Even if you worry yourself sick, he won't spend more than two days with you."

Zhao Yanxi was taken aback and looked at Hua Qing with a resentful expression.

She knew Hua Qing didn't have any bad intentions, but the truth was too hurtful.

"Sister Hua Qing, whose side are you on?"

"I'm just telling the truth."

Hua Qing remained expressionless.

Lin Man was amused, put down her coffee cup, and leaned back in her chair.

"Alright, alright, stop guessing. You all know Baima, she can be a bit mischievous at times, but she's a good person at heart, and the boss genuinely treats her like a younger sister. If her family really has any problems, it's only right for the boss to help out."

Zhao Yanxi hummed in response and then remained silent.

Seeing that she seemed distracted, Wenjing sighed softly, "Why don't you... call Ding Heng and ask him?"

Zhao Yanxi's eyes lit up, and she put down her spoon to grab her phone.

"Yes, yes, let me ask."

She unlocked her screen, opened Ding Heng's chat window, and pressed the voice call button.

"Beep...beep...beep..."

It rang several times, but no one answered.

Zhao Yanxi frowned slightly, hung up, and dialed again.

Still no one answered.

Wenjing leaned closer to look: "What's wrong?"

No one answered.

Zhao Yanxi muttered something to herself as she swiped her finger across the screen, switching to phone dialing.

"The user you dialed is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later..."

A mechanical female voice came from the receiver, and Zhao Yanxi's brows furrowed even more.

"Can't get through."

She looked up and her gaze swept over the people at the table.

"Maybe it's a bad signal."

Wenjing guessed, "Isn't Baima's hometown quite remote? It's normal to not have a signal in a place like that."

Hua Qing put down her bowl of porridge: "Did he say anything to you when he left last night?"

The girls exchanged glances and shook their heads in unison.

Zhao Yanxi: "I was sleeping soundly, I didn't know anything."

Wenjing quietly chimed in, "Me too..."

Hua Qing looked at Lin Man.

Lin Man shrugged: "Last night, I was with the boss... well, anyway, he was still there when I fell asleep."

Zhao Yanxi exclaimed "Huh?" and glanced at her sideways, her tone ambiguous: "Sister Man, did you sneak off to eat again last night?"

"What do you mean by stealing food? That sounds so awful."

Lin Man remained unfazed: "If the boss wants to do something interesting, how could I refuse?"

The cat and the fox kept spouting their wild and lewd words, making Wenjing blush slightly as she lowered her head and buried herself in her porridge.

Hua Qing remained expressionless, pretending not to have heard anything.

Just as Zhao Yanxi was about to make another teasing remark, Wen Jing suddenly seemed to remember something.

"Oh right! Ding Heng sent me a message in the early hours of the morning."

Several people looked at her at the same time.

Wenjing picked up her phone, unlocked the screen, scrolled to her chat history with Ding Heng, and handed it over.

"Look."

The screen displayed a short text message, sent at 2:13 AM.

[Just arrived in Shanxian County and there's a signal. I'm refueling now. The road ahead is a rural national highway, so there might be no signal. Don't worry. I'll message you when I get there.]

"What kind of place is Shanxian County?"

"do not know."

Let me check.

Lin Man picked up her phone and opened the map to search.

"Shan County is located in the northwest of Tibet, near the Qiangtang Plateau, and it seems to be only about 200 kilometers away from Baima's hometown county seat."

Zhao Yanxi blinked: "Qiangtang Plateau, what kind of place is that?"

"It's... a very, very remote place."