The clock hand ticked forward second by second, the ticking sound seeming to hammer against their hearts.
Relying on her extraordinary patience and willpower, Vermouth stayed focused and kept watch until dawn.
Then, facing the quiet villa, she fell into deep thought: "..."
...What happened next?
Why had there been no movement after that series of "thuds"? What was Vodka's condition now, and what about Uzo's?... What exactly was the point of her existence?
After briefly swimming through the ocean of philosophy, Vermouth ultimately failed to reach any conclusion. She stood and stretched her stiff body, then let out a sleepy yawn.
She often stayed up late, but happily scrolling through her phone because she did not feel like sleeping was completely different from being unable to sleep because she had to stay fully alert to the sounds downstairs.
Forget it. There's no use thinking about it now. I'll know once I go out and take a look. As Vermouth thought this, she turned and entered the restroom. Facing the mirror, she carefully adjusted her disguise to hide the increasingly dark circles beneath her eyes.
Only after confirming that there was nothing unusual about her appearance did she walk to the door. But instead of leaving immediately, she pressed an ear to it and listened for movement outside.
Only after people began getting up and going downstairs did she wait another minute before casually opening the door and stepping out.
The moment she took one step outside, Vermouth paused slightly.
—The door opposite hers happened to open as well, and Jiang Xia emerged. The guy who had kept everyone else awake for half the night looked refreshed, as though he had enjoyed a very good sleep.
When he looked up and saw Vermouth, he cheerfully greeted her. "Good morning."
"..."