Working. Please Do Not Disturb

In the room.

Yao Hui flopped onto the bed with her feet up.

Her long legs swung back and forth.

"This place is nice."

"I noticed that while we were driving here... I need to take more photos over the next couple of days and post them on my Little Sweet Potato."

Yao Hui balanced a shoe on her toes. She looked nothing like a university doctor.

She reached over and pressed a button, opening the electric curtains.

The view outside spread out before them.

The sky was a little overcast, but it wasn't raining today.

The weather was just right. Even though it was summer, it wouldn't be too muggy.

Song Yizhou was helping Yao Hui sort through the bottles and jars in her bag.

Natural beauty alone wasn't enough for a girl who wanted to look good.

Skincare could even be said to do most of the work.

Their beautiful university doctor, Cousin Huihui, was an expert at it.

"Essence, face masks, face cream..."

Song Yizhou worked carefully. About five minutes later, she finished sorting everything and sat down beside Yao Hui.

"Cousin, weren't you going to rest?"

Song Yizhou looked curiously at Yao Hui, who was playing on her phone in bed.

Yao Hui clicked her tongue. "This is me resting. I'm looking through Tremble and Little Sweet Potato to see what there is to do around Changzhao Reservoir. Oh, here's something! There's a restaurant in the nearby town that serves wild-caught silver and bighead carp!"

Huihuizi waved her hand, then suddenly calmed down a little. "Where do you think Fang Xian is right now? What's he doing?"

Song Yizhou shook her head, but answered, "There aren't any other guesthouses nearby. If he isn't here, he's probably in the town two kilometers away."

Yao Hui thought about it. It didn't matter.

This trip was really a vacation Yao Hui had given herself.

Officially, she was taking her cousin out for some fun. In reality, she was avoiding her family's pressure to go on blind dates.

I eat well, have fun, and sleep well on my own.

Why should some man barge into my life out of nowhere!?

I'm a light sleeper, you know!

At that thought, Huihui broke into a grin. "'Night fishing'... That looks pretty good. And there's the scenery around the reservoir..."

Seeing how enthusiastic her cousin was, Song Yizhou smiled gently. She told Yao Hui she was going out to take a look, then headed downstairs.

The Thousand-Mountain Lake area had beautiful scenery.

Clear and expansive.

The air was pleasant during the day.

As the largest lake in Jiangzhou, its main tourist attractions had well-developed facilities.

Song Yizhou and Yao Hui were both Jiangzhou locals, so they had naturally visited Thousand-Mountain Lake more than once.

That was exactly why they preferred hidden gems off the beaten path.

But Song Yizhou hadn't gone downstairs just to look around.

She had noticed the way Sun Heng and the others were looking at her.

Song Yizhou was used to being stared at, but this time felt a little different.

Her unusually sharp intuition told her something was off.

On the first floor, Sun Heng and the others were preparing for the day's outing.

A striking figure appeared before them.

She had a flawless oval face and black-rimmed glasses. If Fang Xian had been there, he would definitely have said something outrageous.

"Hello. Are you here on vacation too?"

Song Yizhou spoke gently.

Once Sun Heng and He Qi realized she was talking to them, they grew a little tongue-tied.

Weng Nannan and Cai Qi weren't much better.

Beauty had much the same effect on men and women alike.

"Hello."

Sun Heng composed himself a little.

He had seen plenty of the world, after all, and briefly introduced all four of them.

Song Yizhou watched their subtle expressions.

She had a rough idea of what was going on.

But...

Why do these four students seem to know me?

We don't even go to the same university. Could they have seen me on Tremble?

Song Yizhou remembered how she had trended during military training.

As someone who disliked attention, she found the thought a little uncomfortable.

She was choosing her words, preparing to join the conversation.

But the prickly Cai Qi couldn't hold back any longer.

She glanced at the other three and asked, "Are you here to see Fang Xian?"

Song Yizhou's eyes flickered.

Hmm?

Hmm?

How do they know Fang Xian?

In an instant,

quick-witted Song Yizhou's mind raced.

"Yes, I am."

Song Yizhou drew her conclusion at once.

So Fang Xian really is staying here.

"But... I haven't seen him, and he hasn't replied to my messages. Do you know where he went?"

Song Yizhou waved her phone.

He really hadn't replied.

While they were still on the road that morning, Yao Hui had told her to message Fang Xian, ask where he was, and invite him to a meal.

When her first two messages got no reply, Huihui had told Song Yizhou to send a voice message instead. She said Song Yizhou's devastatingly sweet voice would finish the boy off for good.

Song Yizhou had never done anything like that. She hardly ever sent even a simple "Are you there?"

Now the entire WeChat chat was filled with long green messages from Silence Is Zhou.

The other person, whose profile picture showed a moody-looking guy holding a white catlike creature, hadn't said a word.

Sun Heng and the others drew a deep breath.

Good grief.

It's true...

Fang Xian really wasn't lying to us!

This stunning beauty really is his girlfriend!

To prove it, Song Yizhou even showed them the chat.

Unbelievable. Nothing but green messages.

Even beautiful girls send walls of text.

Sun Heng hurriedly said, "He's staying in the room at the very end of the second floor. He went to bed early last night. He probably hasn't gotten up yet."

Song Yizhou checked the time.

It was almost noon.

"Then I'll go up and see."

Song Yizhou politely apologized for the trouble and got up to head to the second floor.

The front door swung open.

Fang Xian walked in with messy hair and a bag on his back.

In an instant, everyone's eyes turned to him.

His arms bore bloody scrapes and cuts.

There were also obvious mosquito bites.

A long fishing rod stuck out of his backpack, keeping the zipper from closing.

"Why are you all looking at me?"

Fang Xian had grown sensitive to that kind of stare lately. "Is there something on my face?"

He figured there probably was.

He couldn't help it. He had spent the whole night crouched anxiously by the riverbank.

He hadn't caught a thing, and he was bound to look worse for wear.

He was exhausted. Xiao Jiu needed sleep, and Fang Xian needed a nap too.

"Wait."

Amid the silence, Fang Xian spotted someone who shouldn't have been there.

Black-rimmed glasses, artsy clothes. Holy crap, that waist, those legs, that face—she wouldn't even need a beauty filter on Tremble.

No.

He had been too tired to notice the car parked outside.

The Sky Steed X7.

Isn't that the ride of Huihui, that older lady doctor who wears black stockings?

What that meant was obvious.

Fang Xian took a deep breath. "Uh... what are you all doing here?"

Something odd lurked beneath Song Yizhou's calm gaze, though she gave no sign of it. "You sent your location. My cousin said she happened to be free and wanted to come relax at a countryside guesthouse."

"Oh."

Song Yizhou seemed to remember something. One slender finger lifted slightly. "And treat you to a meal while we're here."

Fang Xian waved a hand. "Thanks, I appreciate it. But... I'm currently working on something called travel planning, and I have principles. I need to sleep during the day and stay up at night, so please don't disturb me while I work hard and get my proper rest."