Xu Xirui knelt on the ground and emptied everything out of his backpack, but there was still no sign of the envelope containing the money.
"Oh no, the money was right in the bag. How could it have disappeared?" Huang Zheng was so anxious that his round face turned red.
Hu Huihui found it strange too. "Could we have run into a thief? I've always heard that thieves specifically target tourists."
"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry." Xu Xirui was on the verge of tears. "I really was keeping a close eye on everyone's things. I never left."
The director following him also confirmed that he had been beside him the whole time. Xu Xirui had taken a few photos, then sat by the fountain. Later, Chen Yutong had returned first, and the two had chatted together.
But before they split up, Xu Xirui had taken change from his pocket to give them, so none of them could say exactly when the envelope had disappeared.
Everyone looked at the director, and Xu Xirui turned to his only remaining hope. "Director, the money's gone now. I know it's my fault. I'm willing to cover it myself."
There was no way the production team would pass up such a great opportunity to generate buzz. They coldheartedly refused his request to add money.
Xu Xirui looked apologetically at everyone. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to..."
"It's fine." Chen Yutong sighed. "Since those are the rules, there's nothing we can do. Let's think of another solution first."
None of them had spent all the money Xu Xirui had given them earlier, but there wasn't much left.
Ji Hanchuan suddenly said, "Let's go back to the hotel and check out first."
Only then did everyone remember that staying past noon meant paying for another day, and money was what they lacked most.
They rushed back to the hotel and managed to check out just before the deadline.
However, they now had nowhere to stay that night.
They found somewhere they could sit for free and began discussing what to do.
As the most senior among them, Huang Zheng said, "Xirui, you've done so well these past two days. Don't blame yourself too much. You definitely didn't want this to happen. Besides, there are plenty of us. We'll be fine even if we spend the night on the street."
His joke lightened the mood a little.
"Exactly. No one's blaming you."
"But I'm the one who lost the money. I've let everyone down..." Xu Xirui buried his face in his arms and burst into tears. For a moment, no one knew what to do and could only try to comfort him.
Shi Wei stood up. "I'm going over there to use the restroom."
"I think you have to pay over there," Zhuo Xiao reminded him cautiously.
"It's fine. As long as I'm shameless enough, the owner can't stop me."
Zhuo Xiao looked at him helplessly.
Shi Wei quickly entered the restroom and opened his backpack. Sure enough, there was an envelope containing money among the pile of snacks.
He sneered. That's it?
Just then, the door was pushed open.
Before Shi Wei could hide the envelope, he froze.
Ji Hanchuan stared at the envelope in his hand. "Did a gold ingot fall from the sky?"
Shi Wei: ...
"How did the envelope end up with you?" Ji Hanchuan walked over to inspect it. It was indeed the one the director had given them, with the Traveling with You logo still on it.
Shi Wei bit his lip guiltily. "Hubby, I took the money. I'm greedy, insatiable, and shameless. I even wanted to pocket the production team's money."
Ji Hanchuan pondered for a few seconds. "Having fun?"
Shi Wei looked at him.
-"Seriously? Why isn't this bastard condemning me? Hurry up and yell at me, then go comfort your little green tea! He worked so hard to frame me!"
Ji Hanchuan: ...
Did this idiot have any idea how serious this was?
Being branded a thief on the show wasn't just a matter of being unable to shake off the label. It would ruin his entire life.
No one would hire a thief.
Ji Hanchuan's expression was terrifyingly cold. "Shi Wei, do you have any idea how serious this is?"
"Of course I do." Seeing his expression, Shi Wei instantly became obedient. "Before you came in, hubby, I was thinking about getting rid of the money."
Ji Hanchuan took the envelope from him, removed the money first, then crumpled up the envelope, tossed it into the toilet, and flushed it away.
He was shockingly practiced at it.
"Hubby?"
Ji Hanchuan's voice was stern. "It looks like you know who's trying to frame you."
"Hard to say. I've offended so many people."
Ji Hanchuan said coldly, "True."
Shi Wei: ...
Ji Hanchuan stuffed the money into his pocket. "Let's go."
"What are you planning to do, hubby?"
Ji Hanchuan walked outside and, using the motion of throwing away a tissue as cover, tossed the money into a trash can.
Shi Wei was stunned.
That was lovely green cash!
"Whoever finds it can count themselves lucky."
"Then don't look down on me if I dig through the trash later."
Ji Hanchuan pulled him back and continued, "If someone suggests checking the luggage later, and the person who framed you doesn't see the money in your backpack, how will they react?"
Shi Wei understood. "They'll definitely be dumbfounded."
Then they could identify the culprit by their expression.
"Hubby, you're so clever. Watching the fire from across the river and killing with a borrowed knife-that's one seriously slick move."
Ji Hanchuan: ...
"Get lost."
"But there's still one problem." Shi Wei narrowed his eyes at Ji Hanchuan. "What if you're the culprit, hubby?"
Ji Hanchuan: ...
He shouldn't have helped him just now!
To their utter surprise, the moment they returned, they saw everyone opening their backpacks.
"You two are just in time. Everyone's checking their luggage," Xiong Wen said, rummaging through her own backpack too. "Everyone thought Xirui might have put it in the wrong place."
Shi Wei and Ji Hanchuan exchanged a look.
-"Oho! This bastard predicted the whole plot. Either you jinxed it or you're the culprit!"
Ji Hanchuan didn't want to talk to him. He opened his backpack in front of everyone. Everything inside was neatly arranged, and there was no envelope.
"Wow, what a clever idea. Who suggested it?"
Zhuo Xiao answered him. "Sister Yutong."
"Sister Yutong, we don't need to check my backpack, do we?" Shi Wei looked at Chen Yutong, his gaze trembling slightly, as though he were very nervous. "There's no money in here."
Ji Hanchuan pressed his thin lips together.
Drama queen!
Chen Yutong walked over, her manner somewhat aggressive. "Shi Wei, everyone's backpack has been checked. Even Hanchuan didn't throw his weight around. What gives you the right to special treatment?"
"B-but..." Shi Wei clutched his bag and stammered, "There really isn't anything in it..."
Chen Yutong snatched the bag from his hands, unzipped it with a swish, then dumped his belongings onto the ground.
Her rough actions made several of them frown involuntarily.
There was nothing particularly special among Shi Wei's things, except for a few little plush toys. They were all peaches, pink, round, and adorably plump.
"How embarrassing. This is a little hobby of mine." Blushing, Shi Wei picked up the plush toys like precious treasures.
Shi Wei turned to see Xu Xirui's reaction.
Xu Xirui's eyes were still red as he watched them fearfully, looking guilty and uneasy.
Huh?
Surely this little white lotus couldn't be that good an actor?
As though sensing something, he raised his eyes and saw Chen Yutong's dark expression.
Inside, Shi Wei let out a full-on groundhog scream: Teacher Ji, we're in big trouble!