Their guesthouse was indeed right next door. After Ning Sui entered the room, Hu Ke’er happened to open the door and step out from the downstairs bedroom — clearly having already showered.
The moment she saw Ning Sui, she instinctively bowed her head with a guilty conscience. “Oh, you’re back from your stroll?”
Ning Sui looked her over for a moment. “Did you just finish eating a spicy hot pot?”
Hu Ke’er reflexively covered her mouth and raised her phone like a mirror to check — only after doing so did she realize Ning Sui had been playing a trick on her. Flushed with embarrassment and indignation, she lunged forward: “Ahhhh I’m going to kill you!!!”
Hu Ke’er prided herself on having a thick skin, but she often found herself at a loss whenever she was around Ning Sui. This person had a way of saying things that could really get to people — and it was the kind of quiet, understated teasing that came out of nowhere and hit hard, giving Hu Ke’er no time to defend herself.
That’s just what they meant by “every lock has its key.”
Hu Ke’er quickly changed the subject. “Are we going to Xizhou Ancient Town tomorrow?”
“Mm, I think that’s what Shen Qing said.”
Ning Sui went upstairs. Shen Qing seemed to have already returned — a sliver of light was visible through the gap in his door.
She took a quick shower and called her grandmother. The old woman’s reactions weren’t as sharp as before, but she was still very happy to talk with her. Noticing that her grandmother’s energy was low, Ning Sui didn’t keep her long, and they only chatted briefly.
After hanging up, Ning Sui sent a good-night message in the family group chat. She had just changed into her pajamas and was lying in bed scrolling through her phone when Hu Ke’er snuck in through the door with a furtive look.
Ning Sui paused. “What are you doing?”
Hu Ke’er: “I thought it over and decided I simply cannot leave my dearest bestie all alone up here feeling lonely.”
Ning Sui wasn’t buying it, and smiled sweetly as she cut straight to the point: “What happened now?”
“Fine.” Hu Ke’er rolled her eyes. “Xu Zhou literally just lay down and started snoring like a pig. It’s impossible to sleep next to him.”
Seeing that Ning Sui said nothing, she made herself right at home, climbing onto the bed and shamelessly claiming a corner as her nest.
In truth, Hu Ke’er’s usual bedtime was quite late, and Xu Zhou’s wasn’t early either. But she had noticed that every time he fell asleep before her, she couldn’t fall asleep at all.
“My mom always said that harmony in a relationship depends heavily on lifestyle compatibility. Some people are just naturally suited for each other — that’s what they call soulmates. Unfortunately, the two of us are not.”
Hu Ke’er opened her notes app to add another entry about Xu Zhou. Ning Sui glanced over idly and saw it was filled with things like “−10” and “+5.” She found it baffling. “I can understand not being able to tolerate his snoring, but why does poor appetite count as points off?”
Hu Ke’er said matter-of-factly: “If a man has no enthusiasm for eating, what would he have any enthusiasm for?”
She paused, then added helplessly, “Besides, if he eats so little, doesn’t that make me look like I eat an enormous amount?”
Ning Sui leaned in for a closer look. The reasons for deducting and awarding points were all wonderfully bizarre. Hair spray with a subtle scent: +10 points. Won’t let others smell his hair spray: −15 points. Habit of sleeping on his right side: +10 points. Likes to wiggle his feet in the car: −5 points.
“…” In any case, neither of them was what you’d call a normal person.
Ning Sui suddenly stopped worrying about Hu Ke’er getting the short end of the stick at all.
The next morning at breakfast, the four of them discussed the rest of their itinerary. Their travel style over these two or three days was more like stopping wherever they felt like it and leaving on a whim. Neither Ning Sui nor Hu Ke’er were particularly good planners, and even Shen Qing had become somewhat easygoing and carefree as a result.
They had been about to bring up the topic of sharing a car when Xu Zhou spoke first: “I heard Xie Yichen and his group are also here. Should we ask if they want to travel together?”
Hu Ke’er was surprised. “How did you know?”
Xu Zhou cleared his throat. “I saw his post on Moments, so I asked.”
Ning Sui was scrolling through WeChat. Thinking of this, she tapped into Xie Yichen’s chat window and, after a moment’s deliberation, typed: 【Xie Yichen, have you and Zhang Yuge made up your minds yet?】
A few minutes later, a reply came back: 【Was just about to reach out to you.】
Xie Yichen: 【Remember I mentioned I had some friends over in the Shuang Corridor area? There was a small incident last night — one of them went missing. So Zhang Yuge and I need to head over there directly now. Our itinerary is probably pretty different from yours. Sorry.】
At that moment, Zhang Yuge was slumped on the sofa with an expression of utter helplessness.
He had heard about the situation from Lin Shuyu too. Yesterday, Sun Hao and Zou Xiao had gotten into a fight somehow. Sun Hao had apparently been holding a grudge for a long time, and let loose a few cutting remarks — right in front of everyone — saying she had ulterior motives, that she was conniving and manipulative.
Zou Xiao had burst into tears from the anger, and ran out with her face buried in her hands. All her luggage was still at the hotel. She didn’t come back that night, didn’t reply to messages, and couldn’t be reached by phone no matter how many times they tried.
The one reassuring thing was that her WeChat step count had been continuously updating. Another girl in the group, Zhao Yingyao, knew Zou Xiao’s temperament well enough to quietly tell Lin Shuyu that it probably wasn’t a serious problem. Zou Xiao had taken her wallet and ID card with her, and the spare change of clothes from the car trunk was also gone — quite foresighted, all things considered.
Zhang Yuge found it all unbelievable. “This Zou Xiao really does have a talent for this, doesn’t she? She even used this kind of trick just to force you to show up.”
He’d seen plenty of girls chase after A’Chen over the years, and the boldest ones had been quite direct — love letters, grand confessions — but he had never come across anyone who played it this recklessly and chaotically, turning everything into such a mess.
Of course, that was also because girls like this had never had the chance to travel with them before. After this incident, Lin Shuyu had already done some deep soul-searching, and vowed to be much more careful about who he invited next time.
Hearing this, Xie Yichen offered no comment, pulled his luggage zipper shut, and headed out: “Finding her is what matters first.”
The distance from Panxi Village to Shuanglang Ancient Town was only a little over forty kilometers — about an hour by car. They arrived close to noon, met up with Lin Shuyu and the others, temporarily booked a room at the guesthouse, and got their things settled.
Everyone was gathered in Lin Shuyu’s room. Sun Hao sat at the far end, looking utterly drained, clearly having not slept well either. When he saw Xie Yichen and Zhang Yuge stride in, he had no particularly notable reaction — just a tired nod.
Zhang Yuge couldn’t help but inwardly marvel at how skilled Zou Xiao was at wearing a person down.
Sun Hao was such a vigorous and spirited person on the basketball court, and yet here he was, ground down like this. The past few days of being together had clearly not been pleasant at all.
What Zou Xiao had done this time was use him as a stepping stone and blow everything out of proportion.
“I shouldn’t have said those things. She’s a girl, after all, and girls have feelings to protect. What I said was a bit harsh.” Sun Hao glanced at Xie Yichen and the others, and apologized with a weary look, “And I’ve troubled you to rush over here first thing in the morning.”
He was the kind of person who was good at self-reflection, which was precisely why they had all been able to remain close friends. Lin Shuyu quickly jumped in to smooth things over: “It’s not entirely your fault. I didn’t take it seriously enough yesterday — if I had stepped in to stop it sooner, things wouldn’t have gotten to this point.”
The only girl present, Zhao Yingyao, heard this and sat with her head down, saying nothing. Zou Xiao’s running off was partly her responsibility too.
She was a friend of Sun Hao’s, and last night she had been purely in the mood to watch the drama unfold, adding a few words to stir things up — she never imagined the other girl would act so impulsively and actually let things escalate this far.
But they were in an unfamiliar city far from home. Zou Xiao was a girl who had only just come of age, and if she ran off and something happened to her, that would be a real danger. Finding her quickly was the priority.
Now it all came down to Xie Yichen. Everyone understood that without saying a word.
Lin Shuyu gave him a look, clearly resigned: “Try contacting her. Just tell her you’re in Shuanglang now.”
Xie Yichen sat by the window, his eyelids drooping lazily, his expression neutral. He didn’t say anything impatient.
He’d called Zou Xiao twice earlier, but she hadn’t picked up — the phone rang until it cut off automatically. This time he tried again, and got the same result.
Xie Yichen then sent her a WeChat message: 【Where are you? Everyone is looking for you.】
For a brief moment the chat showed “the other party is typing,” then went quiet again.
Xie Yichen tugged the corner of his mouth slightly, and sent her a location pin: 【[Shuanglang Ancient Town]】
Still no response. Xie Yichen unhurriedly followed up: 【If I can’t find you, I’ll report it to the police.】
After only a few seconds’ pause, the silent chat sprang to life. Zou Xiao quickly sent back a location: 【Xie Yichen, I got lost here. Can you come get me? [Pitiful]】
The message was clear — unless he personally showed up, she wasn’t coming back.
“Found her.” Xie Yichen got to his feet cleanly, scrolling through his phone as he walked toward the door. Lin Shuyu and the others all let out a breath of relief, exchanging glances — well, what else could you expect, it still took their Brother Chen to handle it.
“Lend me your car.”
Lin Shuyu had been forward-thinking enough to get his driver’s license after finishing his exams. He had been here for two days and found that Shuanglang was quite large, with plenty of wide, open roads perfect for riding, so he had rented a sleek and stylish electric motorcycle.
He tossed the keys to Xie Yichen. Seeing that Xie Yichen clearly intended to take the bike out, Lin Shuyu couldn’t help but ask, “Wait — you’re really going to bring her back yourself?”
Now that he knew she was safe, Lin Shuyu felt a great wave of relief wash over him, and the faint resentment toward Zou Xiao that had been simmering finally surfaced: “I can’t believe this. You’ve never once given me a ride, and now you’re taking her?”
Xie Yichen swung the keychain around his finger a couple of times, and looked at him with an almost-smile: “Why would I give you a ride? Are you my girlfriend?”
Lin Shuyu: “?”
“Zou Xiao isn’t either.”
Xie Yichen raised his eyes: “Did I say I was taking her?”
“Then what are you—”
“Look where her location is. Three kilometers away.” His voice was cool. “With that much free time, I’d have walked back to Huai’an already.”
The two of them had already moved out into the courtyard. Out of Sun Hao’s earshot, Lin Shuyu couldn’t hold back: “Alright, alright, I give up. I’ll tell you though — this whole drama actually did some good. Sun Hao told me last night he’s almost completely lost interest.”
Xie Yichen said nothing. Lin Shuyu continued: “Still, I’m just glad I finally get to see you two again. Honestly, this graduation trip of ours — the whole thing’s been a mess. We’ve barely even managed to see each other.”
He paused, and asked with genuine sympathy: “You two have been out here floating around on your own — have you been feeling pretty lonely, missing everyone?”
Xie Yichen thought for a moment, and said slowly: “Not really.”
Lin Shuyu: “?”
“Met a few new friends, I suppose.” He glanced at his watch unhurriedly. “If you hadn’t called, right now the six of us would probably be exploring Xizhou Ancient Town.”
“…”
Six people?
It hit Lin Shuyu like a blow to the head. Xie Yichen had just swung his leg over the bike when someone launched themselves at him from behind — “You absolute player! Zhang Yuge was right about you — you really are a fickle, two-faced piece of work!”
The two of them were sprawled horizontally across the motorcycle, one in front of the other. Xie Yichen sat still without turning around, and with one lazy push of his long leg against the ground, drawled: “You sure you want to come?”
“What’s it to you?” Lin Shuyu wasn’t pleased. “I’m making you give me a ride today no matter what.”
“Fine.” Xie Yichen started the engine. The bike roared to life, and he grinned — brash and unbothered: “Hold on tight. I might shake you off partway there.”
Lin Shuyu: “…”