After bidding farewell to the overly polite Shen Li, the village chief led the two of them back to his house just as lunchtime was drawing to a close.
The village chief's wife was sitting near the door waiting for them.
As soon as she saw them return, she quickly got up and headed into the kitchen to fetch the food she had been keeping warm in the pot.
As she moved, she revealed a figure sitting at the table, leisurely eating lunch.
It was Xie Lai.
Xie Lai, who was supposed to be at the Red Church setting up the venue and helping test the equipment.
She was alone; there was no sign of the others.
“Oh, Sister Bai, you're back.”
Hearing them enter, Xie Lai braced herself against the seat of her chair to prop herself up, turning away from the table to face the door before greeting them.
Qu Ling also noticed Xie Lai. Her brow furrowed instinctively, and a bad premonition welled up in her chest.
Bai Ci walked over. As she approached Xie Lai, she caught the faint scent of safflower oil and noticed her swollen ankle.
“What happened to your foot? Why are you back alone? Where are Sang Lan, the team leader, and Wang Dong?”
Xie Lai’s gaze drifted, looking a bit sheepish. “It's my own fault for being so careless while walking.”
“When we were carrying props down that long slope earlier, I was distracted and didn't notice the stuff by my feet. I tripped over something, took a bad step, and sprained my ankle.”
“It hurt so much I couldn't even stand. My ankle swelled up instantly, and it was excruciating to even touch. Luckily, Aunt Guihua happened to be delivering lunch just then.”
She pointed toward the kitchen where the village chief's wife was busy. Her eyes shone with genuine admiration, and her tone was incredibly sincere.
“Aunt Guihua is amazing. She really lives up to her reputation as a barefoot doctor.”
“She took one look at my foot, gave it a couple of quick twists to set the bone, and massaged it. The pain instantly went away by more than half. It’s still red and swollen, but I can walk fine as long as I take it slow.”
“The team leader is great, too. He was worried I'd make it worse, so he told me to head back and rest instead of staying at the church to work.”
There was no trace of sadness on Xie Lai's face over her sprained ankle—only pure joy at getting out of work.
Having finished explaining her injury, Xie Lai leaned forward eagerly and probed, “By the way, Sister Bai, did you manage to see this year's Honey Bride?”
“What's her name? What is she like? Is she easy to get along with?”
Her intentions were incredibly transparent, and she didn't even bother to hide her questions from Qu Ling.
So what if I ask about the clues you found right in front of your face? It's not like you can muzzle an NPC.
Hearing this, a surge of hostility flared up in Qu Ling's chest.
She had spent the entire morning patiently navigating conversations and carefully probing, managing to gather a few scattered clues with great difficulty.
Now Xie Lai wanted to sit back and reap the rewards, trying to steal the information simply by questioning Bai Ci. It was far too opportunistic.
Qu Ling spoke up coldly, cutting off Xie Lai's unfinished questions and casting a warning glance at her.
“Stop pestering Bai Ci with idle chatter. We have to head back to the Red Church to set up on time this afternoon. We need to use this time to eat and rest. Our schedule is very tight.”
It was a direct attempt to block Xie Lai from digging up any more information about the bride.
In the past, Xie Lai would have been wary of Qu Ling's status as a veteran player. She wouldn't have dared to question an NPC right in front of her, or at least she would have backed off upon seeing Qu Ling's attitude.
But that was then.
That morning, Xie Lai had learned from the team leader that there was supposed to be a file of Honey Rite materials inside her trunk.
The team leader had handed it to her before they left the company and watched her pack it into her trunk with his own eyes.
Yet, she had found that exact file inside Qu Ling's trunk.
Her name was clearly written on the cover page. Anyone who saw it would instantly know who it belonged to.
There was absolutely no misunderstanding here.
Xie Lai didn't back down in the slightest. Wearing an innocent smile, she replied, “Sister Qu Ling, you're the only one who has to go to the church this afternoon.”
“My ankle is sprained, so it's hard for me to move around. The team leader reassigned our tasks. He said the team leader, Wang Dong, Brother Sang, and... well, you, the four of you are more than enough to handle the church setup.”
“Instead, the team leader handed all the paperwork over to me—the Honey Rite procurement list, inventory count, and logistics request reports. They all need to be done on a computer, so I don't have to move.”
“But since I'm new to the company and don't know the procedures yet, the team leader specifically arranged for Sister Bai to stay behind this afternoon to guide me through the paperwork and help me organize the ledger.”
Xie Lai waved her glowing phone screen and looked up at the two of them. “The team leader just posted the task assignments in the group chat. You can check the work group yourself.”
Qu Ling’s heart sank.
The die was cast.
This meant that all the clues she had spent the entire morning working so hard to gather would be easily pried out of Bai Ci's mouth by Xie Lai this afternoon.
She was consumed by resentment, but she was utterly powerless. She could only force her anger down.
She didn't dare to force Bai Ci to keep her mouth shut, nor did she dare to openly threaten Xie Lai in front of an NPC.
The memory of the village entrance—where Xie Lai’s casual question about the Honey Rite had drawn the icy, murderous glares of every NPC in the area—was still fresh in her mind.
Once a player acted out of character or broke logic, they would trigger the NPCs' hostility, and the consequences would be catastrophic.
While the unknown wasn't guaranteed to be fatal, the odds were heavily stacked against them.
She had no intention of testing those boundaries herself; the risk was simply too high.
Weighing her options, Qu Ling could only swallow her bitter resentment. With a dark, icy expression, she fell silent.
Just then, the village chief's wife came out with the food, bringing an end to the tense standoff.
Xie Lai didn't press any further either. Once Qu Ling left in the afternoon, she would have all the time in the world to ask whatever she wanted.
She was in no rush. The only reason she had asked the moment Bai Ci walked through the door was to get under Qu Ling's skin.
Simply put, she just wanted to see Qu Ling squirm.
And there was another thing...
Lunch was an incredibly awkward affair.
Xie Lai was in high spirits, occasionally putting food into Bai Ci's bowl with affectionate familiarity.
Qu Ling ate in absolute silence. The moment she finished, she stood up without a word and headed upstairs to rest.
Since the three of them had to share a single large platform bed, there was really no escaping each other.
As soon as Qu Ling left after her rest, Xie Lai got up and began rummaging through her trunk. After searching for a bit, she pulled out a small, cube-shaped robot.
She placed the little robot on the room's only table and pressed the button on top of its head.
Only then did Xie Lai let out a sigh of relief. The smile vanished from her face, replaced by a heavy, anxious expression.
She turned to look at Bai Ci, who was opening her laptop to show her how to draft the reports.
Can I really trust this NPC?
“Sister Bai, can I trust you?”
Rate on N.U.
