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墨書 Inktalez
Upon arriving at the inn, Zhou Yao returned the helmet to Luo Yi and ascended the stairs two steps at a time. Just as she reached the second floor, she encountered Tang Shangri-La Duo, Summer Melody, and Sulianlin, who were preparing to go for lunch.
"Hey, Shangri-La Duo!" Zhou Yao waved.
Tang Shangri-La Duo replied, "Tsk tsk, look at you so happy."
Summer Melody added, "Your tail is about to fly up to the sky."
Sulianlin asked, "What have you been up to? Are you that happy?"
"Of course I'm happy—" Zhou Yao snapped her fingers and immediately began singing the song "Happy" by American pop singer Williams.
She even pretended to play the guitar and danced jazz, swaying her shoulders and hips with a graceful and sexy rhythm.
The three watched silently as she made a stylish turn. Luo Yi stood at the corner of the stairs, her dark and bright eyes fixed on her.
Zhou Yao was momentarily speechless.
Her hand, which had been suspended in mid-air, snapped again with a sound, completing her performance.
Zhou Yao brushed her hair back and turned to her friend, "Let's go."
Zhou Yao walked downstairs without looking at him; Luo Yi walked upstairs without looking at her. They brushed past each other, neither acknowledging the other.
Once she entered the courtyard, Zhou Yao muttered to herself, "When did he arrive?"
"Since you started saying 'of course happy'—" Sulianlin mimicked her air guitar playing.
Zhou Yao looked at her with a face full of despair, "You're so annoying."
...
Luo Yi reached the upstairs and knocked on Amin's door.
Amin opened the door and upon seeing him, immediately stuck out his tongue, "I'll go work right away."
"I need to talk to you about something."
"Huh?"
"Was everything normal at the inn while I was gone for a few months?"
"Everything was normal."
"Has Wu Di ever traveled far?"
"I've been home a few times," Amin replied. "There were a few times I stayed for quite a while."
Luo Yi: "It's fine." After taking a few steps, she turned back and pointed at her, "Next time you slack off, I'll really deduct your bonus."
...
During dinner, Zhou Yao asked Lin Jinyan: "How's your health?"
"Much better," Lin Jinyan said. "I went to the Himalayas a few years ago and had no reaction. This time I actually got hit, haha. You all should be careful."
Tang Shangri-La Duo said: "Careful? Zhou Yao just danced a whole routine."
Zhou Yao shot her a speechless glance, and the latter rolled her eyes in response.
"Dancing?" Moyang exclaimed incredulously, "Don't faint while dancing, Zhou Yao."
"I won't; this time I've adapted very well to the plateau," Zhou Yao said.
Just then, the group of men and women they encountered the night before also came to eat. Summer Melody lowered her head to avoid looking at them, and fortunately, Tang Shangri-La Duo and Sulianlin showed no intention of greeting them either. This topic passed without incident.
After dinner, the group collectively went for a walk near the inn, climbing up the back mountain to observe the terrain.
After crossing a small stream, Sulianlin said, "The water is very clear."
Summer Melody replied, "I saw it when we took the bus up the mountain. The water here looks very clear and seems to be unpolluted."
Moyang added, "You can't tell from the surface. When I came to take samples last year, the sulfur content in the rocks at Echu Gully was slightly higher than in previous years."
Summer Melody asked, "Senior Brother, have you come here many times?"
Moyang laughed and said, "This is only my third time in Yading. Jin Yan and Ji Yu have never been here before. I mainly came to study the impact of climate and environment on geology. Zhou Yao, Tang Shangri-La Duo, you haven't been here either, right?"
Zhou Yao, who was ahead, answered loudly, "No!"
Summer Melody let out an "oh," feeling a bit more balanced inside.
She attended a university one tier below Sulianlin's and quickly realized the gap between her and Tang Shangri-La Duo after coming to A University. Tang Shangri-La Duo had rich practical experience, having traveled across much of China and even visited some other countries. They would spontaneously form teams with alumni to conduct field studies during holidays. Zhou Yao was even more impressive; a significant portion of her class time was spent outdoors, having already explored all continents and even organizing trips to geological parks in various countries during breaks. Therefore, when traveling together, they often found themselves in situations where everyone had visited several times while she was there for the first time. Fortunately, this time everyone shared the same sense of novelty.
Originally planning to walk for just an hour in the Mountain before heading back, the group ended up getting distracted by plants and insects one moment and rocks and mountains the next. They wandered further and accidentally stumbled into a small village deep in the mountains.
There were Tibetan Watchtowers with square houses and square windows. Each home was surrounded by flowers whose names they couldn't recall. The flowers here were fascinating; each one bloomed into a large blossom, similar to those in the inn's courtyard.
It was afternoon labor time, and the village was quiet with no one around. They strolled for quite a while, taking plenty of photos, especially Sulianlin.
After wandering about for an entire afternoon, they returned to the inn just as night fell.
As soon as Zhou Yao entered the public lounge, she headed straight for the bar. She sat on the bar stool, her face beaming with sunlight, and said, "Luo Boss, I would like a cup of hot milk."
Luo Yi recognized her and remained calm, just like last time. He took a box of milk, cut open the carton, poured the milk into a small milk pot, and placed the small milk pot on the alcohol stove.
Zhou Yao asked, "What were you doing this afternoon?"
Luo Yi replied, "Watching the store."
Zhou Yao said, "I went out this afternoon."
Luo Yi responded, "Oh really?"
Zhou Yao asked, "Did you not notice?"
Luo Yi raised his gaze to look at her. With his head lowered, a deep crease formed on his eyelid.
Realizing she had misspoken, Zhou Yao quickly changed the subject and said, "We are going out all day tomorrow."
"Small Kora?" he asked as he withdrew his gaze and stirred the milk in the pan with a wooden spoon.
"Cursed Hell Valley."
"With your speed, one day will be quite challenging."
"The road ahead will be accessible by car," Zhou Yao said, "and we won't go anywhere else, we'll come back."
"Just a reminder, camping is prohibited in the core scenic area."
"I know," Zhou Yao replied.
The milk was ready, and he poured it into a Glass Cup and handed it to her. Zhou Yao took it and drank a big gulp, leaving a bit of milk on her lips, but he ignored it and didn't remind her.
The Common Area was crowded with guests. Wu Di and Amin squeezed into the Bar to help prepare drinks for the guests. Luo Yi was busy organizing everything and didn't have a moment to talk to Zhou Yao. After finishing her milk, Zhou Yao went upstairs.
But not long after, she came back down to find Boss Luo, saying she remembered there were still a few friends who needed Postcards.
So while Luo Yi worked in the Bar, she wrote Postcards outside. The two of them were busy at their own tasks across the table without disturbing each other.
After she finished writing, she handed it to him. Seeing him turn around to throw it into the trash can, she went back upstairs.
After a short while, she came down again to find Boss Luo, saying they were out of Altitude Sickness medication and needed to buy some.
Not long after buying the medicine, she returned again.
Her frequent comings and goings caught the attention of the inn staff. When they saw her come in, one of them mimicked her tone and quietly called out, "Boss Luo—"
Luo Yi shot a glance over, causing the person to shrink back and run away.
Zhou Yao leaned on the bar, twisting on the bar stool, and asked, "Luo Boss, will it rain tomorrow?"
Luo Yi replied, "Yes."
"Do you have raincoats and rain boots for sale?"
"Yes," he said, "but they're more expensive than what you saw down the mountain."
"..." Zhou Yao jumped off the stool and shot him a sideways glance.
"Scammer," she retorted.
He smiled subtly and asked, "Are you still buying?"
"Yes!" Zhou Yao gritted her teeth and said, "I want seven of each."
Zhou Yao paid, took her items, and left with a stern expression.
Luo Yi glanced at her departing figure, smiled subtly, and stuffed the money into the drawer.
The Tibetan young man Zaxi, who was mopping the floor, straightened up and said, "If all customers were like her, it would be great; they'd buy things every day."
Amin brought back a glass cup he had just collected and said, "She's not just buying things; I think she wants to buy our Boss."
Luo Yi turned a deaf ear.
Amin smiled and said, "Zaxi, you don't have to worry about the front desk. We have plenty of customers like her in our store, coming in every now and then. Our Boss is charming and brings in wealth."
Luo Yi glanced at her and replied, "If there's no place to talk, just go ahead and place the order."
Amin stuck out her tongue and fell silent. She had seen many customers like this; none of them mattered to the Boss. It was pitiful for those young hearts, oh, and even for the hearts of young women. Thinking of this made Amin shiver, so she quickly got back to work.
Behind the counter, Wu Di noticed something was off. "Yi Ge, something's not right. You charged her too little for that raincoat and rain boots."
Luo Yi turned around. "Oh? Really?"
"Yes," Wu Di pointed at the computer. "They are twenty-five each, but you only charged her fifteen."
"Oh, I miscalculated. I'll ask her for the difference later," Luo Yi said calmly.
Hearing this, Wu Di didn't pursue it further but felt puzzled; when had Yi Ge ever miscalculated?
Zhou Yao held his breath as he returned to his room, tossing the raincoat and rain boots onto the cabinet before collapsing onto his bed.
Tang Shangri-La Duo saw this and slapped his forehead. "I knew something was missing. Yao Yao, you were quite thoughtful! How much was it?"
Not having paid attention earlier while focusing on paying and getting change, Zhou Yao pulled out some coins from his pocket and thought for a few seconds. "Two hundred one."
"Two hundred and one?"
Zhou Yao suddenly sat up in bed; he had indeed given her the price he mentioned earlier.
Zhou Yao couldn't help but laugh.
Tang Shangri-La Duo, who was trying on shoes, looked up and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Zhou Yao laughed so hard that he nearly fell over.
Tang Shangri-La Duo came over with a look of disdain and rubbed her mouth vigorously. "Can you wipe the milk off your lips? Save it for tomorrow morning?"
"Get lost! You just touched the shoes and now you're coming to my mouth!"
"Hahaha, your reaction is so quick!" Tang Shangri-La Duo laughed heartily.
"You're going to die!" Zhou Yao started playfully wrestling with Tang Shangri-La Duo, while Summer Melody put down her book, shook her head, and went to take a shower with her clothes.
After enough fun, Zhou Yao, acting like a lunatic, tried on a raincoat. Tang Shangri-La Duo snuggled back into her bed, read a few pages of her book, and casually mentioned, "Oh, by the way, Lin Brother came by to deliver medicine earlier. He really cares about you."
Zhou Yao took off the raincoat and said sarcastically, "Yeah, my Lin Brother is really good to me."
Tang Shangri-La Duo's expression changed instantly, and she fell silent. Suddenly, Zhou Yao kicked her in the butt. Tang Shangri-La Duo was taken aback. "What are you doing?"
Zhou Yao frowned, "If you like Lin Jinyan, then go ahead. Why do you keep testing me all day? Are you sick?"
Tang Shangri-La Duo blushed and muttered, "He likes—"
"He doesn't like me," Zhou Yao interrupted her, speaking with certainty. "Tang Shangri-La Duo, I can tell if someone likes me or not. He really doesn't like me; I can see that. He—" After thinking for a moment, she continued, "He and I aren't as close as you think. He just takes care of my master's daughter a bit more. Do you understand?"
Tang Shangri-La Duo felt a sense of relief and was happy but didn't know how to respond, so she changed the subject. "What about Boss Luo? Can you tell if he likes you?"
When Luo Yi was mentioned, Zhou Yao's expression softened, and she smiled brightly. "He has some feelings for me."
Tang Shangri-La Duo asked, "How do you determine someone's feelings for you?"
Zhou Yao replied, "Intuition."
Tang Shangri-La Duo pressed on, "Then can you determine—"
Zhou Yao cut in, "Whether Lin Jinyan likes you? I can't tell at all."
Zhou Yao wanted to add that among the three senior brothers, Lin Jinyan was the hardest for her to read. Just then, the door opened, and Sulianlin walked in with her head down, bringing in the clothes she had collected and placing them on each bed.
"Thank you, Linlin," Zhou Yao said as she took her clothes. Sulianlin didn't respond. Zhou Yao looked over and saw Sulianlin with her head down, her short hair covering most of her flushed face. The smile faded from Zhou Yao's face as she squinted her eyes. "Sulianlin?"
"What?" Sulianlin replied without looking up as she sat down by her bed to fold the clothes.
"Nothing." Zhou Yao said casually, but suddenly stood up and rushed towards her. Sulianlin immediately hid under the blanket, but was no match for Zhou Yao's speed. Zhou Yao pinned her shoulder down and turned her head around, revealing a clear handprint on her face.
Zhou Yao asked, "Who hit you?"
"Oh, it's nothing—" Sulianlin tried to turn her head away again, but was once more twisted back by her.
Zhou Yao spoke slowly and clearly, "I asked you who hit you?"
Tang Shangri-La Duo urged, "Speak up!"
"It was just those girls who were playing cards." Sulianlin could still hold back at first, but now that a friend had asked, she suddenly felt wronged and tears streamed down her face. "I heard them insulting Summer Melody while I was collecting clothes, and I told them to stop—"
Sulianlin wiped her tears away and sobbed, "My parents have never hit me."
Without saying a word, Zhou Yao stood up and walked out.
"Hey, Zhou Yao!" Tang Shangri-La Duo hurried to chase after her, but Zhou Yao had already disappeared down the corridor.
Sulianlin panicked, "What should we do?"
Tang Shangri-La Duo replied, "Let's go find Boss Luo, hurry!"
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