Chapter 54: Is She Wan Xiaozhou?
Fang Xiaocao trudged along the slippery, muddy forest path, her hiking backpack weighing down on her shoulders.
“Aiya~”
“How much longer until we reach the campsite?”
Behind her, Su Wanqing’s voice rang out, full of complaints.
They had only been in the mountains for an hour, yet the husky-like girl had already tripped three times.
Now, with Yun Luoshu supporting her, Su Wanqing could barely keep up with the group.
“The happier you were when we set off, the more miserable you are now,” Fang Xiaocao said, glancing back at her.
Hearing this, Su Wanqing’s face darkened.
Fang Xiaocao and the others continued their trek through the mountain trails for another two hours before finally coming across a small gentle slope.
“Let’s rest here for a bit,” Zhi Qi suggested, stopping in her tracks and turning to Fang Xiaocao.
Fang Xiaocao glanced at Su Wanqing and sighed before nodding.
“Alright, let’s take a break,” she said reluctantly.
Originally, Fang Xiaocao had planned to press on further to reach the designated camping site as quickly as possible.
She had already anticipated that Zhi Qi’s company wouldn’t be the only one here for this tourism project assessment.
To make things more exciting, the project planning team had arranged various survival activities such as hiking to find the camping site and wilderness survival challenges—key features of the future tourist attraction.
To Fang Xiaocao, this was pure insanity.
She couldn’t understand the bizarre hobbies of the wealthy.
Which normal working-class person would spend a hard-earned vacation and a lot of money just to suffer in the deep mountains?
If it weren’t for accompanying Zhi Qi on this assessment trip, Fang Xiaocao would never have agreed to come.
Fang Xiaocao: Wouldn’t staying home and sleeping be much nicer?
After setting down their hiking bags, Zhi Qi and the others casually leaned against relatively clean rocks to rest.
Fang Xiaocao took out her phone and attempted to contact “Hot Noodles.”
“Are you back?”
She typed the message and hit send.
[Contact does not exist!]
Seeing the notification, Fang Xiaocao sighed and put her phone away.
She still couldn’t reach “Hot Noodles.”
An unfamiliar environment and unknown dangers.
It made Fang Xiaocao uneasy.
“We should get moving again.”
“Let’s try to reach the campsite as soon as possible.”
“It’s dangerous to be in the mountains after dark.”
After about thirty minutes of rest, Zhi Qi got up, strapped on her hiking bag, and called out.
Hearing this, Fang Xiaocao stood up as well, putting on her backpack and preparing to depart.
Wen Shi and Yun Luoshu slung on their bags and helped up the whining Su Wanqing.
Zhi Qi’s assistant also got up, casually picking up Su Wanqing’s hiking bag.
Fang Xiaocao blinked in surprise.
Only now did she realize that Su Wanqing’s backpack had been carried by the assistant all along.
“This assistant… is not ordinary,” Fang Xiaocao thought to herself.
She could barely manage carrying her own load. Yun Luoshu, being an athletic student and quite strong, could still bear the weight while supporting Su Wanqing. But she was still a girl, and signs of fatigue were already showing on her face.
Yet this assistant showed no signs of exhaustion at all.
That kind of stamina wasn’t normal for an ordinary girl.
She had been carrying the weight of two people for this entire hike and still moved with ease.
Each of their backpacks weighed at least ten to twenty pounds. For someone like Fang Xiaocao, carrying just one was already pushing her limits.
But this assistant? Carrying three to four times that weight and still walking effortlessly?
How could that not catch Fang Xiaocao’s attention?
Curious, Fang Xiaocao found herself sneaking glances at the assistant from time to time.
The assistant was tall and well-proportioned, carrying two people’s gear while maintaining a steady pace, moving swiftly through the rugged mountain terrain.
A sudden thought struck Fang Xiaocao.
“Zhi Qi?”
She quickened her pace to catch up to the group leader and called out softly.
“Hm? What’s up?”
Zhi Qi raised an eyebrow and looked at her in confusion.
“What’s your assistant’s name?”
Fang Xiaocao asked in a low voice.
This unusual girl, Fang Xiaocao had a feeling she might be one of the two female suspects she needed to be wary of.
“Oh, her?”
“Her name is Wan Xiaozhou.”
Zhi Qi glanced at the assistant before answering.
Hearing the name “Wan Xiaozhou,” Fang Xiaocao felt like she had been struck by lightning, frozen in place.
“Wan Xiaozhou?”
“She is Wan Xiaozhou?”
Fang Xiaocao’s mind reeled.
Her expression turned complicated.
“What’s wrong?”
Zhi Qi noticed her reaction and asked curiously.
“Huh?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“Just… I suddenly remembered something.”
Fang Xiaocao snapped out of her thoughts, shaking her head with a forced smile.
She quickly stole another glance at Wan Xiaozhou, who didn’t seem to have noticed their conversation.
Fang Xiaocao continued hiking without another word.
Seeing this, Zhi Qi gave Wan Xiaozhou a puzzled look before scratching her head in confusion and jogging to catch up with Fang Xiaocao.
“I searched for her a thousand times, yet she was right here under the lantern’s glow?”
This famous verse flashed through Fang Xiaocao’s mind.
“The person I was so focused on being wary of was right beside me the entire time, and I didn’t even realize it.”
“How careless can I be?”
She mentally scolded herself.
“I should have asked for names back at the hotel.”
“If I had known earlier, I could’ve had Zhi Qi swap out Wan Xiaozhou for a different assistant. That way, I could’ve ruled her out as a suspect.”
Regret flooded her mind.
“Fang Xiaocao, serves you right for burning your CPU with all this thinking!”
She cursed at herself internally.
“Xiaocao, you’ve been acting strange ever since you heard Wan Xiaozhou’s name.”
“Did she do something to offend you?”
Zhi Qi, walking beside her, asked suspiciously.
“No, I just didn’t sleep well last night. I have a bit of a headache. Don’t mind me.”
Fang Xiaocao forced a grin, making up an excuse.
“Really?”
Zhi Qi raised an eyebrow, unconvinced.
“Really, would I lie to you?”
Fang Xiaocao rolled her eyes.
Zhi Qi blinked, still skeptical.
“Save your energy.”
“We still have a long way to go.”
Seeing that Zhi Qi was still dwelling on the topic, Fang Xiaocao sighed.
“But I’m not tired!”
Zhi Qi grinned.
“I am!”
Fang Xiaocao glared at her and picked up her pace, putting some distance between them.
Watching her walk ahead, Zhi Qi smirked.
In just a few strides, she easily caught up.
Ever seen a persistent leech?
Zhi Qi was cosplaying as one right now, sticking to Fang Xiaocao.
Watching her shadow follow closely, Fang Xiaocao rolled her eyes in exasperation.
“Hmph~”
“So annoying~”
She grumbled in her mind.
An hour later, Fang Xiaocao dramatically stopped in the middle of the path, feigning exhaustion.
“Already tired?”
Zhi Qi teased with a grin.
“None of your business!”
Fang Xiaocao huffed, puffing out her cheeks like a little pufferfish.
Seeing this, Zhi Qi’s grin widened in amusement.
“Hurry up and lead the way!”
Fang Xiaocao sighed.
With Zhi Qi sticking so close, she had no chance to observe Wan Xiaozhou properly.
(End of Chapter 54)
