Qi Wei stood in place, mouth agape, absorbing the unexpected sight as it drew closer to him.
He couldn't be mistaken. The face gazing at him with equal astonishment was deeply ingrained in his memory. He encountered that familiar face every time he blinked, and that face even remained as the chosen screen lock on his phone.
It was the face of someone who had shattered his heart into pieces yet had the audacity to apologize and yet claim to love him, albeit only in a platonic way.
Stammering in surprise and struggling to find the right words or manner to act, Qi Wei remained silent beside Lai Yuan when the waterway group arrived on a medium-sized wooden boat.
"Yuan Ge!" exclaimed a young girl, perhaps seventeen years old, leaping off the boat onto the shore, joyfully bounding towards Lai Yuan and Qi Wei.
"Our Xiao Yi's here, huh?" Lai Yuan grinned, playfully pinching Xiao Yi's smiling face.
Xiao Yi nodded, "Yeah, yeah. How did you figure I'd show up?"
Lai Yuan rolled his eyes, "Your brother mentioned you needed extra practice to conquer the eighth realm. I guess he dispatched you to the lower realm for that. Didn't spot you on the bus earlier; figured you must've been with the other crew."
"Yuan gege is indeed the smartest! Did you enter this realm to help me out?"
Lai Yuan laughed and flicked the forehead of the little girl, "You wish. I came here for money, of course."
Xiao Yi pouted, pretending to be offended, "You don't love your Xiao Yiyi anymore."
Chuckling, Lai Yuan wrapped his arms around the disoriented Qi Wei, "Yeah. I have found my new love now."
Upon hearing Lai Yuan's words, Qi Wei shook off his arms. "Stop talking nonsense."
On the other side, Huang Peng was as perplexed as Qi Wei.
Struggling with money and career, Huang Peng likely came as a volunteer rather than a quarry. For the past few years, he had navigated life with Qi Wei's help. After their breakup, Huang Peng returned to his old, modest house left by his parents.
Qi Wei insisted that he should live in their apartment, with Qi Wei moving out. It made more sense since Qi Wei had a stable job and a decent salary. However, Huang Peng, clinging to a shred of self-awareness, couldn't bring himself to accept that offer.
How could he remain in an apartment purchased with the money of a man whose heart he had broken into pieces? Even for someone like him, that felt too morally questionable. Despite Qi Wei's reassurance that he had acquired the apartment for Huang Peng, emphasizing its purposelessness without him, Huang Peng declined and chose to move out.
With a hint of self-awareness left, he was surprised and had unvoiced questions when he saw Qi Wei standing with a very good-looking man. However, Huang Peng said nothing, maintaining his distance.
After some wrestling with his own thoughts, Qi Wei mustered the bravery to walk up to Huang Peng, leaving Lai Yuan staring unblinking at both men.
"Who are those two, ge?" Xiao Yi asked, following Lai Yuan's gaze.
"A Cinderella. As for the other one, I have no idea. Could be his ex," Lai Yuan guessed correctly.
Without questioning the peculiar response, already accustomed to Lai Yuan's distinctive language, Xiao Yi simply nodded.
"Do you like the Cinderella? Have a crush on him?" Xiao Yi asked again, not dragging her eyes away from the scene of the two men awkwardly talking.
"Not sure," Lai Yuan admitted, "But somehow, I feel a strange pull towards that quarry."
"Ah," Xiao Yi nodded in acknowledgment, "So he is a quarry. His cause must be a heartbreak."
Lai Yuan chuckled, "So obvious, isn't it?"
Nodding in agreement, Xiao Yi said, "Totally written in how he acts."
Both of them observed Qi Wei and Huang Peng in conversation. Qi Wei appeared to be filling Huang Peng in on Lai Yuan, and they both occasionally glanced back at Lai Yuan and Xiao Yi.
It didn't take long until Qi Wei returned with Huang Peng at his side.
"Let's go to the guest house," Lai Yuan said, deliberately ignoring Huang Peng's existence. "Xiao Yi, Cinderella, follow my lead."
Qi Wei rolled his eyes in annoyance but didn't say anything to retort.
Everyone, both from the land group and water group, filled up the guest house's living room. A quick observation revealed who the first-time volunteers and quarries were. Some seniors explained things to the newbies, while others deliberately kept information to themselves, leaving a few newbies looking like confused sheep, staring at the room with anxious eyes.
Qi Wei remained near Huang Peng, who appeared to absorb some of the nervous energy from the newcomers. "Don't worry, I'm right here," Qi Wei whispered, attempting to ease his nervousness.
Huang Peng was naturally a quiet person, sometimes even shy, traits that had endeared him to Qi Wei.
He nodded, shifting closer to Qi Wei. Deep in his heart, he felt a bit embarrassed seeking comfort and safety from a person whose heart he destroyed just a few weeks ago. However, besides poverty, he also feared death the most.
Between pride and his precious life, he'd rather abandon his pride.
"What should we do now?" inquired Qi Wei.
Irked by Huang Peng's presence, Lai Yuan maintained silence. However, Xiao Yi, feeling uneasy about ignoring Qi Wei, offered a smile and explained, "Whenever we enter an operation center, we have to wait for a tour guide to appear. The waterway group didn't have a visit from a tour guide on our way; I suppose they must have visited the land group, right?"
Qi Wei recalled the ethereal lady with a long white cloak and a crystal crown before gasping in acknowledgment, "Ah, yes. The one with a clue?"
Xiao Yi nodded, "Exactly. They gave the land group a clue. Keep that clue guarded, by the way. Don't be overly generous and share it with everyone."
Qi Wei nodded. "So we wait for her here?"
"Yes, the tour guide will come back and give us the key to our room. Along with that, she sometimes will come out with another clue on how to get the ticket to get out of this place."
"I see," Qi Wei nodded again, "Thank you for explaining," his words hung in the middle of the sentence, feeling bad for forgetting her name from before.
Xiao Yi smiled and stretched out her hand for a handshake, "Xiao Yi!"
"Ah," Qi Wei returned the smile and shook her hand, "Qi Wei. Nice to meet you, Xiao Yi."