The innkeeper stood frozen in place, mouth agape, as though she'd been struck by a bolt of lightning.
Her mind buzzed with a roar, Chen Tingting's earth-shattering words echoing over and over inside her head.
One man. Three wild girls. One room. One night.
These elements combined together conjured, even in the mind of this worldly innkeeper, an instant and spectacular mental drama.
When she looked at Bai Li again, the pure admiration in her eyes had elevated into something bordering on reverence.
This young man — he looked so refined and gentle. Who would have thought... he had such astonishing stamina!
Bai Li felt that scorching gaze and desperately wished he could find a crack in the floor to disappear into.
He grabbed Chen Tingting, who was still strutting triumphantly, and lowered his voice. "Alright, enough. Stop talking."
"What's there to be afraid of!" Chen Tingting looked completely unbothered, even puffing out her impressive chest. "We're all willing — what's it got to do with her!"
Bai Li pressed a hand to his forehead and gave up trying to reason with this group of girls and their uniquely wired brains.
"Let's go. Breakfast time." He stepped forward and led the way out of the inn.
The three girls immediately chattered and followed after him, leaving behind a dazed innkeeper and a room in complete disarray.
The morning in Ping County was full of the warmth of everyday life.
Steam rose from the roadside breakfast stalls, the rich aroma of soy milk mingling with the crispy scent of fried dough sticks, stirring everyone's appetite.
Bai Li led them to a clean stall and they sat down.
"Boss, four bowls of tofu pudding — two sweet, two savory — plus five yuan worth of fried dough sticks and four tea eggs." Bai Li ordered with practiced ease.
"Coming right up!"
Soon, the steaming hot breakfast was served.
"Wow! Tofu pudding!" Lin Xiaoshuang's eyes lit up. She grabbed a spoon and scooped up a big mouthful.
The little girl scalded herself and hissed sharply, but couldn't bring herself to spit it out. Her big eyes squinted into happy little crescents.
Bai Li watched the scene and laughed from the bottom of his heart.
He suddenly felt that wild girls weren't so bad after all — at least they were down-to-earth.
If it were someone who didn't eat cilantro... would she really sit by the roadside with him slurping tofu pudding?
"Big Bro, how did you know I like the savory kind?" Li Jiaxin looked at the bowl of savory tofu pudding in front of her — topped with scallions and dried shrimp — and asked in mild surprise.
"You mentioned it when we were on the bus," Bai Li replied casually.
Li Jiaxin felt a warmth bloom in her chest.
She had only mentioned it offhandedly during small talk. She never expected him to have remembered.
Chen Tingting, meanwhile, had a fried dough stick in one hand and a tea egg in the other, eating with pure delight. She mumbled through a mouthful of food:
"Big Bro, hanging out with you is just the best! Great food, great sleep, and nobody dares to mess with us!"
After finishing breakfast, Bai Li stood up to go pay, but Lin Xiaoshuang quickly stopped him:
"B-Big Bro, let me treat you."
Seeing the stubborn sincerity and hope in Lin Xiaoshuang's eyes, Bai Li accepted the gesture.
He turned the idea over in his mind — he still had 500 yuan left in his spending allowance. How should he use it?
"Come on, I'll take you somewhere."
"Where are we going, Big Bro?" Chen Tingting asked curiously.
Bai Li didn't answer. He simply led them toward the most bustling commercial street in the county town.
Eventually, he stopped in front of a cosmetics shop called "Liànlì Jiārén."
This shop was considered the most upscale cosmetics store in Ping County. While it couldn't compare to the brand counters in big cities, it still carried some recognizable brand names.
All three girls instinctively stopped in their tracks when they saw the shop entrance.
"Big Bro, why are we here?" Chen Tingting asked, puzzled.
"Let's go in and take a look." Bai Li said, pushing the door open and walking in first.
The shop assistant's eyes lit up when she saw Bai Li's appearance and attire, and she immediately rushed over with enthusiasm:
"Hello, sir! What can I help you with today? Are you buying a gift for your girlfriend?"
The assistant's gaze swept over the three girls who had followed him in. When she noticed their signature wild girl look, a flicker of disdain crossed her eyes — though the professional smile on her face never wavered.
"No." Bai Li shook his head, then turned and gestured toward the three girls behind him, speaking to them:
"Budget is five hundred yuan. Pick whatever you want yourselves. Just don't go over."
"Huh?"
All three girls froze.
Five hundred yuan!
For cosmetics? For them?
They usually bought their makeup from bargain shopping apps — sets that cost a dozen yuan with no brand name to speak of.
Five hundred yuan was enough to buy several years' worth of cosmetics for them!
"B-Big Bro, are you serious?" Lin Xiaoshuang stammered, unable to believe her ears.
"Of course I'm serious." Bai Li leaned against a shelf, hands in his pockets. "Go on, don't waste time."
With that confirmation, all three girls' breathing quickened.
Chen Tingting was the first to snap out of it. She grabbed Lin Xiaoshuang and Li Jiaxin, eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Look! This brand's lipstick is super popular online!"
"Wow, the colors in this eyeshadow palette are gorgeous!"
"I want to get a decent foundation — mine is almost expired..."
They moved carefully between the shelves, picking up a lipstick to check the price, then picking up an eyeshadow palette to calculate the cost, terrified of going over budget.
Their expressions — equal parts excited and conflicted — made the shop assistant nearby want to laugh.
Lin Xiaoshuang had her eye on a bean-paste-colored lip gloss. The shade was soft and gentle, perfect for her.
She held it and looked at it again and again, but when she saw the "¥89" price tag, she quietly put it back.
Too expensive.
That one lip gloss alone was almost as much as four days of their room fees.
Li Jiaxin stood in front of a bottle of foundation for a long time without moving.
Her skin was naturally good — with a quality foundation, she would absolutely turn heads.
But this foundation was priced at 129 yuan.
Chen Tingting was more carefree about it. She picked up a neutral-toned eyeshadow palette and an eyebrow pencil, did the math — about 150 yuan total — still within an acceptable range.
Bai Li had been watching all their little hesitations.
He walked over to Lin Xiaoshuang, picked up the lip gloss, and pressed it into her hand.
"Take it."
Then he walked over to Li Jiaxin and took the 129-yuan foundation off the shelf directly, tossing in a makeup sponge to go with it.
"Yours."
Finally, he looked at what Chen Tingting was holding, thought for a moment, and added a set of makeup brushes to her basket.
"Alright, that should do it."
All three girls stood there holding their items, completely stunned.
"Big Bro, this... this is too much..." Chen Tingting said hurriedly.
"It's fine, I want to." Bai Li waved it off without a second thought, then picked up his phone.
"Ring it up."
"Of course, sir! The total is 503 yuan — I'll round it down to 500 for you." The shop assistant snapped back to attention and swiftly began scanning and bagging everything.
This man... he was way too generous!
Just as Bai Li finished paying, the System's cold notification chimed in his mind.
[You have invested in cosmetics for Chen Tingting, Li Jiaxin, and Lin Xiaoshuang. Total amount: 500 yuan.]
[Chen Tingting's Affection Value +5! Current Affection Value: 55]
[Li Jiaxin's Affection Value +5! Current Affection Value: 55]
[Lin Xiaoshuang's Affection Value +5! Current Affection Value: 65 (Adoration)]
[Lin Xiaoshuang's Affection Value has broken through 60. Critical Cashback rate this time is 15x. Congratulations, Host — cashback earned: 7,500 yuan!]
[XX Bank: Your savings account ending in 8868 has received a deposit of 7,500.00 yuan. Current balance: 322,800.00 yuan.]
Bai Li looked at the bank notification that popped up on his phone, the corners of his mouth curling higher and higher.
Spend 500, earn back 7,500 — and along the way, boost all three girls' Affection Values by another notch.
This deal was an absolute steal!
Bai Li even began to wonder: when the Affection Value broke through 80, how much higher would the cashback multiplier climb? And if it reached 100, how much would the daily allowance increase from 1,000 yuan?
He was one step closer to his goal of buying a house and a car before the New Year!
It seemed he really did need to treat these wild girls well.
Not only did they provide plenty of emotional value — they could help him make money too!