Just as Bai Li was lost in his idle thoughts.
"Hey, big bro, why are you so out of it? Scoot over a bit." Chen Tingting nudged him twice with her elbow.
Without waiting for a response, she squeezed Bai Li into Lin Xiaoshuang's spot and plopped herself down in his original seat.
That left Bai Li sandwiched in the middle.
Lin Xiaoshuang was now on his left, Chen Tingting on his right.
Once she settled in, Chen Tingting naturally leaned against him and launched into stories about their days tightening screws at the electronics factory:
"Big bro, the three of us sisters were the factory beauties back at the Dachang plant, you know."
"...That creep of a team leader would stare at me every single day. Once he even tried to touch my hand — I kicked him away..."
She talked with wild gestures, and whenever she got excited, she'd lean heavily into Bai Li.
Through several layers of fabric, Bai Li could clearly feel a startling softness and warmth pressing against his right arm.
It was a fullness that seemed completely at odds with her age.
His gaze swept across her flushed, animated face and settled on her lips — as she spoke, a silver tongue stud flickered in and out of view.
He shifted his shoulder and said flatly:
"That's poking me."
Chen Tingting paused, then glanced at him with casual indifference, a teasing glint in her eyes:
"Oh please, I'm a girl and I'm not even embarrassed — what's a big guy like you getting shy about?"
"Big bro... don't tell me you're still a virgin?"
Bai Li couldn't be bothered to engage with her teasing.
He looked at the girl in front of him — the colorful tattoos on her arms, the bold red hair, the rebellious tongue stud.
Perhaps it was precisely because of their limited awareness and naivety that they saw these things as badges of street credibility, as marks of maturity.
That was also why a little bit of help could go such a long way with them — boosting their goodwill by leaps and bounds, making them open up to him freely.
He'd have to slowly get used to this way of connecting with people.
Bai Li changed the subject and asked casually:
"So what are your plans going forward? You don't exactly seem like the school type, and from what you just said, you've already quit the factory job too."
The question instantly cooled the lively atmosphere.
Chen Tingting's laughter died away, and the brightness in her expression dimmed a little.
"What plans? Just take it one step at a time, I guess."
She let out a rare sigh, her voice dropping:
"Don't laugh at us — to save money this trip, we bought connecting tickets: Dachang to Modu to Yun City. And even that we had to put on Huabei."
So they were flat broke. Not a single cent to their names.
Bai Li understood at once. This was exactly the kind of investment backdrop he had been hoping for — offering help in the snow was far more rewarding than adding flowers to a bouquet already in bloom.
Besides, wild girls were different from ordinary women; their goodwill was relatively easy to earn.
At that moment.
Night had fully fallen, and the chill inside the cabin had grown heavier.
Lin Xiaoshuang instinctively curled herself into a ball, drifting closer and closer to Bai Li's side.
This time, Bai Li didn't push her away. He could tell that Lin Xiaoshuang was the most well-behaved of the three.
He always had a little more patience for the well-behaved ones.
Chen Tingting was the bold, loyal ringleader of the group, while Li Jiaxin was the quieter one — a girl with a cool, effortless edge to her.
"Big bro," Lin Xiaoshuang said softly, "what's Modu like? Is money everywhere? Do people on the streets all dress really nicely?"
Her big eyes sparkled in the dim light, full of curiosity and longing for a glittering world.
Bai Li caught the distinctive scent of cheap shampoo mingled with the faint warmth of a young girl:
"Honestly, it's just alright. It's a city where you never quite feel like you belong. If you go there broke, you'll leave broke."
Looking at three young, vibrant faces, Bai Li patiently answered Lin Xiaoshuang's innocent questions.
In that moment, for the first time, he felt something strange stirring toward his investment — something beyond money.
He realized that what he was about to invest in might not only be their uncertain futures,
but also those three hearts of theirs — untempered by the world, burning and pure.
That feeling gave him a deeper sense of satisfaction than any number dancing in a bank account ever could.
Just then, the bus gradually slowed, and the driver's weary voice crackled over the intercom.
"Jinniu Service Area ahead — thirty-minute stop!"
"This is the last rest stop for tonight. If you need the restroom, go now — next stop won't be until after sunrise!"
The cabin lights flickered on, breaking the stillness of the late night.
Many passengers rubbed their eyes and rose to stretch their legs.
Bai Li stood up too — and at that very moment, he heard all three girls' stomachs growl at once.
Gurgle...
Gurgle-gurgle...
Grumble—
Their stomachs, as if they had coordinated beforehand, rumbled one after another in protest.
In the quiet of the cabin, the little chorus rang out remarkably loud.