A night of jolting and bumping left Bai Li with a restless sleep.
When he woke, his whole body ached — back sore, waist stiff — as though he'd been run over by a freight truck.
His neck was rigid, his right arm numb, and his left shoulder felt like a dead weight.
He forced his eyes open. The first thing he saw was a stretch of arm covered in vivid dragon-and-phoenix tattoos, draped shamelessly across his chest.
The arm's owner, Chen Tingting, was a terrible sleeper. More than half her body had crowded into his space, her head lolling to one side, mouth slightly open, the silver tongue stud catching a faint glint in the dim light.
Bai Li shifted his gaze to the left. Lin Xiaoshuang was curled up like a koala, her small frame tucked tight, head resting squarely on his shoulder.
She was sleeping deeply — her long lashes perfectly still — and a tiny thread of drool glistened at the corner of her mouth, leaving a small dark wet patch on his black windbreaker.
What a situation.
Bai Li sighed inwardly. He carefully lifted Chen Tingting's not-so-light tattooed arm and gave Lin Xiaoshuang's head a gentle nudge, trying to free himself from this pincer attack on both sides.
The moment he moved, Chen Tingting smacked her lips and muttered groggily:
"Damn it, stop crowding me…"
Bai Li had no choice but to go still and let the two of them hang off him.
He pulled out his phone and opened the map for a quick check.
Three more hours until Yun City.
Outside the window, the sky had begun to lighten. A pale grey dawn cast a cool hue over the fields and villages rolling past.
"Ahh—"
A lazy yawn. Chen Tingting stretched with full abandon, her ample chest nearly grazing Bai Li's chin.
She ruffled her tangled red hair, eyes still bleary with sleep:
"God, my back's killing me. This crappy bus is not fit for human beings."
The commotion woke Lin Xiaoshuang.
The girl lifted her head in a daze, realized she'd been using Bai Li's shoulder as a pillow, and her cheeks flushed crimson instantly. She sat up straight and said in a small voice:
"B-Big Brother, I'm sorry."
"You're up?" Bai Li rolled his stiff neck, his voice carrying the faint rasp of someone just woken.
Just then, the coach eased into a service area — the first rest stop since dawn.
Bai Li didn't rush to get off. With a thought, he pulled up the System panel.
[Current Restriction: Daily investment cap — 1,000 yuan.]
The limit had reset, just as he'd expected.
Without drawing any attention, he opened WeChat and navigated to the group chat Chen Tingting had invited him into — "Street Life Crew."
He tapped the red envelope function, set up three envelopes, entered 50 yuan for each, and typed two characters in the note field: breakfast money.
A light tap. Send.
Almost simultaneously, three crisp WeChat notification chimes rang out in the narrow space between the seats.
"Holy crap!"
Chen Tingting was the first to cry out. She stared at the red envelope on her screen, eyes wide as saucers:
"Big Brother, what are you doing? That's so much!"
Li Jiaxin pulled off her headphones too. She claimed her envelope, looked at the "50.00 yuan" on the screen, and her brow furrowed slightly as she glanced at Bai Li with a complicated expression.
Lin Xiaoshuang was at a complete loss. She tapped open her envelope, let out a small gasp of surprise, then held up her phone and stared at Bai Li as though he were some kind of deity:
"Big Brother, this… this is way too much."
Fifty yuan.
To them, that was already a significant sum.
The so-called "big brothers" they'd known from the electronics factory — if one of those guys tossed out a twenty-yuan red envelope during a karaoke night, the girls would be bragging about it in their group chat for half a day.
And here was Bai Li, casually handing each of them fifty yuan — just for breakfast.
"Big Brother, you're seriously the best! I mean it!" Chen Tingting's voice was brimming with excitement and admiration:
"When we get back to Ping County, I'll take you out properly! You can pick from any of my girls!"
Bai Li said nothing. He simply sat in quiet contentment as a string of System notifications chimed through his mind.
[You have invested 50 yuan in 'Chen Tingting.' Target has experienced a strong emotional surge: Admiration!]
[This investment has triggered a 10× Critical Cashback!]
[Congratulations, Host — Cashback received: 500 yuan!]
[You have invested 50 yuan in 'Li Jiaxin.' Target has experienced a strong emotional surge: Trust!]
[This investment has triggered a 10× Critical Cashback!]
[Congratulations, Host — Cashback received: 500 yuan!]
[You have invested 50 yuan in 'Lin Xiaoshuang.' Target has experienced a strong emotional surge: Dependence!]
[This investment has triggered a 10× Critical Cashback!]
[Congratulations, Host — Cashback received: 500 yuan!]
His phone screen lit up a moment later.
[XX Bank: Your savings account ending in 8868 has received a deposit of 1,500.00 yuan. Current balance: 302,900.00 yuan.]
Invest 150, return 1,500.
The corners of Bai Li's mouth curved upward without him even noticing.
Once they got off the bus, the three girls — now with money in their pockets — carried themselves with noticeably more confidence.
Gone was the timid shuffling from the night before. They walked straight up to the breakfast stall.
Old habits died hard, though — they were still careful with their spending. Each bought one pork bun and a cup of soy milk, the total coming to less than ten yuan a head.
Bai Li grabbed something quick as well, then got back on the bus.
Back in their seats, the atmosphere had shifted entirely.
The three girls had fully accepted him as one of their own, chattering away and sharing snippets of their world.
"Big Brother, look at my leg."
Li Jiaxin stretched her fishnet-stocking-clad leg out into the aisle and pointed to the rose tattoo on her ankle — just an outline, not yet filled in:
"I was going to get it shaded and colored when I got back, but I ran out of money. Once I find a place to work in a few days and earn some cash, I'll go get it finished."
As she spoke, her slender ankle swayed lightly. The black fishnet stockings traced the lines of her shapely calf, and a few torn holes revealed patches of pale skin beneath.
"Forget work — let's just have fun for a few days first!"
Chen Tingting leaned against Bai Li, fished out a crumpled pack of cigarettes, offered him one, lit one for herself, and blew out a lazy puff of smoke:
"Big Brother, once we're back, I'll take you to Queen's disco. My cousin runs the place — drinks are on the house!"
Bai Li listened to their boasts — a world so distant from his own, yet oddly novel — and chimed in with a word or two every now and then.
He found, to his own surprise, that he wasn't the least bit annoyed.
Looking at those three faces, lit up with excitement and energy, he actually found it rather entertaining.
Just as laughter filled the cabin, the PA system crackled to life up front, cutting through the chatter.
"Attention passengers — we are approaching the final destination, Yun City Central Bus Terminal. Please gather your belongings in advance to avoid leaving anything behind…"