After reaching the mountaintop, Xia Wan sincerely thanked Ji Heng.
She had taken many breaks along the way, yet Ji Heng hadn’t complained once.
Whenever she felt somewhat self-reproachful, Ji Heng would dispel her concerns—he was truly skilled at providing emotional support.
As a result, although physically exhausted from the journey, she felt genuinely happy inside.
If she had to nitpick, it would be that Ji Heng could be somewhat sarcastic at times, though it wasn’t a major issue.
Ji Heng paused in his steps. “We’ve arranged to stay at a hotel, but there are tents available here too. It’s up to you which you prefer.”
“Let’s stay at the hotel,” she replied. She wasn’t foolish enough to choose a tent when a room was available.
“Alright.” Ji Heng led her toward the hotel.
As soon as they entered the lobby, they spotted Chen Yubai and the others sitting on the sofas.
“You’re finally here,” Gu Chi said, quickly standing up when he saw his idol.
They had been waiting for them for over an hour.
“I’ll go upstairs to put my things away first,” Ji Heng greeted them before heading upstairs. He also had his own dedicated room here.
Xia Wan took the room card from the front desk and immediately followed Ji Heng. “I’ll get my clothes out.”
Ji Heng stood at the elevator door, took off his hiking backpack, and handed her the bag from inside. “Rest for a while. I’ll call you when it’s time for dinner.”
Xia Wan took the bag and entered the elevator with Ji Heng. “Okay, around what time will dinner be?”
She was both tired and hungry at the moment.
Ji Heng asked casually, “Hungry?”
Xia Wan nodded in admission.
“I’ll ask Su Yi and the others in a bit. Dinner probably won’t be too late.” As he spoke, he took out some snacks from his hiking backpack and gave them to Xia Wan. “Have these to tide you over.”
“Okay, thank you.” Xia Wan opened both hands to receive them.
Ji Heng had given her so much that she couldn’t hold it all with one hand.
“Is it enough? I have more here.”
Xia Wan quickly nodded. “It’s enough, it’s enough.”
“Ding!” Just then, the elevator chimed.
“I’ll head out first,” Xia Wan said to Ji Heng before stepping out of the elevator.
The first thing she did upon entering her room was to wash her hair and take a shower.
Covered in sweat and feeling sticky, she was extremely uncomfortable.
Ji Heng upstairs felt the same way.
After showering and preparing to go downstairs to find Xu Haonan and the others, he received a call from them.
“Come down quickly for dinner. We’re in a private room at the hotel. Bring Xia Wan along.”
“Got it.” Ji Heng hung up after replying.
He went downstairs.
As soon as her door opened, Ji Heng caught a faint scent of woody rose. After a few more whiffs, the white floral fragrance of lily of the valley and jasmine gradually emerged.
It smelled wonderful.
He had noticed two different scents on Xia Wan today.
The first time he smelled it was when they ate at the restaurant after their run—she had exuded a pleasant fragrance then too.
“Ready? Let’s go downstairs for dinner.”
“Ready, just grabbing my phone.” Xia Wan quickly picked up her phone from the bed and followed Ji Heng downstairs.
Seeing the table full of dishes, Xia Wan marveled inwardly—it was incredibly lavish.
She had assumed they could only have a simple meal up in the mountains.
Being able to enjoy such a lavish dinner was undoubtedly thanks to these few individuals.
“Xia Wan, come sit quickly,” Gu Chi urged promptly.
They had intentionally saved two adjacent seats.
“Okay.” Xia Wan pulled out the chair next to Ji Heng and sat down.Gu Chi asked attentively, “Is there any dish here you like? If not, I’ll have the chef make something else.”
“There is.” She wasn’t that difficult to please.
Gu Chi then picked up the red wine bottle on the table and asked, “Would you like some wine?”
Xia Wan declined softly, “No, thank you. I can’t drink alcohol.”
“Alright.” Gu Chi put down the wine bottle and reached past Ji Heng to hand Xia Wan a menu. “There are beverages listed here. See what you’d like to drink.”
Ji Heng glanced at him. “Let’s switch seats.”
Sitting in the middle seemed to be interfering with their conversation.
Just as Gu Chi was about to agree, he noticed the other three staring at him and immediately understood their meaning. He quickly changed his mind, “I’ll stay here.”
Although he was betting that these two wouldn’t end up together, he wouldn’t deliberately sabotage them either.
He’d let things develop naturally.
He didn’t believe he would lose—he currently felt that Ji Heng didn’t like Xia Wan.
Otherwise, why would he offer to switch seats?
Xia Wan glanced at Ji Heng on her right, opened her mouth slightly, but ultimately remained silent.
“What’s wrong?” Ji Heng naturally noticed her gaze.
“Nothing.” She couldn’t very well ask Ji Heng in front of everyone if he didn’t want her sitting next to him.
That would only make things awkward for herself.
Changing the subject, she asked, “What’s that dish in the clay pot?”
Ji Heng followed her pointing finger. “Braised beef in clay pot. You should try it—it’s quite delicious.”
“Okay.” Xia Wan picked up a spoon and took a small portion.
Just as Ji Heng had said, it was indeed delicious—tender, flaky, and full of flavor.
The only drawback was that it was a bit too spicy for her.
She couldn’t handle spicy food very well.
After eating two pieces of beef, Xia Wan’s face had turned slightly red from the spice. She picked up the orange juice she’d ordered earlier and took several sips.
Only then did she find some relief.
Ji Heng noticed. “Too spicy?”
“Yes, a little.” Xia Wan frowned at the remaining beef in her bowl.
Ji Heng didn’t respond but pulled back his chair and left the private room.
“Where are you going?” Xu Haonan asked curiously.
Ji Heng answered evasively, “You guys eat first.”
“As if we’d wait for you,” the others continued eating and chatting.
For some reason, after Ji Heng left, Xia Wan felt somewhat awkward sitting there.
She thought to herself: Perhaps it’s because among these people, she was relatively more familiar with Ji Heng, since they had spent most of the day together.
When Ji Heng returned, he was holding an empty bowl.
Under everyone’s puzzled gazes, he scooped a bowl of rice and placed it in front of Xia Wan.
The others might not understand his action, but Xia Wan knew exactly what he meant.
She tilted her head to look at Ji Heng, her eyes sparkling, and said with a smile, “Thank you.”
The others didn’t understand the context, but that didn’t stop them from teasing.
“Ohhh… what’s going on here?” Su Yi drawled playfully.
Ji Heng remained composed. “The beef in her bowl was too spicy—she couldn’t eat it.”
He didn’t understand why they were making such a fuss over something so simple.
“Is that so…” Chen Yubai’s tone clearly indicated disbelief.
This was too unusual—he’d have to interrogate Ji Heng about it tonight.
Ji Heng noticed their teasing was making Xia Wan uncomfortable. “Focus on eating and talk less.”
By the end of the meal, Xia Wan no longer felt awkward. When going upstairs, she specifically ordered a glass of milk to take with her.
Right now, the most important thing for her was—sleep.