As soon as they were undressed, both of their eyes instinctively glanced at each other's waistlines, then quickly met each other's gaze.

Susan was the first to break, looking,sightly embarrassed as she scratched her head and muttered softly, "I've been trying to eat healthy, but last night I caved. I had a burger, fried chicken, soda, cake, and even some barbecue in the middle of the night. My abs are probably buried under all that now."

Jessica let out a long sigh. "I knew it. Every time I text you at night and you don't reply, I figure you're sneaking food. Honestly,all those gym selfies I post are from the first day. I haven't been back since."

Susan snorted. "You think I didn't notice? You changed outfits to make it look like different days, but the timestamps on the original photos gave you away,you dummy!"

Jessica's eyes widened in frustration. "Damn it, you caught me."

Wendy,listening to their conversation, couldn't help but laugh, her mood lifting significantly. "So, you two only managed to fool me? I really thought you were serious about working out."

With these two cheerful friends around, Wendy's mood quickly improved.

After soaking in the hot springs, the three of them showered and headed to the buffet for some food.

As soon as they entered the buffet, Jessica's appetite kicked in. She ran straight to the kitchen, sweet-talking the staff into making her a special pepperoni pizza.

When it was ready, she eagerly wentto get it, but soon Wendy heard her arguing with David.

Jessica, furious that her pizza had been taken, glared at him. "I ordered that pizza! What are you doing eating it?"

David shrugged, looking unapologetic. "I'm eating this pizza. So what?"

Sensing trouble, Linda quickly stepped in to defuse the situation. "If you want pizza, I'll ask the kitchen to make you another one. Let the girl have this one."

Before David could respond, Jessica held up a hand, her voice firm. "It's not about 'letting the girl have it.' What's mine is mine,and what's not mine, even if you beg me on your knees; I won't take it!"

David, lounging with one foot propped up, retorted, "You say it's yours?What part of this pepperoni pizza is yours?"

"There's pepperoni and pizza here, put them together and it'sthe pepperoni pizza I ordered. It's mine. Ever heard of copyright?" Jessica said,reaching for the pizza tray.

David quickly held it down, snarling, "Bullshit! Just because it's called pepperoni pizza doesn't mean it's yours. If it was called Jessica pizza,then maybe."

Susan,shaking with anger, shouted, "You're such a jerk!"

David stood up, his face darkening. "Say that again?"

Wendy, hurrying over, felt a pang of worry, afraid Jessica might get hurt.

But before she could say anything, David seemed to suddenly sense

something and turned his head in Wendy's direction.

The arrogant and domineering expression he had just moments ago vanished instantly, replaced by a look of obedience, and he even took a step back involuntarily.

Wendy was puzzled, wondering since when she had become so intimidating.

Then she saw Alexander pushing Chris' wheelchair towards them,followed by a few bodyguards.

David immediately straightened up and respectfully greeted, "Mr. Turner!"

Alexander glanced at him but didn't respond. Instead, he turned to Wendy and asked calmly, "Is there a problem? Do you need help?"

Before Wendy could answer, David quickly handed the pizza to Jessica."Here, take it. I don't want it."

Then he scurried away.

Jessica,holding the pizza triumphantly, shouted after him, "Eat dirt, you!"

The next morning. Wendy had plans with Susan and the others to hike up the mountain to watch the sunrise.

She groggily got up, even before her alarm went off.

She was exhausted, her 'movements sluggish.

Forcing herself to get up, she quickly freshened up and went to wake Jessica and Susan.

However, when she saw the man standing quietly outside her door, she

thought she was still dreaming, or having a nightmare.

Ethan was leaning against the wall, his posture straight but with a hint of melancholy. His gaze was distant,lost in thought.

He was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, looking a bit disheveled, a cigarette dangling from his hand.

The cigarette's ember glowed faintly, smoke curling up, adding to his air of solitude.

Wendy instinctively checked her phone. It was 4:30 AM.

She looked back at Ethan, confusion in her eyes.

Ethan,sensing her gaze, quickly stubbed out the cigarette, his movements a bit frantic.

His voice was hoarse, whether from smoking or lack of sleep, she couldn't tell. "Morning," he said softly, breaking the silence.

Wendy hadn't expected him to say that. Her brain still foggy,she reflexively replied, "Morning."

She wanted to ask why he wasn't sleeping and what he was doing there in the middle of the night, but she swallowed the words.

Whatever he was thinking, it no longer concerned her.

Wendy was about to walk past him when Ethan spoke again, his voice low and hesitant. "Wendy."

At that moment, Jessica and Susan came out of their rooms, both looking sleepy, their hair a mess.

Susan, struggling to keep her eyes open, saw Ethan and, after a moment.turned to Jessica. "Bite him."

Jessica, in the middle of a yawn, froze. "No way. I might catch something."

"Let's go," Wendy said, taking a deep breath and walking past Ethan. She didn't want to linger, afraid she might lose her temper.

Linda had already pulled the car up to the hotel entrance, and everyone got in.

The hot spring hotel was close to Wildflower Mountain, just a ten-minute drive to the base.

In the forest, the cold was even more biting, the temperature several degrees lower than at the hotel.

At this hour, the entire mountain was still shrouded in darkness.

As they got out of the car, the early morning chill hit them hard.Susan shivered, her teeth chattering.

She jumped up and down to keep warm, grabbing Jessica, the mastermind behind the sunrise hike. "Are you crazy? Life's too good, so you want to torture yourself?"

Jessica, pulling her neck deeper into her down jacket, shivered but stubbornly defended herself. "I've never seen a sunrise from a mountaintop. I just wanted to try it."

"Enough. We'll warm up once we start hiking," Wendy said,efficiently unloading their backpacks from the car.

Wendy had dressed warmly for the outing, with a thick down jacket, scarf.

hat, and gloves, wrapping herself up snugly.

She slung her backpack over her shoulders, the thick jacket making her look a bit clumsy.