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Four days had passed since Li Xiye's encounter with the Skinless in her dream. Things had been calm during that time, with no further cases of dream infection. Both Zhou Chen and Li Xiye assumed the Star Association had resolved the issue, so they put it out of their minds and headed to the suburbs for a picnic and some camping.

Camping was Li Xiye's idea. She said that summer vacation was for going out and having fun, and that staying cooped up at home all the time would be suffocating and bad for one's physical and mental health.

Zhou Chen had been holed up at home recently, crafting Artifacts in preparation for the upcoming "main quest." Now that the Artifacts were all finished, he really did need to get out and relax his mind, balancing work with rest.

Li Xiye chose the camping spot: a small hill not far from the city center. The scenery was beautiful, and from the summit, they could take in a view of more than half of the vibrant, neon-lit city.

The fire in the barbecue grill burned brightly, smoke curling lazily into the air. The meat SIZZLED, and hot oil slowly dripped down its plump texture, refracting the light with a mesmerizing glint.

"Is it ready yet?" Li Xiye, sitting off to the side, swallowed hard. She stared eagerly at the tempting barbecue as her stomach let out a loud RUMBLE. She was already starving.

Zhou Chen handed her a skewer of grilled pork belly slathered in barbecue sauce. "Here. Have a taste."

Li Xiye took it, blew on it a few times, and eagerly took a bite. The high-quality pork belly was neither greasy nor gamey, its meat succulent and fresh. Kissed by the charcoal flame, it had been grilled to a golden-brown, glistening sheen that was incredibly appetizing. The salt-and-pepper barbecue sauce enhanced its flavor, making it tender, crispy, savory, and sweet... The moment it entered her mouth, her taste buds seemed to explode, bringing with them a wave of pure bliss.

"Mmm..." A contented sigh escaped Li Xiye as she chewed the delicious meat, her face a picture of pure enjoyment.

"Delicious!"

"The sauce is my own special recipe. It took a lot of tries to get it right. I'll write it down for you later," Zhou Chen said with a smile. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"I'm too lazy to make it. Isn't it better if you just make it for me?" Li Xiye grabbed another skewer and tore into it, her lips glistening with oil.

Zhou Chen fell silent for a moment. Not wanting to spoil the wonderful, happy atmosphere, he just smiled and continued, "Don't rush. There's plenty more, enough to fill you up."

"Ooh... Then grill two more chicken wings!" Li Xiye cheered, placing her order.

The moonlight was soft and elegant, flowing like water over the green grass. In the distance, the neon city glowed brilliantly, while the lonely campfire in the suburban night looked like a Star far from the Milky Way.

The two of them ate their barbecue, talking and laughing, savoring the peace and tranquility far from the clamor of the world and finding a sense of inner calm.

'How Li Xiye wished this moment could last forever. She loved this kind of atmosphere, and she loved the person sharing it with her even more... and his barbecue skewers.'

Time flew by as they chatted and ate. By the time they had finished all the food they brought, they realized it was already two in the morning.

Hong City was still brilliantly lit, like a Giant that never slept, everything within it flowing endlessly.

The two of them lay on the grass, counting the stars. The air quality out in the wild was excellent, free of pollution, allowing for a relatively brilliant view of the starry sky.

Li Xiye pillowed her head on her hands and gazed at the starry sky. "Zhou Chen," she said suddenly, "do you know what my Dream is?"

"I don't."

"It was a Dream Sister Lan and I have had since we were little. Now that Sister Lan has married and moved far away to America, it's become my Dream. I have to fulfill her part of it, too."

Li Xiye reached out her hand as if trying to catch the stars. "I want to build the biggest, most beautiful Garden in the World, and plant all the pretty flowers into a sea of blossoms.

Have you ever seen pink tulips? They're especially beautiful. If you plant them into a sea of flowers, when the wind blows and the tulips sway, it becomes like a pink ocean with rolling waves. Gold and deep blue ones would probably look really good too... and roses... and peonies..."

Zhou Chen listened quietly until she finished, then said softly, "Do you want to hear a spoiler?"

"Huh?" Li Xiye faltered. "What do you mean?"

"Just what I said. A spoiler about your Dream," Zhou Chen said, turning his head to look at her.

A conflicted look crossed Li Xiye's face. She felt the same way as Lin Yun—that knowing your own future beforehand would be really boring.

"I don't really want to hear a spoiler, but... but now that you've mentioned it, you've piqued my curiosity... S-so, how about you just tell me something a little... unimportant."

"You planted a sea of tulips. It's beautiful," Zhou Chen said with a small smile.

"Really?" Li Xiye's joy was written all over her face. Creating the most beautiful Garden in the World did seem a bit unrealistic, so she felt that even just planting a sea of flowers would be enough to consider her Dream fulfilled.

"How beautiful is it? What variety is it? How big is it?" she asked in a hurry.

"Very, very beautiful. It's one of the most popular tourist attractions in the whole World. I don't know the variety, and I'm not sure about the size, either. I only know its shape." Zhou Chen thought for a moment. "Are you obsessive-compulsive or something? The entire Tulip Garden is in the shape of a single tulip."

"Ah? It really turned out that way?" Li Xiye said, surprised, before smiling. "I actually thought about designing it like that. I thought it would be fun."

She paused for a moment, then asked, "What tier am I in the future?"

Zhou Chen didn't answer. This was also something he found very strange.

'Li Xiye is an Ascender now. Even if she stayed at Tier One, it's highly unlikely she would die of old age in sixty years. Besides, with her talent, Advancement to Tier Two is just a matter of time. Barring any illness or disaster, she shouldn't have died of old age sixty years from now.'

'Either she was just spouting nonsense in the letter, or she suffers a serious injury or gets hit with a Curse in the future, causing severe Erosion of her Life Force.'

"I don't know either," Zhou Chen replied honestly, shaking his head. "I didn't even see you. I was thrown back here not long after I arrived in Hong City."