Li Ai bit her lower lip. "I'll go do a mission tomorrow and return it to you as soon as possible! Thank you, Miss Qin."
Qin He looked at Li Ai and sighed inwardly.
Ever since she learned that Li Ai was Zhang Caiyu's cousin, she had asked Mo to investigate.
The relationship between Zhang Caiyu and Li Ai didn't require a deep investigation. Mo had sent over all their information in just five minutes.
Simply put, Li Ai came from a poor family, and it was Zhang Caiyu who introduced her to the world of perfumery.
Therefore, Li Ai had always been controlled by Zhang Caiyu. Before the competition, she had also worked as an assistant for Zhang Caiyu's brand.
Qin He had smelled the perfumes Li Ai created before. She believed Li Ai was a very talented and imaginative person.
But her timid demeanor clearly showed the result of Zhang Caiyu's long-term exploitation and emotional manipulation.
Watching Li Ai's retreating back, Qin He rubbed her temples.
If Li Ai had the slightest desire to resist, she could offer her help.
But if she didn't even have the courage to resist, Qin He could only turn a blind eye.
As it was nearing lunchtime, Qin He stood up, intending to go to the exchange point to get some ingredients to cook.
Putting her phone in her pocket, Qin He thought she might as well deliver the finished perfume to the organizing committee.
However, as she reached her table, her brow furrowed. She had placed the incense burner on top of a recipe list earlier.
But now, only the incense burner remained; the recipe list was gone.
Qin He pursed her lips. No one had come into her room these past two days, except for Li Ai just now.
Recalling, Li Ai had indeed been standing by the table while they were talking.
Qin He thought for a moment but ultimately said nothing.
With the incense burner still on the table, Qin He left for the exchange point, got some ingredients, and made herself a meal.
Today was the deadline for submitting works, so there weren't many people out in the villa. When Qin He finished eating, others gradually started coming out with their freshly made perfumes. They greeted Qin He when they saw her in the living room.
"Miss Qin."
Qin He smiled. "Finished?"
"Yes, these three days have been killing me!"
The woman said with a wry smile, "I don't know if I'll be able to advance."
After a brief chat, the woman left.
Qin He remembered the deadline was 3:30 PM.
She procrastinated until 3 o'clock before returning to her room, taking the incense burner, and heading out of the villa towards the organizing committee.
Just as she was nearing the entrance of the organizing committee, Qin He ran into Zhang Caiyu and Fang Ruonan, who were emerging from the building.
Fang Ruonan was filled with disgust towards Qin He now. Seeing her, she glared fiercely before turning and walking away in another direction.
Qin He paid no mind, carrying the incense burner as she walked inside.
As Zhang Caiyu passed by, she glanced at Qin He's incense burner and smirked, "Miss Qin has spent three days on this; you must be confident about advancing, right?"
The mocking tone made Qin He frown slightly.
She couldn't be bothered with Zhang Caiyu. After submitting the incense burner to the organizing committee, she immediately returned to the villa.
These past three days had felt like an eternity. Now that their works were submitted, the tense feeling had subsided.
Most people were gathered in the living room. As Qin He entered, she heard everyone discussing.
"I've done my best with what I could achieve in three days."
"Yeah, even if I'm eliminated this time, I won't have any regrets."
"Don't think like that. You might not be eliminated. What do you say, Li Ai?" A woman chatted and turned to Li Ai with a smile, asking.
Li Ai was sitting on a single sofa, still with that timid and shy demeanor.
Her voice lacked confidence. "Yes, you are all very outstanding; you definitely won't be eliminated."
As Li Ai spoke, she looked up and saw Qin He entering. Her hands, which were resting on her knees, suddenly clasped together.
Qin He glanced at Li Ai's somewhat pale and sallow face but said nothing.
"Miss Qin is back too. You must have gone to submit your work, right?" someone asked enthusiastically.
"Yes," Qin He replied with a smile. Seeing the good atmosphere, she didn't leave immediately but sat on a nearby sofa.
After chatting for a while, someone suggested, "These three days have been really tough. Why don't we have a gathering tonight? I've earned some money from doing missions recently. We can go Dutch and organize a dinner party ourselves."
This suggestion was quickly met with agreement.
"Miss Qin, you should join us too."
"Yes, it was thanks to you sharing your gold coins that we were able to get through those days and learn to do these missions."
Seeing the sincere expressions on their faces and their expectant gazes, Qin He smiled and nodded.
"Alright, then there's no need to go Dutch. I happened to exchange a lot of gold coins yesterday, so I'll be responsible for exchanging ingredients."
"I'll be in charge of cooking then."
A young man in the crowd raised his hand and laughed, "To be honest, before I became a perfumer, my dream was to be a chef."
He then touched his nose, and the living room immediately erupted in laughter.
Qin He also chuckled, "Okay, then please wait for me. I'll go back to my room to change my clothes first. After I'm cleaned up, I'll go exchange for ingredients. I'll need two people to come with me then, as I'm afraid I can't carry it all myself."
Two people volunteered, and Qin He nodded.
As she prepared to go upstairs, she glanced at Li Ai.
Normally, Li Ai would be the first to greet her, but today Li Ai kept avoiding her gaze.
Qin He's heart sank slightly, but no matter what, she didn't believe Li Ai was that kind of person.
Qin He went back to her room to wash up and then organized her luggage.
By the time she finished, it was already five o'clock. Qin He went downstairs.
The two girls who had promised to accompany her to exchange ingredients were already waiting downstairs. The three of them chatted as they left the villa and walked towards the exchange point.
"Li Ai was so strange today. Her state seemed really off," one of the girls mentioned in passing.
The other nodded. "I thought so too. This afternoon, when I passed by Li Ai's room on the second floor, I heard her crying inside by herself."
"What was she crying about?"
"Who knows? Maybe she's too stressed about the competition and afraid of being eliminated. Sigh, the tense atmosphere of this competition is driving people mad."
As the two women chatted, Qin He followed about a step behind them.
Listening to their words, her brow furrowed slightly.
After exchanging for the ingredients, the three returned to the villa. The man who had volunteered to be the head chef was already at the workstation, skewerings some leftover vegetables.
Qin He brought over the ingredients. "Need any help?"
"Ah, Miss Qin, no need. Zhang Qian, could you come help me scrape the scales off this fish?"
A woman in the crowd immediately frowned. "Li Zishuo, you're playing favorites."
Although she said that, the atmosphere remained cheerful.
Qin He glanced around the living room. Li Ai was no longer in the living room, and Zhang Caiyu and Fang Ruonan hadn't come down.
Fang Ruonan had become an outcast of Villa Number Four. As for Zhang Caiyu, she probably wanted to curry favor with the Fang family and was willing to stay on the second floor with Fang Ruonan.