Meanwhile, on Ning Wei's side, after inhaling the mist, she fell to the ground but felt remarkably clear-headed.
Before her eyes was a thick fog. Parting the mist, she saw a giant pool.
In front of the pool were rows of seats, and the entire line of sight was dim.
The entire space seemed to be occupied only by her, at least for now.
The pool of water was initially very still, but as Ning Wei approached, ripples began to form.
The ripples grew larger and larger, and the sound of bubbling slowly emerged.
A dark head emerged from the water, and the sound of water intensified.
Finally, something leaped out of the water, sending countless splashes flying. Ning Wei instinctively took two steps back.
However, she didn't dare to close her eyes, fearing she would miss a spectacular scene.
With a "splat," Ning Wei saw a mermaid land on the floor.
The floor was too slippery, and the mermaid's landing wasn't graceful. She slid forward a step, her hands scraping the floor with a screeching sound.
The mermaid's upper body resembled that of a twenty-something beauty, while her lower body was a giant fish tail. However, this tail didn't look like it belonged to a sea creature, but rather the plump body of a river fish.
She looked utterly incongruous. Ning Wei frowned and looked at her a couple more times, unable to help but say, "You're a bit ugly."
The mermaid, who had already been watching her warily, let out a piercing shriek upon hearing her words.
The scream went straight into Ning Wei's eardrums, making her head ache.
She covered her ears with her hands, blinked once, and the hallucination completely disappeared.
When she opened her eyes again, she was back in the original room, with Li Ye standing beside her, his face impassive.
"Where are the others?" Ning Wei didn't see anyone else.
Li Ye bent down and helped Ning Wei up. "They went to the mess hall to cook."
"How long did I sleep?"
"Less than an hour."
"So short?" Ning Wei distinctly remembered taking a deep breath, and logically, it should have taken at least two hours. Why did she wake up so quickly? Had the mist expired?
"What did you see?" Li Ye was concerned, as this was the main reason for Ning Wei's unconsciousness.
Ning Wei rubbed her head. The mist was quite potent, and she still felt a bit dizzy.
She recounted everything she had seen to Li Ye, adding her own thoughts.
When Li Ye heard Ning Wei's intention to look for the pool in the illusion, he wasn't surprised.
"When do you plan to look?"
"Anytime, like now." Ning Wei was eager, wanting to see if the ocean park really had that strange mermaid.
"I'll go with you."
Ning Wei happily got up from the mattress and started to act spoiled towards Li Ye, "I knew you were the best."
Li Ye supported her with one hand; she had just woken up and couldn't stand steadily yet.
Li Ye was accustomed to Ning Wei's flattery and was completely immune to it.
"Rest for a while first. We'll go out after they come back." Li Ye was considerate, worried they might be anxious if they returned and couldn't find her.
Ning Wei was surprised by his change. The Li Ye of the past wouldn't have considered such details.
Although Li Ye didn't want to admit it, Ning Wei could see his subtle changes.
These changes weren't solely caused by Ning Wei, but more so by their team.
Since they weren't leaving immediately, Ning Wei simply lay down on the mattress and closed her eyes to rest.
Li Ye dragged a stool from somewhere and sat beside her, fiddling with a bead in his hand.
From a distance, they could faintly hear the mess hall being very lively.
"Do you even need to eat?" Li Ye had eaten with everyone during the day, and after so much time had passed, others were hungry. Why was he still playing with beads here?
Li Ye tilted his head and glanced at Ning Wei. It was then that Ning Wei noticed his pupils were black.
Most people's pupils weren't this color. Ning Wei thought she was mistaken and propped herself up to get a closer look.
Li Ye let her examine him, and the distance between them gradually closed.
Just then, a commotion of footsteps could be heard. It was Mei Nan and the others returning after eating.
They walked very quickly, and before Ning Wei could get a clear look, they were already at the door.
"You guys..." Tang Tang, walking at the front, saw Ning Wei and Li Ye so close. Her eyes revealed a knowing look.
Ning Wei didn't mind and sat back down as if nothing had happened. "You took your time eating. I was already awake before you got back."
Tang Tang thought she was being shy and quickly chimed in, "Actually, we could have taken even longer."
"What?" Ning Wei didn't understand her meaning.
Zhu Yulian quickly covered Tang Tang's mouth. "Never mind us. How did you wake up so quickly?"
Ning Wei recounted the mermaid she had seen in the illusion, finally adding, "Maybe I called her ugly, and she got angry and kicked me out."
Song Zhi nodded emphatically. "Highly likely. Next time, don't just call people ugly with your mouth."
Zhu Yulian was displeased. She had seen in Li Zi'ang and Bai Xue's team that men couldn't be given too much leeway, or they would become overbearing.
She didn't want to serve these "male treasures" forever; she wanted to be a powerful woman!
"If she's ugly, you can't say it? Who told her to look ugly and then come out to scare people!" This was the first time Zhu Yulian had sided with Ning Wei.
Although their relationship wasn't hostile before, it was definitely not good.
Song Zhi waved his hands repeatedly, indicating he couldn't afford to offend them.
"So, do you think that mermaid was real or fake?" Tang Tang was more concerned about this. She had never seen a mermaid with a plump lower body.
Ning Wei pinched Tang Tang's cheek. "You've hit the nail on the head. Li Ye and I plan to look for this pool. If there really is a mermaid, we'll drag her back for you to see."
"Can the two of you handle it?" Mei Nan, the teacher, was always worrying.
"Aren't we the most capable ones here?" Ning Wei was very confident in this regard.
Mei Nan felt like he couldn't swallow or spit, his blood pressure rising. These children's mouths were too sharp; he couldn't manage them.
"When are you leaving?" Yuan Yuan asked.
Ning Wei glanced outside and said in a low voice, "When they're not paying attention."
Not wanting to share the information she had painstakingly obtained, Ning Wei decided to hide her tracks.
Since Li Zi'ang's group was full of energy after their meal, this was not a good time to leave.
Tang Tang and the others would occasionally go out for a stroll, all to allow Ning Wei to observe the situation.