"Did we just fake it out for them?" Xiao Li asked excitedly, leaning against the door and slightly out of breath.

Zhu Jinzhao raised an eyebrow, a sly glint in his dark eyes: "In this round of the game, we are competitors with them. Since we are competitors, we must all have ill intentions towards each other. To be on the safe side, we must create a misconception for them, making them mistakenly believe that we went to the fourth floor."

"That way, even if they are found by Fang Lei's group before us and then cause trouble to expose our location, we don't need to be afraid at all."

Shi Jing quickly interjected, "Because the positions they expose will only be wrong."

"Wow..." Xiao Li exclaimed in amazement, completely captivated by Zhu Jinzhao's intellect.

"Jinzhao, you're so clever."

"It's alright," Zhu Jinzhao said with an embarrassed smile.

Shi Jing was charmed by her appearance and couldn't help but reach out and pat her head: "Strategist Chaochao, since you led us to this room, you must have already thought of the perfect hiding place."

Zhu Jinzhao nodded: "I've got it."

Xiao Li: "Where are you?"

Zhu Jinzhao walked to her room, pointed to her bed, and said, "It's over there."

Shi Jing didn't understand her meaning for a moment: "Hidden in the bed?"

"No," Zhu Jinzhao denied, "it was hidden under the bed."

"Huh?" Xiao Li walked into the room and circled Zhu Jinzhao's bed twice, but he couldn't even see a crack under the bed.

"The space under the bed is sealed off, how are we supposed to hide in there?"

"Hmph..." Zhu Jinzhao laughed triumphantly twice, then walked to the foot of the bed, reached out and grabbed the edge of the mattress, gently lifting it up. The entire mattress was lifted up by her with ease.

The space under the mattress, which wasn't very spacious but was enough to hide someone, was then exposed.

"Huh—" Xiao Li gasped in shock, staring wide-eyed at the space under the bed in disbelief.

"Jinzhao, how did you know this mattress could be opened like this?"

Zhu Jinzhao withdrew his hand, and the mattress remained stably supported by the frame.

“I discovered it by chance,” she said truthfully. “On the first night after moving into the villa, I suddenly noticed that the sheet at the foot of the bed had slipped out before I went to sleep. I instinctively tried to lift the mattress to put the sheet back in. But when I lifted it just slightly, the whole mattress was lifted up. That’s when I realized that the beds in the villa were designed this way.”

"The original intention of this design was to make it easier for buyers to change their sheets, but I just realized that using it to hide myself is also a great idea."

Holy crap, Jinzhao's brain is seriously out of this world!

Not only is she incredibly clever, but she's also incredibly lucky. All the mattresses in the villa had this design, yet she was the only one out of the seven guests to discover and utilize it! It's as if even the heavens are on her side!

[Nerf it, I hope it's nerfed so badly today that it'll be unplayable.]

[I'm dying of laughter! Our Chaochao has already discovered a new hiding place, while Su Ying next door is still hiding in the walk-in closet. She's practically a walk-in closet warrior!]

“Yes, absolutely.” After seeing Zhu Jinzhao’s planned hiding place, Shi Jing immediately rejected his own idea.

"As expected of the Grand Strategist of the Dynasty, the ideas he comes up with are truly brilliant."

Zhu Jinzhao proudly raised his chin and immediately began to act: "Hide it, time is running out."

"How are we going to hide them?" Xiao Li was a little confused. "There are only two beds in the room, but there are three of us. How are we going to divide them?"

Zhu Jinzhao had already considered this issue. As soon as Xiao Li finished speaking, she immediately followed up, saying, "It's very simple. You and I will hide under one bed, and Shi Jing will hide under another bed by himself."

"I don't want to!" Shi Jing refused without even thinking for a second. "I don't want to hide under the bed by myself."

"Why?" Zhu Jinzhao couldn't understand him.

"Cough..." He cleared his throat awkwardly, his eyes suddenly darting around. "Because... because I'm afraid of the dark, I don't dare hide under the bed by myself. I need someone to be with me."

"Hmm?" The reason sounded legitimate, but Zhu Jinzhao just couldn't quite believe it.

Are you afraid of the dark?

"Yes!" Shi Jing nodded firmly. "I'm afraid of the dark, I'm really afraid!"

[Pfft... He's not afraid of the dark at all! He just wants to find an opportunity to stick close to Jinzhao.]

【You're afraid of the dark! Time mirror, you're afraid of the dark!】

I am the examinee in "Jing Jin Gan Kao" (Mirror on the road to the imperial examination): [Not Shi Jing, how can you lie to a young girl like this? When you went to play escape room games, you chased the NPCs all over the place, but when you come to Jin Zhao, you suddenly become afraid of the dark? Try pretending again!]

I'm not a hater: [Hmm, at least he's used his brain now, he even knows to act weak in front of the girl he likes.]

I am Jingjin's dog rushing to take the imperial examination: [Huh, why is Shi Jing acting so sassy...]

"How about this, you and Jinzhao hide under one bed, and I'll hide under the other one."

Xiao Li's eyes are sharp; Zhu Jinzhao couldn't see that Shi Jing was feigning madness, but she could see it at a glance. As the saying goes, helping others achieve their goals is a virtue that all onlookers should possess, so in order to fulfill Shi Jing's little wish, she generously and warmly gave up the opportunity to be alone with him.

"Okay, thank you!" Shi Jing didn't stand on ceremony with her and seized the opportunity without hesitation.

"...Alright then." As long as Xiao Li has no objections, Zhu Jinzhao is fine with whatever arrangement is made. "Let's divide it like this then, Xiao Li, which room do you want to hide in?"

"Um..." Xiao Li glanced at Shi Jing, who was frantically winking and making faces at him, and said very sensibly, "I'll hide in your room."

"Then come to my room with me, Chaochao." Shi Jing was very self-aware. As soon as Xiao Li made his choice, he grabbed Zhu Jinchao's wrist and pulled her into his room.

Zhu Jinzhao looked at the bright smile on his face, but suddenly thought of something and immediately stopped in her tracks.

"Shi Jing, didn't you just say that girls can't hide in boys' rooms? Then why is it okay for me?"

Shi Jing lied through his teeth: "Because you are different. You came into my room with my permission and guidance, unlike Ning Shi who secretly hid in by herself."

“…Oh.” Zhu Jinzhao looked completely bewildered, not realizing that her current situation was no different from Ning Shi’s.

"Alright, let's not waste any more time." Shi Jing let go of her hand, quickly walked to the foot of the bed, lifted the mattress, and then carefully lay down in the compartment of the bed.

"Come on, Chaochao, the countdown is almost over."