For a moment, the group chat went dead silent. "Holy crap, you guys are out fishing?! Ugh, I wanna go too!" "I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous at all!" Someone seized the opportunity to ask, "Is your company hiring?! Need a referral!!!" The stark contrast of the past two days made more SummitCore employees feel disheartened. They also started asking for referrals. "Open positions? Please notify me first! I'll owe you big time!" "Other things aside, just one question—is Ms. Gale emotionally stable?" The Stratagem Tech folks replied instantly, "Stable as a rock. Can't even tell who's the boss."Zora, of course, didn't know about the chat. She also didn't plan to participate in the twelve-mile hike. She said to Zane, "I'll drive ahead and wait for you at the destination." Zane frowned. "Zora, you're the company VP. Your actions represent the company. Everyone's watching. You can't skip it." "Zane, you know we're getting engaged soon. What if something happens during the hike and it affects our engagement?" Zora wouldn't listen, determined to drive. Zane's face was stormy, but he could only let her have her way. Zora opened the car door, looking at Ines and Hugo. "Are you two riding with me, or hiking with them?" Ines was torn. Hiking was out of the question; he'd never endured such hardship. But riding meant missing out on the fun. He looked to Hugo. "What do you think?" Hugo, however, was looking at the boats docked by the shore. "I'd like to go fishing." Ines echoed, "That sounds good." Zora snorted coldly, "Fishing, my ass. You just want to see her." With that, she slammed the car door and drove off. Ines scratched his head. "Who is Zora talking about? The girl you like is here too? Wait, I thought only SummitCore and Stratagem Tech were here for team-building." Zane also looked over, his deep eyes fixed on him. Hugo still said nothing, turning toward the shore to ask a boatman about fishing prices. Seeing his cool demeanor, Ines said nothing more and followed him onto a fishing boat. Once he caught his breath, Ines sidled up to Hugo, nudging him with an elbow. "So who is the 'her' Zora mentioned? The girl you like?" Hugo leaned on the boat rail, the salty sea breeze brushing his handsome face."Yes." This time, Hugo didn't stay silent. He admitted it directly. Ines' eyes lit up. He threw an arm around Hugo's shoulders. "So that's why you agreed to come! Mr. Peacock is spreading his tail, huh? Gotta show off in front of her. "What, is there a girl you can't charm? With your looks, personality, family background—you'd just have to crook a finger." Among the three of them, Zane was cold, Ines was frivolous, but Hugo had almost no obvious flaws. His personality was a bit aloof but not cold, always polite and well-mannered. Wasn't that exactly the type girls liked these days? So Ines was genuinely curious. What kind of girl could make Hugo chase this hard? He'd caught Hugo being flirty with her before Christmas, and he still hadn't won her over. Tsk, this girl has some tricks up her sleeve! Almost as good as Darcy back in the day.Pah! Why am I thinking of that woman for no reason?! Hugo looked down, thinking of how Darcy treated him, his lips twisting in a wry smile. "Yeah. Looks, personality, family background—she doesn't care for any of it. I don't know what to do." As he said this, a quiet sadness surfaced in his eyes, surprising even Ines. "Damn, her standards are sky-high. Even you don't measure up? In all of Aethelburg, besides Jethro, who could possibly be better than you?" Jethro... Hugo's eyes darkened. Darcy probably wouldn't like Jethro. After what happened with the Blackwood family before, they'd never accept someone like Darcy. Still, thinking of Jethro's special treatment toward her, he felt a pang of irritation.Soon, the morning fishing trip ended, and the boats returned to the island. Lunch was the freshly caught seafood. Of course, they wouldn't cook it themselves. A restaurant on the island would prepare it for a fee. As Darcy was paying, she saw Hugo and Ines stride over. She was taken aback when Hugo smiled and asked, "Mind if we join? He lifted the bag of seafood in his hand. "I'll cover the preparation fee. More people, more fun." Darcy initially wanted to refuse. After all, this was a company event, not a private outing. But Hugo sighed, his expression disappointed, "If it's not convenient, forget it. I'll just find a small table in the corner. The private rooms are all booked by you anyway."