Chapter 720: Unconscious Little Intimacy

Cangshan, belonging to the Hengduan Mountain Range of the Yunling Mountains, which is the southern extension of the Himalayan orogenic belt, is located in the middle of Dali Prefecture, west of Erhai Lake.

Actually, you don't have to go to the scenic area to buy tickets to climb the mountain. If you're really tough and not afraid of death, just walk a few hundred meters behind Yunmiao Village, and that's Cangshan—just climb it. It's just that the scenic area includes various attractions of Cangshan, which have a humanistic atmosphere, rather than just being a mountain.

After breakfast, Wang Yan took Xu Hongdou, who had changed into a Song Dynasty Han Fu and was holding a cotton-padded jacket, and drove to the entrance of the scenic area. They bought tickets for the Ximatan Cableway, got on the cable car, and set off.

This cableway line starts from the Tianlong Babu Film and Television City, passes through the Seven Dragon Girl Pools, and goes directly to the Ximatan sightseeing cableway at the top of Cangshan. You can enjoy the scenery of Cangshan and Dali Ancient City, and then reach the top of Cangshan at an altitude of nearly four thousand meters.

The two of them took the cable car up and then climbed up to the top of the mountain, and it was already noon. It was mainly because Xu Hongdou's physical condition wasn't very good. In addition, they were taking pictures along the way, and seeing Wang Yan looking quite professional with his camera, some people would ask Wang Yan to help them take a few group photos with their phones.

Today was a clear, sunny day with high autumn skies, blue skies, and white clouds. The scenery at the top of the mountain wasn't particularly special, but it looked much better. Breathing the thin air, looking at the wild flowers all over the mountains and plains, the surging sea of clouds all around, accompanied by the cold wind at an altitude of four thousand meters...

"Da Mai was right; I don't feel anything." Panting and puffing, Xu Hongdou, with her face flushed red, clutched her cotton-padded jacket and leaned against the railing, looking like she was about to die, "Oh, no, I do feel something—I feel very tired and want to die."

"Infinite scenery is on the dangerous peak; Hongdou, you have to feel it." Wang Yan put down his camera, opened his arms, faced the sea of clouds, and tilted his head slightly, "Come, learn from me. Deep breath, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Feel the wind blowing across your face, feel your hair flying with the wind; you are now in the sea of clouds..."

After fooling her for a while, seeing Xu Hongdou really standing there with her arms open, Wang Yan started taking pictures all around. After two minutes, he said: "Have you felt enough?"

"It's really good." Xu Hongdou said this out of nowhere.

Wang Yan smiled and replied: "Thinking of your good friend?"

"Chen Nanxing always wanted to come to Dali, wanted to taste the water-shield flower soup, wanted to see the Erhai Lake and Cangshan..." Xu Hongdou closed her eyes and tilted her head to look at Wang Yan, who was leaning against the railing with his arms crossed.

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "It seems it's not that you don't feel anything."

Xu Hongdou walked over, placed her hands on the railing, and looked at the mountain peaks piercing the top of the clouds in the distance: "She used to say she wanted me to accompany her to see this place, but I was always working, working, working, always dragging it on and on. Until she left, we never came. In the past..."

With things weighing on her heart, there must be an outlet. Today, standing on the top of Cangshan, looking up at the sky and down at the sea of clouds, feeling the infinity of heaven and earth, and feeling even more the insignificance of life, it was hard not to feel open-minded for a moment. Xu Hongdou chose to talk about those things with Chen Nanxing.

Obviously, after several days of being together from morning till night, trust had already been established.

Listening to her chatter for a long time, Wang Yan stretched out his warm hand, covered her face, and wiped away the tears flowing from her eyes with his thumb: "Look at you, you were always full of worries before. Don't you feel much better after saying it out loud? Birth, aging, sickness, and death are common human emotions. I won't waste my breath persuading you about this kind of thing. Time won't make the scars disappear, but it will soothe the wounds. On this point, I still have quite a bit of experience. Now you're acting like you want to die, feeling incredibly sad, but after a while, I guarantee you'll be carefree and laughing again. After all, life has to go on."

Xu Hongdou said: "Your parents..."

"Right, they died in a car accident when I was in college. There were no relatives at home, so wasn't I left all by myself? Otherwise, how do you think I could have run around outside for so many years?"

Wang Yan silently kowtowed to his biological parents. He was already used to this kind of thing. It was just that after so many years, his biological parents had accompanied him through various identities in numerous film and television worlds...

After wiping Xu Hongdou's tears and pinching her face by the way, he said, "You don't look good when you cry. Let's go, let's stroll around everywhere, and you can also relieve your mood. At this altitude of four thousand meters, we must properly feel what it's like to 'look down on all the mountains'."

Xu Hongdou symbolically slapped Wang Yan and said: "Nonsense, we're already in the clouds, and we can't see other mountains."

She was naturally blushing a bit, but because she was already frozen red, it looked like there was no change. But the ripples in her heart, the shyness belonging to a woman, she herself felt them for real.

"Hey, this is the greatness of us being human; you use your brain to imagine. As we walk, it's quite cold on the mountain. Let's take a look around, take two pictures, and then we'll go down."

Wang Yan supported her shoulders, turned her around, and walked forward.

Having said what was weighing on her heart, Xu Hongdou was visibly much more cheerful. After walking for a while, she took off her cotton-padded jacket, shivered in her Han Fu, and took a few beautiful photos. She also used her phone to take a small video at the top of the mountain and sent it to her family group for them to see.

In fact, Xu Hongdou had been taking all kinds of pictures these past few days, and she had to take a video for her family wherever she went. Basically, Wang Yan appeared in every one of them. And this time, because she had spoken her heart, subconsciously, Xu Hongdou got closer to Wang Yan and looked much more intimate...

After freezing at the top of the mountain, the two of them strolled down the mountain. They didn't return the way they came but walked to another Gantong line halfway, where there were many attractions. In the middle, they also ate the bread and milk that Wang Yan had carried up to replenish their energy.

Just playing like this all the way, it was already dark when they reached the bottom of the mountain. This time, Xu Hongdou's legs were really slimmed down, and they were shaking slightly even when she stood.

The two found a mushroom rice noodle shop. Xu Hongdou was exhausted physically and mentally and had no appetite to eat much, but it was indeed because of the fatigue, so although she had no appetite, she ate more than her usual dinner.

After a full meal, Xu Hongdou had no more heart to stroll around, so she just slumped in the passenger seat, half-lying, squinting her eyes, letting the wind blow, lazy and not wanting to move at all.

After dragging their feet back to the courtyard, before they even reached the courtyard, they smelled a meaty fragrance. Entering, they saw Ma Qiushan, Nana, and Da Mai, three people, each sitting on a small stool, grilling meat in the courtyard.

"The two of you are back. Want to eat some more?" Ma Qiushan greeted them enthusiastically.

"I can't eat anymore; you guys eat. Thanks, Ma Ye." Xu Hongdou waved her hand and looked at Da Mai, who was flipping the meat on the grill, "Da Mai, you were so right; I don't feel anything, I'm just tired to death. I can't do it anymore; I'll go tidy up first and will talk to you guys in a while."

After speaking, she slowly walked upstairs and returned to her room.

Seeing Xu Hongdou retreat, Ma Qiushan looked at Wang Yan: "Wang Laoshi?"

"Sure, I'll keep you company for a drink. After walking for a day, drinking some wine is good, and it'll be easy to sleep at night. Wait a moment; I'll go change my clothes. Then I'll take out the ham, beef, and everything, and we'll eat it all."

"Hey, that's great. To tell you the truth, I'm drooling just looking at it." Ma Qiushan laughed out loud, waved his hand, and stood up, "You go change your clothes; I'll take everything out and fry it first."

Wang Yan tidied up quickly. In a few minutes, he took his computer down and put it on the dining table in the kitchen, then used the water hose for watering flowers in the courtyard to wash his face, hands, and feet. After wiping his hands, he sat on the small stool in the courtyard.

"Did you eat all the mushrooms I left for you this morning?"

When Nana got up in the morning, they hadn't finished their breakfast, so they ate together, and she had already given it a very high evaluation. This question was for Ma Qiushan.

Ma Qiushan opened a beer and handed it over: "Ate them. I ate half, and left half for Old Hu. He was even more ruthless; he mixed the remaining vegetable soup with noodles. I really didn't expect that you practice martial arts, do photography, and yet your cooking is so delicious. It's really enviable and jealous. Let me tell you, Wang Laoshi, if I were a girl, I would definitely marry you."

Nana chimed in: "Forget it, Ma Ye, even if you were a woman, it wouldn't be your turn."

"That's true, isn't there Hongdou?" Ma Qiushan sighed, leaned closer, and asked in a low voice, "How is your progress with Hongdou?"

Wang Yan shook his head with a laugh: "There's not even a stroke of the character yet. We've only known each other for a few days; we're just traveling together. What progress could there be? Eat meat quickly; this ham is ready. President Xie really spent money; the quality of this ham is quite good, it can be counted as first-class, and it's not cheap. Eat more, try to finish it."

Just at this moment, the dazed Da Mai suddenly laughed. She looked up at the three pairs of puzzled eyes, waved her hand embarrassedly: "Sorry, just suddenly thought of something interesting, couldn't help laughing out loud."

Nana asked: "What interesting thing? Say it out so everyone can be happy together."

"It's nothing, just now Ma Ye said if he were a woman, he would marry Wang Laoshi. Then I thought, if Ma Ye really became a woman, what would he look like? The more I thought about it, the funnier it was, and then I laughed out loud."

As soon as Da Mai finished speaking, Nana looked at the somewhat dazed Ma Qiushan, imagined it in her mind, and laughed out loud. Even Wang Yan cooperated by pulling up the corners of his mouth and laughing out loud, and even slapped Ma Qiushan on the shoulder. With this slap, Ma Qiushan himself laughed too. Although it was a joke about him, he knew what he looked like.

"Sorry, Ma Ye." Da Mai apologized sincerely, "I didn't mean to, but I really couldn't help it."

Ma Qiushan laughed out loud and waved his hand: "What's the matter with that? I wanted to laugh too, let alone you. Eat meat, eat meat, Da Mai, eat more; you consume a lot by using your brain."

Da Mai said "Oh" and ate by herself.

Nana said: "Wang Laoshi, I saw the video Hu Youyu released; you did a really good job for him. Especially the 'die-lou-gen' at the end, it's especially interesting."

"You're talking about this? I just remembered, I don't know how the video effect is." While talking, Wang Yan took out his phone, opened Douyin, and glanced at Hu Youyu's homepage.

The video released yesterday had 484 likes and more than 20 comments. Hu Youyu replied to every one of them very cherishably.

Wang Yan nodded: "The effect is okay."

Da Mai asked curiously: "Wang Laoshi, do you think Hu Laoshi can go viral?"

"Who can say for sure." Wang Yan shook his head and laughed, "Just take mine—I didn't expect that catching a thief on the street would make me go viral. But there are so many people doing some behaviors that normal people think are brain-damaged, and they pay so much, yet they can't go viral. So, it's hard to say. However, Hu Laoshi is handsome and his singing skills are up to standard. Even if he can't go viral, it's no problem to be lukewarm. Relying on livestreaming income, he can also support himself."

Ma Qiushan sighed: "This is fate."

After saying that, he picked up the beer and drank.

"Why is Ma Ye drinking alone? Wang Laoshi, come, let's have one together." Nana greeted Wang Yan, and the two clinked glasses and drank a cup of wine.

Wang Yan asked: "Ma Ye, were you like this before? Meditating and cultivating your character during the day, grilling meat and drinking beer at night, and having a late-night snack in the middle of the night?"

"How could that be? It's since you and Hongdou came over that this courtyard suddenly became lively. Da Mai doesn't lock herself in her room all day either. I've been watching these two days—right here in this courtyard, or over there on the sofa, she's become lively. Once it's lively, eating is fragrant, and I think about drinking some wine."

Nana nodded: "Ma Ye is right. After you two came, the courtyard is really different; everyone is happy every night. Also, I don't know what you said to Da Mai, but look, Da Mai is much more spirited now."

Da Mai said embarrassedly: "Actually, Wang Laoshi didn't say anything, just about the same as what you said before. However, Wang Laoshi said one sentence that was particularly good: writing a novel is both a hobby and a profession. But you can't ruin your health and destroy your life because of writing a novel. So, I gritted my teeth and adjusted it all at once. After that, I found that writing during the day is particularly good. Although it's still very hard to write, I feel that time has stretched out a lot and become very calm. Writing for these two days, I actually saved a chapter."

"You have a backlog? Then do you want to go out and play together?" Nana issued an invitation for the first time.

"No, I have to save a few more chapters; otherwise, it would be terrible if I got stuck and couldn't write one day." Da Mai shook her head decisively. Hearing the sound of the door closing, she looked upstairs, saw Xu Hongdou walking down with difficulty and sitting beside Wang Yan, and asked, "I went to Cangshan with Nana that day, and when I came back, I was just like you, feeling hopeless."

Xu Hongdou let out a long breath: "My legs are soft now; they shake slightly even when I just leave them there. I guess tomorrow will definitely be painful again, the kind where it hurts everywhere. After this one time, I never want to go a second time."

Da Mai turned to look at Wang Yan, who was drinking and eating meat, and sighed: "Wang Laoshi is still the most amazing; his body is really good. You walked together, and he carried a big backpack, but now he's like nothing happened."

Wang Yan laughed: "After so many years, most of the time I'm all by myself, with no one to love or care for me. If I had a headache or fever, or had an accident, wouldn't I just have to wait to die? So, a good body is a basic quality that must be possessed."

Women's overflowing love is terrifying. Listening to Wang Yan talking about having no one to love or care for him, and looking at Wang Yan's dashing smile, Xu Hongdou's mood wasn't very good. She was thinking about how bitter Wang Yan's life must have been all these years...

Is Wang Yan bitter? Of course he is bitter. Because he has fully tasted the sequelae of immortality and traveling through worlds. But he is not bitter at all, because he has really seen all the spring colors of the human world.

What's bitter in this courtyard is Ma Qiushan. This kid experienced the ups and downs of life and ran here to heal and recuperate. Hu Youyu has known him for a long time, and the two are brothers in adversity, both without goals and unable to see the direction. But Hu Youyu is now engaged in short videos, studying livestreaming, and it's clear he has energy.

At the same time, he himself has a bigger problem, which is his age. He is already forty, and his parents are already over sixty. Yet he is still childless, and he has achieved nothing in his career.

Originally, he was here to heal and recuperate, but as a result, the people in the courtyard were more spirited than the next, making him feel out of place.

So Ma Qiushan was not only drunk yesterday, but also drunk today.

Wang Yan was listening to the three women chatting while laughing and eating meat and drinking wine. Ma Qiushan was roughly the same, except he ate less meat and drank more wine. He kept inviting Wang Yan to drink, so how could he not drink more?

He didn't even hold on until Hu Youyu came back before he was sent back to his room by Wang Yan.

Xu Hongdou said: "Why do I feel like Ma Ye has something on his mind?"

"I say he has something on his mind too." Nana nodded in agreement, "I've known him for a longer time; he was never like this before. He rarely drank, let alone got drunk."

"I remember he drank quite a lot yesterday. Did he think of his ex-girlfriend after watching that wedding video? After all, he's already forty." Da Mai said the same thing as Hu Youyu, both believing it was an emotional issue.

Wang Yan waved his hand with a laugh: "It's just that he's getting old, and he feels a bit powerless. It's just this period; he'll be fine in two days. Are you guys still eating? If not, I'll clear it up?"

"Not eating anymore; this meal has been eaten from six o'clock to nine o'clock, and I'm already full." Nana touched her little belly and sighed, "I was originally talking about losing weight, but the amount I've eaten these past few nights is equal to half a month of my hard work. Come, Da Mai, lend a hand; there are many of us, so we'll finish cleaning up early and rest early."

Everyone worked together and quickly cleaned up the kitchen waste. Nana was busy making fruit tea to relieve greasiness and aid digestion.

The four of them sat on the sofa. Wang Yan and Xu Hongdou were together, fiddling with the computer to post-process photos, while Da Mai opposite was also fiddling with her computer, saying she was organizing the outline and conceiving the detailed outline, while Nana was messing with her phone. The four of them stayed together, very harmoniously.

Looking at Xu Hongdou, who was naturally supporting Wang Yan's shoulder with her hand, looking at the photo retouching together, and giving instructions from time to time, Nana smiled and asked: "Where are you guys going to play tomorrow?"

As soon as going out to play was mentioned, Xu Hongdou jumped: "Rest for a day tomorrow; today took half my life, so I have to rest. How about you, Wang Laoshi? What do you plan to do?"

The title Xie Zhiyao called him first had now been accepted by everyone, and they all called Wang Yan 'Wang Laoshi.'

Wang Yan didn't hesitate either, and without turning his head, said very naturally: "Then I'll rest too, and accompany you to rest for a day. Exactly, we've taken so many photos these past two days, so I'll properly retouch them. My Weibo hasn't been updated for several days, so I'll update one issue. Oh, right, since we're not going out, I'll make a table of dishes tomorrow night. Nana, come back to eat."

"What? A gathering tomorrow?" Following the sound of the voice, Hu Youyu jumped in, looking very happy.

Wang Yan turned his head to look: "Hu Laoshi is back. You got off work too late; I'll make more, and leave a portion for you to heat up and eat yourself when you come back."

"Then thank you, Wang Laoshi. Hey, don't say, Hongdou and Wang Laoshi look really compatible when they're together." Noticing the slight intimacy between the two, Hu Youyu decided to speak up to help. Between men and women, they actually can't stand joking; they become real after joking, which he understood very well.

Xu Hongdou was stunned for a moment, reacted, and patted Wang Yan: "Hu Laoshi says we look compatible."

Wang Yan laughed: "Thanks, Hu Laoshi. When we become a couple, we'll definitely invite you to drink wedding wine."

"Hey, that's a must. Even if you don't invite anyone else, you have to invite me."

"But the gift money can't be a cent less."

"Oh my, you say one sentence, he says another; the more you talk, the less reliable it gets." Xu Hongdou felt her face was a bit hot. Looking at Nana opposite who was scratching her arm, a flash of inspiration came to her, and she changed the subject, "Nana, were you bitten by a mosquito?"

"Mm, two bites."

"Hey, I just reacted—Wang Laoshi, is that sachet of yours really that useful?" Xu Hongdou looked at Wang Yan in surprise.

Wang Yan raised his eyebrows slightly smugly: "Of course, could I lie to you?"

"Really, if it weren't for Nana being bitten, I wouldn't have felt anything."

Everyone was a bit confused. Da Mai asked: "What are you guys talking about? Why didn't I understand?"

Xu Hongdou explained: "When we first came, he said that since this place is near the foot of the mountain and there are many flowers, plants, and trees, there must be many mosquitoes and insects. So he gave me a sachet, saying it was a secret recipe he learned from someone else. I hung it on the head of the bed, and as a result, I really haven't been bitten by mosquitoes these two days, and there are no small bugs in the room. I also sleep very peacefully. I don't know if it's because I'm tired or because of the sachet."

Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "It does have some calming and soothing effects, but it definitely isn't that strong."

He looked at the others. The eyes of Da Mai, Nana, and Hu Youyu were writing two words: 'want.' Mainly, they didn't know the value of the sachet, so they were a bit embarrassed to speak.

"Wait, I have five more; I'll get them for you guys right now." He stood up and waved his hand, interrupting what they were about to say, "They're just some cheap Chinese herbal medicines that I prepared myself; they don't cost much, so don't be polite."

Several people asked Hongdou, exchanging their usage experiences. Before long, Wang Yan came back with the sachets and gave one to each of them, and gave two to Hu Youyu: "Give one to Ma Ye, and you can help put it in his room by the way. Put the extra one in the kitchen; we spend a lot of time there, so it'll be quiet too. If Hongdou hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. Auntie Agui cleans it once every day, and it's clean and tidy, and she sprays medicine regularly, so there's no room for them to be useful."

"Really beautiful." Da Mai lifted the red rope knot and asked, "Wang Laoshi, did you sew the outside yourself?"

"I can, but I don't have that leisure time. I bought it in Enshi before and emptied the contents to fill it. You can carry it with you, but it evaporates quickly in the wind and sun, so it's not as long-lasting as in the room. It can normally be used for more than two months; if you carry it with you, it won't last a month."

"It's very good to put it in the room. Thank you, Wang Laoshi." Nana played with the sachet and gave a thumbs up, "You really have many skills that are never a burden."

"It's just that I've traveled far, seen many people, and learned more."

Wang Yan waved his hand and looked at Hu Youyu, who had already thanked him and was eating at the dining table while happily swiping his phone, "Hu Laoshi, you look quite happy. How is the video data?"

"It's okay. It has over ten thousand views, now over five hundred likes, and dozens of people following the video. Oh, right, I livestreamed again tonight. The livestream effect was better than yesterday; people who watched the video came to watch. At the highest point, there were more than a hundred people online at the same time, and later it dropped to more than forty, but I was still very happy, and I had energy when singing."

"Then keep it up. Do you know how to edit videos? Do you need me to teach you again?"

"I'll ask you if I don't know."

With proper business and goals, Hu Youyu wasn't so talkative anymore and stayed relatively quiet.

Naturally, the others didn't have so much to say either. Mainly, after a few days of contact, they had understood everything they should understand, the freshness had been lost, and they returned to plainness, but their relationship was developing further.

For a while, everyone did their own thing, only occasionally exchanging a few sentences, laughing for a while, without the liveliness of the previous two days, which was actually very natural... ===== CHAPTER 721 =====