Chapter 90

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Protagonist:

Lin Xiyu

He howled and sprang a meter away, clutching his lower back, his face full of disbelief: "I fucking give up, why do you girls bring needles when climbing Taishan?"

"Serves you right!"

Li Liang gave him another slash: "The prick was meant for you."

"Sorry, sorry......."

Lin Xiyu was filled with self-reproach: "It's my fault for not stowing it properly, shouldn't have put it in the outer pocket of the backpack."

"Does it hurt a lot, is it bleeding?"

Wang Fan wrinkled his nose and face, taking the chance to sidle over, lifting his shirt to reveal a solid spine: "Study Committee Member, you decide, how about you also stick a Band-Aid on me."

"Aiyo, it really is bleeding."

Wu Meng had sharp eyes, and sure enough found a bleeding spot on his back.

"Give me......"

Li Liang couldn't stand his flirtatious act, snatched the Band-Aid from Lin Xiyu's hand, and pressed it hard onto him.

"Aiyo."

Wang Fan trembled in pain, nearly springing up from the ground.

"Does it hurt?"

Li Liang gave a black-bellied smile: "Want me to rub it for you too?"

"Scram."

Wang Fan gritted his teeth.

"Hahaha......."

Wu Meng hadn't expected Li Liang to have a talent for comedy, her gaze toward him, in this moment, inexplicably found him especially pleasing to the eye.

Li Liang sensed her gaze, and gave her a cool, sidelong glance.

Wu Meng stopped smiling, inexplicably feeling a bit guilty.

She regretted it, she shouldn't have shown such obvious dislike just now, having offended him, it would be hard to curry favor again in the future.

——

After a brief interlude, a new round of ordeal began again.

The girls supported each other, one step, one step, climbing upward with difficulty.

The boys, meanwhile, took the chance to show attentiveness, taking the backpacks of girls they were closer with and carrying them on their own shoulders.

Wu Meng refused Li Liang, refused too obviously, so no boy was willing to come touch a nail (get rejected) again.

She felt wronged inside but couldn't show it, hadn't climbed long before her strength gave out, and tears began spinning in her eye sockets again.

"Mengmeng, give me your bag, I'll carry it for you."

Lin Xiyu really couldn't bear to watch, yanked the backpack off her shoulder.

"No need."

Wu Meng was embarrassed to let her carry it, and as the two tugged back and forth, a sturdy, strong arm cut in horizontally, snatching the backpack away.

"Eh?!"

Lin Xiyu turned her head, by the moonlight made out the newcomer, and was distinctly stunned for a moment.

Li Liang, it was him?!

Wasn't he leading the way up front?

When did he circle back again?

"My bag?"

Wu Meng saw clearly it was Li Liang, her ear roots instantly flushed crimson with embarrassment.

Li Liang didn't wait for her to refuse, flung the backpack onto his shoulder, and with his long legs, taking three steps as two, walked far away.

"It's Li Liang......"

Lin Xiyu sneakily nudged her with an elbow, smiling meaningfully.

"I actually......"

Wu Meng gave an awkward laugh: "Also not that tired, can carry it myself......"

"Is that so? I don't think so."

Lin Xiyu expressed doubt: "Someone willing to serve a beauty and you still don't like it, stop being affected, actually I think Li Liang is cold-faced but warm-hearted, far more reliable than Qu Peng that old nice guy, at least not so many girls surrounding him, making one's heart feel stuffed just looking."

"Qu Peng is the Class Monitor."

Wu Meng subconsciously spoke up for him: "He also has no choice, has to step forward, help them........"

"People in a secret crush, all have dead-set brains......"

Lin Xiyu helplessly propped her forehead: "You just single-mindedly hang yourself dead on this tree that is Class Monitor Qu."

"Hey hey......"

Wu Meng's ear roots reddened further, she raised her head to look at Qu Peng's back figure, a complex, hard-to-read expression flashing across her face.

——

Zhongtian Gate.

Lin Xiyu took advantage of the rare rest, while the girls browsed shops and bought cloth shoes, to pull Guben aside and whisper with him.

"Wu Meng likes Qu Peng. What do you think of them? Is there any chance......."

"No chance. Tell her not to even think about it."

Guben's sword brows furrowed slightly, shaking his head without giving any face.

"Why?"

Lin Xiyu stood up for her best friend: "Wu Meng studies well and is quite pretty too. She's more than a match for Qu Peng."

"She's short. That's a hard flaw."

Guben looked at her puffed-up appearance and found it even more amusing: "What Qu Peng taboos most is being shorter than Wang Fan. He's often mocked by him. He won't find a short girlfriend......."

"What kind of crooked logic is that?"

Lin Xiyu couldn't understand: "He's shorter than Wang Fan, so he can't date a short girl?"

"Think about it......."

Guben smiled meaningfully, pointing out the fact: "Height concerns the parents' genes. He doesn't want to be mocked by Wang Fan for a lifetime. The only chance to turn the tables against the wind is to marry a tall wife, so the next generation crushes him."

"Hey hey."

Lin Xiyu heard 'children' and her ear roots grew hot: "You guys think quite far ahead, huh?

"Absolutely."

Guben leaned down, joking with a smile: "Could it be you've never thought about what kind of child would be born from our two such excellent genes?"

"Boring. Ignoring you."

Lin Xiyu couldn't stand his smooth talk, her ear roots red, she ran off in a puff of smoke.

"Hehe."

Guben loved watching her shy-and-annoyed little look best, letting out a pleased laughter from his throat.

——

The Tourist Service Center didn't disappoint. Sure enough, there was a dedicated counter selling cloth shoes.

The girls who needed them paid out of pocket. Each bought a pair of well-fitting Old Beijing cloth shoes. After changing, they were finally comfortable, no longer grumbling and whining, which made listeners irritated and restless.

"Is everyone here?"

Qu Peng breathed out comfortably, revealing a smile as he counted heads.

"All here."

The girls clustered around him, talking and laughing. The atmosphere was very lively.

"Tch, flirtatious big carrot....."

Wu Meng was short and weak, squeezed to the very edge.

She felt neglected again, her heart sour and very uncomfortable.

"Mengmeng's in a bad mood. Climbing alone, I'm worried......"

Lin Xiyu had just gone over to comfort her when Guben grabbed her arm.

"Don't go."

Guben had his own reasons: "You're always by her side. How would anyone else have a chance to curry favor?"

"Didn't you say those two have no chance?"

Lin Xiyu's delicate brows knitted slightly, glaring at him with some displeasure.

"Qu Peng has no chance, doesn't mean others don't......"

A gloomy light flashed in Guben's eyes. He smiled jokingly.

"Others?"

Lin Xiyu was completely baffled, clearly stunned for a moment.

"Trust me."

Guben, calm and composed, pinched his fingers to calculate: "Her true destined match will appear very soon. At the latest by tomorrow midnight, it'll definitely be efficacious."

Lin Xiyu: "......."

The cold male god actually has the potential of a charlatan?!

This was something she hadn't expected.

——

The Eighteen Bends rush straight into the clouds. Not a heavenly ladder, but surpassing a heavenly ladder.

Ever since stepping onto the first step of the Eighteen Bends, the ascending group gradually quieted down. Everyone mustered their strength to climb upward. No one had the mood for chatting and laughing anymore.

Two arduous hours passed. Around 3 AM, the group, having gone through thousands of difficulties and dangers, finally reached Nantian Gate, arriving at the best spot for watching the sunrise — Yuhuang Peak.

The mountain top's cold wind was piercing, temperature extremely low. Without cotton-padded clothes it was hard to keep warm. Wang Fan paid, renting a military greatcoat for every classmate.

Many people climb Taishan on weekends. The good wind-sheltered spots behind rocks were already snatched up.

Qu Peng circled several times but couldn't find an open space large enough to hold everyone.

"This won't do."

He looked at the girls wrapped in military greatcoats, shivering at the windward opening. He rubbed his brow bone with a headache.

"Back to Nantian Gate."

Guben pondered slightly, then decided: "The wind is smaller on the uphill direction. We can sit down and rest."

Wang Fan grumbled discontentedly: "Hardly got up here, and we have to go down again?"

"Not going down works too."

Qu Peng glared at him with disdain: "As long as you're not afraid of cold, willing to stand at the windward opening for however long, no one's stopping you."

"I'm going down."

Wang Fan feared the cold. He decisively admitted defeat.

"If you're cold, then leave. Don't dawdle here."

Qu Peng shoved him aside impatiently and walked down the steps first.

——

The group returned to Nantian Gate and descended another few dozen meters before feeling the wind lessen somewhat, no longer so piercingly cold.

There were quite a few people resting on the steps, waiting for the sunrise.

As class monitor, Qu Peng had worn out Gu Lao Tai Tai's heart with worry.

He also coaxed Wang Fan into paying out of his own pocket to buy every boy two pieces of bread and ten sausages.

As the saying goes, you eat from someone's hand and your mouth goes soft; you take from someone's hand and your arm goes short.

Motivated by the sausages, the boys actively responded to the call and voluntarily formed a circle to serve as a windbreak for the girls.

Neither Lin Xiyu nor Wu Meng were the competitive type, and they got squeezed by the girls into the very last row. Not long after the two sat down, they suddenly felt the wind behind them die down.

Lin Xiyu had a sudden inspiration, looked back with a smile, and sure enough met Guben's gentle, affectionate gaze.

Wu Meng also turned her head to glance, and her small heart involuntarily trembled three times.

Sitting behind her was Li Liang.

The youth was tall and big, his sturdy, broad, thick spine blocking the howling cold wind for her.

She shifted uncomfortably a few times, craning her neck to search for Qu Peng's figure.

Qu Peng sat in the very front row, his back facing them.

"Sigh."

A faint sigh escaped from the corner of her mouth; she smiled bitterly, tugged at the corner of her mouth, and once more withdrew her gaze in disappointment.

"So sleepy."

Xu Yi leaned against his sister, covering his mouth with his hand as he yawned.

"Sleep then, I'll hold you."

Wang Fan sat behind him, wrapping the little fairy completely in his army greatcoat, only a sleepy little face exposed.

Xu Yi trusted him completely, leaned into his embrace, and comfortably closed his eyes.

"Thanks."

Lin Xiyu's impression of Wang Fan improved slightly; she sincerely thanked him: "Taking such good care of Xiao Yi, you've helped me enormously. Otherwise, on my own, I couldn't even keep up with him — I really would've been driven crazy."

"Kids are energetic, running and jumping all over is perfectly normal......"

Wang Fan curried favor and acted cute, not missing any chance to score points in front of a beauty: "No need to thank me. Just because Xiao Yi likes sticking to me so much, I genuinely like him too, treat him like a younger brother."

"If only he really had a rich brother like you."

Lin Xiyu's brows and eyes held a smile; she was about to follow his lead and praise him a few more times when a hand suddenly flashed before her eyes, cutting horizontally across and severing the line of sight between the two.

"You sleep too. I'll wake you when the sun comes out."

Guben ignored the classmates' astonished gazes, domineeringly pulled her into his embrace, staking his claim.

"Yo......"

A not-insignificant commotion rose around them, mixed with the boys' piercing whistles.

Lin Xiyu's cheeks flushed red instantly; she wanted to struggle free, but he held her too tight. Helpless, she could only play dead, covering her face with her hands.

"Hehe."

A teasing laugh rang out above her head; from that low, soft voice one could tell his mood was extremely pleasant.

——

After climbing the mountain for over 7 hours, everyone was exhausted.

After a brief commotion, the surroundings gradually quieted down; the classmates leaned against each other and closed their eyes.

Two hours passed in a flash; at 5 AM, the crowd grew noisy again. Those wanting to seize advantageous spots to watch the sunrise squeezed toward Yuhuang Peak while the sky was still dark.

"Wake up, wake up, the sun's coming out, nobody sleep anymore."

Qu Peng bellowed at the top of his lungs, startling everyone awake from their dreams.

"Ah!"

Someone else's voice was even louder than his.

Wu Meng opened her eyes and discovered she was drooling on someone else's thigh; terrified beyond measure, she sprang up from the ground.

"What's going on?"

"What are you screaming for so early in the morning?"

Unsurprisingly, the whole class was drawn by the sudden shout; pairs of little eyes flickering with the fire of gossip swept over like searchlights.

Lin Xiyu was quick-eyed and quick-handed; before anyone noticed anything amiss, she forcefully grabbed Wu Meng's arm and made her sit back down.

"I I I......"

Wu Meng's cheeks exploded red; she was so ashamed she wanted the ground to swallow her: "I fell asleep, don't know when I leaned on him, so embarrassing......."

"It's fine, it's just leaning a bit."

Lin Xiyu smiled reassuringly: "He's a boy, he's not losing out."

"But......"

Wu Meng thought of when she opened her eyes and saw a large wet patch on Li Liang's leg; she wailed once, covering her face in anguish.

"No buts, your classmates are all watching you......"

Lin Xiyu earnestly persuaded: "You don't want people to figure out what happened, right? Pull yourself together. If you're not embarrassed, the embarrassed ones are everyone else."

"Th-this, can this work?"

Wu Meng's face was thin; she peeked through her fingers, saw her classmates really were all staring at her in astonishment, and hurriedly closed her fingers again in fright.

"Listen to me, it'll work..."

Lin Xiyu gave her a heavy dose of medicine: "Look at Li Liang, how calm he is, like someone with nothing going on. If you keep caring this much, it'll only make people suspicious, thinking you have ulterior motives, using this as an excuse to attract boys' attention......."

"I didn't, I'm not......"

Wu Meng stared dumbfounded, hurriedly explaining.

"Shh."

Lin Xiyu achieved her purpose, finger placed at her lips, jokingly blinking: "Some words are better kept in your heart, no need to rush to say them out."

"Alright, everyone stop watching the excitement."

Qu Peng howled again, pulling the classmates' attention back to himself: "We should go, if we don't leave now all the good spots will be taken."

"Let's go let's go, going to watch the sunrise."

The boys very cooperatively chimed in unison.

"Follow the Class Monitor."

"Class Monitor wait for us."

The girls unwilling to fall behind, also lost interest in watching the show, rising with a clatter, scrambling to crowd around him.

Wu Meng saw Qu Peng pass by her side, not a trace of concern in him, a hint of desolation flashing in her eyes.

After this matter, she also thoroughly gave up hope, no longer having any illusions.