Night Hiking

By the time Ma Li and the others arrived panting, the area in front of the ticket booth had already turned into a snack-sharing party.

The air was filled with the mixed sweet and savory scents of various snacks.

There were QQ gummies, Choco Cups, and freshly opened bags of potato chips crunching away.

Lin Mo was the most relaxed, finding a corner to leisurely crack sunflower seeds. He was even particular enough to collect all the shells in his pants pocket, not leaving a single piece of trash behind.

"Hey! Holy crap, I was almost late!" Lin Jiajun leaned on his knees, gasping for breath.

Ma Li followed closely behind, scratching the back of his head apologetically. "I'm really sorry. We took a cab over, but got completely stuck in traffic halfway here."

"Same here. On my way over, I saw a pile-up of several cars on the side of the road."

Hearing that there was a car accident, everyone understood.

"Are you guys alright?" Fang Jun glanced at them to confirm they had just been running hard and weren't hurt.

Ma Li straightened up and slapped his chest twice, his voice booming. "It was just a traffic jam, not like we got hit. We're tough to kill!"

His exaggerated actions drew a burst of laughter, instantly lightening the tense atmosphere.

Just as they were talking, the last to arrive, Lyu Na, showed up.

Beside her was a tall, thin boy who looked somewhat similar to Lyu Na around the eyes and brows.

His name was Lyu Xian, Lyu Na's older brother.

He was also a high school senior who had just finished his exams.

However, he looked more like a pack mule, carrying a large backpack and greeting everyone with a gentle tone.

"Thank you all so much for taking care of my little sister. She can be quite scatterbrained, and our parents were worried, so they had me tag along today. Sorry for the intrusion."

Seeing how modest and gentle he was, everyone responded with a good attitude.

Lin Jiajun immediately laughed. "Damn, what kind of fairy-tale brother is this? Nana, does your brother need another sister? What do you think of me?"

"Get lost!"

"Hahaha!"

The atmosphere became completely lively.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Fang Jun clapped his hands to draw their attention.

"Alright, since everyone is here, let's get ready to buy tickets and head out. We'll buy the main entrance tickets first, then directly buy the tickets up to Heavenly Star Ridge."

He pointed towards the top of the mountain, his plan clear. "Heavenly Star Ridge is the highest point with the best view. You absolutely can't go wrong watching the sunrise from there."

"Sounds good!"

Everyone voiced their agreement, and the group of over a dozen people marched grandly toward the ticket booth.

Since it wasn't the weekend, there weren't actually that many people there to watch the sunrise.

Although Heavenly Star Ridge was high, there weren't many spots to watch the sunrise. At most, it could accommodate a few hundred people at the same time.

On weekends, there would be a massive crowd for the sunrise, and tickets to Heavenly Star Ridge were limited at night. Once the number of people exceeded a certain limit, they stopped selling them.

Being able to buy a ticket meant securing a spot at the summit.

Passing through the ticket gates, the hustle and bustle of the city was completely shut out behind them. A rush of crisp air mixed with the fresh scent of plants and trees hit their faces, instantly refreshing everyone's spirits.

The mountain path wasn't steep, and it was illuminated by dim yellow streetlights the entire way, stretching the group's shadows out long.

Rather than mountain climbing, it was more like a late-night group stroll.

The night breeze was exceptionally refreshing, blowing away the daytime heat and also opening up everyone's chatterboxes.

Everyone talked and laughed, enjoying this rare leisure.

"Hey, what do you guys think will ultimately happen to Huang Haoyang?" someone suddenly brought up.

The topic instantly shifted to Huang Haoyang. Even the usually quiet Lyu Na couldn't help but chime in, complaining softly, "That Huang Haoyang tried to add me on QQ several times too, but I didn't dare accept him. He's too scary."

Fang Jun shook his head. "Who knows how many years that guy will be locked up for."

As his voice fell, everyone's eyes unanimously landed on Lin Mo.

After all, he was the core person involved in this incident.

Lin Mo, who was slowly cracking sunflower seeds, thought for a moment upon hearing this. Then, in a flat tone of simply stating the facts, he said, "He showed premeditated tendencies and the nature of his actions was severe. Furthermore, I will not be issuing any letter of forgiveness. If the prosecution process goes smoothly, it will probably be over a decade."

He paused and added, "Ten years is the bare minimum."

These few straightforward sentences carried an unquestionable weight.

Hearing this definitive number, the lingering worries in everyone's hearts instantly vanished, and the atmosphere lightened considerably.

Ten years from now, everyone would have gone their separate ways. Who would care who he was when he got out?

Lin Mo casually tossed his sunflower seed shells into the bushes by the road. These shells would rot over time and eventually turn into natural fertilizer.

Right at that moment, a somewhat thin figure took the initiative to walk up beside Lin Mo.

It was Lyu Na's brother, Lyu Xian.

He looked a bit awkward, but his eyes revealed a sense of desperate determination. "I heard from Nana that you... you're really good at fighting. Could you teach me a move or two?"

Lin Mo paused his seed-cracking.

He turned his head to look at Lyu Na, who was following behind Lyu Xian and secretly winking at him.

Lyu Na was famously known in Class 18 as a quiet girl. She was petite and spoke softly. The fact that she had joined everyone for a night hike was already very surprising.

But Lin Mo never expected that Lyu Na would tell her family about a classmate who was great at fighting.

Weren't these kinds of things usually kept hidden by students, for fear that their parents would find out?

Lin Mo withdrew his gaze and shook his head. "I just purely have a bit more physical strength than others. I don't really have any moves to speak of."

This answer caused the light in Lyu Xian's eyes to dim. He sighed, but still unwilling to give up, pressed further: "Then... then how can I become stronger?"

Lin Mo looked him up and down.

Lyu Xian was indeed too skinny. Standing at about 1.8 meters tall, his frame propped up a baggy long-sleeved shirt that looked completely hollow on him. His weight was probably barely over fifty kilograms; it looked like a gust of wind could blow him over.

"If you want to improve your stamina and increase your strength, you need perseverance," Lin Mo said plainly.

"I'm not afraid of hardship!" Lyu Xian immediately nodded vigorously, as if taking an oath. "Besides, we are on holiday now, so I have plenty of time to persevere!"

On the other side, Fang Jun quietly sidled up to Lyu Na. He nudged her with his elbow and gossiped in a hushed voice, "Hey, what kind of shock did your brother suffer?"

Lyu Na glanced at her brother's back and sighed helplessly. "A while ago, after finishing his exams, my brother confessed his feelings to someone, and he got rejected."

"Ah?" Fang Jun's gossiping soul burned brightly.

"That girl said... she doesn't like guys who are too skinny and weak."

"And you know all about this." Fang Jun was extremely curious.

Lyu Na's voice dropped even lower. "Because of this, he's been depressed for days and hasn't even been able to eat. I happened to know that Lin Mo was coming, so I dragged him along."

Fang Jun listened, dumbfounded. After a long moment, he managed to squeeze out, "You... that's quite a move."

Lyu Na stuck out her tongue. "I just mentioned to my parents that my classmate Lin Mo would be here, and casually brought up Lin Mo's glorious deeds. Once my brother heard that, he was tempted and insisted on coming along to see."

So it turned out this was actually a carefully calculated joint family operation.

Fang Jun gave her a thumbs-up in admiration.