Lin Daichun

The afternoon bus ride was as boring as ever, even a bit painful.

The next stop was Zhangjie, which was also the mountain-climbing destination in Xia Yanchun's travel plan. There was a mountain in Zhangjie called Mount Tian. According to reviews on Xiaohongshu, the climb wasn't very difficult, and there was a cable car, so even climbing novices could give it a try.

Xia Yanchun was more than just a climbing novice. Going back to her hometown for Tomb Sweeping Day and climbing a small hill left her half-dead, let alone a proper mountain climb.

She had already decided that if she got too tired, she would drag Shen Nian onto the cable car with her. Ideally, they would ride it almost to the top and just walk the final stretch. That way, it wouldn't be much different from walking the whole way herself.

She had some self-awareness about her own physical stamina. Three of her wouldn't add up to Shen Nian's fitness level.

She had looked up a hotel in Zhangjie in advance but hadn't booked it. After confirming they still had rooms, she and Shen Nian took a taxi over.

"Hello, do you have a reservation?"

"No. I'd like a twin room. I'll renew it in advance if we still need it later."

"Alright, let me scan your code. There's a 100 yuan deposit, which will be refunded to your original payment method upon checkout. Here is your room card."

Taking the room card, Xia Yanchun hummed as she followed Shen Nian into the elevator.

"Let's go to bed early tonight to recharge our batteries. Tomorrow, we climb!" Xia Yanchun pumped her little fists as if to cheer herself on.

"You're not going to make me carry you halfway up, are you?"

"I don't know, maybe. I saw online that other people's boyfriends let their girlfriends ride on their shoulders all the way up. Don't lose points now."

"Are they even human?" Shen Nian looked at her with one eye squinted. What kind of god could carry a hundred-pound person up a mountain? Bro, are you playing without cheats too?

Shen Nian also knew that Xia Yanchun was probably just joking around to tease him, so he didn't take it seriously.

The room Xia Yanchun booked wasn't cheap, and the layout was much nicer than the one in Jintan—wider, more comfortable, and it even came with a free dinner.

The only downside was that the hotel they were staying at this time also had a vending machine for family planning products, placed right next to the small bedside lamp. It left Xia Yanchun completely speechless.

It seemed like hotels nowadays had made these things standard.

In a hotel, a two-yuan bottle of water could sell for five. These things were similarly overpriced commodities. Would anyone really spend more money to buy things in a hotel when they could just go to a convenience store to get them?

Well, Xia Yanchun definitely wouldn't buy them.

Xia Yanchun put her luggage away and checked inside and out for hidden cameras before letting out a breath of stale air. "I'm going to take a shower first. Sitting in the car for so long made my head spin."

"Sure, I'll help you hang up the clothes from your suitcase."

"Mhm."

The bathroom this time was very normal, so Xia Yanchun could take a nice, beautiful shower.

This shower ended up taking forty minutes.

Coming out of the bathroom with wet hair, her skin looked even smoother after the hot water wash, as if glowing with a faint, soft light.

Xia Yanchun had already changed into the clothes she planned to wear tomorrow: a light blue short-sleeved shirt and brown shorts. She also prepared a thin jacket that wouldn't be too hot to wear and could still block the sun.

Shen Nian glanced at her and felt it was just alright.

Honestly, silly Chun wasn't as fun as playing Sanguosha. Did anyone get that?

Shen Nian would gladly sacrifice two seconds of Xia Yanchun's lifespan in exchange for getting the God-tier Jiang Wei card.

Propping half her body on the bed, Xia Yanchun leaned over across from Shen Nian to look at his phone. "What are you playing?"

"Sanguosha."

"What's so fun about that?" Xia Yanchun pouted. "Feels like it's not as good as Fight the Landlord."

"Of course you don't get it since you don't play games. Just like I don't get what's so nice about applying lipstick."

"That is typical straight-male thinking." Xia Yanchun straightened her back, half-kneeling. Being a head taller than Shen Nian gave her a condescending angle, making it much more satisfying to lecture him than usual.

"Not handsome-guy thinking?"

"Handsome my foot. I won't think you're handsome until you take a shower."

"Heh, what a duplicitous woman. You've successfully caught my attention. Just wait till I come out of the shower and mesmerize you."

A match had just ended, so Shen Nian plugged his phone in to charge, grabbed a pair of pants, and quickly slipped into the bathroom.

By the time he came out, Xia Yanchun was already wrapped in the blanket, playing on her phone.

Turning the AC down to 16 degrees and then snuggling under the blanket—silly Chun really knew how to enjoy life.

Considering Xia Yanchun was a bit tired and tomorrow would be a big day, Shen Nian turned off the lights early.

He was super incredibly well-behaved tonight, only touching Xia Yanchun's stomach.

...

Morning came.

A low moan pierced a small opening in the peaceful room. The daytime energy gradually replaced the sleepiness accumulated during the night. As if reaching a certain threshold, Xia Yanchun's eyelashes fluttered, her eyes heavy with sleep.

"Mmm..."

Snuggled in the warm blanket after so long, Xia Yanchun didn't really want to get up.

When she first opened her eyes, her vision was hazy. She couldn't even see Shen Nian clearly despite him being so close. It wasn't until her vision cleared and she took a look at Shen Nian's sleeping face that she contentedly went back to sleep.

She had obviously decided to travel, but... once she was in bed, she just didn't want to go out anymore.

No wonder some people just stayed in their hotel rooms and played on their phones when they traveled. Xia Yanchun felt she was in that exact state right now.

Although it was very comfortable, it was a sign of depravity. The young girl who wanted a beautiful trip refused to be depraved. Without lying down for too long, she playfully pinched the ends of her hair and tickled Shen Nian's face.

The gentle Sister Chun would never use a rough method like punching and kicking to wake Shen Nian up.

"What the hell..." Shen Nian's face twitched.

Seeing the clarity in Shen Nian's eyes, Xia Yanchun was a bit startled. "When did you wake up?"

"Before you woke up and secretly sniffed me."

"Damn it, you were pretending to be asleep..."

"I was just keeping you company for your morning snooze, how is that pretending?" Shen Nian stretched, getting out of bed full of energy, and said loudly, "Time to get up and climb the mountain. Today, your bro is going to conquer the great mountain!"

"Good, very energetic!" Xia Yanchun also quickly got up. Mimicking Shen Nian's momentum, she said loudly, "Today, your sis is going to step right on the top of the mountain!"

After her burst of energy, Xia Yanchun started muttering again: "By the way, wouldn't it be better if we went in the early hours of the morning? We could watch the sunrise when we reach the top."

"What's so good about the sunrise? I see it every day when I work out, I'm sick of it."

"Watching it from the top of the mountain is definitely different from watching it in the city. The sunrise from the mountaintop is so, so beautiful. In that kind of environment, even if you asked to be best friends forever with me, I might just agree!"

"Might? That means no."

His nemesis had eight hundred hidden motives, always nitpicking words.

Being best friends forever was just silly Chun's excuse to string him along. How could Shen Nian not know? Climbing a mountain to watch the sunrise? If he just called her sister a couple of times, they would probably be best friends forever today.

Her little trick seen through, Xia Yanchun snorted lightly. "Fine, looks like we can't take beautiful photos. Sigh, in the end, it's just a boyfriend who doesn't love me, a childhood sweetheart who doesn't care."

"..."

Damn Lin Daichun, he thought.