Chapter Ten: The Couple's Phones

Time flew by. After nearly a month of military training, Qin Xuan stared at his reflection in the mirror, pondering his noticeably darker complexion. In contrast, Qin Lin’er and Liu Ruoxi seemed untouched by the sun, and the unfairness gnawed at him.

On the eve of the National Day holiday, the three originally planned to return home, but with both Qin Xuan's parents and Ruoxi's parents away, they had to cancel. Instead, they decided to escape the heat at a tourist spot, leaving Marzi in the care of Sister Qin.

Their first destination was Mount Qingcheng, not far from the city center. Yet, upon arrival, they were met with a sea of people. Qin Xuan instinctively reached for the hands of his companions.

Liu Ruoxi wore a breezy outfit—a short-sleeved blouse and a skirt that exposed her fair calves, topped off with a white hat. Qin Lin’er, on the other hand, donned a floral shirt and shorts, giving her a cuter look that caught the eyes of many passing tourists.

Feeling the softness of their hands, Qin Xuan found his mind wandering as they slowly made their way through the crowded throng.

The main purpose was to climb the mountain. In October, the temperature difference between Mount Qingcheng and their school could exceed twelve degrees Celsius, and Qin Xuan even felt a chill.

Staring at the endless stairs ahead and the tourists pressing forward, he began to question the wisdom of sacrificing sleep for this ordeal—no, for mountain climbing. Was it really worth it?

But Qin Lin’er and Liu Ruoxi were full of enthusiasm, making it hard for Qin Xuan to voice his desire to laze about.

Seeing his lack of spirit, Qin Lin’er and Liu Ruoxi exchanged a glance, then grabbed Qin Xuan’s hands and dashed up the steps.

After one hundred steps, Qin Lin’er, panting, let go of Qin Xuan’s hand. Liu Ruoxi and Qin Xuan watched her with amusement.

Finally, they slowed down to enjoy the surrounding scenery.

After five hundred steps, all three were out of breath and took a break on a bench along the path.

“I’m exhausted. I’d rather be at home sleeping!” Qin Lin’er complained, leaning against Qin Xuan.

“Hey! This was your idea,” Qin Xuan reminded her.

Qin Lin’er blushed with embarrassment. “Then why didn’t you stop me, brother?”

Qin Xuan was momentarily speechless and nudged her head off his lap. “Are you being unreasonable?”

“Oh, come on!” Qin Lin’er protested. “I was wrong. Let me lie down a bit longer.”

She shook her head, ignoring Qin Xuan’s hand, and forced herself back onto his lap, letting out a long sigh.

Liu Ruoxi couldn’t stand it anymore and delivered a gentle smack to Qin Lin’er’s head. Then she whispered in her ear.

“Look at how everyone’s staring at you!”

Qin Lin’er reluctantly opened her eyes, realizing that several passing tourists were giving her strange looks. Perhaps lying on her brother’s lap so carelessly was indeed odd, she thought.

She quickly sat up, holding Qin Xuan’s shoulder, only to get another playful tap from Liu Ruoxi.

“Liu Ruoxi!” Qin Lin’er yelled, “I’ll get you for this!”

But Liu Ruoxi was prepared and darted away.

Qin Xuan watched the two chasing each other, sighing with a smile. It felt like watching two daughters fool around. If Liu Ruoxi knew he thought this way, she’d surely pin him to the bed and pummel him.

When it was time to descend the mountain, Qin Lin’er and Liu Ruoxi began to argue again. Since the cable car only seated two, each wanted to ride with Qin Xuan. In the end, though, Qin Xuan was mercilessly left behind...

Upon landing, Qin Xuan saw Liu Ruoxi anxiously questioning a staff member.

As he approached, he discovered the issue: while riding the cable car, Liu Ruoxi had tried to take a photo, but her phone slipped from her hands and vanished into the forest below.

After learning it couldn’t be recovered, Liu Ruoxi struggled to hide her disappointment.

Qin Xuan put his arm around her, comforting her, “It’s okay, we can just buy another one.”

That only made Liu Ruoxi feel worse; tears welled up as she hugged Qin Xuan. “But that was our couple’s phone, the one we bought together! There were so many photos!”

Qin Xuan was taken aback. They had bought matching phones in their second year of high school because Liu Ruoxi insisted they use the same model; the phones even had some couple-specific features.

He whispered in her ear, “Don’t forget, our phones are a pair—the albums are shared.”

Liu Ruoxi froze, momentarily forgetting in her panic. Realizing this, she wiped her tears on Qin Xuan’s shirt and broke into a smile.

Qin Xuan stared at the large damp patch on his shirt, speechless.

“So… can we buy another matching pair?” Liu Ruoxi asked, looking aggrieved yet hopeful. Qin Xuan couldn’t refuse and nodded.

After all this, none of them felt like continuing their outing.

Back in the city, they went straight to the service center.

Liu Ruoxi picked out a black-and-white pair of couple’s phones, making Qin Lin’er secretly envious—she’d never experienced what it was like to have a couple’s phone.

Back home, the three sprawled on the sofa, feeling increasingly that the day had been a waste. Wasn’t sleeping at home so much better?

Qin Lin’er suddenly remembered Marzi was still at Sister Qin’s house. She’d thought they’d be gone for several days, but they’d returned in less than one...

Glancing at the darkening sky, she decided to wait until tomorrow to bring Marzi home.

Qin Xuan took some dumplings from the fridge, boiled a simple meal, then everyone retreated to their rooms, without mentioning any further plans.

Just as Qin Xuan changed into pajamas and climbed into bed, Liu Ruoxi, also in pajamas, quietly opened her door and slipped inside.

Without a word, she lifted Qin Xuan’s towel blanket and tucked herself under it with him.

Qin Xuan quickly moved away, puzzled by her behavior.

Liu Ruoxi, feeling Qin Xuan’s warmth, flushed deeply.

“I… I came so you can send me the photos.”

“Oh, you could have just said so.” Qin Xuan teased, “What, are you here to keep me company tonight?”

“Shut up! Quickly send them online,” Liu Ruoxi urged.

“Why the rush?” Qin Xuan muttered, but began transferring the photos one by one. Seeing hundreds of them, he exclaimed in surprise.

Liu Ruoxi happily saved the photos. After a long while, she finished and reminded Qin Xuan to change his phone as well.

She lay on Qin Xuan’s bed, flipping through the album, pointing out certain photos.

“This was taken on our first birthday together—can’t believe it’s still here.”

Qin Xuan saw two chubby toddlers on her screen, both dressed identically, looking forced into the occasion; now, it seemed hilarious.

“This was our first fight. They said you cried for ages after I punched you!” Liu Ruoxi scrolled to the next, showing two filthy children and reminiscing about their childhood embarrassments.

“This is the day we started kindergarten. Everything was fine until Lin’er, who was seeing us off, started crying and made us cry too,” Liu Ruoxi said, looking at the photo of Lin’er chasing after them.

“By the way, do you remember Aunt Wang being pregnant with Lin’er?” Liu Ruoxi suddenly asked. Aunt Wang was Qin Xuan’s mother, Wang Manshu.

“No, not at all,” Qin Xuan thought for a moment. He truly couldn’t recall his mother being pregnant with Lin’er—he must have been too young.

“Me neither. It’s like she suddenly appeared.”

“This is your first perfect score—you showed off in front of me,” Liu Ruoxi said, looking at Qin Xuan’s smug face in the photo. She remembered tearing up his certificate later, and Qin Xuan complaining to his father.

“This is…” Qin Xuan noticed the conversation had stopped. Turning around, he saw Liu Ruoxi’s phone lying to the side; she had fallen asleep.

Qin Xuan gently moved her phone, looked at her sleeping face, smoothed her loose hair, tucked her in, and finally turned off the light to sleep peacefully.