Chapter 9

By the time they reached the entrance of Xiutan Peak, it was already noon. Everyone had packed plenty of snacks and fruit along the way, so they decided to skip lunch and start climbing the mountain immediately.

Xu Qingling had long forgotten how many years it had been since she last climbed a mountain. Her youthful body was full of vitality, and she surprisingly made her way to the front of the group. Cao Siqing was nearly dragged along by her as they pushed forward.

In this era, everything was so pure—no one stopped to take selfies nor did anyone scroll through their phones while walking. Li Zhengqi had brought a camera and organized everyone to take pictures at the entrance. Each person had individual portraits as well as group photos taken.

Xu Qingling didn’t want to be photographed or leave her image on anyone’s photo paper, so she took the opportunity to slip away to the restroom.

By the time they descended from Xiutan Peak, it was already five in the afternoon. The group found a farmhouse restaurant to have dinner.

The dishes were cooked in an old-fashioned iron pot over a rustic stove, with high flames and plenty of oil. The group of teenagers ate with greasy fingers and satisfied smiles. Several boys from their class clamored to go soak in the hot springs and play cards or sing karaoke in the nearby Gaotang Town.

Coming to Xiutan Peak without soaking in the hot springs was like coming for nothing. Although it was summer break, the nearby hot spring resorts and upscale sanatoriums were all packed with cars.

The students couldn’t afford the luxury resorts, but they could opt for the private hot springs dug out by local farmers in Gaotang Town—affordable and practical, and they could still enjoy card games and karaoke.

The girls felt a little embarrassed at the suggestion to go to the hot springs. Even after three years of being classmates, they weren’t close enough to go soaking together.

Wanyue blushed and said, “Why don’t you boys go? We girls didn’t bring swimsuits.”

Being the class beauty and a top student, Wanyue had always been the trendsetter in class. When she spoke, the other girls nodded in agreement.

Shen Shun, impatient, snapped, “If you want to go, go. If not, then go anyway. What’s there to dawdle about?”

He was in a bad mood thanks to Wanyue earlier. After a few blunt remarks, she actually started crying. Why would someone who got into Xunda University choose to repeat a year at Jiangke instead? It wasn’t about the money—what was she aiming for? He hated pretentious girls the most.

Usually, no boy in the class would disrespect Wanyue, but being targeted by Shen Shun so openly left her face stiff.

Shen Luan noticed her displeasure and quickly suggested, “Here’s what we’ll do: after dinner, we split up. Those who want to go to Li Zhengqi’s house can go, those who want to stay at a hotel can do that, and those who want to soak in the hot springs can go as well. We’ll all meet here again tomorrow morning. Girls shouldn’t go out alone at night; it’s best if boys go with them.”

Then he looked at Wanyue, softening his tone, “If you want to rest later, I’ll take you there.”

It was clear he was addressing Wanyue specifically. Earlier, many classmates had seen Shen Luan riding a bicycle with Wanyue, even carrying her backpack. No one had ever seen him so openly protective of a female classmate.

It seemed that after the college entrance exam, Shen Luan had started to let himself go. Before, Xu Qingling had been chasing after him, and he hadn’t rejected her. People had thought he liked Xu Qingling, but it turned out he was interested in Wanyue all along—he had been hiding it very well.

Even Cao Siqing, usually thick-skinned, caught on to the atmosphere. She had once thought highly of Shen Luan, considering him the most well-rounded boy in the class, but now she realized he had been stringing along Xu Qingling all this time. If you don’t like someone, why can’t you be straightforward? Playing ambiguous, neither rejecting nor taking responsibility—that made him a scoundrel!

Speaking of which, hadn’t Wanyue and Xu Qingling been best friends? Wasn’t this a betrayal—snatching her best friend’s crush? Several girls exchanged glances and all turned to look at Xu Qingling, only to find her still buried in her food!

It had been a long time since she had such intense physical exertion, and Xu Qingling felt a genuine hunger. In the past, if she saw the girls put down their chopsticks, she would stop eating too, afraid of being teased by the boys. Now, she didn’t care. The long-lost hunger made her feel the vigor of her young body, and she focused on her meal without paying attention to their conversation.

“The swimsuit isn’t a big deal. We didn’t bring swim trunks either. We can just buy some when we get there. Every household here runs a hot spring business; there are plenty of places selling swimsuits, and they’re not expensive,” Li Zhengqi explained. His family had bought a villa nearby, so he was very familiar with the area. “It’s the off-season now, and it only costs 20 yuan per person to soak. If you want to go, let’s all go together. It’ll be more lively with more people.”

Zhao Zibei, seeing her boyfriend was going, naturally didn’t want to be left out. After asking a few girls who didn’t want to go, her little face fell in disappointment. “You’re all not going? Then should I soak alone in one pool?”

Shen Shun finally cracked a smile, his shoulder twitching. “If you want, you can soak with Li Zhengqi alone. We’ll definitely pretend not to see.”

Zhao Zibei blushed fiercely and slapped him away. “Get lost!”

Xu Qingling finished eating and wiped her mouth with a napkin. She felt her underwear drenched in sweat and just wanted to find somewhere to shower.

With that thought, she said to Zhao Zibei, “I’ll go with you later. It’s perfect for me to find a place to wash up.”

Perhaps it was her calm tone, but mentioning the shower instantly dispelled any ambiguous feelings about the hot springs, making it as ordinary as eating or drinking water.

Cao Siqing grabbed her arm excitedly. “Then I’m coming too!”

The girls quickly gathered into a group of three, and the others, seeing this, couldn’t resist the allure of group activities and began to warm up to the idea.

Wanyue hadn’t expected everyone to change their minds so quickly. At this point, refusing to go would seem like a spoilsport. She glanced at Xu Qingling, who was chatting casually with Cao Siqing, her nonchalant demeanor pricking Wanyue’s heart unpleasantly.

Usually, Xu Qingling would agree with her and listen to her, but this was the first time Wanyue felt her opinion was being ignored, a feeling that soured her mood and even dimmed the joy she felt from Shen Luan’s affection.

Li Zhengqi found a place he had been to with his parents before, where they could soak in the hot springs and then sing karaoke all in one go.

In Gaotang Town, every household had dug pools to channel hot spring water, and a simple pool with a wooden door was considered a “private bath.” Xu Qingling took a shower, soaked for a while, changed into dry clothes, let her hair down, and came out.

This private bath was one of the larger ones in the village, with a spacious courtyard planted with various vegetables, fruit trees, and a large patch of oleanders. The owner had built a small terrace with two rows of chairs for guests to rest.

The quiet farmhouse courtyard reminded Xu Qingling of Shen Luan’s grandmother’s rural home, also neatly planted with all sorts of crops. Whenever they lacked garlic or scallions while cooking, they’d just go out and pick some from the garden.

Shen Xingbang had gone out to make a living, leaving the simple rural woman to care for the elderly and children in the countryside.

Later, Shen Xingbang met a city girl named Shang Huilan. The two partnered in business and co-founded the Yuanxing Group, gradually expanding their enterprise. Their relationship blossomed rapidly, sweet as honey.

Shang Huilan didn’t even know Shen Xingbang had a wife and child in the countryside until she was pregnant. Shen Xingbang forced his rural wife to divorce him behind Shang’s back.

Perhaps out of guilt, Shen Xingbang gave his rural wife 5% of the shares. The elderly woman didn’t understand stocks and directly transferred the shares to her son, Shen Shaozhou.

Shen Shaozhou was very close to his mother and made a point to visit her during holidays. Shen Luan, as a child, often went to see his grandmother during breaks. In a previous life, after marrying Shen Luan, Xu Qingling often accompanied him to the countryside.

That rural woman’s eyes were already clouded with age, but whenever she saw Xu Qingling, her gaze was full of tender love that could melt anyone. Only when mentioning her husband did a flicker of resentment and hatred cross her eyes.

Leaning against the wooden railing, Xu Qingling gazed directly into the dark night sky. The night sky from over ten years ago was no different from the one she had once seen lying on the floor of her rented room—the difference was in her changed state of mind.

As long as Shen Angu’s legs were fine, Shen Luan would never be the heir to Yuanxing Group. As for him and Wanyue, Xu Qingling secretly hoped they would be together.

No—she didn’t just hope; she intended to help clear obstacles for them. She wanted Shen Luan to marry his youthful first love smoothly, without scheming or heartache, to have the perfect and flawless marriage he desired.

Behind her, the sound of a lighter striking sparked, and the smell of cigarette smoke drifted over. Xu Qingling snapped back to reality.

Shen Shun hadn’t expected anyone to be hiding in this corner. When his eyes met the bottomless dark gaze of Xu Qingling, his hand holding the cigarette froze midair. He gave an awkward smile and said, “Uh—I’ll move somewhere else…”

“No need,” Xu Qingling stood up and stepped closer, extending her hand. “Give me one.”

Shen Shun stared at her in surprise, hesitated a moment, then smiled and handed her the pack and lighter. Xu Qingling pulled one out, put it in her mouth, and flicked the lighter. The bright red flame flared up, and she eagerly leaned in.

Her young body hadn’t yet endured tobacco’s sting, and she coughed a few times. She took two slow drags to quell the tickle in her lungs.

Originally, she neither smoked nor drank, but after that incident, she had sleepless nights, and besides alcohol, only cigarettes kept her company.

At first, Shen Shun thought it was just for fun, but seeing her like this made him feel a bit confused. He hadn’t expected her to actually smoke and to be pretty skilled at it.

In the night, her damp hair lay on her shoulders, lips a vivid red. For a moment, it was hard to tell whether she or the surrounding oleanders looked more decadent.

He took a few steps back and asked, “How long have you been smoking?”

Xu Qingling thought for a moment. “About six months.”

Shen Shun instinctively didn’t believe her. “You’ve been smoking for only six months and are this skilled?”

Xu Qingling smiled. In those six months, she smoked two to three packs a day.

The others were still inside soaking in the hot springs. The two of them hid behind a large cluster of oleanders, exhaling smoke into the vast night.

Shen Shun noticed Xu Qingling was quite quiet. He broke the silence, “Shen Luan rode a bike with Wanyue and even carried her backpack. Aren’t you angry?”

Xu Qingling’s spirit had completely emptied. She exhaled smoke and said, “He’s not my boyfriend. He can take whoever he wants. Why should I be angry?”

Shen Shun had never looked at a girl so seriously. The night breeze blew away the smoke from her face, and at that moment, he suddenly felt Xu Qingling didn’t look like a high school girl at all. There was a trace of melancholy and weariness in her eyes.

He felt uncomfortable for some reason but didn’t know what to say. Silence fell between them.

When the cigarette was finished, Xu Qingling stubbed it out and was about to leave when Wanyue’s voice came from the other side of the oleanders.

“Feng Bo, what do you mean by that?” Her deliberately lowered tone was tinged with cold reproach.

A thick row of oleanders blocked the view, and Wanyue hadn’t noticed the small terrace behind.

After a moment, Feng Bo’s confused voice replied, “What do you mean?”

Wanyue’s voice remained cold: “Why were you constantly mentioning Wei Donglai around Shen Luan this afternoon? I told you not to drag me into it! He has no right to care who I ride with!”

Feng Bo whispered, “Before we came, Wei asked me to look after you. Besides, I just mentioned it casually.”

The night concealed Wanyue’s flushed cheeks. She warned angrily, “I have nothing to do with him! Can you please stop meddling?”

Seeing her angry, Feng Bo assumed she was sensitive and didn’t want classmates to know she had a boyfriend. “Alright, alright! I won’t say anymore.”

Wanyue’s tone softened, “My business is mine. I’ll tell people when I want to! Can you, as a guy, stop gossiping so much?”

Feng Bo, knowing he was in the wrong, weakly said, “Okay.”

The footsteps gradually faded away. Shen Shun listened behind the corner for a long time, then opened his mouth wide at Xu Qingling. “Who is Wei Donglai? Isn’t he from our school?”

...

Shen Luan had no interest in soaking in the hot springs and had already left. Li Zhengqi kept playing Snake on his phone. After finally snatching the phone back, Shen Luan came out and saw several classmates already singing karaoke in the hall.

He searched the hall for Wanyue but couldn’t find her, so he went outside to the courtyard. Beyond a row of vibrant oleanders, he faintly heard voices.

A young man and woman were standing side by side, leaning on the railing and smoking. The wind tossed the woman’s hair and the man’s coat edges, the faint white smoke enveloping them in an indistinct, ambiguous aura.

Shen Luan thought they were other guests and felt awkward about interrupting their moment. Just as he was about to turn away, the girl turned her head. Her wet hair fell over her shoulders, exuding a wild, disheveled charm.

Her face emerged through the swirling smoke, striking his eyes. Shen Luan’s steps froze.