After Lu Huan finished speaking, she continued drying her hair as if she had said nothing at all.
But Lou Qing knew it wasn’t her imagination or a hallucination. Ever since she had saved the girl at the bar that night, every time they interacted, she couldn’t quite understand her own feelings.
She just felt relaxed and at ease when she was with the girl.
It was something she had never experienced in her previous relationship, nor had she ever imagined what true affection could feel like.
As Lu Huan dried her hair, she secretly observed the other woman. Seeing the confusion on her sister’s face, she felt a bit regretful, but she didn’t regret what she had said.
From what she had learned about her sister’s past through the system, she felt deeply sorry for this woman. She had even looked into the woman who had toyed with her sister for four years, what she looked like and how she was doing now.
But it seemed her sister didn’t want to recall those events, and Lu Huan didn’t want to bring up that scumbag either. The only thing she wanted now was to help her sister step out of that shadow and start a new life, a life that included her.
Until the lights went out and they went to bed, Lou Qing didn’t say another word. Lu Huan grew a little worried and quietly reached out to grasp the woman’s fingers, whispering, “Sister, are you asleep?”
The room was dark, which conveniently hid the weariness on Lou Qing’s face. Her voice was slightly hoarse, perhaps weighed down by something on her mind. “No, is something wrong?”
Hearing that tone, Lu Huan’s heart ached. She wondered if she had moved too quickly. There were other ways to help the woman emerge from the shadows, but she had thought this method would be the fastest and most effective. She lowered her gaze and said, “Actually, earlier I…”
Sensing what she was about to say, Lou Qing opened her hand and gripped Lu Huan’s tightly, cutting her off urgently, “Don’t say it.”
For some reason, she didn’t want to hear the girl say it was a joke or that it wasn’t true. If the girl said those words, the distance between them would only grow wider.
She didn’t want that. Her mind was in turmoil, but she didn’t let the girl see it.
Right now, she just wanted to be quiet and think things through.
Lu Huan didn’t press further and simply replied, “Mm.”
They lay a distance of two fists apart, but under the covers, their hands remained tightly clasped.
The next day, the sun was bright.
Cui Lin couldn’t resist taking a look and tried to poke with her finger, but someone brushed her hand away.
Lou Qing shot her a sidelong glance. “If you have something to say, say it. Don’t get handsy.”
“Did you go thieving last night?” Cui Lin blurted out without restraint.
Lou Qing couldn’t even be bothered to look at her.
Cui Lin’s train of thought took an unexpected turn as she glanced at Lu Huan and blinked. The latter looked back at her in confusion.
Cui Lin asked, “Kid, did you end up topping this one?” as she pointed at Lou Qing.
Lu Huan nearly spat out the milk in her mouth, hurriedly covering her mouth with a tissue. Not only her face but even her ears turned red, and it seemed like she might steam from the top of her head if this continued.
Tao Hai watched the scene unfold from the side, laughing heartily.
Song Meixi looked at Lu Huan’s reaction, then at the troublemaker, and poked her with a finger in exasperation. “You really know how to joke around.”
“What joke?” Cui Lin pointed at the dark circles under Lou Qing’s eyes, then at Lu Huan’s. “Look at their faces, it’s obvious who’s on top and who’s on the bottom.”
Lu Huan hadn’t expected her to say something so unrestrained and shameless, making her so embarrassed she wished she could find a crack to crawl into.
Lou Qing directly picked up a steamed bun and stuffed it into Cui Lin’s mouth, gritting her teeth as she warned, “You’d better just focus on eating your bun.”
Cui Lin took the bun out of her mouth and protested, “I’m too full, I can’t eat anymore.”
“Then just keep it in your mouth to stop you from talking nonsense,” Song Meixi chimed in, glaring at her before turning to Lu Huan with a smile. “Huanhuan, don’t be scared. She’s just like that can’t keep her mouth shut. Don’t take it to heart.”
Lu Huan shook her head, glanced at Cui Lin, then looked at Song Meixi and whispered, “I don’t mind.”
Her face was flushed, and her eyes were bright and watery. Song Meixi turned away, clutching her heart dramatically, and said, “Don’t look at me like that, sis.”
Lu Huan: “?”
Song Meixi continued, “I’m afraid I might fall for you and end up betraying my friend.”
Lou Qing’s lips twitched.
Lu Huan looked at her in confusion.
Lou Qing sighed helplessly and patted her head. “It’s nothing. They’re just acting like drama queens this morning.”
After finishing breakfast and having their fill of fun, they returned to the hotel room. They stored most of their luggage and carried the rest in small backpacks, which contained the things they would need for the hike up the mountain.
They bought some equipment at the foot of the mountain and, once ready, set off. First, they took a bus, then a cable car.
After getting off the cable car, they began walking.
Cui Lin leaned against a tree by the roadside, retching, but still managed to say, “We should have walked up earlier.”
Song Meixi didn’t hesitate to bring her back to reality. “You wouldn’t have made it to the top even if you walked until dark.”
Cui Lin opened her mouth to say more but was cut off by another wave of nausea.
“Drink some water,” Lou Qing said, unscrewing a bottle of mineral water and handing it to her.
Cui Lin took a few big gulps and finally felt a bit better.
By now, the sun was getting quite strong. They had all applied sunscreen before heading out, so they weren’t worried about getting tanned. They took their time, walking and stopping occasionally to take pictures of the scenery or sit down and rest. By noon, they found a flat area, took out the pre-prepared self-heating meals from their bags, and ate.
Lu Huan gazed at the scenery below the mountain, squinting slightly as if she were soaring through the wind.
“Where have you flown to already?” Lou Qing asked, having approached without her noticing.
The girl, with her eyes closed, replied, “I’ve already reached Bright Summit.” A few seconds later, she realized what she had said and opened her eyes to look over.
Clearly, Cui Lin and the others had heard her, and they all burst into laughter.
At first, Lu Huan felt shy, but seeing how happy everyone was and with the breathtaking scenery around her, she also broke into a smile, curling her eyebrows. She clenched her small fists and lightly pounded her sore calves as she asked, “Where are we now?”
“Still a long way to go,” Tao Hai said, looking at the map on his phone and zooming in. “Probably another hour or two.”
After finishing their meal, they collected their trash and threw it into a bin, then sat and rested a bit longer before getting up to continue their journey.
Since they had plenty of time, they wanted to explore all the scenic spots of Huangshan, so they weren’t in a hurry.
It was clear that Lou Qing and the others had traveled to many places and exercised regularly, as they were all in good physical shape. In comparison, Lu Huan, who spent most of her time sitting at a school desk, was far less capable in front of these seasoned veterans.
But no one considered her a burden, maintaining a leisurely pace of walking and stopping, taking photos and videos, sitting down to rest and chat. This way of hiking felt very relaxed.
They didn’t treat the climb as a task but genuinely saw it as a trip to enjoy nature.
Coincidentally, by evening, they finally reached Bright Summit and witnessed the sunset glow. Many people were there taking photos to commemorate the moment.
And as luck would have it, they ran into Jiang Wenshu and her group there.
“Wenshu, come look, it’s so beautiful!” Dong Sisi’s overly sweet voice came from behind, causing some people to glance in that direction.
Though there were many voices expressing admiration, Dong Sisi’s tone was too conspicuous. Several men couldn’t resist turning to look, only to have the women beside them pinch their ears and mutter a few curses under their breath.
Cui Lin shuddered, rubbing the goosebumps on her arms, and couldn’t help but complain, “That girl’s voice is way too sugary. Ugh~ I can’t stand it.”
Song Meixi, however, let out a thoughtful “Hmm?” as the voice sounded somewhat familiar. She glanced at the flashily dressed girl over there, then at Lu Huan, lost in thought.
Lu Huan was immersed in the sunset and hadn’t noticed, but Lou Qing caught Song Meixi’s expression and silently questioned her with a look.
Song Meixi smiled and shook her head, saying, “Let’s talk about it later.”
After the sun set and darkness fell, it was no longer suitable for hiking, so the group checked into the pre-booked hostel. Luckily, there was a restaurant nearby.
They found an empty table inside and settled by the window.
Just as they sat down, Jiang Wenshu and her companions entered. When Jiang Wenshu spotted Lu Huan, her expression darkened, and the system notified that her favorability had dropped by 10%.
Lu Huan was initially puzzled, wondering what she had done to cause the drop. But when she noticed the chattering Dong Sisi hovering around Jiang Wenshu, she inwardly laughed, it wasn’t about her; Jiang Wenshu was just taking out her frustration with Dong Sisi on her.
To Jiang Wenshu, Lu Huan was obedient, cute, and beautiful someone who brought her face wherever she went. The way her friend couldn’t take her eyes off Lu Huan was proof of her charm.
As for Dong Sisi, she had brought her along on a whim, and from yesterday till now, the girl had been incessantly talking, occasionally clinging to her without restraint. Last night, sharing a room, Jiang Wenshu had nearly been taken advantage of.
Waking up this morning, Jiang Wenshu’s face was stormy, avoiding Dong Sisi the entire time. But the girl seemed oblivious to her mood and kept chattering away.
One of Jiang Wenshu’s friends couldn’t take it anymore and dug a pinky into her ear, saying, “Sweetheart, could you please shut up for a second? My ears are about to grow calluses from your yapping.”
Dong Sisi immediately pouted in grievance, tugging at Jiang Wenshu’s sleeve to whine, “Wenshu, look at her.”
Jiang Wenshu shuddered with disgust, swatting her hand away and gritting her teeth to keep from retching. “Speak properly,” she snapped.
Feeling humiliated in front of the others, a flicker of resentment crossed Dong Sisi’s eyes. Then, an idea struck her. “Isn’t that Huanhuan over there? They have empty seats. Should we join them?”
Jiang Wenshu had been watching them out of the corner of her eye and had already noticed the available spots.
The friend who had been captivated by Lu Huan for the past two days immediately perked up upon spotting her. “It’s that pretty girl. Come on, let’s go over,” she said, linking arms with Jiang Wenshu and pulling her along.
Having heard her rave about this girl repeatedly during their walk, the other friends followed out of curiosity.
Noticing their approach, Lou Qing’s expression darkened. Lu Huan, however, remained unaware as she was preoccupied with studying the menu, head bowed.