Chapter 59: Jian Jian, I…

It was originally a casual idea, but once there was a way, Su Jian was immediately very interested, and searched on the net to strategize his plan whenever he was free.

Seeing how exhilarated Su Jian was, An Yize didn’t say anything. Contrary to what one might expect, Su Jian had the aptitude to be a leader, and like so he thumped his chest and said, “You don’t need to do anything at all, just leave it to me. When it’s time, you can just follow me!”

After browsing through several travel guides, Su Jian had somewhat made a travel plan. The plane tickets were booked; the accommodation was booked. All things were prepared, and the only thing left was to set out.

When the two got to the foot of Mount Hua, it was afternoon. They ate a simple meal at foot of Mount Hua, and afterwards they purchased the items that they needed to go uphill.

Su Jian fished out the list of items from his plan that he had copied, “Raincoat, anti-skid gloves, food, water…”

An Yize saw Su Jian continuously put all kinds of food into the basket and asked, “Will so much be necessary? It should be possible to buy them while going uphill.”

Su Jian said, “It’s to eat on the way! Climbing the mountain is tiring, and you eat a lot!”

An Yize: “……”

The supermarket’s lady boss cordially said, “Climbing up the mountain is tiring, so drink more water. You guys have to bring more water!”

Su Jian looked at that massive bottle of mineral water and hesitantly said, “Won’t that be too hefty?”

The lady boss faced An Yize, “Don’t worry, just look at how lofty your boyfriend is, it definitely won’t be a problem!”

Reincarnating as a woman, it seems like there are benefits after all! Su Jian who initially actually planned to evenly bear the weight with An Yize immediately changed his mind, and joyfully said, “That’s true!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

From start to end, An Yize didn’t say a word. So he carried a massive rucksack, without ever changing his expression.

On the other hand, when Su Jian looked at him, he felt that he looked fresh. Normally, Chairman An dressed in Western-style suits and had the air of an elite, but today he was wearing T-shirt and jeans, which was indeed simple and refreshing. Adding on the massive rucksack he carried, he truly had the air of a tourist.

If he had a camera hanging from his neck, a little yellow hat on his head, and a small red flag in his hand, then that would be more of a typical one.

Su Jian sized him up once, and all of a sudden said, “Yize, lower your head a little!”

An Yize didn’t get why, but still he bent down his head, “Why?”

Su Jian fished out an outdoor headscarf, put it on for An Yize, and said deadpanly, “It’s easy to sweat when climbing up the mountain. With the headscarf, it can prevent the sweat from flowing into your eyes. Since Mount Hua is so dangerous, if you fall down by chance due to one of your eyes not being able to see what’s ahead, you possibly could fall straight into the valley.”

An Yize gave a “mhm”, and his gaze contained some warmth.

On the surface, Su Jian seemed honorable, but he had already rejoiced in his heart. Indeed, the appearance of An Yize with a brocade headband does like look he’s recuperating after childbirth hahahaha!

After the two bought their entrance tickets, they started to go uphill. Mount Hua had the saying of “Since the ancient times, there is only one way up Mount Hua”: The peaks were dangerously high and the pathway was strategically inaccessible. Su Jian gratifyingly admired the scenic scenery and took out his camera to occasionally take a few photos. The starting roads were still quite gentle, and since he didn’t have any baggage, his body easily moved, naturally climbing was relatively effortless. Occasionally, when he turned his head back to look for An Yize, he noticed An Yize’s complexion was flushed as he was carrying a huge rucksack with a hunched back, which was wholly disparate from his usual tall, confident and hegemonic haughtiness. He immediately took out his camera, aimed it at him, and took a burst of photos.

An Yize furrowed his brow and said, “What do you keep taking my photos for?”

It’s obviously because the look you have on right now is such an embarrassing sight! Su Jian respectfully said, “Because you’re dashing!”

An Yize: “……”

As they progressed upwards, the road became steeper and steeper. Some of the stone stairs were even almost perpendicular to the ground, nearing 90 degrees, and the only way to go up was to pull on the sturdy iron chain at the side. Thus, Su Jian, who had been feeling relaxed, started to get exhausted, perspiration incessantly flowed from his forehead.

An Yize turned his head to look at him, and said all of a sudden, “There’s a platform here, rest for a while, okay?”

Su Jian was tired since a long time ago, but when he saw how calmly An Yize was walking, he had somewhat of a competitive thought and was unwilling to admit his tiredness. Now that An Yize was suggesting a break, in his heart this was most welcomed, but on the surface he creased his brow, “You’re tired?”

An Yize took a quick glance at him, and gave a “mhm”.

Su Jian immediately and bubbly sat on the stone block on the platform. His whole body softened as if it was drained of vigor.

An Yize quietly handed over a bottle of water.

Su Jian gulped the water down satisfactorily, and after he wiped his mouth, he looked towards the distant peaks, sighing, “A safe and close place would attract many tourists while a dangerous and faraway place would attract little tourists. However, the most heroic, strange, and beautiful things are usually at the dangerous and faraway places. Non-ambitious people would not come to such an unpopulated place.” This was the text he had been talking about with his students recently. Because he was familiar with it, he read it out smoothly. Seeing An Yize looking at him, a sense of pride for being a cultured person grew in his heart. He looked at An Yize, feeling content. “Do you know who wrote it?”

An Yize indifferently said, “ Wang An Shi, 《A Record of The Trip to Mount Baochan》.”

Su Jian: “……”

At this moment, two young tourists suddenly came out from the side. The woman tourist politely asked to Su Jian, “Hello, can you please help us take a photo?”

“No problem!” Su Jian took the camera and helped this pair of sweethearts take a few pictures in a row.

The female tourist politely thanked him, and enthusiastically said, “How about I take a photo of you two!”

Su Jian was thinking of rejecting, but An Yize suddenly said, “Thank you.”

The female tourist held the camera and said to them, “Can you two move a little closer?”

An Yize lifted his arm to hold Su Jian’s waist, and Su Jian looked up into his eyes. Unexpectedly, An Yize also looked down at the same time.

“Ka!” The female tourist pressed the shutter button, and took the photos.

“It looks nice!” she exclaimed in high praises as she handed the camera over to Su Jian.

“Thank you.” Only after the two continued walking forward, did Su Jian go back to see the photos. When he saw how An Yize and he had cuddled him so tightly on the screen where one was looking upwards and the other was looking downwards, with four eyes looking at each other, he couldn’t help but be stunned.

Clear and distinct, fresh yet clean, but it was definitely not normal at a glance. Why did the photo reek of some kind of ineffable oddity!

Su Jian was crinkling his brow whilst An Yize suddenly said, “It was nicely taken.”

The two continued their journey. After they walked a stretch, there was another pair of sweethearts unexpectedly in front of them.

Su Jian was already tired to the point where he was huffing and puffing and had no energy to overtake them. He followed the couple at a snail-like pace.

Then heard the woman say sweetly, “Hubby, I’m hungry.”

The guy said, “What does my baby want to eat?”

The girl said, “Someone suddenly has a craving for American cuisine.”

American cuisine? Sounds very high class! Su Jian was feeling a little hungry from climbing the mountain and his ears immediately perked up his ears.

The guy said, “Bear with it a little my baby, there is no KFC here. Let’s eat after we get back?”

As it turns out, American cuisine was KFC… Su Jian quietly sweated a bit.

After a while, the girl once again said sweetly, “Hubby, I’m so tired.”

The man affectionately said, “Baby, give me a kiss!”

“Hubby, I want you to carry me!”

“Please listen to me baby, can you walk by yourself first?”

“Mhm! I will listen to hubby! Although I’m very exhausted, I can’t bear to tire my hubby out, because someone’s heart will ache!”

“Baby, love yah.”

“Hubby, I love you too!”

Su Jian felt goosebumps all over his body. Even though it was so tiring to climb the mountain, the two of them still could display their affection. It was really rare. He felt that he should learn from them.

Thus, he purposely turned around and look at An Yize, asking loudly, “Hubby, are you tired?”

An Yize turned around silently to look at him.

Su Jian asked affectionately, “If you’re tired, shall I carry you?”

An Yize: “……”

The couple in front: “……”

……

At dusk, the two of them finally reached Dongfeng Peak.

Reaching the hotel room they booked, Su Jian quickly threw himself onto the bed and said exhaustedly, “I don’t exist in this world anymore…”

The corner of An Yize’s lips raised slightly. Putting down the luggage, he sat beside Su Jian. Lowering his head, he asked, “Shall we rest after we eat?”

“No!” Su Jian sat up and opened his planner. “After eating, we are going to Dongfeng Peak to enjoy the moon!”

An Yize: “…It seems like there’s no moon tonight.”

Su Jian said, “I still want to go, even if it’s just enjoying the breeze!”

After the two of them finished their dinner, they prepared themselves to head towards the viewing point on Dongfeng Peak beside the hotel. An Yize took out a coat from the bag and passed it to Su Jian. “Wear it. The mountain is cold at night.”

Su Jian took the torch and excitedly followed the path to the viewing point. At this moment, the sky hasn’t completely dark yet, so the distant mountains and valleys could still vaguely be seen, with rows and rows of mountain ranges. Su Jian admired the scenery with a “Wow”, and, “Spectacular!”

An Yize pulled his hand, “Be careful.”

“No problem. Aren’t there iron chains at the side?” Standing on a small area surrounded by deep cliffs, Su Jian wasn’t afraid at all. On the contrary, he was studying the rough and heavy iron chains on the side of the viewing point. Similar to the ones he had seen on his way here, many red safety locks were hanging on the iron chain. Su Jian held one in his hands and asked doubtfully, “Why does everyone like to hang these?”

An Yize replied, “It’s just a type of wishing.”

Wishing… Su Jian touched the safety lock in his hands and decided to hang one for his parents and younger brother. Thus, he said, “Let’s hang two as well tomorrow.”

However, An Yize recognized that the lock in his hands was a love lock. Therefore, he replied gently, “Okay.”

The two of them found a smooth area to sit down. The wind was strong on the mountain peak and the sound of the wind whistled loudly by their ears. Initially, Su Jian didn’t feel cold. However, after sitting for awhile, he couldn’t help but shiver. Rubbing his hands, he said, “The temperature was fine in the afternoon. Who would have expected it to be so cold at night?”

“Cold?” An Yize quietly said. He stretched out his arms and encased him into his embrace.

Su Jian also didn’t put up any reservations with him and directly leaned into his warm embrace. He also adjusted himself to a more comfortable position at the same time.

At this moment, only the two of them were at the viewing point. The dark sky covered the top of their heads while their bodies were surrounded by the deep cliffs. The surroundings were very quiet. Other than the sound of the wind, there didn’t seem to be any other sound at all.

At this very moment, this scenery and the two of them cuddling each other made An Yize gain a sense of gentleness in his heart. Lowering his eyes to look at Su Jian, he asked gently, “Are you enjoying yourself?”

Su Jian had intended to listen to some music. While he was taking out his earphones, he heard An Yize’s question so he answered, “I’m enjoying it! Although it’s a little tiring, it’s very meaningful! If we have time in the future, we should go traveling more often!”

An Yize smiled faintly and replied with a “Mhm”.

Su Jian stuffed the earpiece into his ears. He was about the play the music when he happened to see An Yize’s leg by the side. Hesitating for a moment, he silently removed one of the earpieces and asked An Yize politely, “Do you want to listen?”

An Yize took the earpiece without hesitation and stuffed it into his ear.

The two of them shared a pair of earphones and started listening to music. Su Jian randomly selected a Japanese song to listen to. Although he didn’t understand the lyrics, the melody was great. Hence, he immersed himself into listening.

On the other hand, An Yize roughly understood the lyrics of the song.

“The special one in the million

I found where you are

If you feel bounded

You can remove your camouflage

I’m right by your side

……

That destructive silence

If I could tell you my feelings right now

Although I can never get you back

I still wish to hug you tight…”[1]

An Yize looked towards the distance. The mountain range undulated in the darkness. In the faraway plains, the lights were intertwined, like stars that had fallen onto the human world.

Although the sound of the wind was very loud, it was warm in his embrace. An Yize felt that this night on this mountain was similar to the Aegean seaside he envisioned that had a wonderful blue sky, blue sea, and sea breeze. He felt that this place didn’t seem inferior to that.

The seaside is great, and so is the mountain peak. Having the sea as the witness is great. It was fine even if it were the mountain ranges that would see the process.

As long as it was the person in his embrace, everything would great.

An Yize silently clenched his fist, then he relaxed again. His heart was beating without discipline along with the sound of the wind.

“Jian Jian.”

“Uh?”

“I…”

“Au—” An Yize had just spat out one word when a sudden shout came from a random mountain in the surroundings. The shout was intense and full of energy, causing the sound to echo within the mountain range for around half a minute.

Su Jian was immediately interested when he heard it. Removing his earpiece, he returned the shout with a shout. “Au Au Au Au Au—”

An Yize: “……”

The guy on the other end heard someone reply to him and seemed to be interested as well. His next sentence carried some information. “Zhang Juanjuan, I love you—”

An Yize’s heart jumped. He stared fixedly at Su Jian who was in his embrace.

When Su Jian heard that, he wanted to reply excitedly. However, when he opened his mouth, he couldn’t think of a person he wished to confess to. In the end, he shouted loudly and his voice traveled in all four directions—

“I—love—my—country—”

Footnotes:

[1]The song is called “Hesitate”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2YE-mmzt1U