Chapter 165: Falling Again... Is He Just Pretending to Be Brave?
Xia Changyu realized an important truth.
When it comes to relationships between boys and girls, the one who is chasing should take the first step.
After all, with Lin Yibai’s personality, it would be hard for her to make the first move toward her “love rival.” But as the saying goes, if the mountain doesn’t move, the water will. If one way doesn’t work, try another!
If she won’t come closer to me...
Couldn’t he go closer to her?
As someone chasing after her, should I just sit there doing nothing and wait for her to ask for help? What if she never asks, does that mean I never do anything?
Honestly, think about it. Lin Yibai has already done so much for his sake, running around to help him feel better. Xia Changyu just wanted to give something back. It had nothing to do with pleasing girls or fighting between men and women!
Once he made up his mind, Xia Changyu started thinking about what kind of skincare gift to buy. If it’s too expensive, she might not accept it... but this time, he really had to get an expensive one.
Like he said before, ‘If the mountain doesn’t move, the water will.’
As long as you don’t give up, there’s always a way.
While he was lost in thought, the cute girl patted him on the shoulder and said, “What are you thinking about again? We should go down the mountain now!”
The temple was on the mountain inside the Chongshan Ancient Town scenic area. They took a sightseeing cable car on the way up, but to visit the small temple, they had gone off the main path a bit.
Now, they had two choices, climb up about 500 meters of stairs, or keep walking down the mountain until they reached the park exit.
Obviously, the answer was go down!
Lin Yibai also realized for the first time that going down stairs could be tiring too.
“Tap, tap!”
The sound of her white sneakers hitting the stone steps echoed through the mountain. Lin Yibai rubbed her knees and asked, “Hey, how much farther do we have to go?”
Xia Changyu thought for a moment, then said, “I remember the sign said there are 2,700 steps to go down, about 1.8 kilometers. We’ve probably walked half of it.”
Lin Yibai: “That’s so far…”
Xia Changyu: “Tired?”
Lin Yibai shook her head and sighed, “Not exactly tired. It’s just that my feet kind of hurt. Going down so many stairs is rough on the knees.”
“Then let’s take a break!”
Lin Yibai shook her head again and sighed, “If we rest again, we’ll miss lunch and the desserts at afternoon tea!”
Xia Changyu laughed loudly and waved his hand confidently, “If we’re hungry, we can stop by one of the snack stands along the mountain trail and grab a bite!”
This time, Lin Yibai firmly shook her head and said, “You can do anything, but don’t spend money inside the scenic area! I’m not one of those super delicate girls who acts like they’re dying just because they’re a little thirsty or hungry. But the prices here are just too crazy!”
Xia Changyu said, “It’s really not about the money.”
Lin Yibai gave a cold “hmph” and said, “It’s not about the money, it’s about pride! When they sell a bottle of mineral water for ten yuan, it’s no longer just about the money. I really regret not speaking up and returning those two bottles just now.”
To be fair, if something that normally costs 3 yuan is sold for 5 yuan in a scenic area… okay, maybe it’s acceptable. But if it costs 5 yuan and they charge 10 yuan, the more you think about it, the angrier you get. You feel like slapping your past self for paying.
Young people are great at everything, except when it comes to prices. They don’t want to lose face, so they don’t return the overpriced item… and the more they think about it, the worse it feels.
Xia Changyu gave a bitter smile.
Since he couldn’t change her mind directly, he tried another way. “Then… how about a short break?”
Lin Yibai finally nodded, not pushing back anymore. “Okay, we can rest for a bit.”
Because there were cable cars and tourist buses, fewer people walked the stone steps now, so the path was pretty clean.
Xia Changyu sat on one of the steps ahead.
Lin Yibai sat behind him, and she also took off her shoes to air out her feet.
If someone has a foot fetish...
Then her two feet would definitely be considered top tier. And if she wore black stockings and stepped on someone, it would be even better.
Xia Changyu felt his thoughts were getting a bit off, so he quickly shook those weird ideas out of his head and focused on something else.
He noticed a small red mark on her toe.
Because of all the walking, it looked like she might have a bit of an ingrown toenail. It hurt just to look at it. He remembered seeing something similar once before, at an expo, when she stood too long.
He asked, “Does it hurt?”
Lin Yibai said casually, “It’s okay. Probably because I haven’t exercised in a while.”
Xia Changyu looked at her toenail and said without thinking, “Maybe your toenails are too long.”
Lin Yibai squinted at him and asked, “What do you mean by saying my toenails are too long?”
Xia Changyu's intentions were very clear—ah, no!
Actually, he didn’t even bother to hide his real intention anymore. He said directly, “I can help you trim it.”
Lin Yibai blinked in surprise. “Huh?”
Xia Changyu asked again, “Is that okay?”
Should she say yes or no?
Letting a guy help her trim her toenails felt kind of weird...
But if she didn’t cut it, it would really hurt. So what should she do?
Seeing how serious Xia Changyu looked, Lin Yibai finally turned her head away and whispered, “Then... fine. I’ll allow it.”
Xia Changyu finally smiled. And helping the girl you like trim her nails, why would that be considered weird or creepy?
If someone thought it was creepy, maybe it was because their own mind wasn’t clean in the first place!
Soon, the sound of click click could be heard.
Lin Yibai felt her feet tickling a little. She almost curled her toes, but she held it in.
To distract herself from the strange ticklish feeling, she said, “Hey, do you listen to music?”
Xia Changyu focused on trimming and didn’t even look up. “Music? I have premium memberships on NetEase and QQ Music. Whatever you want to hear, I’ve got it.”
Lin Yibai snorted. “You’re so dumb, hmph!”
Xia Changyu finally looked up and asked, confused, “Huh? Why did you say that?”
Lin Yibai really wanted to punch him, but held back and said, “I meant I want to hum a few lines. Will you listen?”
Xia Changyu replied, “Songs from Cyberpunk 2077?”
Lin Yibai gave up completely. She was a girl, but for the first time, she realized boys could really be dense. So dull, no sense of romance at all!
Even though she did like some of the remixes from 2077, did he really think she was such a boring girl?
No way! She, Lin Yibai, definitely had some taste.
She took a deep breath, looked around at the stone path in the mountains, and then said, “Fine, I’ll hum a few lines from an old-style song. But if I sing badly, you’re not allowed to laugh at me, okay?”
Xia Changyu smiled. “I won’t.”
Soon, a cool and calm voice began to hum:
You held an umbrella and pulled me into your arms,
Every word of your promise was so serious.
In your eyes, I saw a thousand gentle feelings,
Like the soft spring wind, even the snow smiled...
Even though it was a remix of an old song, and the song was from a long time ago, you could still tell it was a beautiful song. The winter version was the best one.
Even Xia Changyu was surprised. “What song is this?”
Lin Yibai said, “It’s one of the songs my Taoist priest friend found. Remember when I helped you with that ancient-style ceramics project? She looked up a lot of music, and this was one of them.”
Xia Changyu said, “This song must be about a beautiful love story.”
But Lin Yibai shook her head and replied, “Actually, no. It’s a story about a bad guy who leaves his old love for a new one.”
What the heck? Why wasn’t this girl following the usual story pattern?
Xia Changyu tightened his grip on her delicate foot. His eyes suddenly looked serious and firm.
He had a feeling, if this wasn’t her hinting at something, then maybe... she was giving him some guidance?
With a good attitude, you can always notice little details. He was already close to Lin Yibai while trimming her nails. Now, he moved even closer—
Almost pinning her down against the steps.
He looked her in the eyes and said seriously, “When I say I like you, I really mean it. I will never be a jerk.”
Lin Yibai: “Tch~”
Xia Changyu: “What was that sound?”
Lin Yibai gave a sarcastic laugh. “You talk nice, but which jerk ever admits they’re a jerk?”
Xia Changyu answered, “Then I’ll prove it to you.”
Lin Yibai asked, confused, “Prove? How?”
Xia Changyu leaned in even closer. Their faces were now almost touching.
Lin Yibai couldn’t figure it out at all. She had just been humming a song...
How did things suddenly end up like this?
He was already leaning in again for a kiss. When did it become so common for them to just kiss out of nowhere?
No way. He kissed her just yesterday!
Yesterday was the last time. Isn’t the time between kisses way too short now?
How dare he do this again?
Yeah... how dare he.
He must be bluffing!