"Dai Yao, let's just leave these,"
The snacks they bought earlier had already been put away in the dorm, but who would have thought that as soon as they arrived at the mountain villa, this girl would rummage around and bring a whole pile back.
The three of them, who had only planned to bring a small backpack, now felt a headache just looking at it.
After all, they were going to climb a mountain, and bringing too much would be a burden, possibly even fatal.
"Then... alright..."
"But I absolutely must bring this cucumber!"
They could do without snacks, but this cucumber, which she had painstakingly bought, had to be brought along.
Yesterday, to keep it fresh, she had specifically placed it in the refrigerator.
"..."
"Fine, bring it!"
Looking at the pile of snacks beside them and then at the bag of cucumbers, Qiu Xi and the others felt that bringing cucumbers was more useful than bringing snacks.
At least if they got thirsty, they could have a bite.
"Are we done?"
"Yes, I'll grab a bit more chocolate."
"Alright!"
If only they hadn't brought that pile, everything else would have been fine.
"Okay, we're ready."
Finally, they could leave. After a whole morning of back-and-forth negotiations, it was exhausting!
Qiu Xi and the others had arranged to meet at the villa entrance. When they arrived, Nan Hua and his group had just come down as well.
"Perfect, let's go."
Zhao Hua Sheng, the "atmosphere creator who never changes," naturally initiated the conversation.
"Are we walking there?"
Seeing everyone walk off so casually, Song Dai Yao seemed a bit puzzled.
"Yeah, the mountain we're climbing is not far behind the villa. Walking there is a good way to warm up beforehand."
The mountain they were climbing this time was Qi Wu Mountain. It wasn't very high, only about a hundred meters, but it covered a large area, with plenty of scenery to see.
There was a temple at the summit, which was very famous in the area. People came to offer incense frequently, wishing for all sorts of things.
"Although this mountain isn't high, because it covers such a large area, it will probably take quite a while to climb to the top. Everyone hang in there!"
For some reason, Qiu Xi felt like their group had suddenly gained a free tour guide.
"Ah~ Will my cucumber be enough then?"
Song Dai Yao, suddenly worried, said something that caused a misunderstanding.
"Cucumber? What cucumber? Why did you bring a cucumber?" Zhao Hua Sheng asked with a confused triple question.
"This, it's refreshing and quenches thirst," Song Dai Yao said proudly as she opened her small backpack.
"..." If it were a long, arduous climb, he might understand bringing this, or if it were someone older, he might understand.
But for this young girl, not even twenty years old, he truly couldn't understand.
Song Dai Yao's display left the others almost in tears but also amused.
Especially the few boys, their tightly pursed lips could barely hold back their laughter, and their eyes were filled with amusement.
Zhao Hua Sheng, on the other hand, didn't hold back at all. He doubled over, clutching his stomach, and burst into laughter.
Qiu Xi and the others silently turned their heads away, observing the situation.
"Hmph!"
"Oh~"
"You actually stepped on it!"
Zhao Hua Sheng, who had been laughing so brightly moments ago, suddenly changed his expression. In the next second, he was holding his foot and hopping on one leg.
After stepping on it, Song Dai Yao walked forward without looking back.
"Serves you right!"
The three boys following behind all agreed that Zhao Hua Sheng deserved that stomp.
"You guys...!!!"
Bad friends! They were truly the worst!!!
...
"Zhao Hua Sheng..."
"Little Flower..."
On the rest of the journey, Zhao Hua Sheng's status kept dropping. In the end, he was almost called a little beggar.
Saying the most cowardly things and doing the most tiring work, our Director Zhao truly experienced the harshness of the human world today.
"If we walk like this, it will be almost time for lunch when we reach the summit."
Qiu Xi estimated that they had walked about half the way. It could have been much faster, but they stopped at every scenic spot along the way, leading to them now resting tiredly in a small pavilion by the roadside.
"It's fine, if we don't linger as much later, we'll be about on time at the summit temple," Nan Hua replied, sitting beside her.
"Xiao Xi, it's okay, come have a cucumber."
Dedicated to promoting her products, Song Dai Yao didn't care at all about when they would reach the mountain. After all, after military training, she felt that no physical labor could be more strenuous than forced marches.
Seeing Song Dai Yao with starry eyes and a pleading look, Qiu Xi thought for a moment and took the cucumber wrapped in plastic wrap.
"Half?" Qiu Xi asked, looking at Nan Hua beside her.
"Mm... sure."
"Here." As soon as the words left her mouth, Qiu Xi cleanly broke off half and handed it over.
Mmm! Not bad, quite fragrant!
"What about mine?"
After walking for so long, he had contributed effort, if not merit. Why wasn't he getting a cucumber? Zhao Hua Sheng felt utterly dejected.
"Weren't you laughing happily?" Hearing this, Song Dai Yao perked up, seeking revenge by any means necessary.
"I... I apologized already..."
"Are you still laughing?" This settling of scores later was truly excellent.
"I'm not laughing anymore!"
"Hmm?"
"Not laughing, not laughing!"
"Hmph~ I'll let you off this time."
"Yes, thank you, Grandma, for showing mercy! Then, mine..." Saying this, Zhao Hua Sheng's eyes fixed on what Song Dai Yao was holding.
"..."
"Here."
"Got it." Taking the item, Zhao Hua Sheng sat back down and started to eat.
"Shameless!" As soon as he sat down, he was collectively chided by his three brothers.
"..."
"What do you know!"
"..." Thanks, they really didn't know.
...
Summit Temple-
"Want to go in and light an incense stick?"
After going to the restroom, Qiu Xi found that only she and Nan Hua were left.
Upon asking, she learned that Song Dai Yao and Zhao Hua Sheng, the two childish ones, had gone to look at turtles, Liang Yun Fei and Shen Yan heard there were murals nearby and prepared to feast their eyes, while the remaining two said they were buying water and then also disappeared.
"Then let's go."
Since they had come this far, they might as well go; they couldn't waste the effort they had worked so hard to climb.
"Mm."
After offering incense, the two began to wander around.
"Hey, let's go write one too," Qiu Xi, who had been leisurely strolling, suddenly noticed the wish tree nearby, adorned with many red ribbons, and quite a few tourists around.
It immediately piqued Qiu Xi's interest; she wanted to hang a ribbon too.
Looking in the direction Qiu Xi was pointing, Nan Hua pondered for a moment, his thoughts unclear.
"Are you going?"
Not hearing a response, Qiu Xi asked again.
"Let's go."
After buying a red ribbon and borrowing a pen from the owner, Qiu Xi started writing rapidly. Writing too much might seem greedy, and too little too unambitious. Finally, after careful consideration, she decided to stop writing.
"Done?"
"Mm."
"Let's go hang it up."
Now solely focused on the red ribbon, Qiu Xi didn't notice the pampering in Nan Hua's eyes at all.
"Okay."