Moving On from the Tsundere, I Choose the Perfect Sweetheart

Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Plucking the Stars with Bare Hands; Even if Fruitless, You Won’t Be Left with Muddy Hands

”Alrighty~”

”You two have a seat. Let me just finish this order in the wok, and I’ll be right with you!”

The owner of the late-night food stall was a middle-aged man. He deftly tossed the wok with one hand while calling out to the pair with a smile and a thick Sichuan accent.

Business was good for the owner.

The night air was slightly cool, but he was dressed in a white sleeveless shirt, and beads of sweat still dotted his temples.

The once-white apron tied around his chest had yellowed slightly, a clear sign of its age.

”There’s free tea on the table, help yourselves!”

After plating the fried noodles from the wok, the middle-aged owner suddenly remembered something and called out to Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe again.

”Okay!”

Gu Yifan nodded.

Then he and Su Qinghe found an empty table and sat down.

As for the workers who had been watching them earlier, they had long since lost interest.

They had been a little puzzled by the young couple’s sudden appearance, but they didn’t give it much thought.

’After all, it’s not like they’re the only ones allowed here!’

Not long after Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe sat down, the owner brought over their fried noodles and fried rice vermicelli.

”Here are your noodles and vermicelli. Enjoy!”

The middle-aged owner gave them a slight smile.

”Great, thank you!”

Gu Yifan nodded, then prompted Su Qinghe, ”Let’s eat while it’s hot.”

”Mhm.”

Su Qinghe nodded.

To be fair, the owner’s cooking skills were pretty darn good!

Gu Yifan finished his fried noodles in just a few bites. After a quick word to Su Qinghe, he got up and walked over to the stall owner to say something.

As he spoke, he occasionally pointed in Su Qinghe’s direction.

Su Qinghe shot him a curious glance, but she was too far away to hear their conversation.

A moment later, Gu Yifan returned.

Su Qinghe noticed he was holding something new.

”I saw the owner had a few portable high-beam flashlights, so I bought one from him. It’ll be perfect for when we go up the mountain in a bit.”

Before she could ask, Gu Yifan explained, shaking the high-beam flashlight in his hand.

Su Qinghe finally understood.

’So that’s what he was talking to the owner about.’

She nodded lightly without saying much.

...

「Midnight. 12:00 sharp.」

The two of them officially started up the mountain.

Niutou Mountain was a developed tourist spot, and plenty of people would visit during the day.

So, while there might be some danger in them climbing at this hour, it wasn’t significant.

However, it was truly, pitch-black dark.

Thankfully, Gu Yifan had been smart enough to buy the high-beam flashlight from the stall owner. Otherwise, with only the feeble light from a phone, they most likely wouldn’t have been able to see the path!

Gu Yifan held the flashlight in one hand and Su Qinghe’s hand in the other.

The high-beam flashlight brightly illuminated the path ahead of them.

As they walked along the old, weathered flagstone path, listening to the chirping of insects and birds, their minds and bodies began to relax.

As for whether any danger would appear, Gu Yifan wasn’t worried at all.

The reason was simple.

’With that bastard of a system around, there’s no way it would let me just kick the bucket so easily!’

’Besides, I still have nine blue pills that grant 100x attack speed. If any bad guys or wild beasts show up, I’ll just pop a pill and crush them in minutes!’

So, there was no need to worry about such things.

On the way up the mountain, Gu Yifan kept his eyes on the path ahead, not noticing the several times Su Qinghe looked like she wanted to say something but held back.

Su Qinghe was actually a little confused. She wanted to ask Gu Yifan why he had brought her here. After all, he couldn’t have dragged her out in the middle of the night just to see the sights, could he?

Ehehe!

She was actually right!

Gu Yifan really had brought her here to see the sights!

As for what kind of sights, she would understand completely once they reached the summit.

Along the way, anywhere beyond the bright beam of the flashlight remained shrouded in pitch-black darkness.

From time to time, rustling sounds came from the bushes lining the flagstone steps.

And as they passed, they would occasionally startle sleeping birds from the grass along the path.

It had to be said, coming here alone at this time of night would be genuinely terrifying.

But!

Right now, Su Qinghe didn’t feel afraid. Feeling the warmth from his palm in hers, she even felt a sense of peace.

She snuck a peek at Gu Yifan’s side profile, just as he happened to turn his head to say something to her.

Their eyes met.

Su Qinghe flusteredly averted her gaze, and two crimson blushes instantly bloomed on her cheeks.

Gu Yifan froze for a second. ”Is something wrong?”

”N-Nothing.”

Su Qinghe mumbled, her head lowered.

’Huh...’

’How strange!’

’What’s with this girl?’

Gu Yifan wondered to himself.

Silence...

The atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward.

In the end, it was Gu Yifan who broke the silence.

”Ahem~”

He faked a couple of coughs and said, ”Um... well, the summit is still pretty far. Let’s keep walking!”

”Mhm...”

Su Qinghe responded quietly, her head still down.

...

「An hour and a half later, at 1:30 AM.」

The two of them finally reached the summit.

”We’re here.”

Gu Yifan said, turning his head to Su Qinghe.

By now, Su Qinghe’s forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. It was obvious she was truly tired.

After all, they had first walked for an hour, and then climbed the mountain for more than another hour.

Still, for a girl, her stamina was actually quite good.

Back when her grandmother was still alive, she often helped with farm work in the fields.

Children from poor families learn to be independent early; it’s been true since ancient times.

”There’s a boulder over there. Let’s go sit for a bit, have some water, and rest.”

Gu Yifan said, pointing to a large boulder not far away.

”Mhm.”

Su Qinghe nodded.

The two then made their way over to the boulder.

”Here, have some water.”

Gu Yifan twisted open a bottle of water and handed it to her, then began to look around.

”Thank you~”

Su Qinghe said softly.

The mountaintop was wide and open. A gentle mountain breeze drifted by, blowing away much of their fatigue.

Looking up at the sky, Gu Yifan’s eyes lit up!

”Su Qinghe, look up.”

He said to Su Qinghe, who was in the middle of drinking her water.

Hearing Gu Yifan’s voice, Su Qinghe instinctively raised her head and looked up.

Her eyes lit up, and her hands froze in place.

The once-pitch-black night sky was now dotted with countless stars, and a river of stars formed by them stretched across the heavens.

The river of stars seemed to flow, a white band of starlight moving like water, so close it felt like she could reach out and touch it.

She instinctively reached out, but she couldn’t touch anything.

To reach for the stars with bare hands; even if the effort is in vain, at least your hands won’t be covered in mud.

The phrase suddenly flashed through Su Qinghe’s mind.

It might sound naive, but the world could really use a little more romance like this.

...