Ye Qingli squeezed Xu Yan's hand. "Let's ride together, then."
Each car could only hold two people. Seeing this, Xiao Yu pinched Xu Qingsong from behind. Xu Qingsong caught on and quickly stepped between the two girls.
Xu Qingsong smiled. "Actually, let me ride with her. A delicate princess always needs a knight to protect her."
"..." Xiao Yu barely held back his laughter. After climbing the mountain, everyone looked rumpled and worn out. These two didn't resemble a princess and knight at all—more like vagabonds.
Xu Yan tried to shake him off. "Who wants to ride with you? Don't flatter yourself."
Xu Qingsong rolled his eyes internally. Did he really want to ride with her? He had no choice.
But he kept smiling, putting on a sincere face. "What if I'm the one who wants to ride with you? Come on, just this once."
"Hey, you..."
Xu Yan was coaxed into the car. Jiang Mo glanced at Xiao Yu and smiled at Ye Qingli. "Then I'll go with Yan Yan first."
Ye Qingli: "..."
Now only the three of them were left. Ye Qingli didn't really want to ride with Xiao Yu. She turned to Liu Xu. "How about we..."
"Stop!" Liu Xu quickly stopped her. He didn't want to die. "I'll ride alone."
"..."
Now everyone who needed to leave had left. A new car arrived. Xiao Yu looked down at her, his voice low. "If you're not scared at all, you can choose to ride alone."
With that, he walked away. The faint sunlight shone on him, his tall, lean silhouette radiating a cool light. Ye Qingli clenched her empty fist and jogged a few steps to catch up.
A mountain this high—how could she not be scared?
They got on. The front railing was lowered. Ye Qingli gripped the bar, her chest heaving rapidly.
"The girl is sitting off-center. Move closer to the boy, or the car will tilt from uneven weight," the staff member called from behind.
Ye Qingli paused, then carefully shuffled to the middle.
Until her arm touched his. She jerked back as if shocked. She caught the faint, unique scent of the young man.
It smelled a bit like pine.
"Why don't you want to sit with me? Do you dislike me that much?"
Xiao Yu noticed her reaction. His narrow eyes blinked. He couldn't say why, but it annoyed him.
For the first time, because of a girl.
Many girls had thrown themselves at him, but with her, it was the opposite—like he was throwing himself at her.
As if if he didn't make a move, they'd have nothing, not even a topic to talk about.
"...No," Ye Qingli lowered her head.
"Then why won't you look at me?" Xiao Yu said. He glanced at her bright red earlobes and smiled thinly. "It can't be because you're shy."
Ye Qingli froze. The next second, she haphazardly raised her hand to cover her burning ears.
"I just don't understand why you suddenly want to pursue me," she said softly after a moment.
Ye Qingli was the kind of girl with a pure face, clear eyes, pitch-black and bright, free of impurities. She looked gentle and easy to fool.
At her words, Xiao Yu's pupils trembled. He took a deep breath and looked into the distance.
How was he supposed to answer her?
He couldn't just say it directly—that he was deliberately getting close to her to get back at Huang Xu.
If he did, she would definitely stay far away from him and never talk to him again.
The darkness in his heart drove his reason. Xiao Yu paused, turned his head, and said in a serious tone, "I like someone without reason."
Ye Qingli blinked. Her hand by her ear slowly dropped onto the railing in front of her, then silently clenched.
On the first day of freshman orientation, Xiao Yu had recklessly beaten Huang Xu into the hospital in front of everyone. Everyone knew they had bad blood.
Later, whenever Huang Xu was near her, Xiao Yu would appear out of nowhere and take her away on various pretexts.
Returning her student ID, paying for her, treating her dorm mates to a meal, volunteering to come hiking with them.
It wasn't a coincidence. Someone as proud as he was wouldn't stoop to pursue an insignificant girl like her.
Xiao Yu didn't like her.
He was still lying to her.
Ye Qingli let out a soft breath and slowly raised her head. From Xiao Yu's perspective, the flush on her face had faded a bit but was still visible.
She didn't call him out. She just said, "But I won't like you."
She was clear-headed. She didn't want to fall for him.
Maybe a clear refusal would extinguish the proud flame in his heart.
But Xiao Yu seemed to have expected that. He smirked, looking unconcerned.
"Don't be so sure. I haven't even tried yet."
The cable car ride was long. By the time the end was in sight, who knew how long had passed. On the platform, a few figures were waving. It looked like Xu Yan and the others.
As they were about to land, Xiao Yu pushed up the railing. Finally having solid ground, Ye Qingli straightened her back, sore and aching.
She must have been too tense, staying rigid the whole ride.
Xu Yan grabbed her arm and asked with a grin, "Did anything happen just now?"
Ye Qingli shook her head silently.
"That Xiao Yu's no good. Xu Qingsong gave him an opportunity, but he still couldn't win you over."
Xu Yan clicked her tongue. Ye Qingli looked down, recalling what Xiao Yu had said to her before getting off.
He'd said that feelings are proportional to time.
He wouldn't force her, but he would never give up.