After climbing the mountain for four or five hours, today's exercise quota was met.
Mountains were different from plains. The night at the foot of the mountain was cold, and the chilly wind whipped against their faces like sharp blades. Exhausted and unwilling to exert more energy, the group went to a nearby inn to check in. The front desk clerk processed their IDs one by one and returned them. "All set."
Ye Qingli reached out, found her own ID, and slipped it into her pocket. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Xiao Yu's. The photo looked much like him—sharp, clean lines, a rogue aura seeping out from his bones as if it were innate.
She glanced only briefly, then silently averted her gaze.
Xu Qingsong said, "Let's add each other on WeChat. If you have any dietary restrictions, you can tell me in advance. You guys go back to your rooms and freshen up; I'll call you when dinner's ready."
The girls took longer to wash their hair and get ready than the guys. Zhang Yan nodded and pulled out her phone. "Okay, we'll trouble you then."
The three of them added him one by one. When it was Ye Qingli's turn, Xu Qingsong smiled and closed his phone screen.
"Add his," he said, tilting his chin toward Xiao Yu beside her.
"..." Ye Qingli paused. With so many people watching, she couldn't embarrass him, so she turned around. "Let's add each other, then."
"Reluctant, huh?" Xiao Yu said, showing his WeChat QR code and holding it out to her.
Ye Qingli steeled herself and scanned it. A contact page popped up—the profile picture was a young man wrapped tightly in bandages, leaving only his eyes visible.
It looked like self-abandonment, or like his emotions were sealed off somehow.
She froze. He was clearly such a sunny person. She couldn't understand why he would use such a pessimistic image as his avatar.
"Add me already. You've scanned it; you're not having second thoughts, are you?"
A teasing voice came from above. Xiao Yu was urging her.
"Done." Ye Qingli clicked "Add" and let out a soft breath, as if completing a task.
"Alright, heading upstairs." Xiao Yu smirked, picked up his room card from the counter, and before leaving, patted her shoulder lightly.
He seemed to be in a good mood now.
A few drawn-out "Oohs" and "Ahs" sounded nearby. Ye Qingli's face reddened as she grabbed her room card and left.
She'd noticed she blushed easily lately.
Inserting the room card, the lights came on. The bed was long and wide—but... why was there only one bed?
Xiao Yu looked at Xu Qingsong. Xu Qingsong grinned, showing a row of white teeth. "There are a lot of guests tonight. Only two rooms were left. You can't expect the four girls to squeeze into one bed, can you?"
"It's rare to see you being considerate." Liu Xu came in behind them, looked around. The place was well-cleaned and tidy.
He took off his jacket, plopped onto the bed, and leaned against the pillow.
"Hey!" Xu Qingsong quickly pulled him up. Liu Xu was used to being carefree, sleeping alone both at school and at home. He had no particular standards, so he forgot that Xiao Yu had a thing about cleanliness.
"..." Liu Xu stood up straight. Xiao Yu glanced at him, walked over, took off his backpack, and placed it on a chair. "Then you sleep on this side tonight."
Liu Xu responded, "Sure, I can sleep anywhere."
Xiao Yu took off his jacket, then pulled a disposable towel from his bag and tossed one to Liu Xu. "You shower first. I'll have a smoke."
He hadn't smoked much today. Now his craving was hitting.
After Liu Xu left, Xiao Yu cracked open the window a little, dragged a chair over, and lit a cigarette.
The fiery red tip flared. He held the lighter in his palm, took a drag, his cheeks hollowing, revealing the raw shape of his bones.
He looked good smoking. His eyes still had the sharpness of youth, but his demeanor carried a touch of aloofness that came with maturity.
Xu Qingsong took the lighter from his hand, lit one for himself, and teased, "No wonder your ex-girlfriends liked watching you smoke. It's pretty impressive."
Xiao Yu flicked off the ash. "Not impressive if I don't smoke?"
"Impressive or not, Ye Qingli isn't clinging to you." Xu Qingsong laughed. Having been close friends for so long, he knew how to hit where it hurt.
Xiao Yu snorted with a laugh, conceding, "Yeah, true."
Curious, Xu Qingsong dragged another chair over and sat beside him. "Why do you think that is? Is she really not into your looks, or is she playing innocent?"
"She just simply doesn't like me."
"How do you know?"
"She already rejected me on the cable car." Xiao Yu smirked, unsure whether to find himself ridiculous.
First time chasing someone, and he got rejected.
Xu Qingsong slapped the table. "Damn! You're off to a bad start!"
Xiao Yu smiled. "Yeah, I guess."
"You're pretty chill about it, grinning like that." Xu Qingsong bit the inside of his cheek, his serious expression as if this had happened to him. "So, what are you thinking?"
"Keep chasing, what else can I do?"
Xiao Yu said it lightly, stubbing out the cigarette butt and tossing it into the ashtray. Xu Qingsong felt like he was seeing things—how could he just take it like that?
Shouldn't he be furious, sulking the whole time, and complaining about Ye Qingli, saying something like "I'm done with her"?
Whether or not it was about getting back at Huang Xu, at least from this, Xiao Yu had changed.
He had never been patient with any girl before.
Xu Qingsong asked, "Are you determined to win her over?"