Chapter 23 Chapter 23 She chose to protect the child

With the experience of the first day, the program crew had a plan for the next few days of recording.

The Xizhi family simply lets things run wild. Whether they speak or not, they can create their own hits, which contrasts with the other three somewhat homogeneous internet celebrity families and makes them more interesting.

On the fourth day of the program, the five families had to complete the task of climbing Qingshan Peak next to the ancient town.

Qingshan Peak is a famous 5A-level scenic spot in Province Z, and many film crews have filmed here.

Within the scenic area, peaks rise like spears, pointing straight to the sky. The rocks are dark blue, interspersed with ochre red, and from a distance, they resemble a wet ink painting.

The shapes of the mountains are extremely strange, some like an old monk clasping his hands together, some like a giant eagle folding its wings, and some like a woman looking forward to her husband.

Many men of letters and poets have left their landscape poems here, but what made Qingshan Peak famous throughout the country was the "Love Cave" that has become popular on the Internet in recent years.

It is said that among the more than one hundred natural caves of various sizes in Qingshan Peak, there is one that is blessed by Yue Lao. As long as a couple can reach this cave together, they will live happily together until old age.

Initially, this was just a legend advertised at the entrance to the scenic area, but later, many adventure bloggers learned about it and came to visit. Some people actually found the cave and discovered hundreds of love poems carved on its inner walls.

This video went viral online, and more couples came to see it. However, what they received was not God's blessing but a curse.

The terrain inside Qingshan Peak is steep, and the Love Cave is not located next to a developed safe mountain road. In addition, it rains frequently in City C, and the muddy roads are slippery. It is common for two people to set out and only one returns.

As a result, gradually fewer people went looking for the love cave, and people forgot about it.

"Every family, take note! Our mission today is to hike across Peak C of Qingshan Peak as a family. It starts at 9:00 and ends at sunset at 6:20. We've arranged navigation routes for each family, so just follow your phone!"

"During the climb, you are not allowed to hire sedan chair bearers. You have to walk by yourself. However, if the child can no longer walk, parents can carry or hold them."

"During the whole process, there may be some sections where your phone signal will be lost. Don't be afraid. Just follow the route of the scenic area. There will be no safety issues. But be sure not to enter some small mountain roads without permission."

After the host gave some instructions again, the five families set off separately.

In order to capture a more natural family scene, the program crew did not have a photographer follow them. Instead, they attached cameras to both adults and children. In addition, each family brought their own camera to shoot.

In the morning, on a mountain trail.

The sun shone through the intertwined branches. Xizhi was walking in front alone, holding a sports camera, while Yu Sixie and Xitong were chatting side by side behind him.

The director, who was sitting at the terminal, was following each family's itinerary in real time. He noticed that the couple, who rarely spoke, were chatting animatedly, so he quickly amplified their voices.

“Even if we cooperate with a physical hospital to apply for an internet hospital license, it will take at least three months.”

Xi Tong rejected Yu Sixie's proposal.

The problem of the young grandfather was completely solved, and the public opinion problems surrounding her were also eliminated in this program. The medical project that had been suspended for a long time had to be accelerated.

“This is the safest option.”

Yu Sixie refused to back down. "Even if we acquire an existing internet hospital shell company, if something goes wrong, it will take more than just three months."

"but……"

The program crew members who were staring at the screen trying to get some gossip information rolled their eyes. They were all expecting something.

The director held his forehead and thought, what kind of workaholics are these? Don’t they have any private life at all?

Such a beautiful and tranquil scenery, and the child is so well-behaved and not crying or making a fuss. You know, the children next door are already crying for their parents to hold them, but Xizhi is so obedient and doesn't even complain. Can't the two of them take this opportunity to have a sweet love affair?!

Xi Zhi, who was wearing a light blue windbreaker in the picture, seemed to have heard the director's thoughts. He suddenly stopped and looked straight at Yu Sixie and Xi Tong.

Only then did the two of them come back to their senses from the hospital construction plan they had been arguing about. Yu Sixie squatted down. He had been walking for more than an hour, but he was not sweating at all and his face looked normal.

"You want a hug?"

Xizhi shook his head and pointed at Xitong who was standing beside him panting, "Mommy wants to hold me."

"No, no...Mommy doesn't need to hold me."

Shocked by Xizhi's words, Xitong quickly waved her hand to refuse.

After reading the diary of several million words, Xizhi had already deeply understood his mother's duplicity. He continued to make up for it, looking at Yu Sixie sincerely, "When she used to go hiking with Yaoyao, she would always act coquettishly and ask Yaoyao for a hug."

When Xitong heard this, she felt ashamed and overwhelmed by a huge sense of shame.

Her cheeks were already flushed from just one hour of climbing. Xitong didn't have the habit of exercising, so her physical strength was very poor.

The stone steps of Qingshan Peak were indeed difficult to walk on. Because she had been discussing the project with Yu Sixie all the way, she didn't even notice her fatigue. Instead, Xizhi, who was walking in front, noticed it.

The sudden stop and the pain in her ears made Xitong realize that she was indeed tired. She saw a stone bench not far ahead and grabbed at the life-saving straw.

"How about we all take a break?"

Xi Tong suggested with her head down, not daring to look at Yu Sixie's expression at the moment. The man who was almost a head taller than her must be silently laughing at her.

I have less physical strength than a child.

Wild grass was growing desperately in the cracks of the stone slabs. Xitong looked at the white sneakers on her feet. This was her second time to Qingshan Peak.

The last time she came, she was still Xizhi's age and was with her parents.

Xitong was particularly impressed by that trip. It was also a sunny day. When they first set out, their parents were very happy, but the atmosphere gradually became wrong. As they walked on the mountain road, their father kept watching the game on his mobile phone, while their mother was cursing beside them.

"You've already been poisoned by Xi Guoming, and you're still gambling! You'll only die if you continue gambling!"

The father did not answer the mother's words, but quickened his pace.

Xiao Xitong followed the two of them with great effort, and no one noticed that she was so tired that she could not breathe.

"Mom and Dad, I..."

She wanted to ask her parents to take a break many times, but she didn't dare to speak out. She was scared by her father's indifference and her mother's almost crazy scolding.

The ill-fitting shoes made every step extremely painful, and her soles and heels were burning with pain.

But she finally endured it all without saying a word. At the age of seven, she climbed over the Qingshan Peak alone, a climb that even adults could not complete.

When I went to the hotel to take a shower at night, my white socks were already stuck to the wound on my foot.

Now 29 years old, Xitong would not ask others to help her. Her ability to show weakness had long been degraded and extinct due to her parents' repeated indifference.

However, what she waited for was a broad back.

Xizhi, who was standing by, took her hand and placed it on Yu Sixie's shoulder. He urged her in a clear and tender voice, "Mom, hurry up! I want to go to the hot springs tonight. We still want to take first place."

The first person to complete today's task can enjoy the best private hot spring in the area.

"Um."

Xi Tong couldn't refuse anymore and lay on Yu Sixie's back.

Her eyes were a little moist, but fortunately Yu Sixie and Xi Zhi, who were facing away from her and were not tall enough, could not see it. She buried her face in his shoulder, and the familiar sandalwood scent filled her nose.

Strong arms held her thighs firmly.

"Crying?"

Yu Sixie's voice was very soft, so soft that only the two of them could hear it.

"No, only children cry."

Tears slid down the corners of her eyes and dripped onto his shoulders. Yu Sixie didn't ask any more questions, but just held Xi Tong's hand even harder and carried her firmly on his back.

They did not talk about business for the rest of the journey. The family enjoyed the scenery of Qingshan Peak together. Yu Sixie and Xizhi discussed mathematical theories that Xitong could not understand, but she could occasionally tell them some stories about mathematicians.

The steep and long mountain road didn't seem so torturous anymore.

Feeling the warmth from Yu Sixie's body and looking at Xizhi who looked like a little adult in front of him, Xitong seemed to understand the former Yu Sixie a little.

This is what a warm and happy family looks like.

"Boom—"

Thunder rumbled in the sky. At 3:30 in the afternoon, dark clouds enveloped the entire Qingshan Peak, and the sky suddenly darkened.

"Is it raining?"

The director frowned. He looked up at the dark sky, a sense of foreboding washing over him. "Tell all families on the road to stop immediately and wait until the rain subsides before setting off again. Safety comes first."

When the first drop of rain hit the stone steps, it made a crisp sound and splashed a small flower of mud. Then came the second drop, the third drop... In an instant, the raindrops were sweeping over densely.

The rain curtain fell, and the mountain scenery suddenly became blurred.

The mountains in the distance were hidden in the rain and fog, and the trees nearby were only left with hazy outlines.

Xizhi cleverly realized that it was going to rain, so he and his parents found a pavilion to sit down and shelter from the rain.

The signal on the mobile phone completely disappeared, and the navigation showed that it would take about another hour to reach the destination. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

After walking for a whole day, even Yu Sixie, who was in good physical condition, had beads of sweat on his forehead. He took off his foggy glasses and breathed slightly.

Everything in front of him was blurry. Xitong and Xizhi were standing on the other side of the pavilion, facing a very narrow dirt road. Beyond the dirt road was a very steep hillside. The consequences would be unimaginable if they fell down.

He was just about to ask them to go inside when a man in a black windbreaker suddenly appeared from the dirt road around the corner!

It was Xie Shuai, the husband of the internet celebrity who broadcasts food online, Tuan Tuan. He turned around and called the people behind him, without looking at the road ahead, and rushed straight towards Xi Tong and Xi Zhi who were standing by the pavilion.

"careful!"

Yu Sixie took two steps at a time and rushed towards the two of them.

The running Xie Shuai didn't notice Xi Zhi who was squatting down at all, and bumped into him straight away!

The turbid water hit the rocks, making a loud rumbling sound.

Xizhi, who was pushed upward by Xitong, fell dazedly on the cold stone surface. A thunder exploded above his head, shaking the mountain pavilion slightly.

Lightning was like a silver snake, moving across the valley, illuminating everything in the rain with a pale white glow.

"mom!"

"Yutong!"

Xitong's mind went blank the moment she fell down the hillside, but she was relieved when she saw Xizhi lying safely in the pavilion.

"I don't want to have children. Do they compete for my affection? I want to be the youngest in the family. Why would I want to have another one to make things difficult for myself?"

Twenty-one-year-old Xi Tong leaned in her grandmother's arms and said angrily, she was angry because Yu Sixie wanted a child. Why did he have to have a child? Wasn't it good for her and him?

She will definitely be jealous of the child.

She doesn't want anyone to take away the love given to her.

On the day Xizhi was born, Xitong also told Su Luyao the same thing. If the plot on TV really happened and the doctor asked whether to save the adult or the child, Xitong would definitely save the adult without hesitation.

She never thought that one day, she would really be faced with a desperate situation where she had to choose between two options and would subconsciously protect her child.

The rain got heavier and heavier, and the mountain torrents began to roar.

Yu Sixie stared at the direction where Xitong disappeared. The only old pine tree visible showed a hideous silhouette in the lightning, and its branches were twisted like ghost claws.