Chapter 289 Climbing the Mountain at Midnight
If it were the Wen Ni of the past, she would never have imagined that one day she would go hiking in the middle of the night before a holiday!
Even in Gotham City, which has a relatively warm climate, temperatures in January can reach minus five or six degrees Celsius.
Not to mention Xiaonanshan. Although the mountain is not high, with an altitude of about 800 meters, the mountain wind at night is bone-chillingly cold. The higher you climb, the colder it gets!
Halfway up the mountain.
Wen Ni, who was temporarily dragged to climb the mountain but still had a full set of mountaineering equipment, leaned against the railing and stood surrounded by mountains and forests. She looked around at the bare tree trunks and mountains, and then looked up at Lu Jinye who was leading the way.
He is tall with long legs and walks with a light step.
The injuries he sustained in the North and South cities did not seem to have a significant impact on him.
Perhaps it was because his body had been constantly injured since childhood that, despite his weakness, he had become accustomed to it, silently enduring and persevering until it became a habit!
"He must have cast some kind of evil spell on me." Wen Ni gritted her teeth. "How could I have agreed to go along with his nonsense?!"
"Wen Ni!" Lu Jinye, standing on the steps, suddenly turned around, his face and tone filled with unprecedented joy. "Once we cross that hill ahead, we'll reach the top of South Mountain!"
Wen Ni, who had just been frantically complaining and doubting herself, instantly had all those thoughts vanish the moment she saw his joyful eyes.
She sighed silently, and finally said, "I'm here."
"Are you tired? Do you want to rest for a while?" Lu Jinye waited for her to climb up.
The time on my watch was already 11:30.
They had been climbing continuously for over an hour.
"How could I possibly be tired?" Wen Ni raised an eyebrow, strode past him, and glanced back. "You're the one who's tired, aren't you?"
Despite being covered in new and old injuries, he still acts recklessly.
"Hoo..." He didn't answer from behind, his breathing was a little heavy, but he still tried his best to keep up with her pace!
Being too proud to admit defeat will only lead to suffering.
Wen Ni's heart skipped a beat, she stopped and stretched out her palm in his direction.
The moonlight poured down, enveloping her.
His gaze lingered for two seconds, then without the slightest hesitation, he took her hand, and so they walked together without saying a word, one in front and one behind, like a shadow!
Just behind them, about half a step away, two people were following at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
It was Qin Yuan, dressed in a suit and tie, panting heavily.
There was also Barron, dressed in casual clothes and wearing a cotton coat.
Achoo! Achoo!!
With snot running down his face, Qin Yuan complained bitterly, "What sins have I committed? It's bad enough that I spent half an hour fixing a car door late at night, but at 11 p.m., I have to climb a mountain in leather shoes!"
"I told you to change your clothes." Barron glanced at him sideways. "Who knows what's wrong with you? You just wouldn't change no matter what."
"Who wants to wear the same clothes as you?" Qin Yuan tightened his suit jacket, cursing, "You look like twins, it's awful!"
"Then take a look~" Baron sneered, "You made your own choice, so bear the consequences yourself. Stop whining and dawdling here."
"Can't I just nag a little? If you don't want to listen, then hurry up and leave. Why are you sticking to me like this? Achoo!" Qin Yuan sneezed so hard that tears came out of her eyes.
"If it weren't for the fear of disturbing Mr. Lu and Miss Wen Ni's conversation, do you think I would want to cling to you like a fool..." Baron looked at Qin Yuan's miserable appearance and sighed helplessly, "Here, you can borrow my coat."
As they were talking, Baron had already taken off his coat and draped it over Qin Yuan. It was warm and still carried his body heat!
Qin Yuan's expression froze for a moment, a touch of emotion welling up inside her.
He began to reflect on whether he should always be throwing tantrums at Barron.
"What? Touched?" Baron looked at him, then suddenly curled his lips into a wicked smile. "After all, your head was just injured in the accident, so it's not very sharp to begin with. If you catch a cold and then get a fever and become even more stupid, then all the hard work of looking after Master Lu will fall on me alone. So, little Qin Yuan, you absolutely mustn't get sick!"
"...If you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all!" Qin Yuan's initial surge of emotion vanished instantly. He threw his coat back into Baron's hands. "I'm not cold! Who are you trying to embarrass?! I'm way stronger than you, take care of yourself!"
"Oh? Are you sure?"
"Sure!!"
Qin Yuan uttered two words in a huff and started climbing the mountain alone.
Baron remained standing there, tilting his head to watch Qin Yuan's back for a while. The wicked smile on his lips gradually faded, and he put one hand in his pocket and chased after him.
"Little Qin Yuan, wait for me!"
"Get lost! Don't touch me!"
"Huh? I'll take it, I'll take it, what can you do about it?"
"Damn it! Don't pinch my butt! You pervert!"
"..." The whole way was noisy and chaotic.
night,
11:45
Wen Ni and Lu Jinye successfully reached the summit of Xiaonanshan.
There is a small red-roofed pavilion on the top of the mountain. Standing in the pavilion, it seems that you can overlook the entire city of Gotham.
The scattered lights in the city are enough to illuminate the dark night!
"It's been a long time since I've climbed Xiaonanshan."
"Did you come here often before?"
"Um."
Lu Jinye sat on the railing by the pavilion, with an unfathomable cliff below. He held a withered twig in his hand and tilted his head back to admire the moon and stars that seemed within reach!
His soft, obedient hair clung to his forehead, playful beads of sweat slid down his high, straight nose, and down his sexy Adam's apple...
Wen Ni withdrew her gaze and looked elsewhere.
"To be precise, it was when I was a child." Lu Jinye's eyes were unfocused, as if he was lost in his past memories. "When I was a child, every time I came here, I would stay until dawn."
"Do you only come to climb mountains when you're in a bad mood?" Wen Ni tore off a dry branch and played with it in her hand.
"Why would you ask that?" Lu Jinye asked.
"Because Barron said today is a day that will make you feel bad!"
"He always likes to talk nonsense, don't take it seriously." Lu Jinye chuckled, but the twig he was holding between his fingers broke off by himself. "Life goes on every day, what's the point of liking or disliking anything?"
“Lying.” Wen Ni walked to his side and pulled the half-broken branch from his hand.
When his lie was exposed, Lu Jinye simply pursed his lips and made no attempt to explain.
He didn't need to explain; Wen Ni understood him far better than he had imagined!
“When you were little, you were always being chased, so you suffered from severe depression. The doctor told you to find a way to release your emotions, and the way you chose was mountain climbing.”
"How do you know all this?" Lu Jinye's expression was clearly very surprised. He turned around and stared at Wen Ni for a while before frowning. "Did Baron or Qin Yuan tell you? What else did they tell you?"
“Nothing else.” Wen Ni straddled the railing, facing his astonished eyes. “Because I want you to tell me the rest yourself, tell me why you chose to climb the mountain? And why today is a bad day for you?”
The night wind rose and ruffled his bangs.
His thick eyelashes trembled slightly, and Lu Jinye's lips curved into a relieved smile!
“Barron is right, that was indeed me in the past.”
He lowered his eyes and spoke slowly in a calm voice.
"I should have told you before, this gunshot wound in my right chest was when I was thirteen years old. A sniper bullet passed right through here. It took away most of my life and shattered my will to live!"
"The doctor told me to learn to vent my emotions, find something to rely on, and comfort myself. So every time I come back from the brink of death, I come here to climb a mountain, sit here quietly and wait through the night, and finally ask myself, do I... still want to see tomorrow's sun?"
"If you're really, really tired, then jump off here, and everything will be over!" Lu Jinye lowered his eyes and chuckled softly, like a self-mocking fool. "At least that's what I thought when I was young, cowardly and only good at running away. So I chose to survive, watching the sun rise day after day!"
Wen Ni's heart sank deeper and deeper with his words.
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