Chapter 38 Pale blue light filters through the wooden window lattice…
Pale blue morning light filtered through the wooden window frames, and Ren Xiyao woke to the smell of butter tea. Quan Zhilong was no longer in bed; his black down jacket was still draped over the back of the chair. Last night, she had seen him turn off his phone and stuff it into the bottom of his backpack.
A low laugh drifted from downstairs. Ren Xiyao, wrapped in a blanket, opened the window. The cold air mixed with the smell of burning smoke had an indescribable odor. Quan Zhilong was squatting in the courtyard, holding up the camera he had asked the translator to buy for him in town the day before, taking pictures of the guesthouse owner's daughter. The six-year-old Tibetan girl, wearing a maroon Tibetan robe, clutched an apple in her hand, looking timidly at the camera.
The little girl was amused by his exaggerated grin. Kwon Ji-yong seized the opportunity to press the shutter, and when he looked up, he saw Ren Xiyao by the window. The morning mist shrouded half of her face, and her hair was slightly disheveled, making her look like an alert little animal.
"Awake?" He held up the photos he had just taken: "I promised Ram I would develop them and send them to her."
Ren Xiyao looked at the little girl's rosy cheeks on the screen and suddenly realized that this was the first time they had been able to interact without any reservations since they met.
They rested for a day yesterday, and today they officially began their trip. The rented Prado made a soft, crunching sound as it rolled over the icy road. Kwon Ji-yong insisted on driving, and Ren Xiyao didn't argue. She lowered the seat and stretched her legs out, resting them on the heater vent.
"Does it still hurt?" He glanced at her right knee.
"It's sour." She lowered the car window a little, and the wind that rushed in carried the chill of the snow-capped mountains: "But it's much better than when we were in Harbin."
Their car drove out of Moxi Ancient Town and headed towards Hailuogou Scenic Area along the winding mountain road. In mid-February, the Sichuan-Western Plateau presented a desolate winter scene, with distant mountains covered in snow, nearby trees with gnarled branches, and occasionally yaks leisurely grazing on the withered meadows. Outside the car window, the scenery flowed by, while inside, there was a quiet warmth.
Kwon Ji-yong was driving; he rarely had the opportunity to drive so long and undisturbed. His fingers gripped the steering wheel were long and strong, and his profile, illuminated by the light and shadow, appeared focused and captivating. He played soothing music, occasionally humming along, or turning his head to smile at Ren Xiyao. As they rounded a sharp bend, the entire glacier suddenly came into view. The greyish-white ice tongue cascaded down from the main peak of Gongga Mountain, gleaming with an extremely dazzling cold light under the sunlight. Kwon Ji-yong slammed on the brakes, the tires skidding on the ice, lurching forward half a meter.
"Ah!" Ren Xiyao grabbed the car roof handrail.
Kwon Ji-yong gently covered her right hand, which was resting on the crotch: "Beautiful as a dream."
“It’s alright,” Ren Xiyao said, taking his hand in return. “Even if it’s a dream, it’s a beautiful dream.” She gazed at the scene before her, somewhat lost in thought. The wonders of nature were far more magnificent and awe-inspiring than any man-made ice rink. The raw, powerful force they exuded inspired awe.
Upon arriving at Hailuogou Scenic Area, they transferred to sightseeing buses and cable cars, reaching the edge of the glacier. Their feet crunched under the thick snow. Staff provided them with makeshift crampons to prevent slipping.
The viewing platform, at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, was deserted. Ren Xiyao looked up and saw Kwon Ji-yong adjusting his bangs in the reflection of the road sign railing.
“Nobody’s taking your picture,” she tossed him a pair of gloves. “Wear them, or your fingers will get frostbite.”
"What if we run into fans?" He crouched down to help her adjust the crampon straps: "GD's image management is 24/7."
Even so, he still obediently put on the fluorescent orange ski gloves she bought him, which were outrageously ugly, but undeniably warm.
Glacier hiking was more difficult than expected. Although wooden boardwalks were laid, the ice surface in February was covered with loose, granular snow, making each step feel like walking on shards of glass. The moment Ren Xiyao stepped onto the glacier, her heart inexplicably raced. Beneath her feet lay ice formed over millions of years, a deep, dark blue, with massive, winding crevasses resembling the earth's open eyes. The ice surface was uneven; some areas were covered with thick snow, while others revealed hard, smooth ice.
This ice was so different from the ice rinks she was familiar with. The ice on the rinks was smooth and controllable, designed for speed and skill. But the ice here was wild, rough, and full of unknown power. This feeling of being on the verge of losing control, of being out of control, inexplicably excited her.
Behind him, Kwon Ji-yong was indeed a bit out of his depth, staggering as he walked. Ren Xiyao had already walked a distance when she turned around and saw Kwon Ji-yong like this, and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "How come your sense of balance is so bad? Aren't you a dancer?"
"You can't just dance and suddenly a block of ice appears on the stage!" Finally reaching the end, he awkwardly grabbed her outstretched hand, and while using it for leverage, he suddenly mischievously pulled her down into the snowdrift as well.
Ren Xiyao's back sank into the fluffy snow, and Quan Zhilong's knee was wedged between her legs. They were too close, so close that she could count his eyelashes.
"Hey!" She pushed his shoulder. "What are you doing! Get up."
Kwon Ji-yong didn't move, but instead leaned closer: "Ren Xiyao, your face is red."
"Lack of oxygen, I'm exhausted."
“You’re lying.” He chuckled and rubbed his nose against her red, frostbitten earlobe. “Your heart rate is definitely very high right now.”
A rumbling sound of ice cracking came from afar.
Ren Xiyao stood in front of the icefall, leaning on her trekking poles, with a hundred-meter-high blue ice cliff behind her. She wore a bright red windbreaker, looking like a flame against the pure white glacier.
"Are you done yet?" She stamped her feet. "My feet are going to go numb from the cold."
The moment he pressed the shutter, she suddenly bent down, grabbed a handful of snow, and threw it at him.
The camera clicked, capturing her rare, unrestrained laughter. It was exuberant and brimming with life. It was like the cold wind that melts into glaciers and snowfields, yet it also burned freely and passionately across the icy plains.
The setting sun painted the glacier a honey color. Inside the enclosed cable car, Kwon Ji-yong placed Ren Xiyao's right leg on his knee and massaged her cold kneecap with his palm.
"Can you say it now?"
Ren Xiyao watched as Mount Gongga was slowly enveloped by nightfall. It seemed closer than during the day, as if she could reach out and touch the snow on its summit. In such tranquility, one's soul finds relaxation. One unconsciously softens and opens one's heart.
“After I fell and injured myself in South Korea last year,” she said softly, “I started having frequent nightmares. I kept dreaming that the ice rink would suddenly crack open and turn into a cliff, and I would fall off the cliff and then the ice rink would slowly close up. It was like swallowing me up.”
Kwon Ji-yong's breath hitched.
“But the ice here is different,” she pointed to the icefalls in the dim light in the distance, “They have fallen millions of times, yet they still stand there. Ice shards fall into crevasses, and the crevasses slowly close as the geological changes occur. But they will also grow new sharpness and create new wonders.”
Ren Xiyao thought she had relaxed. But in Quan Zhilong's eyes, her body was tense, and she was even trembling involuntarily. She was still reluctant to talk about this topic. Seeing her like this, Quan Zhilong's heart ached.
Ren Xiyao was striving to become a mature athlete, just like he used to be, even squeezing inspiration out of pain. But in reality, this was constantly pushing her limits. He couldn't offer any words of comfort because he knew that Ren Xiyao was completely deaf to anything; any words of comfort might only exacerbate her pain. Her subconscious fear was no longer concealed. She even felt like she was causing trouble for everyone. Quan Zhilong somewhat regretted bringing this up so abruptly. Ren Xiyao wasn't ready.
The cable car passed through a cloud of mist, the cabin swaying slightly. Ren Xiyao's train of thought seemed to be interrupted as she suddenly asked, "And you? Why did you come?"
Kwon Ji-yong kept staring at her intently: "Because there's no GD here, only Kwon Ji-yong."
The clouds dispersed, and the last rays of sunlight pierced through the glass, turning his pupils amber. This time, Ren Xiyao did not avoid his gaze, nor did she interrupt the somewhat ambiguous atmosphere, allowing herself to indulge in Kwon Ji-yong's overwhelming tenderness.
The night in Moxi Ancient Town was steeped in the smell of sulfur. The open-air pools of Gongga Shentang were hidden deep in the bamboo forest. Instead of heading straight back to their guesthouse, they drove to the nearby Gongga Shentang Hot Spring. After a long day of travel, especially after hiking on the cold glacier, soaking in a steaming hot spring was undoubtedly the best way to relax.
The hot spring resort, built against the mountain, is quite large, but because it was the off-season, it wasn't crowded, making it even more tranquil. They chose a private courtyard with an elegant ambiance. In the courtyard, an open-air hot spring pool was emitting wisps of white steam, with a few flower petals floating on the surface. The surrounding area was carefully arranged with bamboo groves and rocks, creating a Zen-like atmosphere.
Kwon Ji-yong jumped into the pool first, hissing as he was scalded. He then bought a bottle of barley wine. Ren Xiyao sat by the pool, watching him open the bottle with his teeth. A few stars could be faintly seen in the night sky. It was very quiet around them, with only the sound of flowing water and their occasional whispers.
“Your company will kill me,” she said, taking the bottle. “If someone takes a picture of this, tomorrow’s headline will be: ‘G-DRAGON Highland Alcoholism’.”
“There’s no G-DRAGON now,” he said, tilting his head back and taking a swig, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “There’s only Kwon Ji-yong.”
The alcohol made breathing lighter, causing the intricate Tibetan patterns on the wooden beams to begin to swirl. Kwon Ji-yong gazed at the shadow beneath Ren Xiyao's eyelashes and heard her say, "Actually, I really didn't expect you to come."
Kwon Ji-yong put down his bottle and reached out to brush aside her damp hair. "Do you remember the first time I introduced myself to you? My first instinct was to say 'GD,' because that's how I've introduced myself to everyone over the years. But somehow, I ended up adding 'Kwon Ji-yong.' Do you know why?"
"Why?"
"Because it's like someone in the dark told me that this girl didn't come for GD, but for Kwon Ji-yong. So Kwon Ji-yong must have come for Ren Xiyao too."
Ren Xiyao's eyelashes trembled. When Quan Zhilong hooked his arm around her neck and kissed her, he tasted the salty and bitter flavors of the barley wine and hot spring water. The hot spring water rippled gently, reflecting the dim yellow light in the courtyard. They kissed in the misty steam, and the world seemed to consist only of their breaths and heartbeats.
On the way back to the guesthouse, light snow began to fall. Kwon Ji-yong held Ren Xiyao's hand. They were very close, their shoulders bumping against each other, their heartbeats overlapping.
"Where to go tomorrow?" he asked.
“Go west,” Ren Xiyao said, breaking a thin layer of ice on her foot, “to Kangding, to Xinduqiao.”
Kwon Ji-yong suddenly stopped. Under the streetlight, his expression was gentle: "Ren Xiyao, this is the first time you've taken the initiative to say 'tomorrow'."
The snow fell heavier and heavier, and Kwon Ji-yong suddenly turned around and hugged her. Snowflakes fell into the gaps between their embrace.
“Take your time,” he whispered in her ear. “We have many tomorrows.”
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The author's note: Getting hurt is a painful thing, but the fact that the brother came without hesitation is probably a rare opportunity for them to spend time together and get to know each other better.
Thank you everyone, enjoy reading!
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