Chapter 27
Chi Ran woke up with a throbbing pain from high intraocular pressure. Not only did her eyes hurt, but she also felt a dull ache all over her body.
It would be strange if it didn't hurt. Song Yihuan fell asleep on the sofa, while he sat on the floor next to the sofa, stretched out his arms, and slept on the sofa all night.
...I don't even know what time it is.
His left arm was resting on her head, and his right hand reached out to touch his phone. After touching it, he remembered something and didn't press the button to wake it up. He just held it in his hand—he wasn't wearing headphones, and Siri announcing the time might wake her up.
It was already quite bright, probably around five or six o'clock, let's say five.
He secretly moved his numb left fingertips, curling them slightly as he touched her soft, tousled hair. He followed the tingling, itchy sensation and looked over.
"Hey, my hand is numb," he said in a whisper that she could clearly not hear.
Due to objective factors, he couldn't, like other men who woke up early, secretly peek at the girl's sleeping face. No matter how hard he tried to overcome the throbbing pain from his eye pressure, and no matter how intently he looked, he could only catch some blurry, indistinct colors.
The golden sunlight shone on her hair, giving it a lustrous pinkish-gold hue. He could gaze at that fluffy pinkish-gold for a long time, feel her warm cheek as she slept on his arm, and listen to her even, steady breathing... but that wasn't enough, far from enough.
He wanted to know more: Did her eyelashes flutter when she slept? Did her cheeks flush from being so hot? Was she a very still sleeping position? Probably not... How still could she be with that personality? But what would a still sleeping position look like?
...His curiosity was limited by his barren imagination, even his curiosity was restricted.
I wish I had read more books before I went blind.
Her even breaths brushed against his arm, a different kind of ticklish sensation from touching his hair. He hesitated for a moment, then reached his right hand to his arm and felt her breath with his fingertips.
As if that wasn't enough, he stretched his hand forward, closer, until his breath became hot before he stopped.
He moved his neck slightly, then lay back down, his hair touching hers. In the warmth of her even breathing, he drifted off to sleep again.
When he opened his eyes again, his left arm, which had been pinned down, was free. He was still disoriented after waking up and couldn't see anything, so he didn't find the powder.
"Song Yihuan?" he called her tentatively.
"I'm here!" Her voice was close, a little groggy from just waking up, and she placed her hand on his. "I thought you could sleep with your eyes open."
Although he was somewhat speechless at the question, he patiently replied, "...I can't sleep. I've tried when I'm bored, but I'm not used to it."
Song Yihuan leaned against the soft sofa cushions, while Chi Ran rested at her feet, yawning lazily. He draped his coat over her, leaving only his brown sleeveless vest underneath, revealing the smooth, sculpted lines of his arms.
He placed his left hand on top of hers, sandwiching her hand like a sandwich.
He said last night that even so, he still wanted to...
Song Yihuan abruptly pulled her hand back and covered her face with her arms. Her burning face buried in his coat, the scent of pine wood enveloping her, her ears burning against his shoulders.
"What's wrong?" He reached out and grabbed at her hand, but couldn't grasp it.
Song Yihuan quickly handed her hand back to him to hold, "No."
He said that even so, he still wanted to kiss her.
She silently replayed those words in her mind.
What kind of situation is this?
Even if we have a six-year age difference? Or is it that this feels like taking advantage of someone in distress? Or is it that everything started too rashly...? Which one is it exactly?
His lips had a pinkish sheen, his bangs fell smoothly down his forehead, and he leaned towards her, his fingertips lingeringly caressing her knuckles.
Although he couldn't look at her physically, she knew that he was focusing all his senses on feeling her.
The instant this thought arose, another thought, like moonlight dissolving into the ripples of a lake, slowly yet brightly coalesced:
I really want to kiss him.
Even though we kissed for so long last night, I still miss him.
Song Yihuan raised her hand and pinched his cheek, then leaned in and whispered, "One more kiss?"
Chi Ran opened her eyes wide, then laughed helplessly: "Even after all this, you still need to apply?"
"I was afraid of scaring you..."
Song Yihuan mumbled something, then quickly pecked him on the corner of his mouth.
The moment the peck landed, a glint of light flashed in Chi Ran's empty eyes, and he opened his mouth slightly in surprise.
She asked cautiously, "Were you scared?"
"Don't be so delicate." He squeezed her hand. "This way of scaring me is not bad. Scar me more."
After saying that, he stroked up his arm, found her face, and kissed her several times.
"I'll go back first." He propped himself up on the sofa, turning his aching shoulders.
Song Yihuan asked blankly, "Now?"
“Take a bath, Song Xiaofen.” Chi Ran laughed. “I slept rolling around on the floor all night, it was so uncomfortable.”
"oh."
Although she was reluctant to let him go, she still got up and led him away.
He cheekily propped his elbow on top of her head and ruffled her bangs with his thumb.
She slapped his hand away: "Are you using me as a cane? Get away."
"You know I can't see..."
He walked slowly to the door, only to be pushed out by Song Yihuan.
Just as I was about to close the door, he called out to me, "You said you wanted to climb that low hill, is it far from here?"
A faint sense of anticipation rose in Song Yihuan's heart, and she asked him, "What are you doing?"
“If it’s nearby, we’ll go today. If it’s far…” Chi Ran said, “then let’s make a plan this afternoon and go tomorrow.”
Song Yihuan felt dizzy again, even more so than when they were kissing.
That means no matter how far or near the mountain is, they will stay together today, and he will accompany her.
"Did you just... bounce around a bit?" Chi Ran asked with a helpless smile.
"...How come you can see again all of a sudden?"
"Um."
"Can't you just pretend you didn't see it?"
"I'm better at pretending to be visible."
...
"Bye-Bye!"
After shutting him out, she stood there in a daze, and then suddenly burst out laughing, cupping her cheeks in her hands.
She tiptoed and twirled halfway around, her skirt fluttering, then suddenly stopped halfway and strained to hear what was happening outside the door.
Are you leaving?
If he hears this, she doesn't know how long he'll laugh at her.
There was no sound outside the door, so she breathed a sigh of relief, spun around with a silly grin, and plopped back onto the sofa.
Last night's intimate memories flooded back: the warmth of his body, the sound of his breath mingling with kisses, and the fact that his hand never left hers... every detail was crystal clear.
My first kiss!!
The wet kiss lasted for a long time, intermittently. When they kissed, his lips and tongue pressed against hers with unusual force, not even giving her a moment to breathe. In between the kisses, he stroked her cheeks and hair again and again, letting out long sighs with a clear smile in his breath.
Even just thinking about it makes her face burn like it's ripe; she can't bear to imagine how hot her face was when they kissed last night.
Just then, my phone rang twice.
One message was from Chi Ran, and before she could even read the other one, her hand had already clicked into Chi Ran's chat box.
It was a voice message. He said in the same smiling tone he used last night, "Stop grinning and stop dawdling. That little hill is only a ten-minute drive away. Wash up, pack your bags, and we'll leave at noon!"
Song Yihuan retorted with a voice message, "Who's laughing like an idiot? Besides, show some respect for the mountain. It's a mountain, not a little mound!"
Chi Ran: "Listen to the voice message you sent before you start being stubborn. And that little mound, it's less than 150 meters above sea level, do you think it would dare to call you a mountain?"
She rubbed her cheeks, which were sore from laughing, and instead of sending another voice message to show her fear, she replied with a big, powerful punch emoji.
After replying, she clicked into another chat window, which contained a message from her operations team.
[Mengmeng, the music festival organizers didn't approve it. They have a large budget this year and want to invite more stars. Don't worry about it, we'll try again next year...]
She stared down at the message, pursing her lips.
The news brought her down from her fleeting excitement, and she let out a deep sigh.
The lawn music festival invites only a small number of guests each year, and half of them are well-known bands and singers. She had expected to be rejected, but she was still quite disappointed when she was.
Just then, Chi Ran sent another voice message.
"A driver with a monthly salary of 20,000 will pick us up later. I'll give you a performance of a blind man climbing a mountain."
A slight smile appeared on her lips.
Three wishes: to burn out late, to climb mountains, and to attend a music festival.
Two of them have already been achieved, so why dwell on the one that hasn't been achieved and feel sorry for yourself?
Instead of wasting this time, why not enjoy the other two wishes?
It's 11 o'clock now, and we're leaving in an hour. Packing is the priority; there's no time to be frustrated.
She jogged into the bedroom and started packing her things.
Bring a waterproof jacket! Bring a sports water bottle! Bring a wrist strap! Bring a small bread roll! Bring trekking poles! Bring two!
......
In just half an hour, Song Yihuan filled her hiking backpack to the brim.
As she stood at the foot of the mountain, looking at the small mound—no, the mountain—that she could see all the way up, she felt a little regretful.
She looked at the elderly and infirm traveling lightly across the mountain, and held the hand of the disabled person beside her. Her shoulders ached from the weight, and she awkwardly tugged at the straps of her overloaded hiking backpack.
The glances from passersby were like a barrage of comments: using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, a poor student with too many stationery items, and even a missile aimed at a mosquito...
Before the passersby dared to laugh, Chi Ran burst out laughing first.
He pulled the strap off her shoulder and said with a smile, "I'll carry you. Anyone who didn't know better would think we were going to climb Mount Everest."
Song Yihuan rubbed her sore shoulders: "I've never climbed a mountain. My hometown is a small, run-down county town. There are no mountains, no sea, no rivers, only smelly rapeseed flowers everywhere."
Chi Ran said, "That must be very beautiful."
She said, "You won't find anything pretty there, only stench."
He reached up to the top of her head, gave it a few hard rubs as a form of revenge, and then said, "Let's go."
"Wait a minute!"
Song Yihuan pushed his boundless hand away, reached into her bag and rummaged around for a while before pulling out two hiking poles and shoving one into his hand.
“One cane from you is enough for me,” he said, handing it back.
Song Yihuan slapped his hand back, "What's the point of using a cane? Hiking poles! One for each of us, I brought them all with me, it would be silly not to carry them up the mountain."
Chi Ran quipped, "Isn't it stupid to just hold onto that?"
Foolish.
That's incredibly stupid.
The entire mountain has no steep slopes, or even any slopes at all; it's all steps, so you don't need hiking poles.
They basically carried their trekking poles uphill, which would have been better than putting them in their bags. If they had put them in their bags earlier, they wouldn't have been laughing at that chubby little boy with no eyes as they passed by, and wouldn't have tripped and fallen on their bottom.
Chi Ran carried the cumbersome hiking stick in her left hand, supported herself on her shoulder with her right hand, and slowly climbed the steps, her toes touching the ground.
Every now and then, elderly men and women would briskly overtake them, leaving behind only mocking laughter carried on the wind:
"With such a large crowd, I can barely move."
"Young people these days, they lack exercise..."
Song Yihuan calmly made a face back, while Chi Ran's ears turned bright red, whether from exhaustion or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.
"...Thank you so much."
Chi Ran held up her hiking stick, gritting her teeth, looking as if she wanted to string all the old men and women together with her. "Nobody noticed I'm blind, they all think I'm an idiot."
Song Yihuan chuckled and said, "Shall we use it?"
Before Chi Ran could speak, she took his hand and swung the trekking pole from side to side, gently tapping it on the steps. One tap, one step up; another tap, another step up.
"Is this how you use a trekking pole?" Chi Ran stopped, leaned on the handrail, and turned to look at her.
Song Yihuan nodded earnestly: "Yes, yes, yes, I just watched an instructional video."
Chi Ran lowered his eyes and paused for a moment. Just when Song Yihuan thought he would get angry, he gently curved the corners of his mouth.
"Okay, whatever you say."
Chi Ran released her hand that was supporting her, touched the handrail with her right hand, firmly gripped the trekking pole with her left hand, and lightly tapped the step in front of her.
After a few attempts, he walked much faster than before. Song Yihuan followed behind, put on her sunglasses, and walked alongside him, imitating his posture.
The uncle and aunt who had just made the sarcastic remarks came down the mountain and happened to see this scene; their faces were filled with remorse.
She silently bit down on both sides of her cheeks.
Seeing it and not being able to laugh is so frustrating.
When they reached the halfway point of the mountain, Chi Ran tapped his trekking pole on the flat ground and turned back to ask her, "Want to rest for a bit?"
"Take a break! Playing a blind person is so tiring."
"Come quick! The bench is empty!"
She glanced around furtively, making sure there were no familiar faces she'd seen before, then quickly walked over, sat down, and patted the seat next to her.
Before Chi Ran could even reach for the chair, she reached out and pulled him down to sit.
Holding his hand, she sighed, "Playing a blind person is already tiring enough; playing someone who isn't blind must be even more difficult."
Chi Ran raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you teaching me how to use trekking poles?"
Song Yihuan stuck out her tongue, "A blind cane, a blind cane, it can't be hidden from you anyway, kill me or do whatever you want!"
He placed his trekking poles aside and opened his arms to her.
She was stunned for a moment, then rushed over and hugged him.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm going to pinch you."
That's what he said, but he gently wrapped his arms around her.
The sunlight overhead was incredibly gentle, and the scent of pine mingled with the slightly bitter mountain breeze, enveloping her. She buried her face in his chest, quietly taking a deep breath, grateful for his loud heartbeat that drowned out the sound of her stealthily sniffing.
"Oh my, young couples these days are something else..." An auntie passing by chuckled and sighed, nudging her companion with her shoulder.
Young couple?
Upon hearing this address, Song Yihuan abruptly jumped away from his embrace.
After last night, their relationship is indeed very close to that word, but the term "little couple" is defined by ritual, not by substance.
So, not yet.
Song Yihuan couldn't immediately discern whether ritual or substance was more important to her, but she knew which would bring greater trouble, so she told herself not to delve into it.
She couldn't figure this out, so she was content with the status quo and didn't want any change.
Chi Ran felt her strong reaction as she bounced back and tilted his head in thought.
Song Yihuan was terrified that Chi Ran would have to make up for it, so she desperately tried to find something to say, anything at all—
Before she could speak, Chi Ran's phone rang, breaking the delicate atmosphere.
"I need to make a phone call. Go stand over there for a while." Chi Ran pointed to the distance.
"Why should I..."
Song Yihuan realized what was happening as soon as she started talking and reluctantly moved to the other side of the platform.
She glared at him from afar.
What kind of phone call is considered prestigious...?
What's so special about her? Anyway, she's not my girlfriend.
Song Yihuan viciously stomped her shoe on the ground a few times, making the pebbles roll down the steps.
She rewrote her words in her heart:
What phone calls are off-limits to our valued telecom users?
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