Chapter 28
They had been dawdling along the way, and by the time they reached the summit, the glaring midday sun had already shifted westward, casting dense shadows of trees. The early spring mountain breeze carried the unique fragrance of earth, and the gently flowing mountain spring leaped and tumbled down the ravine, making a tinkling sound.
Song Yihuan leaned against the railing, tilted her head back, and closed her eyes. Sunlight slid down from the tips of the leaves onto her face, its force weakened, becoming incredibly gentle. Chi Ran stood behind her, reaching out to touch the pink hair that was being tossed about by the wind.
The area of powder he saw was somewhat different from reality; he tried several times before he could barely reach it. It wasn't the fluffy feel he had imagined; the ends of the hair stung his hand, and were angular.
"The air smells so good!" she exclaimed, panting as she stretched out her arms to feel the breeze. "So happy!"
Chi Ran mimicked her tone and said, "Happy~"
Song Yihuan said in an even stranger tone, "Happy~~~"
Chi Ran turned her head and looked at the more dazzling pink that was completely different from what she usually saw in the room, and chuckled softly.
The mountain wind blew away the noisy voices behind us, leaving only the rustling of leaves all around.
"...You didn't see the expressions on that uncle and aunt's faces just now. The uncle's face was the same color as the aunt's floral long johns, it was hilarious." She leaned on the railing and chuckled. "Isn't it better to use a white cane? Even though you can't appreciate other people's colorful faces, you can use the white cane to hit people. Whoever messes with you, you can hit them!"
Chi Ran said helplessly, "Not everyone is like you."
“Like me in what way?” she asked.
"...There must be a KPI for causing trouble."
Song Yihuan grabbed his arm and shook it violently, "What?!"
He reached out and pulled her into his arms, bending down to rest his chin on her head. Song Yihuan was about to struggle and hit him again when she heard his low voice: "Not everyone is as brave as you."
"Um?"
Chi Ran sighed softly, holding her tightly so she couldn't see his expression, and said as if he had made up his mind, "I'm very timid. I keep talking about 'blindness' all the time, but I still haven't gotten rid of it."
"I'm afraid of so many things: pain, disappointment, being scrutinized... Maybe it's because I had a smooth life before and didn't experience these things, which has made me afraid of everything now. I stay home and try my best to pretend that I can see things so that I have... how should I put it? a sense of security. Pretending that nothing has changed means I don't have to face the things I'm afraid of."
As Song Yihuan listened to him, she raised her head and rubbed her hair against his chin.
"It itches." He raised his hand and pressed the person back down. "Like...like a little beagle."
A split second before she exploded, he leaned in and pecked her forehead, saying softly, almost like a sigh, "Even so..."
Song Yihuan squeezed his hand, then looked up and kissed him between his chin and Adam's apple. "Even so, you still went out!"
Chi Ran instinctively looked up and backed away after being kissed by her.
"Ouch, don't kiss me like that."
He addressed her seriously: "Song Yihuan".
She nestled comfortably in his arms, not wanting to move, and responded lazily.
Chi Ran called her name again, then turned her around by her shoulders so that she was facing him.
"Are they going to throw me off like this?" she asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I can tolerate you for now, I won't throw it away."
He suppressed his smile, his brow furrowing unconsciously with seriousness, and asked her, "You mentioned that lawn music festival, do you still want to go?"
Song Yihuan's eyes widened: "What...?"
Chi Ran took out her phone from her pocket and showed her the invitation.
Song Yihuan stared blankly at the official invitation, as if she couldn't read anymore, repeatedly looking at the names in the invited guest section:
I don't talk in my sleep & embers.
"I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Teacher Meng to share the stage with me, a rival content creator. Do you still want to go?"
He asked with his head down, his thumb rubbing her fingers back and forth.
There was no reply from her for a long while.
Based on previous years' experience, Song Yihuan's fan base would have been more than enough to qualify her for the annual lawn music festival. However, this year's lawn music festival seems to prioritize fame.
That's just how unfortunate it was.
Chi Ran only managed to get a short collaboration stage for two songs by mixing and matching the entire music, but he felt it was worth it and even felt a little smug about having his personal desires fulfilled.
Even the best microphone can distort human voices, but standing side by side on stage allows you to capture that clear sound amidst the tumultuous music.
But why isn't she responding?
Even if you're happy, you should come to your senses by now. Surely you're not unwilling?
Chi Ran was about to say, "You're not allowed to be ungrateful," when he was interrupted. What interrupted him was the pink fluffy ball that kept bouncing in front of him.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!! Yes, yes! Yes, yes! Yes, yes...!"
His stiff words suddenly melted away, giving way to a lighthearted laugh.
He reached out and pinned the person down. "Are you a spring?"
"Then the invitation should say 'Spring Big and Ember'!!" Even though she was being held down, Song Yihuan wouldn't stay still, swaying and lunging at him to hug him, "Ahhhhhh!! Really? Really? Really? Really?!"
Chi Ran had to put one arm around her and hold onto the railing with the other to prevent her from knocking him to the ground.
Hey, don't you all know how to care for disabled people?
"Ahhh!! Hehehehehe! How did you know?! My operations manager just told me I didn't get selected and that I should try harder next year. I said okay, but I'm actually really, really disappointed..." As she spoke, her tone changed, and her voice became slightly nasal: "You were just making a phone call behind my back, was it... was it about this? Waaaaah..."
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, my goodness." Chi Ran cupped her face, hooking her finger to wipe away her tears. "Why didn't you give me any warning before you started crying? Hehe, and then you just started sobbing. Who could stand that..."
"I haven't sung on stage in so long..." Song Yihuan buried her face in his hand to wipe her tears. "The last time I was on stage was at that music variety show at the end of last year, and the stage was different from the music festival stage... What's the stage like? What should I wear? What should I sing? When is rehearsal?? Oh, my hair has grown black, I need to dye it again!! Ahhh no no!! I have to hurry back and practice!! Forget climbing mountains, I just want to go back and choose songs!!! Let's go back, let's go back, let's go back!!"
Chi Ran originally intended to sift through her toxic thoughts to find sweet and flattering words, but instead of finding anything, she ended up making herself feel invigorated.
“…I need a little pink card preview, I really need one.” He clenched his damp hands. “You’re really something, using a blind man’s hand to blow your nose.”
"You're framing me! I didn't blow my nose!!"
The large pack of wet wipes in her bag finally came in handy; she pulled out two to wipe Chi Ran's hands.
After wiping it, she urged him to hurry up and send her the gold-embossed electronic invitation.
The invitation was beautifully made, with a three-dimensional ink wash texture and the name in gold foil in the center.
It's a pity there's only an electronic version; it would be great if there were a physical copy. But then again, the electronic version is good too; it seems to last longer than the physical version.
Song Yihuan solemnly posted the invitation on Weibo and a certain website, and after thinking for a while, she also posted it on her WeChat Moments. Not feeling that was enough, she also went into her QQ Space, which she hadn't used in ages, and posted a status update.
After writing four versions of customized captions, she happily rolled around in bed.
The song has been chosen, and she and Chi Ran have agreed to rehearse at 3 pm every day. She has to roll around for another half hour before she has to get up and leave.
The music festival invitation was posted on WeChat Moments not long before it received a large number of likes, and the comments filled with mutual praise were endless.
The post below hers on WeChat Moments was posted by her older sister, Xin Xin, who shared her intermediate accountant certificate.
Song Yihuan was in a great mood and wrote a random comment: "I'm a little short on cash lately, could you help me calculate a bit more money?"
Xin Xin quickly replied: 【Hello, I'm the accountant, I'm not a wishing well.】
Song Yihuan chuckled foolishly for a long time.
Shortly after receiving a notification, Ms. Wang gave Xin Xin's post a "like".
Below the accounting certificate was Ms. Wang's landscape painting portrait, and her invitation to her social media account was all over the place with so many likes and comments, but Ms. Wang herself was nowhere to be seen.
Her joy, which had almost made her fly, suddenly sank slightly.
Ms. Wang reads her WeChat Moments, which is why she called immediately when she saw her doing volunteer work.
Ms. Wang sometimes likes posts, but they are usually related to healthy living, that is, content she approves of. For example, posts about being too tired during the day to fall asleep at 10:30 pm, or eating vegetables even though they taste bad.
Song Yihuan sometimes felt that Ms. Wang's praise was like post-hoc approval. Even though she had already run away from home, Ms. Wang still profoundly influenced her life and every choice in this way.
Her WeChat Moments were precisely divided into two parts: the parts that Ms. Wang approved of and the parts that she did not approve of.
Realizing this, she began to deliberately post content that Ms. Wang did not approve of, like a belated rebellious phase.
That's what she says, but attending a music festival is different; it's something that makes her jump for joy, quite unlike her rebellious, secretive circle of friends.
She couldn't help but wonder, wouldn't Ms. Wang be happy for her?
In her overwhelming joy, there was not a single blessing from Ms. Wang.
Even by the afternoon rehearsal for song selection, Ms. Wang's post on WeChat Moments still hadn't received her "approval."
Chi Ran's hands deftly plucked at the keyboard, producing clear, melodious notes that flowed from his fingertips.
"Don't you play the piano?" Song Yihuan touched the texture of the antique piano with a hint of regret. "It's so heavy, it doesn't seem very convenient."
He said, "A music festival is not a concert, so an electronic keyboard is more suitable than a piano."
"That makes sense." Song Yihuan nodded. "What other musical instruments do you play?"
“I can play all the common ones.” Chi Ran raised his chin arrogantly, as if he was too lazy to name all the instruments for her.
Song Yihuan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Can you play the erhu?"
Snap!
Chi Ran pulled her wrist and slapped her palm.
"Are you giving me another stereotype?"
Snap!
Not to be outdone, Song Yihuan retaliated, then withdrew her hand and hid to the side, asking with a grin, "Can you do it?"
Chi Ran tried to grab her hand several times but failed. He gritted his teeth and said, "Song! Yi! Huan! Can't you even restrain yourself with basic morality?"
Snap!
Song Yihuan quickly slapped his hand again, then pulled it back, grinning and saying, "Can't catch it!... Do you know 'Erquan Yingyue'?"
Chi Ran was attacked again, and her ears turned red with anger. She crossed her arms and turned away, ignoring her.
Song Yihuan remained calm, tilting her head to look at him for a long time before asking, "Are you really angry?"
Chi Ran remained silent.
She said, "Hey, I told you to fight back."
She showed no sincerity whatsoever; she didn't even reach out.
Chi Ran remained silent.
"Okay, okay." She reached out and tugged at Chi Ran's sleeve. "I'm just so happy! You never even wanted to leave the house before, and now you're even going on stage..."
Before he could finish speaking, Chi Ran suddenly grabbed her, pulled her close, and held her tightly in his arms. He roughly ruffled her pink hair and kneaded her face.
"Oh, wait... I was wrong! I was really wrong!" Song Yihuan was trapped in his arms and repeatedly squeezed, laughing as she begged for forgiveness, "I really know I was wrong, I... Ouch!"
Chi Ran grabbed her chin, suddenly took her ear into his mouth, and gently bit it.
Song Yihuan paused, forgetting even to struggle.
Chi Ran suddenly stopped, his warm and rapid breath hitting her ear.
The pain wasn't intense, but a sensation somewhere between pain and itching crept up my spine from my ear.
The spot where he had just bitten was already hot, and as his breathing became hotter, the heat spread downwards from his skin, gradually turning into an indescribable throbbing sensation.
Her breathing was affected by this palpitation, becoming chaotic.
Chi Ran's voice was hoarse: "I didn't mean to bite your ear..."
Song Yihuan didn't let him finish speaking.
Driven by impulse, she turned to face him and suddenly pressed her lips to his.
Without a moment's hesitation, Chi Ran pulled her into his arms and pressed his warm tongue against hers.
He held her in his arms, and in the slight feeling of suffocation, she could feel every subtle change in him.
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