Chapter 21 Night Tours Are Not Easy Without You.
Like a fleeting moment, the soft touch on the lips quickly disappeared, along with the unique fragrance that vanished in an instant with the wind.
Liang Ming was stunned for a moment until he heard a soft meow from a cat, which brought him back to his senses.
He bent down and leaned closer, asking the sleepy cat curled up on the entryway cabinet, "You saw it, didn't you? Your mom just kissed me, right?"
Tuan Tuan yawned widely and, taking advantage of the stretching moment, gave it a hard swipe of its paw.
"Hiss~" Liang Minghe touched his slightly sore lips, thought for a moment and said decisively, "The pain means that everything that just happened was real."
He scooped the cat, which had jumped into the air, back into his arms, tapped its pink, wet nose, and said with a smile, "I'll reward the witness with a dried fish."
Once an appetite is whetted, it's hard to stop. When Liang Ming was packing his things in the afternoon, Tuantuan followed him around in a high-pitched voice, never leaving his side. She crawled into his handbag, lay in his suitcase, and used every way she could to show her presence, as if she wouldn't give up until she got food.
Unable to get rid of the kitten, Liang Minghe simply packed Tuantuan's luggage into a suitcase, planning to take it with him on his trip.
Tuan Tuan is a stray cat, so there's no need to worry about it getting stressed when going out. Besides, it's a free spirit and would get bored staying indoors all the time, so taking it out occasionally to cheer it up is a good idea.
Zhou Jinqin timed it perfectly; just as she finished her interview and walked out of the office building, Kong Feifei's car pulled up at the nearest intersection.
She opened the back door and was met with Liang Minghe's smiling eyes. He waved his hands and exclaimed, "Surprise!"
Then Tuantuan crawled out of his arms, raised its paw and meowed a few times, appearing exceptionally calm in comparison to the former.
Zhou Jinqin patted the cat's head and smiled helplessly. She looked at Liang Minghe's clothes and asked with concern, "Aren't you hot?"
Today's temperature reached a high of 38 degrees Celsius, yet Liang Minghe inappropriately wore a thick pullover sweatshirt. If one were not particularly sensitive to the cold, such a thick garment would only be worn if the temperature dropped by at least 20 degrees Celsius.
Liang Minghe said with a smile, "I'll only wear it for a short while. There's air conditioning in the car."
The sweatshirt has a large zippered pocket on the abdomen, just big enough to fit a cat. He had seen his cat-owning friends wear it before and thought it was interesting. Even though he didn't have a cat at the time, he still clicked to place an order without hesitation.
This was perfectly normal for Liang Minghe; he had always enjoyed buying interesting but impractical things, or as his grandfather would say, collecting a bunch of worthless junk.
Zhou Jinqin got into the car with the cat in her arms, and chuckled helplessly, "Well, then be careful not to get heatstroke."
Kong Feifei, shivering from the cold in the driver's seat, said listlessly, "Don't worry, he won't get heatstroke, because his brother is protecting his love."
To prevent his brother from sweating profusely and ruining his appearance when delivering a surprise, Kong Feifei transformed his car into a portable cold room. His selfless act is truly admirable, and he deserves the title of the world's greatest brother.
Even though it was just some meaningless playful behavior, Zhou Jinqin's heart softened involuntarily. She tugged at Liang Minghe's clothes and whispered in his ear, "Okay, I saw it. Change your clothes."
Kong Feifei glanced at the two people in the back row and wailed, "My mom no longer has to worry about me starving to death. With you two around, I'm already full from all the PDA."
He sped up, saying, "No, we have to pick up Kanna right away. It's better to share than to eat alone. We all have to be dogs together."
Worried that Zhou Jinqin, a girl, would feel awkward being alone, and also worried that her dog would be lonely, Kong Feifei specially invited Kang Na to this event.
Today is Thursday. Taking advantage of her boss being away on a business trip, Kanna quietly took an early leave of absence.
There were four people in the car. Zhou Jinqin was currently unemployed, Liang Minghe was a freelancer, Kong Feifei worked in her family's factory, and Kang Na was the only one with a regular job. If she wanted to go out with friends on weekdays, she would have to use up her hard-earned annual leave. She was the one who put in the most effort.
Although Kong Feifei is a free spirit, it's not unreasonable for him to schedule the sunrise viewing activity on a weekday. July is the rainy season in Shenzhen, and it's not easy to find a few consecutive sunny days after more than half a month of continuous rain. These two days of sunshine are a rare treat, and for someone as lively as Kong Feifei, it's something to cherish.
The mountain we were going to climb was in a county town more than two hours' drive from Shenzhen. When the four of us arrived, it was already 7 p.m. and the sky was already getting a little dim.
The sunrise in summer is usually around 5:30 a.m., so the four of them had dinner at a restaurant at the foot of the mountain before heading up.
The section of the road leading up the mountain was handed over to Liang Minghe to drive. Kong Feifei, having some free time, handed Zhou Jinqin a handmade wooden box, saying it was a wedding gift for her.
Upon opening it, I found a pair of wooden figurines inside. The girl was her, and the boy was Liang Minghe. A one-eared kitten was sitting at their feet. They were obviously hand-carved based on the three of them.
Zhou Jinqin was pleasantly surprised: "Oh, thank you! It's so beautiful! Did you make it yourself?"
Kong Feifei stroked her chin and shook her head: "Do you remember when I asked you to take a photo together? I sculpted myself based on that photo, wasn't that amazing? Isn't that incredible?"
To be honest, Kong Feifei's craftsmanship is not particularly refined, but he excels at capturing the characteristics of the figures. The flaws do not detract from the overall excellence, and the final result is very good.
In addition, Zhou Jinqin also received exquisite handmade nail polish made by Kanna. The hand-painted parts were very delicate, and it was beautiful enough to be used as a decoration.
Apart from Zhou Jinqin, everyone on this bus was a craftsperson. She couldn't help but exclaim, "So, do you artists only associate with other artists?"
Liang Minghe looked at her and said, "I'm not sure if I'll date artists, but I'll only marry you."
Upon hearing this, Kong Feifei and Kang Na immediately started teasing Zhou Jinqin, asking if she had been tricked into coming to Liang Ming's house by his sweet talk.
Zhou Jinqin blushed and whispered, "No, I was in a bit of trouble before, and he helped me out of it."
As Liang Minghe's good friends of many years, neither of them knew of Zhou Jinqin's existence until this month. To be honest, they were quite curious about what had happened in between.
Zhou Jinqin didn't know how to explain it for a moment. Her marriage with Liang Minghe had been established too quickly, without any emotional connection during the transition. Using her parents as an excuse didn't seem like a legitimate reason at all.
She was speechless for a moment, but Liang Minghe took the initiative to pick up the conversation: "She pursued me."
"Huh?" Zhou Jinqin looked surprised.
Liang Minghe said, "Didn't you leave me your phone number?"
She did leave some, but it wasn't her who left it...
Zhou Jinqin didn't explain, but it didn't matter anymore. In fact, she was the one who took the initiative to propose marriage, so in a sense, she was the one who pursued him.
Seeing Zhou Jinqin blush and remain silent, looking ashamed, Kong Feifei was convinced that the answer was true.
He pouted, and a chorus of boos erupted, mocking Liang Minghe for receiving such treatment.
Everyone was busy condemning Liang Minghe, so they naturally skipped over this thorny issue, and Zhou Jinqin breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
At 10 p.m., the car was parked in a designated parking space in the scenic area.
Perhaps because good weather is rare, everyone cherishes the few sunny days, and even on weekdays, there are still quite a few tourists on the mountain.
The group found a spot where no one had occupied their tents. Next door were a few young people who looked like students. They had probably climbed the mountain earlier and were already gathered around a barbecue grill, singing.
The young people were very enthusiastic; they helped them set up their tents and invited them to come and play together.
As they sang, somehow the guitar ended up in Liang Minghe's hands.
He smiled, not showing any shame, but rather casually picked up the guitar.
His slender fingers gently swept across the chords, his voice delicate and gentle, like a mountain spring flowing.
"I really need a hug."
I really need to rely on them.
I desperately needed you to find me when I was lonely.
Being by your side is better than traveling the world.
Everything else is unimportant…
The mountain was a little cool at night, and the small barbecue grill wasn't enough to keep so many people warm. But at that moment, Zhou Jinqin felt a warmth rising from her heart, and the source of the fire came from Liang Minghe's burning eyes. It turned out that peach blossoms could bloom in summer too.
Ignoring the jeers from the crowd, Liang Minghe passed the guitar to the next person. He leaned close to Zhou Jinqin's ear and whispered, "Does it sound good?"
Zhou Jinqin nodded blankly.
He asked, "Did you hear the lyrics clearly?"
He's a professional in voice, so there's certainly no problem with his pronunciation.
Zhou Jinqin replied, "I heard you clearly."
To some extent, the ambiguity of the lyrics contributed significantly to the commotion that everyone was causing earlier.
Liang Minghe smiled: "Then... do you know what I need?"
Hug, lean on, accompany...
Zhou Jinqin lay in the tent, her heart still pounding wildly.
Kanna asked her, "Aren't you cold? Should we cover yourself with your clothes too?"
Zhou Jinqin shook her head: "No need, I still feel so hot right now..."
"Shy?" Conna laughed. "Yeah, with such a handsome guy whispering sweet nothings in your ear all day long, no one could resist the temptation."
Zhou Jinqin turned to the side and looked at the beautiful woman lying next to her. After hesitating for a long time, she finally spoke with difficulty: "To be honest, I'm quite embarrassed. I misunderstood that you had been with Liang Minghe before, so I saw that you were a little uncomfortable that day. You must have noticed, right? I'm sorry."
Kanna pinched her cheek: "Hahaha, I was wondering when you were going to ask me that."
She suddenly sat up and said, "To be honest, I did have some feelings for him in the first two years after we met."
"He's handsome and knows how to get things done; what young girl wouldn't fall for him?"
Zhou Jinqin's eyes stung a little. She opened her mouth, but after a long while, she finally spoke: "Then what happened to you..."
"He didn't like me," Conna laughed frankly. "Of course, I only had a crush on him back then, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to continue being friends with Liang Minghe."
"I found that he was just a loose tongue, actually keeping people at arm's length and not easy to get along with at all, so I gave up on him early on."
Zhou Jinqin thought for a moment and said, "It's alright, I think he's actually quite gentle."
Connor looked at her face with a calm expression: "Do you think it's possible that he's only gentle with you?"
The temperature had dropped to around 20 degrees Celsius at night, but Zhou Jinqin still felt hot and drank a lot of water throughout the night to relieve it.
With her stomach feeling bloated, Zhou Jinqin held it in until 3 a.m., then decided she absolutely had to go to the toilet to relieve herself.
Connie was fast asleep, clutching her blanket. Zhou Jinqin carefully bypassed her, pulled back the tent flap, and climbed out.
Most of the tourists in the mountains were asleep, with only a few nightlights hanging sparsely in front of their tents. The wind rustled through the forest, accompanied by animal cries, and the darkness seemed eerie and terrifying.
The toilet is a few hundred meters away, and it takes about ten minutes to walk there.
Zhou Jinqin took a few steps outside, but still felt uneasy. After hesitating for a long time, she decided to ask Liang Minghe for help.
Are you asleep?
At this hour, she had little hope, but Zhou Jinqin received Liang Minghe's reply.
What's wrong? Are you not used to sleeping with other people?
"That's true. After all, we've never been apart since we got married. It's normal that you're not used to someone sleeping next to you."
I feel the same way now; I'm not used to not having you around.
The message "The other party is typing" kept popping up at the top of the chat box. Zhou Jinqin was in a real hurry to go to the toilet, so she gritted her teeth and interrupted him.
"Um... could you come with me to the restroom?"
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Author's Note: Thank you for the nutrient solution! [Please!]
Liang Minghe, The Clown [Clown]
Liang Minghe sang Yan Renzhong's "Really Need It," which had a strong ambiguous and coquettish feel, very much in line with a man like Xiaoming who subtly flaunts himself. [doge emoji with rose in hand]
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