Crossing the Clouds and Sky to Fall in Love with You - Chapter 29

I didn’t dwell on what she meant by “Absolutely right.” We strolled around for a bit and then went home. I didn’t sleep at her place that night; instead, I spent the entire evening packing my bags, preparing to ship my belongings back to Kaohsiung the next day for winter break.

The landlady called midway to ask if I wanted to renew the lease, which I, of course, verbally agreed to without hesitation.

“How are you going to carry your luggage down?” Tao Yian glanced at the large cardboard box beside me, which held my computer tower. Although my family already owned a computer, it wasn’t as fast as this one.

“I’ll ship it at the convenience store.” Besides the tower, I only had a backpack and a carry-on bag left. Saying “only” is relative, as they were both stuffed full; I still had a lot of things.

She gave a small smile, then wordlessly picked up my computer tower. “Let’s go!” She signaled with her eyes and headed down the stairs first. I was struck by the swift, cool way she moved and hurried to catch up only when she reached the stairwell corner.

Ugh! Why does she have to be so… so beautiful that she can randomly charm people like this?

After shipping the computer tower home, she kept me company at the convenience store for a drink. “Are you taking the train or the high-speed rail later?”

“Probably a long-distance bus? I’m a poor student, so five hours to head south it is.”

“Hmm… I’ve already planned the itinerary perfectly, so you don’t need to worry. I’ll prepare the mountaineering gear and bring it down for you. You only need to prepare some warm clothing, gloves, and a non-connected rain suit (jacket and pants). I’ll take care of the rest. We’re leaving the day after tomorrow.” When she said “the day after tomorrow,” an indescribable wave of excitement washed over me. “Wait for me to come find you at your place.”

“Mhm, mhm.” I nodded, then couldn’t help but blink and ask, “Oh, by the way, where exactly are we going?”

“A place you’ll never forget, but one you’re certainly capable of handling!”

“What kind of answer is that! How am I supposed to guess?” I nudged her playfully with my elbow.

She chuckled. “Let’s keep a bit of mystery! That spot is too famous; I’m afraid you’ll get cold feet before we even start. But this is the best trip I could think of, and you’re absolutely going to love it.”

Since she sounded so confident, pressing her further would only make me seem less trusting. I could only suppress my curiosity and wait patiently.

“Well, until we meet the day after tomorrow, we won’t see each other for a whole two days!”

“That’s right,” I said, biting my straw. “Don’t miss me too much!”

She raised an eyebrow, her fair, beautiful face instantly coming close to mine. “Shouldn’t I be the one saying that?”

“No way! Don’t you miss me at all? I just realized, you had already shown your feelings for me when you came to my place—before you gave me the crystal.” I touched the purple crystal hidden beneath my collar and couldn’t help but smile proudly.

“That’s right! Once I figure out what my heart wants, I head straight toward that person, and it’s the same when facing a travel destination!”

I stared at her upturned profile and suddenly felt that she was dazzling—too dazzling…

Could I catch a wind that comes and goes as it pleases?

I couldn’t.

Did that mean I also couldn’t hold onto her?

Only now did I realize—I had actually liked her for a long time, regardless of what kind of “like” it was. But my hesitation in accepting her pursuit, aside from concerns about the potential scrutiny of same-sex love, was also because… I simply couldn’t bear the thought of having to face a possible long-distance relationship after falling in love, especially since her travels weren’t always safe…

Losing what I once considered my sun, air, and water nearly shattered me and forced me to abandon an innocent life in pain… If I truly got together with her, only for her to disappear like the wind… Could I withstand experiencing two such blows in such a short period of time?

Unknowingly, I had come to rely on her to an unimaginable degree… Maybe she was right; perhaps she was the one who should say, “Don’t miss me too much.” She might miss me, but I was dependent on her.

She could do without me, but I seemed… unable to do without her.

She pulled her gaze back. “Have you booked which bus or train you’re taking?”

I snapped back to reality. “Oh, no! I haven’t! I’ll just go to the station and hop on the first one that’s leaving. I didn’t buy tickets in advance.”

“I see.” She hopped off the tall stool, tossing her empty drink can into the trash in one swift motion.

“Then I’ll go with you!”

Huh?

“Yu Xiaoning, you really love to space out! I said I’ll go with you to catch your ride. I was just tidying up my room this morning anyway; I don’t have anything important to do.”

She smiled back, and under her gaze, I walked toward her.

“I… I know you want to come with me… but why?”

“To minimize the time until we meet again, of course! Do you even need to ask why?” She looked incredulous.

My heart fluttered again at her words. Her smile grew wider and wider in my eyes, and finally, my lips curved into a smile to match hers.

Thanks to her thoughtfulness, the walk from my place to the station felt like a reason to be joyful again!

However, the sweeter and warmer this time was, the harder the eventual separation would be.

She smiled as usual, standing on the platform and waving at me. For a moment, I nearly burst into tears… Even though I knew we wouldn’t be apart for long, and all I had to do was wait for her to come home and take me on a trip—the day after tomorrow—I already felt reluctant to leave her.

Reluctant to be separated from her.

I found a single seat on the bus and felt a pang of sadness that made me want to cry. Just as I was trying to compose myself, my phone rang!

“Hello?” She hadn’t left yet! Realizing it was her, I quickly pushed aside the window curtain and looked out.

With one hand in her pocket, her bright smile had never faded. She seemed to find my location quickly, and through the receiver and the glass window, she clearly said to me—

‘I’ll come find you soon; wait for me.’

Wait for me.

I held the receiver as the bus slowly reversed, moving farther and farther away from the platform, farther and farther away from her…

I rushed to the front row like a madwoman, just to slightly reduce the distance between us. Her eyes were fixed on me, too. Even though her features were becoming blurry, I could still feel her looking at me.

The bus finally moved forward along the lane, and I returned to my seat, watching until the station disappeared from sight.

The moment the station was finally hidden from view, I felt a piece of my heart go empty, and tears silently rolled down my cheeks… Wuwu, that’s too cruel, too much! She knew, she knew I was the one who couldn’t bear to leave, and she still had to provoke me like that…

I returned to my seat and took out a tissue to wipe away my tears again. Once composed, I glanced at the phone still tightly clutched in my hand and realized… the call hadn’t ended!

I slowly brought the receiver back to my ear and heard her breathing.

‘Xiaoning…’ Just her calling my name made me press my lips tightly together, tears nearly spilling over again.

I sighed, deciding to force a smile. “You are so deliberate… I hate you! I hate you!”

‘I’m hated again?’ Listen to that! How innocent that tone is!

“Hmph! Of course! Don’t waste phone credit… I got it, I’ll wait for you.” After saying that, I ended the call myself. As I tossed the phone back into my bag, my heart felt a mix of sourness and sweetness.

It made me think of the taste of first love.

Hmm… It must be a mistake!

As soon as I got home, the first thing I told my parents was that I would be going on a trip with a friend.

“You just got back… When are you leaving?”

“The day after tomorrow.”

“And when will you be back?”

My mom’s question made me realize I forgot to ask how long the trip would be! “Hmm… I’ll definitely be back before the Lunar New Year!” That was the only thing I was sure of!

“Honestly… you two sisters are exactly alike! You’re both going out with your boyfriends, right?” My mom looked like she’d already figured it all out. I tried to clarify, but she stopped me! “Ay! I understand! I was young once, too! Just be safe when you go out; I won’t meddle in anything else.”

Hmm! Should I say my mom is open-minded, or that she’s too trusting of me?

Yu Xiaopei heard this and immediately clung to me, asking playfully, “Sis! Do you have a new boyfriend?”

I gave her a look. “Of course not! Who told you that… Was it Mom?”

“Yeah! She said you’re going out with your boyfriend, just like me. Isn’t that true?”

“No, it’s not… It’s the backpacker I told you about before.” Just mentioning Tao Yian made me blush unconsciously! “The hypothetical scenario you mentioned came true. She’s taking me on a trip.”

“Really? That must be so much fun! Where are you two planning to go? The East Coast? Or an outlying island?” Xiaopei’s face was full of curiosity.

I shook my head. “I don’t know where she’s taking me! She insists on keeping it a secret, so I haven’t pressed her, but it will involve hiking. It’s too cold for water activities.”

“Hmph, it’s cold for hiking right now, too!” Xiaopei instantly pointed out the flaw! “By the way, Sis, you’ve never hiked, right? I don’t think she’ll take you up some small hill like Baguashan. You need to prepare yourself!”

“I’ll try my best.”

Honestly… it didn’t matter what mountain we climbed. As long as I was with her, I inexplicably felt that any challenge would be fine…

I don’t know where this confidence came from.

I had to register for classes on Sunday, and since the computer I normally used in my room hadn’t arrived yet, I had to use the ancient computer at home. Luckily, I successfully registered for the photography course Yiting had mentioned, and Tao Yian, who had initially been unsure, also registered for the same class as us. I think it was to ensure at least one stable chance to see each other every week.

Then I occupied myself by cleaning my room to pass the boring waiting time. Even with Xiaopei at home, I mostly just listened to her talk about her interesting university life. She had joined a club, and I felt my university life lacked the “club credit,” so there wasn’t much we could talk about.

“Ukulele?” I frowned, repeating the strange instrument in Xiaopei’s mouth.

“Yeah! It’s small, kind of like a guitar. I wasn’t interested at first, but I saw my classmate playing one and thought it looked fun. Just in time, a senior in her club graduated and was selling one cheaply. I bought it and joined the club with my classmate. It feels pretty good!” Xiaopei proudly showed off the instrument, but I felt a strange sense of aversion… I couldn’t help it; seeing a guitar now just made me feel “turned off.”

“Even though I’ve only been learning for less than a month, I can play the scales now! I’ll be able to play and sing for myself later…”

She tried a few notes, and the melody she sang surprised me—it wasn’t very pleasant. Xiaopei’s voice was similar to mine—a thin mezzo-soprano, not bad, but nothing special. However, her off-key problem was also similar to mine. Should I say we were sisters, after all? But the main thing was—she was singing the theme song of the Japanese drama I used to follow!

But only the melody was similar; her voice practically ruined the original beautiful song!

“Wait! Stop! You don’t have a pick?”

“What’s a pick?”

“The plectrum for playing the guitar.”

“Oh! No, you just use your fingernails for this… Where was I singing to?”

“You’d better not keep singing. I’m worried Yu Xiaowen will rush in and murder you.” I couldn’t help covering my ears.

“Pfft! Sis, that’s so mean! He won’t!” She grinned. “I told him to figure it out himself! Whether he stuffs his ears with toilet paper or buys ear muffs, I’m going to sing, and he can’t control me!”

I rolled my eyes, and Xiaopei continued to immerse herself in her “zero-point realm” that only she could understand. Just as she was singing the chorus—

“Yu Xiaopei! If you dare sing again, I’ll smash that instrument over your head!”

I knew it! Someone could always deal with her, right?