Crossing the Clouds and Sky to Fall in Love with You - Chapter 34

The moment she finished speaking, my tears immediately started falling uncontrollably. I didn’t know why I was crying… Covering my mouth, I wanted to say something, but I didn’t know what to say.

She came over to me without a word, and just like she usually did, she cupped my face. Her fingers wiped away my tears, and she slowly leaned in, and then… my lips were suddenly warmed by hers. She kissed me slowly and deeply, and my whole body went numb, completely frozen like a stone.

She drew back a little, but was still close enough for me to feel her breath. Her neutral yet apologetic voice reached my ears.

“I’m sorry… I promised to wait for your declaration… but I couldn’t control myself…”

I choked up, meeting her gaze. “Did you take a picture of me crying, too?”

She bit her lip slightly. “Mhm, you’re beautiful, even when you’re moved to tears.”

Her words made my eyes warm again. I felt that all the inhibitions and defenses I had previously built up were shattered by her sudden kiss.

“You’re horrible!” I wiped my tears, flicking her face lightly with my finger as a mock slap, and then turned around to continue walking.

“Xiaoning?” I detected the tension in her voice.

“You just suddenly took a picture, just suddenly kissed me… Don’t you think you’re being too willful?”

“I…” She was momentarily speechless. I glanced back at her, and she was, uncharacteristically, looking dejected.

The feeling of her lips lingered, and her deep, affectionate gaze repeatedly appeared on my mind’s canvas throughout the rest of the journey. She still took photos, but I guessed she was just using the thing she was most familiar with to ease her tension, as I hadn’t given my consent yet. Even though I was already prepared with an answer, I chose not to say it in the face of her willfulness, lest she become too smug.

As we stepped onto another section of the wooden bridge, I deliberately stopped on the highest step and looked back. Seeing me stop, she also stopped.

I just smiled and stared at her. Probably unnerved by my gaze, she scratched her head and sighed. “Do you want to rest?”

I shook my head and beckoned to her. She frowned suspiciously. “Tao Siki, come here!” For a moment, I thought I had a pet!

She approached me hesitantly. “Yes, stand right here.” I asked her to stand on the lowest step, a spot where I was taller than her but still within reach.

“You’re taller than me now,” she immediately noticed!

“Uh-huh, want to know my answer?” I deliberately cleared my throat, but the attempt to project authority completely failed because she laughed! “Hey, cooperate a little!”

“Aren’t I cooperating?” She pointed to where she was standing. “Alright! Princess Xiaoning, what is your answer? I’m dying to know!”

I tilted my head and beckoned with my index finger again. “Come a little closer.”

She leaned her upper body forward slightly, just as she usually did.

It was my turn to cup her face and return the favor with a kiss. Her lips were thin and soft, but very warm. I effortlessly parted her lips, determined to ignite the passion hidden deep within her heart.

The wind blowing on us was cold, but because she was there, I didn’t feel cold at all.

I pulled away from her, feeling my cheeks burning, but I refused to back down. I said half-jokingly, “The Tao Siki I know doesn’t do things without a sure bet. You must have been certain that suddenly taking a photo of me, and then kissing me, would surely capture my heart, right?”

“That whole sequence was a beautiful impulse. Your smile made me want to take a picture, and your tears compelled me to kiss you. You’re right, I was very willful.” She held my hand, finally regaining the height advantage by standing on the same level as me. “But my feelings for you have been thoroughly thought out, you know that well.”

I wrinkled my nose and deliberately squeezed her cheek! “Yes! I know very well, I know exactly how much effort you put into turning me gay.”

“I also never thought I’d meet a girl who would make me want to turn her gay, even at the risk of failure.”

“But you succeeded!” I pinched her waist. Of course, her clothes had also absorbed a lot of sweat. Her face was beaming with joy; not just the corners of her mouth, but her entire face was smiling. “I can only say that the person I fell for is ‘Tao Siki.’ As for your gender, I’ve simply ignored it.”

Her smile intensified. “Does that mean you won’t fall for any other girls besides me?”

“There aren’t many girls as charming as you, are there?” I intentionally faced her, took a few steps backward, turned around, and swung my trekking pole to continue forward.

“I’m really happy to hear you say that. So… is this your New Year’s gift to me?”

“Why don’t you say it’s your gift to me?”

A light laugh. “Ha! I don’t mind if you want to think of it that way!”

“Hmph! Taking advantage and still being smug. You’re really naughty!”

“And that’s why you like me, isn’t it?”

This kind of playful bickering had already been a part of our interactions. Now, it was just elevating our relationship to the next level. As long as we adjusted our mindsets properly, our interactions would hardly need any changes.

Just naturally being together.

Perhaps because my mood was so good, I felt more energetic as I walked. “Something just occurred to me.” I raised a finger and said to her, “You gave up photographing people because of your ex-girlfriend, but you started a new relationship because you photographed me.”

“I hadn’t even noticed that until you mentioned it!”

I stopped. “Siki.” This was the first time I had called her by her first name.

It felt so sweet.

Her composed expression softened at my calling out “Siki.” “Hmm?”

“I want to be the only subject in your camera lens,” I said, looking up at her with a slightly spoiled tone. “Can you promise me that?”

Her eyes instantly welled up. She nodded, then raised her camera and clicked the shutter again.

By the time we finally reached today’s destination—Paiyun Lodge—it was already two o’clock in the afternoon! We had walked this eight-and-a-half-kilometer path for almost six hours!

She finally ended up walking in front of me… and she was holding my hand. Never having carried a load of nearly twenty kilograms for such a distance, my stamina was still insufficient. Even her steps were less light towards the end than they had been earlier. Whether it was because I slowed her down or for some other reason, she seemed a little tired, too.

And this “lodge” situated amidst these rolling mountains was truly… luxurious! I felt that such a mountain hut shouldn’t appear in such a tranquil, high-altitude setting.

“When I applied for accommodation before, I found out they could provide meals and mistakenly thought I had applied for a lodge with the same name but a different location. But now…” She pointed her thumb towards the lodge behind her. “It’s turned into such a big building!”

“It wasn’t like this before?”

She shook her head. “It used to be very small! Just a little house with two rows of shared platforms inside. You’d sleep wherever you could find space. When there were many hikers on holidays, everyone squeezed into their sleeping bags, and with all the gear, you could barely move!” She continued to describe other differences between the old lodge and the new one. The main change was that it now had small bunk rooms, accommodated more people, and offered more services. Most importantly, it provided hot food!

“I’ve been wanting to eat ramen since yesterday!” The luxurious lodge, which had seemed out of place in the natural environment, instantly became a ramen shop in my eyes!

She burst out laughing at my reaction. “It’s a pity ramen wasn’t on the meal order form! But at least there’s food to eat, and we don’t have to carry it ourselves. I even thought we might have to wake up yesterday to cook instant noodles because we were hungry!”

That’s true. Thinking about it made me realize we carried a lot of unnecessary items.

We entered the lodge, found our bunks and room, and immediately couldn’t wait to unload our gear and rest.

We took the lower bunks, on the inner side of the room. She let me have the corner spot. “This is much better than last night, isn’t it? You sleep on the inside, so you won’t be face-to-face with strangers.”

This was a small room for eight people with shared platforms. Although I was a little worried about who our unseen “roommates” might be, all I wanted to do right now was rest properly.

Taking off my trainers and socks, my entire foot was numb! Both numb and cold. When the wind blew on the path earlier, I felt cold, but the direct sunlight also made me feel hot. Even in winter, walking on the mountain trail carrying a heavy load on a clear day can make you hot. My clothes were soaked; I desperately wanted to change.

“Huh? Your foot…” Having just taken off her backpack, she suddenly noticed something and grabbed my ankle!

“What are you doing… it’s dirty, it, it smells…”

I kept trying to pull her hand away, but she was unfazed. I was utterly ashamed when her fingers poked the sole of my foot! “Do you know you have blisters?”

“Ah?” Uh, towards the end of the walk, a spot on my right foot did feel a little strange…

“Don’t pop them. I’ll put a bandage on for you.” While she turned to look for the first-aid kit, I seized the chance to pull back my “foot.”

“I can do it myself!” I poked the spot a couple of times. It was true; no wonder it was red and painful there.

She returned with an alcohol pad and a bandage, and she beckoned to me. “Come here, I’ll help you put it on.”

“I’ll do it myself!”

“It’s easier if I help you.”

“No, my foot is dirty, and I’m not a child, I can handle it myself!” I pouted, adamantly refusing to stretch out my foot.

We had a few seconds of silent confrontation, and she eventually gave in. The cotton pad felt cool when it touched the blister. I carefully put on the bandage and quickly put my sock back on. She handed me a piece of paper, a meal coupon. “You use this coupon to get your meal later. There aren’t many choices here. I ordered roasted chicken drumsticks for you. Is that okay?”

I shook my head. “Anything is fine as long as I can eat! When can we eat?” We had eaten rice balls while walking at noon. After such a massive amount of exercise, it was all long since digested.

She smiled intimately at me. “You’re looking forward to it, aren’t you? It’ll be a little later.”

“Then I finally have a chance to eat some snacks!” I climbed over to my trekking backpack and dug out my treasured Pocky. “Do you want strawberry or chocolate?” I showed them off as I returned to her side. She was drinking water, and I smelled a grapefruit-like scent.

She glanced at them and teased with a smile, “Didn’t you say you wouldn’t share them with me?”

“Ugh! So vengeful? I’m only giving you another chance because you’ve been upgraded! Don’t eat it, then!”

The smile on her lips grew wider. “Oh! Upgraded to what?” Her upper body leaned slightly toward me. Our shoulders touched, instantly boosting the sense of intimacy by several degrees!

“Well… from best friend/travel companion to girlfriend! What else is it but an upgrade?” I rolled my eyes at her; she knew exactly what I meant!

“Keep your voice down. Someone could pass by here at any moment.” She pointed towards the door. Her left hand had somehow found its way to my head, intimately stroking my slightly damp hair. “Then… I won’t be polite, will I?” Without even looking, she took one of the boxes… Only after pushing the flirtation to the absolute limit did, she slowly pull back.

“She can even be this suggestive just taking a biscuit…”

“Did I hear someone complaining?”

“You didn’t hear anything!” I turned my head away with a cold sniff, pulled my knitted hat lower, and used opening the packaging to hide my shyness.

And that annoying yet pleasant laughter echoed and lingered in the small room, which currently only held the two of us.