"Brother, hurry up! What are you doing? Why are you walking so slowly?" Since he didn't bring any tools to fill a container with water, Shen Yang could only call out to Shen Wei, since all those things were on Shen Wei.
Upon hearing Shenyang's summons, Shen Wei nodded to Lin Xiaoxiao and the other person and quickened his pace.
"Xiaoxue, I'm so sorry." Lin Xiaoxiao stared at the road beneath her feet. "It's all my fault for impulsively deciding to climb the mountain, which made you so tired."
"Little one".
Tang Xue stopped and forced Lin Xiaoxiao to look at her. "Don't take everything on yourself. Climbing mountains is tiring, but I don't find it hard. Every minute and every second I spend with you is precious to me."
"Coming to climb the mountain was my own decision; it has nothing to do with you, and it's not your fault."
Tang Xue touched Lin Xiaoxiao's face. "I've always hoped that you could rely on me a little more."
Tang Xue noticed at some point that Lin Xiaoxiao always had the habit of carrying everything on her own.
No matter what happens, Lin Xiaoxiao always tries to find the reason within herself first.
Just like now, her own exhaustion has become Lin Xiaoxiao's reason for blaming herself.
With a sigh, Tang Xue reached out and tapped Lin Xiaoxiao's forehead. "How could you be so silly!"
"Huh?" Lin Xiaoxiao touched her forehead, looking completely bewildered.
"Don't carry all the burden alone," Tang Xue said, lowering her eyes. "It will break my heart."
"Xiaoxue..."
"Teacher Tang, President Lin, please come quickly! It's amazing! This spring water is actually sweet! Please come quickly!"
Lin Xiaoxiao's newly formed sense of emotion was shattered by Shen Yang's words.
The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously chuckled softly.
"Xiaoxue, thank you."
After filling their bottles with water and washing a few peaches, the group returned to the old man's peach orchard.
As for why the peach orchard was planted on the mountain, according to the old man, it was to provide convenience for those who came up the mountain.
If you get tired, hungry, or thirsty while climbing the mountain, you can eat a peach. The old man said that this is not just his peach orchard, but the peach orchard of the whole village.
"Grandpa, we're going back now. Would you like to come with us?" Lin Xiaoxiao took off her coat, which was tied around her waist, and put the peaches from the ground into it.
Tang Xue opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to speak up to stop her, but unsure how.
Finally, Tang Xue glanced at Lin Xiaoxiao's short-sleeved shirt and tacitly approved of Lin Xiaoxiao's act of wrapping the peach in her coat.
Wrapped in clothes, it's better than just wrapped in the hem of a garment, right? In this way, Tang Xue successfully convinced herself.
"No need, I have things to do." The old man waved his hand.
"Grandpa, are you sure you can manage on your own? Do you really not need our help?" Shenyang asked, wanting to help the old man.
But Shenyang never expected that his kindness would not only be unappreciated, but would also be betrayed and stabbed in the back.
"Young man, I'm stronger than you," the old man replied with a smile.
"..."
Shenyang's face darkened. When he got back, he was determined to work out harder and never let his physical strength be looked down upon again.
"Wait a minute, I need to ask you something." Lin Xiaoxiao hadn't gone far when she seemed to suddenly remember something. She put the clothes she was holding on the ground, ran towards the old man, and then ran back a moment later.
"Let's go." Lin Xiaoxiao picked up her clothes and took Tang Xue's hand. Although Tang Xue didn't know what she had said to the old man, she could feel Lin Xiaoxiao's happiness.
As for the rest, it doesn't really matter. What Tang Xue wants to see is this person being happy.
Chapter 87
==================
"President Lin hasn't gotten up yet? Shall I go and wake him up?" Seeing that everyone else was coming down one after another.
Chen Mo did not see Lin Xiaoxiao, even though breakfast was not supposed to be eaten together.
But she got up so early to make breakfast all for Lin Xiaoxiao. When everyone else came down, the person she was waiting for was nowhere to be seen, and Chen Mo became restless.
"No need, Mr. Lin, Tang Xue, and the Shen brothers are not here. You can eat first."
Just as Shen Mo was about to go upstairs to call Lin Xiaoxiao, the staff appeared in time to tell them that they didn't need to wait for the rest of the group.
"What do you mean? What do you mean they're not here?" Chen Mo rushed down the stairs and confronted the staff. "Isn't filming a group shoot? Why are we split up?"
Shen Mo's tone was somewhat abrupt. She had no idea what the situation was, let alone what the production team was up to.
She had watched the previous episodes, and all the guests were acting together. Why did the rules change for them?
She was hoping to use the later segments to get closer to Lin Xiaoxiao, but all she got was a staff member saying they weren't there right now.
Shen Mo is genuinely angry now; all her preparations were for getting close to Lin Xiaoxiao.
If she doesn't have the opportunity to interact with Lin Xiaoxiao, what's the point of her going to such lengths to come to this show?
[Chen Mo's tone was so aggressive, it was like someone owed her millions.]
[Didn't you see the way she acted just now? It was like she was going to devour the staff. It was terrifying.]
[Our Xiaomomo just wanted to know if the filming would be done separately, she was just a little impatient. Aren't you going too far with what you're saying?]
[Exactly! It's because those few people acted alone that the other guests had to get up early to wait for them. What, they don't even have the right to ask?]
[Our little star here says that Mr. Chen is not among these guests.]
[Our Lin Ying-tzu is the same.]
[Sorry, we're not taking our little Xiao Yu with us.]
The other guests have only been up for a short time; there's no need to drag them into this.
[Does this mean that it's wrong for our little Momo to get up so early to make breakfast for everyone? If it weren't for our little Momo, would they even have food to eat as soon as they wake up?]
[...]
Although I don't want to argue with you, I still want to say that she wasn't forced to cook breakfast; she did it voluntarily. Even though she made breakfast, she still got screen time and attention.
To be fair, everyone should stop focusing their criticism on me. Chen Mo's act of getting up early to cook for everyone is indeed something the other guests should be grateful for.
But Shen Mo did all of this to prove herself, so in this respect, there's no right or wrong; everyone was acting for their own purposes, wasn't they?
I agree, so everyone, please stop arguing.
[What's all the noise about? The Waiting-for-Wife Stone is responding; we can watch the girls cuddle now.]
After someone shouted, they stopped paying attention to what was happening here; most people's attention had been drawn away.
Wang Ming, who had been waiting at the foot of the mountain, almost shouted with excitement when he saw several figures on the mountain enter the camera's view.
They've been staking out for several hours since they arrived this morning, and they've finally spotted these people.
Wang Ming felt that if these people didn't come down soon, he and his colleagues really wouldn't be able to hold on and would faint.
Here she comes, carrying a bag full of food.
Guess what they got?
Want to bet? I bet a bag of spicy strips that they'll definitely have a ton of stuff.
[Me too. I bet ten packs of spicy strips that with our CEO Lin around, it's not a big problem. Just think of how impressive he was catching fish yesterday; recognizing a couple of wild vegetables will be a piece of cake for him.]
Judging from their demeanor, they must have had a very fruitful experience.
[Hahaha, that's hilarious! How did you figure out their imposing presence from just a few tiny black dots?]
Such things can only be understood intuitively; those who understand will naturally understand. You mortals are ultimately not cultivated enough.
Hahaha, they're starting to use metaphysics now! I'm kneeling before the master, please accept my deepest respect.
The comments section was buzzing with excitement about what the group had gained, but the journey down the mountain with their belongings was far from easy.
It's often said that going up a mountain is easy, but coming down is hard, and that's absolutely true.
Although it's tiring to go up the mountain, it makes it easier to find points of leverage.
However, it is not so easy to control the center of gravity when going downhill. If you are not careful, you will lose your balance and have an accident.
Although the mountain they were climbing wasn't very steep, the four of them still proceeded with great caution and care.
"I hate climbing mountains, and I never want to climb mountains again." Shen Yang grabbed Shen Wei's arm, his face almost scrunched up.
He thought climbing the mountain was already painful enough, but he never expected that going down the mountain would be even more painful.
"I'm sorry for making you all suffer." Looking at Shen Yang's dejected appearance, Lin Xiaoxiao also felt quite apologetic.
If she hadn't mentioned going hiking beforehand, Tang Xue wouldn't have kept this in mind, nor would she have put the two girls in a difficult position by worrying about their safety.
Yes, in Lin Xiaoxiao's opinion, the Shen brothers were indeed tricked.
"Mr. Lin, don't say that. Although climbing the mountain was tiring, I'm still quite happy today. Besides, I'm a man, and I'll honor my bet."
You don't need to feel sorry about this. Shen Yang has a cheerful personality and can't keep a secret; he often says whatever comes to mind.
Don't be fooled by his words about never going hiking again; he might just forget about it the next day.
"No matter what, we are very grateful that you were willing to come hiking with us."
After arriving in this small mountain village, Lin Xiaoxiao's true nature was revealed to some extent.
She liked this place; this small mountain village reminded Lin Xiaoxiao of the time when she was adopted.
For Lin Xiaoxiao, the time she spent being adopted was the happiest period of her life.
At that time, Lin Xiaoxiao was eight years old and was adopted from an orphanage by a rural couple, although they did not have very wealthy living conditions.
But they gave all their love to Lin Xiaoxiao, and they did everything they could to give her the best.
In Lin Xiaoxiao's memory, her father would take her to catch fish in the river, take her hiking, teach her how to identify wild vegetables, and take her to pick delicious fruits.
When she got home, even though she was covered in dirt, her mother didn't scold her at all. Instead, she prepared clean clothes for her to change into and listened to her chatter about what she and her father had accomplished that day.
For Lin Xiaoxiao, those two years were the happiest time of her life, but unfortunately, fate always seemed to play tricks on her.
Just when she thought she could live happily with her adoptive parents, an accident cruelly robbed her of her only happiness and the only source of light in her life.
She returned to the orphanage once again, and the time she spent living with her adoptive parents became a memory that Lin Xiaoxiao buried deep in her heart, one she dared not touch.