"If you say it out loud, it won't work."
"All right."
A few minutes later, the bell on the other side rang out for the first time. It was a dull sound, but the solemnity of the bell, which carried a certain sense of ritual, made the crowd quiet down considerably compared to the previous clamor.
Chai Qianning stood up, walked to Sheng Muxi's side, and leaned against the railing in a very casual manner.
As the third bell rang, many people turned their gaze toward the mysterious mountain peak opposite.
Sheng Muxi turned her head and glanced at Chai Qianning.
Noticing the other person's gaze, Chai Qianning turned her eyes to meet hers.
The setting sun reflected a soft hue in Chai Qianning's clear eyes, blending into her gentle smile and making her appear exceptionally tender.
Sheng Muxi, looking over the other person's shoulder, caught a glimpse of an elderly couple standing in the setting sun.
——
On their way back down the mountain, the four of them ultimately chose to take the cable car.
Qiu Jie is afraid of heights, but she doesn't want to walk down, so she prefers to sit on something that frightens her.
After getting into the cable car, Qiu Jie took out the blindfold she had prepared beforehand and put it on.
The views from going uphill and downhill are completely different. Chai Qianning stared at the scenery passing by slowly outside. For someone who is not afraid of heights, it was a visual feast.
So much so that Shi Manwen said regretfully to Qiu Jie next to her, "Such a beautiful view is rare, but you are afraid of heights and can't appreciate it."
"I'm not even interested in appreciating it; it's terrifying."
By the time we got back to the guesthouse, it was already quite dark.
After dinner, Chai Shuqing enthusiastically distributed plush chicks to the children in the courtyard.
Chai Qianning rested her chin on the windowsill with her hands on it, watching the happy and lively scene outside where children each had a little yellow chick.
After dinner, many people came out to digest their food. Sheng Muxi and Shi Manwen walked slowly along the pebbly path, occasionally exchanging a few words.
Sheng Muxi looked in the direction of the children's laughter and saw Chai Qianning leaning against the windowsill across the street.
From a distance, she couldn't tell whether the other person was dozing off or just spacing out.
She opened WeChat and admired Chai Qianning's profile picture again. She really thought that Chai Qianning and the kitten perched on the windowsill looked so alike, even their temperaments were the same.
"There's a barbecue place over there, do you want to go?" Shi Manwen's eyes lit up.
Sheng Muxi glanced over there and said to her, "You go ahead, I'm full, I can't eat much more."
"Then I'll go."
After Shi Manwen left, Sheng Muxi walked to the opposite window. Chai Qianning saw her and lazily raised her eyes.
"Are you exhausted today?" Sheng Muxi asked casually, leaning against the side.
"It's alright, not too tiring."
After all, she didn't walk very far; she took the cable car up and down the mountain.
"There's a barbecue place over there," Chai Qianning reminded the other person, "Aren't you going to eat there?"
"I don't really want to go, do you want to go?"
She meant that if you want to go, I can go with you.
Chai Qianning subconsciously touched her stomach through her clothes: "I don't have much of an appetite. Ever since I ate chicken cutlet at midnight, I've felt a bit indigestion. It's really strange, isn't it? Usually, when I eat late-night snacks or chicken cutlet, I don't feel like this."
"Meow—" A cat's meow came from the side.
Sheng Muxi then noticed that there was a cat sleeping in the corner of the windowsill.
Her eyelids twitched as she looked at the gray and white cat and realized that it was the same cat that was Chai Qianning's WeChat profile picture.
The cat meowed again, as if protesting that they had disturbed its sleep.
"Silly boy." Chai Qianning rubbed the cat's head, and the kitten rubbed softly against her palm.
"Little fool?" Sheng Muxi asked, "Why do you call it little fool?"
“My grandfather named it that, saying that a name that sounds rustic and silly would make it easier to raise. Its original name was Gou Dan (Dog Egg). But I felt that calling it Gou Dan made it sound like a dog, so I changed it.”
Sheng Muxi reached out to stroke the cat's fur, but the little idiot just lay there with its head down, too lazy to do anything.
It would only rub against Chai Qianning if she touched it, otherwise it would ignore everyone else completely, not even giving them a glance.
Especially those half-closed eyes, which seemed to have seen through the world and were indifferent to life and death.
She thought of Chai Qianning's appearance just now, and it seemed to be similar in some way. She couldn't help but lower her eyes and smile, and couldn't help but say, "You and it are so alike."
"Her? Who?" Chai Qianning raised her head, and there was no one else beside Sheng Muxi.
Sheng Muxi smiled but didn't say anything.
Chai Qianning glanced at the little fool, who looked up at her and meowed again.
".."
"Teacher Sheng, there's a Firefly Valley nearby, would you like to go and take a look?"
Since we're here for tourism, we definitely need to visit some famous nearby attractions to make the trip worthwhile. Chai Qianning happened to see that Sheng Muxi was free and didn't want to go for barbecue, so she decided to take her there.
Perfect timing! Firefly Valley is best visited at night.
I originally wanted to invite Shi Manwen and Qiu Jie to go together, but they went to eat barbecue, so we didn't go.
It took about six or seven minutes to drive there to get to the vicinity of Firefly Valley. After parking the car, the two of them went in through a small path, which required walking for a while.
If you take the main road, it will take about ten to twenty minutes to reach the area with the most fireflies.
Chai Qianning was familiar with this area, so she pulled Sheng Muxi to take a shortcut.
Halfway there, Chai Qianning suddenly stopped.
Sheng Muxi turned her head, her lips slightly parted, and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
"Teacher Sheng, have you heard any strange noises?"
"I heard it, the chirping of many small insects."
".."
“Not this one.” Chai Qianning walked to her side, the distance between them immediately shortening: “Shh, be quiet, listen carefully.”
Sheng Muxi touched her forehead and said gently, "If I had known I was at Yuding Mountain during the day, I wouldn't have scared you. Also, I wouldn't have shown you Qiu Jie's photo. Did what happened this morning leave you with a psychological shadow? You've started to become paranoid."
Chai Qianning: "..."
"Really, I'm not kidding."
Sheng Muxi indeed heard nothing except the chirping of insects, so she looked at her with heartache, as if it was her fault for scaring the child.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here." Sheng Muxi comforted her for a few moments, then took her wrist and led her forward.
Chai Qianning blinked, and following the other person's lead, she continued walking forward out of inertia.
After walking only a few steps, Sheng Muxi also stopped and turned to look at her with a question mark in his eyes.
"It sounds like there's some kind of sound," Sheng Muxi said softly.
"I knew it, I wasn't lying to you."
Ahead, through the obscured view of the trees, came a sound of unknown meaning.
The two looked at each other, stood there for several seconds, and then, as if they had guessed something, took a few steps forward.
Sure enough, there was a young couple kissing ahead.
First-time visitors are unlikely to know this road, and the young couple seemed to think that no one would ever pass by, so they were completely absorbed in their conversation.
The road was already narrow, and the young couple was blocking the way. If they wanted to pass, Chai Qianning and Sheng Muxi would have to walk past casually and say, "Excuse me."
As long as you're not embarrassed, it's others who will feel awkward.
But neither of them moved, standing behind the bushes, where a small lamp happened to be at their feet.
"Should we turn back and take the main road?" Sheng Muxi suggested.
Chai Qianning opened her mouth: "We've already gone halfway, there's no reason to turn back!"
This would mean walking even further, which Chai Qianning was unwilling to accept. So she grabbed Sheng Muxi's wrist and said righteously, "Let's go, what's the big deal? It's not us who's embarrassed."
However, the moment she lifted her foot, the young couple in front of her changed their plans and started doing something else.
Chai Qianning stared in disbelief.
Immediately afterward, Sheng Muxi reached out and covered her eyes, blurting out instinctively, "Not suitable for children!"
Sheng Muxi's palms were warm, delicate, and soft, like a layer of cotton candy covering her eyes. She looked at her through the gaps between the other's fingers, her eyelashes trembling.
"Who are you calling a child? Or are you?" Chai Qianning said softly.
"And what's wrong with you? You covered my eyes, why were you looking over there!" Chai Qianning accused her.
"I'm not afraid you'll go astray."
Sheng Muxi removed her hand from her eyes and pulled her a little closer.
The small lamp illuminated her shoes perfectly. Chai Qianning squatted down, holding a small twig she had picked up, and idly drew circles on the ground.
Seeing her head drooping, Sheng Muxi couldn't help but chuckle and squatted down as well: "What are you doing? You're acting all wronged."
"Alright, you're not a child anymore. Let's go. If you don't want to go past them, we can always turn back. If you don't want to walk, I can just carry you on my back."
Chai Qianning raised her eyes, and a firefly flew by, illuminating her lower eyes with a bright light. She exclaimed in surprise, "Really?"
Sheng Muxi choked on her own saliva and looked at her: "You weren't just waiting for me to say that, were you?"
"How could that be? I mean, how could I bear to let you carry me?" Chai Qianning patted her trousers on her knees and gestured with her thumb in that direction: "That scene is nothing. Let's go. Going back is never my style."
Unfortunately, Chai Qianning made too much noise when she got up and accidentally stepped on a tree branch. She tilted her body, subconsciously let out a cry, and steadied herself against the tree next to her.
The young couple in front of them were startled by the noise, quickly separated, and looked around blankly.
Along the path, at intervals, there are small lights that reach ankle height, with the light positioned at the boundary between what is visible and what is not.
A gentle breeze swept by, rustling the treetops and lifting Chai Qianning's hair. Her long hair fluttered in the dim light before falling back down, startling the young couple.
"Ahhh, a ghost!"