Chapter 09

It was getting cold at night, so Liu Xiaodong threw a few dry branches into the fire, which lit up a little and dispelled some of the chill in the mountains.

“It’s getting late, so let’s disperse first. Don’t you still have to watch the sunrise?” He broke off a few more dead branches, “Don’t be unable to climb up.”

Lou Jia took out her phone and looked at it. It was already past ten o’clock. She saw everyone getting up and heading for the tent. She stopped Jiang Siwei and said, “Come with me to take a couple of photos over there.”

Jiang Siwei nodded and said yes.

Liu Xiaodong, who was responsible for the night watch, said, “Don’t go too far. It’s easy to get disoriented at night.”

“Don’t worry, it’s nearby. I’ll be back soon.” Lou Jia got up and walked to the edge of the tent. She picked up her backpack and said, “Let’s go.”

Jiang Siwei immediately followed her, not noticing that Lou Jia had only taken her backpack but not her camera bag.

The temperature dropped sharply at night in the mountains, and visibility was not high between the shadows of the trees. Lou Jia did not dare to go too far, and stopped on a small slope.

Jiang Siwei watched her rummaging in her bag, looking around, not finding anything good to shoot nearby. Just as she was daydreaming, Lou Jia suddenly turned around, holding a palm-sized cake in her hand.

It was the kind of small flower basket that you could see everywhere at the entrance to school when you were a child, with sweet, creamy butter and a small pink flower in the middle.

Jiang Siwei hadn’t seen this kind of cake for many years.

“With limited resources, you’ll have to make do with this,” said Lou Jia, holding the cake in one hand and a lighter in the other.

She curved her lips and said, “Happy birthday, Siwei.”

Jiang Siwei’s lips moved slightly, and a sudden surge of acidity made his eyes burn: “Can I make a wish?”

“Of course you can.” Lou Jia tilted her head, indicating that he could point the lighter at the cake and even at herself.

“I want to get a hug.” Jiang Siwei said, then lowered his head and blew out the “candle,” looking expectantly at Lou Jia, like a dog wagging its tail and begging for its owner’s attention.

Lou Jia was touched by the fantasy in his head and was happy to fulfill his wish. She smiled and opened her arms, and Jiang Siwei also sensibly hugged her.

This hug was too real.

It was also the first time that Lou Jia had a real feeling about the fact that Jiang Siwei had grown up. She snuggled up to him, and the same fragrance of soapwood was in her breath.

In the silence, the sound of each other’s heartbeat was especially clear.

After a long time, Lou Jia said in a muffled voice, “Are you suffocating me?”

Jiang Siwei’s face turned red, and he slowly let go of her hand, whispering, “This is my favorite birthday.”

“That’s all you want?” Lou Jia suddenly moved away from the heat source, felt the coolness, and threw the cake to Jiang Siwei, “Eat it quickly, and then we’ll go back.”

Jiang Siwei took the cake and suddenly asked, “Next year… will you still spend your birthday with me?”

“Next year…” Lou Jia’s eyes flickered slightly and she smiled gently: ‘I’ll see how hard you try.’

Jiang Siwei also smiled: ‘I think you will.’

Lou Jia shrugged slightly, neither denying nor affirming, and quietly watched Jiang Siwei finish a small cake. ‘Let’s go back.’

Jiang Siwei nodded and picked up the backpack on the ground. He walked a few steps and suddenly regretted that he should have wished for something better.

After all, Lou Jia was so easy to talk to tonight, and he was so indulgent.

If he had said he wanted a goodnight kiss, would that have been okay?

Jiang Siwei regretted the more he thought about it. He didn’t notice what tripped him up, and the whole person rolled down the slope.

“Siwei!”

Lou Jia and he were one after the other, only hearing the sound. When they turned around, they saw him rolling down the side of the dirt slope where they had been standing.

Fortunately, the slope was not steep, and the bottom was a depression. Jiang Siwei rolled to the bottom of the pit, surrounded by dust, and he lay there for a long time without recovering.

Lou Jia hurriedly slid down to the bottom and knelt down beside him: “Are you okay? Did you hurt anywhere?”

Jiang Siwei’s face was covered in dirt and dried leaves. Lou Jia had almost finished feeling him up, and only then did he come to his senses and say, “I’m fine, it’s just…”

Lou Jia waited nervously for him to continue.

“I might need a goodnight kiss to get back on my feet,” Jiang Siwei said seriously.

“…” Lou Jia was angry and amused, and punched him directly in the shoulder, “I think you need a beating, get up quickly.”

Jiang Siwei pouted, but dared not retort, and slowly got up.

Lou Jia followed him to his feet, holding his arms and saying, “It seems that a fist is much more effective than a good night kiss.”

“…”

Jiang Siwei dared not make any more jokes, and obediently followed Lou Jia back to the campsite, washed up hastily, and went into their respective tents.

Jiang Siwei was on night watch for the rest of the night. He was so emotional and had hurt himself after falling, so he had aches in his back and arms and didn’t sleep much.

He changed shifts with Liu Xiaodong half an hour early, and it wasn’t until dawn that he felt a little sleepy. His eyelids were just starting to fight, and he heard a noise and opened his eyes again.

Lou Jia had just come out of the tent. The temperature difference was too great, so she pulled up the collar of her jacket, took out a mouthwash from her pocket, washed up briefly, and then sat down by the fire. “They’re not up yet?”

“Yeah, Dong said not to wake him up. Jin…” Jiang Siwei gestured for her to listen to the snoring coming from the tent. “I guess he’s not going to wake up either.”

As they were talking, Yingxi came out of a single tent nearby. She had also rinsed her mouth before coming over. “Just the two of you?”

“Yes, they can’t be woken up. He Miao set four or five alarms, but I woke up and she didn’t make a sound.” Lou Jia gave her half of the roasted sweet potatoes she had just taken out of the fire. “Can’t see the sunrise from here, can you?”

Yingxi nodded and took the sweet potato, saying, “We have to go up a few hundred meters. There is a flat area on the back slope where we can see the sunrise.”

“Then let’s go now?” Lou Jia asked.

“It’s almost time.” Yingxi took a bite of the sweet potato and looked at the two of them. “You guys go ahead. I’m too lazy to watch.”

“We’re already here,” Lou Jia said with a smile.

“You have to tell Fang Jin and He Miao that.” Yingxi smiled, “Liu Xiaodong and I have seen this mountain so many times that we’ve had enough. You guys go ahead.”

“Okay.”

Before they left, Lou Jia and Jiang Siwei tried to wake He Miao and Fang Jin, but to no avail. They gave up and headed up the mountain with their cameras.

After climbing for 700 or 800 meters, Lou Jia saw a faint orange light in the distance and grabbed Jiang Siwei and rushed forward.

The sun rises and sets in the blink of an eye. After a short walk, the orange light has already overflowed, and a round sun is climbing up from between the clouds and mountains.

Lou Jia’s eyes have not yet had enough to see, and the camera has already snapped a dozen photos.

Jiang Siwei is also taking pictures with his phone, but the lens is always aimed at Lou Jia. In the narrow lens, the girl occasionally looks down at the photos and occasionally raises the camera.

The side face is just as beautiful.

Full forehead, high nose bridge, slightly pursed lips, and a smile that suddenly appeared when he was secretly taking photos, bright and unrestrained.

After Jiang Siwei finished shooting, he quickly looked down at the screen of his phone. Lou Jia pointed the camera at him several times, but he didn’t notice.

After watching the sunrise, Lou Jia and Jiang Siwei returned to the campsite. Fang Jin and the others gradually woke up, and He Miao was holding his phone and yelling, “Such a beautiful sunrise! I actually missed it!”

Lau Ka tilted her head and looked at her circle of friends, where she saw a post from Jiang Siwei.

It was a very standard nine-square grid.

There were pictures of the scenery from yesterday’s hike, the tents and sunset at the campsite, the dinner party, a group photo of the group, and the sunrise this morning.

And there was a picture of Lau Ka in the middle of the nine-square grid.

The text was only four words.

– “What I like…”