Chapter 14

In the rock climbing gym, Qin Weihang sat cross-legged on the ground, looking down at his phone. On the phone was the sentence An Ning replied to him: I will definitely come on Sunday!

He didn’t understand why An Ning replied to him separately, as if he was making a promise. He also didn’t know how to reply to this message. Got it? Okay? It’s fine even if you don’t come? Actually, I don’t really mind if you come or not?

It seemed weird no matter how he replied, so he just won’t reply. Anyway, the top student can go to the library or go to the rock climbing gym; it was the same either way.

A figure walked in front of him and blocked him. It was Boss Yu of the rock climbing gym. He glanced down at Qin Weihang, raised his eyebrows, and said: “You have friends now? You’re even in a WeChat group?”

Qin Weihang put down his phone, raised his head and frowned: “What do you mean by this?”

His expression was faint, and he was sitting lazily with his back hunched, yet there was this careless sense of threat when he frowns.

Yu Ran curled his lips: “Why are you so sensitive?”

Qin Weihang put his phone into his sweatpants pocket and said: “I know a lot of rock climbing friends.”

“Come on,” Yu Ran sneered, “you’re the loner in our circle.” Then he quietly ridiculed him, “You don’t even use a rope, what is this bullshit about having rock climbing friends…”

The rock climbing gym was very large, the tallest artificial rock wall was nearly 15 meters high, but most of them were three to five meters high bouldering walls. At this time, there were still people practicing and enjoying a good time late at night. The girl with a long ponytail was doing bouldering* training on a low wall. The rock holds* on this wall were nailed tightly, which was convenient for beginners. The girl did not climb high, and the movements showed a sense of awkwardness. With one look, one can tell she was a novice. Before he was looking at his phone, Qin Weihang saw her hugging on to the yellow bouldering wall. She was still in that spot even now.

[*TN: Bouldering is the most common indoor climbing. It is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. Usually the wall isn’t high and there would be mats on the ground to protect you when you fall. Holds are colorful shaped grips that are attached to the wall for climbers to grab on to or step on.]

There was a pretty difficult hold on the upper right of the girl, which was quite far away, and was an open hold*, which should be regarded as the biggest crux on this wall.

[*TN: Open holds are ones where you can put your whole hand on it.]

Rock Wall

Rock Wall

Open Hold

It turned out that it was difficult to pass through that place, Qin Weihang thought to himself. He didn’t give any advice and just stared blankly.

The girl was already yelling: “Coach! How do I get up there? I can’t even reach it!”

Yu Ran said to her: “Don’t shout, he didn’t even look at you but was playing on his phone.”

The ponytail girl was Tang Zi, Yu Ran’s niece. She became anxious when she heard what her uncle said: “Qin Weihang, why aren’t you watching me? Didn’t I pay you?!”

Qin Weihang bent a leg, leisurely put his arm on the leg, looked up at her and said: “I can’t watch you do training every minute and every second.”

Tang Zi was lying on the climbing wall, her movements were a bit dangling. She didn’t dare to look back at him and could only complain: “If it weren’t for your good looks and skill, this old lady* wouldn’t have given you this money!” In the end, she had to ask him for help, “Ugh, how can I get over there? Even if I jump up to grab it, I won’t be able to grasp on to it at all!”

[*TN: She’s calling herself old lady. I think she’s trying to be arrogant.]

Qin Weihang said, “Don’t always use your hands, use your feet. Try karate kicks. You should kick on that hold to your right, then grab that open hold.”

Tang Zi looked to the right and rolled her eyes: “Are you blind? I don’t have your legs, how can I reach that height and distance!”

Qin Weihang looked at her indifferently and said: “You can just dyno to get there.”

A ‘dyno’ is when the climber makes a dynamic movement that uses momentum to get to the next hold.

Tang Zi looked at the two pivot points* on the upper right side. If this were a flat ground, then even a child would dare to jump over. However, it was a different matter when it was a vertical rock wall. Qin Weihang wanted her to make a dynamic movement over there, then step on the bottom pivot point that only has enough space to rest the toes on, and at the same time grasp the open hold above. The so-called open hold wasn’t even a place where the fingers can grasp on at all. It was just a piece of smooth bump on the wall. If this action can be completed, she surely would be handsome and cool*, but she was just a novice.

[*TN: (1) The mtl wrote fulcrum, but I’m not sure if everyone knows what a fulcrum is(I didn’t). It might be referring to a hold or a bulge on the rock wall. (2) The words used here was shuài(帅) and sà(飒). It seems like they both mean the same, but the latter can also be used to describe girls who are handsome and cool.]

She hesitated: “What should I do if I fall down?”

Qin Weihang said: “It’s less than five meters, if you fall down then just fall.”

Tang Zi exploded as soon as she heard this: “Is that something you should say to people?!” Does this person not have an ounce of consideration towards women?!

Qin Weihang said: “You’re still full of energy, there’s plenty of strength to dyno.”

Tang Zi leaned on the bouldering wall, calmed down, then said: “If I fall, then treat me to a meal.”

“If you can dyno over there, then I will treat you,” Qin Weihang said.

Tang Zi sneered: “Heh, you’re saying that because you know that I can’t jump over there! No! If I fall down, then you treat me to a meal!”

Qin Weihang looked at her back hanging on the wall and didn’t say anything for a long time.

Tang Zi twisted her neck and shouted: “Yes or no, hurry up and decide. Aren’t you a man?”

Qin Weihang said, “Fine, if you fall on the mat, then I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Tang Zi was very happy with the success of her attempt: “You said it yourself!”

Yu Ran stood on the side and didn’t want to look any longer. He was thinking, you blame Qin Weihang for not showing consideration for women, but look at your hunger and thirst for handsome guys. Where are the womanly features that you possess?

Yu Ran believed that Tang Zi would definitely try her best to fall down. He watched as Tang Zi lowered her center of gravity and prepared to dyno. He thought, you should just save your time and don’t work so hard, but he didn’t expect Tang Zi to really take off really jumped over there! Maybe because she was mentally prepared to fall, so her movements were more relaxed. Although in the last moment she almost let go, it was stabilized by the hands that instinctive held on. The action looked a bit funny, but this was an impressive feat for a novice rock climber.

After Tang Zi’s dyno, she was very happy. It was as if she was happier than having Qin Weihang treating her. Yu Ran also breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: “Looks like you didn’t want to eat with him that much.”

“Oh, it’s such a pity that I couldn’t get him…” Tang Zi sighed as she stepped down from the bouldering wall.

In fact, there was still a bit of a loss, Yu Ran thought. This was because after Tang Zi decided to dyno, Qin Weihang stood up and walked under her to protect her. If she really fell, Qin Weihang would definitely hold her. Although he would hold her so that he did not need to treat her…*

[*TN: He meant QWH was being sly. He specifically said she needed to fall on the mat, so if he held her, then he didn’t need to treat her.]

Tang Zi came down from the bouldering wall and looked at Qin Weihang standing in front of her, as if she made a bit of a loss. She rubbed her arms and complained: “Other coaches will tell the students how to take the route. A coach like you just collect money so easily…”

“That’s how my teacher taught me.” Qin Weihang said.

“Then your teacher is also 80% a scammer.” Tang Zi commented casually.

Qin Weihang raised his eyes and stared at her, then asked in a low voice: “What?”

Tang Zi received his sharp gaze and cleverly shut her mouth.

Yu Ran said from the side: “It’s a great deal, though. He teaches children at the same price. Teaching you is much more laborious than teaching children. And you can even chase handsome guys.”

Tang Zi turned her anger towards her uncle in an instant: “You shut up! Why would I, this old lady, chase him?! And you’re the one who fooled me into learning this! Why do I have such an unreliable uncle like you! Cheating your own niece’s money for an outsider! My mom and I will sue you!”

Yu Ran looked innocent: “What does this have to do with me? You saw his photo and asked me to introduce him to you!”

“I wanted you to introduce him to me, not make money off of me!”

Yu Ran smiled playfully: “That’s because you didn’t express yourself clearly, my niece~”

“What more is there to express clearly? I saw a picture of a handsome guy and wanted you to introduce him to me. I didn’t mean that I wanted to become the handsome guy’s client and give him my money?! You’re not acting like how an elder should be acting! You’re just a rascal trying to play dumb! I’m going to tell your sister to sue you!”

Qin Weihang sat on the chair next to the bouldering mat with his back hunched. He was looking up at the uncle and niece fighting with each other. He felt that they were too noisy, like ducks in the river. After the noise broke past his tolerance level, he picked up the headphones on the chair and put them on.

Later, Tang Zi received a call from a friend, so she changed her clothes and walked out. Before leaving, she asked, “Hey, handsome Qin, can you take a photo with me?”

Qin Weihang had on a red and black headphones, with his head lowered and eyes closed. Obviously, he didn’t hear what she said. When Tang Zi walked to him, Qin Weihang head was lowered and his hands were on his chest. When his head was lowered, the contour of his face was a murderous kind of good-looking, and his nose was also firm like a sculpture. Yet, his arms were crossed, and he was dressed in loose black clothes; the solid color T-shirt tightening on his shoulders and chest, giving off a kind of pressure that was like an unmovable mountain.

Tang Zi wanted to take off his headphones but was a little afraid, so she poked his shoulder with her finger. Qin Weihang was poked, so he raised his head—his hands still in the same position—and asked her with his eyes: May I help you?*

[*TN: This line is really polite/sophisticated. My dictionary says it can also mean “What (noble errand) brings you here?” and “What can I do for you?”]

Yes, it was those ‘May I help you?’ four words. This person’s eyes, which she understood when they first met, showed an incredibly arrogant expression. She thought for a while before remembering what she wanted to do. She sat down beside him with a fawning smile and said: “Let’s take a picture together, handsome.”

Qin Weihang watched her sit down next to him looking earnest while holding her phone in her hand, her goal was obvious. He was very confused why she scolded him so much earlier, yet now she wanted to take a photo with him: “Did the money you gave me include a photo fee?”

Tang Zi stared wide-eyed and cursed at him: “You fucker, you’re really a slave to money!”

Qin Weihang felt the girl spitting on his face. It seemed to be a bit too excessive, but it wasn’t necessarily harsh. The main reason was because Tang Zi didn’t seem like a girl at all. She often curses at him harshly, which ended up making him unable to scold her. It was the only way he can treat her, which reluctantly, can be considered to not have suffered any losses.

But now Tang Zi was sitting next to him. After all, this little one, with her head sticking out from his shoulder, reminded him of someone. He put down his arms and uncrossed his legs. His headphones were pulled down and hung around his neck, and he said: “Take it then.”

Tang Zi immediately smiled again, holding up the phone. Qin Weihang sat a little closer to her and looked up at the camera expressionlessly. Tang Zi tried to find a good angle for a long time. She couldn’t help but feel that no matter which angle it was, Qin Weihang will look better than her in all angles. It was really hateful! Qin Weihang also frowned and urged: “Hurry up.” Tang Zi squinted at him and pressed the button reluctantly.

After Qin Weihang finished taking the picture, he went back to the side as if he had finished a mission. Tang Zi watched him lower his head to play music on his phone, then she said: “I’ve posted it to my Moments.”

[*TN: In case you don’t know, WeChat has a function called Moments(Friends’ Circle) where you can see updates from your friends. It’s mainly them sharing photos, but you can share links too.]

Qin Weihang lowered his head and nodded.

Tang Zi wondered: “Don’t you mind?”

Qin Weihang said without lifting his head: “I’m not in your friends’ circle.” After speaking, he crossed his legs, pulled on his headphones, and leaned back with his arms folded and eyes closed.

Before Tang Zi walked out the door, she turned her head and pointed her finger angrily at Qin Weihang, then said: “Qin Weihang, you deserve to never be able to find a girlfriend!”

Yu Ran was angry with her: “How could he not find one. This is a problem of whether he wants to find one.”

Tang Zi said bitterly: “That might not necessarily be true. I think he’ll die alone!”

Tang Zi’s voice was shrill and sharp, so Qin Weihang actually heard it all.

Die alone? He thought to himself, very nice, very cool, and very suitable for me.