Chapter 42

The last time they went to the climbing gym before Christmas was when it was still dark out at dawn. An Ning had made a decision. When Qin Weihang turned on all the lights in the climbing gym, he plucked up the courage and said:

“I want to learn how to be a protector, can I?”

Qin Weihang was clearly stunned, and he didn’t speak for a while. An Ning also didn’t rush him to answer. Qin Weihang didn’t reply immediately, but slowed his steps and thought about it.

In the locker room, An Ning sat next to Qin Weihang and watched Qin Weihang lower his head to change his shoes. His pace of changing clothes and shoes was a little slower than usual. Obviously, he was thinking about the feasibility of this suggestion.

Of course, he may also be thinking about how to reject him…

“Do you want to learn today?” Qin Weihang asked suddenly.

An Ning turned his head after hearing this. Qin Weihang had taken off the diving watch, stuffed it in the side pocket of his backpack, and looked at him while asking.

“If it’s possible.” An Ning said. There must be a day that he can also be someone else’s protector, he thought. In case the two of them go out in the future, he can also be Qin Weihang’s partner and let him go to the top. That seems to be more fulfilling than reaching the peak himself.

Qin Weihang said: “There are only two of us here.”

Meaning, if you want to learn to be a protector, then you have to learn to be a protector for me.

An Ning had already thought over this a long time ago; it was when they were on the subway. When Qin Weihang sat opposite of him and lowered his head to nap, An Ning repeatedly visually inspected Qin Weihang from head to toe. How long his legs were compared to his, how much wider his shoulders were compared to his, how much bigger his frame was compared to his, and how much more muscle mass he had compared to him… Qin Weihang said once that he was more than 70 kilograms, which was about 10 kilograms heavier than himself. A guy who was 1.86 meters tall and weighed more than 70 kilograms—can he be a protector for the other party?

He felt a little embarrassed to have stared at Qin Weihang for so long. It felt like he had accidentally memorized Qin Weihang’s body size. Unfortunately, it was useless to stare at him repeatedly. It was not like he could look at Qin Weihang as if he was a few years younger. Perhaps, if it were the 15-year-old Qin Weihang, then he can easily hold him. However, it was impossible now, because when they met, Qin Weihang was already as tall as he was now.

In fact, he had already gone through the relevant teaching videos that he could find on the Internet and had watched them several times. He would lie in bed at night and earnestly practice the moves. However, it wasn’t enough to just merely think about it; he wanted to try it out first hand, and the only person he can ask for help was Qin Weihang.

“If you don’t think it’s appropriate…” Ugh, why was he giving up already? Qin Weihang, if only you could be a little smaller, An Ning thought helplessly.

Qin Weihang lifted his long legs thoughtfully, put his elbows forward on his knees, and mulled over it for a while by himself, then asked him: “You really want to learn? Why?”

An Ning was speechless when asked. Because I want to be your protector—but he couldn’t say such big talk out loud.

“Forget it. If you want to learn, then just learn it.” Qin Weihang didn’t force him to answer. He stood up, walked straight to the side, and after a while he brought up an electronic scale over. He bent over and placed it in front of An Ning, “Stand on it.”

An Ning took a deep breath and stood on it.

Qin Weihang squatted in front of him, looked down at his weight, and murmured, “62…so light…”

Qin Weihang might have said this without realizing it, but An Ning was very nervous when he heard this. So it was still not enough?

Qin Weihang stood up. An Ning also got off the scale, looked up at Qin Weihang, and waited for his verdict.

Qin Weihang’s gaze was still on the scale. He was frowning slightly, his thoughts unknown. Then he raised his head and saw An Ning staring straight at him. His eyes were too unyielding; holding hidden sincerity and passion. It was an animal-like gaze. He swallowed, somewhat unable to speak.

“Is it not enough?” Seeing him hesitating to say something, An Ning took the initiative to ask. Actually, he borrowed super thick law code books from the library yesterday, which can be used to increase his weight.

Qin Weihang said in a low voice: “We can try.” He persuaded himself in his heart, I won’t fall anyway, so it didn’t hurt to let him try.

He remembered the first time he was a protector for Zhong Jing. The weight difference between them was almost 10 kilograms, but did Zhong Jing fall?

He didn’t.

Did Zhong Jing worry that a novice like him was to be his protector?

He didn’t.

So Qin Weihang learned to be a protector.

Although An Ning’s weight was more than 10 kilograms less than his own, the matter of learning to be a protector—he was unwilling to have An Ning’s first time be taught by someone else. From beginning to end, he will use himself as a teaching object.

The weight difference was not a big deal, the important thing was mutual trust.

When they arrived at the bottom of the rock wall, Qin Weihang squatted down to sort out the rope. An Ning also came to help, handling the rope while asking: “You’re definitely doing lead climbing, right?”

Qin Weihang lowered his head: “It’s okay, I can do top roping.”

This made An Ning a little embarrassed. In fact, what he mainly learned online was the main points of being a protector for lead climbing: “… But aren’t you usually lead climbing?”

Qin Weihang raised his head and looked over.

He wanted to ask why. Is it for my sake? … It is, isn’t it?

Two people were squatting close together. An Ning’s heart missed a beat due to the pair of eyes that were looking at him. The light coming from the ceiling light was reflected in the center of Qin Weihang’s pupils, like the vertical pupils of a cat—cold and sexy.

Qin Weihang lowered his head again and said: “Then I will teach you to be a protector for lead climbing.”

An Ning had already studied the general gist of being a protector for lead climbing. When Qin Weihang gave him a demonstration, he was still very willing to watch it again. In order to demonstrate how to use the protection device and the actions of giving the rope, Qin Weihang did not put on his jacket after putting on the harness this time. An Ning carefully and politely focused his eyes on Qin Weihang’s hands without looking away. When Qin Weihang pulled the rope with his right hand down to his hip side, he didn’t let his eyes linger and just took a quick glance before looking back up. He remembered all the necessary actions anyway.

“After I go up, you can follow my steps and slowly give the rope.” Qin Weihang said, “You may not be able to do it well in the beginning, therefore, you can give it a bit more slowly. I will let you know when I need you to give me more rope, and you can give me some more at once. Usually, you would need to give more when clipping the rope.”

An Ning listened and remembered: “In any case, I just have to wait for your signal, right?”

“Yes,” Qin Weihang said, “We still don’t have any rapport yet, so it’s better that I tell you when to give me more rope. I will call you when I need even more rope, so just give me about this much at once.” After the demonstration, he let go of the rope and asked An Ning, “Understood?”

An Ning solemnly nodded. It was no different from the demonstration in the video. At most, the person demonstrating right now just looked more handsome.

Qin Weihang looked away and took off the protection device somewhat sullenly: “I guess you understood that too.”

As he buckled the rope and protection device on the harness, An Ning asked: “So, how heavy are you?”

Qin Weihang raised his eyebrows: “You’re only now asking me how much I weigh?”

“I know you are more than 70 kilograms,” An Ning said, “What’s your exact weight?”

“74,” Qin Weihang said.

An Ning breathed a sigh of relief: “That’s good, that’s still okay…”

Qin Weihang gave a husky laugh: “Do you think 74 kilograms is easy to hold?”

An Ning smiled and said, “At least 74 is better than 79.”

Qin Weihang looked away a bit uneasily and said: “Very good, very optimistic.”

Before Qin Weihang went to the rock wall, An Ning put on the backpack with law code books in it. Qin Weihang saw, so he walked behind him. An Ning suddenly felt his back lighten. The backpack was lifted, so he turned his head. Qin Weihang let go and looked at him a bit amused, as if he didn’t know what to say: “… This is not enough.”

An Ning suddenly thought of an idea: “Are there dumbbells?”

In the end, Qin Weihang brought a black dumbbell. An Ning turned his back to him, and Qin Weihang looked at the back of the other person’s head, silently laughing. He opened the zipper of the backpack, scanned the code books inside, and put the dumbbell in, but didn’t let go. He glanced at the back of his roommate’s head and said: “It’s a bit heavy.”

It wasn’t until two seconds later that he let go. An Ning felt that two forces were suddenly exerted on his shoulders, and he immediately felt a lot more secure. I’m ready!

Qin Weihang walked around in front of him, lowered his head, and smeared his hands with chalk powder, then said: “I might pull you off the ground when I fall…”

An Ning immediately listened to him: “Then what should I do?”

Qin Weihang turned around and said: “You don’t need to do anything, I won’t fall.”

“… Oh, okay.” An Ning smiled and nodded. Although he wanted to experience firsthand what being a protector was like when the climber falls, he really doesn’t have the experience to deal with the scene of Qin Weihang falling.

Actually, he really wanted to tell Qin Weihang that he chose lead climbing because he wanted to be his partner, but he still didn’t say it. Because there was no need to say it. His desire to say it stems from him wanting Qin Weihang to know what he was doing for him. Because he liked him, he wanted to get some sort of response from the other party. Even if he doesn’t like the response given, just a little response will satisfy his illusion. But what use was this reason for Qin Weihang? This was just a crush’s self-satisfaction.

Moreover, Qin Weihang had done enough for him, so he should also do something for Qin Weihang. Besides, he might not even be able to do well.