Chapter 51

At the destination, no buildings can be seen in front of the windshield; there were only the woods and hills covered in a light blue mist. Qin Weihang turned off the engine and looked at An Ning who was sleeping next to him. The other party was sleeping in the direction of the window. He raised his hand, wanting to wake the person, but then put it back down. He loosened the seat belt and leaned his body over, the seat made a rustling sound. He then saw the face that was sleeping with his head tilted.

While staring, he held his breath. The car was extremely quiet until he released his breath and took another slow and deep breath. He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but he always felt that An Ning’s skin smelled like the milk he had drunk when he was a child. At that time, he didn’t like milk so it felt extremely tortuous, but his mother ordered him to drink it, saying that if he doesn’t drink it, then he won’t grow tall or grow up. Not being able to grow up was definitely false, but he was in middle school at the time and his height was really below the class’s average height. Later, he discovered that foreigners would drink milk and were all tall, so maybe drinking milk will make it easy to grow taller. Therefore, he resisted the discomfort and insisted on drinking it every day. The milk fulfilled his desire—since junior high, he had never sat in the first five rows ever again.

There was a very light pa sound coming from the direction of the hood, like a big drop of rain. Qin Weihang turned his head and saw that a bluebird landed on the front hood. After a while, another bird landed on the hood, landing on it with the same lightness. He stared at the two birds combing their feathers behind the windshield. If you jump to the side, then I will also jump over there. Thus, they finally succeeded in getting close together. Behind the windshield was like a scene in a movie, a DreamWorks kind of animation. He pushed An Ning at this moment.

An Ning woke up after being pushed a bit, then bounced up like a spring, but was pulled back by the seat belt. He was dizzy and saw the figure of Qin Weihang in front of him. After Qin Weihang moved away, the large shadow covering him also opened like a curtain; revealing the two bluebirds jumping excitedly behind the windshield.

The scene was animated and clear, it was really like a movie.

When Qin Weihang sat back, the seat made a rustling sound, conveying a quiet and secretive atmosphere. He leaned back with his arms on the steering wheel, dangling them behind the steering wheel. His fingers were gently and unconsciously rubbing while the light blue dawn reflected on the dark blue diving watch.

An Ning looked at Qin Weihang as well as those two birds because they were right in front of Qin Weihang. He originally wanted to take a photo of this scene with his phone, but he felt that such a good moment should not be interrupted, but should be enjoyed quietly.

Such a moment, as if it wasn’t needed to record it with a phone, will be remembered even when they become old. It was very ordinary and romantic, quiet and profound.

The birds stayed for a while and finally flew away. Only then did An Ning remember to give back the jacket that had slipped to his thighs to Qin Weihang. Qin Weihang took it and put it on; the action of wearing it was grand. From the corner of his eyes, An Ning watched Qin Weihang stretching and retracting his arms. He was calm, as if he was a human that was used to a black panther stretching his limbs beside him.

Qin Weihang lowered his head and closed the zipper, and said: “Let’s get out of the car.” Then he opened the door.

An Ning also pushed the door and got out of the car. A coolness blew on his face. It was so cold that he unconsciously raised his shoulders. The cotton jacket on his body was still too thin. It was still able to handle indoors, but in such a desolate wilderness, it was like running excitedly in the morning while only wearing a set of long johns. However, it will get warm later when climbing, so it was not a big problem.

Qin Weihang opened the rear door and brought out the hiking backpack. An Ning took his backpack and looked afar. It was really the wilderness here; the road was uneven, and the surroundings were quiet, with only the sound of birds chirping. They seemed to have come to an uninhabited alien planet, and this Discovery was their spacecraft, mhm, a Space Shuttle Discovery spacecraft.

Qin Weihang pushed the door with a bang and said, “Let’s go.” An Ning followed him down the road shoulder. They were quickly surrounded by wild vegetation. In such a nature, An Ning could not remember the road at all, so he felt that Qin Weihang who could remember the route was really amazing.

Thinking about it again, it seemed that it was nothing to make a fuss about—he was a panther, after all.

He stared at Qin Weihang’s black back and smiled, then saw Qin Weihang lower his head and sneezed.

Sneezes seem to be contagious. Just as Qin Weihang finished sneezing, he also funnily sneezed twice in a row.

Qin Weihang didn’t look back but just smiled as he walked. An Ning also found it funny—they were like two wild animals who could not speak and was communicating by sneezing.

All the way through the woods, as the sky became brighter and brighter, the tree line finally came to an end, and the front suddenly opened up. An Ning was able to see the steep granite mountain.

The so-called secret garden was in these mountains. They entered through the bottom of the canyon. The entrance was small and the sky itself was not very bright. As soon as they walked inside, it darkened. Qin Weihang turned his head and asked him to follow closely and pay attention to his feet. Then he turned on the phone’s flashlight. An Ning followed Qin Weihang with 120,000 points of vigor. At this moment, they were walking between the crack in the middle of the canyon, with towering rocks on both sides. The more they went in, the darker and more rugged it became.

Then, as they went deeper, he discovered that inside was like a completely different world.

At a certain moment, Qin Weihang turned off the flashlight, slowed down, and said: “We’re here.”

An Ning looked ahead and saw a ray of light falling from the top of the canyon, illuminating the surrounding pale golden rocks. The rocks were graceful, the lines undulate, and they seem to be standing in a golden conch. The scene looked so holy and reminded him of the famous Antelope Canyon.

Antelope Canyon

Inside

From above

Qin Weihang raised his head and looked up: “There are more than one climbing routes here, but there is only one I have been on.” He looked back at An Ning, “Are you sure you want to go up on it?”

An Ning nodded excitedly—definitely as well as certainly!

Qin Weihang said: “Then I will go up first. I will go up and hook the quickdraws. You only need to clip the rope later.”

An Ning remembered the first time he went to the Black Horse Climbing Base to watch Qin Weihang’s lead climbing. It was the same operation as that time, except this time, he was able to enjoy Qin Weihang’s services alone. As someone with a crush on him, he really took a huge advantage.

The two of them put on their equipment. Qin Weihang looked back at him before going up and said, “I will slow down, look closely at the route.”

“Okay!”

This route was about a little more than 20 meters, and four quickdraws were needed. As always, Qin Weihang went up very straightforwardly. His long legs were already at a height that ordinary people would have to climb up several times to reach. An Ning originally expected Qin Weihang to tell him a few more words since he had to be Qin Weihang’s protector, but Qin Weihang really had nothing to say. He thought to himself that he needed to be worthy of this trust.

Qin Weihang’s rock climbing had always been sexy and handsome, but when deliberately slowed down, it looked as if he was lazy. Only when he dyno would he suddenly increase his speed, just like overtaking at a curve, which was cool and handsome.

This route was not too difficult, so An Ning knew that Qin Weihang would not fall, but he still fully concentrated.

Qin Weihang quickly hooked up four quickdraws for him and climbed to the top. An Ning tilted his head up at a right angle, watching the glimmer of light swallowing Qin Weihang like an impatient and warm embrace.

Then the cluster of light flashed again, and An Ning knew that Qin Weihang was preparing to come down, since he had just blocked the light when he turned his back.

“Can you do it?” Qin Weihang asked him after landing.

It was too fast, An Ning thought. I haven’t even snapped out of it yet, and you’ve already came down. You didn’t even hug that light for a while longer...

In order to make the helmet fit better, Qin Weihang gave him the turban. An Ning put on the helmet and prepared to go for it.

This was a real rock wall, a part of the earth. There was no safety mat underneath—only a safety rope connecting him and Qin Weihang.

However, the ray of light became more and more brilliant, as if urging him to go quickly.

Qin Weihang looked up at An Ning’s back, and suddenly thought of what Zhong Jing had said the night before. A rare layer of sweat was seen on his hands.

An Ning arrived at the first quickdraw place and clipped the rope smoothly. He had not reminded Qin Weihang to give the rope yet, but Qin Weihang was already giving him the rope at the right moment. Thinking that this means that Qin Weihang was constantly paying attention to his movements made him both nervous and excited.

“Slow down.”

Qin Weihang reminded him below.

Last time at the climbing gym, Qin Weihang reminded him to be as fast as possible, but this time he wanted him to be slower, perhaps because he was too excited.

An Ning tried to calm himself down. He had barely grasped the previous one. He applied some chalk powder again, tried a second time, and then quickly stepped his foot over and clipped the second rope.

He stood higher and higher. From here on out, if he fell, Qin Weihang would not be able to catch him with his bare hands. If he doesn’t stand firmly the distance up, he will fall. After the third quickdraw point, it was almost the fourth one. He remembered that Qin Weihang lifted his right arm here and hung it to the side easily, but this action seemed impossible to do by himself. He stretched his arm in the direction of the quickdraw and found that he had to tilt his body weight to barely reach it. It may be that the endpoint was within sight, so he did not choose a more secure way but must complete it the way Qin Weihang did it. As a result, the rope didn’t get clipped, and he had let his feet slip—

Falling down!!

At this moment of weightlessness, he instinctively closed his eyes. He had never experienced a fall. When he fell, he felt like a pendulum, but when the horror had just risen, the fall was already over. He opened his eyes and found that he was a little below the third quickdraw.

“No matter what, don’t push the rock wall when you fall.” Qin Weihang’s voice came from below, stressing his words.

An Ning noticed that his hands were still on his chest—it was an instinctive pushing action. If Qin Weihang hadn’t buffered it perfectly and the rope hadn’t swayed, he might have pushed against the rock wall. This would cause him to be knocked against the rock wall due to the reaction force.

He let go of his hands and took a deep breath. After he was safe, he recalled the moment he had just fallen, only to realize that he was actually quite addicted. There was no discomfort from head to toe and from inside and out. This was a happy and comfortable first experience of falling. But he was able to have this experience because he had a reliable protector. If the climber does not have a protector, falling would mean injury or death at any time. Moreover, there was the discomfort that may occur when falling; such as a strained waist from being pulled by the harness and being pressed to the lungs, such as hitting a rock wall and hurting his feet, or even excessive swaying. However, all of that did not happen to him.

He couldn’t help shouting: “Did I just drag you up?”

Qin Weihang looked up at him. “Yes.”

An Ning smiled. He wasn’t able to see the moment when Qin Weihang was dragged up, which was a pity. He said: “I thought it would be impossible for me to pull you in my entire life!”

Qin Weihang also smiled a very subtle smile, and said: “With the help of gravity, you can do it.”

An Ning took another deep breath and approached the rock wall. He continued to climb up and finally clipped the last rope.

Lifting his head, half his body was already bathed in the sun. He could feel the temperature that was brought over by the light, and the reflection of the sweat from the tip of his nose. This was his first outdoor rock climbing, and it was in Qin Weihang’s secret garden…

So satisfying.

He was panting and sweating. Like a caterpillar, he finally crawled out of the underground cave, wriggling himself into the light, and saw the outside world for the first time.

He climbed up on the rock and stood up, surrounded by light and wind. The scenery he saw when he was on top seemed to be no different from when he arrived here. It was just woods and hills, but because of the difference in perspective, his heart at this moment was stirring in his chest. This made him feel the magnificence and vitality of this world for the first time.

No wonder people love mountain climbing and rock climbing. The feeling of looking at the small mountains was too amazing—it was as if the world had become an ocean.

“The scenery here is wonderful!” He couldn’t help shouting, “It feels so great!”

Qin Weihang laughed. He raised his voice a little and said: “You should make a wish.”

Qin Weihang’s voice came from below, the low voice echoed in the empty valley. An Ning lowered his head and looked down. It was Qin Weihang who sent him up. If it were not for knowing this person, he might not have had such an experience in his life.

He closed his eyes and made a wish.

He thought this first route that he redpointed himself would make him definitely be reluctant to go down, but when he descended, he didn’t have much attachment. He had already seen the scenery, but perhaps compared to the scenery, he was more fond of the person who was protecting him below.

After landing, he staggered backward. Qin Weihang put his right hand on his vest to support him, and asked him, “What did you wish for?”

“Oh,” An Ning said solemnly as he gathered the rope, “I wished that you won’t fail your courses at the end of the semester.”

Qin Weihang, who lowered his head to untie the rope, paused. He then raised his eyes to look at him, a little amused: “I’m so bad that you needed to make a wish?”

“Just to make sure,” An Ning said. “Just like how you are unbeatable at rock climbing, but you will still need a protector.”

Qin Weihang didn’t say a word, silently gathered the rope, squatted down, and put it in the hiking backpack. An Ning also took off his harness, and asked curiously: “If you fall, will I be able to pull you?”

“You can if you eat more.” Qin Weihang said without looking up.

“I have eaten a lot, every meal is twice the amount.” He squatted down beside Qin Weihang and put the jacket he took off into his backpack.

“I’m talking about meat.” Qin Weihang closed the zipper of the hiking backpack.

“… Eating too much meat makes it easier to gain weight.”

Qin Weihang got up, patted the bottom of the hiking backpack, turned around, and said: “It depends on what meat it is. Am I very fat?”

An Ning subconsciously took a serious look at him. Not blaming him, Qin Weihang turned around and bathed in the light, as if he was ordering him to look at him now. An Ning said enviously: “Of course you’re not, but you exercise more.”

“Besides rock climbing, the only other sport I play is basketball. You can play basketball with me then.” Qin Weihang said and put on the hiking backpack

An Ning thought, don’t make fun of me: “How can I play basketball with you…” Wouldn’t that be a sure loss?

“You have played with me before.”

“That’s different,” An Ning said as he walked behind Qin Weihang, “If I play with you, I’ll be knocked away by you.”

Qin Weihang laughed, and finally said with a rather helpless tone, “Then I’ll order milk and you can drink it with me from now on.”

An Ning was astonished; he looked at the back of Qin Weihang, who was talking and walking nonchalantly. Then he heard him continue to say: “Isn’t that the only way if you don’t want to exercise a lot but also want to have a better physique?”

Seeing this back figure that was walking without turning back, An Ning felt sour and hot in his heart. He kept up with Qin Weihang’s pace without saying a word.

In fact, his wish was not that—he knew that Qin Weihang would definitely not fail the courses. At that moment, when he stood on the top of the rock wall, he had only one wish. He hoped that he could continue climbing with Qin Weihang like this in the future, and that he could also be Qin Weihang’s protector in the future.