Chapter 65

Qin Weihang did not climb at his usual speed. An Ning knew why he was deliberately slowing down—it was to let him rest at the protection station for a while. However, Qin Weihang also completed the second section quickly. He arrived at the protection station and started setting it up, moving his hands proficiently. He even shouted at him who was below: “Are you okay? Do you want to rest some more?”

“No! I’m coming up!” An Ning raised his head and said loudly. He wanted to catch up with Qin Weihang quickly. This kind of sectioned climbing kept making him feel like he was being left behind.

Qin Weihang repeatedly confirmed the safety of the protection station, and then lowered his head and said to him: “Come up then!”

The following second and third sections were all finished like this. The height was getting higher and higher, and the sunlight suddenly brightened after passing the forest line. When they finished the third section, it was already past 12 p.m. They stopped at the protection station for the first time and ate something.

Qin Weihang said to him, “Look down.”

An Ning put down the bread in his hand and looked down. It was almost 25 stories high, and there were no fences or handrails, so it was completely bare below him—it was truly exciting.

And this was only one-third of the height of this mountain.

What made rock climbing so exhilarating, he had finally experienced it today.

They put the leftover food and rubbish back into the backpack. Qin Weihang was ready to challenge the fourth section.

An Ning looked up at Qin Weihang. The light was getting stronger and stronger, so he had to squint. Sometimes he couldn’t see the ropes and hiking clothes on Qin Weihang. He felt that Qin Weihang had changed back his body to that of a black panther. Under the cover of the sun, he was unscrupulously teasing him, who was a human.

Occasionally, when Qin Weihang dyno, the rope swayed between An Ning’s hands, as if Qin Weihang had deliberately dropped his long black tail and swept it on his cheeks.

When he arrived at the protection station, he changed back to the human school grass Qin Weihang, and shouted at him: “Come up!”

As they went higher, it became steeper. The rock spots on the bare slate wall became more and more difficult to grasp, the cracks were getting thinner, and the protection stations were getting narrower. Qin Weihang’s speed was not affected in any way, but the amount of time An Ning was spending was getting longer and longer. When he reached the fifth section, he had begun to feel that it was difficult to progress. When he reached the sixth section, he only felt that his physical ability was being pushed to the limit, and the remaining route was too long to be able to see the top.

This was only top roping, though.

I really should’ve listened to him and played more basketball…

At 2 p.m, he stayed at a vertical altitude of more than 100 meters, and he couldn’t hear any sound in his ears; it was as if the entire forest was having a nap. He raised his head to look at Qin Weihang, who was leaning against a crack in the upper rock. Qin Weihang was looking down at him.

An Ning took two deep breaths, and then smeared a handful of chalk powder on his hands. His hands must constantly be rubbed with chalk powder because he sweated too much.

In the end, Qin Weihang pulled him up again. Now they were at the sixth protection station, which was narrower than the protection station below. An Ning can intuitively feel that the distance between him and Qin Weihang was getting closer. They had no choice but to face each other, and there was no room to even turn their body or give way to the side.

“Almost.” Qin Weihang said, “Keep up and climb the last section, then I will pull you up for the path up ahead.”

That tone seemed to be comforting him, telling him to put up with it for a bit longer, and if he endures it for a bit longer, then he will see the most beautiful scenery. An Ning panted and shook his head: “No need, I can still do it.”

Qin Weihang didn’t say anything, only saying: “Slowly turn around and give me the backpack.”

An Ning had to turn around against the crack in the rock. This height, and this space under his feet that only have enough room to stand, made him dare not look down anymore. At this moment, Qin Weihang raised his left foot, pressed his long leg against the crack in the rock behind him, and said: “It’ll be fine.” This was because Qin Weihang’s leg was protecting his outer side.

Thus, An Ning’s feet movements became a lot more confident.

Qin Weihang pulled the backpack off his shoulders and took out the water bottle from it. This time he used a straw and took a sip by himself, then patted his shoulder. An Ning turned his head and took a sip of water from the same straw that Qin Weihang had drunk from.

After a short break, they finally reached the seventh route section. It was only when Qin Weihang was leading that An Ning could briefly forget the dizzying height under his feet, because he had to concentrate on Qin Weihang even if he knew that he would not fall.

The time Qin Weihang spent on rock climbing did not even take as long as setting up the protection station. However, this time, he spent a little more time at the protection station. An Ning raised his head, anxiously waiting until he finally got Qin Weihang’s signal.

It was his turn to complete this route. Just looking at Qin Weihang’s movements, he also realized that this section should be the most difficult section of the eight routes. In addition, the height was too high, so he accidentally committed the same mistake as before—being too cautious and wasting too much time and energy.

When he was less than 10 meters away from Qin Weihang, because his fingers were soft and he didn’t step firmly, he suddenly slid down the rock wall—

This was not a normal height. His heart leaped out of his throat, but fortunately it was top roping, so he fell just a small amount. The downward trend stopped; Qin Weihang had tugged his rope.

The wind was strong and the rope kept swaying. An Ning dizzily raised his head and heard Qin Weihang shouting at him: “Be careful of your head and feet, I will pull you up!”

He was still dizzy, but he felt that he was ascending. Qin Weihang was really pulling him up, even though this was actually not a safe move.

Perhaps the wind was too strong, but at that moment, it was like water had been poured on his head, and he immediately came to his senses. When he was nearing the rock wall, he stepped on a thin crack in the rock and got back on the route.

He was truly too afraid that he would drag Qin Weihang down. At this moment, he finally understood the fear Qin Weihang felt when Zhong Jing fell that day.

“I can do it!” He shouted to Qin Weihang, “You don’t need to pull me!”

The upward pull stopped hesitantly. An Ning tried his best to look upward for the white powder mark, which was the place Qin Weihang had grasped. The marks were different from that time when he was leading for the club. This time, Qin Weihang left a lot of traces for him, so he shouldn’t find it tricky. After all, there were traces to follow.

The vertical distance from the Qin Weihang gradually narrowed to three meters. It felt like Qin Weihang was waiting for him for a century. When he was sweating profusely, a gust of wind blew. Qin Weihang gently tugged at his rope and said: “Stop for a moment.”

An Ning was puzzled, so Qin Weihang said: “The wind is blowing, let’s bask in the wind.”

Right here was a crack in the rock, which was just the right time to stop without much effort. An Ning stopped, feeling the mighty wind blowing in the air and rustling the treetops below. He did not dare look down, but he still saw something. At the corner of his field of vision, a big dark bird with wide wings flew past their feet. Was it an eagle? He didn’t know, but it had a wide wingspan, which reminded him of Qin Weihang riding the R1.

If he doesn’t think about the chances of him falling, then this wind truly made him very comfortable. It took away all his sweat, and he couldn’t help but mutter, “It’s so comfortable.”

Qin Weihang smiled downwards and said, “It’s your reward.”

An Ning looked up at him, watching him leaning on the vertical rock wall so easily, as if he was stepping on a stepladder, as if he was the one rewarding An Ning with this gust of wind.

After crossing the three-meter distance, when he was less than an arm away from Qin Weihang, Qin Weihang slowly knelt down with his back against the rock wall and reached out to him.

At this height, even for Qin Weihang, it was not easy to do this action. An Ning raised his head and said, “It’s fine, I can go up by myself.”

“But I can’t wait any longer.” Qin Weihang said.

His voice was just above An Ning’s head—it was deep and heavy, like a cloud pressing down and covering An Ning in the shadow that belonged to him.

An Ning released his right hand. As soon as he let go, Qin Weihang grabbed him and pulled him up. It was too narrow here; he had to hold Qin Weihang’s body to stand up slowly. Together, they leaned on the thin rock gap, like two drops of dew squeezed between the gap of two petals.

There was still more than 20 meters of distance from the summit. This was a very special position, just like the match point in a game, and perhaps the most exciting position on this mountain.

An Ning was panting. Qin Weihang supported his arm and said, “Look down.”

As expected, he lowered his head foolishly, and then was immediately frightened by the terrifying height, so he jerked his head up. When he raised his head, he saw Qin Weihang’s face almost face-to-face with his own.

This was the last protection station as well as the smallest protection station. There was only a gap where two people could barely put down one foot. Their legs were tightly stuck together, and half of their bodies were hanging at a high altitude. There was no other way besides clinging to each other.

This made An Ning extremely cramped. He didn’t know where to look—under his feet was a dizzying height, but when he raised his head, it was an even more dizzying face. Either one was very deadly.

Qin Weihang said: “In fact, I am not so obsessed with climbing to the top and redpointing it. Staying here is my favorite moment.”

An Ning followed Qin Weihang’s vision; the sun was burning above the clouds, the tree line in the distance was dyed with a layer of gold, and everything was under their feet. They were like birds perching on a cliff, overlooking the world. There was endless fresh air here, filling their lungs cleanly and filling their blood. At this moment, An Ning felt that his lungs were about to burn by the boundless heat of the sun, by this all-out throbbing feeling, and by Qin Weihang’s charming gaze.

Qin Weihang said: “Do you know why I brought you here?”

An Ning could only shake his head. Because of tiredness and lack of oxygen, he could not speak anymore.

Qin Weihang said: “Because from yesterday morning until night, I saw couples the whole day. I was envious and also wanted to date.”

The voice was as soft as a breath of wind, but in An Ning’s mind, it was like a storm blowing him into a sudden blankness.

“Is it possible for me to date?” Qin Weihang asked in a quiet voice, “Or do you want me to stay single?”

An Ning was at a loss for words. He didn’t know who he was asking and what he was asking. Just how many secrets had he seen through?

Qin Weihang didn’t go any further, but just said: “If you don’t dare to look, just close your eyes and rest for a moment.”

An Ning didn’t know whether the word after ‘dare to look’ was ‘below’ or ‘me’. He closed his eyes immediately, his heart still beating wildly. It did not slow down for even half a minute just because he couldn’t see the dizzying height or the even more dizzying Qin Weihang.

It seemed like a cloud came to him in a bungee-like weightlessness, and then a pair of hot lips suddenly covered his own lips.

He opened his eyes in shock. His feet went limp, and his hands also loosened from the rope, but his body did not fall. Qin Weihang freed a hand to grab his arm and pulled him over.

An Ning suddenly saw Qin Weihang’s eyes that were so close to him; his eyelashes, his eyebrows, and his eyelids that were drooping so low. Yet it so happens that they appeared in his line of sight, meeting with his frightful gaze. Right now, the protection station under his feet was no longer his pivot—Qin Weihang was. He was like the cat caught by Qin Weihang on the gate of the teaching building, hanging on to the panther that was Qin Weihang.

The kiss was very shallow. It was only on the lips, but it was extraordinarily deep, because in this bout of rock climbing, every breath between the lips and teeth of the two of them was a deep breath that reached the lungs. They did not exchange saliva, but exchanged many, many breaths.

Qin Weihang let go of the kissed lips. He looked at the person in front of him, his eyes were deep, “I’m assuming it has been a long time already,” he said. “Do you like me?”

A question made the rim of An Ning’s eyes burn up. He did not expect any response to this unrequited love he had for Qin Weihang. He thought it would be comfortable and free. However, it wasn’t until that moment when this person leaned over to pick him up and held him in his palm that he felt the heartache of this crush.

This secret that had been hidden in his heart for so long had already been known a long time ago. He finally couldn’t help it and said in a soft voice: “When did you find out? I even thought I was hiding it very well…”

Qin Weihang said, “When you look at me, you always like to squint. I noticed that you don’t seem to look at Liang Shenghan and the others like this.” Suddenly, he seemed uncertain, “Have you ever looked at Huang Qinzhen like this?”

An Ning shook his head. After he shook his head, he realized that he had tried too hard to cover up this ‘like’ and unwittingly exposed himself. Thus, his entire body was as red as cooked dried shrimp.

Qin Weihang smiled and said, “I also thought about it—it could be that you only thought that I was handsome, so you would always look at me like that. But then I discovered that if I responded to your gaze, you would avoid it and don’t look at me. Moreover, the longer I stare at you, the redder your face and ears become. You really blush too easily in front of me. I don’t think most people will be like this.”

An Ning blushed. Qin Weihang was right. Even while he was saying this, he was still repeatedly verifying the answer, which he was able to reaffirm, because An Ning still didn’t dare look at him. The closer Qin Weihang got, the harder it was for An Ning to look directly at him.

Qin Weihang looked down at the lips he had kissed and said, “But most guys would want a girlfriend. Moreover, I’m not very confident. Do you want a boyfriend like me?”

An Ning was gaping and speechless: “I—”

Qin Weihang: “I’m not gentle, bad-tempered, and will ignore others when I’m angry. I also don’t like talking, don’t like folding my blanket, and don’t like studying.”

An Ning laughed loudly, then asked with more diffidence compared to Qin Weihang: “What about me, then? Can I really be your boyfriend?”

“You can,” Qin Weihang said in a low voice, “You are gentle, very tenacious, and hardworking. You are willing to climb with me, cook noodles for me…and you are also very cute.”

“I’m not very cute…” An Ning said helplessly.

“You are.” Qin Weihang couldn’t help but ask him again, “When did you like me?”

An Ning had no choice but to answer honestly, “On…a certain day in the climbing gym.”

Qin Weihang smiled, “I’m especially handsome when I’m climbing, right?”

His tone was like a child; An Ning couldn’t help but look up at him, and then smiled along with him. Although that was not the case at all, he’ll just pretend it was.

This time, he didn’t avoid Qin Weihang’s gaze anymore, only to realize that it felt really nice to be gazed at by him.

He almost forgot that they were still at such a high altitude. Was this the highest altitude for a confession in the history of A University?

“Are we going to continue climbing?” An Ning asked.

“No need,” Qin Weihang’s voice became lazy, as if he had already gotten rid of his strength, “I have already climbed up.”

An Ning smiled. He seemed to have…also climbed up.

The sun was fierce, like the summer when they first met. He looked directly into Qin Weihang’s eyes and plucked up the courage to ask: “Can I kiss you?”

Can I kiss you, boyfriend?

The Qin Weihang who brushed past him by the stairs of the dormitory lowered his head and closed his eyes.

An Ning approached him clumsily. An unforgettable miracle in his ordinary life, a kiss was printed on the corner of this miracle’s lips, and he felt the curvature of Qin Weihang’s lips when he smiled.

The wind whirled between them, the cliff seemed to become the ground, and they hugged while lying on this rock, without a trace of anxiety or fear.

There was one sentence I have never had the opportunity to say to you:

—Hello, Qin Weihang. Do you remember me? I am your roommate. As your boyfriend from today onwards, and in the many years to come, please take care of me.