Lin Shen’s suggestion left Qin Yuenan in a bit of a daze.
She vaguely remembered their first time climbing a mountain together. An accident had happened midway, and he had carried her down on his back.
She’d even had an incredible dream that night because of it.
Even now, whenever Qin Yuenan thought back on it, she still felt a sense of shame and embarrassment. She couldn’t help but wonder...
’Could it be that I fell in love with Lin Shen at first sight back then?’
Seeing the broad back Lin Shen presented as he crouched down, Qin Yuenan rejected his kind offer this time.
"No, it’s fine. I can still walk."
Qin Yuenan took a step forward, pulled Lin Shen up, and continued climbing the mountain.
Looking up, a "chain of light" formed by the countless flashlights of the hikers stretched from the mountainside up into the clouds, disappearing into the depths of the night sky.
After leaving the Central Celestial Gate, they reached Taishan’s most famous section: the "Eighteen Bends."
It consisted of over sixteen hundred steps in total, and the slope was incredibly steep.
You could say it was the most physically demanding and intimidating part of the entire ascent—a true nightmare for tourists!
Coupled with the poor visibility at night and a cool breeze that pricked the skin, it was enough to make one’s heart falter with fear.
So Qin Yuenan gripped Lin Shen’s hand tightly, treating him like her lifeline as she stressed,
"Don’t let go!"
"Okay."
Lin Shen gave a doting smile and began to climb, leading Qin Yuenan by the hand.
Although there were many tourists on the path, everyone was panting for breath. The sound of heavy breathing rose and fell, but there was very little conversation.
Qin Yuenan was the same.
But thankfully, she had someone to rely on.
Her hand held tightly in Lin Shen’s warm, large one, Qin Yuenan looked up at his broad, reassuring back, and a profound sense of happiness welled up in her heart once more.
She had been feeling very lost lately.
Quitting her job had felt great, but the unknown path ahead left Qin Yuenan feeling a little melancholic.
She really wanted to help Lin Shen build a successful career, but she didn’t know if they would succeed.
If they failed, she could accept it. After all, she had her family as a safety net.
But could Lin Shen, who came from a modest background and had such a strong-willed personality, accept it?
Qin Yuenan was terrified that the blow would leave him unable to recover, that he would just give up on himself.
If that really happened, she would have no idea what to do.
She was terrible at comforting people and didn’t know how to handle a man’s pride.
But now, Qin Yuenan felt like she might have been overthinking things.
From these past few hours of climbing Taishan at night, it seemed Lin Shen wasn’t the type of person to give up at the first sign of a setback.
His personality was more resolute than most. He hadn’t complained about being tired or in pain the entire way, and even when his head was covered in sweat, he would just wipe it off with a tissue himself.
Besides, the fact that he’d improved his own situation by losing weight was proof enough. Lin Shen was truly a very strong person.
Whenever she thought about this admirable quality of his, a deep sense of love and adoration for him would inexplicably blossom in her heart.
This was the most crucial reason she had fallen in love with Lin Shen.
"Thank you."
Qin Yuenan took a few steps to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Lin Shen, then took the initiative to kiss his cheek. She pulled out a tissue to wipe the sweat from his forehead and said softly,
"You’ve worked so hard."
"It’s nothing. Holding your hand doesn’t take any effort."
Lin Shen smiled gently and tightened his grip on Qin Yuenan’s hand.
「Just like that, over an hour later, it was 3:30 in the morning.」
Supporting each other, Lin Shen and Qin Yuenan successfully reached the South Celestial Gate!
As he stepped onto the final stair, Lin Shen let out a long sigh of relief. His tense, exhausted body instantly relaxed, and an unprecedented sense of satisfaction and accomplishment washed over him.
Of course, that was mixed with a single, damn thought.
’These stairs are so damn long!’
Once they reached the South Celestial Gate, the mountain wind suddenly picked up, and the temperature dropped sharply.
Lin Shen wrapped his windbreaker tighter around himself, feeling the temperature on his skin was only around sixteen degrees Celsius.
Maybe even lower!
"What do you think? Cold, isn’t it?"
Seeing Qin Yuenan shivering from the cold, Lin Shen quickly pulled her into a tight hug, not forgetting to tease her a bit.