An hour and a half later, the car arrived at the foot of Cenling Mountain.
June was the peak tourist season for the local area. The foot of the mountain was parked with many private cars. With the parking spots full, cars were squeezed in wherever there was space, a chaotic sight of vehicles of all colors.
There were also many tourists, men and women, old and young, too many to count.
The driver turned off the engine and looked into the back seat. The two passengers’ heads were leaning together, fast asleep.
There was nothing particularly intimate about it, yet Driver Uncle couldn’t help but feel like he’d been force-fed a heaping bowl of ‘dog food’ (a metaphor for public displays of affection).
Driver Uncle called out to them, “Sir, Miss, we’ve arrived at Cenling.”
He Qingshi was the first to be awakened. Upon waking, he saw that he had actually fallen asleep leaning against Huo Chuxue. His heart fluttered in panic, and he hurriedly sat up straight.
He reached out and shook Huo Chuxue awake. “Doctor Huo, wake up. We’re here.”
Huo Chuxue had been sleeping deeply. The consecutive days of the free clinic, with its long hours and high intensity, coupled with the hot weather, had left her severely sleep-deprived, getting less than five hours a day. Now, inside the cool, comfortable temperature of the car, she had accidentally overslept.
Startled awake, her eyes were unfocused, hazy and confused. She had no sense of time or place.
She sat up straight and took a moment to collect herself before rubbing her sleepy eyes. Her voice was low and groggy. “We’re already here?”
He Qingshi, while paying the fare, answered, “We’re here. Let’s get out.”
He grabbed his backpack and quickly got out of the car.
As soon as he stepped out, a wave of intense summer heat hit him, with not a hint of breeze. The sun was scorching. Huo Chuxue hurriedly put her sun hat on her head, slipped on her sun protection jacket, and opened her sun umbrella, fully armed and hiding herself thoroughly.
He Qingshi quietly observed her getup, thinking to himself that this girl’s equipment was really quite comprehensive.
After a good nap, Huo Chuxue felt refreshed and clear-headed, her spirits vastly improved.
He Qingshi, wearing a baseball cap and with his long limbs, walked ahead under the blazing sun. “Let’s take the small path up.”
With so many tourists, they wouldn’t squeeze onto the main road with the crowd.
He Qingshi was very familiar with the Cenling area, so Huo Chuxue trusted him to make the arrangements.
She caught up to him from behind and held the sun umbrella over his head. “Share it. The sun’s too strong. Don’t get heatstroke.”
He Qingshi wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I’m fine, not that delicate. You should cover yourself.”
“It’s two in the afternoon, the hottest time, with temperatures around thirty-seven or thirty-eight degrees. Don’t be overconfident. It’s better to be safe than sorry.” She stubbornly held the umbrella for him, keeping close behind.
With their height difference, it was inevitably strenuous for a girl to hold the umbrella alone. He Qingshi reached over and took the umbrella. “Let me hold it.”
“Okay.” She promptly released the handle and moved closer to him.
The sun umbrella was small; they had to stay close for both to be under it.
The proximity made his features even clearer. Exquisitely fine, flawless. This face was undoubtedly pleasing to look at.
After walking under the sun for less than five minutes, their clothes were damp with sweat, sticking to their skin, feeling sticky and uncomfortable.
Huo Chuxue’s top was soaked with sweat. It was a fitted style, and the area around her chest was most noticeable, instantly revealing the woman’s lovely figure without reservation.
He Qingshi inadvertently caught a glimpse and felt his eyes burn as if scalded by the sun. He couldn’t bear to look and hurriedly averted his gaze.
His thoughts grew even more unrestrained. The memory of that soft sensation from his fingertips earlier resurfaced in his mind. His thoughts began to wander, drifting further and further away.
It suddenly felt even hotter, as if he were about to evaporate. He quickly raised his hand to undo a button on his shirt.
The third button from the collar. Once undone, a large patch of skin around his collarbone was exposed. Unseen by the sun for years, that skin was pale, almost translucent. Huo Chuxue felt her own skin might not be as fair as his.
A man undoing the third button, half-concealed, half-revealed, his chest muscles faintly visible, was the epitome of sexiness.
She failed to control her eyes and took a couple of extra glances.
This man not only had good looks but also a quite excellent figure.
He Qingshi was at his most sensitive moment and had no mind to notice Huo Chuxue. By the time he became aware, Huo Chuxue had already been looking for a while.
A sin, truly impolite!
He hurriedly reached to fasten the button, his face apologetic. “Sorry.”
Huo Chuxue: “…”
Sorry for what? She hadn’t even looked her fill yet. If it were up to her, she could look for a year.
She felt she was quite the lecher herself.
Appetite and desire are human nature; there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Huo Chuxue indulged in her fantasy with remarkable composure.
The small path was quiet and secluded, with dense shade and occasional wisps of cool breeze. The higher they went up the mountain, the cooler it became.
Seeing there was no more direct sun, Huo Chuxue closed her umbrella and took off her sun protection jacket.
There were many pear trees on the mountain, laden with sour pears. Among the large pear groves were also interspersed peach trees, their fruit hidden behind the leaves, faintly visible.
This year’s sour pear harvest on Cenling must also be bountiful.
The further they walked, the more familiar everything around them felt, as if she had been here before.
It was only when she saw that peach grove that Huo Chuxue dared to be sure: she had walked this small path before. This path led straight to He Qingshi’s villa. That time, she had stumbled upon it by accident.
“I’ve been here before,” she said.
“Is that so?” He raised an eyebrow. “When? This place is remote; generally, very few people come here.”
Huo Chuxue said, “The day I first met you. I came to Cenling as a tourist, got lost, wandered around, and walked down this path. At the end of the path was your home.”
He Qingshi found it surprising. “What a coincidence.”
Huo Chuxue: “When I saw the villa back then, I was just curious. I didn’t think much and just walked right in. Meeting you was the same; I didn’t even consider you might be a bad person. I just ate the peach blossom pastry you gave me without a second thought. Luckily, you were a good person, otherwise, Cenling might have gained one more unidentified female corpse.”
He Qingshi: “…”
He couldn’t help but smile. “Many people come to Cenling as tourists, but you, Doctor Huo, are the first to ever wander to my home. I was also very surprised at the time; I never imagined anyone would come to the house.”
Huo Chuxue looked at him, her gaze clear and bright, meaningfully saying, “That’s why I said we were fated. It’s like a kind of destiny in the unseen forces. We were bound to meet eventually.”
——
The small path was rugged and uneven, hard to walk on. The two of them walked slowly. When they reached the mountainside, Huo Chuxue waved her arm, saying listlessly, “I’m too tired. Let’s rest for a bit.”
He Qingshi: “Okay.”
The two found a clean rock by the roadside and sat down.
“Want some water?” She handed him a bottle of water.
He was fanning himself with his baseball cap, wiping away sweat. “I’m not thirsty.”
Huo Chuxue adjusted her collar. The neckline was wide, and with a few movements, it shifted out of place, revealing a thin bra strap and a large expanse of snow-white skin at her chest—a tantalizing sight that invited imagination.
Oblivious, she tilted her head back to drink.
It was too hot, forcing beads of sweat to form on her face. The sweat rolled down her smooth jawline, past her neck, over her collarbone, and finally disappeared into her collar.
Seeing this made He Qingshi feel even more unsettled, his thoughts in turmoil.
He was no young lad anymore, but the series of physical reactions today left him bewildered. He had lived a very solitary life these years, without a single female friend, his heart as still as water. Romance and intimacy were, to him, a thing of the past. He couldn’t muster the slightest interest in women. He had even thought himself sexually indifferent and had gone to the hospital for a check-up.
Yet today, he had actually felt that kind of masculine impulse towards Huo Chuxue, that kind of desire. He felt deeply ashamed, especially since the object was Huo Chuxue. He felt he had defiled her.
This sense of shame persisted the entire way, tormenting him.
Fortunately, the latter part of the walk was uneventful; he didn’t see anything he shouldn’t have. The inner fire and impulse slowly subsided, and his emotions gradually calmed.
——
This was Huo Chuxue’s second time at this villa, but her state of mind this time was completely different.
The first time, she had stumbled upon this place by accident, driven only by curiosity, wanting to go in and explore. But this time, she had another purpose: she wanted He Qingshi to come to a sudden realization, bid farewell to the past, and start anew. He couldn’t live in the past forever, unable to move on. She wanted to help him.
Just as she had imagined back then, by June, the trumpet creeper was in bloom. The entire wall was wantonly enveloped by countless vines, twisting and tangling, with countless delicate little flowers adorning the branches, full of vitality. A single glance could inspire hope in anyone.
She had loved these climbing plants since she was a child—trumpet creeper, spider plants, Boston ivy—she liked them all. They were incredibly tenacious, requiring no care. With just a bit of sunlight and rain, they could survive, then strive to grow, claiming the wall, forming their own encircling domain.
Life should be this kind of positive, upward-facing posture: striving to live, then living splendidly.
He Qingshi opened the fence gate, stepped in first, and then said, “Please come in, Doctor Huo.”
Huo Chuxue looked around once more, withdrew her gaze, and slowly walked into the house.
All the furnishings in the living room were exactly as she had first seen them; no one had moved them. Covered with white cloths, they were coated in a thick layer of dust.
The main door was open, allowing outside sunlight to sneak in, forming beams of light in the air, filled with countless tiny floating dust particles.
The house smelled musty, devoid of life.
Looking at the things in the house, He Qingshi felt a sense of strangeness for the first time. He hadn’t seen them for too long; the familiarity had gradually faded, and now he actually felt estranged.
Su Miao had loved pear blossoms. It was precisely because he saw how many pear blossoms there were on Cenling that he had pulled strings and spent a fortune to buy a plot of land here, hiring people to build this villa. Every year, he would accompany her back to stay for a while.
Every time they came, Gui Shu and Lan Yi would accompany them to take care of their daily needs. Then Yuanyuan would also come along. The whole family would live together, far from the city’s noise, peaceful and serene, harmonious and full of joy.
Su Miao had often said back then that when they got old, the two of them would move here to live. They’d find a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters to retire.
Later, Su Miao passed away. Every year when the pear blossoms on Cenling bloomed, he felt she would surely come back to see them—she had loved pear blossoms so much in life. So every March, he would return to stay for a week. Gui Shu and Lan Yi would come ahead of time to tidy up the rooms for him.
For that week, he would turn off his phone, cut himself off from the world, not contact anyone, not handle any work, just live alone quietly for a week.
When he left, Gui Shu and Lan Yi would restore the house to its original state.
The grass in the courtyard had grown tall again, incredibly lush, reaching past a person’s knees.
The stone table and stools were in their place, the tabletop covered with fallen withered branches and leaves.
The robust loquat tree no longer had any loquats, only a full canopy of lush green leaves. A gust of wind blew, rustling the leaves, as if someone were softly singing by one’s ear.
Huo Chuxue stood at the back door, about to step in. Her arm was pulled back as she heard the man’s low, husky voice. “Don’t step in there!”
“Hmm?”
He Qingshi said, “The grass has grown too tall. Be careful of snakes.”
Huo Chuxue: “…”
She hurriedly pulled her foot back. Nine out of ten girls are afraid of snakes. Huo Chuxue was also terrified of this kind of reptile. Just hearing about them made her hair stand on end.
The two stood at the doorway for a moment before He Qingshi closed the back door.
He raised a set of keys in his hand, the sound crisp. “Let me take you upstairs to have a look.”