Xiao Su wasn't particularly heavy. Carrying her on his back felt light, almost like a bundle of cotton, but her clothes were surprisingly thick and plush.
The texture was soft against him, and luckily she was wearing that padded jacket. If it were summer, those cherry tomatoes would've been poking into him.
"What are you thinking about?"
Su Muzhi suddenly leaned her head forward from Jiang Linyuan's shoulder, craning toward his face.
As he turned his head, their noses nearly bumped into each other.
Su Muzhi instinctively wanted to pull back but forced herself to stay still, asking with a smile:
"Jiang-classmate, is your heart starting to flutter a bit?"
Looking at Xiao Su whose face was slightly flushed, a faint, pleasant fragrance drifted into his nose.
Jiang Linyuan thought for a moment:
"Ah, Xiao Su, it's not even New Year's yet, how did you already get so well-marinated?"
The smile on Su Muzhi's face instantly vanished. She hooked her hand, still holding the flashlight, around his neck:
"Hehe, Jiang-classmate, did you know? When a person is sunk to the bottom of the sea, they can't say a single word."
"I'm a country bumpkin, never been to the bottom of the sea. But someone as wealthy as you, Xiao Su, has definitely been there, right? Though I should remind you, staying in the sea too long tends to get water in your brain..."
*Crack.*
Her arm tightened around his neck.
Seeing Jiang Linyuan fall silent, Su Muzhi nodded with satisfaction and looked ahead at Shen Wanyu:
"She did this on purpose. You figured it out, didn't you?"
If he hadn't figured it out, he might as well retire and let Xiao Yilin take over.
He had been the one to invite Shen Wanyu mountain climbing. She knew perfectly well that Xiao Su had poor stamina, yet she specifically made sure to bring her along.
Using Xiao Su's competitive nature to create opportunities for them to get closer.
Minister, why do you have to cuckold yourself like this? What kind of weird hobby is that?
"The two of you think pretty much alike, huh."
Jiang Linyuan said.
Su Muzhi let out a contemptuous laugh:
"See? Her personality is actually pretty rotten too. She's using you like a tool. So when the time comes, you need to ruthlessly dump her."
"Xiao Su, you're not much better yourself."
"Right back at you, Jiang-classmate. You're not a good person either."
"I'm a country bumpkin. I'm the most honest one here."
"Hehe."
They bickered for a while, and then Su Muzhi suddenly smiled again:
"Jiang-classmate, she wants to make my heart flutter. But what if you're the one who gets swept off your feet first and falls for me instead?"
"...Are you already so weak that you've lost your mind?"
"Hehe. Shen Wanyu is too arrogant. That woman always thinks she has everything under her control."
Ignoring Jiang Linyuan's words, Su Muzhi gave a faint smile:
"Jiang-classmate, since she's actively challenging me, I naturally won't back down. Make my heart flutter? Hehe, I'll use this opportunity to completely bewitch you, Jiang-classmate."
"...Xiao Su, it's not time to sleep yet. Stop talking in your dreams."
Su Muzhi whacked Jiang Linyuan with the flashlight:
"It seems I'll have to train you into something I find satisfactory before I can make you fall for me."
Jiang Linyuan didn't want to listen to this cringe woman's muttering and kept walking forward.
After walking for a while, Shen Wanyu stopped, looked at Jiang Linyuan, and asked:
"Aren't you tired?"
Out of the blue concern. Could it be that the Minister wants me to carry her too?
"Minister, I'm not tired at all! I could even carry you on my back too, no problem at all!"
Jiang Linyuan said.
Xiao Su punched him.
Shen Wanyu let out a sigh:
"I see. So you traded human intelligence for ape-like physical strength?"
"No, Minister, I lied. Actually, I'm in a lot of pain right now."
"Where does it hurt?"
"My heart. Having the Minister say that to me, my heart really hurts."
Shen Wanyu showed a pitying expression:
"So even wild boars can disguise themselves as humans now?"
Was she getting more and more harsh? Earlier he was an ape! Now he had devolved into a wild boar!
Yeah, he'd make a note. It was the Minister's time of the month. She was in a bad mood. He could understand.
Shen Wanyu shot Jiang Linyuan a glare. It felt like she was secretly mind-reading him again.
The Minister was a jerk, a cold-blooded female tyrannosaur, an iceberg playing with people's feelings...
Jiang Linyuan said a lot of bad things about Shen Wanyu in his head, but she didn't react at all.
Looked like mind-reading didn't work all the time.
After walking a bit more, Xiao Su felt her strength had mostly recovered, so she stopped needing Jiang Linyuan to carry her.
The three of them made it safely to the top without encountering any wild boars blocking the path.
That made Jiang Linyuan a bit disappointed. The chance to play the hero saving the beauty had slipped right through his fingers.
The wild boars on Purple Mountain had all been scared off by my superhero aura. They'd wet themselves at the mere rumor of me. Just like that.
As soon as they reached the summit, they saw a large crowd gathered in one spot, making a lot of noise. It looked a bit like a primitive tribe holding some weird ritual.
"Get together! Get together!"
"Say yes! Say yes!"
Jiang Linyuan squeezed over and saw a guy kneeling on the ground, holding a bouquet of flowers, confessing to a girl.
"Yi Yi, I like you. My heart beats for you. Will you be my girlfriend?"
The guy looked at the girl in front of him with deep affection, holding a microphone and shouting.
He'd obviously come prepared.
"Get together! Get together!"
The people watching shouted and laughed. The girl standing in the center looked troubled. Her mouth moved as if she was saying something, but the crowd's cheers were too loud; it was impossible to hear her.
"Pretty rare. This kind of public confession tactic is way too old-school, isn't it?"
Su Muzhi had somehow produced a folding stool from who knows where. She sat on it, looking disdainfully at the crowd.
Shen Wanyu also watched quietly. She took a bottle of mineral water from her bag, took a sip, and commented:
"If the feelings between both sides are already strong enough, this might actually count as romantic."
Hearing this, Jiang Linyuan felt like Shen Wanyu was hinting at him. He was just about to say something when he saw her turn her icy cold gaze toward him with a look that screamed "don't even think about it":
"Deputy Minister Jiang, if you ever confess to me using this method, I'll give you a thorough beating."
So fierce. Beat me up? Could you even beat me?
Jiang Linyuan curled his lip and looked back at the boy and girl in the center:
"I don't think the girl is going to say yes. This method feels a bit like putting pressure on her."
Shen Wanyu nodded:
"You can tell just by looking at the girl's expression, can't you?"
"Hehe. What the girl wants probably doesn't matter anymore."
Su Muzhi looked at the circle of people cheering and let out a cold laugh:
"What matters is that these people want the girl to say yes. It's really disgusting. This counts as collective bullying, doesn't it?"
Shen Wanyu's expression was calm:
"Well, it depends on whether the guy knows when to back off."
"Hehe. How foolish, Shen Wanyu. Some of those people cheering might have been hired by him, you know."
Su Muzhi's smile was sweet, looking like she was thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. She turned her head to Jiang Linyuan:
"Jiang-classmate, if you were the one in that situation right now, what would you do? Use the crowd's power to force the girl to say yes, or slink away in disgrace, having been rejected despite the shame?"
Jiang Linyuan thought for a moment and said:
"Me? If it were me, I would definitely say this."
He took a deep breath and looked at Shen Wanyu with infinite tenderness:
"My heart has always beaten just for you. I wish I could take it out and give it to you as a beating drum. Even though it's not very hard, it will keep on *boinking* for you."
Shen Wanyu's face was icy cold:
"Go say that to Su Muzhi!"
Jiang Linyuan turned his head.
Su Muzhi's expression was blank:
"If you dare say it to me, I'll push you off this mountain right now."
So cold. Two women who completely lacked romance. Not a single one of them understood my poetic passion!