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墨書 Inktalez
Li Xiaonan glanced at her watch; it was eleven o'clock, still early.
If she took the minibus to Pingfeng Mountain now, she would probably be home by around six in the evening.
"Give it to me!" Chen Mo took the travel bag from Li Xiaonan's hands and slung it over his shoulder. "We can grab a bowl of beef noodles first, then go see Uncle!"
Chen Mo took a few steps forward, only to notice that Li Xiaonan was still standing there in a daze. She turned around with a smile and said, "Hurry up! What are you dawdling for? My stomach is growling! I want to see Uncle as soon as possible!"
The corners of Li Xiaonan's mouth lifted slightly; Chen Mo's every move warmed her heart.
Perhaps only Chen Mo would accept her complete self...
"Lingering Spirit!"
As Li Xiaonan followed Chen Mo out of the airport and stepped into a noodle shop, she heard her complaint.
Looking inside, Cunning Li was smiling and waving at them. "Li Xiaoyang, Chen Mo, over here! You two are so slow!"
Chen Mo frowned slightly and scanned the surroundings. Besides Cunning Li's table, which had two empty seats, everywhere else was packed.
She turned back to Li Xiaonan and said, "Should we go to another place?"
"Forget it; it's mealtime now; everywhere will be crowded."
Cunning Li was quite pleased with his response and patted the seat next to her, signaling him to sit down, her smile radiant.
Li Xiaonan couldn't help but clench her fists, wishing she could just give Scheming a good beating right there.
She sat down quietly, forcing herself not to look up, forcing herself not to gaze at those familiar faces that were etched into her very bones.
"What are you daydreaming about? The noodles are going to get soggy!" Chen Mo casually transferred all the beef from his bowl into Li Xiaonan's.
"Ah! I'm so envious!" Cunning Li teased.
Chen Mo shot him a fierce glare. "Mind your own business!"
"Here, I'll give you some of mine," Yun Moyu said, transferring pieces of meat from his bowl to Scheming's.
"And don't forget about the baby’s too," he added.
Following suit, Yuan Xian'er, Luna, Lu Nishang, and even Ling Kui all piled their beef into Scheming's bowl.
Li Xiaonan glanced over; there was no sign of noodles left, just a bowl brimming with beef. He couldn't believe they weren't worried about bursting.
Scheming deliberately leaned closer to Li Xiaonan, grinning widely as he began to devour the meat. The sight was truly infuriating.
Li Xiaonan felt a surge of jealousy rise within him, gripping his disposable chopsticks so tightly that they snapped!
Chen Mo frowned slightly. "What are you doing? If you want me to feed you, just say it! No need to break the chopsticks!"
Li Xiaonan didn’t respond. Taking a deep breath, he showcased an astonishing skill and swallowed a mouthful whole.
It turned out that eating noodles without chopsticks was quite a sight—so much so that even Chen Mo stared in disbelief.
He set down his empty bowl and burped contentedly. "Thanks for the treat; we’re leaving now!"
With that, he grabbed Chen Mo and rushed out, fearing he might lose control and explode in anger right there.
At noon, the sun hung high in the sky, making it somewhat stifling.
Li Xiaonan slowly exhaled a breath of frustration. "Let’s go!"
"Wait for us!" Cunning Li called out as he leisurely exited the noodle shop with six girls in tow.
Li Xiaonan looked back with a dark expression and shouted, "Are you done messing around?"
"No," Cunning Li replied honestly. "What? Are you angry? Hehe, that's a good thing!"
He patted Li Xiaonan on the shoulder and laughed as he led the girls onto the minibus heading to Pingfeng Mountain.
"Xiao Nan, are you hiding something from me?" Chen Mo asked, frowning slightly.
"No, come on, get in the car. If we miss this one, we'll have to wait two hours," Li Xiaonan said, pulling Chen Mo's hand. Chen Mo's face flushed, and he didn't ask any further questions.
The mountain road was a bit bumpy, and as they swayed back and forth, drowsiness began to creep in.
Chen Mo leaned over and fell into Li Xiaonan's arms.
He sighed lightly and reached up to turn off the air conditioning above Chen Mo. Unfortunately, at his height of about five foot six, his arms just weren't long enough.
If he stood up, he could reach it, but that would likely wake Chen Mo.
With no other choice, he could only use his palm to block the airflow, looking rather silly in the process.
Sitting behind them, Ling Kui couldn't help but stare at Li Xiaonan's predicament. After a while, she slowly stood up and turned off the air conditioning for him.
Li Xiaonan was taken aback; he wanted to thank her but glanced at Chen Mo resting on his shoulder and could only nod in her direction.
This rare opportunity for communication quietly slipped away.
Li Xiaonan felt frustrated inside, but at this point, he couldn't jump out and reveal the truth. He could only endure it and continue down this torturous path of self-inflicted hardship.
An hour and a half later, the minibus arrived at its destination, but there were still four more hours of mountain roads to travel before reaching Li Xiaonan's hometown.
Chen Mo rubbed his eyes and followed Li Xiaonan as they walked uphill, while Scheming and six other girls trailed behind them.
Liu Xiaonan occasionally heard laughter and chatter behind him, as if the seemingly ordinary Pingfeng Mountain had transformed into a grand landscape under Scheming's description.
“Phew... it's so hot...” Chen Mo wiped the sweat from her neck and shook her hands.
Liu Xiaonan looked up at the sky and said, “We need to move quickly; it’s going to rain.”
“Hmph, do you think you're a deity? Just because you say it’s going to rain doesn’t mean it will!” Yun Moyu, harboring resentment towards Chen Mo, dragged Liu Xiaonan into her blacklist as well, seizing every opportunity to mock them.
Liu Xiaonan frowned slightly; this girl was still as headstrong as ever. It was better to hurry Chen Mo along, or else these two would start bickering again.
He grabbed Chen Mo's hand without saying a word and quickly made his way up the mountain.
Pingfeng Mountain was an undeveloped hill, and what was referred to as a mountain path was merely a natural hazard; it had become a trail simply because many people had walked it.
Liu Xiaonan had grown accustomed to such paths since childhood, so he found no difficulty in navigating them. Scheming and Ling Kui had bodies that were different from ordinary people; although they lacked Celestial Energy support, their extraordinary physical abilities remained unaffected.
However, Chen Mo, being a wealthy young lady, struggled. After nearly an hour and a half of continuous walking on the mountain path, her feet were already blistered from the exertion.
Each step was painfully sharp, but whenever she looked at the hand holding hers, a smile inevitably appeared on her face.
It was true that pain could coexist with joy.
Lost in thought for a moment, her foot slipped, and she suddenly stumbled downward.
Liu Xiaonan, walking ahead, was startled and quickly pulled her into his arms, anxiously asking, “Are you okay?”
“Haha! Can’t go on anymore? Who’s really just an empty shell?”
Liu Xiaonan frowned at Yun Moyu's relentless teasing. He handed his bag over to Chen Mo and squatted down. “Get on my back!”
Chen Mo was taken aback for a moment but then happily nodded and climbed onto Liu Xiaonan's back.
"Cut it out! Useless! A hollow shell without legs is truly pitiful!"
Chen Mo looked at Yun Moyu with a blissful expression and said, "What, are you envious? You could have Xiao Nan carry you too! But he probably can't carry six people at once." As she spoke, her gaze swept over the six stunning women.
Li Xiaonan couldn't help but shudder.
To love one person wholeheartedly is true love; to empty one's heart for everyone—can that still be called love?
No matter how hard I try to love them, I can't treat them the same way I do Chen Mo.
It turns out that the love I prided myself on was so humble; the so-called universal love was something I simply couldn't achieve! For them, their efforts and rewards were fundamentally unfair.
He couldn't help but steal glances at the expressions of the girls, all of whom were frowning slightly.
"What's wrong? Am I heavy?" Chen Mo looked at his trembling body with concern.
"No, you're much lighter than firewood," Li Xiaonan replied, not looking back as he continued to carry Chen Mo up the path.
The weather grew increasingly oppressive, like a giant steamer, while Li Xiaonan's heart felt cool and refreshing.
"Boom!" A muffled thunder rumbled, and cool raindrops began to fall from the sky.
Chen Mo quickly pulled a red umbrella from her bag and said, "Xiao Nan, let me down. It's raining, and the mountain path is slippery."
"It's fine; just help me hold the umbrella!" Li Xiaonan didn't want to put Chen Mo down, nor did he dare to, because once he did, his heart would feel completely empty.
The cold wind would rush in through that gap, biting painfully.
He turned back to glance at the seven people behind him and said, "There's a pavilion up ahead; we can take shelter from the rain. It's not safe to walk on a mountain path when it's raining."
The group nodded slightly. Yun Moyu surprisingly didn't pick a fight this time; perhaps she was affected by Chen Mo's earlier words.
Yun Moyu walked slowly along the mountain path, holding an umbrella as the heavy rain added a touch of chill to the air.
Her gaze remained fixed on Li Xiaonan and Chen Mo.
She couldn't believe that the frail body of a girl, nearly her height, could walk for half an hour without stopping.
She couldn't help but feel a bit contemptuous of herself, for as Chen Mo had said, she envied and felt jealous.
The red umbrella stood out vividly against the lush green mountains.
Not only Yun Moyu, but also the sisters around her looked at the two in front with envious eyes.
"Sister Ling, I miss our master... Where could he be..."
"Don't cry, baby. We will definitely find Xiao Nan!" Ling Kui smiled at Scheming beside her, then glanced at Li Xiaonan ahead.
The rain fell lightly, and Li Xiaonan carried Chen Mo into the Pavilion.
The Pavilion was quite dilapidated; it couldn't block the wind but could barely shield them from the rain.
Dressed in short sleeves and hot pants, Chen Mo shivered uncontrollably. Li Xiaonan shook her head, took off her own clothes, and draped them over Chen Mo's shoulders. "Wearing so little! Serves you right!"
Chen Mo laughed. "If I wore more, would you still care about me?"
Li Xiaonan frowned slightly and said nothing, staring blankly at the endless green around her.
Ling Kui gazed at Li Xiaonan's back, lost in thought; she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity about this man.
The rain continued to pour down. By four in the afternoon, Li Xiaonan glanced at her watch and frowned again.
The mountain path was difficult to navigate at night, and with the rain falling now, it seemed they would have to spend the night in the Pavilion.
"Let's have a picnic!" Cunning Li exclaimed as he set down the bag and pulled out a box of gourmet bento.
Chen Mo pouted, letting out a small huff as he walked over to Li Xiaonan and said, "Xiao Nan, I'm hungry!"
"Mm..." Li Xiaonan was lost in thought, gazing at the now-clear sky, not paying attention to what Chen Mo was saying.
"I have salt in my bag, and some cumin too!"
"Oh..."
"Li Xiaonan! Are you even listening to me?"
Li Xiaonan smiled and turned back, saying, "I got it. Wait for me."
He glanced in the direction of Ling Kui, sighed, and walked out of the Pavilion towards the mountains.
Chen Mo happily shot a glance at Cunning Li and said, "You guys are going to be so jealous later!"
Scheming leaned against a beam, chuckling, "What could be more delicious than sashimi?"
"You'll find out soon enough!"
Scheming took a sip of his draft beer and said lightly, "It's getting dark. I heard there are wild wolves roaming around Pingfeng Mountain. Maybe your Xiao Nan won't find anything to eat and will end up as wolf food."
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