Chapter One Hundred Eleven: Seeking Warmth

The rain grew heavier and heavier. Although a massive rock towered above us, shielding us somewhat, the biting wind relentlessly drove the raindrops onto us.

Although Xu Shu was wrapped in my coat, her soaked clothes offered no warmth at all. She had no choice but to press herself tightly against me for warmth, yet even so, she shivered uncontrollably from the cold.

I was cold too. Having taken off my outer coat, I was left wearing only a sweater beneath. The piercing wind, mixed with icy rain, felt like knives slicing across my skin. Still, I did my best to shield her from the wind and rain with my body, protecting the woman in my arms.

But my body, like Xu Shu’s, trembled uncontrollably. Feeling this, she reached out her uninjured hand and gently stroked my cheek, whispering, “Tang Qian, your face is so cold. You should wear this coat back.”

I forced a smile. “I’m not cold. You should wear it instead.”

Xu Shu sighed softly. “You’re lying again! Look at you — you’re trembling even more than I am and you still say you’re not cold? Now that I have you to shield me from the wind, your embrace to keep me warm... if you freeze to death, who will I warm myself with?”

I tried to insist, “It’s alright. I’m healthy, and a man. I can handle a little cold wind.”

Seeing I wouldn’t relent, Xu Shu stayed silent for a moment, then gently freed herself from my arms and, using her uninjured hand, took off my coat. “You should wear this to block the wind first. I... um... can hide inside with you.”

I frowned in confusion. “Both of us wear it? How?”

Xu Shu blushed slightly. “You put it on, and you’ll understand.”

I took the coat and put it on, then asked, “And then?”

She immediately nestled back into my arms. “Like this — you pull the coat up and wrap me in it. Then, aren’t we both wearing it together?”

I suddenly realized this was a clever solution — it shielded me from the wind and kept her warm at the same time, killing two birds with one stone. Although this pose was intimate, given the circumstances, there was no better option. Besides, we had been embracing moments ago, so this wasn’t much different.

I opened my coat wide and wrapped Xu Shu tightly inside. But although my coat was large, it still wasn’t enough to cover her entirely. That tiny gap let cold air seep in, causing a chill.

Xu Shu seemed dissatisfied. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Hmm, how about this? You take your hands out of the sleeves and hold... hold my waist. That might be a bit warmer.”

I followed her suggestion, pulling my hands from the sleeves and gently hugging her slender waist. Xu Shu reached out and pulled the coat’s edges closer, but still there was a slight gap. Frowning, she urged, “Hold me tighter, press my body closer to you!”

Suddenly, I recalled how she had rejected me when I tried to pull her close last night. Yet today, she was asking me to hold her tightly. Life was indeed unpredictable! Of course, this was a different situation, so her initiative didn’t mean anything more.

Still, there was a difference between hugging her through a thick coat and hugging her with only a sweater on beneath. I stretched my arms forward as much as possible, hunched my shoulders, and held Xu Shu as tightly as I could, pressing her firmly against me. Gradually, the coat’s edges finally met.

Xu Shu sighed in contentment and smiled. “Ah, this is so much warmer than before, isn’t it?”

I murmured an affirmative, my mind lost in the bliss of holding such a beauty close. Her figure was a perfect golden ratio, every man’s dream to embrace such an earthly goddess. How fortunate I, Tang Qian, was!

Despite the danger and cold, my heart fluttered uncontrollably, filled only with thoughts of intimacy and warmth. I even noticed that just above where I held her was that enchanting bosom — if only I could...

Of course, Xu Shu had no idea of my mischievous thoughts. She sighed and said, “The two of us suddenly disappeared with the car; that’ll keep my bodyguards busy for a while. With Uncle Wang’s scout skills, they’ll find us eventually. But I worry that this heavy rain will wash away many traces. They might think we just vanished somewhere in the city and search everywhere without realizing we had an accident not far from home. Sigh! I wonder if we can hold on until they find us?”

Hearing her mention the accident, I suddenly remembered something and pulled back my restless thoughts, asking, “By the way, I’ve always thought you were a good driver. Why were you so flustered just now, acting like you didn’t even know how to drive and making such a stupid mistake? Did I say something wrong?”

Xu Shu’s body stiffened, and she quickly buried her head in my coat, shy and flustered. “How can you still bring that up! Such an embarrassing thing you know about — how could I not be nervous? You... forget it quickly, or if you ever mention it again, I... I’ll just die on the spot! I won’t be able to live!”

I was surprised. Could Hua Jingjing’s story about the first kiss be true? Even if it was, there was no reason to panic so much that you forgot how to drive, or threaten to die if it was mentioned again — that was an extreme reaction.

Still, the blushing beauty in my arms was grinding her teeth and said fiercely, “That little witch — if I survive this, the first thing I’ll do is kill her with my own hands. How could she tell someone else, and worse, tell you? That’s unforgivable! I... I want to sever ties with her!”

Sigh, curiosity really can kill a cat. If Hua Jingjing was telling the truth, I couldn’t understand why two girls being overly close and sharing a kiss would cause such drama — breaking off friendship or even murder? Judging by Xu Shu’s reaction, there seemed to be something even more hidden, and my curiosity was truly piqued.

My mind raced. The first thought: could they be lesbians? No, that didn’t seem right. Xu Shu was uncertain, but Hua Jingjing’s love for me was obvious. How could she be a lesbian?

Then what else could it be? My curiosity itched terribly, but since Xu Shu forbade me from asking, I only laughed and said, “Killing her is too extreme. It’s no big deal!”

Xu Shu closed her eyes, angry. “No big deal? I... I’ll never be able to hold my head up in front of you again. You’d laugh at me forever! I... I don’t care — it’s so embarrassing!”

Seeing her so flustered and ashamed softened my heart. Though I was curious and wanted to know the story, I didn’t want her to feel humiliated or unable to face me. So I deliberately reassured her, “Girls aren’t like boys. It’s not hard to understand that being close and sharing a little kiss is a way to show affection. Besides, you were young then. It’s understandable to be playful. You shouldn’t feel ashamed as if you did something wrong. I won’t laugh at you, I promise!”

“Ah?” Xu Shu suddenly looked surprised and delighted. Despite the cold, she let go of the coat, turned her head fully toward me, and trembled as she asked, “You mean... you’re only talking about a kiss from that little witch?”

I replied, “Yes. Did you have something else?”

Xu Shu instinctively said, “No... nothing else!” Even she didn’t believe her words. But she stared into my eyes, and though the darkness prevented her from seeing clearly, she sensed my sincerity and seemed to understand I was deliberately playing dumb to free her from her mental chains.

Grateful and joyful, Xu Shu said, “Hmm, you actually guessed there was something else, didn’t you? But Tang Qian, I beg you, don’t ask or pry. It’s a very unlucky matter. Let it rot inside me and that little witch forever, never seeing the light of day!”

I smiled and said, “Don’t worry. In my heart, you will always be perfect.”

Unable to contain her joy, Xu Shu suddenly stretched her neck and kissed my cheek. “Thank you, Tang Qian!” Then she quickly turned back and nestled into my arms, pulling the coat around her again.

I was both delighted and helpless. Delighted because Xu Shu kissed me — her first time! Though just a kiss on the cheek. Helpless because I knew it was a grateful kiss, nothing more. I couldn’t let myself imagine anything else. How frustrating!

After the kiss, Xu Shu grew shy and didn’t say a word for a long time. When I spoke to her, she gave no response. The rain gradually lessened, the wind softened, and sitting together on the great tree root atop the cliff, the cold was no longer so piercing.

Xu Shu lay in my arms, wrapped in the coat again, and felt a bit warm. Protected from the wind by me, she yawned a few times, closed her eyes, and drifted toward sleep.

I dared not sleep. If both of us fell asleep at once, we might accidentally fall from the tree and die tragically. Though I had only slept three hours last night and my eyelids were heavy with exhaustion, I couldn’t afford even a second of dozing.

So I forced my mind to wander wildly. With such a stunning beauty in my arms, my thoughts grew all the richer...

I don’t know how long passed before the rain finally stopped, and the sky began to brighten with the faint light of dawn. Xu Shu coughed softly, then opened her eyes and looked up at me, asking, “You... haven’t slept all night?”

I said, “I didn’t dare. If I lost consciousness and fell, that would be trouble!”

Xu Shu coughed again, smiling wryly, “If we fell, there’d be no trouble at all!”

Hearing the odd tone in her voice, I asked, “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

“Maybe. My throat hurts terribly, and...”

“And what else? Is there anywhere else hurting?”

Xu Shu blushed faintly and shook her head, “No, just some pain in my wrist.”

I hadn’t thought much about it then. The sky brightened, and after the heavy rain, the sun surprisingly came out. Soon, a half sun peeked over the eastern mountain ridge, shining warmly on us. Xu Shu kept coughing incessantly; I knew she must have caught a cold and her throat was inflamed. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do.

What puzzled me more was that Xu Shu seemed troubled by something. She kept frowning and biting her lip. When I asked, she wouldn’t say.

I was hungry. Looking around in the dead of winter, there wasn’t a single mountain berry in sight. What could we eat? I examined the terrain and the giant rock atop the mountain. My conclusion: unless someone came with a rope to rescue us or we grew wings to fly up, we were stuck until we died here.

As daylight grew, I felt we no longer needed to cling together for warmth, so I let go of her. Considering her cold, I took off my coat and draped it over her shoulders.

Xu Shu lowered her head and didn’t move. I couldn’t help but ask, “Are you in pain somewhere? You must tell me. Don’t try to bear it alone!”

Xu Shu blushed fiercely and exclaimed, “No, no! Stop bothering me!”

I gave up asking. Then I carefully studied the cliff, pondering how to climb up. But after much thought, the conclusion was the same: wait for death or wait for rescue.

Suddenly, I heard Xu Shu softly sobbing. I turned and crawled to her side. “Why are you crying? Don’t worry, I’m thinking of a way. We’ll get out of here, trust me!”

Xu Shu raised her tear-streaked face, wanting to say something but hesitating. Her expression was painful, shy, and anxious, her body trembling slightly.

I looked into her eyes, knowing something was wrong. But I said nothing, only asking with my gaze.

Xu Shu’s trembling grew worse. Worried, I reached out to check her temperature. Except for a slight chill, she was normal — no fever.

Suddenly, she bit her lip and whispered pitifully, almost unable to contain her embarrassment, “Tang Qian, I... I... um... I…”

I laughed, “What is it? Stop stammering!”

Xu Shu pouted and cried out, “I... I need to pee... I can’t hold it much longer!”