Li Mingwei found herself penniless after giving all her money to Liu Yizhu. She returned to the town and took up some embroidery work at a workshop to make ends meet. After attending classes, she no longer lingered in the school and instead went home to work hard and earn money.
She held Dong Lei's hand and walked out of the school gate, only to see Liu Yizhu waiting for them outside, smiling at her.
She hesitated for a moment, crouched down and instructed Dong Lei, "Auntie forgot something just now and needs to take care of it. Can you go home by yourself today?"
Dong Lei, trusting her completely, nodded in agreement and happily waved at Liu Yizhu as he passed by.
Once Dong Lei was far away, Li Mingwei went upstairs. She waited until everyone who came to pick up their children had left before going downstairs again.
Liu Yizhu looked at her somewhat helplessly and approached her. "Did you really have something to do just now or were you afraid of being seen?"
"What do you think?"
"You don't have to be like this. Even if someone sees us, what does it matter? We were originally..."
"Enough." Li Mingwei interrupted his words. It didn't matter if he stayed in the county town every day, but she didn't want to hear gossip.
She stared at Liu Yizhu with a cold gaze. "Today is not a holiday or a day off. Why did you come back?"
Liu Yizhu took her hand and led her towards the outskirts of the town. "I'll take you somewhere."
Li Mingwei didn't want to have any physical contact with him in town, so she pinched his palm to signal him to let go. Then she followed him from a distance. It wasn't until they were far away from the town that she finally agreed to join Liu Yizhu and walk hand in hand.
Liu Yizhu held her hand and suddenly felt a bit uneasy.
Li Mingwei looked at him when he stopped walking and glanced around. Seeing nothing, she shook his arm and asked, "Have we arrived?"
"Not yet."
Liu Yizhu regained his senses and continued to lead her forward. Li Mingwei became increasingly desperate as they walked. With her physical stamina, she was fine on flat ground, but climbing a mountain was really difficult. Her legs grew weak after not going very far.
Exhausted, she grabbed his sleeve. "Where are we going? It's almost dark."
"To the mountaintop."
"What?" Li Mingwei exclaimed.
Liu Yizhu looked at her flushed face with a touch of distress. He started to regret his decision today, but now that they were here, he couldn't just give up.
He took out a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the sweat off her forehead, squatting down. "Come on, I'll carry you."
Li Mingwei saw that there was no one around and without hesitation, she threw herself onto his back. She really couldn't walk anymore. It served her right for not discussing with her before bringing her here to climb a mountain.
Liu Yizhu, afraid of wasting time, walked quickly. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried to catch up, he couldn't. He placed Li Mingwei on a large rock and helped her sit down, looking somewhat dejected as he gazed at the horizon.
Li Mingwei followed his gaze, but it seemed like there was nothing there. "So, why did you bring me all the way here? It's getting dark."
Liu Yizhu lowered his head, his disappointment evident in his expression. "A few days ago, during our day off, the teacher took us to Shao Hua Mountain to watch the sunset. At that time, I was thinking, it would have been nice if you were there too."
Li Mingwei leaned against him, resting her chin on his shoulder, and gazed into the distance. "Was it beautiful?"
"It's beautiful! The sky is filled with colorful clouds," he thought she would definitely like it, so he wanted to bring her here to have a look, but...
His voice carried a hint of resentment: "We arrived late today, the sun has already set."
"It seems that I have no fate with the sunset."
Liu Yizhu embraced her from behind and held her close, comforting her, "As long as we have fate with each other, it's enough."
Li Mingwei smiled. Yes, she and he could indeed be considered fated. Two people who were originally thousands of miles apart unexpectedly managed to come together.
However, she was still a bit angry. "So you took leave just for this? Last time, you said you would try your best, but you dared to be lazy after only a few days."
Liu Yizhu was truly aggrieved. He looked at Li Mingwei with pleading eyes, "I've been studying diligently every day. It's just this one time, I really missed you."
Now he finally understood the feeling of longing that comes from not seeing someone for a day, as if it were three autumns apart.
He leaned in and gently kissed Li Mingwei on the lips. Seeing that she didn't resist, he became even more audacious. As his hand was about to slip inside her clothes, Li Mingwei held him back and gently bit his tongue.
Liu Yizhu felt the pain and withdrew, then he rubbed his face against hers in an attempt to please her. Li Mingwei stepped back and pushed his big face away. "Do you still have any credibility with me?"
"No," he admitted his fault, suppressed his desires, and sincerely apologized, "I couldn't resist for a moment."
Thinking about the future where there might be more such moments, when they can see but not touch, the silent mountaintop was filled with his deep sigh.
After a while, he regained his senses. "Let's go back."
Since they couldn't see the sunset anymore, it wouldn't be good to keep her on the mountaintop where the wind was blowing. It was also getting dark, and the mountain path wasn't easy to walk on.
Li Mingwei rubbed against him in his embrace, raised her gaze to look at him, and Liu Yizhu lowered his head, meeting her eyes that resembled those of a small kitten. He leaned down and kissed the corner of her eye. "What about it? Don't you want to go back?"
"Piggyback."
"Alright."
Liu Yizhu supported her as they stood on a rock. When she jumped onto his back, Li Mingwei buried her head in his back and swung her legs lightly, indicating that he could set off.
The mountain path was winding and mostly covered by trees, making it difficult to walk. Li Mingwei only let him carry her for a short while before she got down and they held hands, supporting each other as they descended the mountain.
Going downhill was faster than going uphill. Before it got completely dark, they finally reached the foot of the mountain, making the remaining path much easier to walk.
Upon reaching the entrance of the town, Li Mingwei still wanted to free herself from Liu Yizhu's grasp, but this time he held on tightly, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake him off. She looked at him in confusion, "What are you doing? Let go!"
Liu Yizhu held her hand firmly and his voice carried a hint of sorrow, "When can I openly hold your hand in town?"
Li Mingwei stared at him, her gaze profound. "So what? What do you want to say?"
"Let's get married," Liu Yizhu said, embracing her shoulders and looking at her expectantly. "Shall we get married? I can't wait any longer. I promise I'll do my best to fulfill what I've promised you."
Li Mingwei pinched his chest and asked, "Where can't you wait for so long?"
Liu Yizhu...
"I can't wait anywhere."
Li Mingwei estimated the situation and brought Liu Yizhu home, introducing him as her fiancé. She informed her family that she had secretly married outside and wondered how likely they were to be angry enough to kill her. Her face crinkled up with worry.
"But what about my family if we get married?"
Liu Yizhu confidently replied, "If we're getting married, of course I have to go and propose to your family."
"In that case, you won't be able to marry me."
Hearing her resolute response, Liu Yizhu couldn't help but feel a bit dejected. "Do you think your parents see me as such a disgrace?"
"It's not like that."
Her mother might actually give him a chance, evaluate him, and if he passed the assessment, allow him to marry into the family. Liu Yizhu was an only child after all. Sigh, now it didn't matter whether he was an only child or not.
Li Mingwei felt a headache coming on and pondered for a moment. Since she was so conflicted about returning to the capital, why not just marry someone outside?
By the time she returned to the capital, things would already be like this. Her mother probably wouldn't make such demands anymore, right?
Should she take a gamble?
She didn't dare.
She looked at the anxious Liu Yizhu and said, "Let me think about it some more."
"Okay."
