Chi Yan and Chu Yang walked up hand in hand. There weren't many people around. At that moment, the setting sun cast a golden glow over the land, and their side profiles were bathed in the interplay of light and shadow. Chi Yan snapped a picture of Chu Yang's beautiful side profile with the sunset in the background and immediately set it as his phone wallpaper.
They continued walking forward. As the sky grew darker, they could hear frogs croaking and birds chirping as they returned to their nests.
When they were nearing the top of the mountain, Chu Yang was out of breath. Chi Yan gave her a piggyback ride the rest of the way up.
When they reached the summit, there were more people—many came here on weekends to enjoy the night view. Chi Yan brought Chu Yang to the hotel restaurant where he had made reservations for dinner.
Their table offered an excellent view of the nightscape of the entire city. They ordered western food: steak and pasta. Since Chu Yang didn't drink, they didn't order any wine.
There was someone playing the piano in the middle of the restaurant. As Chu Yang listened to the music quietly, she felt her heart become tranquil.
Chi Yan suddenly asked, "Would you like to hear me play the piano?"
Chu Yang looked at him expectantly, "Can I make a request?"
"Sure."
After thinking for a bit, Chu Yang said, "'Koibito Tachi no Basho'—can you play that?" ("Koibito Tachi no Basho" is the Japanese title for the song "Love Without End, Amen")
"No problem." Chi Yan got up and went over to the piano player. After a brief exchange, the pianist vacated the seat for Chi Yan.
Sitting down at the piano, Chi Yan looked over at Chu Yang, who had her chin propped up in her hands as she watched him softly. His heart melted a little at the sight. Chi Yan straightened up on the piano bench and placed his hands over the keys. Soon, the restaurant was filled with the melody of "Love Without End, Amen".
Some of the other patrons glanced over at the handsome young man at the piano.
As he played, Chi Yan would occasionally lift his eyes to look at Chu Yang. It was obvious they were a couple.
On the second floor, a man suddenly said to his companion in a suit, “Hey, isn’t that your cousin, Chi Jin?"
Chi Jin looked down and indeed saw his cousin. "Oh? Who's he looking at? Is that girl his girlfriend? Your cousin's got a girlfriend now?"
After observing for a bit, Chi Jin realized it seemed to be true—it looked like Chi Yan was playing the piano to charm that girl.
When Chi Yan finished playing and went over to the table where the girl was sitting, it seemed like he asked her, "How was it?"
The girl gave him two thumbs up and even leaned over to peck him on the chin. Chi Yan looked extremely happy. Then he sat down across from her. The two of them enjoyed the night view outside for a bit before Chi Yan took out his phone to take pictures of her.
That was his cousin? Chi Jin could hardly believe it. He got up, intending to head downstairs, and his companion followed along.
Chi Yan was just sitting next to Chu Yang, wanting to take a selfie of them both, when several people suddenly appeared beside their table. Chi Yan and Chu Yang looked up. Chi Yan immediately stood up and called out, "Bro, you're here too?"
Chu Yang: ???
Chu Yang also stood up. "Nice to meet you, brother."
Chi Yan held Chu Yang's hand. "Bro, this is my girlfriend Chu Yang."
Chi Jin looked Chu Yang over. She was rather decent looking, and her gaze was honest. "I see. Nice to meet you," he said before asking Chi Yan, "How have your studies been lately?"
In his mind, Chi Yan thought: Since when does my brother care about my grades? But he replied, "They're fine, steady."
Chi Jin nodded. "Good." At least his studies weren't suffering. He beckoned a waiter over. "Put their meal on my tab tonight."
"Yes, Master Chi."
Tian Yuan, the man accompanying Chi Jin, also greeted Chi Yan, "Little brother Chi Yan is a college freshman, right?"
"Yes, hello Brother Tian Yuan."
Chi Jin asked Chi Yan a few more questions about his recent life, then left with the others.
Soon after, Chi Yan received a bank transfer from Chi Jin—it was his way of saying one needed money when dating and shouldn't be too miserly.
Chi Yan thought: They all think I'm poor?
"Your brother looks a bit like you. He seems rather stately," Chu Yang remarked after the others had gone.
Chi Yan nodded. "He's my cousin. We both take after our grandfather. He works in the government." Originally, their grandfather had wanted to groom Chi Jin to inherit the family business, but unexpectedly, Chi Jin had inherited talents from his mother's side of the family and now held an office in the government.
Hearing this, Chu Yang felt Chi Yan's background seemed even more impressive.
Without lingering on the subject, Chi Yan took Chu Yang outside the hotel to the lookout deck, which had telescopes and even a place for stargazing. He showed her how to use them to take in the sights.
"That one's Ceres, the largest asteroid discovered so far." Chi Yan pointed things out for Chu Yang.
"Look, you can see Andromeda over there."
Chu Yang found it. "It's so beautiful. Seeing all these planets and constellations, it really makes you feel how tiny humans are," she remarked.
"That's right—we're just a speck in the ocean. So when you run into difficulties or worries, thinking about stuff like this helps put things in perspective," Chi Yan agreed.
Chu Yang turned to face him. "Oh? And what worries could you have? Worried about being too handsome?" She laughed merrily.
Chi Yan laughed too as he put his arm around her. "That's right. I look in the mirror every morning and lament how handsome I am, and think about how lucky I am to have such a wonderful girlfriend."
Chu Yang laughed so hard her eyes were reduced to slits.
Chi Yan went on, "People inevitably have worries. For example, I sometimes fret over whether the girl called Chu Yang really likes me that much, if we'll stay together forever, or if one day she'll find me tiresome."
Chu Yang instantly stopped laughing. She placed a hand on his cheek. "That girl called Chu Yang says she really likes you. As for being together forever, we can't know for sure—that will take time to prove. What she can say for certain is that right now, she truly has feelings for you."
Chi Yan lowered his head. "Mm," he murmured, then kissed her forehead and took her into his embrace.
After that tender moment, they realized how late it had gotten—nearly 10 PM. Clearly they wouldn't make it back to campus tonight. Chi Yan led Chu Yang down from the observatory, intending to get a room at the hotel.
On the path back, they passed through a grove of tall trees. Bathed in moonlight, the trees took on an air of mystery that was strangely alluring.
But then a peculiar sound reached their ears. Chu Yang glanced at Chi Yan. "What's tha—"
She was cut off as Chi Yan hastily covered her mouth. Chu Yang gave him a questioning look.
Chi Yan pulled her along at a quicker pace, whispering four words in her ear: "Mandarin ducks frolicking."
Chu Yang instantly understood, her face flushing red. Though Chi Yan had omitted one character—it should have been "wild mandarin ducks", ahem.
The two returned to the hotel red-faced, though they weren't sure why the front desk staff were giving them such odd looks when handing over their room key.
