Chapter 101: Midnight Mountain Climbing Again? The Boss is a Character
It was already 11:30 PM by the time the two of them finished cleaning up.
Even with the air conditioning on, Su Qinghe was still sweaty from the effort.
Well, alright.
The truth was, Su Qinghe had done most of the work. Gu Yifan had just helped out on the side.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to do it, but Su Qinghe wouldn’t let him.
What could he do?
Gu Yifan had no choice but to let her have her way.
"Good work, wuli Hanhan!"
"Here, wipe your sweat."
Gu Yifan handed her a wet wipe with a smile.
"Mm-hmm."
Su Qinghe nodded, but she was a little confused. ’*Wuli* Hanhan? What does that mean?’
Seeing that Gu Yifan offered no explanation, she hesitated before asking, "What does ’wuli’ mean?"
"Er..."
Gu Yifan froze for a moment. Seeing Su Qinghe’s face, looking like a curious child, he found it rather amusing.
He had just said it casually, not expecting Su Qinghe to latch onto that specific word.
"It means ’my,’ or ’our’!"
He answered casually with a slight smile.
"Oh, oh."
Su Qinghe nodded gently.
But the next second, it dawned on her, and her entire face instantly turned red.
’My... Hanhan?’
’This Big Bully is teasing me again...’
She pouted, then snuck a glance at Gu Yifan, feeling both extremely shy and a little helpless.
Gu Yifan had no idea so much was going on in Su Qinghe’s head. He glanced at the time; it was already 11:40 PM.
The effects of the alcohol had completely worn off, and he didn’t feel sleepy at all. After a moment’s thought, he suddenly turned to Su Qinghe and said, "Hanhan, let’s go for a walk, shall we?"
"Huh?"
Lost in her thoughts, Su Qinghe didn’t quite catch that. She turned to Gu Yifan, her face full of confusion. "What... what did you just say?"
"I said, how about we go out for a stroll?"
Gu Yifan repeated himself, a hint of exasperation in his voice.
"A walk? But..."
Su Qinghe didn’t quite understand.
However, Gu Yifan didn’t give her time to think, simply getting up and pulling her toward the door.
Su Qinghe felt helpless. ’This "Big Bully" is so bossy!’
After they left the residential complex, Gu Yifan found that it was much more comfortable outside than in his apartment.
The gentle summer night’s breeze washed over him, carrying away the last trace of alcohol.
Suddenly, on a whim, Gu Yifan said, "Let’s go watch the sunrise again!"
"Okay!"
Su Qinghe was taken aback for a second. She turned to look at the eager expression on Gu Yifan’s face and, not wanting to spoil his fun, gave a small nod.
No sooner said than done.
Since he had been drinking, Gu Yifan didn’t drive.
The two of them walked straight toward the entrance of the complex and were outside in no time.
It was just after 11 PM, not too late yet. At the night market’s open-air food stalls near the complex, there were still quite a few shirtless men drinking and chatting.
On a summer night, barbecue and beer can wash away a whole day’s fatigue.
Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe stood under a streetlight on the curb outside the complex, waiting for a cab.
At this hour, there were still plenty of taxis on the road.
Before long, an empty one appeared, and Gu Yifan waved it down.
"Driver, to Niutou Mountain!"
Gu Yifan said to the driver in front after they got in.
"Niutou Mountain?"
The driver looked surprised when he heard they were going to Niutou Mountain at this hour.
’Going to Niutou Mountain at this time... they can’t be going to fool around in the wild, can they?’
’Kids these days sure know how to have fun!’
He thought to himself.
Still, that was their business, so he didn’t say anything.
"Alrighty~"
He nodded in agreement, then started the car and headed straight for Niutou Mountain.
At 12:20 AM, Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe arrived at the foot of Niutou Mountain.
Instead of heading straight up the mountain, they went to the same late-night food stall as last time.
Just like before, there were quite a few people at the stall having a late-night snack.
By the wok, the same familiar middle-aged owner was busy cooking away.
Gu Yifan held Su Qinghe’s hand as they walked up to the stall.
"Boss, two orders of fried noodles, with extra meat, egg, and spice. To go!"
Gu Yifan called out.
"You got it~"
The middle-aged owner replied casually, still tossing his wok.
But when he looked up, he paused for a second before recognizing Gu Yifan and Su Qinghe.
He couldn’t help it. They were both so good-looking, and with their crazy stunt of climbing a mountain in the middle of the night, it was hard to forget them.
"Hey, it’s you two! Haven’t seen you in a while!"
"Hehehe..."
The dark-skinned, middle-aged man said with a grin, showing a set of pearly white teeth.
"Yeah!"
"It has been a while, hehe..."
Gu Yifan replied with a smile.
Suddenly remembering they hadn’t brought a flashlight in their haste, he asked the owner, "By the way, Boss, do you have a spare flashlight? I’d like to buy one from you."
"Uh..."
The middle-aged man paused.
"Young man, are you... planning to go up the mountain again?"
He asked, somewhat surprised.
"Yes!"
"I’m a photography student. I’m planning to take some more sunrise photos."
Gu Yifan said, making up an excuse on the spot.
"Oh, I see!"
The middle-aged man saw that Gu Yifan was empty-handed and didn’t have a camera. Although he had his doubts, he didn’t dwell on it.
’After all, modern phone cameras are pretty amazing. Maybe they’re just using their phones to take pictures!’
"But I don’t have any extra flashlights at the moment."
"How about this, you can just take my flashlight and use it on the mountain. Just return it to me when you come down!"
The middle-aged man suggested after a moment of thought.
"That... wouldn’t be right, would it?"
"I don’t know what time we’ll be coming down after I’m done shooting the sunrise."
"Why don’t you just sell it to me instead?"
Gu Yifan said after some thought.
"Hah~"
"Don’t worry about it. My stall will probably be open until morning anyway!"
"If not, just take it for now. You can return it next time you come by!"
The middle-aged owner said with a wave of his hand.
"But..."
Gu Yifan still felt a little embarrassed.
"Aiyah, it’s just a flashlight, not something valuable!"
"Alright, young man, that settles it!"
"I’ll make your noodles now. You’re taking them up the mountain to eat, right? I’ll add some extra noodles for you!"
"Hehehe..."
The middle-aged man said with great warmth and generosity.
"In that case, thank you, Boss!"
Seeing this, Gu Yifan didn’t protest any longer. He said with a smile.
"Ah, it’s nothing! You’re familiar faces now, it’s what I should do!"
"Actually, when I was younger, I also loved climbing mountains in the middle of the night!"
The middle-aged owner said, waving his hand again with a smile.
"Uh..."
Gu Yifan froze for a second, and then he understood.
He gave the middle-aged owner a deep look and thought to himself, ’Tsk tsk~’
’Looks like this owner was a man with a story back in his younger days!’
...