Camping (3)

After they got on the bus, everyone seemed excited, talking about what they were going to do later. They were all looking forward to the trip ahead.

Their destination was Cangmang Mountain, a fairly remote mountain. It would take them about half a morning to get there.

The place had been chosen by a few of the more influential students in class. Zhao Menghua, Chen Wenwen, and Liu Miaomiao had been the main decision-makers.

When they discussed it, they had also asked Su Xiaoqiang what she thought. She had said she was fine with going anywhere.

As for why they had picked such a secluded spot, the students who had made the choice said the famous scenic attractions were too crowded, and camping outdoors in a place like that just wouldn't feel right.

They had asked in the class group chat, and everyone had agreed. Only Lu Mingfei, who hadn't checked the messages, had come along without knowing a thing.

On the bus, Su Xiaoqiang and Lu Mingfei had only brought up the bags with their snacks. They had left their other backpacks and things in the luggage compartment underneath the bus.

As the scenery outside began to slide past, their trip got underway.

Lu Mingfei and Su Xiaoqiang sat toward the back of the bus. Su Xiaoqiang pulled a bag of tomato-flavored chips from her backpack and handed it to him. "Here, take these. I remember you've been pretty into this flavor lately."

"Thank you so much!" Lu Mingfei accepted them without hesitation.

"When we get off, help me get my bag down, okay? There's a lot of stuff in it," Su Xiaoqiang reminded him.

"Of course. I told you, you're bringing the food today, so I'll do whatever you ask." Lu Mingfei patted his chest to assure her.

"Whatever I ask?" Su Xiaoqiang leaned closer and looked at him curiously, blinking.

Seeing how curious she looked, Lu Mingfei worried she might come up with some strange idea. After all, she was the Little Goddess—there wasn't much she wouldn't dare to do.

So he answered at once, "Not literally anything. If you told me to run around naked, I definitely couldn't do that."

"Pfft. Who asked you to run around naked?" Su Xiaoqiang muttered.

"Want to listen to music?"

Su Xiaoqiang suddenly pulled out her iPhone and a pair of earbuds.

"How?" Lu Mingfei asked, puzzled.

Su Xiaoqiang grinned and put one earbud in Lu Mingfei's right ear, then put the other in her own left ear.

"Like this!"

As she spoke, Su Xiaoqiang edged closer to him.

"Isn't this a little inappropriate?" Lu Mingfei felt uneasy as she moved nearer.

"What's inappropriate about it? Didn't you say you'd listen to me today?" Su Xiaoqiang puffed out her cheeks and stared at Mingfei.

"Fine," Lu Mingfei could only agree.

As time passed, the bus grew quiet. Lu Mingfei leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to rest, listening to the songs Su Xiaoqiang had saved.

Suddenly, he felt a weight on his shoulder. When he opened his eyes, he saw Su Xiaoqiang resting her head there. Her breathing was even; she seemed to have fallen asleep. He could feel how soft her cheek was.

Looking at her delicate face, Lu Mingfei couldn't help swallowing.

He remembered that he used to have a ranking of the most beautiful girls in his heart, and Su Xiaoqiang had been number one.

Now, with Su Xiaoqiang's face so close to his, Lu Mingfei thought back over how they had been getting along lately. Could she like me?

Then he pinched himself hard. Calm down, Lu Mingfei. "She likes me" is one of life's three great misconceptions!

He had been single for twenty-eight years. His instincts were bound to be wrong. She was just this unguarded around him because he had saved her.

Thinking this over, Lu Mingfei gradually calmed down.

Resting against Lu Mingfei's shoulder, Su Xiaoqiang was secretly delighted. She was actually pretending to sleep. She had heard him swallow just now, so she still had her charms after all.

Feeling the warmth radiating from Lu Mingfei, Su Xiaoqiang felt safe, and soon fell fast asleep as the bus rolled along.

"Wake up, we're here."

The bus had reached Cangmang Mountain. Lu Mingfei gently called to Su Xiaoqiang.

Su Xiaoqiang opened her eyes groggily, then realized that she had actually fallen asleep.

Lu Mingfei's shoulder was just too comfortable. I didn't get to enjoy it for long enough. What a shame.

After Su Xiaoqiang woke up, Lu Mingfei gently straightened her baseball cap. "We should get off now."

"Mmm." Su Xiaoqiang followed Lu Mingfei off the bus.

Lu Mingfei took both her bag and his own. Everyone began unloading the camping equipment.

Once they had unloaded everything, the bus left. Chen Wenwen said it would come back the next morning.

They were at the foot of a mountain. The sunlight was bright, the ground was flat, and there was a forest not far away. The scenery was lovely, and everyone agreed they had picked the right place.

Lu Mingfei joined the boys from class in setting up tents and barbecue grills. The girls wiped the sweat from the boys' brows and carried over a few lighter items.

It was already past two in the afternoon. Everyone spread picnic blankets on the ground and laid out the snacks, planning to eat a little, rest, and get ready to barbecue that evening.

Lu Mingfei found a quiet spot and lay down on the grass, enjoying the breeze. It was so comfortable that he felt he could sleep until evening.

After she finished helping out, Su Xiaoqiang came over and bent down to look at Lu Mingfei. "Why did you come over here all by yourself without calling me?"

Su Xiaoqiang was a little annoyed.

She had taken off her hat after arriving, and as she bent over, her hair fell across Lu Mingfei's face, tickling him.

"I saw you chatting so happily with your friends," Lu Mingfei replied.

"I'll reluctantly accept that excuse this time," Su Xiaoqiang hummed.

Then she lay down beside Lu Mingfei, enjoying the gentle breeze with him.

"This is Special Operations Officer Chu Zihang. I'm tracking the person under investigation near Cangmang Mountain." Chu Zihang wore a communication earpiece specially made by the Equipment Department.

"Copy that. Be careful, Officer Chu. The last information we got on the people selling Dragon Evolution Drug put them somewhere in your area. Make sure no ordinary people spot you."

The staff at the command center in the distance cautioned Chu Zihang.

"This is your first mission. If you encounter danger, just get out of there quickly. Those of us who graduated long ago are here to protect newcomers like you."

"Copy," Chu Zihang replied expressionlessly.

He carried a tennis bag on his back. Inside was Murasame, left behind by his father.

There had been reports that a rogue Half-Blood in this city had taken something called Evolution Drug and turned into a Dead Servant, so the Academy had sent Chu Zihang to investigate.

He hadn't expected that his investigation over the past few days would uncover an organization behind it all. After tracking them down, he had found that their base seemed to be around Cangmang Mountain.

So Chu Zihang had requested support from the Academy. It should arrive that evening; all he had to do was wait.

I've been getting off work a little late these past two days, and since I haven't had any chapters saved up, I've only managed to post one a day. I just finished writing this chapter, too. Honestly, it's miserable that we don't get New Year's Day off.

One more thing: this book has already received an invitation from the site. This is my first time writing a book, so I want to thank everyone who's voted for me over the past few days.

Especially my two friends Canyun Youshui and Rentian Di. You've both voted every day for the past few days, and I'm truly grateful. You've given me a lot of motivation. There's also a reader called book friend 20221120153448611 who's been voting regularly. Arigato!