Am I That Old?

To distract himself, he turned to look at the girls nearby. They were the ones who had been watching the show.

When they saw Yu Nian look their way, they immediately turned away and started chatting and laughing with one another, their lingering smiles betraying their earlier "crime."

Yu Nian was dying of embarrassment. He had no idea what Qin Yuheng would think. He had only been trying to help, yet people had gotten the wrong idea.

But he couldn't exactly tell those girls that Qin Yuheng was straight.

After all, they had only smiled. They hadn't said anything.

If he spoke up, it would only look like he was trying too hard to hide something.

Once Qin Yuheng saw that he was steady on his feet, he slowly let go.

For some inexplicable reason, Yu Nian lowered his gaze to Qin Yuheng's left ring finger, then quickly looked away, avoiding his expression too. "I'm done taking pictures here. Let's go."

Having learned his lesson, Yu Nian behaved himself much more, walking carefully and doing his best to avoid dangerous spots.

They reached a wider stretch of path. Yu Nian rested for a moment, then pointed to a little trail nearby. "I looked up some guides online before coming. They said if you take a trail somewhere around here, the scenery is really beautiful. You can come down on the other side, too, and it joins the path to the summit..."

Qin Yuheng understood what he meant. "Do you want to take a look?"

Yu Nian nodded, making no attempt to hide it. "It's still early. I want to give it a try."

"But I'm not sure this is the one. They only said it was somewhere around here." Yu Nian pressed his lips together and voiced his concerns. "So the path up there might be really rough, and I might lead us the wrong way. I don't want to waste your time, so why don't you-"

"Let's go together."

"Huh?" Yu Nian was still explaining, and it took him a couple of seconds to register what Qin Yuheng had said.

"I'll go with you. It's fine even if we take the wrong path," Qin Yuheng said, looking at him.

Yu Nian's traitorous heart gave a little squeeze, then quickly settled. He flashed a brilliant smile, revealing his pointed little canine teeth. "In that case, let's go. If you want to leave partway through, you can anytime."

Qin Yuheng murmured his assent and followed him onto the trail.

Hidden among the mountains, the trail was steep and winding, its narrow steps made from nothing more than packed earth. Yu Nian felt as though his body was almost parallel to the slope.

The mountain path they had taken earlier had steep stretches too, but at least there were flatter spots every so often where they could sit and rest, with occasional waterfalls, stone bridges, and streams to admire.

Here, almost the entire trail was this steep. If they wanted to rest, they could only stop where they stood, afraid that one careless move would send them tumbling down.

Tall trees crowded both sides. If it hadn't been winter, with so many leaves fallen to let the light through, the gloomy weather would have made the place downright eerie.

Most importantly, there wasn't another person in sight, ahead or behind them. It was as if they had been cut off from the world.

Yu Nian was starting to regret it. This really wasn't a good place for a hike. He even wondered whether he had taken the wrong trail.

It would have been one thing if he were alone, but now he was effectively their guide. He would feel terribly guilty if he led Qin Yuheng astray.

After another stretch, Yu Nian was panting with exhaustion. Even leaning on his bamboo walking stick, he could barely move.

Seeing this, Qin Yuheng said, "Let's rest a while. There's no hurry."

Yu Nian wiped his sweat and tugged at his clothes. His back felt soaked, and his legs ached. He felt like he was going to meet his end here today.

Yet when he glanced back at Qin Yuheng, he couldn't help thinking how composed the man was. He hadn't heard him complain about being tired once.

After such a long climb, Qin Yuheng was a little out of breath too, but even his panting didn't make him look disheveled. The way he wiped his face with a handkerchief looked like some kind of refined art.

Yu Nian couldn't help laughing. "Brother Yu, are you that determined to maintain your image?"

Qin Yuheng looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Yu Nian said, "You're the most elegant person I've ever seen out of breath."

Qin Yuheng: "..."

Yu Nian's imagination ran wild. "Were you one of those campus heartthrobs in college? Like the male lead in a novel, winning a three-thousand-meter race and still showing off without breaking a sweat?"

Qin Yuheng chuckled, folded his handkerchief, and tucked it into his pocket.

Yu Nian noticed that he had brought a different handkerchief today, not the one embroidered with silver lilies of the valley from last time.

"I was busy working part-time in college, so I didn't have time for those things. Later, I returned to China to take over the company and had one-on-one classes."

Yu Nian: ...

Sorry I asked.

What had a commoner like him just heard that was far beyond his social class?

"But if I really had the chance to enter a long-distance race," Qin Yuheng said, "it might turn out just as you described."

"Pfft." Yu Nian couldn't help laughing. "You really are honest."

As he looked at Qin Yuheng, he suddenly felt that something was off. By the time he finally realized that his backpack was still hanging from Qin Yuheng's shoulder, Yu Nian was so mortified he wanted to snatch it back immediately.

Who knew how long Qin Yuheng had been carrying that bag? He hadn't even noticed.

"Sorry, I forgot to take my bag back." Yu Nian held out his hand. "Give it to me. I'll carry it myself."

"It's fine."

He stood still, apparently having no intention of giving it back.

Yu Nian said, "It's not fine. How can I let you carry my bag when we're both so tired?"

Qin Yuheng took off the backpack and pulled out a bottle of water. "Your lips are chapped. Have some water."

Yu Nian couldn't very well leave him holding it out, so he accepted the bottle and took a couple of sips. Then he heard Qin Yuheng say, "I'm not tired. I'm managing just fine carrying that heavy burden of maintaining my image."

Yu Nian nearly spat out his water. He wiped the corner of his mouth, then burst out laughing. "Fair point."

Seeing him screw the cap back on, Qin Yuheng apparently figured he was done drinking for now. He reached over, took the bottle, and naturally put it back in the backpack. "Let me know if you need anything."

Yu Nian felt rather embarrassed. "You're so considerate. Have you gotten used to carrying your girlfriend's bag for her?"

Qin Yuheng's hands paused briefly at that. He looked up. "I've never been in a relationship."

Yu Nian: ?

Without thinking, he blurted out his earlier assumption. "I thought you were probably married."

Qin Yuheng pressed his lips into a tight line and fell silent.

Realizing something, Yu Nian hurriedly said, "Oh, I didn't mean it that way. People generally get married late these days. Some even marry in their forties or fifties. Don't take it the wrong way, Brother Yu. You're in your prime. This is the perfect time to focus on your career."

Utterly embarrassed, Yu Nian racked his brain for something to say to salvage the situation.

He had clearly seen just now that Qin Yuheng wasn't wearing a wedding ring, but some married people didn't wear one. Deep down, he still felt that someone so capable and good-looking must have plenty of admirers. With arranged marriages between wealthy families being so common, the chances of him being single seemed even smaller.

And now he had said it outright, making Qin Yuheng think he was calling him old. This was a disaster.

He would have been better off not explaining. The more he explained, the worse it seemed to get. Yu Nian had no idea what to do. He could only hope Qin Yuheng wouldn't take his words to heart and would move on from the subject quickly.

"Am I that old?"

Yu Nian's racing mind came to a halt. "..."