Chapter Forty-Three: Untitled (Part Two)

In the dead of night, He Tianran tossed and turned, repeatedly checking the travel itinerary he had meticulously drafted in his phone's notes.

His plan was comprehensive, almost exhaustively detailed. Knowing that the National Day holiday would bring massive crowds, he had deliberately mapped out two distinct options: a popular route and an off-the-beaten-path route. But regardless of which one they took, the final destination remained unchanged—the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Now, they were just one step away from departure.

The boy propped up his pillow, shifted into a more comfortable reclining position, adjusted his breathing, and felt his fingers tremble slightly.

"Once the welcome party ends tomorrow, how about I take you to Yunnan to see the snow mountains?"

He stared intently at the screen, his heart pounding erratically, a cold sweat breaking out on the soles of his feet beneath the blanket.

A moment later, the contact name labeled "Old Classmate" shifted to "Typing...", then reverted to normal, and then switched back to "Typing..." once more. Clearly, the other person was carefully considering how to respond.

To He Tianran, every second felt like a year. He was stretched taut to the absolute limit, comforting himself with the thought that if he could survive this level of suspense, and if he still managed to feel nervous during the college entrance exams next year, he would eat dirt!

"Just the two of us? Don't you have any other plans for the National Day holiday?"

"No, just you and me..."

...

...

...

"Don't lie to me..."

Perhaps it was a tacit mutual understanding, or perhaps He Tianran finally deciphered the complex emotions hidden behind those words.

"I will never lie to you again."

The boy resolutely typed out the sentence, pressed send, and delivered his solemn promise.

At that precise moment, he truly believed he could become as steadfast as a rock, dedicating the rest of his life to living out those words.

Call it impulse, call it guilt; he simply wanted to make an honest pledge to the person he loved. It was as simple as that.

Yet, after the message went out, he waited for a long time, but Wen Liang offered no reply.

Anxiety, unease, and restlessness surged into his heart all at once.

Did she not believe me?

Or perhaps she didn't take my words to heart at all?

Maybe I was too abrupt and scared her off?

A flurry of thoughts and guesses rushed through his mind. He Tianran climbed out of bed, barefoot and clutching his phone, pacing back and forth across the living room like a wandering mystic.

After waiting for three full minutes, unable to bear it any longer, he proactively dialed her number to get a straight answer.

A month ago, such an action would have been entirely out of the question for him.

The call went through. After a couple of rings, Wen Liang's slightly faint voice came through the earpiece.

"Hello, Tianran..."

"Why aren't you replying to my WeChat!"

He Tianran raised his voice. He wasn't angry; rather, speaking loudly seemed to bolster his courage, making him feel as though he held the moral high ground.

"I—I'm in the cram school dorm, and my roommates are all asleep..."

"...Th-that doesn't mean you have to send a voice message."

"I was just... just too happy... so I kept looking up travel guides, and I was just about to ask for your ID number to buy the bullet train tickets..."

Wen Liang's tone was uncharacteristically shy, as if she and He Tianran had swapped personalities. Her words came out muffled and timid, making anyone who heard them feel a delightful tickle in their heart.

Picture a girl curled up beneath the covers, holding her phone close to her ear, harboring excitement and anticipation while forced to whisper cautiously on the call.

Her face must be as red as a maple leaf right now.

That was the scene taking shape in He Tianran's mind.

"I told you I'm taking you, there's no need for you to spend your own money."

"How about I pay for my own share? Let's go Dutch..."

"Oh, just give me your ID number. I've already sorted out the itinerary; I'll send it to you later. Just look it over and see if anything needs adding, leave the rest to me."

He Tianran clumsily played the role of the overbearing CEO from a romance drama. Delivering lines like that made even his own skin crawl with embarrassment.

"Y-you, where did you get the money?"

Over the phone, Wen Liang sounded rather anxious.

"I... I sold my video game console and some other things to get some cash. It's more than enough for our holiday trip."

"Ah?! How could you..."

"I said I wouldn't lie to you anymore! And compared to your wish, those things don't matter at all!"

He Tianran interrupted her. Like any muddled youth deeply stirred by romance, he was terrifyingly naive, yet endearingly earnest.

"But..."

"No buts. Listen to me on this one. All you have to do along the way is enjoy yourself. Think of it as... think of it as payment for helping me change over this past month, alright?"

His tone was forceful yet carried a hint of pleading, as if he feared Wen Liang would reject him the moment she heard that reasoning.

Finally, after a brief wait, Wen Liang muttered cautiously from the other end:

"Th-then I'll agree this one time, but you must never do this again in the future. If you don't agree to that, I'm not going, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, okay, I know, I promise!"

Regardless of whether Wen Liang could see him, He Tianran nodded frantically like a pecking chick, dancing around and grinning like an absolute fool.

Perhaps infected by his mood, a muffled giggle drifted from the girl's end, reminding He Tianran of a joke about typical modern couples. He decided to give it a try:

"I'll tell you a story. Are you tucked in properly?"

"Huh? Tucked in~"

"Are your little feet and hands covered up too?"

"Covered~"

"Is your little head sticking out? It gets stuffy under the covers, I'll keep my voice down."

A rustling sound came through the earpiece, followed by Wen Liang's voice:

"Sticking out now~"

"Then I'll start the story."

"Mhm, okay~"

Listening to the girl's sweet response, He Tianran felt an uncontrollable wave of sweetness swell within him. He cleared his throat and said:

"Once upon a time, there was a person who slept with only her head exposed, and then her head got chopped off."

"..."

"..."

"You're dead meat, He Tianran!"

"Hahaha—"

A sudden commotion erupted from the receiver, accompanied by several sleepy, distant female voices asking, "What is it, what is it? Is there a thief?"

Next came the sound of Wen Liang hurriedly offering explanations. Finding it amusing, He Tianran sat down on the sofa with his phone and quietly waited.

After a long while, the girl's end grew much quieter. She complained with a hint of shyness:

"Where on earth do you pick up these lines? I certainly never taught you that..."

Some things, for a boy, truly required no teaching.

Yet that clever remark was one He Tianran dared not utter aloud. He chuckled it off:

"What time are you coming to school tomorrow?"

"Around four or five in the afternoon. I have to go through a project presentation with a few classmates for the teacher tomorrow, I can't get away..."

"Then I'll pick up the tickets tomorrow and give them to you at the party?"

"Mhm~"

"..."

"..."

The boy and girl listened to each other's breathing, neither of them willing to hang up the phone.

He Tianran walked over to the window. The moonlight outside remained soft and gentle, just like the night they first met.

Everything that had happened recently felt to He Tianran like a dream or an illusion.

"Is there... something else you wanted to say to me?"

Wen Liang's gentle voice sounding in his ear felt all the more surreal.

"W-we'll talk when we meet tomorrow, let's talk when we meet..."

"Okay."

"..."

"Goodnight, Tianran."

Just like on that first night, she spoke the exact same words.

The boy gazed up at the moon in the sky, overflowing with tenderness.

"Goodnight, Ah Liang."