Chapter 111
Chapter 111
This time, he finally managed to convince Daiyu to try riding a horse. She had always been afraid of them and never got the courage to try.
"Careful…" He said as he extended his hand towards her.
Daiyu took his hand and slowly got onto the horse. Liu Jin sat behind her, guiding her as she learned.
"Wanna try going a bit faster?"
Daiyu shook her head vigorously and he chuckled.
He wrapped one arm around her waist while the other remained on the horse rein.
---
After spending an afternoon with the horses, they returned to the cabin and took a bath. Liu Jin then went down to prepare dinner while Daiyu took a nap.
When he was done, he woke her up gently and they ate together.
After that, they went outside, laid a blanket on the grass, and watched the stars.
"When you start uni, will you get a place of your own?" Daiyu asked and he nodded.
"I'll look for a place for the both of us." He said as he hugged her from behind.
Daiyu paused before shaking her head.
"I want to move in with you but… I want to stay home and take care of grandpa and Uncle Tang too."
Liu Jin pouted. However, he did understand her concerns.
"Then how bout me? You're not going to take care of me?"
Daiyu giggled. She then turned around to face him and cupped his cheeks.
"Then how about we make a schedule? On some days, I can sleep over. And on others, I stay home at the Wang Mansion."
Liu Jin nodded.
"Okay. As long as I don't have to wait for the weekends to see you."
She smiled and gently kissed his lips.
"Okay then deal."
"Deal."
---
While Liu Jin and Daiyu spent their days together, Zhihao spent his first week of summer with Zhichen. Ying Yue had urged him to spend more time with his brother and so they both booked a flight back to England.
There, they visited all the places they used to go to – their school, their old house, the corner store bakery, and even Alice's hospital. However, they didn't enter it because Zhihao didn't want to see her. They stayed outside, standing in silence.
"Do you still love her?" Zhihao asked.
Zhichen paused and nodded.
"I do."
Zhihao immediately pouted and Zhichen chuckled. He ruffled his little brother's hair and smiled.
"I don't have plans to get back together with her, don't worry. It just takes time for a heart to heal…"
Zhihao paused before nodding.
"Take as much time as you need. And if you decide to stay single forever, that's fine too. Ying Yue and I will give mom and dad enough grandchildren so they won't bother you."
Zhichen laughed.
"I'm serious! We plan to have a classroom full of children!"
"Oh really now?"
"We already have names for them too! Ying Yue 1, Ying Yue 2, Ying Yue–
"What if they're boys?"
"Bob 1, Bob 2, Bob–
---
When Zhichen and Zhihao returned, they all decided to go on a family trip together. As such, the Wangs, the Lius, the Zhengs along with Ying Yue, visited a far-off province where they stayed at a traditional hotel.
There, they had a huge hotpot for dinner together before the adults stayed behind over wine and alcohol.
Meanwhile, the teens left to explore the nearby area. The staff told them earlier that there was a famous test of courage that ran through a small hill behind the hotel and Zhihao had been itching to try it.
"Let's do it!!!" He pestered everyone.
"No way!" Daiyu immediately protested.
It was already dark outside and she hated scary stuff.
"Come on, come on!!!" He shook her arm.
Daiyu huffed and looked away.
"Then let's go in pairs! So it won't be that scary!" He negotiated.
"I don't mind." Ying Yue replied and Bob nodded.
Daiyu paused. She still didn't want to do it but seeing as everyone wanted to try it, she didn't want to ruin the fun for them.
"… Fine."
"Yes!!!" Zhihao rejoiced.
As such, all six of them played rock paper scissors and the pairs were decided by who won first.
In the end, the pairs were as follows: Zhichen and Ying Yue, Bob and Liu Jin, and finally Daiyu and Zhihao.
"I don't wanna be with Zhihao-gege!!!" She stomped her foot and everyone laughed.
"Why not?!"
"Just leave him in the dark and return quickly." Liu Jin comforted her.
"Hey!"
Daiyu nodded.
"Don't agree!!!"
---
After the pairs got their flashlights ready, the test of courage started. The route ran through a small forest, up a hill, where they were supposed to leave offerings at the shrine on top, before going back down on the other side of the hill through another short trail which led back to the hotel.
Zhichen and Ying Yue went first. After five minutes, Daiyu and Zhihao went next. Liu Jin wanted to go last so that if ever Daiyu and Zhihao got lost, they would, hopefully, hear their voices from behind.
---
Ying Yue and Zhichen walked in silence. The path was dark and there were eerie shapes in the forest. But the wind was cool and the moonlight was comforting.
"Thanks."
"Huh?" Ying Yue turned her head to face Zhichen.
"For taking good care of my idiot brother."
She smiled.
"No problem."
They paused.
"You too. Thanks."
"For?" He asked.
"For being a good brother to him. He's… always happy when he talks about you." She smiled.
"He may not say it in words, but he's always itching to make up for the years you've spent apart. I… I hope you can make more time for each other."
He smiled upon hearing her words.
"Thanks." He ruffled her hair.
Soon, they reached the shrine and left their offerings.
---
Meanwhile, Daiyu was having the worst time of her life. Zhihao had been extremely jumpy from the beginning and had been yelling and screaming at everything that moved.
"Why did you even suggest this if you were so easily frightened?!" She gritted her teeth.
"But it's fun!!!"
It was true. He really was having fun.
But Daiyu wasn't!
Every now and then he would grab her arm and scream. While originally, she was afraid of the dark, right now, she was too busy being annoyed and surprised by Zhihao's screams to even care about the dark.
At some point, a small animal ran in front of them. Frightened, Zhihao pounced onto Daiyu and she lost her footing. They then fell and began rolling on the ground. However, since they were already at the uphill climb, they rolled off the trail and into the woods.
When they finally stopped rolling, Zhihao had lost his flashlight.
"Woah, that was dangerous. Thank god the ground here is soft. A bit too soft actually."
"Those are my boobs!!!" Daiyu gritted her teeth.
"WHAT?!" Zhihao immediately got up.
He gulped. Now he understood why Liu Jin was obsessed with her breasts.
Daiyu pushed herself up and tried to stand. However, she felt a sharp pain run through her leg.
"Ouch!" She winced.
"What's wrong?!"
"I think I sprained my foot." She said as she shifted her weight onto her other leg.
"Is it that bad?" He asked as he bent down and gently massaged her ankle.
"Ouch…" She bit her lip.
"Okay. Don't put weight on it for now." He stood up and looked around.
"We've gone pretty far off the trail." He worried.
"It's okay. Jin should have noticed by now."
"Huh? How do you know?"
---
Meanwhile, Liu Jin and Bob walked in silence. The two of them had been friends since the afterlife and didn't need words between them. They were confident that they got each other's backs even though they rarely see each other these days.
"Something's wrong." Liu Jin said and Bob nodded.
Zhihao's screams had stopped.
"Let's go."
They both hurried their steps and true enough, they didn't find either Daiyu or Zhihao along the trail in front of them.
Flashing the light onto the sides of the trail, Bob found something shining in the dark.
"Found a flashlight." He called.
Liu Jin walked over to his side and saw the flashlight. It was yellow.
"That's Zhihao's."
They both looked at each other before going off the rail, towards the flashlight, to look for Daiyu and Zhihao.
---
Meanwhile, Zhihao wanted to hurry to find help. However, since Daiyu couldn't walk, he had to carry her on his back.
"Why?! Why are you still so heavy?!!!" He gritted his teeth and tried to move but he couldn't even take a step forward.
"I am not! You're just weak!" Daiyu huffed.
"Fat!"
"Weak!"
"Fat, fat, fat, fat, fat!!!"
"Weak, weak, weak, weak, weak!!!"
Zhihao immediately gave up and lowered Daiyu back onto the ground.
"I bet your boobs make up 50% of your weight!!!"
"I bet your brain is the only muscle working in your body! And it's not even doing a very good job!!!"
"Hey!!!"
They both huffed and looked away.
Just then, they heard something shifting in the woods. Their eyes widened and they gulped.
"H-Hey. Wanna ho-hold hands?" He suggested.
Daiyu nodded and they shifted closer to each other.
Just then, the clouds parted and the moonlight shown onto the trees. A pair of glowing eyes greeted them in the dark and they screamed.