PSMD – Chapter 14

After the call ended, Shen Ningruo lowered her gaze, looking at the laptop keyboard in front of her.

The keyboard was black with white letters, very clean, free of dust and fingerprints, well-maintained.

Her gaze rested on it, and with a casual glance, she saw the first letter on the first row.

It was Q.

Her mind immediately thought of Qiu Yang.

It was the first letter of “Qiu”.

Shen Ningruo lifted her eyelids, pulled her thoughts back, and continued looking at the documents. But after finishing her work, she couldn’t help but recall Yao Yao’s words.

-Are you really going to keep in touch with this “sister” when you get back to Yuncheng?

-Indulge for a few days, then get back on track, Ruoruo.

Yes, for Shen Ningruo, being able to come to Xicheng with Qiu Yang was already a deviation from her path. Only by returning and not contacting Qiu Yang could she be considered back on track.

After all, in the previous twenty-eight years, she had never had such behavior or actions.

Shen Ningruo pinched the space between her eyebrows, then turned to look at the door, but there was no sign of it being knocked.

She slowly let out a sigh, finally withdrawing her gaze, her expression unclear.

After Qiu Yang woke up, she was also working. The company had just finalized a new collaboration, and she was one of the project team members. Although she was currently in Xicheng, she couldn’t miss important meetings.

Moreover, it was now the busiest phase, and she ordered takeout for both breakfast and lunch.

She wasn’t unaccustomed to Shen Ningruo not coming to find her; on the contrary, she thought it was quite normal. Because she was busy with work and didn’t have much time to “be lovey-dovey” with Shen Ningruo. Interacting with people was quite draining.

What’s more, Shen Ningruo was so cunning.

Therefore, the two of them only saw each other for the first time today at five in the afternoon. It was Shen Ningruo who knocked on Qiu Yang’s door. Her expression showed no negative emotions; she just smiled and reminded her, “It’s about time.”

Qiu Yang was startled for a moment, blinking her eyes, looking a bit confused.

Shen Ningruo raised an eyebrow: “Hiking.”

“Did you think I was kidding?”

“Okay.” Qiu Yang pursed her lips. “I’ll change.”

Shen Ningruo nodded: “Alright.”

The two hadn’t added each other’s contact information. If anything came up, they would just knock on the door.

Anyway, they lived right across from each other, how convenient.

The sun at five o’clock wasn’t as scorching, and the heat rising from the ground wasn’t excessively intense, but they each still held an umbrella.

Not far from the guesthouse, the toy store had started its ring toss activity again. Now there were tourists stopping, playing the game.

Qiu Yang glanced at it twice, then remembered the rattle drum in Shen Ningruo’s room.

“Want to play?” Shen Ningruo caught her gaze, followed it, and asked.

Qiu Yang shook her head: “No.”

Qiu Yang added: “Children’s eyes are very pure. That little girl who came to find me that day looked at me with such anticipation, I didn’t want to disappoint her.”

This was explaining why she had agreed to play the game with Shen Ningruo before.

“You like children?” Shen Ningruo asked again, her tone lingering.

Qiu Yang pondered for a few seconds, then hummed: “I like well-behaved children.”

“Am I well-behaved?”

Qiu Yang: “…”

Qiu Yang: “You’re not a child.”

Xicheng’s tourism industry was well-developed, not only because the weather here was great and suitable for visiting, but more importantly, there were many attractions. The tour guides for the travel groups arranged several places to visit, but Qiu Yang and Shen Ningruo had stayed at the guesthouse the whole time and hadn’t gone anywhere.

The mountain they were about to climb was a few kilometers away, an inconspicuous small mountain that wasn’t even ranked among the attractions.

It wasn’t tall or large, but in this season, the trees on the mountain were at their most lush, and the flowers were in full bloom. It was still worth seeing.

To achieve the goal of exercising, Shen Ningruo had suggested not taking a car but walking there.

They had to first walk out of the guesthouse area, then walk along the road to reach the foot of the mountain.

Passing a convenience store, Shen Ningruo went in and bought two bottles of water before continuing forward.

The two walked without talking. Shen Ningruo walked ahead, her mood somewhat affected by Yao Yao’s words. Also, they hadn’t reached the foot of the mountain yet, and she didn’t want to waste energy.

There were always vehicles coming and going on the road. Leaves on the road surface were swept up by the airflow, drifting further away.

Birds occasionally flew in the sky, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, finally resting on tree branches.

Qiu Yang still brought her camera. She would walk for a while, then stop to photograph the scenes she wanted to record. At such times, Shen Ningruo would come over to help hold the umbrella, their cooperation quite tacit.

After walking for perhaps over half an hour, the two finally reached the foot of the mountain.

This mountain had been developed and was climbable.

However, its popularity was limited. There were only a few tourists ahead of them, chatting and laughing, looking very relaxed.

“Let’s go,” Shen Ningruo said. She had been thinking the whole way and had almost adjusted her mindset.

Not contacting Qiu Yang after returning to Yuncheng was something she could absolutely do, because she, Shen Ningruo, was a person with extremely strong self-control.

Isn’t it just not contacting or interacting?

What’s so difficult about that?

The confusion she felt today was merely because she was lonely and bored, which was why she currently felt some lingering attachment to Qiu Yang’s body.

But a person wouldn’t die without a sex life, so what was there that she couldn’t let go of?

After figuring everything out, Shen Ningruo’s mood improved significantly.

No one understood her better than herself.

Qiu Yang hung the camera around her neck and looked up at the mountain.

The mountain was indeed not tall or large, but it would still take some time to reach the summit. Qiu Yang was a bit worried because she hadn’t hiked in a long time.

Shen Ningruo glanced at her, understood her thoughts, and said cheerfully, “If you feel like you can’t keep going later, I’ll hold your hand.”

Qiu Yang met her gaze, slowly shook her head, and said while walking forward, “Thanks, but no need.”

She wasn’t that weak.

The sun was already starting to set again, and today’s sunset glow was still beautiful. The tourists ahead walked and stopped, just to catch a glimpse of the scenery.

Qiu Yang didn’t stop. She wanted to walk straight to the summit and then take in the beautiful view.

The trees were growing vigorously, and the flowers and plants along the path also displayed their most beautiful appearance.

Shen Ningruo followed behind Qiu Yang. Because of the trees providing shade, they both put their umbrellas into their backpacks.

For a moment, Shen Ningruo felt like she and Qiu Yang were on a school spring outing.

That’s what she thought, and that’s what she said with emotion: “Does it feel like we’re on a primary school spring outing?”

“…I never had a spring outing in primary school.” Qiu Yang didn’t stop walking, responding to Shen Ningruo’s words with a slight gasp.

Shen Ningruo showed a puzzled expression. She looked at Qiu Yang’s back, wanting to ask why but forcing herself to hold back.

Never mind, it was true. Not everyone had the same childhood.

They had already walked more than halfway, reaching the mountainside. Here, the tree shadows were dappled, and the wind blew, changing their shapes.

They kept their distance from the other tourists. Qiu Yang walked a few more steps, then stopped.

Shen Ningruo stopped about a meter behind her. She was also a bit breathless, but not as much as Qiu Yang: “What’s wrong?”

Qiu Yang’s lips were a bit dry. The water was in her backpack, and she hadn’t taken it out.

She licked her lips, looked at Shen Ningruo, and after meeting her gaze for several seconds, Qiu Yang finally called out her name: “Shen Ningruo.”

Shen Ningruo repeated: “What’s wrong?”

“After climbing this mountain, I might not have any energy tonight,” Qiu Yang said directly. “I won’t be able to sleep with you.”

Hearing this, Shen Ningruo couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. Her eyes and brows were like the gentle mountain breeze: “What does that matter?”

“Why be polite with me?”

“Haven’t you lain down enough?”

Qiu Yang: “…”

After saying that, Shen Ningruo took a step forward, standing in front of Qiu Yang. Regardless of whether anyone was around, she kissed Qiu Yang’s lips, then looked at Qiu Yang’s face: “Tonight, let’s try a different position.”

“Conveniently, the window on my side has a view of the moon. You can have a good ‘moon-viewing’ tonight.”