Chapter 15: Whom Did My Burning Incense Move?

At seven o’clock the next morning, Li Huangxuan’s ear was yanked, dragging his head right off the pillow.

“You lazy bug, get up!”

With his eyes tightly shut, Li Huangxuan grumbled, “We’re on a trip—do we really have to get up early?”

Lin Ximeng said sternly, “The key to waking up early is consistency. Letting yourself slack off for one day leads to laziness.”

That line sounded familiar.

She really knew how to use what she’d learned.

After washing up, the two went downstairs for breakfast and then returned to Fenglinwan.

Neither of them brought up the maple leaf again—they had a silent understanding.

“It’s still early. Write a chapter of your novel, then we’ll go hiking,” Lin Ximeng instructed.

“Write? This early in the morning?” Li Huangxuan protested.

“Because you didn’t write enough last night,” she said, shooting him a sideways glance.

Li Huangxuan froze—Did she install surveillance on me or something?

He had no choice but to open his laptop and sit down to write.

Lin Ximeng opened the window and gazed at the maple forest on the mountainside bathed in morning sunlight. Breathing in the fresh air, she felt relaxed and at peace.

She held her phone and started singing softly over and over again:

“A dark cloud cast a shadow in our hearts.
I listen to feelings long buried in silence.
Clear and transparent, like a beautiful view—
Seen only clearly when we look back.
Can a heart that’s been hurt still love me again?
I hold your cold hands tightly.
The past tenderness is locked away by time,
Leaving only this lingering sorrow…”

Eventually, Li Huangxuan couldn’t take it anymore. He stopped typing.
“Mengmeng, why do you keep singing that one song?”

Lin Ximeng smiled. “I want to record the perfect version.”

Li Huangxuan frowned. “Won’t the sound of my typing ruin it?”

She shook her head. “No, I treat it as a unique kind of background music.”

Li Huangxuan felt a little guilty—she seemed like more of a real Jay Chou fan than he was.

If only he weren’t broke, he’d definitely take her to a concert.

When they checked out at the front desk, the owner gave Li Huangxuan a look that was both envious and amused.

After all, girls as pretty as Lin Ximeng weren’t something you saw every day.

Li Huangxuan sighed inwardly.
If people found out that I didn’t even get a kiss last night, they’d laugh their heads off.

The scenery at the front mountain wasn’t as spectacular as the back, but the cultural atmosphere was stronger.

Ancient temples stood solemnly amid the dense mountains, bearing the weight of history.

The sound of temple bells echoed through the maple forest, and wisps of smoke curled up from in front of the ancient hall.

A single tour guide could talk for hours just pointing at a single pillar.

As they hiked, Lin Ximeng still insisted on holding Li Huangxuan’s hand, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Li Huangxuan began to wonder if she had really seen that maple leaf at all.

Along the way, there were many pilgrims burning incense and worshipping.

Vendors lined the road selling incense, candles, and paper offerings.

“Hey, let’s go burn some incense too!” Lin Ximeng suggested.

“Okay, I’ll buy it,” Li Huangxuan agreed.

In truth, as a college student steeped in materialist thinking, he didn’t really believe in such things.
But in a place like this, he figured it was right to respect others’ beliefs.

Kneeling before the Buddha, Lin Ximeng earnestly lit her incense.

Li Huangxuan stood behind her, watching. Her figure appeared a bit blurry through the swirling smoke.

Out of nowhere, a lyric popped into his mind:
“Your hair like snow, a beautiful sorrow of farewell; I burn this incense—who is moved by it?”

He looked up at the solemn and towering Buddha statue.

Li Huangxuan couldn’t help making a wish in his heart:
I hope I get the chance to protect the girl in front of me.

As they exited the temple hall, Li Huangxuan asked, “Mengmeng, what did you wish for?”

Lin Ximeng thought for a moment and replied, “I wished for you to be happy.”

Li Huangxuan pouted and took it as a joke.

She was so sincere when she lit the incense—how could that wish have been for someone like me, a roommate she just met?

She probably wished to get back with her ex-boyfriend or something.

Along the hiking trail, many local villagers sold snacks like boiled corn, roasted sweet potatoes, and cold noodles.

They snacked their way up the mountain, treating it as lunch.

But since they’d already climbed the back mountain yesterday and used up a lot of energy, the higher they went, the more exhausted Lin Ximeng seemed.

Tiny beads of sweat began to form on her forehead and nose.

Li Huangxuan walked ahead a few steps and looked out—
The summit wasn’t far. Half an hour at most.

“Ahhh!” Lin Ximeng suddenly let out a scream.

“Mengmeng, what’s wrong?”

“I twisted my ankle—it hurts so bad!”

Li Huangxuan quickly helped her to a stone bench by the roadside.

He lifted her right foot carefully. “Let me take a look?”

Lin Ximeng turned her head away, silently giving consent.

With trembling hands, Li Huangxuan removed her shoe and sock.

A small, pale, delicate foot was revealed—like a finely carved work of art.

Even though he’d seen it once before in the room, having it so close now and examining it in detail made his heart race and his breath quicken.

Am I… a foot fetishist or something?

“Is it your ankle?”

“Don’t touch—it really hurts!”

Li Huangxuan recoiled like he’d been shocked.

It doesn’t even look red or swollen—how’s that sprained?

In this remote place, where could he find a bone-setting doctor?

So all he could do was carefully help her put her sock and shoe back on.

“Mengmeng, let me help you up and see if you can walk.”

As soon as she put her right foot down, she winced and shook her head repeatedly. “No, no—it still hurts a lot.”

Li Huangxuan broke out in a cold sweat. “What do we do now?”

With wide, innocent eyes, Lin Ximeng said, “I don’t want to burden you. You should go back down on your own. Just leave me here—
I’ll sleep in the wild and eat dew for dinner.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? How could I leave you?” Li Huangxuan blurted out.

“So… are you saying you’ll carry me down?” Lin Ximeng looked at him, pitiful and beautiful.

Li Huangxuan sucked in a breath. The stone steps stretched endlessly into the distance.

If I carry a full-grown person all the way down, I might not die, but I’ll definitely lose half my life.

“Forget it, we’re just roommates—you really don’t need to worry about me,” she added, looking even more pitiful.

“Get on.”

Li Huangxuan gritted his teeth and crouched down with his back to her.

He was about to put his life on the line.

A soft body pressed against his back.

The sensation was… indescribably pleasant.

He reached back and scooped her up entirely.

She was light—only about 90 pounds.
But even a bag of cement weighs just 100 pounds, and anyone who’s carried one knows how hard it is.

“This is all my fault, dragging you into this. You really are such a good guy.”

Her warm breath tickled the back of his neck, making him squirm.

Through clenched teeth, he muttered, “Stop talking—you’ll break my focus.”

Lin Ximeng giggled silently and rested her cheek against his shoulder.

Her legs swayed lightly in the air, one bounce at a time.