In the evening, Ren He took Little Fatty Xu Nuo to have dinner at the White Cloud Hotel, and afterward, they headed for a dip in the hot springs. Xu Nuo, the Little Fatty, upon seeing a shapely bikini-clad beauty in the mixed hot spring pool, almost drooled!
"Hey, hey, stop ogling! I'm talking to you, Fatty! How old are you to be acting like this already?" Ren He teased with a mocking smile that suggested disappointment.
Little Fatty Xu Nuo, face flushed with excitement, was almost moved to tears as he said, "This is what life's all about! Why do we suffer through studying all day at school, if not for this? I wish I could live like this every day."
Ren He glanced at him, "Your values are all wrong. Don't you go to school to learn a skill that will enable you to live this kind of life? I also think that school is pretty pointless, the stuff they teach us is practically given back to the teachers after mixing in society for a couple of years; it's completely useless. But there's one thing you should remember, having a skill is the bare minimum, got it?"
"What kind of skill?"
"A skill that allows you to stand on your own two feet in society," Ren He explained, "It doesn't have to be researching chemistry, studying physics, or business management, it could be auto repair, writing novels, or drawing comics, anything goes as long as it can support you."
"Then I get it, does programming count? I really like it," Xu Nuo asked.
"Oh?" Ren He sat up, "You little rascal can code?"
"My cousin taught me a bit the year before last, and then I started learning on my own. My family didn't stop me, they actually encouraged it. It's kind of a hobby," Xu Nuo's eyes shone as he spoke about programming.
"What can you do by yourself now?" Ren He asked carefully.
"I'm not too sure myself, I just do some tasks my cousin sends me, then I help him write certain sections of specific code. I haven't really done anything independently yet."
"Okay, we'll talk about this when we get back!"
"Uh... Ren He, do they have... you know... that kind of thing here?"
"What kind of thing?" Ren He was momentarily stunned.
"You know... special services?" Xu Nuo asked awkwardly.
Ren He's face darkened, and he kicked him into the water, "You're just a middle school student, what the heck are you thinking?"
"I was just asking..."
...
Come the early morning hours, the sky outside the window was still a dense black. Ren He looked at his phone: 3:30 am. Unlike Mount Tai or Mountain Hua, you don't need to start climbing at 9 pm to reach the summit in time. White Cloud Mountain was definitely shorter, so starting at 4 am would get them there by 6 am.
He got up and patted Little Fatty Xu Nuo on the adjacent bed, "Fatty, time to get up."
"Let me sleep a little longer..."
"Sleep my foot, do you believe I'll douse you with cold water?"
"Don't! Don't! I'm up, I'm up!" Xu Nuo could tell from Ren He's tone that he was really capable of doing exactly that.
"Hurry up, brush your teeth, wash your face, and let's go!"
"Okay!"
By the time the two of them left the White Cloud Hotel, it was already 4:30 am, but at this hour, White Cloud Mountain was still bustling because everyone was rushing to the summit to watch the sunrise.
"Did you bring the flashlight I told you to?"
"Brought them, here," Xu Nuo fished out two flashlights from his bag, keeping one for himself and handing the other to Ren He.
"The batteries are all newly bought, right? Don't let them run out of power halfway! The problem with hiking up White Cloud Mountain at night is that there's a stretch where you can't see anything."
"Just bought them! You know, Ren He, why are you so meticulous about everything now?" Xu Nuo complained.
"Being careful sometimes can save your life, you don't know shit! Although it's not reported in the news, there are quite a few people every year who fall off cliffs in the middle of the night, you don't want to die, do you?" And he was right, whether it was Mountain Hua or Mount Tai, every year there are indeed a few people who fall off the cliffs while trying to watch the sunrise, it's just not reported in the news.
"Let's go, time to head out!"
...
Compared to Ren He's preparedness, the lodging place for the students from Luo City Foreign Language Middle School, located not far from White Cloud Hotel in a rural guesthouse's courtyard, was in complete disarray.
"Who has seen my jacket?"
"Where are Guo Xiaotong and He Lin? Why haven't they come down yet? They couldn't still be asleep, could they?"
"How can they still be sleeping at this hour?! Hurry up and call them already!"
"Did everyone bring their flashlights? I read online that there's a part of the mountain climb in White Cloud Mountain that's pitch dark."
"I brought mine, but I'm not sure if the battery will last, I've had the flashlight at home for ages and never used it."
"I forgot mine..."
Someone began to complain: "We said before leaving, make sure to check your equipment and remember to buy new batteries, how could you forget something like that?"
"Stop nagging, we have plenty of flashlights, one less won't make a difference!"
Duan Xiaolou took out two flashlights from her bag and handed one to the boy: "I knew someone would forget, so I brought an extra just in case, but this is the only spare I have. Okay everybody, let's go, or we'll be late!" She turned around, only to suddenly see Yang Xi all decked out in a windbreaker and hiking boots, even the flashlight in her hand was clearly professional grade.
Obviously, she had come prepared. Looking at Yang Xi and then at the other students around her, Duan Xiaolou suddenly felt that Yang Xi and the students were from two different worlds, with a clear divide between them. Perhaps in future life, everyone would take different paths and lead different lives.
Duan Xiaolou didn't say anything, but some of the other students began to express their thoughts: "Yang Xi, you're so well-prepared, no wonder the pack you brought today was so big. I've seen that backpack in an outdoor equipment store, it's a professional mountaineering pack."
Yang Xi just smiled and explained, "My family enjoys outdoor activities, so I've purchased these kinds of equipment before."
"Come on, let's go! To watch the sunrise!"
...
"Ren He, wait for me, I really can't climb anymore!" Xu Nuo called out from behind Ren He, with one hand on his waist and the other holding onto the iron railing. He was so tired he didn't want to move at all, but somehow Ren He, who was climbing ahead like a beast of burden, seemed to be perfectly fine after nearly two hours!
"That's what you get for not exercising. How about you start running with me in the evenings? Your place isn't far from mine," Ren He taunted.
"Forget it, why waste the prime of life on running?"
Ren He looked disgusted: "Then you'll just keep getting fatter, no one can save you! Hurry up, it's almost time for the sunrise, we'll have come here for nothing if we miss it."
"We haven't run into our classmates along the way, you think... have they left earlier than us and are already up there?" Xu Nuo suddenly remembered to ask.
Ren He laughed, "I actually tend to think that they might dilly-dally and end up missing the sunrise!"