376: Taking a shortcut

Taking a shortcut

Li Caiyi felt stuffy, but it wasn't because she was exhausted anymore this time. Her heart beat erratically in fear of something happening to Li Chunhua.  2

If only she could fly to where her sister was right now.

"Please wait!"

She stopped in her track when someone grabbed her wrist. Li Caiyi jerked her head and saw the boy from earlier standing behind her.

"You run without listening to everything I have to say. I know a shortcut to get to the bottom faster. The teacher told me the way so I could reach you faster. Follow me!"

Li Caiyi nodded her head before following the boy's lead. Previously, the road was only a straight line towards the top, but the boy took her inside the forest where a small path was covered by high grass. 

The grass made it harder to run, so they had no choice but to slow down their movement, but it did seem like they were walking down the mountain faster. They walked deeper into the mountain, following through a path heavily covered by tall trees where sunlight barely came through.

"Be careful. The road here is slippery and pretty steep." The boy warned her.

"En, don't worry about me."

Li Caiyi walked behind him for some time before realizing she had yet to thank him for informing her and leading the way.

"Uhm, I'm sorry. I was so distraught with the thought of my sister that I forgot to thank you for your help. What is your name, and which class do you come from?"

"Ah. I'm Hu Jian from 3-B."

"Senior Hu, I'm very grateful for this. I'll make sure to thank you properly with my sister next time."

"Don't worry about that. I was just relaying messages as per the teacher's instruction. You should worry about your sister instead."

Li Caiyi sighed. "You are right. I hope we can reach the bottom soon. We have walked for quite some time. Is it still far away?"

"No. It will not be that far anymore after passing through the big rock ahead."

"Phew. Thank goodness. But it's amazing how you can remember the path with only instruction from the teacher."

"Yeah. Actually, my grandmother's house is near this mountain. I climbed this mountain a lot when I was still a child, so I'm familiar with the terrain. Ah, we're here."

Li Caiyi peeked from behind her and saw a big rock. The path led to the opening with that big rock standing on the cliff's edge and another track on her left leading to the bottom. 

Li Caiyi had to blink her eyes a few times so her eyes could adjust to the light after spending some time in a dark forest.

"Are you okay? Your face is pale." 

Li Caiyi rubbed her eyes several times while replying. "No, I'm fine. It's probably because I ran too hard earlier. Let's continue."

"Yes, let's go."

When Li Caiyi finally could see normally, she saw the cliff behind that rock seemed to be pretty steep. The ground was full of sand and seemed quite dangerous. No wonder the school didn't pick this route for climbing despite being shorter than the previous one.

She carefully glanced to the bottom; the cliff was deeper than she expected. She couldn't see the bottom from where she stood. 

"Li Caiyi, you should be careful around here, or you'll fall. Ack—!

Hu Jian's shout made her turn around, only to find him falling in her direction. Their bodies collided, and the unprepared Li Caiyi got pushed back to the cliff behind her.

Everything happened so suddenly, and by the time she was aware of the situation, the gravity had pulled her hard. Her body floated for a moment before it met the ground in a harsh thud and rolled down following the sloping ground. 

Li Caiyi rolled down the cliff for some time before a tree stood in her way and stopped her. 

An immeasurable pain spread throughout her body, and it felt like she had swallowed some dirt. Her head was dizzy, and something warm trickled down her face. She could hear Hu Jian's voice vaguely from on top of her head, but she couldn't discern what he said. 

Her body felt more sluggish as time passed by. She knew she couldn't pass out, but her body refused to follow her command.

'I have to get up. Xiaohua needs me. I promised her I would run to her side if anything happens to her.'

Li Caiyi's eyelids slowly closed before they shut completely. 

***

Meanwhile, at the bottom of Xuejia Mountain.

"Oh? Why are you here?"

Li Chunhua, who was busy playing games on her phone, exclaimed in puzzlement, seeing a familiar face. As far as she knew, he shouldn't be here right now.

"Li Chunhua. Is your sister with you?" 

"I asked you first, so answer my question. I thought you didn't participate in the school trip? Why are you here?"

"I never said I didn't participate. I just had something to do, so I can only come now."

Li Chunhua clicked her tongue before muttering in a low voice. "You shouldn't have come in the first place. If you are busy, then don't come at all. What an eyesore."

"So, where is Caiyi?"

Li Chunhua always felt irritated whenever she saw them together, and hearing him asking about her was even more infuriating.

"Are you stupid? She is diligently climbing the mountain, of course!"

Dai Zhiqiang was puzzled as to why Li Chunhua got angry at him over a simple question, but he chose not to mind it that much.

"She cared a lot about you, so I thought if you are here, she will be here as well."

Li Chunhua didn't expect to hear that from him. His expression was as deadpan as always, looking like a guy with no romance cell in him. But this guy could say something good for once. 

'Snap out of it. This is Dai Zhiqiang, your biggest enemy. Don't let him fool you! He is a wolf in sheep's clothing!'

When she raised her head again, Dai Zhiqiang had already gone. He just said what he had to say and then left without words. Li Chunhua stomped her feet in anger. 

In her eyes, he was very rude and incompatible with her sister. She would never acknowledge him!

Oblivious to Li Chunhua's thoughts, Dai Zhiqiang began to climb up the mountain with a heavy feeling. He felt terrible for Li Caiyi because he could only come now when they promised to spend some of their free time together. 

He ditched her at the last minute without informing her because of urgency and felt incredibly guilty for it. 

"I should apologize to her the next time I see her. I wonder if she is angry at me."

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