Chapter 35: Crossing Mountains and Seas (3)
She woke up briefly at one point.
It was when he was applying mosquito repellent to her hands, feet, arms, and legs. Still half-asleep, she heard him murmur that the tent owner had reminded him to use the local repellent for his girlfriend—after all, different regions required different solutions to keep the bugs at bay.
Yin Guo tugged at her wristband again—it was too tight.
Lin Yiyang took it off for her and, after a moment’s thought, tucked it into the pocket of her shorts as an extra precaution.
She slept for a long time after that.
When she woke again, she saw Lin Yiyang sitting on the edge of the bed, his laptop resting on a wooden folding chair in front of him.
To avoid disturbing her sleep, he had been reading documents on his computer without typing. Yin Guo crawled from the far side of the bed to the edge, slipping under his arm to rest her head on his lap.
Listening to the croaking of frogs, she asked softly, "What time is it?"
"Past twelve. We’ll leave at one," he said, his fingers finally moving across the keyboard as he typed out a long email. "Go take a shower first. We’re flying tomorrow afternoon, and you won’t get another chance to wash up before we land in New York."
The tent was unlit, the only light coming from his laptop screen.
From her angle looking up, Yin Guo could see the faint glow outlining the curve of his throat and jaw—a striking silhouette. She wanted to reach out and touch it but didn’t want to interrupt his work. After staring for a while, she slowly wriggled out from under his arm and back onto the bed. Leaning over the edge, she fumbled around for her slippers.
Without ever taking his eyes off the screen, still typing, he nudged her slippers toward her with his foot.
She didn’t say anything, quietly slipping them on before tiptoeing out of the tent.
The world was silent—the occupants of the neighboring tents were already asleep.
Yin Guo tilted her head back to look at the sky. Thick foliage blocked most of it, and the small patches left visible held no stars, likely obscured by clouds. The sight made her uneasy—she began to doubt they’d see any stars tonight.
By one in the morning, Lin Yiyang closed his laptop, finally done with work.
Outside the tent, rain was falling in a steady drizzle. Unlike Yin Guo, he remained unfazed, leaving a tip on the pillow before grabbing both their backpacks. "Let’s head out first and see if the clouds clear up."
As their car left the small town behind, a distant clap of thunder cracked across the sky, startling her.
She had assumed Lin Yiyang would drive up the mountain, but instead, following the GPS, he passed through two more towns before veering off the highway onto a smaller road.
There were no streetlights along the route, and with the heavy rain, neither moon nor stars were visible—only the car’s high beams illuminated the path ahead. The moment they left the highway, the ride became bumpy, jolting her nerves with every uneven patch of road. She had no idea where they were headed, and the uncertainty made her uneasy.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"An uninhabited area," he said.
On the island, if they weren’t going up the mountain, the best place for stargazing was a desolate stretch of land surrounded by dark reefs and black sand. Even in broad daylight, the place was eerie—let alone at night, in the middle of a storm. No one else would be there.
After driving for about half an hour, Lin Yiyang hit the brakes, deciding to wait out the rain here.
The engine hummed faintly, the only other sound being the muffled patter of rain against the sealed car windows.
Yin Guo tilted her head, peering outside. Beyond the rivulets of water streaking the windows, there was nothing to see.She appeared to be intently watching the rain outside, waiting for it to stop, but in reality, she was wondering—what if the storm lasted all night? Would she and Lin Yiyang just sit here like this, doing nothing but waiting?
A warm touch brushed against her wrist—his hand. The man she had been thinking about suddenly responded.
"Come here," he said.
She turned her head and saw Lin Yiyang’s left hand groping beneath the driver’s seat, finding a button. Slowly, the seat slid backward, clearly making more space. Yin Guo climbed over the center console, his hands steadying her waist as he pulled her onto his lap.
Even with the seat adjusted to its maximum, the space remained cramped and narrow.
"What are you thinking about, staring out the window like that?" Lin Yiyang asked.
Both of them knew full well—no matter how beautiful the island scenery was, there was nothing to see here. Her gaze out the window was entirely meaningless.
Vaguely, she replied, "Wondering when the rain will stop. Looks like it might go on all night."
She couldn’t very well say she was thinking about whether they’d end up doing that tonight…
His hand rested on the small of her back, his thumb hooked over the waistband of her jeans. As he leaned in slightly, he caught the faint fragrance emanating from her.
She always smelled good after a shower, and he noticed it was always the same scent. To a man, it was baffling—staying in a hotel with complimentary body wash and shampoo, yet she insisted on using her own. Only girls would be so particular. But it was a good habit. In the days ahead when he couldn’t hold her, he’d remember this scent.
Lin Yiyang turned off the car.
When vision is restricted, hearing naturally sharpens. The silence inside the car was almost eerie. Even the sound of Lin Yiyang clearing his throat was amplified, carrying a subtle suggestion to Yin Guo’s ears, teasing her heart with a ticklish, rustling sensation.
He still hadn’t kissed her—this was Lin Yiyang’s deliberate act of "keeping distance." Once you get used to something, it gradually becomes dull, even boring—and that includes intimacy itself.
Restraint, in itself, is the most potent aphrodisiac.
Like now, as his face drew near, her heart began to tremble.
"All night wouldn’t be bad," he said. "No one else around here anyway."
"What if there are others like you? People who know this place and drive over too."
He laughed. "We’re all adults. They’d look at us, we’d look at them."
Then, grinning, he added, "No loss either way."
Flustered, Yin Guo pushed against his chest. She could feel the tension in his torso beneath his T-shirt, the firmness of his arms around her. Because of this awareness, she suddenly stilled.
In the quiet, his warmth met her lips.
Lin Yiyang tilted his head, slowly wetting her lips as their mouths tangled damply, tongues entwining. The relentless downpour outside severed all connection between this off-road vehicle and the rest of the world. Here in the driver’s seat, they clung to each other, kissing.
Transparent glass surrounded them on all sides—front, back, left, right. The wilderness outside, the rain like the end of days.
Her chest tightened, breath coming short, especially when she felt the change in his body—the way he brushed against her, the light, deliberate nudges. Her face burned as she stammered, "What are you…?"
He chuckled. "Don’t like it?"
Everything was spiraling out of control.
Yet, strangely, he still held back.
And the more he did, the more she wanted him.
In the dark, his eyes met hers: Want to?
Her heart pounded so hard it hurt. She’d been waiting all along.
Then he added: This position isn’t ideal. After speaking, he added in a low, amused voice, "The angle's off—don't want you to hurt."
Suddenly, the seat jerked as if stuck, then slowly reclined. With every degree it tilted, her heart swelled a little more. Her chin remained stubbornly pressed against his shoulder, eyes shut tight and unmoving.
His fingers idly played with the zipper of her jacket. They’d come out in the middle of the night, and it was cold, so he’d made her layer up. But he, being a man who feared heat more than cold, was still in short sleeves.
"Come on," he said, "climb to the back."
Yin Guo scrambled over from the front seat, hands and knees working together, while Lin Yiyang adjusted both seats to their most forward positions. He got out of the car. Yin Guo heard the trunk open and almost said, "I bought some too," but then reconsidered—someone as thoughtful as Lin Yiyang wouldn’t have come unprepared. She waited obediently.
One second, two seconds—then the trunk slammed shut with a thud . The car doors unlocked just as he slid into the backseat, a towel in hand, which he spread over the worn leather upholstery. He leaned over her quietly.
His breath tickled her neck. "I’m really ticklish…" she murmured. "What if I laugh?"
"You won’t," he said softly. "I’m more worried you won’t be able to."
Then, with a chuckle, he added, "You’ll probably cry."
At first, they exchanged words, but soon her ears burned, her whole body burned, and she could no longer focus on speaking.
Lin Yiyang was the type to deliberate at length beforehand, but when it came down to it, he was decisive. His lips and tongue worked relentlessly against hers, stealing her breath before she could even catch it, scattering her thoughts entirely.
Her vision blurred, and even he seemed to flicker in and out of focus before her…
The scent of the car’s leather seats mixed with his own, growing thicker, heavier in the enclosed space. Was she suffocating, or had she already? Raindrops streaked down the windows in erratic patterns, trembling with the car’s movements, sliding chaotically down the glass.
…
Finally, he murmured, "Kiss me."
Yin Guo tried, but she had no strength left. Instead, he lowered his head, trailing kisses from her lips to her chin, then to the spot behind her ear, his hot breath dampening her skin there.
That masculine scent of his seemed to intensify.
Sweat dripped onto her neck.
She pressed the back of her hand against her eyes, feeling his sweat mingle with hers as it trickled down. His chest and back were slick with it too, rivulets tracing the ridges of his abs…
Through her fingers, she peeked at the tattoo below his waistline—no clock hands, just an empty dial.
"What’re you looking at?" he teased, knowing full well.
Flustered, she averted her gaze to the car window above them, her mind a jumble.
The glass was fogged up on the inside.
She reached out, dragging her fingers through the condensation to leave streaks behind, marveling, "It really fogs up like this?"
"Did you fail physics?" he rasped, amused. "Of course it does."
She knew the science. But she’d always doubted it in movies—her first time seeing it was probably Titanic , right? She’d questioned how so much heat could possibly be generated. But now she knew—this really could do it.
On the window, she drew a tiny heart. After a pause, she added another beside it. A pair.The man's emotions hadn't fully dissipated yet. Her casual scribbling on the window had ignited a fire in him. His gaze swept over her body several times before he said in a low voice, "Come here, hold me."
That day, the rain stopped a little past four in the morning.
Lin Yiyang rummaged through the trunk and pulled out the telescope he'd prepared in advance. Telling her to wait in the car, he set it up steadily on the ground below, adjusted it, then returned to the vehicle.
Seeming tired, he showed no intention of stargazing with her. Instead, he said, "Go take a look. The lava rock is uneven—watch your step. If you fall, you'll get scraped."
Wasn't he coming down?
But then again, considering how familiar he was with this place, he'd probably seen it many times before.
Yin Guo got out of the car.
The night breeze played with her hair as she closed the car door behind her and looked up at the vast starry sky. Here, on the endless expanse of black volcanic rock, heaven and earth converged, leaving only the bright and dim stars of the Milky Way.
The rugged, uneven terrain was utterly desolate, almost lunar in its barrenness. She could almost believe she was standing on the moon, gazing at the galaxy—so beautiful it needed no enhancement.
When she leaned close to the telescope, the starry sky and Milky Way before her eyes were magnified infinitely, as if she could reach out and touch them. She studied each star intently until her phone buzzed with a WeChat notification—Lin Yiyang?
It had to be him. Everyone else was on Do Not Disturb.
Puzzled, Yin Guo turned to look inside the car. He was smiling, tapping his phone screen with a finger, signaling her to check it.
What was he up to, being so mysterious?
She opened the app to find a photo he'd just taken from inside the car—a casual shot of the starry sky. The second image showed an artistically designed cosmic nebula pattern on the outer side of his arm.
Then came another photo—this time of distant volcanic mountains. Finally, an image of the mountain range tattooed on the inner side of his arm.
Lin: Weren't you looking for a wallpaper?
Lin: This is it.
So the inspiration for his arm tattoos was here? The volcanoes and the stars?
The designs were artistically stylized—had he not pointed it out, she never would have made the connection or noticed the resemblance. So this wasn't some impulsive, spur-of-the-moment trip after all. He'd planned it from the very beginning—that night when she'd asked for photos of his tattoos...
Yet he'd said nothing, given no hints beforehand.
Earlier that day, atop the snow-capped mountain where they'd visited the Observatory, their tour guide had given a detailed introduction to this stargazing paradise. She'd eavesdropped quietly and even asked Lin Yiyang several questions, but he hadn't mentioned any of this, waiting until now.
Yin Guo stared at him through the car window.
Lin Yiyang rested his hand on the steering wheel, reclining in his seat as he typed rapidly on his phone, sending message after message.
Lin: That first night at the bar, the band played a song. They repeated it several times.
Lin: Remember?
Little Guo: Yeah. It was "Yellow."
Lin: :)
Lin: Think about the first two lines.
The first two lines?
Look at the stars, look how they shine for you.
Originally just an unrelated song, yet it fit tonight perfectly—Lin Yiyang had orchestrated this deliberately. She remembered what Jiang Yang had told her: He's truly put his heart into this for you. This song was written about a man's adoration for the girl he loves. He is deeply drawn to her, unable to extricate himself, utterly enchanted, already deeply in love—yet he hesitates, unsure how to approach her, how to get to know her.
What was he thinking that first night, listening to this song on repeat?
She wanted to look up, to see him through the car window.
...
Her phone vibrated in her palm again—another message from Lin Yiyang.
Lin: I don’t have much to give you.
Lin: Thank you.
Lin: Thank you.
He was thanking her for bringing him back to the competition, even if only as a spectator in the stands. Thanking her for entrusting herself to him, to a man whose future was still uncertain, who had no home to offer.
Yin Guo had no mood left to admire the starry sky. Her heart felt hollowed out by him, yearning only to spend every remaining second glued to his side. She even began dreading their return home.
Lin Yiyang got out of the car and walked over as if nothing had been said, pointing at the telescope. "How’s the view?"
Yin Guo threw her arms around him. "Still pretending... always trying to make me cry." She turned her face, pressing it against his chest, listening through skin and bone to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
Lin Yiyang couldn’t help but laugh.
"Still laughing... I don’t even want to go back now. What are we going to do? Do you plan on returning home someday?" This was the first time she had broached their future. "If you don’t want to go back, if you want to stay here... wait for me a year or two."
That was the optimistic version, really. Her family had no plans for her to settle abroad—getting past them would take more than a little struggle.
His hand patted her back gently.
"I’ll go back." Just those three words.
For a man who had left his homeland years ago to return now for a girl, to build a future with her—it wasn’t as simple as saying it. Adult lives weren’t about sweet talk. Behind those three short words lay countless arrangements he’d have to make.
Live at your own pace, Yin Guo. I’ll adjust for you. Let me handle all the hard things.
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