Chapter 37: Please Behave Yourself

The group ate and drank with a fervor that seemed capable of devouring mountains and rivers.

Unlike their previous outing at the Japanese restaurant with Zhuang Qing and Han Ying, this time the two women opened the floodgates of conversation, spending the entire meal venting their frustrations about the two "hiking masters" who had already departed. They no longer felt the need to worry about Yuan Xiaoe’s feelings. Having been thoroughly rattled, Yuan Xiaoe did not defend the two experts; instead, she quickly joined in on the roasting.

Having survived a minor ordeal together, the group exchanged WeChat contacts at the table. Yuan Xiaoe took the initiative to add Wei Lin, but pointedly ignored Zhao Yuanqing—a move mirrored by Zhuang Qing. In less than an hour, the table of dishes and two cases of beer had been completely polished off by the five of them.

"Wei Lin, are you really married?" Yuan Xiaoe, clearly buzzed after several cold beers, leaned toward Wei Lin with a flirtatious, glassy-eyed gaze. Her forward and enthusiastic demeanor was so obvious that even the stray dog wandering around the shop could tell she had a keen interest in him.

"Yes, I love my wife very much," Wei Lin decided to kill her hopes once and for all. "The 'until-death-do-us-part' kind of love."

Zhao Yuanqing let out a low chuckle, while Zhuang Qing and Han Ying rolled their eyes.

"We need to watch the sunrise tomorrow morning, so let's get some sleep early." Wei Lin shook off Yuan Xiaoe’s hand, chose to leave the table first, and walked away with resolute determination.

...

In their double room, Zhuang Qing lay on the bed, rubbing her fair calves. "Stay away from that Yuan Xiaoe in the future!" she said. "Zhao Yuanqing is actually not bad. When he heard you scream about the snake, he rushed out to protect you immediately. And when he heard from Zhang Xun and Qi Muyang that the middle-aged man had a dagger, he turned right back around to find you. I can't say much else about him, but Zhao Yuanqing’s character is decent; you could try seeing where things go. As for that Zhang Xun or Qi Muyang? Not worth mentioning."

The two best friends gossiped before bed, analyzing everyone they had met, with a particular focus on Wei Lin. After Han Ying turned off the light and lay on her side facing Zhuang Qing, she suddenly asked, "Qing, what do you think of Wei Lin?"

Zhuang Qing hesitated for a moment before whispering, "As long as it's not as a boyfriend, anything else is fine."

"Yeah, I feel like Wei Lin might be even more of a playboy than Zhao Yuanqing." Han Ying sighed softly, concerned about Zhuang Qing’s love life. "Qing, we’ve known each other for so long, and you’ve never mentioned your ex-boyfriend. Hey, you haven't actually never dated anyone, have you?"

"Go to sleep!" Zhuang Qing huffed.

...

In the same style of room with a double bed, Wei Lin, feeling woozy, felt a bit embarrassed to see that Zhao Yuanqing wasn't affected at all, not even showing a flush on his face. *Once my 'Love Value' hits the next threshold, should I consider upgrading my alcohol tolerance?* Remembering the time he had been completely blackout drunk with Fu Jintang, Wei Lin cursed his lack of natural talent in this area. *Well, at least there’s room for improvement.*

Just as he was thinking this, his phone pinged with a WeChat notification. Opening it, he saw the latest message was from Yuan Xiaoe, who had just parted ways with them: "I don't mind."

Wei Lin paused, then replied with a question mark.

"I said, I don't mind that you have a wife," Yuan Xiaoe typed. As Wei Lin stared in disbelief, a new message popped up: "I'm in room 106."

At that moment, the progress bar in his mind ticked from 73.4 to 74.5, with a clear upward trend. Thinking of Yuan Xiaoe’s earlier snobbish and ugly attitude, Wei Lin found the newly gained Love Value quite burdensome. He gritted his teeth and replied: "I am not that kind of person! Please respect yourself!"

That finally silenced Yuan Xiaoe.

"Wei Lin, for heaven's sake, don't snore! I don't like sleeping with others precisely because I'm afraid someone's snoring will ruin my sleep!" Zhao Yuanqing, having returned from the bathroom, started warning Wei Lin the moment he lay down.

"I honestly don't know if I snore, but none of my women have ever complained about it," Wei Lin said, though he wasn't entirely certain himself.

Barely a minute later—

"Grrr... snort!"
"Grrr............ snort!"

Zhao Yuanqing began to emit thunderous snores.

"Zhao Yuanqing, screw your ancestors!"

...

The next day, Wei Lin was shaken awake by Zhao Yuanqing’s loud yelling. "Wei Lin, get up! Han Ying is calling us to see the sunrise!"

Tortured all night by the snoring, Wei Lin fumbled for his phone on the nightstand and saw it was just six o'clock. "Damn it, I'm exhausted! This damn bed is hard as rock; I didn't sleep a wink." Zhao Yuanqing, who had slept like the dead, was still complaining.

Wei Lin wanted to strangle him. As he got up to wash his face, he felt an intense soreness in his calves. After a quick splash of water, the two men met the three women at the spot where they had eaten the night before.

They weren't the only ones; other guests were also gathering. The two hiking masters soon arrived, moving at a leisurely pace. The two groups exchanged glances as if they were complete strangers. Guided by the innkeeper, they trekked to a giant rock known for sunrise views and waited patiently.

Their luck held out. Soon, a massive sun began to rise slowly, its rosy light dusting the mountaintop with a layer of gold powder. The mountain forests, the craggy rocks, and the lake at the foot of the mountain all took on a unique splendor under the sunlight, sparking waves of exclamations.

"So beautiful."
"Worth the trip!"
"What a gorgeous sunrise!"

Everyone was busy taking photos. The two "hiking masters," well-versed in this, stood with their professional SLR cameras, eyeing the two men and three women huddled together, looking notably out of place.

"Qi Muyang, come over here!" Wei Lin suddenly shouted.

Hearing his name, Qi Muyang, thinking they might finally be burying the hatchet, trotted over with his camera.

"Stop! Right there!" Wei Lin commanded loudly.

He draped one arm over Zhuang Qing, pulled the flattered Yuan Xiaoe over with the other, and didn't forget to push Han Ying, who was standing next to Zhuang Qing, toward Zhao Yuanqing.

"Your camera is top-tier, take a big group photo of the five of us. Remember to send it to Yuan Xiaoe later." Wei Lin smiled brightly. Zhao Yuanqing laughed heartily. Yuan Xiaoe wore a strange expression, while Zhuang Qing and Han Ying held back laughter, silently cursing Wei Lin for being such a wicked dog.

*Click! Click!*

Qi Muyang snapped a few perfunctory photos and turned to find Zhang Xun. Once out of Wei Lin’s sight, he began to curse: "Screw that Wei Lin!"

"To hell with Wei Lin! That guy is full of malice, even more disgusting than Zhao Yuanqing!" Zhang Xun wore an expression as if he’d just eaten something foul, and his subsequent cursing was even more vicious than Qi Muyang's.

...

After the sunrise and breakfast at the inn, the group spent a few more hours touring the summit. With everyone’s calves aching, they decided to take the cable car down the mountain around nine o'clock.

Back at the base, the five of them naturally piled into Zhao Yuanqing’s Cayenne. On the way home, Wei Lin sat in the passenger seat, listening to the three women chattering in the back while checking the progress bar in his mind.

Love Value: 86.5/100.

The points gained overnight came from Lin Nanxi, Gao Xue, and... Yuan Xiaoe.

*Yuan Xiaoe’s points—I could do without those,* Wei Lin sighed.

By eleven o'clock, he checked again and noticed the value had climbed to 89. Two points were from Yuan Xiaoe, but the other 0.5 had actually been contributed by the young trainer, He Jingxuan.

"Huh?" Wei Lin focused, and a blurry scene materialized.

"Xiao He, these things are normal. Some people talk trash but are decent at heart. Others look upright but behave in the filthiest ways!" The training department manager was also looking helpless as she comforted the young trainer in a private room, fearing she might do something irrational.

The young trainer sat with red eyes, saying nothing, lost in thought. A moment later, she took out her phone and sent a brief message.

A second later, Wei Lin’s phone chimed. He opened it to find a session request from the young trainer: "Mr. Wei, are you still coming for your lesson this afternoon?"

Though he was exhausted from the hike and originally intended to skip the afternoon workout, Wei Lin replied immediately: "I'm coming!"