Chapter 24: I Want to Drink Ice Cola

The two of them headed toward the foot of the mountain. From a distance, they could see that many people had already arrived. The weather was good today, so everyone came out to have fun. Climbing mountains is beneficial for both mind and body.

The little girl frowned. "Brother Ye Chen, there are so many people here."

Ye Chen held her hand. "It's okay, come with me. There's lots of delicious food inside, including stinky tofu."

At the mention of stinky tofu, the little girl made a face of disgust. "That stuff smells awful. My aunt says girls shouldn't eat it; it can cause internal heat."

"Alright, we won't eat it. What would you like to eat? I'll take you to get it."

"Um... I want candied hawthorn, spicy potato slices, and kebabs..." The little girl counted on her fingers, thinking about what she wanted to eat.

"Okay, let's climb the mountain first and come back for lunch."

"Huh?" The little girl blinked, looking a bit puzzled.

"Didn't you say you wanted to climb the mountain?" Ye Chen teased. This little foodie! "We just had breakfast; if you eat now, you'll risk gaining weight."

"Alright then."

The little girl was visibly disappointed. She had come mainly for the food, and climbing would definitely be tiring.

But since Brother Ye Chen wanted to climb, she could go along with it!

As they passed through the street lined with snack vendors, the little girl's eyes were glued to the stalls. She looked at the cotton candy stand, then at the fried skewers, and then at the cold noodles—she wanted everything.

Ye Chen couldn't help but give in. He bought her a candied hawthorn to eat while climbing.

Otherwise, the little girl wouldn't give up.

With the candied hawthorn in hand, she was satisfied and held Ye Chen's hand as they headed toward the foot of the mountain.

Soon, they reached their destination.

"Wow, Brother Ye Chen, this mountain is so tall!"

"Indeed, Phoenix Mountain is one of the most famous in our country," Ye Chen smiled.

"Yeah, shall we go up now?"

"Yes, let's go. I'll hold your hand."

And so, the two of them climbed the mountain hand in hand.

Ten minutes later.

The little girl was sweating and panting. "Brother Ye Chen, I can't walk anymore." She whimpered, deciding that she'd never climb a mountain again—it's too exhausting.

"Then let's rest for a bit," Ye Chen chuckled. At this rate, they wouldn't reach the summit even in a day.

He planned to climb up to the halfway point and then head back down.

Even his small body couldn't handle going all the way up, let alone the little girl.

Gu Nianxi climbed and rested intermittently. By the time they reached halfway up the mountain, two hours had passed.

Her little face was flushed red, like two small apples on her cheeks.

Ye Chen couldn't help but pinch them—they were just too cute.

"Alright, let's go back down."

Gu Nianxi opened her water bottle and looked inside. "Brother Ye Chen, there's no more water."

"Hold on a bit; we'll buy some when we get down."

"Okay."

Going downhill was quicker; it took about half an hour to reach the foot of the mountain.

Ye Chen asked, "What would you like to eat later?"

The little girl replied, "I'm really thirsty now; I want to drink ice cola."

They went to a nearby shop and bought two bottles of Pepsi.

However, they were at room temperature. Having just come down from the mountain and still feeling hot, drinking something cold suddenly wouldn't be good for their stomachs.

Finally reaching the eating and drinking phase, all of Gu Nianxi's fatigue vanished instantly. She happily skipped alongside Ye Chen.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Spicy potato slices."

This snack is very popular even in the future. With some cumin and chili powder, it tastes fantastic.

"Alright," Ye Chen agreed and led Gu Nianxi to a stall selling spicy potato slices.

"Boss, I'd like two servings of spicy potato slices. How much is it?" Ye Chen asked.

The vendor looked up and said warmly, "Four yuan for two servings."

"Okay." Ye Chen took out a five-yuan bill, and the vendor gave him one yuan in change.

As the aroma wafted out, even Ye Chen felt hungry.

It smelled so good.

After getting their food, he took a bite.

Indeed, the food from the past tasted better. He used to think it was just because they grew up and didn't like snacks anymore, but actually, it was because the old flavors were gone.

The taste of childhood.

Eating it again now, Ye Chen couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.

"Brother Ye Chen, why aren't you eating?" Gu Nianxi asked, puzzled.

"Oh, I am."

After finishing a serving of spicy potato slices, Gu Nianxi was full. Once full, she couldn't eat anything else even if she wanted to.

"Student Ye Chen? Student Gu Nianxi?"

Just as they were about to look around and find a public bench to sit on, they heard a familiar voice.

They turned to see their English teacher, Yan Yue'er.

Beside her was a man with dyed hair, giving off an old-fashioned punk vibe, though he was reasonably good-looking.

Ye Chen squinted his eyes.

His first impression of this man was very bad.

Could he be that scumbag?

"So it really is you two. You came here today as well," Yan Yue'er smiled gently. Looking around, she asked in confusion, "Where are your parents?"

How could they leave such young kids alone?

"Teacher Yan, we came by ourselves," Gu Nianxi said.

"Came by yourselves?"

Yan Yue'er frowned. How could their parents be so careless? What if the kids got lost?

No, she had to talk to them seriously.

Children are the flowers of the nation; what if they encountered bad people?

"Where are your mom and dad?" Yan Yue'er asked.

Ye Chen smiled. "They're at work. We insisted on coming out ourselves. My mom gave me a cell phone to make calls. Teacher, don't worry; we won't get lost or be taken by bad people."

He tried his best to imitate how a child would speak.

"Pfft!"

Yan Yue'er couldn't help but laugh. "You little one, you know quite a bit. But still, I have to say, you're just children. You shouldn't run around without your parents, understand?"

"We understand."

The man next to her seemed a bit impatient. "Are you done yet? We need to get back."

Ye Chen asked with a smile, "Teacher Yan, who is this uncle?"

"Him? He's a friend of mine," Yan Yue'er smiled.

A friend, arranged by her family as a potential partner, but she felt nothing for him.

"Friend? We're about to make it official, and you're calling me a friend?" The man scoffed.

Immediately, Yan Yue'er's expression turned unpleasant.

"Who said I was going to make it official with you?" she said coldly.

Ye Chen now realized that his guess was correct; this man must be that scumbag who would hurt their English teacher.

"Are you leaving or not? If not, I'm leaving," the man threatened.

Yan Yue'er didn't care and instead said gently to Ye Chen and Gu Nianxi, "Student Ye Chen, let me take you two home."

Ye Chen smiled and did not refuse. "Thank you, Teacher."

"What? You're going to take these two little brats home?" The man glared.

Yan Yue'er said coldly, "What? Can't I? They are my students, and I have a responsibility toward them. You can go back by yourself."

"You!" The man was furious.

The little girl whispered into Ye Chen's ear, "Brother Ye Chen, this person is scary. He's being mean to our teacher; so annoying."