43: Climbing Higher
1773 Words
Xiara was sitting beside him, her hand suddenly moving.
Such a small movement didn’t escape Adrian’s notice. He gently asked, “Do you want one?”
Xiara gave a dry laugh, “...No, I think I’ll pass.”
But her expression clearly said otherwise.
Adrian turned to Yevgen and said, “Give me one, please.”
Yevgen raised an eyebrow and winked teasingly. “You two are a couple, right? I’ve noticed you’ve been taking good care of her all along.” His sharp observation made it clear he was paying attention. If they didn’t have a relationship, Yevgen wasn’t buying it.
The camp was small, and every movement was in plain sight of everyone. There were some laughs in response to his teasing.
Adrian gave a small smile, but didn’t respond to the remark. Instead, he handed the jerky to Xiara. “Here, eat.”
Xiara’s face flushed, and she said softly, “Thank you.”
Serena didn’t pay attention to this little exchange. She handed the eight-treasure porridge to Ivan, “Give it to Miss Ryan.”
Nevaeh hadn’t eaten anything except water all day. Serena noticed this and guessed that she couldn’t stomach the ready-made meals, so she had gone through the effort to dig out this juice for her. It was a kind gesture, but when Ivan tried to hand it to her, Nevaeh stubbornly refused to take it.
Ivan, not having the patience to deal with her refusal, unscrewed the cap and handed it to her. “Drink it. If you’re going to be here, take care of yourself. Don’t drag others down.”
His words hit Nevaeh hard. Her face turned pale, and she snapped, “I’m not dragging anyone down!” She slammed the juice onto the ground, turned, and stormed into her tent.
Serena smiled lightly and let it go, thinking to herself—well, it seems she’s getting along fine with her former sponsor and his current girlfriend.
---
After a long day, everyone was exhausted. After filling their stomachs, they were ready to sleep. Before going to bed, they did a quick clean-up in their tents.
Though it was called cleaning up, there was no running water in such a place, so they couldn’t take showers. Instead, they had to wet towels with mineral water and quickly wipe down. The men were fine, but for the girls, it was a bit of a struggle. Out of the five women in the group, Serena and two others had camping experience and could manage, but Nevaeh and Xiara were used to a life of luxury. This situation was nearly impossible for them to bear.
Ivan gave Nevaeh two extra bottles of water to clean herself up.
Nevaeh, although born into privilege, wasn’t a spoiled brat. She had insisted on joining the trip, so she knew she had to endure any hardship that came her way, and she wouldn’t complain.
Serena respected that.
On the other hand, Miss Remington was entirely different. Adrian had gone over to Yevgen’s tent to look at the map, and when he wasn’t around, she couldn’t stop complaining. “What’s so fun about this godforsaken place? This is nothing but torture!”
Someone overheard and teased, “Climbing’s supposed to be like this, you know? Didn’t you do your research before signing up for the trip?”
Xiara snapped back, “You think I have the same free time as you all?”
The person, now feeling awkward, didn’t continue and retreated to their own tent to rest.
Serena, overhearing the conversation, was somewhat baffled. Miss Remington didn’t even know what climbing was about—why would she suddenly decide to join a hiking group?
She couldn’t help but ask, “What exactly are you here for?”
Xiara hesitated for a moment, and then with a change in tone, she said, “I’m... experiencing life. Is that so bad?”
Serena couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it. “No, of course not.”
Just as she finished speaking, Adrian came out of Yevgen’s tent. He spotted the woman laughing freely in the opposite tent.
She was like this, always so open and unreserved, no matter what or who she was facing.
The mountain was alive with bugs and birds, and a frog suddenly jumped out of the grass. Serena’s tent was the closest, and Adrian furrowed his brows as he quickly walked over. Before he reached her, Ivan dashed over, pulled Serena up, and used a stick to nudge the frog back into the grass.
Serena was annoyed. “Hey, why’d you send the frog away?”
“What do you want to do with it? Take it back and keep it?”
“Who wants to keep it? I was going to catch it and roast it, wild delicacy.”
“Do you always have so many crazy ideas?”
Their conversation made the others laugh, and Serena shot Ivan a glare before heading back to her tent, as if still blaming him for ruining her wild food find.
Ivan, receiving a glare, stood there chuckling to himself.
Adrian slowed his pace, silently returning to his tent.
---
The next morning, Serena was the first to wake up. The sun hadn’t risen yet, and the sky was still a dull gray, casting a watercolor-like tint over the mountain forest. The scene was vastly different from usual, as if everything in the world was still sleeping, except for her, who was wide awake, admiring the tranquil sight.
A soft breeze gently blew, and she felt an overwhelming sense of peace.
Before long, she heard movement in the camp as the others began to stir.
To her surprise, the first one up was Xiara. But judging by her appearance, it seemed like she hadn’t slept at all the entire night.
Xiara saw her too, her bloodshot eyes glaring fiercely at Serena.
Serena had long since gotten used to Xiara’s inexplicable and sudden hostility, so she let it slide and didn’t bother to engage.
As others gradually woke up, Serena sat on a large rock, munching on biscuits and greeting everyone. She noticed that it wasn’t just Xiara who looked exhausted—Mr. Lancaster and Miss Ryan also appeared weary.
When it was time for Yevgen to check the headcount, he noticed Xiara was in bad shape. Concerned about her pushing herself too far, he suggested, “We’ll be able to catch a cable car down in about an hour. If you can’t continue, you can apply to leave the group, and I’ll take you down.”
“I’m not quitting. I can make it,” Xiara said stubbornly. Despite her pale and exhausted face, she refused to back down.
Yevgen, as the leader, was responsible for the safety of everyone, and though the decision to continue was ultimately up to each individual, he tried to persuade her a few more times. Xiara remained adamant. Eventually, she became impatient and said, “I’ve paid for the trip! Why are you trying to make me leave?”
Yevgen, helpless, agreed to her decision. However, he remained vigilant, especially about Xiara’s condition, and reminded Adrian to keep an eye on her as well.
After walking for another two hours, Xiara’s condition deteriorated. She had not slept the night before, and after a long day of trekking, she was completely worn out. Her steps slowed, and she staggered. Finally, she nearly collapsed onto the grass.
Adrian was quick to catch her, examining her closely and asking softly, “How are you?”
Xiara didn’t want to admit she couldn’t go on, especially when Serena had been perfectly fine all this time. She didn’t want to lose to her, but her body had reached its limit.
Adrian opened a bottle of water and handed it to her, suggesting, “Sit under that tree and rest for a bit.”
The others noticed their pause and gathered around, seeing that Xiara had lost all color in her face, clearly exhausted.
Yevgen frowned and said, “The cable car has already passed. If you want to go down, we’ll have to turn back.”
Serena offered, “I have some bread and milk. Do you want some?”
Xiara gritted her teeth. “I don’t want it... I’m not going back...”
Adrian’s voice softened, “Don’t be stubborn.”
She grasped his hand, pleading, “Adrian, I really can do this. I just need to rest for a bit... I won’t give up. I want to reach the top with you.”
She wouldn’t leave but couldn’t continue either, and no one knew what to do.
Then Adrian said, “I’ll carry you.”
Everyone was stunned. He would carry her?
Adrian was strong, and though he had shown no signs of fatigue all day, carrying someone up a mountain wasn’t an easy feat.
“Adrian...” Xiara froze, her mind processing. He really planned to carry her? The heir of LH, lowering himself to carry her?
Without giving her much time to think, Adrian crouched down in front of her. “Get on my back.”
Xiara bit her lip, and her smile, though reluctant, betrayed her joy.
Two team members helped her onto Adrian’s back, her arms loosely wrapped around his neck—close, but not tight.
Adrian resumed walking, and the two team members followed behind, ensuring everything was safe. As they passed Serena, the breeze stirred her hair.
Serena stopped for a moment, watching them pass.
His steps were steady and swift, as though he barely felt the weight of the person on his back. The one on his back was fragile, her body pressing against his. For some reason, this scene made Serena remember countless nights when they had been close like that.
His body was warm, and she imagined it must be comfortable to be carried like that.
A sense of longing began to bubble up in her chest.
“Sydney, why aren’t you moving?” Ivan’s voice broke her thoughts. Serena blinked, and the strange emotions in her heart quickly dissipated. She turned to Ivan, flashing him a carefree smile. “My feet are sore. Just taking a quick rest. Let’s go.”
---
The summit was finally within sight, and everyone’s spirits lifted. With renewed energy, they pressed on.
By 2:00 PM, the group reached the peak.
Yevgen planted their team’s flag on the edge of the cliff. The flag fluttered in the wind, a testament to their journey.
At that moment, it felt like all the sweat they had shed had finally been worth it.
- Writer
