"Can I take this coat off? It’s so hot,"
She was wearing the thick coat that Liu Xin’an had given her before they went out. Although it was indeed very warm, now the sun was pleasantly shining on her, making her feel a bit hot.
"No, you’ll feel cold once you take it off."
The heat was because Bae Juhyun was sweating, and if she took off the coat now, a gust of wind would ensure she’d wake up with a cold tomorrow.
She was still very busy, and getting sick was not an option.
It was better to be a little hot than uncomfortable.
"But I’m really hot."
"If you’re hot, let’s find a coffee shop to sit in. Do you want coffee?"
"No, the bet isn’t over yet."
Bae Juhyun had been keeping track—it had only been about 20 minutes since they got out of the car, far from the one hour they had agreed on.
She felt full of energy and didn’t think she would get tired. Well... being hot was unavoidable, after all, it was the coat Liu Xin’an gave her with all his worries, just a bit of heat, she could endure it!
"Sure!" Bae Juhyun answered confidently.
Then, Liu Xin’an took her hand and led her towards the city wall.
(I’m not sure if you can actually go on top of the real Huahong Gate; this is just my assumption, I couldn’t find any information.)
"Hey, hey, hey, that’s cheating! You can’t climb stairs!!"
Huahong Gate was a relatively high city wall, requiring one to climb stairs at least.
Climbing stairs was completely different from walking on flat ground. If it was just walking, Bae Juhyun didn’t think she’d struggle to make it through the hour,
but going up stairs...
"We’re here now, we can’t leave without taking a look, right?"
Liu Xin’an, ever so confident, took Bae Juhyun towards the stairs.
"Ah! You! You! Let go!"
Bae Juhyun panicked. This wasn’t good; the city tower was not low, and considering Liu Xin’an had said she couldn’t stop or complain of tiredness, covering the whole distance probably wouldn’t take an hour, and then there was the walk afterward...
She didn’t think she could hold up.
From Bae Juhyun’s urgent voice and frantic movements, Liu Xin’an could tell she was genuinely panicking.
He stopped with a smile, turned his head to look at the woman who was staring up at him with wide eyes, and slowly bent down.
"Alright, no more teasing, I’ll carry you."
The originally tall man crouched in front of her, and Bae Juhyun, at first startled, soon let out a smile from the corner of her eye.
It wasn’t the first time she had been carried by Liu Xin’an, so she felt no shyness.
Moreover, she was now wearing a mask and a hat, and soon she could bury her head in the man’s neck while on his back.
Plus, she wouldn’t have to walk herself!
If she hesitated, she’d be a fool!
With a cute shout, Liu Xin’an felt the weight of someone on his back.
He definitely couldn’t feel the softness and slender frame through their thick clothes.
Liu Xin’an wrapped his arms around Bae Juhyun’s legs, then bent slightly to make it less awkward for her to lean on.
Once the person on his back felt comfortable, patted his chest, and gave the signal, Liu Xin’an began to walk with steady steps.
Men should definitely exercise more—it’d be embarrassing if he couldn’t carry his own girlfriend in a situation .
As for Liu Xin’an, there was no confusion about this. Her weight was nothing to him; he would even complain that it was too light for a warm-up.
Strolling to the highest point of Huahong Gate, Liu Xin’an looked down at the scenery from a commanding height. Read complete version only at novel⸺fire.net
The view wasn’t much when looking up from below, but from the top looking down, Huahong Gate did look quite spectacular.
"Aren’t you going to take a picture?"
Bae Juhyun was fiddling with the collar of Liu Xin’an’s coat when she heard her boyfriend’s suggestion and instinctively looked up.
Then, her mouth gaped open.
"Wow, it’s so beautiful!"
Liu Xin’an leaned over to let Bae Juhyun jump down.
She quickly took out her phone from her pocket, tapped it a few times, opened the front camera, and included both herself and Liu Xin’an in the frame.
A selfie would naturally not be taken with something as unglamorous as a mask, and since they were facing away from the crowd below, it was okay to take it off.
With the sound of the camera shutter, two stunning individuals leaned intimately together, with the scenery of Huahong Gate in the background frozen on Bae Juhyun’s phone screen.
After descending from Huahong Gate, they could consider this spot checked off their list.
Back on solid ground, Bae Juhyun spotted a stir-fried rice cake stall from afar.
How could Bae Juhyun, who was already passionately fond of stir-fried rice cakes, miss this chance? She excitedly tugged on Liu Xin’an’s sleeve and pointed towards the distant rice cake stall.
There was no need for more words; the intent was clear.
Liu Xin’an glanced at the stall, his gaze locking on the stall owner.
While the distance made it difficult to be certain, he could tell that the vendor was a young man.
"You go back to the car, I’ll buy it for you. The guy selling the rice cakes is quite young; it wouldn’t be good if you got recognized."
"It won’t... you’re thinking too much, Xin’an!"
Liu Xin’an spread his hands—it might just be him overthinking, but eliminating any chance of being recognized was a good thing.
"Hurry back, I’ll buy it for you."
Bae Juhyun didn’t insist too much on such matters, and she understood the same logic, of course.
After a while, Liu Xin’an finally returned to the car with a serving of stir-fried rice cakes.