Flirting Under Favor (GL) - Chapter 13

Mount Shangfang isn’t very high, with an elevation of less than a thousand meters. It boasts beautiful scenery and numerous cultural relics, making it a medium-sized tourist attraction in City S. Because its fame is moderate, most visitors are locals, and the foot traffic isn’t overwhelming—out-of-town tourists tend to choose more famous sights.

This season saw even fewer people on Mount Shangfang. Ancient trees, scattered rocks, dry grass, and withered branches made the place look desolate, quietly nurturing spring under the sun.

Getting out of the car at the nearby parking lot, the group arrived at the entrance full of laughter. After buying tickets, they rolled up their sleeves, ready to embark for the summit. Small groups of people scattered along the mountainside suggested that many had arrived even earlier than them.

They didn’t carry much in the way of supplies; as Fan Beibei had instructed, everything was left for the bodyguards to carry. The girls traveled light.

Wang Lin stood at the foot of the mountain, wondering if she would collapse halfway up.

Mu Fan watched her grit her teeth, take a deep breath, and assume a tragic expression. She said to her, “Let’s go.”

“Hurry up, everyone! Whoever gets to the top last pays for lunch!” Fan Beibei shouted at them from the front, her youthful, energetic voice piercing the quiet morning.

Wang Lin shouted back, “I’ll cover lunch!”

Mu Fan smiled. Well, that’s her admitting defeat already.

Wang Lin caught her smiling, looked at her with a wronged expression, her eyes seeming to say: Don’t laugh at me.

Mu Fan walked a few steps forward and said, “If we don’t start, we’ll fall too far behind.”

Wang Lin put on a resolute face: “Reaching the summit is a success!”

Her words reminded Mu Fan of a famous meme: Because I am… to restore what glory is my unshirkable duty… what a success, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

She looked at the mountain peak and said, “To restore the glory of the office workers, it is our unshirkable duty!”

Hearing Mu Fan’s words, Wang Lin also remembered the meme and laughed non-stop, pulling Mu Fan along.

A fifth of the way up the mountain, the ancient, uneven steps had already tired Fan Beibei out. She was hanging onto Huang Xi like a plaster, impossible for Huang Xi to shake off.

Huang Xi pleaded, “Help me~” Her eyes were full of disgust for Fan Beibei. “You were the one who suggested climbing the mountain, and you’re already giving up! Go cling to Yu Sheng! I can’t take it either!”

Fan Beibei gasped for breath: “Yu Sheng, Yu Sheng is still behind us.”

Huang Xi looked back. Sure enough, Yu Sheng was still behind the two of them, chatting with Si Qing. Behind them were Wang Lin and Mu Fan, and bringing up the rear were Si Qing’s colleagues. She and Fan Beibei were far ahead. If Fan Beibei hadn’t been clinging to her, she would have been faster.

Huang Xi couldn’t help but curse, “You are so annoying, so annoying!”

But Fan Beibei was thick-skinned and didn’t care at all.

“Carry me!”

…

Behind them, Yu Sheng saw Mu Fan and Wang Lin chatting and laughing together, so she didn’t try to be a third wheel. Seeing her friend regain her vitality and seemingly really like Wang Lin, Yu Sheng felt quite comforted.

Mu Fan and Wang Lin climbed very slowly to conserve energy, but halfway up, Wang Lin, like Fan Beibei, was hanging onto Mu Fan. Drinking several energy drinks did nothing to help.

Her wails occasionally echoed along the steps.

“Ah, I’m going to die!”

“My legs are gone.”

“Help!”

“My legs are breaking.”

“I can’t do it, I can’t do it…”

“Let’s take a break.” Mu Fan looked ahead, trying to find the others. She saw Yu Sheng resting at a corner, but Huang Xi and Fan Beibei were nowhere in sight.

Wang Lin, of course, didn’t object: “Yay!”

They sat down on a wooden bench provided for rest nearby. The bench’s paint was peeling, and it looked old and worn. Sitting on it, they could already appreciate a partial view of the city from the elevation. The mountain breeze was cool and refreshing.

As soon as Wang Lin sat down, she kept grimacing, groaning “Ow, ow” while rubbing her legs. She had broken out in a sweat and taken off her jacket. Strands of broken hair were stuck to her face and neck.

After rubbing for a while, Wang Lin kept shaking her hands, internally complaining about her arms getting tired from the rubbing.

Seeing her condition, Mu Fan proactively offered, “Do you want me to help you?”

Wang Lin didn’t even think, immediately extending her legs out in front of Mu Fan.

Mu Fan placed her legs on her lap. The two clean, fair shins looked quite cute.

After Mu Fan massaged for a while, Wang Lin made a sound of comfort: “My legs are back.”

After a little while longer, she asked Mu Fan, “Aren’t you tired?”

Mu Fan answered directly, “Isn’t that obvious?” Of course she was tired. She had also broken a sweat, and her calves were sore and numb.

Wang Lin pulled her legs back and said, “That’s enough.”

Mu Fan didn’t expose her, knowing she clearly wanted to continue but was worried about tiring the other person out.

“Let me knead them a little more.” Mu Fan bent down, picked up both her legs, and settled them back on her lap. “My legs are tired, not my hands. If you don’t properly relax them, it won’t be good if they cramp up.”

Wang Lin didn’t object and continued to let Mu Fan massage her calves. Although she felt a bit shy, Mu Fan’s massage felt incredibly comfortable.

“Thank you.”

Mu Fan asked jokingly, “How will you thank me?”

Wang Lin tilted her head, thinking seriously.

“By offering myself in marriage?”

Mu Fan didn’t take it seriously, internally scoffing: Heh, straight girl.

Wang Lin had only said it offhand. Mu Fan was truly too gentle, and her kindness toward her was not just this time. She really needed to think carefully about how to thank her.

She remembered Mu Fan’s superior they encountered when she picked Mu Fan up from work.

Perhaps she could start there.

“How do you feel? Time to keep climbing.”

Wang Lin pulled her legs back and rolled down her pants legs.

“I’m ready,” she stood up straight and said. “The Sword of Mutual Understanding has brought the dead back to life; I’m back to full health!”

Mu Fan was surprised to hear something from the game come out of her mouth, and corrected her: “I’m the Mo Wen spec.” (Note: Mo Wen and Xiang Zhi are the names of the two specializations in the Changge School, Xiang Zhi is the healing spec, or “healer/奶 – nǎi”).

Wang Lin acted spoiled: “Can’t you switch to healing for me?”

Regarding the matter of switching to the healing specialization, even for Wang Lin, Mu Fan had her principles: “Forget it! No one plays the Xiang Zhi spec!”

Wang Lin had witnessed Mu Fan’s insistence on not playing the healer spec in the game, and burst into laughter.

“Okay then.”

A gust of wind blew, and Wang Lin, not wearing a jacket, shivered.

Mu Fan put the jacket back over her shoulders: “I told you not to take it off. Be careful not to catch a cold.”

Wang Lin obediently put on the clothes. The two set off again, supporting each other to continue the challenge to the summit.

After walking and resting, by the time they reached the last fifth of the climb, Wang Lin really couldn’t go any further. She struggled to find a rest bench and sat down, completely collapsing into Mu Fan’s arms, breathing heavily and exhausted to the point of tears.

“I wish I hadn’t come,” she genuinely regretted it, regretting that she had shown off and come to climb this mountain. After catching her breath for a while, she said, “Why don’t we just go back?”

“We’re almost at the top. We can’t give up halfway,” Mu Fan tried to encourage her.

She whined pitifully, still resting her head in Mu Fan’s arms: “But I’m really tired.”

“Then let’s rest a little longer this time.”

“Resting for any amount of time won’t work. I’m not moving. I just want to stay slumped over.”

Mu Fan was helpless, knowing that Wang Lin’s petty side had emerged and she was starting to throw a tantrum.

She didn’t know what to do, so she steeled her heart and gently said, “Then don’t lean on me. I need to keep climbing.”

She actually stood up after saying this. Wang Lin was forced to sit up, slightly confused.

“I’ll go on ahead. I’m not waiting for you,” Mu Fan said, and started walking away, climbing a few steps.

Wang Lin cried out anxiously from the seat: “Don’t!” She stood up, wanting to chase Mu Fan, but her sore calves still had no strength. She took two steps, unable to force herself further.

“Mu Fan,” she called out Mu Fan’s name.

Mu Fan stopped, her brow furrowed. Wang Lin’s voice sounded wrong. She turned around and saw that Wang Lin was actually crying behind her.

This truly startled Mu Fan, and she quickly rushed back.

Seeing her return, Wang Lin immediately hugged her, afraid she would run away again. She didn’t dare cry out loud, instead whimpering, “Don’t leave me behind.”

Don’t leave me behind.

The words were heart-wrenching. Mu Fan felt a stab in her heart. She had only meant to scare Wang Lin, but she hadn’t expected to cause this reaction. She felt both distressed and a little amused.

“I was deliberately trying to scare you,” Mu Fan said, gently patting her back to soothe her emotions. “I’m not leaving. I’ll wait with you.”

Wang Lin was utterly wronged. She was already unhappy from exhaustion, and seeing Mu Fan about to leave her behind and go on ahead, a feeling of abandonment immediately swept over her. They had walked together all this way; how could Mu Fan abandon her and ignore her?

“Don’t cry, don’t cry,” Mu Fan didn’t know how to comfort her, feeling awkward and flustered.

Even though Mu Fan returned, Wang Lin cried even harder, feeling that Mu Fan was too mean to deliberately scare her like that.

She pulled away from Mu Fan, stumbled back to the bench, sniffled a few times, and angrily wiped her tears by herself.

Mu Fan knew she was angry and blamed herself, having never expected this girl to be so emotional, crying at the drop of a hat.

“You should go,” Wang Lin said, sitting on the bench, staring straight ahead, not looking at Mu Fan.

Her pouting was truly adorable. Mu Fan couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m not leaving,” Mu Fan sat down next to her, saying seriously.

“Go.”

“No.” Mu Fan thought, I can be stubborn too.

They held the stalemate for a while. Mu Fan gave in first, asking, “Want another leg massage?”

“Hmph.” Wang Lin glanced at Mu Fan, then, without ceremony, placed both her legs on Mu Fan’s lap.

“If I massage your legs, you can’t be angry anymore, okay?” Mu Fan said, while rolling up her pants legs. “I just wanted to scare you. I didn’t expect…”

Mu Fan didn’t finish the sentence right away. She carefully observed Wang Lin. Having just cried, Wang Lin looked piteous, but her emotions seemed to have calmed down.

“…I didn’t expect you to be a little crybaby.”

Wang Lin gave Mu Fan a “fierce” glare but didn’t retort, instead saying solemnly, “We shouldn’t mock people who are willing to cry for us.”

Her sudden philosophical statement took Mu Fan by surprise, leaving her speechless for a moment. She quickly chewed over Wang Lin’s words, realizing that the reason Wang Lin cried was because she cared about her.

Cares about me?

Wang Lin was indeed quite clingy towards her.

Realizing her mistake, she continued massaging Wang Lin’s calves. She turned to face Wang Lin and said seriously, “I’m sorry. It was my fault. Please forgive me.”

Wang Lin softly “mhm’d” and tapped her phone a few times.

“I forgive you,” Wang Lin said, retracting her legs and pulling down her pants legs.

Before Mu Fan could feel happy, she saw Si Qing jogging over.

Si Qing came up to the two of them and semi-crouched in front of Wang Lin, looking like she was about to give Wang Lin a piggyback ride.

Sure enough, Wang Lin gave Mu Fan a smug smile, then climbed onto Si Qing’s back. Si Qing carried her and started walking. Wang Lin quietly said to Si Qing, “I don’t want to pay for lunch.”

Si Qing understood what she meant and carried her forward swiftly.

“I’ll go on ahead. I’m not waiting for you!” she called out to Mu Fan, turning her head.

Mu Fan was caught between tears and laughter. This girl is holding a grudge!

Wang Lin continued to shout: “Come and chase me!”

Mu Fan took a deep breath and kicked her legs. Now she was the last one. Her finances weren’t exactly flexible, and she didn’t want to pay for the group’s lunch.

She shouted back at Wang Lin: “Okay, I’m coming!” Then, using the last of her energy, she started to sprint.

Si Qing, carrying Wang Lin, overtook Yu Sheng. Soon after, Mu Fan overtook her too.

“Hey, Mu Fan, wait for me!” Yu Sheng clearly didn’t want to lose money either and chased after them.

Huang Xi had been held back by Fan Beibei. When she was almost at the finish line, she saw Wang Lin, Mu Fan, and Yu Sheng pass her in succession. She immediately shook off Fan Beibei and chased after them.

Fan Beibei’s face instantly turned sour. She also hurried to chase, but she was already the second least physically fit person in the group. The outcome was set: she was the last one to reach the summit.

At the rest area on the summit, Mu Fan said proudly to Wang Lin, “I caught up to you!”

“Hmph,” Wang Lin snorted haughtily.

Fan Beibei ran over, panting: “No, no, Wang Lin, you cheated!” She was furious, her twin ponytails almost standing straight up.

“You didn’t say we couldn’t cheat.”

Mu Fan laughed from the side: “That’s right.”

“Mu Fan, you’re taking her side!” Seeing her admired figure also siding with Wang Lin, Fan Beibei felt wronged. She then turned to Wang Lin and said, “You said you’d pay for lunch at the beginning!”

“I was joking. I take back that statement.”

Huang Xi teased Fan Beibei: “It’s just one meal’s worth of money. Look how painful it is for you.”

“Then you pay for it!”

Huang Xi turned her head and started humming a tune.

Fan Beibei was helpless, stamping her foot.

Not far away, Yu Sheng waved to them: “Come here and take a photo!”

With the sweep of a brush, I reach the mountaintop, and all mountains appear small beneath my feet.

The scenery from the summit was endless, encompassing half of City S. Cars came and went, busy and bustling.

Mu Fan stood in the mountain breeze, bathed in the sunlight, looking at the expansive view. The gloom in her heart lifted considerably.

It’s so good to be alive.