Love Me in Another Universe

Chapter 48. A Trip to Xiqiao Mountain

November 16, 1996, Saturday.

"Soupy, Soupy, wake up! It's time to assemble!"

In a drowsy haze, Guan Xuchen heard Gao Xinglang calling his name, mistaking it for a dream. He mumbled a "hmm" in response and tried to drift back to sleep.

"Soupy, wake up! We're going to be late!"

Then, Guan Xuchen felt someone grab his hand, pull him out of bed, and gently pat his face.

"Let me sleep just a little longer!" Guan Xuchen pushed away the hand that had patted his face and tried to lie back down, but the hand grabbed him again.

Struggling to open his eyes, Guan Xuchen was startled to see Gao Xinglang standing by the bed with a warm smile. He patted his own face to confirm he wasn't dreaming and stammered, "Lang, why—why are you here?"

At this, Guan's father, standing nearby, chuckled and said, "Xuchen, you're the one to talk. Xinglang asked you to call and wake him up, but you slept until 6:30..."

"Ah, it's already 6:30? The bus leaves at 7!" Guan Xuchen was startled. He quickly got up, washed, changed clothes, and without even eating breakfast, grabbed the backpack he had packed the night before. Then, he and Gao Xinglang sprinted all the way back to school.

When they arrived at the school gate, they saw several tourist buses parked there, their engines rumbling. The head teacher, Lu Xiaofeng, stood beside one of the buses, looking impatient.

He glared at Gao Xinglang and Guan Xuchen as they arrived panting. Pointing at the bus door, he snapped, "Hurry up! The whole class is waiting for you two. Why are you so late? Are you snails? Get on the bus!"

The two boarded the bus and found that the front seats were all taken, so they had to settle for two seats toward the back. Guan Xuchen pulled out a pack of tissues from his backpack, handed one to Gao Xinglang, and took one for himself. As he wiped his sweat, he whispered apologetically, "Lang, I'm sorry. I got you scolded." You could've just called to wake me up and come here first..."

"It's fine. That was nothing compared to our coach's scolding. You haven't seen him in action yet," Gao Xinglang replied with a grin as he wiped his sweat. "I called your house at 6:20, but the line was busy. "So I went over to your place and found your phone wasn't hung up properly..."

"Ah, my Mom must've forgotten to put it back after her long phone call last night..." Guan Xuchen muttered in frustration, then smiled at Gao Xinglang and said, "Lang, thank you."

Gao Xinglang flashed a charming smile and said, "Soupy, you didn't have breakfast this morning. I've brought some bread. Want some?"

"I've brought some bread, too." With that, Guan Xuchen unzipped his backpack, pulled out a loaf of bread in a plastic bag, and then handed Gao Xinglang a bag of puffed snacks with a witch and crystal ball printed on the package. "And here's your favorite 'Bok Bok Sing'."

"Wow, Soupy, you're the best!" Gao Xinglang took the bag, eagerly opened it and started munching on the snacks.

Guan Xuchen looked at Gao Xinglang's happy expression and a sweet smile spread across his face. He opened the plastic bag and started eating his bread...

After an hour-long ride, the tourist buses carrying the Senior One students of Xiaoda Middle School arrived at Xiqiao (pron.: sea ch'iao) Mountain in Nanhai City, Guangdong Province.

After everyone got off the bus, Lu Xiaofeng gave a quick safety briefing and divided the students into groups. Guan Xuchen, Gao Xinglang, Ao Feifan, Shen Yitian, and four other boys were in one group. Though they were divided into groups, they initially followed the main crowd as they marched toward the mountain peak.