Hard to Escape

Chapter 16

When I made my way back, Su Lin Lin had already taken a seat back in the private room and talking with Yin Li. His expression seemed rather aloof. I sauntered over next to Yin Li and took the initiative to rest my head on his shoulder. Then, I crooked my head and looked at Su Lin Lin. Yin Li immediately ended his conversation with her and rubbed my head. Then he bent his head down to me, and his hair brushed against my forehead. In a low voice, he said, "When this gathering is over, I'll bring you somewhere."

I agreed. Looking into his pair of beautiful eyes, I immediately lost all my interest in Su Lin Lin's expression. Even up to when we finally left the hot pot restaurant, I was still lost in a dizzying sense of bliss.

Yin Li retrieved his car, and without any explanation drove on for almost half an hour. We even traversed some mountain roads before finally coming to a stop. The air atop the mountain was clear and fresh, but the night was a bit chilly. Yin Li took off his jacket and gave it to me. "I can't drive any further from here. We might need to hike up the mountain a bit." Then he came over and took my hand. His palm was warm. "There's a newly-built astronomical observatory here. Tonight the sky is clear, very suited for stargazing."

I'd heard of this stargazing observatory before, it had been mentioned in the news quite often. It had been under construction for some years, and was a rather large building. Next month it was set to open to the public. I never knew that Yin Li had the mind to leisurely go stargazing in his free time, in the middle of the night.

"Come over here." Yin Li called me over, then crouched down in front of me. Seeing me staring blanking at him, he shot me a glance. "I wasn't prepared for you to be wearing heels. Next time, I'll leave a pair of your slippers and sneakers in my car. For now just quickly come over, I'll carry you up."

I was somewhat embarrassed. "This pair are wedges and the heel's only a few centimeters. I can just walk by myself."

Yin Li unexpectedly gave me an unhappy look. "You want me to crouch here for nothing? Also, even though you've recovered from your car accident, you shouldn't engage in any exercise that's too strenuous. Wearing those wedges to hike up the mountain, do you want to end up in the hospital again?"

Only at this did I reluctantly climb onto his back. But once I was leaning against him, I didn't want to get off. His back was broad and warm, and his stride was measured and steady. I rested against him as the starlight shone brightly down on us, illuminating the narrow path. Our surroundings were quiet and tranquil, with a sense of mystery about them. You could only hear the faint sounds of crickets chirping. The night air smelled of wet dew and fresh grass, with the subtle scent of tobacco from Yin Li's neck mixed in.

In an absent-minded moment, a secret wish appeared in my heart: To walk together down this road without stopping, to continue on like this until we both grew old.

But Yin Li evidently wasn't thinking of such sentimental things. He halted firmly in place and told me, "We're here." Left with no other option, I rubbed my eyes and slid off his back.

As far as I could see, whole observatory building in front of me was white, and its glass doors were etched with constellation designs. Yin Li swiped a card and unlocked the door. Only once I walked into the main hall did I lift my head and notice with some surprise that the ceiling was spangled with constellations and star clusters. They had probably used some kind of fluorescent paint. In the darkness, it looked like a starry sky dangling from the heavens. I was transfixed and couldn't look away. The whole main hall area had been designed to resemble an exhibition hall, they'd used entire sheets of glass for the walls. On this mountaintop, with no towering skyscrapers obscuring the view, the moonlight poured freely into the hall, reflecting off the hall's milky ceramic tiles. The swirling light seemed to pool beneath our feet into a shimmering lake of moonlight.