A Young Woman's Heart

(Fives)

If the students were still in the mood to chat and eat snacks when they first started climbing, then after they reached the halfway point, far fewer of them did so.

Forget about eating snacks, even talking feels tiring.

The queue stopped more often.

Many of the faster walkers simply broke away from the class group and went up with the other fast walkers.

Every now and then you can see students squeezing through the crowd from behind, shouting things like "Make way!" or "Hurry up!" as they continue forward.

But ultimately, everyone's constitution is different...

Class Two was relatively well-organized, with only a few energetic boys running to the front.

Li Hongran, who was the sports committee member, did not run as fast.

"Is anyone stuck? I can help you pull them along!"

"Me! Me! Me!" Gao Yuan immediately raised his hand.

"Get out of my way!" Li Hongran said irritably.

"Damn, Lao Li, you just want to hold a girl's hand, right? I misjudged you. I didn't expect you to be this kind of person, tsk!"

"Damn it, you should exercise more and lose weight. Look, you've gained all that weight back."

"I'd rather stay this fat..."

"Old Li—!" An Ruosu ran breathlessly to Li Hongran's side and put Huang Yuxi down from her back. "Can you carry Xiaoxi for a bit? I'm tired..."

"Oh, okay, I'll do it."

"No, no need, I'll walk a little further first..." Huang Yuxi waved her hand somewhat embarrassedly.

"It's okay, it's okay. Carrying you is like carrying a schoolbag, it's not heavy at all." Without saying a word, Li Hongran still picked him up. Looking at him, he looked like a bear, but he didn't shake at all when he walked, as if it really wasn't difficult for him.

"Ah Wen, how much longer—"

"Almost there, only half left!"

"Wasn't there still half left just now?"

"We haven't even walked a few steps yet."

"I can't do it, little Yaoyao, will you carry me?"

"Go away... play somewhere else..." Mo Xueyao was too exhausted to play along with her at this point.

……

Chapter 118 The World's Number One Temple of the God of Wealth

It turns out that most senior high school students do indeed lack exercise.

Mo Xueyao remembered that she wasn't this tired when she climbed halfway up the mountain a couple of years ago. Back then, she could climb to the top in one go and breathe in the fresh air.

But now, I have to climb a bit and then stop, and I can clearly feel my muscles trembling.

Her calves were even cramping a bit, and every time she stopped, she had to pound them hard a couple of times to make herself feel better.

"Oh~! Little Yao Yao's thighs are jiggling, so cute!"

"Just say I've gained weight!" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes and muttered irritably.

"Hehehe, no, no, it's just a little bit of meat, at most it'll add two or three pounds~ Fat is very light."

That's even more upsetting.

However, Mo Xueyao was not in the mood to argue with her at the moment.

"Xiaoyao, are you alright?" The tall Aya Akimoto stood on the steps in front and looked back. "You're already out of breath."

"It's...it's alright...isn't everyone like this?"

"Should I pull you?"

"No, no, being dragged is even more uncomfortable..." Mo Xueyao took a deep breath, feeling as if she had inhaled many drifting snowflakes.

"Ah Wen!" Gao Yuan was like a rolling ball, always making people afraid he would roll down at any moment. "Didn't we say we went to a different place than the other classes? Why are we all climbing the mountain together?"

"That was the original plan, but the snow kept falling so heavily. To make it easier for the school to coordinate, we decided to have all the senior classes go together. Don't worry, you'll still be able to enjoy things that the other classes can't."

"what?"

"Cable car!" Ye Wen's steps became much lighter when she said those two words.

In a group, people are always swept along.

Sometimes you can't give up even if you want to.

Whether we were willing or not, whether we were laughing happily or arguing with our friends, we all reached the summit together.

Mo Xueyao drank more than half a bottle of water before she felt alive again.

A large number of students had already gathered by the railing at the top of the mountain.

The teachers were worried that the railings wouldn't be able to support the weight of so many people, and they were all shouting for the students not to lean against them.

Although the sea of ​​clouds was obscured by the snow today and visibility was poor, the distant city appeared somewhat hazy.

But it still gives one a sense of exhilaration, and one's thoughts drift away with the gaze into the distance.

If you stand on the mountaintop and look down, you'll feel like you're on the edge of the city, a kind of otherworldly feeling.

Standing on Beigaofeng and looking down, you'll feel surrounded by the entire city, giving you a sense of being a hidden master in the city.

The city is not a single, continuous area, but rather meanders along the terrain.

From high above, it looks like a small river covered in snow.

Faintly, one could also see Lingyin Temple and Yinlai Peak not far away—but Mo Xueyao wasn't quite sure if that was it, only that it seemed somewhat similar to a photo she had seen before.

A strong wind carried snow, lifting Mo Xueyao's long hair. The snowflakes turned into sparkling hair clips, all landing on her hair.

Some students who were prepared had already opened their umbrellas, but there were also people who preferred to stand in the snow.

Today is not a holiday, so there aren't many people on the mountaintop. Looking around, almost all of them are students from Yukong High School.

The senior high school students, who had been cooped up in the classroom for so long, found a moment of mental relaxation and, if they could, would not want to go back to that enclosed classroom.

"I really hope I graduate soon." Hua Yinyin put one hand on Mo Xueyao's shoulder and stretched like a cat. "Phew, studying in senior year is so painful."

"Just get through this."

"Hmm, during university, you should be able to go out and have fun whenever you want, right?"

"...That depends on which university it is." Mo Xueyao said helplessly.

In fact, she wasn't really looking forward to graduating from high school; it was just that she felt a little excited at that moment.

Looking out from this perspective, the entire city seems to be in one's grasp, manipulated with the ease of a god, able to shift houses, change the course of rivers, and flatten hillsides...

In that instant, she became a god in her own world.

Actually, the mountaintop isn't particularly spacious, so the students can move around freely and complete a loop in no time.

The most eye-catching thing is, of course, the Maitreya Buddha statue beside the cliff.

Speaking of which, temples in China always seem so mixed and diverse.

It's clearly a temple dedicated to the God of Wealth, yet it features Maitreya Buddha and the Four Heavenly Kings—it's unclear whether this is considered Taoist or Buddhist now.

Let's consider it Buddhist, but there are also Taoist gods of wealth and the Antarctic Immortal.

Why not put up a statue of Guan Yu...?

Mo Xueyao thought to herself with amusement, but didn't really sense much superstition in it.

Everything seems to be proceeding from a pragmatic perspective.

Basically, they'll offer anything that can bring benefits, right?

Even here, there is an incongruous television transmission station with the words "Zhejiang People's Broadcasting Station" written on it in large characters.

It's placed here probably because it's tall enough.

After all, there aren't many mountains higher than this near Hangzhou.

Even if there were, the road wouldn't be as good as this one.

Since they're all here, the teachers should definitely organize a tour for the students and maybe even pray to the God of Wealth.

Of course, the explanations are all based on a scientific perspective to deconstruct the superstitious parts.

When praying to the God of Wealth, people usually just bow and touch him.

"Can I take a picture?" Zhou Yong, holding a camera, looked excitedly at the middle-aged man in a Taoist robe next to him.

He touched the beard, which looked like it had been pasted on, and nodded rather perfunctorily: "Yeah, yeah, take pictures, take as many as you like."

"Huh, is it okay to take pictures?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously. "Aren't you usually not allowed to take pictures in places where there are statues of gods? Otherwise, it's considered disrespectful to the gods..."

“Then let’s change the god.” The middle-aged Taoist priest waved the whisk in his hand. “We only worship gods that are useful.”

So is this a god or something?

He seemed like some kind of government employee.

As long as you don't damage the items, you can touch everything in the temple freely.

Some old Taoist priests even picked up the fruit from the offering table and kindly smiled as they shared it with the students who crowded around to listen to his stories.

The harmonious scene made it seem less like visiting a temple and more like entering a museum without glass partitions.

Temples dedicated to the God of Wealth are not only for praying for wealth; you can pray for anything of value.

Career prospects, studies, health, family happiness...

For a very cheap price—one dollar—you can buy a slip of paper, or for two dollars and fifty cents, a wooden board. Tie it with a red string to a place specifically for hanging wishes, and you will receive so-called divine protection.

Whether or not there is actually any blessing is not important; all that is sought is peace of mind.

There was plenty of free time; Yukong High School clearly didn't just want the students to have a cursory look around, but rather wanted everyone to truly relax.