Chapter 135: Even to the Ends of the Earth, I Would Not Hesitate

The next day, Ji Ning carefully groomed himself, making sure he at least did not look entirely despondent, and calmly walked into his mother's room.

"Mom, I'd like to go out for a walk by myself and clear my head."

Ji Ning's mother looked slightly startled, but she did not refuse. The leave she had requested for him still had half a month remaining, and upon receiving his assurance that he would return by the end of the month at the latest, she agreed to his request. Although she did not appear overly worried about his behavior, she still embraced her son as he was about to step out the door.

"You must take good care of yourself."

Ji Ning nodded, his heart full of bitterness. How could he not know his mother? She knew he was keeping something from her, but she asked no questions. She hid all her worries deep within; her lack of expression did not mean she did not care. On the contrary, it was precisely because she cared so deeply that she chose to ask nothing. She believed her child had grown up and was capable of handling everything he faced.

Ji Ning found a bubble tea shop, ordered two cups of tea, and sat quietly. Yesterday's conversation had been far too brief—they hadn't even discussed a time or place to meet—yet Ji Ning knew she would find him.

As if guided by a premonition, Ji Ning raised his head and saw a girl walking into the tea shop. The sunlight draped over her, her porcelain-white skin contrasting with her waterfall of long, dark hair. She wore a light gray hoodie on top and indigo blue jeans below. From the moment she stepped inside, her gaze locked onto Ji Ning. She seemed quite relaxed, a slight smile playing on her lips, her vibrant eyes holding what seemed to be a dazzling array of stars, effortlessly drawing anyone into their captivating brilliance.

Qin Mo walked straight toward Ji Ning. After sitting down, she slid one of the cups of tea from across the table over to herself. Taking a sip, she asked, "Waiting long?"

"Not very long." This wasn't merely polite small talk; just after he ordered the two drinks and brought them to the table, Qin Mo had arrived right on cue, as if she had timed it to the second. And indeed she had: she had spent the previous night in the guest room of Ji Ning's house. As long as she chose to remain unseen, no one in this city could perceive her. Fortunately, she was far too familiar with such circumstances and handled them with ease. Only when Ji Ning began washing up did she finally step outside.

"What are you staring at me for?" Qin Mo took a couple of sips of her tea and quickly noticed that Ji Ning was fixing her with an indescribable look.

"Aren't you planning to say something?"

"Say what?"

"Something like... our actual destination?"

"Didn't I already tell you?"

Ji Ning remained silent. He pushed his phone across the table to Qin Mo, displaying an article introducing Mongolia.

"The annual average temperature in Mongolia is -5°C to 7°C. The daytime average is 7°C..."

Qin Mo blinked. "To get some genuinely delicious mutton skewers, a little cold weather doesn't really matter."

Ji Ning finally came to a firm conclusion: the girl before him had to be a figment of his imagination. He understood all too well whose eccentric tendencies hers resembled—his own.

He was still too young to realize how people influence one another when they spend time together, especially those closest to us.

"By the way, please pay for three cups of tea. I had one earlier before you got here," Qin Mo said, completely unfazed.

Journeys—they were always journeys, moving from one place to another. It sounded more like a description of life itself. Amidst a calm existence, a spark fierce enough to ignite life must occasionally burst forth; otherwise, how could we ever pause to gaze into the unknown distance?

Ji Ning felt he must have lost his mind, embarking on an utterly absurd trip for a girl conjured by his own imagination. This was the sort of plotline only a third-rate light novel author would write. Even so, Ji Ning took the first step forward anyway, because regardless of whether she was real or not, he had already fallen in love with her.

Even the most rational thoughts can be scorched by the burning emotions of youth. Ji Ning used to scoff at tropes where someone would climb a cliff to pluck a flower for their beloved, but now, as he looked at Qin Mo walking shoulder-to-shoulder with him, her eyes smiling, he believed without a single doubt that if she wished it, he might actually try to pluck a star from the sky for her.

"We can take the high-speed rail to Beijing, then join a tour group to go first to the Hexigten Banner, and then to Lake Darinur—the sunrise view there is quite nice—and then..." Ji Ning began mapping out the travel itinerary, but before he could finish, Qin Mo interrupted him.

"No high-speed rail."

"What?"

Qin Mo turned to look out the window. "No high-speed rail."

Someone acting unreasonably always feels a twinge of guilt, especially when it was her first time doing something like this and she hadn't quite mastered the art.

"Are you kidding? From here to Ulaanbaatar is over two thousand kilometers even in a straight line. Even if we're just looking at the scenery along the way, the thousands of kilometers starting from Beijing to Ulaanbaatar are more than enough to satisfy you."

Qin Mo's initial little scheme had never been to travel to distant Ulaanbaatar. She only wanted to reach the boundaries of the dreamscape. Taking the high-speed rail would drastically reduce Adonis's rendering intensity; in the off-chance that Adonis hadn't merely constructed this city as she surmised, but had also left behind a fraction of his spiritual energy, it was theoretically possible to simulate places Ji Ning had never actually visited.

"But I want to slowly look at this world," Qin Mo said, her tone carrying a hint of spoiled playfulness—a talent every girl instinctively possesses, and an absolute knockout blow to an inexperienced boy.

"Then how shall we travel?"

"How about cycling?"

Looking at Qin Mo's pitiful, pleading eyes, Ji Ning fell into a momentary daze. Finally, he figured he was already halfway out of his mind anyway, so he might as well embrace the absurdity.

Half an hour later, Ji Ning stood at the intersection, staring at his Giant A310 bicycle. He had never imagined that the old companion which had faithfully ferried him to and from school would one day embark on such a long journey.

*Old buddy, it's not that I'm prioritizing romance over friendship. I just feel that merely taking me to school has wasted your potential. Which bicycle hasn't dreamed of an impromptu journey? Today is the day we make your dream come true.*

Wearing a black cycling cap and a large backpack, with Qin Mo seated on the modified rear rack wearing a matching blue cycling cap, Ji Ning was ready. She acted as the navigator while keeping her eyes on the phone's GPS. With her helmet on, she looked rather adorable, her dark, glossy hair cascading from beneath the back of the helmet, giving off the vibrant feel of an anime biker girl, though her expression was as carefree as a child on a spring outing.

Almost every girl has dreamed of sitting on the back of the bicycle of the boy she loves, riding through streets scented with gardenias, gazing together at the sunset in the slow breeze, and finally being dropped off at home, perhaps punctuated by a shy embrace upon parting.

With slightly flushed cheeks, Qin Mo could catch the masculine scent drifting from ahead. Though already quite familiar with it, she still felt a touch of shyness, her inner joy bubbling up almost to the point of overflowing. Watching Ji Ning pedal with steady, rhythmic breathing and absolute concentration, a sudden thought popped into her mind: *Why are you so practiced at carrying people on a bike?* "Ji Ning, Ji Ning, did you used to have a crush on anyone?"

Qin Mo clearly felt the Giant bicycle slow down a fraction. She fixed her gaze on Ji Ning's back, as if she could pierce straight through it to peer into his heart.

"Not before."

"Then why are you so practiced at carrying people?"

"I had a good friend, you could call him Zhehui. He liked to go online, and going online cost money. Coincidentally, he happened to have a pretty decent bicycle, so one day he sold it. Ever since then, whenever I went to school, I had to carry him. That seat under your bottom is the one he modified."

"A guy or a girl?"

"His name is Zhehui, do you think it sounds like a girl's name?"

Qin Mo laughed, realizing her reaction sounded a bit like jealousy. Blushing faintly, she quickly changed the subject.

"Weren't you tired carrying him to school every day?"

"During the months after he sold his bike, he didn't just spend his time going online by himself."

"Bad boy. Minors aren't allowed in internet cafes."

"Minors aren't allowed to date either. If I actually followed all the rules by the book, the very first time I saw you, I should have turned around and walked away."

Ji Ning's teasing made Qin Mo give his back a vexed, playful punch. "I haven't agreed to your confession yet."

Ji Ning smiled cheerfully. "But you like me."

Qin Mo did not deny it. She reached out, wrapped her arms around Ji Ning's waist, and pressed her cheek against his back, feeling the powerful thumping of his heart. "That's true."

She could distinctly feel the muscles all over Ji Ning's body tense up, which made her both happy and smug. In the past, he was always the one teasing her; now not only had the roles reversed, but the Ji Ning here was technically supposed to call her older sister based on age. What a wonderful experience.

As if sharing a telepathic link, Ji Ning uttered that very title that always set her heart fluttering: "Big sis, don't you feel a bit squeezed against my back?"

Qin Mo looked down and realized that because they were pressed so close together, her chest indeed felt a bit cramped due to certain indescribable assets of her own.

"No matter how old you get, you're always this same old you." Qin Mo leaned back slightly, bringing the sole perk of Ji Ning's cycling trip to an end. Ji Ning felt both a pang of regret and a slight sense of relief; after all, the most important rule of cycling was never to lose focus—safety first.

"In that world you claim is real, am I very formidable?" Ji Ning asked out of curiosity, though by now he viewed the matter mostly from a bystander's perspective, having already decided that Qin Mo was simply a product of his imagination.

"Extremely formidable," Qin Mo nodded emphatically, though Ji Ning couldn't see her face.

"Like, defying the heavens and earth, capable of anything kind of formidable?"

"Not quite."

"Then what kind?"

Qin Mo thought for a moment before slowly speaking. "To everyone else, you might be just like any other of the millions of people in the world, but to me, you are my hero. Because when I needed you most, you stepped forward and said to me, 'Come with me.' That was such a foul move—do you have any idea how charming you looked back then? It was probably from that exact moment I fell for you. You are my one and only hero."

"Such an intensely individualistic heroic color scheme... how cliché."

"Cliché? It's clearly romantic! What do you know, anyway?" Qin Mo dissatisfaction prompted her to jab him softly in the waist. No one was allowed to disparage Ji Ning in her presence, not even Ji Ning himself!

"If you only like me because I saved you, then wouldn't that mean if someone else had saved you, you would have liked them instead?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Qin Mo increased the pressure of her grip, forcing Ji Ning to get off the bike and push it forward. "What nonsense are you talking about? If it had been anyone else, I probably would have just said 'thank you.' Ultimately, in this world, coincidences don't really exist. What is meant to happen will happen, and what isn't meant to happen never will. Meeting you... rather than calling it a coincidence, I'd prefer to call it destiny."

Wincing in mock pain while pushing the bicycle, Ji Ning said, "Destiny resulting in devoting oneself to the savior? That actually sounds quite appealing."

Perhaps because there were too few pedestrians on the street, or perhaps because Qin Mo was in such high spirits today, she cast aside her usual shyness and poured out her heart as boldly as a brave little rose.

"And do you really think a tiny bit of fondness would be enough to sustain all these emotions? The time we've spent together, the things we've gone through—those little sparks of beauty are the reason why affection converges into a river."

"All this talk of romance... it feels so embarrassing."

"It certainly feels a bit odd to say it out loud, but if you don't express your feelings, how can you ever get a response? Ji Ning."

"Hmm? What is it?"

Qin Mo leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "I like you."

"I know," Ji Ning nodded.

Qin Mo poked his shoulder. "Where's my response?"

Ji Ning felt a bit sheepish, but Qin Mo was unrelenting, continuously poking his shoulder.

"Alright, alright. I like you."

"So perfunctory." Qin Mo looked quite displeased. Come to think of it, even counting the real world, this guy had rarely looked her straight in the eyes and softly said he liked her.

Ji Ning stopped the bicycle, turned around, and looked directly into Qin Mo's eyes. Their gentle gaze met and held for a full minute, until she was on the verge of fleeing from the intense, blazing warmth of that affection, before Ji Ning finally spoke softly.

"I like you."

Qin Mo covered her burning face and muttered, "I know. Stop looking at me."

Only then did Ji Ning resume riding. Sure enough, when it came to this sort of thing, as long as one's skin was thick enough, the guy would never lose the upper hand.

Passing by a vast stretch of grassland, flowers favored by the wind flaunted their fragrance without restraint to the travelers on the asphalt road. They fell silent once more, feeling completely at ease simply knowing the other person was within arm's reach.

In the quiet moments, both of them fell under an illusion, as if this journey had no end. Then, the exact same thought arose in both their minds simultaneously: *Well, this doesn't seem bad at all.*

"Let's take a break," Qin Mo suddenly announced.

Ji Ning was momentarily stunned. They had been riding for less than an hour; if they started resting this early, it would probably take a whole week just to clear the city limits.

Qin Mo instantly guessed what he was thinking. "Don't just stand there daydreaming. You don't actually think we're going all the way to Ulaanbaatar, do you? That's just a nice thought to have—we ride as far as we ride. When it comes to travel, the important thing isn't a bicycle that never breaks down, but the companion beside you. The true destination isn't the endpoint, but every single fleeting moment along the way. Want some water?"

Ji Ning took the bottle, tilted his head back, and took a drink, thinking to himself that she truly was a product of his imagination. Though she spoke with such grand philosophies, her spirit of giving up halfway was identical to his own.

Qin Mo reached out and tapped him on the forehead. "I have a feeling you're thinking something very disrespectful."

"So, where are we going before we turn back?"

"You'll know when we get there," Qin Mo replied, taking the mineral water bottle back from him with a mysterious smile.

"Wandering about so aimlessly... it's definitely my style." Ji Ning didn't press further, because he figured that even if he asked, he would likely only get a vague, hazy answer. Besides, he suspected she hadn't actually thought it through at all.

"What do you mean, aimless? Can't you phrase it more nicely? The place we're heading to is the end of the world."

"Sounds terribly far away. But it's nice."

"Why?"

Ji Ning didn't answer. He just looked at Qin Mo with a smile, and she quickly understood what he meant: with someone by your side, the farther away the better, because that meant more time spent together.

Compared to intense gazes and powerful embraces, such casual, understated expressions of affection warmed Qin Mo's heart even more. Passing by a street-side shop window, she caught the reflection of herself and Ji Ning, and noticed that at some point, a smile had settled permanently upon his face.

Qin Mo selectively ignored the identical smile gracing her own face as she stared at his reflection in a daze. It took her a long time to snap back to reality, thinking to herself: *Why do you have to smile so nicely?*

How infuriating.