Dating sim loading: My girlfriend is a cunning young lady
Chapter 201 - 119. Takao Mountain Scenery (2)_2

Chapter 201: 119. Takao Mountain Scenery (2)_2

Indeed, one mustn’t underestimate the daughters of wealthy magnates.

Jiutiao Meijie also had to be careful; lately, the situation had worsened significantly, and he had almost forgotten the episode at Ochazuke.

Treading on cobblestones, they made their way up along the stream and came upon a small cascade of water, flowing at the modest rate of a bucket tipping over, but its name was grand: Bamboo Shoot Waterfall.

From the nearby shrine, they could faintly hear something akin to chanting.

This path was challenging, especially for the city girls, who moved with utmost caution, as if between two rocks lay an invisible chasm.

Dubian Che, however, moved with ease, hopping from one stone to another and occasionally bending down to turn over stones in the stream, checking if fish or crabs were hiding beneath.

"I can’t go on, let’s rest a bit!" Ichiki Aoi called out.

Dubian Che turned his head and saw her lagging far behind, the others also looking too exhausted to move on.

"Let’s take a short break," Kiyono Lin nodded and said.

Dubian Che glanced at her, whose stamina was at a mere three points. The rest had already sat down to rest, and despite their clothes being soaked with sweat and faces flushed red, she remained engrossed, incessantly photographing with her SLR camera.

Dubian Che hopped down and approached her, "You should take a break too."

"...Okay," Kiyono Lin nodded slightly, arranging the footage she had just captured.

"You’re quite stubborn. Why didn’t you suggest taking a break earlier if you’re tired?"

"It’s nothing," Kiyono Lin responded indifferently.

Suddenly, Dubian Che burst into laughter.

At his laugh, Kiyono Lin immediately shot him a cold glare, "Mr. Dubian, what are you laughing at?"

"I was reminded of when we first started school, the running scene between the two of us."

Back then, both of them had stamina at three points, and on the track, it was a fierce competition, equally matched, neither willing to be the last.

Kiyono Lin also started to laugh, then mockingly said, "Too bad you betrayed me."

"No, no, back then, there was no betrayal between us, we were enemies."

Yuzao Haomei, sitting at a distance, pouted like a little girl at the two of them laughing merrily.

Mayi Asuka and Hanaoka Asako watched Dubian Che, smiling.

The path up the mountain was shaded by green trees, and now and then, a burst of wind would pass through, making it incredibly comfortable to just sit down and do nothing.

But with just a few steps, even without direct sunlight and beside the stream, one would immediately be drenched in sweat, plunged into a wave of heat.

At an elevation of 599 meters, walking and stopping, by the time they reached the mid-mountain viewing platform, the girls were truly unable to go any further and had to rest there for an extended time.

The stone benches were scorching hot, so the girls laid out a picnic blanket on the ground and took out water and antiperspirant to do various tasks.

Dubian Che didn’t join them on their picnic blanket. As someone from the countryside of Iwate Prefecture, he had no qualms about sitting directly on the ground, finding a relatively clean spot beneath a maple tree.

He tilted his head back and poured the tepid oolong tea in his hand into his mouth, his Adam’s apple bobbing, swallowing audibly.

"Phew—" Satisfied, he let out a sigh. Dubian Che caught Kiyono Lin aiming her SLR at him, unsure whether she was taking photos or recording a video.

He shook the now-empty plastic bottle in his hand at her.

"Mr. Dubian," Kiyono Lin’s graceful and ethereal face appeared from behind the camera, "You can’t make such frivolous gestures."

"Frivolous?"

Dubian Che couldn’t understand how ’boasting about guzzling half a bottle of water in one go’ could possibly be considered frivolous.

Could it be Kiyono Lin knew the joke ’I, Kuafu, only drink in a single gulp’?

"You should gaze toward the north," Kiyono Lin said, something even more cryptic.

"North... I’m not homesick to that extent." Iwate Prefecture lay far to the north of Takao Mountain.

Kiyono Lin sighed, "I’m not speaking about you, I’m talking about your character setting."

"My character setting?"

"On the surface, you’re a silent, socially withdrawn boy, but in reality, you’re just immersed in your own world, aspiring to become a professional musician. Even during breaks, you gaze in the direction of Iwate Prefecture, reminiscing about the happy times spent with your childhood sweetheart. So just now, you were supposed to silently look northward."

"...This setting, that’s the first I’m hearing of it. You didn’t just come up with this now, did you?"

"How rude, I clearly wrote all these in the script."

"But I haven’t seen the script."

Kiyono Lin was taken aback for a moment, then as if recalling something, her already rosy cheeks gained an additional hint of shyness.

"Wait a minute." Dubian Che watched her evasive eyes, "Did you forget to show me the script?"

"Mr. Dubian, please reshoot that last scene, and don’t waste time," Kiyono Lin retracted her face behind the SLR camera.

Her pretty face wasn’t big, and hidden behind the SLR camera, it was impossible to see what expression she wore.

"You had me thinking you were emulating the style of a great director, allowing the actors to improvise! I’m so disappointed in you, Kiyono!"

Kiyono Lin glared back fiercely, "Follow the director’s orders, Mr. Dubian."

"I knew it!"

"Look to the North!"

The other four girls were looking over. Ichiki Aoi whispered something, Yuzao Haomei wanted to join in, but it was so hot she didn’t feel like speaking.

Hanaoka Asako stared at the two, gripping her insulated mug filled with iced barley tea, her cute little face frowning.

Mayi Asuka stood still, watching the water bottle in Dubian Che’s hand, took her own bottle to her lips, and took a small sip.

After "taming" Dubian Che, at Ichiki Aoi’s request, Kiyono Lin and the other girls started taking photos of each other.

They rested for fifteen minutes before continuing their climb. Before reaching the mountain summit, they crossed a suspension bridge.

The tranquil valley was surrounded by dense jungle on both sides, with even various mushrooms growing at the base of the trees. Such an environment’s wooden suspension bridge thoroughly ignited Director Kiyono Lin’s desire.

"Mr. Dubian, please walk across the bridge by yourself. When you reach the middle, remember to look back and show a ’melancholic yet happy smile,’" Director Kiyono Lin directed, pointing at the suspension bridge in the sun.

Dubian Che scrutinized her expression, "A ’melancholic yet happy smile’? Are you getting back at me for earlier?"

"I do plan to find an opportunity for payback, but don’t worry, everything I said earlier was for the movie. This is a scene after your death. You die in Tokyo’s busiest Shinjuku District, but your final goodbyes take place in the mountains, suggesting what you truly loved was your first love. How does that sound?"

Had anyone else said this, Dubian Che would be certain they were just making excuses and still seeking revenge. But he believed every word from Kiyono Lin—except for when she cursed him.

"It makes sense, but I’m really not the one who’s dying."

"Go on then," Kiyono Lin said, with a happy smile.

Dubian Che didn’t know if she was happy because she found inspiration or because she got the upper hand in the verbal exchange.

"Alright then." As a professional actor, Dubian Che obediently followed the director’s orders and walked towards the suspension bridge.

"Wait," Kiyono Lin called out to him, "Give me your bag first."

Dubian Che handed over the woven bag.

The weather was hot, and the strap of the woven bag retained a temperature higher than that of the body; Kiyono Lin hesitated for a moment when picking it up, then naturally slung the bag back over her shoulder.

While Dubian Che was walking across, Hanaoka Asako couldn’t help but ask, "Kiyono, isn’t Jiutiao the main actress? Why didn’t she come?"

"Today was supposed to be just for location scouting. Mr. Dubian tagged along, so I decided to shoot some scenes on the fly."

"Does Jiutiao know about today’s shoot?" Hanaoka Asako quickly asked.

After adjusting the exposure settings, Kiyono Lin turned her face with a meaningful smile, "What if she doesn’t know?"

"If she doesn’t know... I think that’s not right," Hanaoka Asako said, clenching her little fist, trying to muster the courage.

"Don’t worry," Kiyono Lin said with a faint smile, "It’s not what you think, Hua Tian."

"Really?"

"Yes. Dubian and Jiutiao, those two..."

"Is this spot okay?" Dubian Che’s voice came from the distance.

Kiyono Lin looked over, "Move back a little more... That’s it, right there."

She raised the SLR camera, aiming at Dubian Che in the middle of the suspension bridge.

The young man’s silhouette looked exceptionally upright as he walked alone toward the shadowy opposite bank.

He suddenly turned around, face alight with excitement and joy, pointing off into the distance, "Look, it’s Ultraman’s pyramid!"

...

Kiyono Lin lowered the SLR camera, and with a gaze as cold as a storm sweeping over the Arctic and Antarctic, she looked at Dubian Che.

Dubian Che put away his smile and silently turned back around.

The place really resembled the first episode of "Ultraman Tiga," where Da Gu stood on the suspension bridge gazing at the pyramid. As a professional actor, he simply couldn’t resist the urge to improvise on the spot.

But most importantly, what on earth is a ’melancholic yet happy smile’?

Someone please tell him!

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