Though they usually joked and bickered, giving someone a piggyback ride was… a bit too intimate.
Without warning, Jiang Bai stood and hoisted Hu Tao onto his back, catching her completely off guard.
"Tomorrow's your birthday, Director. Can't have the birthday girl worn out. This one's on me—I should've found the place earlier. Would've saved us all this rushing…"
He could teleport wherever he wanted. But other people weren't so lucky—traveling meant walking, step by step.
Liyue didn't exactly have convenient transportation. Besides a few carriages, it was mostly just your own two legs. And in mountainous terrain, forget even hoping for a carriage.
He should've found the place sooner. That way, they wouldn't have had to cram the whole journey into just a few days.
Jiang Bai sighed internally. Lesson learned—plan ahead next time.
Hu Tao was light. For someone like Jiang Bai, carrying her was effortless. He honestly felt like he could climb ten flights of stairs with her on his back.
Caught off guard, Hu Tao's whole body tensed up—back stiff, arms awkwardly suspended in midair, unsure of where to place her hands.
"Director, relax a little! You're gonna fall off—grab my neck!"
Jiang Bai suddenly staggered forward.
Startled, Hu Tao instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck to avoid slipping off.
Her cool fingers brushed against his throat—and Jiang Bai felt a flutter of something dangerously close to giddiness. But in the very next second, a choking sensation overwhelmed him.
"Easy—easy! You're gonna strangle me!"
His face turned blue.
Hu Tao had reflexively clamped down with all her weight, hanging off his neck like a full-body noose.
As he finally caught his breath, Hu Tao let go with one hand and thumped his shoulder in irritation.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
He definitely did. No way she was buying that "tripped-on-a-rock" excuse.
"Director, I swear! I just lost my footing for a second—stepped on a little rock, that's all!"
"Really?"
"Totally!"
The mountain trail was quiet at night. They could hear the soft trickle of streams down the cliffs, frogs croaking in the moist underbrush, even the steady rhythm of their own hearts.
Hu Tao felt her heartbeat speeding up. It didn't feel… normal.
She lay across Jiang Bai's back, chin resting on his shoulder, one arm holding a lamp, the other still around his neck, her eyes fixed on him without blinking.
The angle gave her a different perspective from usual.
Jiang Bai was always goofing around in front of her, shameless and carefree. Yet somehow, all the others saw him as pure-hearted and shy. He'd mastered the art of being two-faced.
But she didn't really mind. In fact, the fact that he behaved differently around her—uniquely so—made her feel oddly pleased.
Watching him like this felt... unfamiliar.
He was clearly tired—she'd seen him quietly massaging his legs whenever they took breaks—but still insisted on carrying her.
Such a show-off.
She shifted her position a little, settling in more comfortably.
He always looked skinny, but his shoulders were unexpectedly broad.
Weirdly… reliable.
The trail wasn't easy. Especially not while carrying another person. Yet Jiang Bai's pace was steady—not fast, but firm. Though the path was rough, the ride wasn't too bumpy.
Before she knew it, Hu Tao had fallen asleep.
She was a light sleeper—no snoring, no noise. Jiang Bai didn't even notice until he turned his head to say something and realized she wasn't responding.
Seeing her peacefully asleep against his shoulder, Jiang Bai's heart pounded uncontrollably.
He stared at her for a while. Her cheeks looked so soft, so temptingly pinchable...
He couldn't help himself—his hand reached out.
Just as he was about to touch her face, a little ghost popped out of nowhere, arms crossed, glowering at him like a watchful sentry.
Jiang Bai yanked his hand back like he'd been caught stealing.
"Ahaha… good evening, Yuyu."
The ghost didn't answer, just crouched on Hu Tao's shoulder and continued to glare at him like he was a thief.
Hu Tao's lashes fluttered, but she didn't wake.
As Jiang Bai climbed higher, the night deepened. The stars grew brighter. The moon hung overhead, casting soft silver light on the path below—he didn't even need the lantern anymore.
With the summit now just a short distance away, he didn't put her down. Instead, he powered through and carried her all the way up.
It wasn't until he finally lowered her to the ground that his legs gave out.
"…Hsss—" He sucked in a sharp breath as pain shot through his calves.
He'd meant to carry her just for a bit to give her a rest. But now here they were—at the top. And this was the price of being stubborn.
Hu Tao yawned and opened her eyes.
What she saw was a vast sea of clouds. Aside from the narrow platform beneath them, there was nowhere else to stand.
She blinked in confusion. "Where… are we? We're here already?"
She stood up and peered down. They were high up—really high up. But the place felt oddly familiar.
"Not yet. This is Qingyun Peak," Jiang Bai pointed upward. "Where we're going… is in the sky."
"In the sky?" Hu Tao tilted her head, searching. But aside from stars, she saw nothing.
"We have to fly the rest of the way," Jiang Bai said with a grin.
He checked his pocket watch—still a few dozen minutes to midnight. They could get there in ten minutes max. No need to rush.
Slumping against the central mechanism's stone pillar, Jiang Bai let out a groan. "Let's take a break. My legs are done."
"Didn't you say you'd carry me for a bit? How'd we end up here already?"
"Well, you looked like you were sleeping so well, I didn't want to wake you. Wouldn't do for the birthday girl to start her day exhausted."
He said it with a casual smile, pretending it hadn't taken a toll at all.
But Hu Tao could see the tremble in his legs and knew better.
Always acting tough.
"You could've just put me down," she said. "I'm not that delicate, you know."
She pulled out a little folding stool and patted it. "Put your leg up. This Director will graciously give you a massage!"
"Then I won't be polite!" Jiang Bai plopped his leg up instantly.
Getting a leg massage from the Director? Once in a thousand years!
"Not everyone gets to enjoy Director Hu's premium massage service," she said, rolling up her sleeves.
She knelt beside him and began pressing his calf muscles through the fabric, working along the meridians and pressure points to ease the tension.
"Ah—ow ow ow ow OW!"
Jiang Bai's shriek echoed across the mountaintop, startling a whole flock of sleeping birds into flight.
"By the way, Director," he added between gasps, "with how rushed we were getting here, do you think Xiangling and the others will make it in time? Looks like it's just you and me for your birthday~"
His tone was regretful, but his grin said otherwise.
"Well whose idea was it to run off to the middle of nowhere for a birthday?" Hu Tao said flatly—and pressed down hard.
"Ghh—ow ow ow OW OW—!"
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T/N: OOOOOH WAS IT PLANNED??