Chapter 281
Xie Mi remembered.
The name Xiqing Mountain did appear in the original text.
It came up in Liu Woxing’s memories.
According to the original plot, Liu Woxing once accidentally revealed a “different side” of herself during the show, and as a result, she suffered a period of online abuse.
The Liu family, deeming her a disgrace, completely ignored her already dire situation. Instead, they humiliated her with words harsher than the abuse online, belittling her until she was worthless.
It was at that time that Liu Woxing first began to waver.
She couldn’t understand—why, just because she accidentally showed her real self, did she deserve such malicious treatment?
She couldn’t understand—why was she never allowed to have a temper, why did she have to be a canary, always graceful and proper?
She was unwilling, unwilling to live her entire life behind a mask.
And so she remembered twelve years ago, when she was still a child, not yet fully shackled by the Liu family, when she first wanted to escape.
That day, twelve-year-old Liu Woxing had just attended a family banquet at the ancestral home. On the way back in the car, her mother scolded her with a stern face for all her mistakes at the banquet.
For example, hitting one wrong note on the piano. For being too cheerful while chatting with a cousin she hadn’t seen in years—unsuitable for a “proper lady.” For eating a cupcake in one bite instead of daintily splitting it into several bites like her cousin. Like some reincarnated starving ghost…
Liu Woxing said nothing. She was long accustomed to her mother’s harshness.
But then her mother turned to praise her brothers.
Her eldest brother, who always got perfect scores in every subject, bringing glory to the family.
Her second brother, who was already good at dealing with people and got along well with the other kids.
Even her younger brother, the most lovable of all, who recited poetry at the banquet like a little adult and made everyone laugh.
Liu Woxing could hardly believe it.
Perfect scores? She had them too—in all her subjects. Not only that, but every single one of her countless extracurricular classes had perfect grades as well.
As for social skills, her cousins at the old house adored her, always inviting her to join in whatever fun they had.
And her younger brother’s poetry recitation? The laughter came because he recited it wrong! Why was that amusing, while she was berated endlessly for one wrong piano note?
For the first time, Liu Woxing felt the unfairness.
So when her mother ordered her to practice the piano piece fifty times before sleeping that night, she wanted to escape.
When the car broke down on the roadside, she slipped away unnoticed into the darkness.
But the price of rebellion was getting lost in the mountains.
A twelve-year-old child, alone in the wilderness, with no one to hear her cries—terror consumed her until she nearly collapsed in tears.
So when the family, only realizing three hours later that she hadn’t been in the car, finally found her, she flung herself into her mother’s arms as though grasping a lifeline.
From then on, the shackles only grew tighter.
Whenever she felt suffocated in the Liu household, she would remember that terrible night:
“Try to escape, and you’ll fall into a deeper hell.”
So once again, Liu Woxing abandoned the thought of resistance. She endured the online abuse and the Liu family’s punishment quietly as before, then put on an even stronger mask to continue playing the perfect lady on the show.
The mountain where young Liu Woxing had gotten lost was called Xiqing Mountain.
In the original text, when this childhood memory was described from her perspective, it was full of pain.
It was her childhood shadow, the thing she least wanted to recall, yet could never forget.
Xie Mi subconsciously glanced at Liu Woxing.
He thought that hearing the name Xiqing Mountain would trigger painful memories. But to his surprise, Liu Woxing was listening with great interest.
Her eyes even carried a faint… longing?
What was going on?
“We’re about to arrive at the foot of Xiqing Mountain. We’ve prepared climbing equipment for all of you—please change now.”
“Night climbing carries risks, but the crew has professionals accompanying you the entire way. Rest assured!”
“It’s now eight-thirty. In three and a half hours, the meteor shower will begin. Time waits for no one—let’s get moving!”
The assistant director played hype man with a loudspeaker, successfully rousing some fighting spirit.
A night climb, chasing a meteor shower—it really was both romantic and crazy.
“I’ve got experience climbing. If any of you get tired, I guess I could give you a hand,” Qiu Chengye said smugly, quickly changing into his gear, stealing glances at Liu Woxing.
Liu Woxing, however, was happily studying the equipment. “Are these knee pads? And this is a trekking pole?”
Xie Mi scratched his head dumbly, choosing to stop overthinking her reaction and simply joined in gearing up.
“Does Teacher Xie believe the legend about the meteor shower?”
A pleasant male voice sounded by his ear.
It was Shen Moqing, also suiting up, pulling on his gloves slowly, asking the question as though casually.
“I’m not sure.”
Xie Mi tied his laces, then looked up and grinned. “But I’m more interested in the night climb.”
[Told you Old Xie’s true form is a monkey]
[Now that you mention it, has he ever denied being a monkey? The more I think about it, the scarier it is…]
[So Old Xie doesn’t believe in legends? That’s surprising. I thought with his whimsical personality, he’d definitely love this stuff]
[Sometimes Sister Xie is actually pretty rational]
Shen Moqing smiled and said no more. The casual topic ended there, and just then, the bus stopped at the foot of the mountain.
“No way… it’s that tall?”
Lai Bingxuan stared at the endless trail up the slope, already wanting to quit. “I’ve never climbed anything this high before.”
“Then go join the kids’ table,” Qiu Chengye retorted smoothly. “Go with Yu Jinzhe.”
Yu Jinzhe: “?”
“Who says I can’t climb? Qiu Chengye, do you really think you’re so great? Your armpit hair looks like a sea urchin.” Lai Bingxuan sneered.
“What sea urchin? That’s called manliness! A shrew like you wouldn’t understand!”
“Who are you calling a shrew, you dead sea urchin?!”
“Who are you calling a dead sea urchin?!!”
The “Royal Couple” CP was, unsurprisingly, at it again.
“Looks like Miss Lai’s full of energy. At this rate, she should be able to make it all the way,” Liu Woxing said with a smile, standing beside Xie Mi as she watched Lai Bingxuan curse and bicker with Qiu Chengye while charging up the slope.
“Teacher Xie, let’s go too.”
Xie Mi asked curiously, “You really like climbing mountains?”
At this moment, Liu Woxing was dressed in the show’s windbreaker, her hair tied back into a neat ponytail, fully equipped, trekking pole in hand, looking full of drive.
At his words, her eyes lit up with no hint of disguise. She smiled like a crescent moon.
“Mm!”
“I really like it.”
