HOW TO DEAL WITH A TSUNDERE GONG
Chapter 44 – First Snow

The next morning, Xu Bai Chuan followed Xu Yuanshan and his teammates to climb the mountain in order to avoid Tang Jin. After setting off at 6 a.m., they arrived at the foot of Wuling Mountain at 8:30 a.m. and began climbing upwards.

Sunny and clear skies were in view at the outset, but it suddenly took a turn and became overcast. Xu Yuanshan, who was unreconciled about not climbing to the summit, said over and over again that he already checked that it wouldn’t rain nor snow today, but for the sake of their safety and under Xu Bai Chuan’s insistence, he reluctantly headed down.

After hiking for half an hour, the sky, which seemed to be splashed by ink, became pitch-black. Not long afterward, snow and rain fell together. It was actually time for B city’s first snow.

They stood in place for a while but didn’t know when the sleet would halt. Very soon, their cotton clothes were soaked by the rain, and the freezing winds made them shudder. Since descending the mountain at their regular pace was no longer an option, they could only shuffle down little by little.

Going up was easy while going down was hard. With the sleet permeating, the ground became muddy and slippery. Xu Yuanshan’s foot stepped on a protruding rock and his body abruptly plunged downwards!

Thrown into disarray, Xu Bai Chuan didn’t even think as he ran forward, directly grabbed onto Xu Yuanshan’s hand and forcefully pulled back. Xu Yuanshan was thrown onto the steady ground, but Xu Bai Chuan, who was too rushed, slipped and tumbled down the incline.

Xu Yuanshan and his teammates’ panicked cries could be heard one after another, but Xu Bai Chuan could only hear blurred voices because his world was already flooded with the sound of his heartbeat that was almost jumping out his chest, and the scraping of dead branches. He struggled to grab onto anything he could, and at last, he hooked onto a tree trunk of a small tree, but his hand, due to the large downward force of his weight, slid downward and endured sharp pain. Just when his life was hanging on a thread and he was about to let go, a strength came out of nowhere. His other hand flung upwards, grabbing onto the trunk as well. Exerting both his hands, he eventually stopped sliding downwards.

His gasping, the pumping of his heart, and the slight shaking of the tree against the ground deafened his ears. Only after calming himself down for a long time did Xu Bai Chuan hear the sobs coming from above: “Ge!!!!!”

Xu Bai Chuan climbed up a little, wedging his body between the incline and the tree trunk. He shouted at the top of his lungs, “I’m fine!!!”

Xu Yunshan immediately rejoiced. “Ge! Where are you! I’ll go down and rescue you!!!”

Rescue my ass. One person slid down and he was just clinging on, if two slid down, both will fall to their doom! Let’s not make things worse.

This kid Xu Yuanshan sure was simple-minded. Living with Xu Bai Chuan for three years, the relationship between the two of them was even better than that of Xu Yuanshan and Xu Yunhai. Afraid that he was really going to come down, Xu Bai Chuan hurriedly shouted, “Don’t move! Stay right where you are and call the police!”

But the signal had been bad ever since they arrived at the mountain. Moreover, the falling sleet made it impossible to dial people. After a quiet exchange with his friends, Xu Yuanshan looked in all directions, snapped off a branch to use as a cane, and walked down.

Both rain and snow were unending, and it grew colder and colder. Xu Bai Chuan’s hands hugging onto the tree were already frozen stiff. The instant he realized no voices came from above, he shouted, “Xu Yuanshan!!!”

Shortly afterward, a reply came from above. It was the voice of that teammate: “Xu Ge! There’s no reception on the mountain, Yuanshan went down to look for help!”

Xu Yuanshan was acting so rashly when the trail was this slippery, what if…Xu Bai Chuan’s stomach dropped. As his hold wasn’t tight enough, his body dropped down and his arm which was stretched out before, was in so much pain it almost cracked. Exerting all his strength, he was able to wedge himself again. He was utterly frightened.

As it grew colder and colder, the rain gradually cleared up and only snowflakes floated down. Although some floated into Xu Bai Chuan’s collar, he didn’t dare move and brush them away. His clothes, drenched by the rain, became so rigid he felt like iron clothes weighed down on him.

He wasn’t sure how long he stayed there before a voice suddenly came from above. “Xu Bai Chuan!”

Xu Bai Chuan suddenly froze. That was Tang Jin’s voice. There was no time to ponder over anything else, he yelled out in response, “I’m here!”

“Don’t be afraid! Wait for me there, I’ll go down right now!” Tang Jin shouted.

Xu Bai Chuan realized something was wrong right away. If Xu Yuanshan brought people along, it wouldn’t have only been Tang Jin. That meant Tang Jin came by himself!

“Don’t come down!”

No one responded. Almost five minutes passed when crumbling noises sounded from above Xu Bai Chuan’s head. After restraining his movements, he looked up to see a rope tied around Tang Jin’s waist as he slowly descended step by step before stopping at Xu Bai Chuan’s side.

To ensure friction, Tang Jin’s bare hands clutched onto the rope on his way down, and at this moment, his hands were already a purplish-red. Yet he didn’t seem to feel it at all as he slowly moved towards the small tree Xu Bai Chuan clung onto. One hand clutched onto the rope while his other hand undid the knot around his waist. He said, “The other end of the rope is tied to a tree. Once I untie this end and tie it around your waist, you climb up first. Then drop the rope down and I’ll climb up.”

Xu Bai Chuan looked at Tang Jin and didn’t speak. Thinking that he was afraid, Tang Jin soothed him. “Don’t worry. I tied the rope with my own hands. It’s definitely stable. Only focus on climbing, don’t be afraid. Moreover, I’ll be here below.”

It was difficult to undo the rope around Tang Jin’s waist with one hand. He placed one foot on the trunk of the small tree and one hand on Xu Bai Chuan’s shoulder to remain steady. He tried wrapping the rope around Xu Bai Chuan’s body but the tree trunk was too narrow and it began to shake when he removed the rope supporting his weight.

Following along at once, Xu Bai Chuan’s heart also shook. He returned to his senses and said, “My arm is injured, I can’t climb up using the rope. Quickly go up, you can’t climb up later when the snow gets heavier!”

Tang Jin looked at him in surprise. “You’re injured?” Then he immediately said, “That’s fine, I’ll carry you up.”

He stretched out his hand towards Xu Bai Chuan. “Which arm isn’t injured? Hold onto my arm, when I take a step forward, you also take a step forward.”

Xu Bai Chuan wanted to refuse, but looking at Tang Jin’s expression, he knew that Tang Jin wouldn’t leave if he didn’t go with him. He had no choice but to lock his left arm with Tang Jin’s. Tang Jin secured his arm in a flash and asked, “Are you ready? I’ll shout one, two, and you’ll follow my rhythm as we go up, okay?”

“One…, two…”

“One…, two…”

……

Since Tang Jin’s hands were bearing the weight of two people, they oozed blood from rubbing against the rope. One time when Xu Bai Chuan was worn out and slipped on the ground, Tang Jin’s one hand grabbed onto the rope while his other hand forcefully hooked onto Xu Bai Chuan. All the blue veins in his neck bulged out as he pulled him back.

The path down only took five minutes for Tang Jin, but the climb up took a full fifteen minutes. When they finally reached the track, he used all his strength to fling Xu Bai Chuan up first, but in doing so, he swayed backward. Luckily, Xu Yuanshan’s teammates were looking at the rope on the side all along and grabbed him in time, pulling him up.

Both of Tang Jin’s hands were bleeding as he collapsed on the ground, exhausted. Panting, Xu Bai Chuan crawled over and stuffed Tang Jin’s hands into his clothes with his uninjured hand. After realizing what he was trying to do, Tang Jin kept pulling back, but he was really tired and couldn’t put up a struggle against Xu Bai Chuan.

“I don’t need…”

Xu Bai Chuan’s eyes heated up. “Just let me cover it up!”

Tang Jin remained stubborn. “I’m fine…”

Xu Bai Chuan hugged him the next second. Although their jackets were already useless due to the freezing cold, a trace of warmth could be felt from this hug.

Voices were suddenly heard from down the mountain after over another half an hour. A few people wearing uniforms climbed up the mountain and yelled from a distance, “Where are the people who slid off the mountain?!”

Xu Yuanshuan cried as he ran along with them. Once he caught sight of the two people hugging, he threw himself at them. While crying, he bawled, “Ge! I was wrong, Ge! I won’t climb the mountains ever again!!!”

After scrambling about for another half hour, a hoard of people reached the foot of the mountain, got into police cars, and returned to the city center. Tang Jin and Xu Bai Chuan changed into dry loose clothing and were admitted into the hospital together.

Tang Jin already regained some of his strength by the time they exited the vehicle. He silently held onto Xu Bai Chuan’s hand and wouldn’t let go. In the end, he unwillingly released his hand when the doctor said that Xu Bai Chuan’s right arm was swollen, and it hurt the more it was dragged.

At room temperature, the pain in his palms gradually returned. Both of Tang Jin’s hands were completely swollen until they were deep red, being sore and itchy. Medicine needed to be dripped on the wound, and he would tremble each time a drop fell. After wrapping the gauze around his hands, they turned into stuffed buns and no sight of his skin could be seen at all.

He went to Xu Bai Chuan’s consulting room right away to hear that Xu Bai Chuan’s right arm was dislocated and the joint was swollen. When the doctor tried to locate the bone, it was hard to avoid being kneaded a few times. In the beginning, Xu Bai Chuan merely groaned, but it was really unbearable so he soon cried out. Tang Jin, who repeatedly reminded the doctor to be gentler, was requested by the intern doctor to leave the room.

After waiting for Xu Bai Chuan’s shoulder to also be wrapped with layers of gauze, he finally came out. The two of them kept looking at one another without saying a word. The atmosphere was frozen.

After a long time, Xu Bai Chuan asked, “Have you eaten?”

Tang Jin immediately widened his eyes and turned his head to cover up his ecstasy. Afterward, he turned back again and raised his hands. “My hands can’t hold onto the utensils.”

Xu Bai Chuan glanced at his hands, sighing. “Don’t you have me?”

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