“Sister Zhanya, tomorrow’s Saturday. Got any plans?”
As the workday neared its end, Xiao Xiao suddenly asked.
Her nimble fingers toyed with a pencil while she twisted her head around, her eyes gleaming with anticipation.
Cheng Zhanya shook her head.
She hadn’t slept well the past few days and felt utterly exhausted. All she wanted was a solid nap; nothing else could pique her interest.
“How about we go for a hike?” Xiao Xiao suggested with a beaming smile, her face alight with eager hope.
Was she for real?
Cheng Zhanya stared at her in disbelief.
“Hiking in this weather?” She’d end up baked crisp.
It had rained that morning—not too heavy, but enough to leave the ground damp. The office shielded them from the outdoor heat, but the air was still muggy and oppressive.
“Yeah! Let’s grab the tail end of summer.”
Cheng Zhanya smiled. “Let’s pass.”
“Come on, come on!”
“I heard there’s an acrobatics show at Breast Peak Mountain tomorrow night.”
“And the night view’s gorgeous—you can see all of South City.” Xiao Xiao gazed at her pitifully, clasping her hands in a pleading gesture. “No one’s going with me, and coming down alone kinda scares me.”
The hike was bait.
The show was the hook.
Cheng Zhanya found it amusing. After a moment’s hesitation, she asked, “Are we heading out early?”
“Nope.” Xiao Xiao seized the opening and pressed on. “I’m mostly there for the acrobatics. Afternoon’s fine.”
After pondering it, Cheng Zhanya agreed.
She was never good at turning down requests, especially from someone like Xiao Xiao, who was great company and had helped her out plenty at work. Besides, she rarely ventured out since starting her job. With some free time, a mountain climb sounded like a decent choice.
“Wanna meet at our usual station?” Xiao Xiao’s grin made her whole face brighten.
“Sure.”
Cheng Zhanya gave a faint smile and turned back to her work.
With no alarm to rouse her, Cheng Zhanya slept straight through until noon. Her stomach felt hollow, churning with nausea.
The sky hung gray, threatening rain at any moment.
Her sleep-tousled face bore the marks of fatigue: slightly swollen eyes and lips that were unhealthily pale. Her hair, sleek and smooth, draped neatly over her shoulders without much disarray.
A cool breeze wafted in from the balcony.
After washing up, Cheng Zhanya boiled a simple pot of egg noodles to settle her lunch.
She rested for a bit before her phone buzzed with a message from Xiao Xiao.
—Sister Zhanya, whatcha doing?
—I packed rice balls and drinks, so don’t bring too much stuff!
Cheng Zhanya chuckled softly and texted back an okay.
She seldom joined outings like this and had no clue what to prepare. It was a tourist spot, after all; the mountain probably had everything.
Before leaving, she swapped her bag for a black cloth one—deep and roomy enough to hold all her miscellaneous items.
They rendezvoused and switched between subway and bus.
The stretch near the entrance was a snarl of traffic; the bus lurched forward and halted repeatedly. Suddenly, Cheng Zhanya felt carsick, her stomach roiling with the urge to vomit.
She clamped a hand over her mouth and nose, her brow creased in misery.
Xiao Xiao glanced at the ant-trail congestion outside. “I just remembered—today’s Qixi Festival!”
Cheng Zhanya didn’t answer. Opening her mouth might unleash the vomit.
Her face had gone ashen, a sickly mix of gray and green.
“Sister Zhanya, you okay?” Xiao Xiao noticed her pallor and grew concerned.
Not okay.
Far from it.
Cheng Zhanya shook her head, squeezed her eyes shut, and pressed the back of her head against the cool glass.
“I didn’t know you got carsick.”
Xiao Xiao berated herself inwardly. They were at the final stop—just a couple hundred meters to go—but the jam held them fast.
Private cars darted through gaps like weasels; the bus jerked to a sudden halt, nearly hurling passengers from their seats.
Cheng Zhanya’s nausea intensified.
She suffered from mild carsickness, harmless on smooth rides, but this endless stop-start churned her guts.
Sour bile swelled in her throat, on the verge of eruption.
“Almost there, Sister Zhanya. Just hold on.”
Xiao Xiao fretted more than she did.
Buses stuck to stations in heavy traffic; weaving out would spell disaster.
Cheng Zhanya drew deep breaths, exhaling slowly.
The nausea ebbed slightly, less urgent than before.
She gave Xiao Xiao’s shoulder a gentle pat, a silent reassurance.
Xiao Xiao’s heart melted.
Cheng Zhanya was the one suffering, yet here she was, comforting her.
That short distance dragged on for a full ten minutes. At last, they disembarked, and Cheng Zhanya dashed to the nearby restroom. She doubled over and heaved.
The toilet’s stench worsened everything; she retched harder.
It felt endless.
Tourists streamed by, all startled by her state, casting sidelong glances.
Xiao Xiao stood frozen behind her.
Vomiting that badly—could they even hike?
It took a moment for her to recover; then she stepped up and rubbed Cheng Zhanya’s back gently.
“Any better?”
Xiao Xiao’s face brimmed with worry.
Cheng Zhanya’s ears buzzed with white noise; her mind blanked out.
Her legs buckled, forcing her to grip the sink for support.
Her stomach seemed determined to empty itself.
In the end, only sour water came up.
Her complexion was ghostly pale, as if stricken by illness.
Hiking? The show? Xiao Xiao’s mind emptied of such thoughts; she just prayed Cheng Zhanya wouldn’t faint.
“Let’s hit the hospital first.”
Cheng Zhanya waved her off, scooping water to rinse her mouth over and over until the foul taste faded.
She paused to rest, then meticulously cleaned the sink.
Turning around, she asked Xiao Xiao, “Got anything sour or spicy?”
“I’ll grab some sour plums.” Still uneasy, Xiao Xiao steadied her. “Wait outside for me.”
“Sorry to trouble you.”
Xiao Xiao shook her head. “No trouble at all.”
Guilt gnawed at her. She’d dragged Cheng Zhanya out for fun, only for festival gridlock to leave her puking her guts out.
Drained from the ordeal, Cheng Zhanya sank onto the cement ledge bordering the grassy square. She rested her hands flat on her knees, cradled her head in them, and closed her eyes for a spell before color returned to her cheeks.
She knew carsickness wasn’t the whole story.
Dusk deepened as bustling crowds flowed past her feet—some clutching kites, others balloons.
Families strolled together, shielding children in their midst.
Scenes of pure bliss.
Some came for the vista, others the performance; Breast Peak Mountain teemed with visitors.
Xiao Xiao returned bearing sour plums and water.
She peeled one open considerately. “Sister Zhanya, try one quick.”
The tart-sweet morsel worked wonders on her sour stomach.
She let it linger on her tongue and exhaled softly. “Scared you pretty good, huh?”
Xiao Xiao nodded vigorously.
She had been terrified.
Cheng Zhanya’s slender frame—clad in a loose T-shirt and relaxed straight-leg pants—looked so fragile from afar. In the restroom, she’d seemed liable to blow away in a gust.
“I’m okay now.” Cheng Zhanya soothed her in a soft voice. “Let’s head out; time’s slipping.”
Any longer, and darkness would fall.
She’d come this far and hated to dampen Xiao Xiao’s spirits.
“You sure?” Xiao Xiao eyed her skeptically, assurances notwithstanding. “Then let’s take the cable car up.”
Cheng Zhanya nodded.
She lacked the stamina for climbing now; forcing it might mean missing the show.
Or arriving to no viewing spot.
She couldn’t bear trekking all this way, retching half to death, only to miss the performance.
The cable car ticket booth sat partway up, reached by a flight of stairs.
Xiao Xiao, far spryer, bounded ahead two steps at a time. “Sister Zhanya, I’ll queue first. You follow slow, okay?”
Cheng Zhanya flashed an OK sign.
Watching Xiao Xiao’s retreating figure, Cheng Zhanya sighed at their stamina gap. They differed by just three or four years, yet she moved like an old fogey.
She gave a wry shake of her head and climbed steadily.
By the time she reached the booth, Xiao Xiao had the tickets in hand. She waved them triumphantly with a cheeky grin and sauntered over.
They summited just as the sun dipped below the horizon.
Xiao Xiao snapped photos of the scenery while Cheng Zhanya watched from the side.
“Sister Zhanya, let’s take one together!” After the landscapes, Xiao Xiao begged enthusiastically for a selfie.
Cheng Zhanya smiled lightly. “Sure.”
“You’re so pretty, your pics demolish everyone else effortlessly.” Post-snap, Xiao Xiao squished her cheeks in envy, sighing praises all the while.
Cheng Zhanya had left her hair down today, smooth and flowing, with the front tucked behind her ears and a few strands draping across her chest. Glossy black against her skin, it made her face seem even smaller and fairer, her lips curved in a gentle smile, her eyes twinkling like stars—soft, harmless, effortlessly captivating.
Photos done, night was closing in.
Xiao Xiao offered a rice ball. Cheng Zhanya had no appetite, but with lunch purged, hunger gnawed.
It was tuna-filled, squished out of shape with oily patches on the wrapper. One bite nearly triggered her again.
The fish itself was mild; it was pure reflex. Cold foods were off-limits now.
She didn’t push it, apologized to Xiao Xiao, and rewrapped it.
On instinct, she popped a sour plum.
Unwittingly, she’d gone through half the pack.
Dinner sorted, they made their way to the stage area, already ringed by a crowd.
Petite Xiao Xiao dragged Cheng Zhanya forward, wedging them into the front row.
As the show kicked off, onlookers multiplied, jostling rudely to edge ahead. Cheng Zhanya struggled to keep her footing.
It wrapped at nine o’clock.
Clouds had loomed all day, but no rain fell.
From the peak, South City sprawled below, its myriad lights pulsing like souls, casting the metropolis in grand, painting-like splendor.
Evening cable cars had shut down; everyone trudged down on foot.
Well-lit paths bustled with groups, warding off loneliness. Families with kids let theirs scamper and play.
Children brimmed with boundless energy.
“Sister Zhanya, wasn’t the show amazing?”
Xiao Xiao walked ahead, pivoting to face her backward while chattering.
Cheng Zhanya nodded. “It was great.”
“Phew.” Xiao Xiao beamed. “Then the afternoon barf wasn’t for nothing.”
Cheng Zhanya laughed in helpless amusement.
