Chapter 53: “I’ll Carry You.” Part 3

Cool and warm sensations collided.

Both flinched.

Qiu Yiran nearly rolled off Li Wuhui’s back like a snowball.

Fortunately, Li Wuhui was quick-eyed and handy, steadying her legs and hoisting her up properly.

After regaining balance, Qiu Yiran let out a breath but still felt her ears burning from the earlier touch. In some panic, she said, “Sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for. The hotel’s just a few steps away.” Li Wuhui carried her, pausing in place for a moment before heading toward the hotel. “Just don’t squirm.”

This woman was always going back on her word.

Earlier, when Qiu Yiran said it was a few steps, Li Wuhui denied it, saying hundreds of meters. Now, saying it was just a few steps was Li Wuhui herself.

Qiu Yiran fell silent.

After a long while, she finally squeezed out, “Do I feel heavy?”

“Not heavy.”

Li Wuhui shook her head. Her long curls rubbed against Qiu Yiran’s neck, tickling her a bit. “Qiu Yiran, you should eat more.”

In the motion, Qiu Yiran caught the scent of Li Wuhui’s hair. She exhaled with difficulty, watching their two swaying shadows on the ground—one upright, one hunched.

After a long silence, she said,

“Li Wuhui, actually, you’re an even more amazing person than anyone else.”

“Why say that all of a sudden?” Li Wuhui’s steps were slow.

As if because she was carrying her, she couldn’t walk fast. Or as if because she was listening to her speak, she didn’t want to walk fast.

“After that car accident, didn’t they put three screws in your lumbar vertebrae too?” Qiu Yiran lowered her eyes.

At this point—

She seemed to already feel the pain of those screws being driven in. Her hand unconsciously tightened.

“That’s basically unbearable agony for anyone, but afterward, you still stood up. You even became such an outstanding model, and now… you can carry me like this and walk steadily for this stretch.”

“Actually, I was just worried that carrying me might reopen your old wound. But you seemed so confident and natural, I didn’t dare ask.”

At this point, Qiu Yiran paused for a long time. “You don’t like expressing pain. You bear so many things alone. But I know you’ve suffered a lot to get where you are today.”

Because Li Wuhui rarely showed herself, even deliberately making people overlook it, many forgot—there were still three screws nailed into her lumbar vertebrae.

Including Qiu Yiran, who was so close to her.

She sniffed with some effort. “I almost forgot about it just now. Even if I feel it’s tough, I shouldn’t let you carry me. But you act like it’s nothing at all.”

In that accident, it wasn’t just Qiu Yiran who got hurt. The pain wasn’t hers alone.

For Li Wuhui, those three screws in her lumbar vertebrae were also a huge challenge in her modeling career.

She wanted to keep modeling, so she could only permanently carry those three screws, continue wearing high heels, strive to step onto those high T-stages, and make her walk poised and beautiful.

But even so—

During the time Qiu Yiran felt pain, Li Wuhui never showed her own pain in front of Qiu Yiran.

Before Qiu Yiran was discharged, Li Wuhui could already get out of bed, walk on her own, and take care of herself—like a normal person.

Qiu Yiran didn’t know how this miracle happened. She was just enduring her own pain day after day, often without energy to pay attention to Li Wuhui.

When she came back to herself and found herself fallen to the ground again—

Li Wuhui had already powerfully stood in front of her, paving the way ahead with bloodied experience, telling her what to do and how, protecting her, supporting her, helping her wretched self up from the cold ground time and again.

In the end.

Qiu Yiran was a selfish person, only spouting lofty empty words.

“So?” Their shadows passed row after row of streetlights. Li Wuhui chuckled lightly. “Are you praising me now?”

“I have no right to praise you.” Qiu Yiran shook her head on her shoulder. “But you really are an amazing person.”

Even if she discarded everything she now possessed, Li Wuhui still shone brilliantly, generous and tolerant.

In contrast, Qiu Yiran was weak and numb, petty and calculating. Once she fell, she couldn’t stand back up on her own.

What right did she have to praise Li Wuhui?

“I just want to tell you,” Qiu Yiran gently patted her back, “you being able to carry me through this stretch of road already makes you amazing—so let me down first.”

“Qiu Yiran.”

Li Wuhui didn’t respond to that, but suddenly asked her,

“Today I clearly lost, so why did you still take photos of me?”

Qiu Yiran worried about Li Wuhui’s waist and didn’t dare jump down rashly. She thought for a moment and explained, “Actually, it was originally just an accident.”

“An accident?” Li Wuhui asked.

“Mm.” Qiu Yiran found it a bit hard to admit, “Actually, I just accidentally touched it.”

Compared to the things Li Wuhui had accomplished through sheer willpower, that little accident from moments ago was utterly insignificant.

“Let me down.”

After a pause, Qiu Yiran said quietly,

“Something this simple, anyone can do. It’s not like you need to do anything for me.”

She said it twice.

But she didn’t dare move around.

She just awkwardly patted Li Wuhui’s shoulder and stubbornly repeated,

“Let me down.”

“Why?”

Li Wuhui didn’t obediently put her down, but asked again.

Qiu Yiran was stumped.

But Li Wuhui acted as if she hadn’t heard those words at all. She stubbornly kept carrying her forward, as if rewinding to a minute earlier, and asked once more,

“Why, when you clearly won, did you still take photos of me?”

Qiu Yiran fell silent for a moment. “I already said it was an accident.”

But Li Wuhui stubbornly pressed, “Even if the first one really was an accident, what about the ones after?”

Qiu Yiran stopped talking.

Li Wuhui let out a soft breath, then laughed inexplicably.

“What you’re saying is, someone just now pressed your hand down on the shutter for you? Or a ghost possessed you and took over your body to snap photos of me?”

Qiu Yiran was completely defeated. She had no idea how to convince Li Wuhui to let her down.

“Weren’t you really wanting to see the Northern Lights today?” In the end, she had no choice but to voice her true feelings right there in front of Li Wuhui.

“But there were no Northern Lights tonight.”

Her voice grew softer and softer. “And I just didn’t want two things to leave you feeling regretful tonight.”

“I wanted to do something for you too.” Realizing the words might sound ambiguous, Qiu Yiran hurriedly added an unnecessary clarification. “After all, you’ve helped me so much on this trip.”

They were halfway through the journey now, about to cross the Europe-Asia Divide into Europe.

So much had happened along the way.

Many times, it had truly been Li Wuhui carrying Qiu Yiran forward.

Xuebing was right—even if the outcome was predetermined, she should have been nicer to Li Wuhui.

Of course, this hardly counted as being nice to her.

She had only ever been angry at Li Wuhui over her own issues.

“But I realized that now, there are so few things I can do for you.” With that thought, Qiu Yiran forced out a deep breath.

“No matter how I look at it, I can’t help you in Paris, so the least I could do was try a little with the things you wanted to see.”

Their white breath scattered across their shadows.

Qiu Yiran smiled.

“In the end, the one who benefited was still me.”

Only after spilling the whole thing did she realize Li Wuhui hadn’t said a word. Thinking she must be too exhausted from carrying her to speak, Qiu Yiran anxiously patted her shoulder. “Let me down, really—we’re almost there.”

“My body’s not as weak as you make it out to be. Even at its worst, that was over three years ago. It barely acts up anymore, and carrying you to the hotel door is such a simple thing—I can handle it.” Li Wuhui rejected her request once more.

She even warned her,

“But if you keep squirming around like this, who knows.”

Qiu Yiran froze, not daring to move.

Li Wuhui laughed at her tension—a breathy chuckle, her breathing growing a touch heavier.

“If I’d known you’d be this obedient tonight, I would’ve made this bet sooner.”

Still that casual tone, neatly tying everything up.

Qiu Yiran froze.

“But—”

Carrying her, Li Wuhui lowered her head.

“Whether it’s you in Paris or whatever comes later… you’ve helped me a ton.”

“You know better than anyone that without you, I wouldn’t even be Li Wuhui right now.”

Her voice drifted away on the wind, faint and soft. “Don’t deny that to my face.”

Qiu Yiran said nothing, just quietly watched their shadows.

Li Wuhui, probably afraid of dropping her, kept her eyes carefully on the path ahead as she continued,

“And as for the photos tonight—even if it really started as an accident like you said, and even if right now you’re stuck being carried back to the hotel for whatever reason…”

Her tone emphasized it. “You’re not as useless as you claim.”

“Tonight, you still pulled off something really difficult, and no one can deny it.”

Her final words left no room for argument. “Not even you.”

By then, they were nearly at the hotel.

Qiu Yiran didn’t reply right away. She just said tiredly, “We’re almost at the hotel—can you let me down now?”

Li Wuhui didn’t let go. She demanded a clear answer.

“Do you get it?”

Qiu Yiran refused to speak at first—she had no clue what world-shaking feat she’d supposedly achieved to earn such earnestness from Li Wuhui.

Nearly a full minute of deadlock passed.

Li Wuhui smiled.

Then she called her full name. “Qiu Yiran.”

Stubbornly repeating herself. “You were amazing today. Got it?”

Her tone was so certain, it brooked no denial.

Qiu Yiran sniffed back the burn in her nose and finally forced out the words with great difficulty.

“Got it.”