The car pulled up to the midpoint of the mountain, and Ming You got out to buy tickets. Yan Ningxi sat in the car, rolled down the window, and stuck half her head out.
There was no wind on the mountain, just swirling clouds and mist. The air was so cold it felt like it could frost over their faces.
This was a famous 5A scenic area in the Huai’an Suburbs. In summer, the average temperature was in the low twenties, making it a prime spot to escape the heat. In winter, people came to see the snow, and it housed Huai’an City’s largest ski resort.
Qi Xuexin had invited her here last winter, but she hadn’t come. She had more important things to do during her break.
Standing in the midst of these mountains, she tilted her head back but couldn’t see if the higher peaks were blanketed in silver snow. The weather app on her phone showed only 3°C, so it must have snowed already.
She had seen snow before, just scattered flurries.
One particularly cold winter in middle school, right before Chinese New Year’s Eve, temperatures plummeted across the province, and many cities got snow—including her small county town, which saw a light dusting.
She had been practicing calligraphy in her room at the time. After she started middle school, her father had handed over the annual task of writing Spring Festival couplets for the front door to her. That night, her mother came to tell her it was snowing outside and asked if she wanted to go down and see it.
She nodded eagerly, bundled up in a thick down jacket, and went downstairs with her mother. They watched the snow in the courtyard with the neighbors, and she even spotted her father watching them from the balcony.
The snow was like a wandering cloud, or Santa Claus from a fairy tale, drifting over their little county town. It didn’t linger or pause, vanishing in less than half an hour as it carried its “gifts” to the next city.
The snow left no trace.
But she remembered the hexagonal ice crystal shape of the snowflake that landed in her palm, and the way another settled on her mother’s hair.
Her mother had said that when she got a bit older, the whole family would take a winter break to see a big snowfall up north. Now she was plenty old enough, but her mother was gone.
Ming You returned to the car and saw Yan Ningxi with the window down, staring down at her own palm. Ming You leaned on the window and playfully flicked Yan Ningxi’s nose tip. “Not cold? Your nose is all red from the freeze. Silly Sister.”
She got back in the car and pulled out the new thermos she’d found in her apartment storage cabinet. She poured a little water into the lid, took a sip to check it wasn’t too hot, then handed the thermos to Yan Ningxi. “Drink some hot water to warm up.”
Yan Ningxi didn’t take the big cup. Instead, she took the lid from Ming You’s hand and drank the remaining half sip Ming You hadn’t finished.
Her lips glistened with moisture afterward. Ming You tamped down her fanciful thoughts and resisted the urge to kiss her. She poured herself another half cup of water to fight fire with fire.
“Ten more minutes to our destination. Tired?”
Yan Ningxi shook her head. “Not tired.”
She hadn’t planned the trip, packed the luggage, or driven the car. She was just enjoying the girl’s top-tier service.
…
Driving deeper into the mountains, they continued on a mountain road where visibility was less than fifty meters.
The higher they went, the wetter the road got. Ming You drove slowly and opened both side windows so Yan Ningxi could see more clearly. “Doesn’t it look like a fairy realm? Ready to enter the dream with me?”
Yes, the girl had brought her here to find a dream.
She had thought the girl would head to some famous viewpoint platform on the mountaintop, but instead, she veered off halfway and took her to a small town in the woods.
The car came to a stop. At the parking lot entrance stood a massive natural stone monument engraved with “Elevation 2180 meters” in red letters.
The ground was paved with large expanses of cobblestones, with stone paths and wooden boardwalks leading to the various buildings.
As soon as Yan Ningxi got out of the car, Ming You grabbed a hat and scarf from the back seat and put them on her. She was also wearing the thickest long down jacket from the closet.
“It rained and snowed all last night, so the trees and rooftops are all coated in frost. There’s a good chance of a big snowfall tonight too. Whether our dream is beautiful enough depends on this snow.”
“The frost is beautiful too.” This was Yan Ningxi’s heartfelt words upon seeing the rime ice scenery.
“You’re even more beautiful.” Ming You held her hands, breathed warm air on them, and rubbed them, then grabbed two bags from the back seat—one on her back, one in hand—and took Yan Ningxi’s hand. “Let’s drop off our stuff first, then go sightseeing.”
In this unfamiliar place, Yan Ningxi happily accepted Ming You’s affection.
They arrived at a two-story log-style guesthouse. Seeing no one at the front desk, Ming You made a call. “Yeah, I’m downstairs.”
A woman in her forties or fifties came out on the phone, hung up, and grinned as she patted Ming You’s arm. “The little miss finally got smart and changed her hairstyle? Look at those big wavy curls—so pretty, makes you look way more mature.”
Flattery first, teasing second. “It’s been two years since I last saw you. What massive tornado blew you here today? Is this your friend? Oh my, oh my, a little beauty and a big beauty gracing us at the same time—our whole town is honored by your presence! Watch out for all the thirsty wolves in these mountains tonight; they’ll probably come swarming to snatch you two up. Don’t go into the mountains at night, okay?”
Her speech was bold and unrestrained—”like mother, like son,” the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
And two years? She’d come last summer vacation; by this winter, it was only a year and a half.
“Aunt Mei, stop teasing us.” Ming You didn’t banter back and introduced her seriously. “My friend, Yan Ningxi. She’s a high school teacher—Aunt Mei, you can call her Little Yan or Teacher Yan. Sister Yan, this is my mom’s friend and college classmate. Just call her Aunt Mei like I do.”
“Oh, a teacher? Hello, Teacher Yan, hello!” Her reaction was even more exaggerated than Yang Guishu’s.
“Hello, Aunt Mei.” They shook hands, but Yan Ningxi felt like the woman’s eyes kept roaming over her unabashedly.
If Yang Guishu was Ming You’s Parent Number One, then Aunt Mei was Parent Number Two.
A couple who might have been lovers or husband and wife came out of the building. Their attention-grabbing height difference was at least fifteen centimeters, with the woman clinging to the man’s waist like a bird in a tree. “It won’t blizzard tonight, right? What if the roads close and we can’t get down tomorrow?”
“Then we’ll stay an extra night. Take Monday off—I’ll cover your lost wages.”
“What if we can’t get down the day after?”
“I’ll cover however many days you miss. Little one, you just don’t want to go back or go to work, huh?”
“Yeah, I don’t. I just want to stay here in the mountains with you. No boss, no mortgage…” Their lovey-dovey chatter and footsteps faded into the mist together.
“Don’t listen to their nonsense. This is only two thousand meters elevation—what blizzard? They’ve just watched too many disaster movies.”
Aunt Mei chuckled and grumbled a bit, then pulled a keycard from her pocket. “The room facing the house on the far left is yours. You know the way—head over yourselves. Weiwei and the others are on their way back from dropping off guests, should be here soon. I’m upstairs prepping dinner, so I won’t keep you company. It gets dark early—dinner at five-thirty sharp, no waiting.”
Ming You had checked the time when she got out of the car—it was just past five. “Got it. We’ll be there at five-thirty.”
“Give me your IDs first. Still gotta register officially.”
“Know it.” Ming You fished their two ID cards—hers and Yan Ningxi’s—from her pocket, where she’d put them ahead of time. “Here.”
“I’ll give them back at dinner. Go drop your bags and check if the room’s missing anything.” Once Aunt Mei turned away first, Ming You took Yan Ningxi’s hand.
Away from the small building, Yan Ningxi asked the girl, “Not staying upstairs?”
The girl shook her head. “Our dream is in the woods.”
They hadn’t come all this way just to stay in some ordinary flat guesthouse room. How could that create a dreamlike wonder? For a good dream, the romantic atmosphere had to be maxed out first.
…
They followed the boardwalk into the frosty forest, and Ming You chatted about Aunt Mei’s family. “Aunt Mei and her son and daughter-in-law run the guesthouse full-time up here. Her husband works in downtown Huai’an and comes back every weekend. They’ve been long-distance for years, but their relationship is super solid. My mom always praises them as a model couple.”
“It’s not hard to see—Aunt Mei is straightforward, big-hearted, and lucky.” They’d only met briefly, so Yan Ningxi could only infer her obvious traits.
“I have luck too.” The girl’s words floated lightly into Yan Ningxi’s ears.
As she said it, the girl’s restless thumb rubbed a few times across the back of her hand. What that “luck” meant was obvious.
Being with the girl always made Yan Ningxi’s heart feel warm and toasty. But the cold in her body constantly warned her that “greed” harmed both others and oneself.
She coveted the girl’s affection, her warmth, her beauty. A girl who combined looks, talent, and sharp wits—who wouldn’t covet her?
At the end of the roughly hundred-meter winding boardwalk, the view opened up. Three standalone triangular little wooden cabins stood at the cliff’s edge.
Each cabin was spaced about five meters apart.
The front doors were floor-to-ceiling glass facing the cliff, each with a wide overhanging deck covered by a wooden shelter. Under the shelter were table and chairs, plus a Christmas tree.
“Not many people stay here in winter—those who come for snow mostly head to the ski resort on Front Mountain. Summers bring more to the back mountain; it’s a natural oxygen bar for cooling off, especially popular with seniors. My mom comes summer and winter.”
She didn’t mention that Aunt Mei owned the guesthouse, and her mom was one of the investors.
Whether it turned a profit or not, she hadn’t asked.
“Does Aunt Mei come alone? What did you do over summer break?” Aunt Mei said it had been two years since she’d seen her—not summering with her mom? Holed up at home? Or at school?
“Went to see the outside world.” The girl looked at her playfully. “Too artsy an answer? Not like me?”
“Like the you now.” Not like the you I first met. Yan Ningxi finished the thought in her mind.
Led by Ming You, she stepped boldly onto the overhanging section of deck in her footsteps. There were no scary creaks. The base built into the mountainside was sturdy, with the planks fitting together almost seamlessly.
“I haven’t even asked—are you afraid of heights?”
“Not afraid.” Ming You’s hand gave her a great sense of security. From the afternoon when they packed, she’d handed herself over to Ming You—the girl who was finding a dream for her.
After swiping the card, the glass door slid open automatically.
They went in and set down the two bags. Ming You expertly turned on all the lights in the cabin and cranked up the heat. “Sister Yan, welcome to our Dream-Making Cabin.”
It was more than a dream-making cabin—it was romance overflowing.
Yan Ningxi took off her hat and set it on the wooden table, looking around. The layout was more like a loft. Downstairs had a carpet, hanging basket, sofa, coffee table, projector, dining table, fridge, open kitchen, dry-and-wet-separated bathroom, washing machine, and more—everything one could need.
Ming You ran upstairs and leaned over the railing. “Sister Yan, the real magic’s up here.”
Yan Ningxi went up, and Ming You leaned back against the railing, pointed at the ceiling, then climbed onto the desk and reached up to slide open a panel.
Above the panel was a square glass window. “This is designed for stargazing in summer nights, but it’s kinda gimmicky—more hype than practical. The roof gets wind and sun, plus drifting debris that’s hard to clean.”
Yan Ningxi nodded in agreement.
Looking around the setup, there was a two-meter king bed draped in white gauze curtains, a desk and vanity, a full-length mirror, and a wall of closets.
Ming You jumped down, grabbed a remote, and pressed it. The curtains on the first-floor glass windows slowly drew closed from both sides. Then the first-floor lights went out one by one, followed by the second-floor ones.
The room plunged into darkness. Yan Ningxi felt a pang of fear and panic at the unknown.
Click. The Starry Sky Lamp came on.
Stars dotted the ceiling, twinkling and swirling, dreamlike and illusory. The vast universe felt right there, within arm’s reach.
The girl came to her, took her hand, and kissed her lips. “Sister Yan, good dream activated. No more spacing out, okay?”
It was a dream, yet not a dream.
Yan Ningxi’s eyes filled with genuine emotion as she etched the girl’s silhouette into the starry sea and her heart. In this moment of silence more powerful than words, she rose on tiptoe. Under the brilliant star river the girl had gifted her, she embraced her more tightly, kissed her more deeply.
She only wanted to cast aside her worries and immerse herself fully in the wondrous dream the girl had created by crossing mountains for her. Lost in the moment, it made the girl happy—and her happy too.
They had kissed several times now, and their kissing skills had improved by leaps and bounds through mutual practice.
The girl was the vanguard for storming cities and seizing territories, while Yan Ningxi was the hunter lying in wait by a tree stump—strict defense had already become a thing of the past.
The woman’s pearly teeth parted lightly, flinging the city gates wide open; the girl’s tongue tip pressed forward, turning from guest to host. In Yan Ningxi’s private domain, sealed away for twenty-six years, the girl did as she pleased, stirring up a pool of spring water, with even ambiguous silver threads dangling from the corners of her mouth.
At this moment, the woman who had drifted into her dream fully surrendered control of her private domain. She not only submitted to the girl’s plundering but was utterly entranced by her.
