Pretending to Cultivate in Kindergarten-Chapter 245: The Mountain Path

After driving for some more time...

They finally arrived at their destination in the late afternoon.

Lin Mountain.

This spot was chosen by the three girls together when they decided they wanted to hike in the mountains.

Not for any grand reason—just because it had the character “Lin” in the name. It sounded like Lin Zhengran.

Although there weren’t many tourist attractions on the mountain, that didn’t really matter to any of them. The whole point was to relax.

They parked the SUV in the lot at the base of the mountain.

There were only a few cars scattered around. Even though it was a holiday, the rain had clearly discouraged most people from coming.

After waking up, the three girls leaned against the car windows and looked out at the dim stairway climbing the mountain.

Raindrops drizzled from the sky, and occasionally, flashes of lightning flickered between the clouds. The trees on the mountain rustled gently, though thankfully, there was no wind.

Jiang Xueli, looking cute and a little silly, gulped nervously inside the car.

“This is Lin Mountain? It looks nothing like the pictures…”

She pulled out a brochure from the car showing off Lin Mountain—sunshine, flowers, birds, and bustling tourists.

But in reality, Lin Mountain looked completely wild and deserted except for the narrow man-made steps. She even started to wonder if there were tigers or bears lurking somewhere.

Jiang Xueli stared at the pamphlet and then the mountain. “Are we sure this is even the same place? It feels kinda creepy.”

If the three girls had come by themselves, He Qing might’ve been scared too.

But with Lin Zhengran there, her courage shot up. “Maybe it’s just because it’s raining? The skies are gloomy—give it a few days and it’ll be fine.”

Unexpectedly, Han Wenwen looked quite intrigued by the desolate mountainside.

“This place is cool! Feels super mysterious!”

Her invisible fox tail practically wagged behind her. She looked like a fox spirit coming home.

Lin Zhengran sweatdropped. Jiang Xueli did too. Yup, this girl’s definitely a reincarnated fox spirit.

Lin Zhengran reminded them, “Alright, grab your umbrellas. There’s no way we can explore today. Let’s just hike up to the lodge halfway up the mountain. They’ve got a collection of antiques on display.”

Jiang Xueli flipped through the brochure. “Oh yeah, I remember now—the lodge’s exhibit is one of the few tourist attractions here. Supposedly they’ve got a lot of rare collectibles, but the brochure doesn’t show what they are.”

“We’ll see when we get there. I’m kinda curious myself.”

Lin Zhengran opened the door and stepped out with his umbrella.

The three girls each followed with their own.

Because the stairs were too narrow to walk side-by-side, they had to go in a line: Lin Zhengran in front, then He Qing, followed by Jiang Xueli, and Han Wenwen taking the rear.

Han Wenwen volunteered to be last since she wasn’t the least bit afraid.

Even so, as Jiang Xueli climbed the wet, slippery steps, umbrella in hand, she couldn’t help shivering from the cold air and the eerie forest around them.

This place really isn’t haunted?

Han Wenwen noticed her reaction and laughed. “Lili, are you scared?”

Jiang Xueli replied stubbornly, “I’m not scared! I’ve just never hiked a mountain before, okay? It’s just... unfamiliar. And there’s so many of us—why would I be scared?” She was clearly stammering.

Han Wenwen was surprised. “You’ve never been hiking?”

He Qing also asked curiously, “Lili, you’ve never climbed a mountain?”

Jiang Xueli replied like it was obvious, “Yeah, what’s so weird about that? Zitong City doesn’t even have mountains. I’ve never been to a place like this. My parents never really took me traveling.”

The little fox nodded in understanding.

“That explains it. Back in my hometown in the south, there are mountains everywhere. We’ve got all kinds of events too—like the Heart-Linking Festival! Super accurate! If you're single, you draw a fortune stick on the mountain and find your true love. If you’re already with someone, your relationship deepens!”

Girls were naturally drawn to this kind of thing. Even Jiang Xueli perked up, intrigued. “Really? That sounds fun. I want to go to your Heart-Linking Festival sometime.”

Han Wenwen smiled. “For sure! It’s seriously accurate. I’ll take you with He Qing when we get a chance.”

He Qing beamed. “Yeah, we’ll take you!”

But right after saying that, she glanced at Han Wenwen’s playful smile and suddenly remembered something...

Back when they were kids, during the Heart-Linking Festival, Wenwen had drawn a fortune stick with the character “Lin” on it.

At the time, she’d joked that maybe her fated one was someone from Lin Zhengran’s family or something. But now... thinking about it...

Could that stick have been referring to Lin Zhengran all along? ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Did Wenwen believe Lin Zhengran was her true love?

Otherwise, why would she say the festival was “super accurate”?

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense...

While the girls chatted, Lin Zhengran kept leading them up the path. Interestingly, despite how long they’d been walking...

They hadn’t seen a single other person.

The only sounds were the rain and the croaking of frogs and other mountain critters. Not even any lights.

After what felt like forever, Jiang Xueli realized her shoes were starting to get damp from the rain.

She glanced back—and suddenly realized Han Wenwen was missing.

“Huh? Where’s Han Wenwen?!”

Lin Zhengran and He Qing also looked around.

“Wenwen? Where’d she go?”

Jiang Xueli stammered, “I don’t know! She was just behind me!”

She turned around—only for a human-shaped figure with a fox tail to suddenly appear and pat her on the shoulder.

“I’m right here.”

Jiang Xueli freaked out like a startled kitten, screamed, tossed her umbrella, and bolted straight into Lin Zhengran’s arms, trembling and tear-eyed.

“Zhengran! Zhengran!!”

Han Wenwen took off her fuzzy cartoon fox mask and looked confused.

“It’s me—why are you so scared? Isn’t this mask cute?”

Jiang Xueli peeked out and saw it was just a fuzzy fox mask in Wenwen’s hand.

She started to relax... but then noticed the pink fox tail swaying behind Wenwen.

She panicked all over again.

“No! You’re not Han Wenwen! You’re a fox spirit from the mountain! You even have a tail!!”

She burrowed deeper into Lin Zhengran’s arms.

Han Wenwen turned around and pulled the tail off. “Huh? This is a toy too—it’s fake.”

But Jiang Xueli was still huddled in Lin Zhengran’s embrace, trembling.

“Fake?”

Knowing she’d never been to the mountains before, Lin Zhengran gently patted her head and comforted her:

“Don’t be scared, Lili. I’m here, remember? And Wenwen wasn’t trying to scare you.”

With tears still shimmering in her eyes, Jiang Xueli stubbornly replied:

“I... I’m not scared. I just haven’t been to a place like this before.”

“Alright, alright. Just let me hold you for a while.”

“You don’t have to...” she murmured, but she didn’t move from his arms either. Slowly, she began to calm down.

Seeing Lin Zhengran hug her like that made both Han Wenwen and He Qing jealous.

They wanted to be hugged too.

He Qing asked curiously, “Wenwen, where’d you even get that mask and tail? We didn’t see you carrying anything earlier.”

Han Wenwen replied casually and pointed off to the side. “Got it at the shop by the lodge entrance. There were lots of people there.”

The four of them followed a small side path—and all of them widened their eyes in shock.

Because right there, halfway up the mountain, was a huge lodge!

It was lit up brightly and bustling with activity. Outside the lodge was a long row of food stalls and street vendors.

Couples and tourists wandered under umbrellas, chatting and laughing. The area was well-lit and full of life.

Everyone was stunned.

He Qing gasped, “Whoa! So many people?! But... we didn’t see anyone on the way up!”

Lin Zhengran looked at the directions people were coming and going and suddenly realized something.

“We must’ve taken the back trail. Look at where everyone else is coming from—they’re not walking the same path we did.”

Jiang Xueli saw all the people and her fear instantly vanished, leaving only embarrassment behind.

He Qing added, “I knew it! This place is in travel guides and everything. Even if it’s raining, no way it’d be deserted. We totally took the wrong path up.”

Then she smiled brightly. “But this place is so lively!”