He was the type of person whose words were sometimes so direct that no one could catch them.
In the past, even his group of sharp-tongued male friends had been no match for him, let alone Yin Guo, who had always been soft-spoken and mild-tempered. However, she had learned her lesson: if she couldn't win the argument, she would just look at the scenery.
"Nothing left to say?" the man beside her teased.
He really was pushing his luck... Yin Guo pointed out the window, changing the subject. "Look, the rain seems to be letting up."
Lin Yiyang was still smiling.
Fine, he’d stop teasing her. If he teased her until she got truly upset, he’d be the one who had to coax her back.
The water marks splashing against the windshield grew smaller and smaller; it was much better than before.
Rain on the island always came and went without a trace of lingering. Ten minutes later, the sky cleared, and the bright sun became dazzling.
His original plan was to head to their lodgings first, but seeing that she was in good spirits, he changed his mind on the fly. He drove her straight toward a dormant volcano over four thousand meters above sea level.
Before heading up the mountain, he gave Yin Guo some private space in the car to change, letting her put on thick clothes first. He stood alone by the edge of the road, his back to the car, looking out at the vast grassy slopes. The landscape here was much better; at least the ground was no longer charred black from cooled lava, but covered in large patches of green and yellow grass and half-withered shrubs.
There were no predators on the Big Island, and the direct result of this ecological imbalance was an overwhelming number of wild goats.
As Yin Guo fastened the button of her jeans, she watched the herds of wild goats through the window. There must have been hundreds of them, grazing on the undulating grassland. In a nearby hollow, she could even see the white bones of a goat.
"A rainbow!" As soon as Yin Guo hopped out of the car, she pointed to a neon arc spanning the mountain range.
This was the first rainbow she had seen on the island. A few hours later, by the time she counted the seventh one, the novelty would wear off.
"This is the Rainbow State," he said, pointing to a car that had just driven past. He told Yin Guo to look closely at the license plate; besides the numbers, there was a rainbow emblem. "You can see how many you can spot in a day. The person I know who saw the most counted fourteen in one day."
Once you see them enough, they lose their novelty.
After a short rest at the base of the mountain, they first went to the visitor center at over two thousand meters to have hot drinks and warm up. He wanted Yin Guo to acclimate there for half an hour first, fearing her body wouldn't handle a sudden ascent to the high plateau.
Seeing that she was reacting well, he felt confident enough to take her up to the peak at over four thousand meters.
The higher they went, the worse the road conditions became. It was all gravel and dirt, with no guardrails for protection. Fortunately, he was experienced and had rented a four-wheel-drive SUV with good climbing power. He was also skilled at mountain driving, and they successfully reached the summit by noon.
In the sub-zero wind, Lin Yiyang pulled her along as they continued to climb toward the very top. The April snow was thin, failing to cover the ground in some places and revealing the brown volcanic soil beneath.
This was the place on Earth that most closely resembled the landscape of Mars—above the clouds, desolate and silent.
Lin Yiyang looked for an angle to show her the distant active crater. From afar, one could see red flames and white smoke rising from the end of the mountain range. Meanwhile, right before them on this peak, a dozen or so spherical and cylindrical white buildings were scattered across the undulating summit. Were these the only pieces of equipment on the peak? Or were they buildings?
"Those are observatories," Lin Yiyang told her.
It was her first time seeing an observatory up close, and she found it quite novel.
Nearby was a hiking tour group that had come up on schedule. The guide was pointing at the observatories and giving the tourists a detailed explanation, saying this was one of the best astronomical observation sites in the world. Because of its latitude, one could see the entire northern hemisphere's starry sky and over eighty percent of the southern hemisphere's. It was a paradise for astronomy enthusiasts and a sacred site for stargazing for ordinary tourists.
The guide concluded: "This is the place closest to the sky."
He wasn't talking about physical distance, but rather the purity of the starry sky, which was so breathtaking that if you looked up at night, the arched Milky Way would seem to be right before your eyes, within reach.
Yin Guo listened with great interest from the side and asked him quietly, "Do they use those telescopes to look at the stars at night?"
"You can't go inside the observatories," he said. "And no one is allowed to stay on the summit after dark, so the observatories can work."
If you wanted to see the stars, you could do it from anywhere on the island—unless you were an astronomy buff who brought your own telescope or waited in line to use the ones at the visitor center.
He had brought her here because he wanted her to see the Milky Way and the starry sky.
But that was a matter for tonight.
The summit was too cold and the altitude too high; it wasn't suitable for a long stay.
He pulled down the zipper of his hiking jacket, took it off, and wrapped it directly around her. Then he rubbed her hands between his palms. "Does your head hurt?"
Yin Guo shook her head. She was breathing a bit heavily, but she was okay.
Lin Yiyang took her back to the car and turned the air conditioning to the maximum to warm her up. He stepped out briefly, and when he entered the SUV again, he brought in not just the cold wind, but also remnants of snow on his sleeves.
He started the car, took off the watch on his left wrist, and handed it to her. "Put it on."
"What for?"
"Watch the time," he said. "Within three hours, I'll have you down at sea level."
At first, she didn't quite understand.
After Lin Yiyang drove her down the mountain, he kept his foot on the gas. The speed was much faster than when they came up. It was fine on the mountain, but once they reached flat ground, it was a total sprint.
The altitude kept dropping, and the temperature kept climbing, soaring from zero to over thirty degrees.
Aside from a mid-way stop to change into summer clothes and a quick visit to a gas station to fill the tank, they didn't stop the car again. Two hours and seventeen minutes later, the car pulled up to the coast.
She stepped out of the car barefoot, ran to the trunk to find her backpack, and dug out her flip-flops. Before she could put them on, Lin Yiyang had already lifted a deep blue cooler box from the trunk. "No need for those. Let's hit the beach."
She carried her flip-flops in one hand while he pulled her by the other, running across a small sandy path. In the thirty-plus degree heat, torches on wooden stands were burning in clusters along the coast.
He placed the blue cooler on the sand.
Yin Guo thought it was chilled drinks, but as soon as the box opened, white mist billowed out.
It was a box full of densely packed snow. He had actually brought snow down from four thousand meters just like that? Had he driven like a daredevil just for this box of snow?
Tourists near and far were looking over.
He had originally planned to rent a pickup truck and bring a whole truckload of snow down to the beach so she could build a snowman. But he changed his mind later; first, because there was less snow on the summit at this time, and second, because loading the truck was too much trouble and would have ruined the surprise.
"It's not much, just something to play with," he said, dumping it all onto the sand into a small mound.
Yin Guo watched the snow melt before her eyes. Even though it was packed tight, it couldn't withstand the baptism of the thirty-degree heat. She frantically tried to salvage the snow on the beach. "It's all going to melt! What do we do if it melts?"
He, on the other hand, acted as if nothing was wrong. He sat under the shade of a tree, hugging his knees, watching her cry out about the melting snow while desperately trying to scoop it back up, being watched by onlookers as if she were a crazy person.
She watched the snow melt, soaking into the sand.
Finally, she threw her arms around his neck. She didn't care how much sweat was on him or how much sand was on her hands; she just held him and refused to let go. How could there be such a man? Taking you up a snowy mountain, then racing to a midsummer beach in the middle of the Pacific, giving you a whole box of winter snow right there on the sand, beside clusters of torches, amidst tourists in all sorts of bikinis and swim trunks, under the gaze of everyone.
He patted her back gently, his touch full of indulgence and comfort.
Nearby, some people were saying it was crushed ice from a cold storage unit, while others guessed it was dry ice—only to be rebuffed by someone saying you can't touch dry ice... All sorts of speculations flew, but no one knew them, and no one would ever guess the answer.
Lin Yiyang’s hand slid down, resting on the edge of the girl's denim shorts, slowly and gently tracing the stitching. "Are you happy?" he asked as she held him.
"Yes." She was deliriously happy.
If he had brought a whole pickup truck of snow here just to force a romantic mood like a madman, she might not have been this happy. When you love someone, everything you do that seems to be for their pleasure is, in fact, also for your own.
Seeing her happy made him even happier.
The empty cooler sat beside them. Before long, the snowmelt inside had completely evaporated.
Lin Yiyang went to buy her a pineapple slushie to beat the heat. Yin Guo held the pineapple shell, sitting on the beach to watch people surf. Sweat rolled down her face as she bit the straw, wanting to smile at him every few seconds.
Later, she couldn't sit still. She put down the pineapple and walked in circles around him, her feet sinking into the sand with every step, circling him again and again like a star orbiting the sun.
After an unknown number of laps, he suddenly reached out and caught her ankle in the fine sand. "Aren't you afraid of getting dizzy?"
Yin Guo shook her head, her lips curling into a smile, as he pulled her down to sit right in front of him.
She looked at him expectantly. Her sideburns and the bangs on her forehead were soaked through. A bead of sweat rolled down from her right temple, past her neck, and disappeared into her round collar.
Lin Yiyang could imagine how that bead of sweat traveled into her clothes and down her front.
"What are you thinking about? You're not saying anything," Yin Guo asked him.
The smile that had started on the snowy mountain hadn't faded; it remained in full bloom on her face.
"I'm thinking," Lin Yiyang’s hand rested on her shorts, "about you."
His palm was burning hot, and the fine grains of sand were rubbing against her skin.
"I'm thinking," he added, "that you should go catch up on some sleep."
Anyway, it was too late to head back up the mountain to watch the sunset. It was better to go to their lodgings, rest for a bit, and then head out at night to watch the stars until sunrise.
"Shall we go?" he asked.
She nodded. She would go anywhere with him, even to the ends of the earth.
Lin Yiyang had booked a glamping tent with a king-sized bed in a small town, located within a jungle.
On the way there, her mind was wandering. She opened the car window, and the hot wind billowed in. It wasn't cool; instead, it brought the characteristic humid heat of the island and a sticky sweat that clung to her skin.
The car stopped on the grass in front of the tent. Yin Guo used her feet to search for her flip-flops in front of the seat, but before she could put them on, Lin Yiyang had already leaned into the car, scooped her up by her back and the crotch of her knees, and carried her out.
Yin Guo wrapped her arms around his neck. She saw two umbrellas pass by and noticed three girls looking back at them, making her feel a bit embarrassed. "I can walk myself."
"It's raining. You walk too slow."
Rain again—the rain of the Pacific.
Within two minutes, Lin Yiyang stepped into the tent at the edge of the jungle. He used his leg to push aside three wooden folding chairs that were in the way and laid her on the bed. In the humid jungle, even the sheets and bedding felt damp.
There were even frogs croaking.
Sleeping in a tent in the jungle carried the scent of earth in the rain. Combined with the sound of rain on the roof, it gave her the illusion that she was in the open air, being watched. "Will there be a lot of bugs at night? And mosquitoes?"
A girl's level of concern regarding bugs was something even Lin Yiyang—who hadn't had a girlfriend in the past—had understood deeply since kindergarten. He immediately snuffed out her fear. "We won't sleep in the tent tonight. I just want you to catch up on some sleep here."
"Then isn't booking the tent a waste?"
They had arrived near dusk; leaving it empty all night would be such a waste.
As she discussed this with him, her legs were pressed against the quilt, swaying back and forth right under his eyes. Lin Yiyang had truly intended to let her sleep for a while; after all, her energy was long spent after a long flight followed by a full day of activity.
His plan was elsewhere; the folding chair by the bed was his resting spot. He could check emails and get some work done. But now... her legs were so white and slender. They were thin but not bony, and even when her knees were slightly bent, they formed a beautiful curve.
The rain gradually grew heavier, drumming against the top of the tent.
Yin Guo looked up at the ceiling, thinking that a tent might not be suitable for a rainy day because it would be too noisy. Gradually, waves of heat began to spread over her body, either through her clothes or directly onto her skin.
Drowsiness breaks down one's willpower; it's easy to be led along, and once led, things tend to veer off course.
The tent door was closed but not zipped tight. A slight breeze blew in from the opening. He pulled the quilt out from under her and covered her with it.
"It's hot," she grumbled. It was sweltering and humid, and being covered with a quilt was practically torture.
"If I don't cover you, people can see in from outside."
"...Why don't you zip it up?"
"Too lazy to move."
She adjusted her position in Lin Yiyang’s arms, resting her face in the crook of his elbow. Her voice was husky as she said, "I'll sleep for a bit... ten minutes... is enough."
Those were the last words she said before falling asleep.
In her daze, she felt Lin Yiyang slip two things that felt like rubber bands onto her ankle and wrist. She furrowed her brows and tugged at the band on her wrist; she didn't want to take it off, but it felt a bit tight. That was the last movement she made before falling into a deep sleep.
"Mosquito repellent bands. They're for kids, but I thought they looked nice, so I bought some for you to try." Those were the last words she heard him say before she drifted off.
***
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
大岛 | Big Island | Referring to the island of Hawai'i.
彩虹之州 | Rainbow State | The official nickname for the state of Hawaii.
天文台 | Observatory | Referring to the Mauna Kea Observatories.
防蚊圈 | Mosquito repellent bands | Wearable bands infused with repellent.
大床帐篷 | Glamping tent | A luxury tent equipped with a large bed.
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