Night View and People

Chapter 85 Night View and People (4k)

If you were to ask Pei Xiyan what the most infectious thing in the world is right now, he would probably say it's the smile of Sana Minatozaki in front of him.

Because when you look at her, you unconsciously smile.

"Yes." Pei Xiyan smiled and continued the action that had been stopped earlier. The car slowly started, drove out of the parking lot, and merged into the traffic outside.

Then we got stuck not far from the parking lot.

The timing is really bad. I just happened to run into the tail end of the evening rush hour after dinner. The roads are still a bit congested. Through the windshield, I can see the dense taillights of cars ahead, some far away and some near, like countless pairs of bright red eyes staring back at them.

Pei Xiyan used her phone's navigation app to check the road conditions. On the map, the section of road they were on was displayed in bright red, the same color as the car's taillights.

This means that the traffic is extremely congested.

This is undoubtedly bad news.

But there's good news too: the map shows that once he leaves this area, the direction he wants to go is represented by green, indicating unobstructed passage.

"Want to listen to some music?" Pei Xiyan asked, turning on the car's display screen to keep Minatozaki Sana from getting bored.

"Okay." Sana Minatozaki smoothed her hair and looked at the screen. "Is our song on it?"

"Yes." Clicking on the category by singer name, Pei Xiyan swiped up the screen and found the one that started with the letter "t".

After finding Twice, the bright number "2" on the screen was a bit glaring. He only had two Twice songs in his car: the recent "Yes or Yes" and his favorite "What is Love?".

Sana Minatozaki noticed this too, "How come there are only two songs?" She pouted unhappily.

"These two are my favorites," Pei Xiyan answered honestly.

Other songs are certainly good too, but these two are the ones that suit his taste the best. It's like how many fruits taste great, but he only eats a few of them every day when he's willing to add them to his diet.

"That won't do." Sana Minatozaki shook her finger. "As an Once, you have to like all our songs the most."

As she spoke, she clicked on "What Is Love?" on the screen, like opening the lid of a carbonated drink. The song's energetic intro instantly bubbled up in the car.

"Every day, I experience and learn about love through movies, books, and TV dramas..."

'

Pei Xiyan felt differently listening to the song today than usual, because one of the original singers was sitting next to her, humming along in her sweet voice, like adding a light, refreshing sweetness to a carbonated drink.

He listened quietly, the only thing he needed to do was occasionally move forward a little bit to follow the car in front of him.

The road resembled a straight tree trunk, so vehicles could only crawl slowly and laboriously like snails.

So slowly, by the time Sana Minatozaki finished singing, Pei Xiyan was able to take his hands off the steering wheel and gently clap his hands, saying, "It was beautiful."

"Hehe, thank you." Minatozaki Sana said with a smile, then looked out the car window and was surprised to find that the car had only gone less than a hundred meters out of the parking lot.

"It's so congested." She sighed.

"Does Sana regret getting in the car?" Pei Xiyan gripped the steering wheel again.

"How could that be? Xiyan needs to understand one thing: once you've done something, you won't regret it. Regret is just torturing yourself over and over again." Hearing what Sana Minato said, Pei Xiyan felt that Teacher Minato was back online.

"I understand." He nodded cooperatively, then asked a question that had been bothering him for a while, "But... why is Sana here?"

Although he was happy to see Sana Minatozaki get into the car, he was even more confused because she had refused when they turned the corner, and she had been talking to the other members during the meal, and didn't seem to want to agree.

Why did they suddenly barge in at the last minute?

"Has Xiyan forgotten what I said?" Minatozaki Sana suddenly asked.

"What?" Pei Xiyan was stunned.

"If Xiyan takes the initiative." Minatozaki Sana looked at him with a bright smile.

"I... thought you were joking." Pei Xiyan pursed her lips.

How could he not remember? It was this sentence that almost caused him to have insomnia. Or rather, if it weren't for the ASMR video, he would have already had insomnia.

"So, in Xiyan's heart, I'm someone who really likes to joke around?" Minatozaki Sana's expression seemed a little sad.

Isn't that so? Pei Xiyan thought to himself, putting aside reality, he had been teased by Minatozaki Sana quite a bit in his dreams.

Although at that time he did not know that she was Minatozaki Sana.

"Yes." Pei Xiyan voiced her thoughts.

"Oops~ You caught me~" The sad expression on Minatozaki Sana's face disappeared, and she stuck out her tongue playfully.

She really loves to joke around.

As they spoke, the vehicle moved forward intermittently a little more.

"So, can Xiyan tell me where she's taking me now?" Minatozaki Sana asked.

"You'll know when Sana arrives," Pei Xiyan said, still choosing to keep it a secret.

Some secrets are more surprising when you uncover them yourself.

"Really." Minatozaki Sana pouted. "But Shiyan, remember to take me back before 12 o'clock."

This was what Jung Min-ho had requested before she came. After all, she had a schedule tomorrow, and staying out overnight was absolutely out of the question.

Pei Xiyan looked ahead, and the requirement to be home before 12 o'clock reminded him of a classic fairy tale.

"Yes, Chadella," he said with a smile.

"Yes, Pumpkin Coachman," Sana Minatozaki replied cheerfully.

After struggling and moving around for almost half an hour, the snail finally crawled out of the incredibly difficult tree trunk that was glowing red.

This also means that the road ahead is clear and unobstructed.

Pei Xiyan's destination was quite far from Sangamdong, requiring her to cross an entire district. The vehicle entered Seodaemun District, passed through the bustling Hongdae, and then exited Seodaemun District.

As streetlights and shop signs flashed past on either side of the car, Sana Minatozaki spotted a low hill in the distance.

Lights were installed on the hill, so people could see its shape clearly. There were two protrusions on the ridgeline of the hill, which, from a distance, looked like the two humps on a camel's back. Under the cover of night, the whole hill really looked like a camel kneeling and resting on the ground.

Looking at the low mountain, Sana Minatozaki finally knew where he was taking her.

"Oh, it's Luoshan Park." She turned to look at him, her expression suddenly realizing.

"You guessed right." Pei Xiyan nodded.

Sana Minatozaki knew this place because you could see downtown Seoul from the top of Naksan Mountain, and it was also a filming location for many Korean dramas to shoot night scenes.

But she never came.

"So, do we still have to climb the mountain?" As Mount Luoshan drew closer, Sana Minatozaki began to have second thoughts.

Although the hill may not look high, you only know how difficult it is once you climb it.

"No need, let's go straight to the top of the mountain," Pei Xiyan said.

He wouldn't let Sana Minatozaki, whose trip had just ended, go hiking with him; that would be too stupid.

He drove straight past the parking lot at the foot of the mountain, then turned left onto a small road built between residential buildings. On both sides of the road were walls painted with colorful murals, and Minatozaki Sana was so overwhelmed by the dazzling murals that she kept exclaiming "Wow wow wow!"

This is a very unique mural village located at the foot of Luoshan Park.

After passing through the residential area of ​​the mural village, the Panamera turned onto a road leading uphill. Driving uphill for several more minutes, we reached the summit.

He knew this route because of Bae Joo-fa. He and his sister had climbed this mountain before, and the routes recommended online were all from the foot of the mountain to the top and then take a car to leave. Bae Joo-fa didn't want to climb, so she had a bright idea and reversed the route. The two of them tried it once and went down from the top of the mountain to the foot of the mountain. It was indeed more pleasant and comfortable.

After finding a spot to park, Pei Xiyan didn't rush to get out of the car. Instead, she took a mask from the glove compartment and handed it to Minatozaki Sana.

November in Seoul is very cold, and Naksan Park is much less crowded than in spring and summer. But less doesn't mean no one is there. It's better to be safe than sorry. If someone recognizes you, it could cause a lot of trouble.

Pei Xiyan didn't want to test TWICE's current popularity on the peninsula.

Especially since the person next to me is the creator of the wildly popular "shyshyshy" killing part.

"You're very well prepared." Sana Minatozaki brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and put her mask on securely.

Pei Xiyan didn't answer, because the mask wasn't prepared by him, but rather put inside Pei Zhufa's car for convenience.

As I got off the bus, a cool breeze carrying the chill of November blew over me.

Because of the altitude and other factors, it was colder at the summit than at the foot of the mountain. Sana Minatozaki unconsciously rubbed her arms against the cool breeze. Her clothes weren't very warm, and were clearly insufficient for the temperature at the summit.

Pei Xiyan also realized the meaning behind her actions.

Sana Minatozaki had no idea what Pei Xiyan was thinking. She tilted her head slightly and looked ahead, where a glimpse of the night view was beginning to emerge from the edge of the ancient city wall ruins of Hanyang. Although it was only a glimpse, it was enough to excite her.

She took a few steps forward, wanting to get a better view of the night scene as soon as possible, while turning back to call out to Pei Xiyan, who was dawdling behind her.

Let's go...

'

The last word lingered on her teeth. Minatozaki Sana froze. A trench coat had been draped over her shoulders, its long hem reaching down to her ankles, shielding her from the biting cold wind.

She looked like a child who had stolen and put on adult clothes.

Pei Xiyan then walked from behind her to the front and helped her button up a few buttons on her trench coat to prevent the wind from leaking in from the front.

"Let's go." He lowered his hand and smiled at her.

"Yes." Sana Minatozaki looked at him, her eyes sparkling.

The two walked forward, and slowly, through the main city wall of Hanyang Ancient City on Luoshan Park, the shimmering city lights in the distance gradually came into view.

Like colorful fireworks falling to earth, or as if the night sky had been turned upside down, with thousands of lights shining in the distance, making Seoul as bright as day. Warm yellow light shone from the windows of the buildings, intertwining with the colorful neon lights on the streets, and countless lights on the ground pieced together to form a sea of ​​stars on the ground.

"Epuda (Beautiful)~" As she walked to the edge of the city wall, Sana Minatozaki's pupils reflected the "sea of ​​stars".

"Yes, it looks good." Pei Xiyan looked at the night view, then turned her head slightly.

The soft light reflected off Minatozaki Sana's profile, and a gentle breeze restlessly touched the strands of hair at her temples and forehead. She quietly looked at the night view, and Pei Xiyan quietly looked at her.

"Epuda," he said again.

The two stood silently by the city wall for an unknown amount of time.

"Want to take a picture?" Pei Xiyan broke the silence. He hadn't forgotten his other mission for the day.

Hearing this, Sana Minatozaki tightened her trench coat and looked around. There was no one around; it seemed only the two of them were there, accompanied only by the surrounding city wall and nearby spotlights. A few meters away was a large, bare patch of grass planted with trees that had lost all their leaves. From their vantage point, the bare branches of the trees stretched towards the night sky, appearing like veins visible in the night.

This place, though located in the city center, possesses a tranquility unique to areas outside the city center.

Now is the perfect time to take photos.

"Okay." She nodded gently.

So Pei Xiyan took a few steps back with her camera, retreating to the edge of the bare grass.

He first squatted down, found the right angle, and then raised the camera.

Looking at the camera, Sana Minatozaki took off her mask. Leaning against the ancient city wall behind her, she tilted her head, then raised her right hand with a bright smile, making a "yeah" sign towards the night sky.

Pei Xiyan suddenly felt that the once dazzling city night scene in the background of the camera had faded in an instant, with only the bright and beautiful Minatozaki Sana in the middle remaining.

This feeling was familiar; he had experienced it several times before.

Just like before, the moment Pei Xiyan pressed the shutter, her heart stirred.

Before 12 o'clock, the Palamera pumpkin carriage returned to the Twice dormitory in Gangdong District.

Sana Minatozaki glanced at the neighborhood outside the car window, then looked down at the time on her phone.

23: 10.

More striking than the timeline is the series of KakaoTalk messages that follow.

She had a feeling that it was all news about someone.

Looks like I'm going to get a good interrogation from the members when I get back. Sana Minatozaki thought.

"I'm leaving," she said, then unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to open the door.

Just before opening the door, she suddenly turned around, looked at Pei Xiyan very seriously, and said, "I'm very happy tonight."

"Me too." Pei Xiyan looked at her and replied just as earnestly.

The two then stared at each other silently, each looking as if waiting for the other to say something.

"Can we still watch the night view together in the future?" Pei Xiyan pursed her lips.

"If Shiyan takes the initiative," Minatozaki Sana smiled gently.

She then opened the door, and with a "click," the car door slammed shut.

Looking at the empty, deserted passenger seat, Pei Xiyan recalled the scene of Minatozaki Sana getting into the car in the parking lot earlier.

He felt like he had misunderstood something.

Actually, it wasn't a little fox that ran out of the forest.

Instead, it was the little fox that wandered into the forest in his heart.

The branches in the forest are still trembling, and the leaves on the branches are rustling against each other, sounding like applause or celebration.

Welcoming and celebrating the arrival of a rare guest in this deserted forest.