After rebirth, I rejected the rich yandere lady

The sky had already brightened with the first light of dawn.

The mountain peak was getting closer and closer, the golden temple and the Jade Emperor's summit were now in sight.

From a distance, the plaque of the Southern Heavenly Gate was already visible.

Climbing a mountain was a test of strength, and Xu Musen was beginning to feel completely exhausted.

Yao Mingyue's small face was both flushed and pale beside him, and although the altitude wasn't that high, they were thoroughly worn out from the climb.

Actually, a beautiful girl like her would probably be more suited to going to the beach, wearing a bikini and sunbathing with sunscreen.

"We're not there yet..."

Yao Mingyue was so drained that she didn't even have the energy to tease Xu Musen anymore.

At the moment, she was clinging to the railing, feeling as if she couldn't take another step.

"Just a few hundred meters to go,"

Xu Musen said, looking at her collapsed state, he added, "I told you to take the cable car, but you insisted on proving yourself. Now you know what it's like to be tired."

Yao Mingyue leaned against the railing and looked at Xu Musen, her weary eyes still showing a rich depth of emotion.

"Of course, I knew it would be exhausting, but on the way up, no one else tried to claim you, did they? I think it's quite worth it."

Yao Mingyue revealed an exhausted, foolish smile. Too much climbing could cause a lack of oxygen to the brain, much like being drunk.

Xu Musen watched her as the golden sunlight at the horizon cast upon her cheeks.

It made her phoenix-eyes look extremely attractive, and her cheeks appeared soft, the fine down on them adding to her charms.

Eighteen-year-old Yao Mingyue, sometimes still showed a bit of childishness. In a moment of haze, he seemed to see the little girl who always liked to follow behind him yelling "Brother."

A fine seedling, it's a shame it had grown askew.

With careful pruning, perhaps it could still be saved.

"Let's hurry, or we'll miss the sunrise."

Seeing that she really couldn't walk much further, Xu Musen reached out his hand and grabbed her wrist, starting to move forward.

This was the first time Xu Musen had taken the initiative to extend his hand.

Yao Mingyue was stunned for a moment and forgot to walk.

"Are you coming or not?" Xu Musen glanced at her.

Yao Mingyue looked at her wrist in his grasp and brought a soft smile to her weak cheeks.

"Let's go, what's with the attitude?"

She leaned lightly against Xu Musen, embracing his arm.

The mystery of the girl adhered to his arm, and Xu Musen glanced at her again.

Yao Mingyue also looked back at him with her eyes open.

If you're not going to speak, then let's just hold it in.

Xu Musen took a deep breath.

He had been careless.

After climbing for so long, both legs were weak, but one part was still full of vigor.

Having crossed the Southern Heavenly Gate, they were about to reach the golden temple. The platform was already crowded with people, all waiting for the moment of sunrise.

Xu Musen called his parents.

"You two have arrived too, right? Then just take Ming Yue around for a walk, your dad and I are walking around the other side, don't disturb us unless you have to! Make sure to have fun with Ming Yue."

Xu's mother called them, not planning to meet up with them at all.

They were giving the couple some space for a private "date."

On the other end of the phone, Xu's father, after hanging up, inquired, "Did the kids get there?"

"They've arrived already."

"Well, let's go and catch up with them."

"Hey, don't mess around. Let them be alone together for a bit,"

Xu's mother said impatiently.

Xu's father scratched his head: "Is that okay?"

"Otherwise? Did you really think coming out here was just about climbing mountains? It's because of me. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't have put up with you in the past!" Xu's mother laughed.

Xu's father coughed: "Then, shall we just go for a stroll first?"

The elderly spouses smiled at each other and promptly put the thoughts of the young couple out of their minds.

...

Xu Musen helplessly looked at the phone that had already hung up; it was definitely deliberate.

"We're finally here."

Yao Mingyue leaned on the railing, the proud morning sun resplendent in gold, dyeing her eyelashes a golden hue as well.

She gazed toward the far-off mountaintop, silently waiting for the sun to slowly rise.

The railing here was covered with all sorts of densely packed peace charms.

Some read "Forever together," "Family health," "Success in exams," "Pass the tests."

Several people had even written little essays, which would be periodically cleaned up. Judging by the markings, some of the amulets had been hanging for a very long time.

"Xu Musen, do you remember the last time we came, we also wrote one of these peace charms?"

Yao Mingyue's hand flicked through the amulets, touching them so they chimed against each other, soothing like wind chimes.

Xu Musen nodded; everyone who climbed this far usually left one of those little plaques.

He remembered the last time he had been here, it was just after starting high school.

"I remember, do you recall where you tied the amulet?"

Yao Mingyue's eyes glittered.

Xu Musen also saw the familiar post, but it was now layered with many new plaques.

Theirs had probably been lost long ago.

"It's been three years; it's probably been cleared away by now,"

Xu Musen's gaze scanned the area, but he could hardly recall what he'd written three years before.

But surely it included the words "study," "family," and "Yao Mingyue..."

"Yeah, it's been so long. People have changed, let alone a wooden amulet..."

Yao Mingyue's gaze moved searchingly over the amulets, eventually resting on Xu Musen.

Xu Musen held her gaze.

"People will always change. If an amulet is lost, just replace it with a new one."

There was nothing wrong with the amulet; it just couldn't withstand time or the fate of being cleaned away.

Yao Mingyue didn't respond as the morning sun rose slowly, forming a line of gold at the horizon.

Only from the summit could one see such a clear transition from night to day.

"Yes, if the amulet is lost, we just need to get a new one."

Yao Mingyue muttered to herself as the golden light of the morning drew a distinct line in her eyes.

"But where is the person?"

Yao Mingyue asked the sunrise, but her gaze was fixed on Xu Musen, revealing a heartbroken smile.

Musen, in another three years we'll be graduating from university. By then, will we have lost each other?"

Yao Mingyue leaned on a stone pillar, her long hair cascading down, covering half of her face.

She was tired, not just physically.

But she was also afraid.

Three years; after university graduation in three years, when the last thread binding them together would be worn thin by time, would they still be together?

Would they disappear quietly like this wooden plaque, without leaving any trace?

Yes, three years, they had already known each other for six sets of three years.

It seemed every three years brought a change.

The first three years, when their young minds first met, they seemed to have made an unspoken childhood pact.

The second three years, they started elementary school, and little Nuannuan started to follow Musen everywhere.

The third three years, Yao Mingyue was still the little girl who sweetly called out for Brother Musen.

The fourth three years, by the summer of elementary graduation, an accident changed their destinies forever.

The fifth three years, in middle school, their roles had subtly shifted—one yearning for security, the other giving in the wrong direction.

The sixth three years, the present.

It all seemed to have come full circle, the girl who used to call out for Brother Musen seemed to have returned.

But they both knew it was no longer the same as the first set of three years.

In the next three years, perhaps Xu Musen would have found a life of his own.

But what about Yao Mingyue?

Xu Musen thought of An Nuannuan's grandparents and Professor Gao.

Even at their age, they still couldn't let go completely.

Xu Musen looked at Yao Mingyue, now eighteen, with delicate skin and bright eyes, at the most beautiful moment in a girl's life.

"We have more choices. Sometimes the disappearance of a wooden plaque is to make room for new wishes."

Xu Musen looked at the wishes on the wooden plaques, but they always seemed to focus on love, career, family, and health.

"Perhaps I'm different from others," Yao Mingyue said with a smile, looking down at the densely packed blessing plaques on the pillar.

"To me, I've only ever had one wish. No matter how many blessing plaques there are, I will only ever write the same thing," Ming Yue's eyes were fervent in the morning light at the mountaintop.

"Ming Yue, I don't want you to be trapped in the past forever; there are many meaningful things in this world."

Xu Musen said, but Yao Mingyue shushed him.

She raised her head to look at the sky, where the golden sunrise shone on people's faces, sanctifying the mountain at this moment.

Is the sunrise beautiful?" she suddenly changed the subject.

Xu Musen looked up at the sunrise, the overlapping mountains bathed in layers of golden light while the highest peak was graced by a slowly rising golden sun.

This moment was, of course, one of the most majestic and beautiful scenes in the world.

"Climbing for three or four hours just to witness these brief fifteen minutes of sunrise. So, if you think spending three or four hours for ten minutes is worth it, then likewise, for me, even if it means another three-year delay for you, I'm willing," Yao Mingyue said seriously, with a tenacious and slightly feverish tone.

But this time, Xu Musen found he didn't dislike it at all.

He was silent for a moment, looking at Yao Mingyue, and the two of them silently exchanged glances where the angle just perfectly framed the slowly rising sun.

The warm sunshine fell on them both, and their eyes sparkled at this moment.

Just like back then…

"Click!"

The sound of a camera shutter echoed nearby.

Turning their heads, they saw a girl with a camera who had taken a photo of them.

Xu Musen and Yao Mingyue turned to look at her.

The girl hurriedly waved her hands and said, "Don't get me wrong, I'm a photography enthusiast. I just couldn't help myself because the look in your eyes and the scene just now was so moving, so I took a photo."

As she spoke, the girl printed a photo from her camera and handed it to them.

Xu Musen took the photo, and Yao Mingyue also looked over his shoulder at it.

In the photo,

The girl looked up, the boy looked down, the sunlight fell, and their specific features were indistinct, but the misty image outlined the contours of their faces.

The golden sun rose slowly between them like a passionate yet shy heart.

"I'll give you this photo as a gift, I wish you happiness," the girl said with a chuckle, then turned and left.

Xu Musen held the photo, glanced again at Yao Mingyue's eyes, and passed the photo to her.

Yao Mingyue took it, and as she looked at the photo, her eyes sparkled, and she waved the photo in front of Xu Musen.

"It turns out that in the eyes of others, we do make a great match," Yao Mingyue said with a smile, holding the photo that was hastily developed and not very clear, yet treasuring it as if it were the most precious gift.

Xu Musen watched her holding the photo and giggling, contemplating the silhouettes of the two people in the picture.

It seemed... indeed, it was.

He turned to look at the sun that had now risen halfway.

Yao Mingyue moved closer to him.

"Musen, the sun rises anew every day, but no matter how many times, it always brings warmth to this land."

Yao Mingyue spoke with a tenderness akin to the sun's warmth.

"What I mean is, no matter how many times I start over, I will never forget liking you."

The girl's words burned intensely, as if to brand her mark on his heart.

Xu Musen was silent for a long time.

Finally, he sighed.

He stood up and walked behind him.

"Where are you going?"

"Now that we are here, I'm getting two blessing plaques."

Yao Mingyue stood there for a second.

Two...

She watched Xu Musen's retreating figure, her eyes bright, a smile curving her lips.

Then let's get them together.