Facade of Love

| looked at Idris, my mind still sluggish.

Seeing this, he did not ask any more questions. He merely urgedto freshen up, then tookout of the hotel.

My mind cleared up a bit while we were in the car, and | remembered that he had mentioned takingsomewhere last night.

| wanted to ask him where we were going, but | knew he would probably not tell me, so | decided to close my eyes and continue sleeping. He had wokenup way too early, and it was still dark outside.

When he wokeup again, we had already arrived at the foot of a mountain. Surveying the unfamiliar surroundings, | furrowed my brow and asked him, "Are we here?" He nodded and reached out to pull me.

After getting out of the car, | saw him holding tickets at the entrance. | was curious, so | glanced at the ticket and asked, "Holy Mountain? Why did you bringhere?" Why did he askto wake up early for this? He looked atwith a warm gaze and explained, "You mentioned before that there are many Catholics in Tully City, and you wanted to visit the cathedrals here. | did sresearch, and this place has the most beautiful sunrise. We'll climb to the top of the mountain to watch the sunrise, and then I'll accompany you to visit the cathedral." It seemed that | did mention wanting to visit the cathedrals here before. At that time, | was thinking about the hundreds of lives lost at the foot of Snakehead Mountain. Since Madam Young was coming, | thought she would enjoy visiting a cathedral. | did not expect him to think that | was the one who wanted to come.

Looking at him, | could not help but smile and nod. "Okay." Climbing a mountain in the early morning was a first for me, especially with Idris. The mountain was silent, with only occasional bird chirps, insect sounds, and our breathing. The air was fresh, but the silence and darkness added a hint of eeriness.

"Idris," | called out as | followed behind him.

He turned to look atand asked, "Too tired to go on?" | shook my head and reached out my hand. "Can you hold my hand and helpup?" | was a bit scared, but I did not mention that, trying to maintain a bit of dignity.

He pursed his lips, smiled, and nodded. Then his large hand grasped mine, pullingforward.

With him holding my hand, it was not as terrifying. As the day gradually brightened, we soon reached the mountaintop. It was windy at the summit, but luckily, | had dressed warmly before leaving, so | was not cold.

Standing at the summit, the sun was just about to break through the clouds, casting layers of brightness. It was both mysterious and magnificent.

In just a few seconds, the fiery sun pierced through the distant mountains and broke through the clouds, bathing half the sky in a radiant and grandeur display. Idris had been right. The sunrise here was indeed beautiful.

| noticed someone was looking atand turned my head, meeting Idris' gaze. The sunrise had cast a hint of orange on his face, which contrasted with his smooth and flawless complexion, making him look like a living painting.

| had intended to compliment his good looks, but he spoke first, saying, "The last twe watched the sunrise was in autumn.” Thinking back to the last twe watched the sunrise together, | could not help but blush slightly. Thankfully, the vibrant colors of the eastern horizon obscured any changes in my expression from his view.

Withdrawing my gaze from his face, | looked at the fiery sun already hanging high in the sky and said, "The sunrise here is truly beautiful." He remained silent, quietly accompanyingas we both appreciated this breathtaking view.

Many years later, | would recall this morning's sunrise countless times. | would climb the highest mountains and seek different angles to capture a sunrise as beautiful as the one we witnessed that day. However, no matter how many mountains | climbed or angles I tried, | could never again see a sunrise as magnificent as the one on this day.

In my memory, today's sunrise represented everlasting nostalgia.

Idris and | stood at the mountaintop for about half an hour until the sun had fully risen above the peak, dispersing the hazy clouds and painting the sky with a deep, azure blue.

Then, we headed toward the cathedral.

Arriving at the cathedral's entrance, | glanced at Idris and said, "Let's go light scandles." He furrowed his brows. "Light candles?" I nodded. "Since we're here, we should go inside and pay our respects." He did not say anything, but it was evident that he was not a believer. | knew he was a staunch atheist, but | still wanted him to joinin offering prayers to the innocent lives.

| dragged him along and lit scandles in the cathedral. Afterward, | pulled him withas we knelt and paid respects to the statues within the cathedral. It seemed like we paid our respects to every single thing inside the cathedral.

He probably had never been to a cathedral, let alone knelt and prayed. After we finished, we sat by the cathedral's flower bed to rest. He looked atwith a serious and solemn expression, asking, "Yvette, when did you start believing in God?" | chuckled and replied, "I don't know. | just feel that since this world exists, it means that sthings beyond us may actually exist too. But they're invisible and beyond our perception." He raised an eyebrow. "So, why are you so devout? What are you praying for?" What was | praying for? | gazed at the words ‘Great Hero Cathedral’ in front of the building and said softly, "I'm praying for the departed souls to rest in peace and for the living to be safe and healthy."