At the beginning of the climb, Su Liang let go of Gu Ling's arm.
She had often seen couples holding hands in her previous life, so she wanted to give it a try. She found the intimate gesture to be quite pleasant and it didn't make her feel uncomfortable.
As they walked side by side up the narrow mountain path, their hands accidentally brushed against each other for the first time, stirring something in Gu Ling's heart.
From then on, their hands would frequently touch, appearing to be "accidental," but in reality, it was deliberate on Gu Ling's part.
Su Liang had noticed Gu Ling's gaze constantly darting downwards and understood his intentions, but she didn't call him out on it, curious to see what he would do.
It didn't take long for her to realize that their tacit understanding occasionally faltered when it came to matters of romance.
She had thought Gu Ling would "unintentionally" take her hand, and even subconsciously-awaited his move, but that didn't happen...