This scenic area has a winding mountain road. Although it’s a bit steep for driving and can’t reach the top, you can drive up to the halfway point, making the distance to their destination a bit closer.
In the past two years, due to the popularity of a certain rural TV drama, the concept of farmhouses and holiday resorts quietly erged in China. Local governnts began supporting farrs to establish farmhouses, and the destination for Qian and Yu Minglang this ti was a well-known farmhouse located within the Jiao Mountain Scenic Area, an hour’s drive from Lishi.
In her previous life, Qian had never heard of this place. In her imagination, a well-known brand farmhouse would be an independent villa in the mountains, serene and picturesque, conveniently accessible — a place to relax and escape the city’s hustle and experience various modern conveniences.
Her plan was to drive directly to the mountainside, park in a designated parking lot once the road ended, and then hike with Yu Minglang for about tens of minutes to reach their destination.
But Yu Minglang firmly rejected this idea.
His reasoning was that a hike, to truly enjoy nature, required a playful attitude. How could you say you went hiking if you didn’t break a sweat or exercise a bit?
He even shalessly told Qian it would only take an hour to reach the destination, yet hours later, they still weren’t there.
He carried the bags and luggage while Qian only needed to hold her umbrella, yet Qian still felt so tired her legs felt like they were made of lead.
"Hold on a bit longer, babe. We’ll be there soon." Yu Minglang looked as energetic as ever, showing no signs of fatigue.
"I’m not going any further! I won’t take another step! You liar, didn’t you say we’d get there in an hour?" Qian couldn’t care less about appearances anymore, finding a large rock to sit on and stubbornly refusing to move.
"I didn’t lie to you. At our pace, an hour would be slow. Who knew you’d be so delicate..."
Frankly speaking, he deserved to be hit, and Yu Minglang was, unsurprisingly, hit.
Qian swung her umbrella at him, "How dare you! Do you think I can compare with your superhuman stamina?"
"You can only bla yourself for neglecting exercise. Look at you, walking two steps and resting for three minutes. At your pace, we won’t reach our destination before dark."
"I’ve had enough of hiking. You go if you want to. I want to go ho!" In the sweltering heat, feeling tortured like a mad snake, Qian now regretted agreeing to co with him in the first place.
"i, do you know why I brought you out here?"
"To tornt ?"
"Wrong! Because the aning of travel, like marriage, is that the journey is long and will surely have setbacks. How can you retreat at the first sign of trouble?"
The motivational talk was so reasonable that she was left speechless!
"I shouldn’t have co in the first place!" She could have stayed ho writing her papers or flipping through fashion catalogs. Why did she go through such lengths to tire herself out so much?
"Look at you, going to extres again, aren’t you? Co, take a look at the scenery along the way. These majestic peaks and singing waterfalls, and when we reach the top, we’ll embrace the clouds and mist at the summit’s lofty heights!"
Despite how poetic and encouraging his words sounded, Qian wasn’t swayed by this toxic positivity.
"Are you sure I have the strength left to endure and experience your so-called poetic vision?"
"Soone said before marriage you should travel together, which holds great truth. If I hadn’t dragged you out of the air-conditioned room, I wouldn’t see you as you are now."
In Yu Minglang’s impression, Qian was usually in control, and seeing her act so petulantly was a rare sight.
Qian was exasperated.
"Yu Minglang, you jerk! I’m not taking another step. Do whatever you want!" She squinted to look into the distance, wondering why the road seed to worsen as they went further.
"Are you sure we’re not in the wrong place?" she asked, puzzled by the increasingly empty and steep path.
At the ticket booth, she had asked the staff, and they had said cars could drive halfway up the mountain. How did she and Yu Minglang end up in such a deserted place after walking the mountain road for a short while?
Seeing the steep winding path ahead, Qian had no desire to go further.
"Do you doubt my sense of direction? Following your bro, you’ll never get lost. I used to train in the mountains all the ti!"
Such a proud tone~
"Then tell , why is there no one else on this road?" Qian looked at him suspiciously.
Although it wasn’t a holiday, there were still visitors. How could they not see a single soul after walking for hours? There had been many tourists when they first entered the mountains.
"To stand on the peak and admire all below, the mundane travelers only know shortcuts, not understanding our joy. This path was ticulously planned by your bro. Just a bit further, and you’ll see an unknown scenic view of a narrow gorge! Walk a bit more, and you can gaze at magnificent waterfalls. Further on—"
"Stop it! You an to say that you took us on a detour, didn’t you?!" Qian, always keen at piercing through superficial issues to reveal the truth, hit the nail on the head.
Yu Minglang corrected her.
"I’m just taking the road less traveled."
What’s the fun in taking the path everyone else takes?
It’s perfect: it feels like owning a mountain, with only him and her amidst the green hills and clear waters. This was the true image of a trip in Yu Minglang’s mind.
Qian felt the urge to strangle him.
"You, little rascal! So there was a much quicker route, and you had to take on a giant circle! You tricked into walking forever like a fool, oh god, and there’s no signal in this deserted place!"
Qian pulled out her phone and found not a single bar of signal.
Even if she wanted to call a car to go back, it wouldn’t work! Stuck in this in-between place, her entire life — no, two lifetis of wits — had never yielded such stupid behavior. Why did her intelligence get challenged by him?
"Qian, despite complaints or reluctance, there’s no turning back now. You have to keep moving forward with . Complaints won’t solve anything; if sothing happens, think of a solution. If escapism isn’t an option, let’s enjoy the scenery!"
The motivational talk resud its brewing, and Qian’s emotions were teetering on the verge of explosion.
She jumped off the rock and kicked Yu Minglang.
"To hell with your enjoynt!"
Knowing full well i would be furious, Yu Minglang faced Qian’s fuming face without panic; he was even quite complacent.
He had already devised a perfect backup plan, confident i would love it even more, ha-ha!!
The guidance plan suggested by Mr. Liu was indeed for Yu Minglang to take Qian hiking.
But the decisions to change the course to the most arduous, people-less paths, actions deliberately provoking Qian, testing her ntal endurance — all were Yu Minglang’s spontaneous ideas.
Seeing Qian about to explode, Yu Minglang finally revealed his trump card.
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