Snow Mountain Tour

After dinner, Shi Youchen left the dishwasher unused, insisting on washing dishes by hand, euphemistically calling it an "equivalent exchange." Ying Yungui thought this division of labor between cooking and washing dishes was a bit cheesy, but seeing that Shi Youchen didn't seem to be thinking about it, he curled his lips and said, "How is it equivalent? It took me over an hour to cook, and you only took ten minutes to wash the dishes."

Shi Youchen's hands didn't stop moving, but his eyes were erratic: "I'll cook next time."

Ying Yungui had just turned on the electronic screen and was looking up something on it when he heard the whisper, "Which snow-capped mountain do you want to see?" He projected several of the most famous snow-capped mountains in District 10 onto the wall.

"The mountains in the northeast are the lowest, have the most facilities, and are the most visited. The mountains in the northwest are the highest and coldest in Zone 10, and are relatively remote. People say it's not recommended to go there without adequate preparation. Also..."

Shi Youchen put the last bowl away, wiped the remaining water droplets from his fingers with a piece of paper, walked over to Ying Yungui, opened his long-finished "homework", and said, "I want to go to the northernmost part, where Districts 10 and 9 are separated. There are fewer people there, so you don't have to queue, and you can climb freely."

Ying Yungui looked at his screen, which was filled with pictures and texts, and densely packed with key notes.

"Okay, then let's go to the northernmost part." As expected, he still didn't like crowds. Ying Yungui thought, "I have asked people to prepare the things I might need. When do you want to leave?"

Shi Youchen lowered his eyes and said, "I want to see the day and night there."

Ying Yungui made the final decision: "Then we'll set off north after breakfast tomorrow and talk about it later." With him around, Shi Youchen didn't have to worry about anything else. So he nodded, picked up the bag that had been placed on the corner of the sofa, and walked towards the second bedroom. "You've worked hard today. Go to bed early. Good night."

The door closed, and the sound died away. Ying Yungui stared at the door and whispered, "Good night."

In the master bedroom, Ying Yungui was talking: "I'm really here on a cross-region mission. It's nothing. Don't think too much." "Did that Luo Zhao guy say something nonsense to you again?"

The woman's voice on the other end was gentle yet stern: "Yun Gui, no matter what, you should bring the person to your mother and aunt to see."

Ying Yungui's forehead twitched: "Mom, we haven't reached that stage yet. It's very late, you should go to bed early. Staying up late is not good for your skin. I will come to see you after I finish my mission. That's it, good night!" After that, he hung up the call.

He held the water cup and thought for a few seconds, then dialed another number.

"Hello? Why are you calling so late? Don't you know that a beautiful girl's sleep time is precious?" Luo Zhao's powerful voice hit Ying Yungui's eardrums directly.

"I'm calling you just as dawn is approaching. You're still so energetic, right?"

Luo Zhao, who was ruthlessly exposed, was now sitting cross-legged in a soft chair with a moon pillow between his legs. The room was dim, all the lights were off, and only the computer screen was flashing with light.

"Go ahead and shoot him! Why are you running back? Or just let your mother carry you home. Your teammates can't even revive as fast as you can!" She typed frantically on the keyboard with both hands, typing with her hands and mouth at the same time. The phone was thrown aside and on speakerphone.

Ying Yungui: ...

A game failure icon popped up on the screen. Luo Zhao pushed the keyboard forward and grabbed the nearby bottle of happy water, guzzling down half a bottle. "What's the matter, Young Master Ying? You're still awake at this hour? What's wrong? Are you having trouble sleeping alone?" Luo Zhao grinned.

Ying Yungui gritted his teeth and said, "I'm warning you, Luo Zhao, don't tell my mom or your mom about me. Do you really think that you're the boss of District 10 and no one dares to touch you?"

Luo Zhao opened a candy and said exaggeratedly, "Oh, I'm so scared! What's going on? Do you dare to lay a hand on your only sister? Let's see if Ms. Luo Xi will nag you!"

"If I don't do anything to you, someone else will take care of you." Ying Yungui smiled meaninglessly, said a few words, and hung up.

Luo Zhao let out an "ouch" and was about to call back to have a fight when there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Luo Zhao, it's time." It was a gentle and steady male voice.

Miss Luo, who had just been showing off her fangs and claws, immediately lost her momentum and responded weakly: "I know, I'll go to sleep now!"

The person outside the door didn't say anything and stood there for a while before the sound of leaving footsteps was heard.

The next morning, Ying Yungui struggled to get out of bed with his eyes closed. He hadn't slept well the previous night, and his dreams were fragmented, though he couldn't remember them clearly after waking. After washing up and changing in the master bedroom bathroom, he opened the door and saw Shi Youchen busy in the kitchen.

"Good morning." Ying Yungui yawned, "You're up so early, can't you sleep?"

Shi Youchen put the fried eggs on a plate, poured two cups of soy milk, and brought it to the table. He wiped his hands on his apron and said, "I'm used to getting up early, and I agreed to cook yesterday."

Ying Yungui thought: Who told you that? That was your decision. But he now had a general understanding of what to say in front of a beauty and what to avoid.

By the way, I also gave Shi Youchen an impression of being "a bit stubborn" in my mind.

"Okay, thank you for breakfast then." Ying Yungui sat down. There was a wide variety of food on the plate, including hot dishes, fruits, and nuts. The presentation wasn't particularly attractive, but it was nutritionally balanced and not greasy. The soy milk was warm and fragrant.

"There are a lot of things in the refrigerator, but it's better to keep breakfast simple." Shi Youchen remained calm, but his heart was actually beating like a drum. He didn't even know what he was nervous about.

Ying Yungui smiled and agreed, "I thought so too. But after we get to the snowy mountains, I'm afraid it's impossible to have a good meal. There are no service areas there."

Shi Youchen drank some soy milk and said, "I know. It's the border between the two districts and it's sparsely populated."

Ying Yungui looked at his serious face and stopped teasing him: "Don't think so badly, I won't let you starve."

As soon as he finished speaking, both of them were stunned. Ying Yungui quickly stuffed the whole fried egg into his mouth in one breath and stopped talking.

After cleaning up after the meal, Ying Yungui received a message that the driver had arrived downstairs, so the two changed their shoes and prepared to go out.

Shi Youchen had just squatted down and put on his shoes when he noticed a card on the cabinet on the lower level. He picked it up and remembered that Ying Yungui seemed to have said yesterday, "I didn't bring my card, so we have to go in and out together."

Stared at with inquiring eyes, Ying Yungui remained unmoved. After a while he suddenly realized: "Ah! I was wondering why I couldn't find it. It turns out I forgot it here last time." Shi Youchen didn't see any flaws and went out to press the elevator button.

Ying Yungui breathed a sigh of relief as if he had been pardoned. Just as he closed the door, the door of "27B" opposite opened. The green-eyed boy he had met last night walked out and nodded at him.

I had been traveling most of the day yesterday, and when I first arrived that evening, I was groggy and still a bit confused. Now that I saw his face clearly, Ying Yungui felt that he looked a little familiar. But since he didn't speak, it was hard to be sure.

The boy followed the two into the elevator and then followed them out of the apartment building.

When Ying Yungui saw the off-road vehicle with flashy green paint parked at the door, he had a bad feeling in his heart.

The car door opened, and Luo Zhao jumped out in hiking boots, a pair of sunglasses perched on her nose, covering most of her face. When she saw someone coming out, she crushed the last bit of her lollipop, holding the stick like a cigarette, and waved vigorously in Ying Yungui's direction.

"......" Ying Yungui gritted his teeth, "Why did you follow me?"

Luo Zhao ignored him and said loudly: "Jiang Yu! I'm here to pick you up!" The boy behind Ying Yungui and Shi Youchen curled his lips and strode towards the girl.

...

In the car, Luo Zhao and Jiang Yu sat in the two single seats in the front row, Shi Youchen and Ying Yungui sat in the back row, and the co-pilot seat, which was best for enjoying the scenery along the way, was actually empty.

Luo Zhao introduced them generously: "This is my childhood friend Jiang Yu! Jiang means rivers, lakes and seas, and Yu means lush and green!" However, he did not introduce them to Jiang Yu, so Ying Yungui suddenly realized: "So 27B has been empty for so long, and now it suddenly has a resident. It was all arranged by you, right?"

"I said he looked familiar. Now I remember he's the one following you around since we were little." Ying Yungui gritted his teeth.

Luo Zhao smiled and said, "I'm just concerned about you! I specially sent Jiang Yu to protect you at close range. How considerate of you, isn't that?" In fact, she had heard that Ying Yungui actually came to District 10 with someone, and even took an ordinary passenger plane. She couldn't bear her curiosity, so she made this temporary arrangement.

Jiang Yu, who was at the center of the topic, was silent and just sat quietly looking out the window, which was exactly the same as Shi Youchen's current state.

Ying Yungui was really helpless with this sister and said, "Why did you follow me? And you're wearing all this intimidating-looking gear."

Luo Zhao was in high spirits. "I asked Uncle Wang about it last night. He said you guys were going to see the snow-capped mountains and asked him to help prepare things. He also told him not to tell me so I wouldn't bother you. Humph, Uncle Wang is my family, he's definitely on my side!"

Ying Yungui looked at her smug face and raised his eyebrows: "So?"

"So I'm going with you!"

"Oh, but where we're going doesn't have the facilities or service areas we have elsewhere. Can you handle that?" Ying Yungui, knowing her temper, deliberately asked. Unexpectedly, Luo Zhao wasn't frightened this time. "So, shouldn't I bring Jiang Yu with me? He'll protect me!"

Luo Zhao turned around and asked Jiang Yu: "Really?"

"Yeah." Jiang Yu nodded solemnly.

Ying Yungui rolled his eyes and waved his hand: "Forget it, it's up to you. Don't cry and want to go back halfway. Also, don't disturb us from doing serious business."

Luo Zhao snorted, "What else can you do?"

Ying Yungui smiled and said, "Yes, it will take a whole day and night to do it."

Shi Youchen nudged Ying Yungui with his elbow, not sure whether he wanted him to shut up or change the subject.

Fortunately, although the destination is the northernmost part of District 10, it is not particularly far from L County where the departure point is.

Shi Youchen counted three thousand four hundred and twenty clouds floating by intermittently, and the scenery outside the car window changed from tall buildings to plains and then to overlapping valleys. Finally, he arrived at the border area between Districts 10 and 9 in the evening.

"There are regulations in the border area. Ordinary vehicles cannot go any further." So the driver and the car stayed in a small town outside the mountains. Shi Youchen and his group of four changed their clothes and shoes, took two bags, and disappeared into the mountains.