Snow was falling in the mountains, but it was still summer outside. I didn't know which climate better represented the real world. I just stared blankly at Yang Sisi shivering in the wind and snow... Gradually, a picture formed in my mind: a seaside town, the heroine riding a bicycle along the sea, her sweat and the afternoon sun shining together on the endless asphalt road...

So beautiful! Like the splendor after the collision of winter and summer; like colors in disarray, like a bewildering vortex.

And I, in an instant, turned white-haired in the snow; in an instant, I was full of boundless energy in the noisy summer.

"Michael, I suddenly thought of a sentence, do you want to hear it?"

"What did you say?"

"But your tavern is already closed, and I, full of joy, freeze to death on the long street!"

With snowflakes falling around me, I stared blankly at Yang Sisi...

She returned to my side as if nothing had happened, picked up the discarded air conditioner blanket, and then shivered as she crawled back into the car.

She asked me for my phone, and then her attention was completely focused on the photo I had just given her... She first smiled, and then her eyes filled with tears.

Only then did I roughly understand the meaning of "Your tavern is already closed, and I, full of joy, freeze to death on the long street".

...

I got back into the car, sat in the driver's seat, and lit a cigarette. She didn't mind me doing that; on the contrary, she seemed to enjoy the surreal world enveloped in smoke even more than I did.

That's good, then we don't have to see each other too clearly.

Some feelings are most heartbreaking when you see them clearly.

I rolled down the car window, threw my half-smoked cigarette out, and then started the car.

I said to Yang Sisi, "Get ready to leave."

"The snow hasn't stopped yet."

"I'm afraid you'll catch a cold. Catching a cold at high altitude can be fatal... We need to get to Shangri-La City as soon as possible."

Yang Sisi climbed from the back seat to the front passenger seat. While taking care of herself, she also covered my legs with the air conditioning blanket. At that moment, my heart felt warmer than my body!

...

The car drove another 20 kilometers, and the sky began to darken. At my current speed of only 30 kilometers per hour, it would take at least two more hours to get out of these continuous mountain ranges; by then, it would definitely be completely dark.

What terrified me more than the night was the remaining fuel; the fuel gauge clearly stated that it was only enough for another 120 kilometers.

I don't know what road conditions were used to calculate this 120 kilometers. If it's based on the fuel consumption of driving on mountain roads, we might still have a chance to make it out. But if it's based on average fuel consumption, we definitely won't be able to make it out.

Although I was unsure of myself, I didn't show my fear to Yang Sisi. I kept telling her that we would be out once we crossed the next mountain, until she became numb to it all, because the endless mountain road seemed to have no end in sight.

...

I drove like this for an hour, and it was completely dark by then. The snow had stopped, but I only had 60 kilometers of range left on the fuel. I was sure that this was based on the average fuel consumption, and on such mountain roads, it could only go a maximum of 40 kilometers.

Is 40 kilometers really enough to make it outside?

With this worry in mind, I finally asked Yang Sisi, who hadn't spoken for a long time, "Have you checked if your phone has a signal?"

"No."

Are you using China Telecom?

"Um."

"Then take a look at mine. Maybe China Mobile already has a signal."

Yang Sisi picked up my phone again, looked at it, and shook her head again...

The air was thick with my tension and anxiety... I started to control the accelerator, avoiding sudden acceleration and trying to keep the car moving at a constant speed to reduce fuel consumption.

Suddenly, the car's low fuel warning light came on. My heart skipped a beat. Yang Sisi also came over to look, then her face showed despair. She said to me, "Are we going to die in the mountains today and never get out?"

"Don't talk nonsense. Every year, so many people drive from Lijiang to Shangri-La, and I've never heard of anyone dying in the mountains because their car ran out of gas!"

"Who knows if we've taken the wrong road? We haven't seen a single car in all this time."

"It can't be wrong... Do you know how much it costs to carve out a road in the mountains?... Who would build a road that can't be traveled here for no reason?"

"When will this end? We're already in the mountains before 3 p.m.... It's almost 8:30 now. I've never seen such a hopeless road... Maybe we should turn back, at least we'll know where we can get back!"

“Turning back would be a dead end… Let’s hold on a little longer. Once we get past that mountain, we’ll definitely be able to get out.”

"I really can't trust you anymore. You've said the same thing eight times already!"

I clicked my tongue: "Judging by the time, it's about time to drive out... It's okay, even if we can't drive out, it's not like we won't encounter any other cars on the road. As long as there are cars passing by, we can get out."

"Let fate decide."

After saying that, Yang Sisi leaned back in her chair, feeling quite dejected, and stopped talking.

...

After circling around the back of a mountain to the front, I thought everything would become clearer, but as far as the headlights could see, the mountain road still stretched endlessly into the distance; looking at the nearly empty fuel tank, I became increasingly anxious.

Finally, after a series of shudders, the car gradually lost power, and I knew it was out of gas... For safety, I forced myself to drive the car to a relatively open area, and then got out to check.

Visibility is very poor at night; all you can see are mountains.

...

Back in the car, Yang Sisi was already wrapped in an air-conditioning blanket and had shrunk into the back seat. In order to survive, I squeezed into the back seat with her.

The phrase "survive" is not an exaggeration; at this point, the temperature outside the car had dropped to minus five degrees Celsius. We had no hot water, no food, and no warm clothes. Heaven knows if we could survive the night here.

Yang Sisi hugged me tightly, while I stared blankly out the car window.

It's stopped snowing outside, and you can even see the stars, but I don't know where I am... Apart from the sound of the wind, everything is eerily quiet.

"Michael, are we really going to die here...? I'm so scared!"

"No... Think about that rhododendron you just saw... It has to endure wind and rain every day. We're much more comfortable than it. We have a car, like a small house... If it can survive, why can't we?"

"It doesn't even need to eat or sleep yet, can you manage that?"

I was speechless after Yang Sisi's retort...

After a while, Yang Sisi whispered in my ear again, "Actually, I'm not that scared of dying next to you... really, but you have to hold me tight, I'm afraid we'll get separated after we die..."

"Are you an idiot? You're not that easy to kill!" Want to chat with more like-minded people about "My Tenant Miss"? Follow "Youdu Literature" on WeChat to read the novel, discuss life, and find kindred spirits!