Ye Shuning didn't expect Li Shaoyang to be so generous, but she was happy that someone wanted to seek justice for her. "Thank you, Uncle Li."

When Li Shaoyang heard this name, he looked at the grown-up girl and said, "You'd better not call me Uncle Li. It makes me sound old. I'm not even thirty yet."

Ye Shuning covered her mouth and laughed secretly, "What should I call you then?"

Li Shaoyang looked at Ye Shuning, who was smiling secretly, and remembered her mischievous childhood. He said helplessly, "Just call me Second Brother."

Ye Shuning nodded and said with a smile: "Then I will call you Brother Li."

After chatting for a while, the two felt that their relationship had become much closer and they felt more comfortable with each other.

Li Shaoyang stood up, stretched, and kicked his legs. He felt much better and his strength had returned. He turned to Ye Shuning and said, "I've recovered a lot of my strength, thanks to your pot of millet porridge. The wind is blowing now, and it's getting dark. Let's rest here for a night and hurry up tomorrow to get out of this desert as soon as possible. Otherwise, the longer we wait, the more dangerous it will be.

We should be close to the edge of the desert. As long as we have the right direction, we can get out quickly."

Now that Li Shaoyang is by her side, Ye Shuning no longer plans to continue her desert journey. It would be better for her to follow Li Shaoyang out of the desert.

After the two of them had discussed it, Li Shaoyang sorted out the things he had brought with him. His water bottle was empty, so he looked at the white snow on the ground and filled it with water.

Seeing this, Ye Shuning also picked up his other empty kettle to help fill it with snow.

Li Shaoyang said, "Lack of water is the most dangerous thing in the desert. We need to save as much water as possible. The snow will melt quickly tomorrow when the sun comes out. Let's collect some first."

After filling the three water bottles that Li Shaoyang brought with him with snow water, they leaned against a half-collapsed low wall to rest.

It was already dark, and the temperature was dropping. Only then did Ye Shuning realize how cold the desert nights were. She felt she wasn't wearing enough clothes, and she should have put on a thicker layer of thermal underwear underneath.

Ye Shuning sat on the ground, wrapped in her cotton coat and tucked her large backpack in front of her, but she could still feel the cold seeping through her clothes. It was a miracle that Li Shaoyang hadn't frozen to death after fainting here.

Ye Shuning stood up and walked behind another wall to take off her cotton coat, jacket, and quilted jacket, then quickly put on a layer of thermal underwear. She couldn't wear any more clothes; she was already almost like a ball.

Ye Shuning returned to her original place and sat on the ground, feeling better. She should not be frozen to death at night.

Li Shaoyang looked at Ye Shuning, who looked very cold, and said, "Come closer to me. We can keep each other warm if we are closer. How did you spend your nights in the past?"

Ye Shuning couldn't tell the truth, so she could only perfunctorily say, "I just managed to get by. It might be because it snowed and the weather was extra cold."

As she spoke, Ye Shuning leaned closer to Li Shaoyang.

Ye Shuning rummaged through her backpack and took out a few biscuits. She handed them to Li Shaoyang and said, "Here, have a few."

Li Shaoyang waved his hand and said, "I drank the whole pot of porridge just now, so there's no need to eat tonight. We don't know when we can get out of this desert, so we have to eat sparingly. I didn't see you eating just now, so you can eat."

Ye Shuning said, "I ate it before you woke up. Since you didn't want to eat it, I put it away."

The two chatted for a while and Ye Shuning fell asleep unknowingly.

Li Shaoyang didn't hear Ye Shuning speak for a long time. When he heard her even breathing, he knew that the little girl had fallen asleep.

This girl really trusted him, falling asleep without any precautions. He would have to teach her to be alert when outside. But it felt good to be trusted.

Li Shaoyang leaned closer to Ye Shuning again, then helped Ye Shuning up from the wall and let her lean against his chest, so that she could at least be warmer. They were also keeping each other warm.

The next day, when Ye Shuning woke up, she found herself leaning in Li Shaoyang's arms. Li Shaoyang felt every time she moved.

Li Shaoyang supported Ye Shuning and said, "Are you awake? Your body must be stiff after sleeping like this all night. Get up and move around."

"good."

Ye Shuning was helped up by Li Shaoyang. She felt her back ache. She stretched her arms and kicked her legs to feel better.

Now that they are short of water, they use snow water to rinse their mouths and wash their faces.

After a night of strong winds, the weather had completely cleared up and a red sun jumped out from the horizon.

Ye Shu gazed at the fiery red sun in the east and exclaimed, "This scenery is so beautiful."

Unfortunately, there were outsiders around, so she couldn't take photos casually anymore.

Ye Shuning took out a stack of biscuits and handed them to Li Shaoyang, saying, "Don't refuse this time. This is breakfast. How can a grown man like you travel without eating?"

Ye Shuning took out a few slices of spicy dried tofu and gave them to Li Shaoyang.

Li Shaoyang didn't refuse this time. He just looked at the big black backpack beside Ye Shuning and said, "You have quite a lot of things in this backpack."

Ye Shuning lied, "I saw traffickers taking food from this bag, so I stole it when I escaped. I didn't want to starve to death on the way."

Li Shaoyang's eyes were a little complicated, "You are really smart, you stole food and water."

Li Shaoyang didn't ask any more questions. Ye Shuning saved him, and he didn't want to make things difficult for her.

The two of them ate breakfast and set off. With Li Shaoyang by her side, Ye Shuning no longer had to worry about determining the direction, she could just follow Li Shaoyang.

Before setting off, Ye Shuning took advantage of the convenience to take off a layer of thermal underwear. Otherwise, not only would it be inconvenient to move, but it might also be hot. If she got hot halfway, it would be difficult for her to take off her clothes.

She couldn't afford thermal underwear in her current situation, and she was afraid that the perceptive Li Shaoyang would notice something was wrong and become suspicious of her.

In addition to the things he brought with him, Li Shaoyang also tied Ye Shuning's two metal buckets filled with water with ropes and carried them on his back. This immediately reduced Ye Shuning's burden a lot.

After the sun came out, the temperature quickly rose, at least it wasn't so cold anymore. Ye Shuning followed Li Shaoyang. The temperature kept rising, and soon Ye Shuning felt hot. She had no choice but to take off her cotton coat.

It was only when she really started walking that Ye Shuning felt the pain. She had been driving before and had never walked for such a long time, so she soon felt the pain in her feet.

She had just moved the contents of her backpack into the research institute. The backpack looked bulging, but it was actually just filled with rolled-up newspapers. So the backpack was very light, and she was essentially carrying an empty backpack.

Li Shaoyang turned around and saw Ye Shuning walking slower and slower, so he stopped and said, "Are you tired? Let's take a break. Otherwise, let me carry your backpack for a while."

Ye Shuning quickly waved her hand and said, "You're already carrying so much stuff. My backpack isn't that heavy."