Chapter 15
Fang Xiaoyu asked him, "Can you drive?"
Su Ming felt a pang of regret: "I've already paid the registration fee, but I haven't had a chance yet."
“It’s okay, driving is easy, I’ll teach you,” Fang Xiaoyu said. “I’ll explain it to you first, and then we can take turns after you learn.”
Su Ming had no objections; he was happy to be able to help and said he would follow her arrangements.
Fang Xiaoyu gave a demonstration: fastening the seatbelt, pressing the start button, releasing the electronic brake, stepping on the brake to shift gears, releasing the brake to shift to the accelerator, and then driving a few meters.
Su Ming understood it and his face lit up with eagerness to try it out.
Fang Xiaoyu didn't dare let him drive off immediately, not because she was afraid he would run away, but because she was afraid the novice driver would accidentally drive the car into the wall.
Wait, I forgot that everyone sees a road differently. There's something I need to confirm: "Go and see how many lanes the road has?"
Su Ming went out with a puzzled look on his face, and when he came back, he said, "Eight."
Fang Xiaoyu: ...Let's talk about this another time.
She shrank into the passenger seat, carrying a pile of odds and ends, and let Su Ming sit in the driver's seat, giving him commands and directing him to drive around the service area a few times.
Su Ming was quick-witted and soon got the hang of it: "Driving is really that simple."
Fang Xiaoyu, who was feeling a bit carsick from the sudden starts and stops, said, "...Don't rush to drive. Go take a shower first, and then we'll set off."
A blush spread across Su Ming's face. He thought she was being bothered by his breath because she was so close. After parking the car, he jumped out and hopped out quickly.
Fang Xiaoyu didn't mean that. She was just thinking that it would be difficult to take a shower in the hot summer. Although he didn't smell bad, he had worked hard for two days and hadn't had time to take care of himself last night, so she just reminded him to enjoy himself.
After everyone left, she reorganized the items in the car to make room for them to sit down.
She was already very uncomfortable sitting there; there were too many things and nowhere to put her feet, and the box of odds and ends in her hands was heavy. If it were Su Ming, who is even taller, it would probably be even more uncomfortable.
Some items that were previously placed in the passenger seat for convenience have now been moved to the overhead luggage compartment, which also contains her adorable folding toilet and deodorizing hardener.
I went back to the convenience store to get a bag of cat litter.
The rest is just subtraction.
Unaware of her intentions, Su Ming quickly took a quick shower, which took less than ten minutes, and returned with his still-wet hair.
Fang Xiaoyu, who had just finished tidying up and was about to take a break, said: "...No need to rush. Never mind, come on up."
Su Ming had already noticed the changes inside the car.
The passenger seat has been cleared out, and you can stretch your legs freely when you sit in it. The folding compartments and similar items underneath are gone.
There was a box of miscellaneous items on the seat; there was no food, drink, or other necessities left.
He knew it was all because of him, and felt a little guilty: "There are more people but less supplies. If we don't have enough supplies along the way, it will be very dangerous."
Fang Xiaoyu had thought about these things last night. She said, "I've calculated the minimum daily needs and left enough supplies to last until the next service area. The biggest variable is water, followed by oil, while food is the least of my worries. Because there are high-calorie, high-oil foods available, and even if all else fails, I can eat white rice every day."
He then explained the solution regarding water: "Summer weather is unpredictable, and there are sometimes heavy rains, so there are opportunities to replenish water along the way."
Su Ming was momentarily taken aback, and only after being reminded did he think about the water issue, which led him to think about taking a bath. Realizing he had misunderstood, he blushed even more, wishing he could take the entire convenience store with him.
But it was obviously unrealistic. He said, "Then let me carry something that's easy to consume, like water or bread, something that will be eaten or drunk in a few days, or something that's not too heavy, so it won't be tiring to carry, and I can put some under my feet instead of having so little space."
Fang Xiaoyu agreed; who could refuse to bring more supplies?
So Su Ming got his wish and carried a new storage box. However, in addition to two extra collapsible bins at his feet, there was also a bag of cat litter. Before Fang Xiaoyu could explain, he understood immediately. He subconsciously cleared his throat twice and silently added a few more bundles of garbage bags and his own collapsible bin.
After that, Fang Xiaoyu drove most of the time. Once the supplies in the passenger seat were almost used up, Su Ming officially started practicing driving.
On the first day, he drove for two hours straight. When he got out of the car, his ankle was stiff, so he rubbed some medicated oil to relieve it.
The next day, not only did his ankle hurt, but his calf muscles also started to ache. He gritted his teeth and drove for two hours straight, and continued to massage the medicated oil and apply the ointment that evening.
On the third day, my body had adjusted a bit. Although it was still painful, I was still in bed for three hours straight, and the medicated oil and ointment kept coming in.
By the fourth day, the pain had mostly subsided, and Fang Xiaoyu and I started taking turns driving, one person per day.
While he was driving, Fang Xiaoyu was also busy, either boiling the collected rainwater, cooling it, and then pouring it back into the empty bottles and buckets, or weaving rope ladders.
Su Ming saw the rope ladder and asked curiously, "How long are you planning to make it?"
Fang Xiaoyu was weaving them in small bundles of ten and large bundles of a hundred, to avoid them getting tangled and difficult to untangle. She replied, "Weave them as long as we can, the longer the better. After all, we don't know how high it is here."
Su Ming wasn't very optimistic and subtly inquired, "Have you tried it? It's so high up here, the wind down below must be quite strong. The rope ladder... isn't heavy enough. If you step on it, won't you be carried away by the wind?"
Fang Xiaoyu hummed in agreement and said, "I tried it, but it wasn't long enough. I only climbed up the soundproof outer wall, and it was indeed a bit scary down there."
Then, to his surprise, her reaction was: "I'll practice my climbing speed later and try to shorten the time I spend in the air. Luckily, I don't get carsick or have a fear of heights. I've ridden roller coasters and pendulum rides before, and I'm fine except for the safety issues. But I can't guarantee that the large swings in the air might make me dizzy. Hmm, how can one overcome the feeling of dizziness?"
Su Ming hesitated before answering, "Like pilots practicing?"
Fang Xiaoyu reminded, "There are no conditions."
Su Ming coughed lightly: "So, do we really have to go down here?"
Fang Xiaoyu belatedly realized that she hadn't asked him yet: "Are you afraid of heights?"
Su Ming, sensing the unanswered question, replied blankly, "Not afraid, not dizzy."
Fang Xiaoyu belatedly realized: "You think this method won't work? Don't you think going directly down there would be faster than finding the destination on the highway?"
"But safety also needs to be considered. For example, no brave soul would dare to just throw a rope ladder down from the top of the mountain and climb down, right?" Su Ming tried to find the right words. "Besides, at this height, it would be better if it were done by professionals."
Fang Xiaoyu pointed at him, "Professional (medical student)."
Then, pointing to himself, he said, "(Climbing) Person."
Su Ming wiped his face: "...No, let me try."
Fang Xiaoyu: "One of the reasons I asked you to be my teammate is so that I could have you hold the safety rope for me, so I could feel more at ease going down. If you were the one going down, I probably wouldn't be able to hold onto you."
Su Ming: "How did you try it the first time? You went down without a safety rope?" His eyes had turned to shock and awe, as if to say, "You're a tough guy."
"No, the ropes were all tied to the car at the time," Fang Xiaoyu denied. "I'm not the kind of person who would joke about my own life."
Su Ming breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh, me too. I'll just do it the way you did the first time. Consider it a last resort."
This was even more stressful than having Fang Xiaoyu go down herself. She wanted to persuade him to give up, but although he seemed obedient, he was stubbornly unyielding on this matter.
"Alright," Fang Xiaoyu conceded. "I won't stop you if you want to try, but I have to go first."
"Okay." Su Ming was confident that he could stop her if something unexpected happened, so he agreed without thinking.
After agreeing on the terms, Fang Xiaoyu decided to give it a try after having dinner that day.
It was the same routine: one end of the safety rope and the rope ladder were tied to the vehicle and secured with a knot. The extra thing was that the safety rope was wrapped around Su Ming's body an extra time. He held the rope with one hand and pushed off the ground with the other, providing multiple layers of protection.
Because she had an extra teammate, Fang Xiaoyu was more composed and performed better than the first time.
Under Su Ming's watchful gaze, she successfully climbed over the first section. When she reached the second section, where there were no walls in front of her and the ground was suspended in the air, her speed noticeably slowed down.
If the stone pier were straight, it would be better, as it would provide some support. Unfortunately, it resembles a pair of supporting hands, with only the top exceeding the width of the soundproof wall, and then retracting below, offering limited support.
She climbed down about fifty meters, was carried away by the wind like a kite twice, and then fell down again. Listening to Su Ming's occasional suppressed gasps of surprise, she was not so scared anymore. If she hadn't been too weak, she wouldn't have turned back so quickly.
On the way back up, Su Ming pulled her back forcefully for the last few steps. Once she was up, lying on her back on the high stone steps, she realized that her muscles were twitching abnormally.
"You're just exhausted. You'll be fine after a rest," Su Ming said.
"Hmm." Fang Xiaoyu's face was a little red, from exercising and the wind. "I'm not in the right state right now, I'm not confident about being your insurance agent, so why don't you just skip this time?"
Su Ming was somewhat tempted, but seeing the expectant look in her eyes, he changed his mind; "It's not so hot right now, and it's not raining. Just tie the rope to the car securely, it'll be fine."
Fang Xiaoyu couldn't persuade him, so she helped him tie the rope, making sure to tie several extra knots.
Su Ming looked doubtful: "This... are you sure that last time it went on like this and nothing happened?"
Fang Xiaoyu spoke with facts: "As you just saw, I only need three knots. If I were to give them to you, I would tie six knots, for good luck."
Su Ming: "...Thank you."
Fang Xiaoyu tightened the safety rope around her waist twice, but instead of pushing off the ground at the very top like he did, she deliberately went down a few stone steps. This way, she could use her full strength and weight to provide double protection for him.
Su Ming slowly descended.
Fang Xiaoyu couldn't see his progress, but she could feel the rope of the rope ladder swaying rhythmically. She slowly released the rope according to the tightness of the safety rope in her hand, while silently counting the steps for him, and occasionally asking, "Where are we?"
Su Ming's voice came from below through the wall, a little faint due to the wind: "Eight meters."
After a while, she asked again, "Where is it?"
"Ten meters."
A few minutes later, without her asking, Su Ming gave the number himself.
"Fifteen meters."
"Twenty meters."
...
The sound became intermittent and difficult to hear after that.
Hey, that competitive spirit! He's already determined to break her record.
As Fang Xiaoyu was thinking, she caught a glimpse of a dark figure entering her field of vision from the right.
When she finally saw what the dark shape was, her pupils dilated instantly: a wild boar?!
Where did this wild boar come from on the highway?!
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