Chapter 41
Fang Xiaoyu's lanes were expanded by two more lanes, making it a ten-lane road.
She was somewhat happy, as she was one step closer to the special service area.
Having learned from Wang Le that the road he saw was a six-lane road, he casually asked if his road had changed.
Unexpectedly, Wang Le said no.
She found it strange. In the past, when she and Yue Yue were together, their progress in leveling up wasn't always the same, but there were always some developments. This time, the leveling up might be related to the black bear and the trio who had attempted robbery. They were experiencing it at the same time, so it didn't make sense that she leveled up while he didn't.
But seeing that Wang Le didn't seem to care, she didn't ask any further questions.
The two later encountered only small or micro service areas, where they didn't have the opportunity to do major repairs on their car, and could only do some simple repairs. However, Fang Xiaoyu was delighted to find a portable thermal transfer printer and took the opportunity to replace her previous thermal printer, while also stocking up on more printing paper.
"From now on, I won't have to worry about the road manuals printed by thermal printers becoming blurry and illegible in less than a year."
Although Wang Le wasn't as happy as she appeared, he showed his attitude through his actions, such as suggesting she change the cover.
"Change the cover?"
“Yes, since the manual will be kept for a long time, a nice cover might attract more attention. This was specially designed by a former colleague of mine, who studied this before.”
Fang Xiaoyu took the manuscript and found that it was indeed more aesthetically pleasing than her own bare manuscript with only a few words: "That makes sense, let's use this one."
She took a picture of the manuscript, printed it out directly, and gave the brochure she was going to take to the cashier a new look.
When I changed it, I didn't specifically change the name. "Road Manual" and "Survival Manual" are not much different, so I'll just call it "Survival Manual" from now on.
The manual is becoming increasingly comprehensive and thicker.
There are two new mentors providing road guidance, Teacher Xiao Shi sharing vehicle knowledge, Su Ming offering first aid tips, Yue Yue demonstrating rope knots and self-defense techniques, Wang Le practicing Baduanjin (Eight Pieces of Brocade), lists of various scenarios left by predecessors, and some of her personal insights. Several blank pages are left for others to fill in, such as missing person notices.
After changing to a beautiful cover, she felt like a novice editor, the only difference being that she wasn't credited.
Flipping through the manual, I recall the people I've met and the things I've experienced, and I feel a great sense of accomplishment.
"By the way, since you remember even the details of the cover, you must also remember the contents of the previous manual. Is there anything that is not in this manual? You can add it."
Wang Le shook his head: "I only remember the cover clearly because someone made me draw it several times. I don't remember much else. I don't recall it being as complete as your manual. I have indeed read more detailed information on emergency medical care, but most of it is too technical and I don't understand it, so I don't remember it either."
Fang Xiaoyu wasn't disappointed: "It's okay. Look, we occasionally saw first aid manuals left by Su Ming along the way. I think besides what he memorized, there were some added later. They should also be the work of doctors. We can just update them accordingly."
Feeling comforted by the good Samaritan, she took the newly printed booklet to the convenience store, while Wang Le stayed in the car to do the cleaning.
He cleaned from the back of the car to the front and found a familiar pair of gloves and a notebook handwritten by Su Ming in an unlocked cabinet.
Seeing the gloves suddenly awakened deep-seated memories.
It turned out that the two had a brief encounter before she saved him. No wonder he felt a sense of familiarity at first glance; he should have realized it when he saw the rope ladder. But because the car had changed, he couldn't quite remember what she looked like, so he thought it was just a coincidence.
There are so many people in the world, there must be more than one person who wanted to leave in the same way, but it turns out it was the same person.
He smiled, took the item out, and wiped the dust off.
The notes tucked inside the notebook fluttered to the ground, and he bent down to pick them up.
Fang Xiaoyu pushed the stroller back into the car and saw this scene. Her face turned pale instantly.
Upon seeing this, Wang Le quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to touch your things. I didn't look at anything inside."
Fang Xiaoyu shook her head, took the items and put them away, then collected and neatly organized the supplies she had brought back.
She suddenly asked, "Do you think that in the end, we'll end up back where we started?"
Wang Le was making the bed with his back to her when he heard this, he stiffened, then continued to smooth out the sheets as if nothing had happened, and then cleaned up a few garbage bags.
Fang Xiaoyu didn't hear a response and assumed he didn't like hypothetical topics, so she didn't press the matter further.
Unexpectedly, a little while later, after he finished throwing away the trash, he came back to wash his hands and asked, seemingly casually, "Why would you have such a thought?"
Fang Xiaoyu didn't react for a moment: "What do you mean?"
"Back to square one..." or something like that.
She sighed: "Because of that note."
Wang Le didn't read the note's contents before putting it back in his notebook, somewhat puzzled: "A note?"
Mentioning this incident made Fang Xiaoyu feel as if she were back in that day.
Time is a wonderful thing. The emotional impact of that time is still in my memory, but when I bring it up again now, it's as if it's covered by a thick white veil, making it feel duller.
"Yes, it's something I left at the first service station I encountered when I first arrived. I never expected to find it in a special service area later."
"...I see, no wonder you thought that way. Can I take a look?"
Fang Xiaoyu took the note out again: "Look."
Wang Le took it and read it word by word, his brows slowly furrowing.
Fang Xiaoyu said somewhat embarrassedly, "Please excuse my poor performance."
He then came to his senses: "Sorry, I just felt that this content seemed somewhat familiar."
Fang Xiaoyu: ? ? ?
Could there be other lost souls with the same thought process as her? That would truly be fate.
Wang Le was still recalling carefully when, after a while, he suddenly realized what was happening and looked at her with some guilt.
For some reason, Fang Xiaoyu felt a sense of unease, and then she heard him say that.
"As expected."
"So you really had seen it before."
"I forgot which service area it was in, but I thought it was quite interesting when I saw it. I wondered why the first thing someone would do after discovering a zero-dollar shopping spot was to pay back the money, and then I just put it in my pocket."
Fang Xiaoyu repeated blankly, "Did you just put it in your pocket?"
Wang Le looked somewhat apologetic: "I'm so sorry for bothering you for so long. I wasn't mature enough back then. Then one day I realized it was missing, and it turned out I'd dropped it at that service area. Where did you find it?"
"Behind the third refueling machine on the left..." Fang Xiaoyu murmured, digesting the meaning of the words, and slowly opened her eyes wide.
She suspected she had circled the planet once, but had no way to get down, and suspected she was trapped in an endless loop... The truth that had tormented her for so long was finally revealed!
It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my heart, but at the same time, an unnamed anger rose within me, and I couldn't help but glare at him.
You vented your anger by yelling at him? He admitted he acted rashly and apologized. Besides that, he seems like a nice person in general, and he's a good cook, though not as good as Yue Yue…
Moreover, although I lacked willpower and often doubted myself, I gradually adjusted myself through the busy work.
She scratched her head, feeling a restless frustration she didn't know how to vent, but finally let out a sigh of relief. Well, that's the truth, and she should be happy, because there's hope for the future again.
"Then you'll be punished by making this lunch for me. Make it as complicated as possible, the more difficult it is, the more sincere you are. It all depends on how sincerely you apologize. Don't forget that the eldest princess's portion is in here too."
Wang Le breathed a sigh of relief: "My sincerity is definitely enough, and I will definitely satisfy you."
As he had said, the meal was incredibly lavish. He also took meticulous care of the eldest princess during the meal, allowing Fang Xiaoyu to focus solely on eating and drinking. His attentive five-star service masked the difference in culinary skills between him and Yue Yue, earning their approval and forgiveness.
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