The tricycle suddenly stopped in front of a muddy path.
The sudden stop of the bumpy ride made Song Nuan's stomach feel much better, but she soon realized there was another, more serious problem.
"Why have you stopped moving forward?"
"You can't go any further, you can't go any further. You'll have to get out of the car and walk." The driver spoke in Mandarin with a strong local accent, with only about 10% of his speech being Mandarin.
Based on his actions, Song Nuan could barely guess what he meant.
"We have luggage and can't walk there. Can you give us extra money to take us there?"
The master waved his hand.
Song Nuan thought he didn't understand her meaning, so she took out two hundred-yuan bills.
Money isn't always that powerful.
When the man saw the money, his eyes lit up for a moment, but he still refused.
They had no choice but to get off the bus.
Xu Yiran laid her suitcase flat and sat down to rest. Even her exquisite makeup couldn't hide the fatigue on her face.
"Nuan Nuan, are you sure we haven't taken the wrong road?"
She rested her chin on one hand and kept swatting away mosquitoes with the other. "There's no way to go at all. If we go this way, we'll just be heading into the mountains. Are we really going to do charity work in the mountains?"
"You won't go the wrong way; you'll just follow the route."
"But Maple Leaf Hotel is a big company, after all. Why would Qiu Rong, as the manager, personally come to this remote mountain area with no roads to conduct an event? It just doesn't seem like it. We must have taken the wrong route."
Xu Yiran's words make sense.
Song Nuan called Qiu Rong, but the call rang for a long time without being answered.
So she sent him a WeChat message, but he still didn't reply.
"They probably didn't see it. Let's head back first," Song Nuan suggested.
Xu Yiran, her face contorted in pain, looked up to the sky and howled, "We took a long time to get here by tricycle, and now we're walking back? Can we really get there before dark?"
"Then let's go into the mountains?"
"Can't we just wait here?"
"No way." Song Nuan rejected her suggestion without even thinking, frowning as she asked, "What if we can't contact Qiu Rong? Are you planning to spend the night here?"
If you can't contact anyone, sitting and waiting to die is tantamount to slow suicide.
"But whether we go into the mountains or into the town, we won't make it in time by foot, let alone with our luggage. Wouldn't that be a waste of our energy?"
Xu Yiran was a little angry.
Song Nuan glanced at her, said nothing, and took out the route map that Qiu Rong had sent her again to confirm that they were heading into the mountains.
"Going into the mountains is the right thing to do; it's only a half-hour walk."
"You're heading into the mountains?"
Song Nuan calmly analyzed, "It takes at least three hours to walk to town. If we go back today, we'll have to take a tricycle again tomorrow. It'll be a bumpy ride all the way. If the driver just tells us to get off here and walk in, wouldn't we be wasting our time?"
"You can find the village in half an hour by walking into the mountains."
Xu Yiran scratched her hair in frustration. "How can you be sure that going into the mountains is the right way? You were able to estimate the way back to town because we just walked that route, but we've never been into the mountains before. How can you be sure we can find the village in half an hour?"
The two almost had a falling out.
Song Nuan could tell that Xu Yiran didn't want to leave, or at least didn't want to go into the mountains.
She's right. The journey into the mountains hasn't been actually measured, and half an hour doesn't sound very convincing, but walking back to town for three hours isn't necessarily a good option either.
The atmosphere froze as the argument continued.
The second hand of the watch ticked away. Song Nuan broke the silence, "You wait here and watch the luggage. I'll go into the mountains to take a look. If my estimate is correct, it should only take an hour round trip. Then we can go in together, which will take about an hour and a half."
It only takes half the time compared to going back to town.
Xu Yiran frowned. "Are you alone?"
She nodded, left Qiu Rong's WeChat and phone number with Xu Yiran, packed some essentials into her bag, and left.
It happened so fast that Xu Yiran couldn't stop it in time.
In order to save time, Song Nuan took large, hurried steps.
She had deliberately worn comfortable sneakers, but she hadn't expected the mountain path to be muddy and damp. After only a few steps, her white shoes turned black, and her trouser legs were covered in mud.
Half an hour later.
Looking at the village in front of her, Song Nuan breathed a sigh of relief.
Just as she was about to call Xu Yiran, Qiu Rong called, "President Song, I was busy just now, have you arrived yet?"
"I've arrived, but the other person hasn't."
After catching her breath, she said, "Mr. Qiu, could you send a car to pick up my employee at the mountain road intersection?"
"No problem, I'll arrange for someone to go there right now."
Fortunately, she didn't have to make another trip.
After sending a message to Xu Yi, Song Nuan went to the accommodation arranged by Feng Ye, which was fairly clean and tidy.
After taking a shower, Xu Yiran arrived.
She looked even more haggard than an hour ago, with several mosquito bites on her neck, probably from when she was waiting for her at the intersection.
"Go take a shower first."
Xu Yiran nodded and took the clothes into the bathroom.
During this time, Qiu Rong knocked on their door and called Song Nuan out into the corridor.
“President Song, our charity work is not just for show. Your employee doesn’t seem to be in good health. My team members told me that she vomited the whole way when we picked her up. Should we take her back to Liangcheng first?”
Song Nuan didn't expect him to call her to talk about this.
"She might just be having trouble adjusting."
"Are you sure?" Qiu Rong pushed up her glasses, her expression serious. "The medical conditions here are poor. Even a minor illness could develop into a serious one if not treated in time."
Song Nuan: "..."
Was it just her imagination? She felt that Qiu Rong couldn't wait to get rid of Xu Yiran.
"I'll ask her later."
"That's fine, then I'll trouble you, Mr. Song."
Taking advantage of the free time, Song Nuan quickly checked tomorrow's schedule. The first day's arrangements were not troublesome; she would simply follow the surveyor around and assist him.
I finished watching Xu Yiran's video and came out after taking a shower.
"Let me apply this medicine." Song Nuan handed her the ointment and pointed to her neck. "Qiu Rong said you've been vomiting on the way here. Are you still feeling unwell?"
"I'm fine," she said, shaking her head.
Although he said he was fine, his face was very pale, as if he was about to faint at any moment.
Song Nuan became increasingly worried and felt a pang of self-reproach. "Why don't you have Qiu Rong send someone to take you to the airport so you can go back to Liangcheng?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Yiran suddenly opened her eyes and looked at her, "Are you still angry with me?"
Song Nuan didn't react for a moment.
Xu Yiran lowered her eyes, looking somewhat sad. "It was my fault this afternoon. I didn't mean to argue with you."
"I didn't take it to heart."
"You don't need to comfort me, you were already planning to send me away." She muttered as she applied the medicine. "I should have let Fang Yu come with you. Fang Yu can endure hardship and can do anything well. She won't be like me."
Her rash was on her neck, and it would have been easier to apply the medicine by tilting her head back, but she kept her head down the whole time.
Song Nuan sat down in front of her. "I'm not angry with you. I only said I wanted you to go back to Liangcheng because I was worried about your health. If you don't want to go, then don't go."
Upon hearing this, Xu Yiran's lips curled up slightly, her face full of arrogance.
"I never said I was leaving."
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