Three Rules
That night.
Sang Qi, who had just woken up, drew back the curtains and saw that it was already dark. For no reason, she felt a little irritable.
She arrived at the hotel in the afternoon, checked in, and went back to her room to sleep, setting an alarm for 6 p.m.
However, it is already 8 p.m.
The alarm clock failed to wake her, which shows how soundly she was sleeping.
Sang Qi scratched his itchy scalp, half-closed his eyes, and, still grumpy from waking up, slipped on his slippers and went into the bathroom to take a shower.
I had just finished showering and was drying my hair when my phone rang.
Sang Qi was drying her hair when she went to answer the phone.
The caller was from a travel agency in Lijiang.
"Hello?" Sang Qi answered the phone.
"Ms. Sang, this is Chunfeng Shili Travel Agency. You have booked a private self-driving tour with our agency, right?"
Sang Qi paused, thought for a few seconds, and then hummed in agreement.
She did book a tour with a travel agency before coming to Yunnan; I remember it was called Shili, or more accurately, Chunfeng Shili.
"Oh, that's right."
"What's wrong?" Sang Qi asked coldly.
"It's like this, I'm really sorry, the female tour leader you booked has suddenly fallen ill and won't be back for a while."
Sang Qi came to Yunnan for a relaxing trip and didn't want to change her itinerary because of the tour leader's issues.
"How about this, our team has a leader who is top-notch in his work, always gets five-star reviews, and is warm-hearted and kind... Why don't we switch to someone else?" He was testing Xian Sangqi's feelings.
Upon hearing the suggestion, Sang Qi immediately replied, "Okay."
"He's a man, you don't mind, do you?"
Upon hearing that it was a man, Sang Qi's breath hitched, and the image of the ride-hailing driver named Lu Min involuntarily came to mind...
"Hello...Hello...Miss Sang, can you hear me?" The travel agency thought the signal was bad because they didn't hear Sang Qi speak.
About half a minute later, Sang Qi spoke calmly: "Aren't there any women?"
A forced laugh came from the other end of the phone: "I'm really sorry."
Sang Qi hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, a man it is."
"Okay, I'll make the arrangements for you. By the way, Miss Sang, you're leaving tomorrow, right?" The other person confirmed the itinerary.
"Um."
"Okay, tomorrow is nine o'clock. We'll be waiting for you at the travel agency."
"good."
"Then I won't bother you any longer."
After hanging up the phone, Sang Qi felt melancholy for a while, then continued to blow-dry her hair.
I hope this trip goes smoothly.
…………
The following morning.
Sang Qi woke up and pulled back the heavy blackout curtains, and sunlight instantly filled the room.
After changing her clothes and having breakfast, Sang Qi called a car to go to the travel agency.
This travel agency, called Chunfeng Shili, is located next to Lijiang Old Town, near popular tourist attractions.
It only takes half an hour to drive to the travel agency from Sangqi.
Last night, Sang Qi contacted Lao Li, the person in charge of the travel agency.
Old Li was waiting for Sang Qi at the travel agency early in the morning.
"Miss Sang?" Old Li guessed that the person who came in through the door was Sang Qi.
Sang Qi glanced at the grinning Old Li and got straight to the point: "Around what time do we depart?"
Old Li checked the time and said, "We can set off once the tour leader arrives and we've finalized the itinerary."
"good."
"Miss Sang, please have a seat here and rest for a while."
Sang Qi nodded and sat down on the small sofa to the side. Old Li poured her a glass of water.
"Miss Sang, please have a glass of water."
Sang Qi simply nodded in response.
Old Li pursed his lips, thinking to himself, "Why does this woman look so aloof, cold, and unapproachable?"
Suddenly the phone rang; it was Old Li.
"Excuse me, Ms. Sang, I need to take this call."
After Lao Li walked away to answer the phone, Sang Qi had nothing to do, so he opened his phone and searched for self-driving tour routes in Yunnan online.
"Where is Old Li...?"
A man's voice came from the doorway.
Sang Qi looked in the direction of the sound and his eyes widened instantly.
The person who came in was actually Lu Min!
Sang Qi's breathing suddenly became heavy, and his eyes were somewhat complicated.
"Old Li..." Lu Min called out again, but no one answered, so he walked towards the rest area.
As soon as he arrived at the rest area, he saw Sang Qi sitting to one side. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and look at Sang Qi with a half-smile.
This was an unexpected turn of events for him.
Hearing the commotion, Old Li rushed back and pulled Lu Min aside, saying, "Amin, you're here! Come, come, come."
As they were talking, Old Li pulled Lu Min over to Sang Qi and said with a smile, "Miss Sang, this team leader is a veteran."
Lu Min squinted at Sang Qi, just as the morning sunlight streamed in through the window, making her already fair face even more radiant.
"Ms. Sang, it's an honor to serve you," Lu Min said with a polite smile.
Sang Qi pretended to be calm, took a sip of water to moisten her dry throat, ignored Lu Min, and asked Lao Li, "Are there any other team leaders?"
Old Li was a little embarrassed and looked at Lu Min next to him.
Lu Min smiled, seemingly unsurprised by Sang Qi's reaction.
He lazily sat down on the sofa opposite Sang Qi, with a small coffee table between them.
Sang Qi glanced at him briefly, watching him take out a cigarette case from his pocket and pull out a cigarette. Before he even lit it, Sang Qi raised his hand and lightly covered his nose with his fingers, his little finger slightly curled up.
Seeing this, Lu Min couldn't help but laugh out loud, and silently put the cigarette away without lighting it.
Old Li noticed a subtle change in the two men's emotions and wondered if they knew each other. This puzzled him.
“Miss Sang,” Lu Min suddenly spoke, asking with interest, “why don’t you want me to be your private tour leader?”
Sang Qi straightened his clothes and said unhurriedly, "Since it's a private tour leader, the leader's character must be guaranteed."
At this point, Sang Qi deliberately paused, slowly raised her eyes, glanced at Lu Min with an appraising look, and continued, "You, well, don't seem to meet my requirements."
After hearing Sang Qi's words, Lu Min looked at himself and said, "What's wrong with me? Where is my character not guaranteed?"
“You know it yourself,” Sang Qi said, without revealing the answer.
She still remembered that yesterday, when she was in Lu Min's car, she overheard Lu Min talking on the phone, saying that he had gotten a girl pregnant and was not taking responsibility, and that he had inexplicably taken her to a mountain in the suburbs.
“Miss Sang must have misunderstood.” At this moment, Old Li hurriedly explained, “Don’t let his fierce appearance fool you, he’s actually a very nice person, kind and warm-hearted. Many young ladies who come on road trips specifically ask him to be their tour leader.”
Sang Qi scoffed, "I'm not a little girl."
"..."
Seeing that Lao Li was speechless after being rebuked, Lu Min simply shrugged and said casually, "Fine, if they don't want me, then forget it. If there's no work, I'll just drive a rideshare for the next few days to earn some extra money."
After saying that, Lu Min got up to leave, but Lao Li quickly grabbed him and whispered, "Don't go. The team leaders all have work to do. If you leave, this big job will be gone."
Usually, self-driving tour guide services offered by travel agencies are for group trips, and the price is cheaper when there are more people. However, Sang Qi's trip is a private one, with a tour guide serving only her, so the price is naturally higher.
Lu Min pouted, raised his chin, and said innocently, "But they don't want me."
Old Li quickly turned around and smiled apologetically: "Miss Sang, why don't you consider it? Team Leader Lu is really great, and the client feedback has been excellent."
Sang Qi lazily propped her head up with one hand, glancing sideways at Old Li, and asked suspiciously, "Why are you so insistent on having him as my tour leader? Is the travel agency short of people?"
“…Indeed.” Old Li chuckled dryly, speaking the truth.
Sang Qi nodded, looking like she understood. She stood up and said, "Then forget it."
"Wait, wait, wait." Old Li blocked Sang Qi's way. "Miss Sang, let's talk this out. Even if you go to another travel agency now, many private tour leaders require advance booking, which will waste a lot of time. Why don't you think about it again?"
Old Li's words hit the nail on the head.
Sang Qi was slightly moved and fell silent.
Seeing that things were looking promising, Old Li added fuel to the fire: "Miss Sang, it's autumn now, the most beautiful time in Shangri-La. These days, many people are going to Shangri-La, and it's very difficult to book with travel agencies in the surrounding area."
Sang Qi sat back down on the sofa and continued to think.
She came to Yunnan this time for her deceased mother.
Before her death, Sang's mother often asked Sang Qi about Yunnan, saying that Yunnan was a place as beautiful as paradise, especially Shangri-La, a place closest to paradise.
There are white snow-capped mountains, emerald green meadows, and azure lakes; everything there is as beautiful as a dream.
During the days when Sang's mother was ill, Sang Qi stayed by her bedside and said to her, "When you get better, I will go to Yunnan with you."
Sang's mother nodded and held her daughter's hand tightly.
However, Sang Qi did not live to see the day he could accompany his mother to Yunnan, because his mother passed away.
Sang's mother passed away suddenly at three in the morning.
Sang Qi was deeply hurt by her mother's actions.
It took her a long time to recover, but now she has mustered the courage to face life and has come to Yunnan with her mother's ashes.
Thinking of this, Sang Qi looked down at the necklace on her chest. The necklace had a small titanium alloy steel plate hanging from it, with her initials and her mother's initials engraved on it. In addition to the steel plate, there was also a small glass bottle with her mother's ashes inside.
The steel necklace was the only thing her mother left her; it was a keepsake from her mother.
After her mother passed away, Sang Qi wore the necklace and even strung a small urn containing her mother's ashes into it.
Sang Qi held the steel piece and the small bottle hanging from the necklace in her palm and closed her eyes.
After a moment, Sang Qi lifted his eyelids, glanced at Lu Min, and said, "You, sit down."
Lu Min was a little confused.
Old Li hurriedly asked, "Miss Sang, have you decided to go for Lu Min?"
"Want Lu Min... that sounds rather awkward."
Sang Qi nodded reluctantly.
Old Li grinned and said, "That's great! Team Leader Lu will definitely not let Miss Sang down." After saying that, Old Li patted Lu Min on the shoulder and said, "It's up to you now. Go and discuss the itinerary with Miss Sang."
After Lao Li left, Lu Min sat back down opposite Sang Qi.
The sofa and coffee table were placed against a floor-to-ceiling window facing the street. The sunlight streamed in through the window, gently enveloping them, and the dust particles floating in the air were clearly visible.
Lu Min took out his phone, opened his WeChat QR code, and placed it in front of Sang Qi.
Sang Qi, who was scrolling through her phone, raised an eyebrow: "What?"
"Add me on WeChat."
"..."
"It's necessary for work," Lu Min explained.
Sang Qi reluctantly scanned the QR code to add the contact, and while doing so, she also selected "chat only".
After adding each other on WeChat, Lu Min immediately sent several self-driving tour route plans to Sang Qi's phone: "Take a look and choose which route to choose."
Sang Qi glanced at the list and saw that there were five or six routes to choose from. She couldn't help but ask, "Have you traveled all of these routes?"
“I’ve walked past.” Lu Min replied lazily.
Sang Qi didn't speak, but looked down and carefully examined the routes. After he finished, he said, "Let's go with the last option."
“Okay.” Lu Min replied with a simple “Okay.”
That route is a fairly standard one, starting from Lijiang, passing through Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, then to Pudacuo National Park, then to Shangri-La, and finally heading towards Meili Snow Mountain, hiking to Yubeng Village.
After finalizing the route, Lu Min said he needed to prepare the things he would need for the road trip.
"Wait a minute!" Sang Qi stood up and called out to Lu Min.
Lu Min turned around, his dark eyes staring directly at Sang Qi: "What?"
"I still have things to tell you."
Lu Min smiled and said, "Go ahead."
As he spoke, Lu Min took out a cigarette from his pocket. This time, he didn't care about Sang Qi and lit it directly, smoking in front of her.
Sang Qi stood five steps away from him and said, "Since you'll be accompanying me throughout my journey, I need to tell you some rules."
Lu Min nodded and silently smoked his cigarette.
Sang Qi continued, "First, don't swear in front of me. When you're traveling, just surrender your mind and body to nature and don't be so aggressive."
Lu Min just smiled.
"Second, don't smoke in front of me."
When he said the second point, Sang Qi stared intently at the cigarette between Lu Min's fingers.
Lu Min didn't care.
"And the third one?" he countered, continuing to smoke.
"I'm available whenever you call."
"These young ladies have quite a lot of problems," Lu Min thought to himself.
"So? If you're okay with it, then go; if not, then forget it."
Lu Min's lips curled up: "Fine, you're good-looking, so whatever you say is right, whatever you say goes!"
“…”
"How inexplicable!" Sang Qi muttered to himself.
After listening to Sang Qi explain the travel rules, Lu Min went to prepare the things he would need for the upcoming trip.
Sang Qi continued to sit on the sofa in the rest area and wait.
…………
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