From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

"That's something I take after."

Su Qing pouted, with a hint of arrogance, "Once I've made up my mind, not even ten oxen could pull me back."

"After all, they're sisters, so their stubbornness must be exactly the same," I replied with a smile.

Su Qing remained noncommittal, pursed her lips slightly, and did not continue the topic.

The live stream continued for another half hour, with the number of viewers in the live stream room remaining stable at around 500, and the popularity steadily increasing.

Su Qing turned off the live stream, stretched comfortably, and said, "I gained over a hundred new followers in this live stream, not bad!"

"Most of the fans are here because of you; I'm just there to make up the numbers," I told the truth.

Su Qing, without any modesty, raised her small face and said with a smug smile, "Of course! Just look at my looks and charm; my ability to attract fans is no joke."

After the joke, she stopped laughing and looked at me seriously: "By the way, how was my sister's tone on the phone? Was she still that cold, aloof tone?"

"He was exceptionally calm and composed, every word he uttered was carefully considered and clearly articulated, as if he had anticipated all possible scenarios."

"She's always had this kind of personality." Su Qing's tone was unusually serious, with a hint of complexity.

She paused for a moment, then continued, "In all my years, I've never seen her panic or lose her composure. Even when my grandmother passed away, the whole family was devastated, but she didn't shed a single tear and calmly handled all the funeral arrangements. Sometimes I really feel like she has no emotions or feelings at all."

"So what do you think is the most likely reason for her sudden trip to the no-man's-land?" I pressed.

Su Qing gently shook her head: "I can't guess, but it definitely has nothing to do with me. She's extremely self-centered and would never change her plans or pace for anyone."

Seeing that she was also clueless, I stopped asking questions and followed the others to pack up their things and return to the car.

The convoy rested for a full hour in Xinduqiao, and after recharging, it set off again.

The vehicle slowly descended the winding mountain road, the altitude steadily decreasing, the barren mountains gradually receding, and the vegetation on both sides of the road becoming lush and green again.

The distant snow-capped mountains were gradually obscured by the surrounding hills, and large swathes of lush green coniferous forests began to appear, along with scattered Tibetan villages, full of life and warmth.

Around 4 p.m., the convoy arrived safely in Yajiang County.

This is a small town built along a canyon, with narrow streets and houses cascading down the mountainside.

The rushing river flows through the city, and the roaring sound of the water is particularly loud. Even through the car window, the sound of the rolling waves can be clearly heard.

Wang Ge found a nice hotel, parked the car, and after observing the surrounding roads and environment, turned to us and said:

"The original plan was to go directly to Batang, but there's not enough time now, so we'll have to stay in Yajiang tonight to rest. We'll also wait here for our new teammates to join us."

"New teammates? We still have teammates who haven't arrived yet?" Luo Peng looked surprised and confused.

I nodded and explained simply, "Yes, we've added a new team member at the last minute. They'll be joining us tonight."

Although Luo Peng was curious, he didn't ask any questions and followed the others into the hotel to check in.

The room assignments remained the same as before, and everyone put down their luggage.

As soon as I settled in, Luo Peng immediately came to my side.

He looked troubled and asked in a low voice, "Brother Lin, can I ask you something? How can I make a girl happy?"

As I changed my shoes, I replied helplessly, "You've asked the wrong person. I'm completely clueless about dating, unlike you, who have far more experience than me."

Luo Peng took out a cigarette and handed one to me.

He lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and sighed anxiously, "If it were any other girl, I could at least manage to keep things in check. But Chen Yunqing is just too difficult! I tried so hard to find topics to talk about and make her happy the whole way here, but she was lukewarm the whole time, which made me feel really uncertain and increasingly anxious."

I lit a cigarette, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, and said calmly, "The worst thing about relationships is being deliberate. The more you try to please someone and the more cautious you are, the more pressure the other person will feel, and you'll exhaust yourself too."

"Girls like Chen Yunqing, who have a cool, independent, and composed personality, don't need to deliberately find topics to have awkward conversations with; just let things happen naturally."

Luo Peng seemed to understand something, then suddenly realized, "Now I get it! I've noticed that whenever I talk to her about professional topics like cars and off-road vehicles, she'll actively engage in conversation. But when we talk about other everyday things, she becomes quite indifferent."

"Then cater to her interests. Talk more about areas she's interested in, don't try too hard to please her, just be sincere and let things happen naturally, that's better than anything else."

"That makes sense!"

Luo Peng nodded emphatically, his brows instantly relaxing.

I didn't say anything more, got up and walked to the window, gazing at the night view of the canyon outside.

Darkness falls exceptionally early on the plateau; by five o'clock, the depths of the canyon are already completely shrouded in darkness.

The streetlights along the street gradually came on, and the dim light made the small town seem especially quiet.

At this moment, A Qiu sent a notification in the WeChat group.

After everyone is settled in, we will all gather in the lobby on the first floor to arrange dinner and the rest of the itinerary.

After I finished my cigarette, Luo Peng and I went downstairs to the hotel lobby.

Wang Ge, A Qiu, and Chen Yunqing were already waiting in the hall, but Su Qing had not yet come down.

I felt a little surprised.

According to Su Qing's personality, she has always been restless and loves excitement.

Yesterday, as soon as I put down my luggage, she immediately dragged me out for a stroll.

Today was unusually quiet; it stayed in its room without making a sound or coming out to join the fun, which was quite unusual.

I took out my phone and sent Su Qing a private WeChat message: "Are you ready? If you are, come downstairs to meet up."

Not long after, the phone screen lit up, and a message from Su Qing popped up:

"My stomach hurts a little, I'm in the bathroom, wait for me a bit."

I immediately followed up, "Is it serious? Should we buy some medicine?"

She quickly replied with a message: "It's nothing, I probably ate too many snacks on the way and got too full. I'll be fine after digesting it. I'll be down soon."

I shook my head helplessly as I looked at the message, feeling both amused and exasperated.

This girl really can't control her mouth. She kept talking all day in the car, so it was no surprise that she overate and got a stomachache.

I put away my phone, looked up at the people waiting beside me, and said, "Su Qing's stomach is a little upset, she'll be down soon, let's wait for her."

Wang Ge nodded slightly and then proceeded to talk about the subsequent itinerary.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

A Qiu smiled and took over, introducing the local specialties to everyone: "Yajiang is a very unique small town. The entire county is built against the mountains and nestled in the middle of a valley, making its terrain particularly unique. And the most famous thing here is matsutake mushrooms, which are the local specialty. Later, we'll go and try authentic Yajiang matsutake chicken, it's incredibly fresh."

Everyone agreed without objection.

Wang Ge then added, "Tomorrow our goal is to travel to Mangkang County, which is about 400 kilometers long and will normally take about ten hours."

Upon hearing this, A Qiu immediately shook his head and bluntly stated, "I think it's unlikely we'll make it. Tomorrow's route is full of popular tourist attractions: the 18 Bends of the Heavenly Road, Litang, the world's highest city, Maoya Grassland, and Sister Lakes—all great places for taking photos."

"We were going to shoot footage and do a live stream anyway. If we keep stopping to take photos and find locations along the way, it will definitely take longer, and we definitely won't be able to make it to Mangkang."