By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 252 A Pleasant Stay

We set off in the early morning. Although it took more than two hours to go back and forth to find the hot springs and bring Liu Li up here, it was still quite early overall, not even past noon.

The climate in Batang in April is not very warm. Although the altitude here is much lower than that of Tibet, at only about 2500 meters, it is still much higher than the plains.

However, the slightly cooler climate inside the hot spring makes soaking in it more comfortable.

This altitude is not considered very high; it is still within the range that ordinary people can accept.

The surrounding environment is very tranquil, and the hot spring is located in a relatively secluded place. The climb is quite difficult, and even local residents who frequently visit the area would find it hard to find. This gives the place a primitive and wild feel from the inside out.

The warm hot spring contained rich minerals and trace elements. After soaking for a while, Li Younan felt extremely comfortable, but there were still some beads of sweat on his forehead.

He got up and went ashore, took two bottles of electrolyte water from his backpack, took a sip, and then looked at Liu Li over there.

At this moment, Liu Li was soaking in the hot spring in a very comfortable position, with her entire body below the chest submerged in the water, and steam rising from the surface.

Her face was flushed, whether from sweat or the hot spring water, it was hard to tell; strands of hair clung to her cheeks, making her look incredibly alluring.

Li Younan tried his best to keep his expression calm, went back into the water, walked up to Liu Li, handed her the water, and said, "Have some water."

Liu Li nodded and was about to get up when her legs suddenly gave way. She was probably dizzy from soaking in the water for too long, causing dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. She fell forward.

Li Younan reacted quickly, dropping his drink and catching Liu Li.

At this moment, Liu Li completely collapsed into his arms.

Liu Li's nightgown was damp and clung to her body, so the feeling of hugging her was not much different from hugging someone who wasn't wearing any clothes...

At first, Liu Li struggled in a panic, but before she could recover, her body was too weak to straighten up, so she could only keep her head down and dare not look at Li Younan.

Li Younan held her quietly for a while.

He wasn't thinking about anything. Actually, in this kind of situation, it would be reasonable to think about anything... but thinking about anything wouldn't make much sense. Instead, he just let his mind go blank and quietly held the other person, which felt great.

After hugging for a while, Liu Li calmed down, gently pushed Li Younan away, and murmured with her head down, "I'm not dizzy anymore, you, you can let go now..."

Li Youran released Liu Li, then picked up the drink, unscrewed it, and handed it to her.

……

Soaking in the hot springs here was so comfortable that even after Li Younan and Liu Li finished and returned to their RV, they still felt a little unsatisfied.

Seeing that Liu Li also seemed to have had enough, Li Younan suggested, "Why don't we stay here for a couple more days? We can soak in the hot springs and take walks every day."

Liu Li's performance today was even better than before. She stayed out for longer and was able to let go of Li Younan's hand for short periods of time. Li Younan even felt that Liu Li was completely healed.

At Li Younan's suggestion, Liu Li accepted.

So the two decided to stay there.

There are relatively few people at the entrance to this ravine, so there are not many people to disturb it. Occasionally, one or two Tibetans will pass by, glance at their RVs with curiosity, and then go straight into the mountains, probably to pick mushrooms or something.

Since there was no time limit for this trip, it was perfectly fine to stay a few more days wherever you felt comfortable and at ease.

During the day, walk for about forty minutes to go in and soak in the hot spring. After soaking, come back and take a shower.

Most of the time, however, there's still nothing to do.

Playing video games for too long isn't good either, so as Liu Li's condition improved, the two decided to expand their outing area further, venturing deeper into the mountain valleys.

Li Younan found some mushrooms in the mountains, brought them back, skillfully processed them, and stir-fried them with pork belly, green peppers, and chili peppers to make a "Mountain Delicacies Stir-fry".

In addition to work, Li Younan has compiled two high-quality videos from the footage he shot earlier and sent them to Liu Li's brother so that he can discuss advertising collaborations.

In the video, the scenery along the way is actually secondary, since there are already too many pictures of the 318 National Highway online. What viewers are more interested in is the travel experience itself.

Even if Li Younan takes an action camera, rides his motorcycle to the county town vegetable market along the way, and films the scene of slaughtering yaks from a first-person perspective, and then buys two or three pounds of fresh beef, or simply cooks a dish in front of the camera using the kitchen utensils in his RV, the audience can still enjoy watching it.

These videos have consistently garnered a high number of views.

Even though it's the same content from March 318th, people just prefer watching Li Younan's videos.

Over the next two days, the two continued to soak in the hot springs and enjoy their time.

Because Liu Li wasn't wearing a swimsuit, she alternated between two nightgowns.

The nightgown I wore the next day was a floral, pleated style, so it wasn't as see-through, and you could basically see nothing at all.

On the first day, it was really hard for him not to be distracted. Of course, he couldn't say he could see very clearly, but the outline of Liu Li's body was vaguely visible through the light.

However, Li Younan was unsure whether Liu Li herself was aware of this issue.

Whether the other party notices it or not, Li Younan certainly cannot show it.

This kind of thing is something that even if both parties are aware of it, it won't be awkward as long as they don't say it out loud. But once one party brings it up out of the blue, it will definitely be difficult to continue.

The following day, Liu Li naturally put on that beautiful nightgown again. After the first two experiences, Liu Li was noticeably more relaxed and natural that day. Perhaps in her view, there was essentially no difference between wearing clothes while soaking in a hot spring and swimming in a mixed-gender pool. At least, that's what Li Younan thought while soaking.

Soaking in hot springs can indeed greatly relax the mind and is certainly beneficial for psychological relief. Every time Liu Li soaks in a hot spring, her eyes are slightly closed and her expression becomes more and more relaxed.

pretty good.

This is the kind of travel Li Younan seeks: a journey with stops along the way, and no worries along the way.

More often than not, Li Younan looked at Liu Li with an appreciative eye.

It's impossible to say that I have absolutely no other thoughts about this lovely girl... In fact, it could be said that after this hot spring experience, those thoughts have become even stronger.

But Li Younan had no intention of doing anything further.

On the one hand, maintaining this ambiguous relationship is, in some ways, a better experience than breaking the ice; on the other hand, there are some subconscious worries.

Li Younan has never actively pursued any girl, and in his limited number of romantic relationships, it was always the other girl who made the first move.

In a sense, he was actually a novice as well.

Of course, this has little to do with emotional intelligence. For Li Younan, emotional intelligence is actually the ability to understand other people's feelings. However, this ability to empathize with emotions... does not include emotions between men and women.

Understanding girls relies more on experience than on emotional intelligence.

Especially when it comes to high-quality girls.

Romantic relationships are complex, wonderful, and full of surprises. If you really fall in love, no matter how high your emotional intelligence is, you will likely feel anxious and insecure.

And perhaps this uncertainty is precisely what makes ambiguity so captivating.

Everything is fine now, but if I take the initiative to try to break through that barrier, and if I fail—which is not impossible—and scare Liu Li away, then the journey ahead will likely not be smooth. It might leave something stuck in both of their hearts, leading to a situation that is difficult to resolve.

Even with a 0.1% chance, Li Younan was unwilling to take the risk.

In this respect, Li Younan's thoughts were somewhat selfish. If it were truly possible to smoothly and naturally transition into a certain relationship... perhaps it would be a better choice for Liu Li to take the initiative.

As for Liu Li's brother, Liu Yu, Li Younan naturally ignored all of his previous blatant and implied remarks about "not having any ideas about my sister."

If he really had something going on with Liu Li... as her older brother, he'd probably become an outsider first.

Haha, poor outsider.

Before that, maintaining this relationship was actually quite good.

Li Younan wasn't in a hurry, not at all.

Of course, perhaps at times... we can try using more intense probing.

……

After staying near this hot spring valley for three days, it was finally time to leave.

At this moment, Li Younan felt a little reluctant to part with it.

Liu Li noticed his mood and teased, "It's just a hot spring, right? I heard there are many similar hot springs further west!"

Li Younan glanced at her indifferently and said meaningfully, "Who told you that what I can't bear to part with is the hot spring?"

Liu Li was taken aback for a moment, then subconsciously asked, "What are you reluctant to part with?"

Suddenly, she realized something, glanced at Li Younan with a strange look in her eyes, and looked away with a somewhat evasive expression: "What are you thinking about?"

Seeing this, Li Younan said slowly, "The mushrooms around here are quite delicious. If we go further west, the altitude will keep increasing, and we may not be able to find such good mushrooms."

Liu Li then looked at Li Younan: "Oh, so this is what you can't bear to part with!"

"What else do you think?"

"Didn't I say? I... I just thought you couldn't bear to part with the hot springs... Otherwise, what do you think I could have thought?" Liu Li retorted.

After packing his things, Li Younan checked the car's condition again in detail to make sure there were no problems. Then, he and Liu Li got into the passenger seat, started the engine, and continued on their way to the next stop.

Liu Li sat obediently in the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, and her mind was filled with the image of Li Younan thoroughly checking the vehicle's surroundings before getting in.

She looked out the window; the snow-capped mountains and the Hengduan Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, and the road didn't look smooth.

But Li Younan is really thoughtful, so thoughtful that it makes people feel so at ease.

She stretched comfortably and said to Li Younan with a grin, "Then drive fast, I'm going to sleep!"

"Go to sleep." Li Younan smiled. "By the time you wake up, we should be able to reach the Jinsha River Bridge."

(End of this chapter)