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

Chapter 253 318 Not Supporting Idlers
As is well known, most mountain ranges in China run east to west, but the Hengduan Mountains are the only mountain range in the country that runs north to south.

Strictly speaking, the Hengduan Mountains are not a single mountain range, but rather a combination of seven mountain systems and more than 200 glaciers.

Along the way, you can see several cars left behind after accidents. Some were recently involved in accidents, while others were involved in accidents at some unknown time and have already rusted.

To be honest, seeing these scenes along the way was quite frightening.

Li Younan knew very well that some tourists, especially those from the eastern coastal areas, had their dreams of poetry and distant places rekindled after reading about the 318 National Highway and impulsively set off.

The most outrageous thing was when a few college students, who had hardly ever driven, split the cost of renting an orange Tank 300, and played "Blue Lotus" on the car, "Nothing can stop my yearning for freedom..."

We set off right away.

Without having been to such a place and driven on such mountain roads, one cannot intuitively understand how thrilling it is to drive on such roads.

When you actually get to a place like this, if you haven't cultivated a strong mental fortitude, you can easily turn into a puddle on the roadside if you panic...

Li Younan thought to himself, "Luckily, Liu Li is asleep. Otherwise, if she had seen these scenes, she would probably have been terrified."

Just as he was thinking this, Li Younan glanced back at Liu Li without realizing it, and his eyelids twitched immediately—because Liu Li had woken up at some point, her head resting against the window, her gaze sweeping back and forth across the scene of the car accident, her eyes even darting down to the cliff below.

"Don't be afraid, don't worry, my skills are excellent."

"Yes, I'm not scared."

"Aren't you scared? It seems you trust me quite a bit."

"No, that's not it. I'm just a bit carefree."

Before long, the car arrived at the Jinsha River Bridge, a place well worth taking photos and remembering, because crossing this bridge marks the official start of the journey into Tibet.

Liu Li and Li Younan stopped by the bridge, got out of the car, and took photos.

Liu Li excitedly sent a video to her brother: "Brother, look, we've reached the Jinsha River Bridge. Once we cross here, we'll leave Sichuan."

After setting off again, we officially entered Tibet.

The section of road from the Jinsha River Bridge to MK County is probably the most difficult part of the entire 318 highway.

Li Younan became extremely focused and drove with utmost concentration.

He had previously watched a documentary that showed how this road used to be prone to deterioration in sections just a few years ago, and how many places would become muddy and impassable whenever it rained.

Meanwhile, on one side are steep cliffs where loose rocks occasionally fall and landslides occur frequently; on the other side is the ever-flowing Jinsha River.

But to be fair, this road has now been transformed from a bad road into a smooth thoroughfare.

It must be said that China truly deserves the title of "infrastructure maniac." Building such a national highway in this place must have required countless hardships and difficulties.

However, there are still sections of gravel road. I don't know when the landslide happened, but you can see one or two of them every now and then on the road.

Li Younan focused intently on driving, with only one thought in mind: to get through this road safely.

Liu Li also stopped sleeping and kept watching the road ahead for Li Younan.

Even drones can't easily take off in this kind of place because there are too many obstacles.

Of course, you can also see many interesting sights along this road, which are mostly inspired by the people along the way.

Along the way, Li Younan and Liu Li saw many people cycling into Tibet, motorcycles, bicycles, and Tibetans prostrating themselves along the road, moving forward devoutly... The most outrageous thing was seeing a guy riding a skateboard and carrying a big backpack on the road.

Previously, Li Younan had seen videos of people driving tractors, handcarts, and even huskies pulling carts into Tibet...

The saying goes, "The 318 highway doesn't support idlers." On this road, you never know what outrageous vehicles you might encounter.

So stop asking what mode of transportation is needed to conquer Highway 318. If you're willing, you can get on Highway 318 even on stilts.

During the trip, while resting in a small parking area, Li Younan met a young man on foot and chatted with him for a few minutes.

The other person had traveled from Mangkang in reverse, did not film videos, did not do social media, and very politely asked Li Younan if he could have some biscuits and water.

He looked travel-worn and unkempt, but his eyes were truly clear.

Li Younan asked him amusedly, "Why don't you film some videos? I'm sure a lot of people would like to watch them."

The other person laughed immediately and shook their head: "You wouldn't understand people like us. If we were doing this for money, we wouldn't have chosen to come out here... It's so much more convenient to do manual labor."

"Has this been your way all along?"

"Yes, I've been out for over two months."

"So where will you stay?"

"Look, I'm carrying a tent."

“There are a lot of wild animals along the way… I mean, there are also carnivores like wolves and Tibetan bears.”

"Haha, in our circle, many people don't care about life and death. If I die on the road one day, that's my final destination."

To be honest, Li Younan was somewhat shaken after communicating with the other party.

After a brief conversation, Li Younan was about to continue his journey. He gave all the few biscuits he had in the RV to the other person without asking his name—they were both just passersby on this road.

After getting on the bus, Li Younan told Liu Li about the hiker.

Liu Li pondered for a while, and when the car started again, she couldn't help but roll down the window and glance back at the traveler.

"You really get to meet so many people and things along the way that you would never normally see in your daily life."

She leaned back in her chair, thought for a while, and then suddenly said to Li Younan out of the blue, "Li Younan, I think I should get better."

Li Younan paused for a moment, then nodded: "Mm."

At this moment, Li Younan was feeling a bit artsy, but if you've already chosen to come all the way to 318 and encountered people and things like this, and you can't even get a little bit of the artsy vibe, then what's the point of coming all this way?

……

After passing through the canyon section, the view finally opened up. For the next stretch of the road, until we reached Mangkang, the vegetation visibly increased.

After crossing the Zongbala Mountain at an altitude of 4150 meters, the roadside scenery is gentle grassland with shrubs scattered on the grass.

Then comes a long downhill section where the mountain is rounded, the vegetation becomes increasingly dense, and the trees form forests that gradually cover the entire mountain.

After arriving in Mangkang, Li Younan and his companion rested in the county town for a while, replenished their supplies, and then continued their journey.

However, to be fair, while the journey from Batang to Mangkang is equally desolate and magnificent, we've seen so many of these landscapes along the way that we've become a bit tired of them.

The two drove all the way to Rumei Town, where there is a Mangkang 318 Love Station, which is specially prepared for tourists who drive along the 318 highway.

In addition to parking and water refill facilities, there are also affordable supermarkets, restaurants, and a shared kitchen where you can cook your own meals.

I must say, I felt the warmth and hospitality of Tibet as soon as I arrived.

There were quite a few tourists staying at the campsite, and Li Younan was getting a little tired from driving, so he didn't interact with the others.

After the car stopped, he was too lazy to even get out. He and Liu Li simply made a simple dinner in the car and then decided to rest.

In the evening, Liu Li was editing videos and processing the footage she had shot that day in her work area.

Liu Li helped film a lot of the footage, which has the advantage of allowing us to film Li Younan's videos from a third-person perspective.

Previously, his videos were mostly told from a first-person perspective, but there is a significant difference between third-person and first-person perspectives.

In Liu Li's words, "Don't you think your good looks are an advantage?"

Li Younan thought it made sense and agreed.

While Liu Li was editing the video, Li Younan lay down on the sofa bed for a nap and unknowingly fell asleep.

When he woke up again, it was already dark outside. Liu Li had finished processing today's video footage, stretched lazily, gently rubbed her tired shoulders and waist, and stood up to move around a bit.

Li Younan patted the sofa cushion and said, "Take a rest."

Liu Li nodded. To be honest, Li Younan's sofa bed was really comfortable to sit on.

She had just sat down when Li Younan, while scrolling through videos, asked, "How's today's footage?"

"To be honest, I don't think it was very outstanding."

"It's okay, it's all in segments anyway, there will always be interesting things to share later."

"Ah."

"Editing videos must be tiring, right?"

"It's alright. I used to do this at home too. I would sit for a long time, and my brother would sometimes massage my shoulders or something."

Li Younan silently watched the girl in front of him.

In fact, if it weren't for this trip, Li Younan's understanding of her would have been limited to "a girl with agoraphobia".

Previously, I would always feel at ease dumping all my video footage on her for editing, without ever considering whether it would be difficult.

Of course, another reason is that the girl never mentioned it.

When I used to work at the company, there was a publicity department. When I walked past their office, I could often hear all sorts of complaints about work, about the boss, and about various editing requirements.

Regardless of the type of video she wanted, Liu Li never complained about it.

Human nature is inherently base; when we receive too much from others, we often forget how hard it was to obtain it.

If it weren't for the time we've spent together, I would probably still subconsciously think of Liu Li as a ruthless and efficient editing machine; give her a video, and she'll produce a high-quality, beautiful video in no time.

no.

This girl learned and became proficient little by little.

She would also get frustrated when something just didn't look the way she wanted, and would tear her hair out in despair.

She would also watch video tutorials when she was not familiar with a certain technology, explore it little by little, and eventually apply it to her own videos.

More often than not... she endured the long, dark nights alone.

She never said any of these things.

Liu Lihua gently rubbed her shoulders when she suddenly felt the sofa next to her vibrate slightly. She jolted awake as Li Younan gently moved closer to her and sat down.

Liu Li tried to move to the side, but there was no room left. She immediately tensed up, but then frowned slightly and looked at Li Younan with a puzzled expression: "Why are you squeezing over here?"

Li Younan shook his head and said, "You gave me a massage that day..."

"Ah, this..."

"In return, I'll press it for you too."

In the tranquil setting, the girl stared wide-eyed, somewhat hesitant to look at the handsome boy beside her.

She pursed her lips, then puffed out her cheeks slightly, turned around and glared at Li Younan: "What are you talking about? How... how can that be?"

Li Younan hesitated for a moment. He was impulsive, but he didn't want Liu Li to misunderstand anything.

This time, it was a truly innocent massage.

Just then, the girl lowered her head again and said seriously, "You've been driving all day, you should be the one who's more tired, and you're giving me a massage... How can that be?"

She looked away as she said this.

The air behind her was silent for a second, and then she felt a pair of warm, large hands gently pressing on her shoulders.

The girl felt a jolt of electricity run through her body, and her whole body stiffened. Li Younan's voice rang softly in her ear: "Who told you driving is tiring?"

(End of this chapter)