Why is the system taking my request to photograph a cosplayer seriously?

Chapter 232 Elopement? (Part 2) (Requesting double monthly votes!)

They could just pack up and go.

At six o'clock in the morning, the sky over Sunshine City was still not fully bright.

Ding Heng and Bai Ma entered the airport terminal.

Check-in, security check, boarding.

After a flight of more than two hours, when we landed back in Sun City, it was already broad daylight.

"They're back."

Bai Ma muttered something under her breath, it was unclear whether she was speaking to Ding Heng or to herself.

Ding Heng didn't reply. He took out his car key from his pocket and pressed it. The SUV was still parked in the airport parking space.

Baima sat in the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt.

Ding Heng started the car, drove out of the parking lot, and headed straight for the national highway.

Baima suddenly spoke.

"Brother."

"Um?

""

"What if the other women wake up and find we're gone? Won't they start thinking all sorts of things?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"At once----"

Baima stammered, unable to speak.

She then asked, "And don't you feel—"

"What do you think?"

Ding Heng turned his head and glanced at her.

"It's nothing."

Baima lowered her head and remained silent.

Actually, she wanted to ask Ding Heng, "Don't you think what we're doing is a bit like eloping?"

A lone man and woman got up before dawn to catch the first flight, and immediately headed to a remote small county town after landing.

Escape to distant places —

Baima shook his head, banishing the absurd thought.

What elopement?

The brother was just accompanying her home.

That's it.

The car continued driving forward.

The scenery along the national highway is becoming increasingly desolate, and the grasslands have lost their summer green and are now covered with a layer of withered yellow.

The distant snow-capped mountains, bathed in sunlight, resembled a silent barrier between heaven and earth.

Occasionally, a Tibetan antelope would run past the roadside, and Baima would glance at it a couple of times, but she wasn't particularly interested in having Ding Heng stop to take pictures.

The two walked and stopped frequently, occasionally eating or finding a place to relieve themselves.

When we passed through Danna County, it was already 8 p.m., and the sky was completely dark.

The navigation system indicated that the destination was still nearly 200 kilometers away.

Ding Heng turned the car into the only gas station in the county, turned off the engine, and got out of the car.

Pema followed behind, stretching out a big yawn to loosen her stiff neck.

Are you hungry?

Ding Heng walked out of the convenience store at the gas station, carrying two bottles of mineral water and a few pieces of bread.

"fine."

Baima took the bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, and took a small sip.

Ding Heng suggested, "How about we stay in Shanna County tonight and leave tomorrow?"

Baima shook her head: "No need, I can handle it. This little distance is nothing. When I was a kid, the roads in the pastoral areas were ten times bumpier than this."

She tried to sound relaxed, but the weariness in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Ding Heng didn't try to persuade him any further.

He could tell that now that Baima had mustered the courage to set off, he was becoming increasingly impatient.

"Let's go then."

Ding Heng then cleaned up the trash in the car, threw it into a roadside trash can, and got back into the driver's seat.

Baima followed and fastened her seatbelt again.

The car drove out of the gas station and disappeared back into the night.

There were almost no other vehicles on the national highway; their headlights illuminated only a short section of the road ahead, while endless darkness stretched out on both sides.

Occasionally, a few lights flicker in the distance, representing the scattered settlements of herders deep in the grasslands, lonely and forlorn, as if forgotten at the ends of the earth.

Pema leaned back in her chair, her eyelids growing heavier and heavier.

She wanted to stay awake and talk to Ding Heng so he wouldn't get sleepy while driving alone.

But my body won't cooperate.

Unbeknownst to her, Baima closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

"Clatter".

A hailstone hit the windshield with a crisp sound.

Baima suddenly woke up with a start.

"Pat-pat, pat, pat—"

The hailstones grew denser, pelting the car roof with a loud, rhythmic sound, like someone scattering beans on it.

"Brother————"

Baima sat up straight, rubbed her eyes, and looked out the window.

"Damn weather forecasts, they're never accurate!"

Looking at the increasingly worse road conditions ahead, Ding Heng couldn't help but curse.

This national highway was already in disrepair, and now it's even more slippery and rotten, causing the tires of off-road vehicles to shift sideways from time to time.

Ding Heng had no choice but to slow down and grip the steering wheel tightly.

Baima sat up straight and asked worriedly, "Brother—are you alright?"

"fine."

Ding Heng's tone remained calm: "Drive a little further, it should be easier ahead."

Before he could finish speaking, the car suddenly veered to the side.

The tires suddenly slipped, and the entire car swung to the right.

Bai Ma screamed and instinctively closed her eyes.

Ding Heng remained calm under pressure, gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands and slamming on the brakes. The car swerved in an arc before veering sideways into the muddy roadside, thankfully without hitting anything.

"call----"

Baima took a deep breath, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat.

"fine."

Ding Heng patted her shoulder, shifted gears again, and accelerated.

The engine roared a few times, and the tires spun freely in the mud, splashing up a large amount of mud.

The car didn't move an inch.

Ding Heng engaged four-wheel drive, locked the differential lock, and accelerated again.

It still doesn't move.

"We're stuck! Don't move, I'll go down and check!"

Ding Heng spoke calmly as he got out of the car.

The car door opened and closed in less than two seconds, but the strong wind mixed with hail that rushed in still beat Baima to the bone.

She shivered and quickly zipped her windbreaker all the way up.

Outside the car, Ding Heng bent down to check the condition of the tires.

The car headlights shone on him, and hailstones pelted his jacket with a crisp sound.

He crouched down and used his hands to clear the mud and gravel around the tire.

After cleaning up, I returned to the driver's seat and started the car again.

The engine roared, and the car swayed from side to side a few times, but still didn't move.

Ding Heng got out of the car again, took out an entrenching tool from the trunk, and began to shovel the mud in front of the tires.

Baima sat in the car, looking at Ding Heng through the car window.

Hailstones pelted the man, but he seemed oblivious, shoveling mud away one scoop at a time.

Bai Ma instinctively wanted to get out of the car to help, but remembering Ding Heng's earlier order, she dared not move.

She was afraid that if she went down there, she would only cause trouble, like those annoying female protagonists in movies who would only make things worse at crucial moments.

The hail was still falling, showing no sign of stopping. Baima was heartbroken and gritted her teeth, pushing open the car door and getting out.

"What are you doing down here?!"

Ding Heng rarely yelled at her, and his voice was exceptionally clear amidst the noise of the hail.

"I'll help you!"

Baima hunched her shoulders, hugged her arms tightly, and shivered from the cold.

"Help me?! Go up there!"

Ding Heng strode over, grabbed her arm, and pushed her into the car.

Baima was pushed so hard that she stumbled, slipped, and fell forward.

"Why----"

She gasped and instinctively reached forward with both hands, only to land squarely on a sharp rock.

A sharp pain shot through my palm.

"hiss----"

Baima gasped, looking down to see a gash on her right palm, with blood mixed with mud flowing down.

As expected, I couldn't help at all and only made things worse.

Ding Heng's face darkened, and without saying a word, he scooped her up and shoved her into the passenger seat.

"Don't move."

He rummaged through the trunk for a first-aid kit, opened the car door, got into the driver's seat, and turned on the interior lights.

Baima obediently extended her right hand, palm facing up.

The wound wasn't deep, but it was quite long, extending from the base of the thumb to the wrist, covered in blood, which made one's heart clench.

Ding Heng unscrewed a bottle of mineral water and carefully rinsed the wound.

The cold water touched the wound, and Baima gasped in pain, but bit her lip to keep from making a sound.

"If it hurts, yell out. Don't hold it in."

"It doesn't hurt—"

Baima remained defiant, but her eyes were already beginning to redden.

Ding Heng didn't speak, and moved even more gently.

Rinse thoroughly, disinfect with iodine, and then apply the ointment obtained from the system.

Ding Heng gently put Bai Ma's hand down, then took out a pill from his pocket and handed it to her.

"have eaten."

Baima took it and obediently put it in her mouth and swallowed it.

A few seconds later, a warm feeling spread from my stomach to my limbs.

The pain from the wound on my palm lessened, and most of the chill in my body was dispelled.

After confirming that Baima was alright, Ding Heng got out of the car and continued shoveling mud.

This time, Baima didn't follow him any further. She sat obediently in the car and watched him through the window.

Ding Heng shoveled for nearly half an hour, then returned to the car and tried twice more.

The car still wouldn't move; instead, it sank deeper and deeper.

Engine problem?

Ding Heng opened the system exchange window, trying to find a suitable item, but ultimately had to close it again.

Yes, there is, but the commotion was too great and would inevitably frighten Baima, so it's really hard to explain.

Baima felt extremely distressed seeing Ding Heng completely soaked.

"Brother————"

"fine."

Ding Heng interrupted her: "Let's spend the night in the car and figure something out tomorrow morning."

He turned the heater up to the maximum and then took a thick blanket from the trunk and laid it on the back seat.

Then I took off my soaking wet jacket and dried myself off with a towel.

When Baima saw Ding Heng's bare upper body, with water droplets running down the lines of his chest muscles, she blushed and quickly looked away.

"come over."

Ding Heng waved to her.

Baima didn't move.

"What are you standing there for? Come over and take off your wet clothes, or you'll catch a cold."

Baima bit her lip and climbed from the passenger seat to the back seat.

She gripped the hem of her windbreaker tightly with her fingers, and hesitated for a long time before slowly taking it off.

Her inner fleece was also mostly soaked, clinging to her body and outlining the girl's youthful curves.

Ding Heng had already crawled into the blanket and reached out his hand to her.

After much hesitation, Baima obediently moved closer, but was extremely embarrassed.

Ding Heng wasn't awkward at all. He simply took matters into his own hands and quickly stripped the girl down to her underwear before pulling her fair and delicate body into his arms.

The blankets wrapped the two of them up tightly.

In a daze, Baima remembered that the women always complained that Ding Heng had a high body temperature, as if the heat was coming from his bones and never stopped.

Ding Heng's palm was already covering Bai Ma Guang's bare back, with no barrier between their skin.

His hand could almost cover most of her back, and that feeling of "so small as to be held in one hand" traveled from his palm to his chest, which aroused an inexplicable possessiveness in Ding Heng.

"Are you still cold?"

Ding Heng looked down at her.

Baima shook his head, then nodded.

She couldn't quite describe how she felt.

My body is no longer cold, but my heart is beating very fast, incredibly fast.

Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, making her dizzy.

"Brother————"

"Um?

'

"Your medicine really works."

Baima made conversation out of silence.

"Does the wound still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt."

Baima opened her right hand, the band-aid on her palm slightly bent from being rubbed by the blanket.

Ding Heng held her hand, pressed the band-aid flat, and gently ran his fingertips across the back of her hand.

Bai Ma's eyelashes trembled slightly.

"Brother."

"Um?

"Do you think—aren't your sisters worried about us?"

"Don't worry, I've already messaged them."

"oh----"

Baima responded, but then didn't know what to say next.

The car quieted down, the engine hummed, and hailstones pelted the roof.

Baima leaned against Ding Heng's chest, her eyes closed, but she couldn't fall asleep.

She really wanted to take the opportunity to ask something, but she had too many questions and her thoughts were a jumbled mess.

She wanted to ask him why he was so good to her.

I want to ask him if his sisters-in-law know that he took her out alone.

I want to ask him—what exactly is their relationship now?

But the words stuck in his throat.

She was afraid that if she asked, she wouldn't even be able to maintain this little bit of ambiguity.

"Brother."

"Um?

""

"It's nothing."

Baima closed her eyes, buried her face even deeper, and silently inhaled the man's scent.

The strong scent mixed with a hint of sweat wasn't unpleasant; on the contrary, it made her feel at ease.

Finally, Baima gradually became sleepy, and her consciousness began to blur.

In a half-dream, half-awake state, she felt Ding Heng's hand gently patting her back, his fingertips occasionally brushing against the clasp of her bra.

One gentle touch at a time, like coaxing a child.

She was completely relieved and drifted off to sleep.

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