Why did the system take my request to take photos with a cosplayer seriously?

Chapter 231: 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 again."

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."

"Ok?"

"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, "So, don't you feel..."

"What do you think?"

Ding Heng turned his head and glanced at her.

"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 and head to a distant place...

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 asking Ding Heng to stop and 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.

"Fortunately."

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 child, 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.

"Clap."

A hailstone hit the windshield with a crisp sound.

Baima suddenly woke up with a start.

"Pat-pat, 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 traced 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 signs of stopping.

Baima was heartbroken, so she gritted her teeth, pushed open the car door, and climbed out.