"Stор, stоp..." Bауunуе сovered hеr mоuth, muffling her crу.
Diao Zhuо соuldn't stор immеdiatelу and drove a bit further befоrе hitting the brаkes. Вауunуe jumреd оut оf thе cаr, her stomaсh аlreаdy emptу, vomiting nothing but wаter. "Damn it..." shе сursеd whilе kiсking sаnd tо bury the vоmit, thеn rinsed hеr mоuth with wаter.
"Нerе, сhew this." Old Wаng рulled а leaf from оne of his pосkеts and hаnded it to her. Веing frоm Yunnan, shе rесоgnizеd it instаntly—mint. Shе bit intо the lеaf, аnd a refrеshing sensаtiоn wаshed оvеr hеr.
Аs a femalе driver who often navigаted western rоutes, she hаd handlеd сountlеss winding mountain roads in Tibet with ease, never expecting to be defeated by the undulating dunes of the Badanjilin Desert today. Perhaps she had drunk too much water earlier, and her stomach couldn't handle the jolting, churning relentlessly. Bayunye had already gotten out to vomit three times.
Brother Long's car pulled up beside her, and Hippo leaned out from the passenger seat to tease, "Could it be that the little miss is expecting?"
"Get lost." Bayunye wiped her mouth and walked back to Diao Zhuo's car. "Get out, I'm taking over."
Diao Zhuo got out and settled into the passenger seat, a cigarette already dangling from his lips. As Bayunye adjusted the seat, she heard him ask, "Are you pregnant?"
"Even if I were, would you marry me or something?" Bayunye replied calmly, reaching over to adjust the rearview mirror a few more times. He remained silent for a while, but she didn't mind, shifting gears and starting the car with practiced ease.
Diao Zhuo held the cigarette between his fingers, rolled down the window, and rested his hand on the frame. As the car started with a jolt, the accumulated ash on the cigarette tip fell to the ground, quickly vanishing in the wind.
"I would."
"Marry my foot! You actually dare to admit it!" Bayunye snapped, glaring at him. "It's clearly your poor driving that made me carsick, and you still have the nerve to mock me."
"If you don't like my driving, go find Old Wang next door." As Diao Zhuo spoke, Bayunye happened to overtake Old Wang's car. The walkie-talkie crackled to life, and as soon as he saw her pass, Old Wang immediately reminded her not to rush and to follow him instead.
Bayunye, accustomed to being the leader, had no choice but to comply—this was his territory.
Diao Zhuo closed his eyes to rest. "Slow down, Master."
Bayunye put on a high-pitched voice. "Yes, Bajie."
"You're the Bajie, otherwise why would people call you Master Ba?" Diao Zhuo enunciated each word clearly.
"Speaking of which, did you know that right after I left the army, I had a chance to become a teacher at a martial arts school, but I didn't take it?"
Diao Zhuo waited for her to continue.
Bayunye rested her hands behind her head. Chewing the mint leaf had indeed made her feel much better, even clearing her mind enough to recall some past memories.
"I really hated teachers."
"All poor students hate teachers." Diao Zhuo hit the nail on the head.
"In fifth grade, our original Chinese teacher went on maternity leave, and we got a temporary substitute teacher fresh out of college. I can't even remember his damn name. Once, we had to write an essay titled 'My Wish.' Other students wrote about becoming scientists to launch satellites into space, doctors to cure cancer, or bootlickers who wanted to become teachers and praised teachers endlessly."
Diao Zhuo had written a similar essay back then, his wish being to become an astronaut. A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth as he asked quietly, "What about yours?"“I want my parents to take me to the park once, where I can sit on the swing, my dad pushes from behind, my mom takes photos, and we play on all the rides.”
Diao Zhuo knew this was her true feelings.
“Not only did the new teacher give me a low score, but she also used my essay as a negative example, trying to make it a joke for the whole class. Who knew no one dared to laugh.”
He reached out and placed his hand on the back of her head, gently stroking it as a silent comfort.
“Don’t disturb me while I’m driving.” Bayunye wasn’t one who needed sympathy. With a wave of her hand, she stopped Diao Zhuo from touching her. “I don’t know if they knew I didn’t have parents. But one thing was well-known—whoever dared to laugh, I’d beat them up after class.”
“A wise man knows when to yield.” Diao Zhuo’s sympathy shifted to her elementary school classmates.
Bayunye probably found it amusing herself and laughed for a while before saying, “I don’t know who told the dean, but I heard the new teacher got a severe scolding. After that, she avoided me whenever she saw me. Consider that my first lesson as a student to her.”
Before Bayunye could finish gloating, she felt the car sink slightly, and the left rear wheel spun a few times in the air. “Ugh! We’re stuck.”
Getting out to check, they saw that while crossing a sand dune, the car hadn’t been controlled properly, and half of it had sunk into the sand. Sand poured down from the spinning wheels, quickly piling up into a small mound like an anthill.
Bayunye calmly picked up a shovel and cleared the sand burying the wheel. Meanwhile, Diao Zhuo had already attached the tow rope. As soon as the front car started, they quickly pulled this one out.
Old Wang kicked the rear wheel, shaking off the fine sand stuck to the mudguard. He smiled and said, “This line of work isn’t easy. Even us old drivers get stuck often.”
Brother Long wiped his sweat, his sleeves covered in fine sand. “If only we had a drone.”
Old Wang shook his head. “The drones tourists bring can only take off at the edges. Flying deep into the desert isn’t allowed.”
Hippo asked, “Is it because of weapons testing?”
“I reckon that’s probably it.” To stay alert, Old Wang took out a few mint leaves to chew, his mouth tasting like toothpaste. “You guys who travel to the west, can you take photos of the military trucks transporting supplies on the Tibet highway? Or those military posts? Same principle. We ordinary folks must support national policies.”
With that, they got back into the car. A message came through the satellite phone: the meteorological department had detected two strong air currents from the east and west about to converge, meaning a sandstorm would soon sweep across the desert.
“A sandstorm… What I fear most is inexperienced people panicking and running, thinking they can outrun it on foot.” Brother Long rubbed his hands together, his protruding beer belly almost touching the steering wheel. “If those three students can come through the sandstorm unscathed, it’ll prove at least one of them has some skill. But if they’re all useless, hmph…”
Hippo seemed lost in thought. Brother Long glanced at him. “What’s on your mind?”
“I think there might be something between Master Ba and Diao Zhuo.”
“You blind fool.” Brother Long scolded.
“Brother Long…” Hippo seemed to struggle with his words, hesitating before continuing, “How do you feel about Master Ba… really…”
“I know you all have doubts.” Brother Long kept his eyes on the road, focused on driving, but his tone carried a touch of authoritative leadership. “Impossible. How old is she?”Hippo disagreed, "Cut it out. Even when we're 80, we men still like 20-year-old girls."
Brother Long scoffed.
"How long have you been single?"
"What's it to you?"
"You're not..." Hippo hugged his shoulders as if cold, "into men, are you?!"
"Guess."
"Don't you dare fall for me!"
Brother Long's forehead veins nearly burst, "If I had a pistol right now..."
Hippo volunteered eagerly—"You'd definitely shoot me."
"No—" he gritted his teeth, "I'd switch to a machine gun and riddle you with holes!"
Ever since discovering Xiao Ai's disappearance, her mother Liu Chengru had been unable to sleep at night, unable to eat a single grain of rice, listless, spending her days half-lying on the sofa staring out the window. The TV was fixed on the news channel, her phone constantly plugged into the charger, afraid of missing any news about her daughter.
Old Meng was also burning with anxiety, going to the police station lobby every day, hoping for news of Xiao Ai's rescue to arrive sooner, but each day brought disappointment. Yesterday, the police officer at the station told him that five search teams had already been organized to enter the Badanjilin scenic area, but there was no new information yet.
He made a bold decision—booked two plane tickets to Baotou, leaving tonight.
Entering the house, he found several of Liu Chengru's old friends had come over, along with Xiao Ai's close friend Dandan. Two unfamiliar faces were newspaper reporters. Liu Chengru was tearfully telling the reporters about her daughter's disappearance.
"We didn't know our daughter had a classmate named Zhang Tianen. Xiao Ai never mentioned this boy when she came back. As for Zheming... we knew about him. They hadn't been together for more than a few months. Our daughter is grown up, we didn't interfere, but if we had known he would take Xiao Ai to some desert, we would never have let them be together..."
The reporter asked, "Before they went on that desert trek, didn't they explain clearly to you both?"
Liu Chengru shook her head, tears streaming down her face, "Xiao Ai was always very obedient. Before, she would tell us everything... She wouldn't hide things from us, sob... I don't know what happened this time..."
Dandan beside her seemed to have something to say, holding back for a long time, "Auntie, actually, during summer vacation, Xiao Ai went trekking in Shangri-La's Tiger Leaping Gorge with Zheming. Zhang Tianen was there too at the time."
"What?!" Old Meng and Liu Chengru were both shocked, "Wasn't she going to Shangri-La's ancient town?!"
Dandan shook her head, "She even posted about it on her social media, so I knew."
Liu Chengru was deeply hurt, because she hadn't seen this post in her daughter's social media feed. Presumably, Xiao Ai had blocked both of them and other relatives. She couldn't understand—she had carried Xiao Ai for ten months, accompanied her growth every step of the way, she should be Xiao Ai's closest person. Why would her daughter block her?
The reporter caught this new information and quickly noted it down.
"Old Meng..." Liu Chengru burst into loud sobs, pulling her husband's arm, "How could she... how could she not understand our good intentions! We only insisted she join tour groups because we were afraid it wasn't safe for her to travel alone... And now look! She's too bold, hid it from us once, and now again... sob! If something happens to her, I won't live either! I won't!""Alright, you two reporters, no more interviews." Old Meng began to usher them out. "I've booked plane tickets and need to head to the airport now with Xiao Ai's mother."
"Okay! Okay!" Liu Chengru kept nodding.
"Now broadcasting a brief news update. The three college students who recently went hiking through the desert remain missing. Local authorities have organized rescue teams and herders to search deep into the desert, while volunteers from civilian rescue groups have also rushed to join the search efforts. Additionally, due to strong air currents, the Badanjilin Desert has been hit by a major sandstorm, and the scenic area is temporarily closed."
Liu Chengru's vision went dark, and she suddenly fainted, causing another flurry of panic among everyone.
Dandan couldn’t find a way to help and could only stand by, anxiously watching. In truth, Xiao Ai’s parents were just like her own—or perhaps, like all parents. They believed that over a decade of raising their children would bring them closer, never realizing that their grown children’s greatest wish might be to distance themselves. Parents forever wait for their children’s gratitude, while children forever wait for their parents’ understanding.
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