The Land Rover stopped a few meters away, and three men got out.

The one who had been in the passenger seat staggered as he walked, reeking heavily of alcohol.

The three men didn’t even ask if Chen Xi was hurt—they immediately started cursing aggressively.

“How do you drive? The horn was honking loudly the whole time—are you deaf?”

Chen Xi was dumbfounded. She hadn’t even said anything yet, but these people were already making false accusations.

She instinctively wanted to argue back, but suddenly realized something was wrong with the situation.

This was a remote stretch of road, and it was getting dark.

Three hot-headed young men in their twenties were facing her, one of them drunk.

If they got into an argument, she would definitely be at a disadvantage.

She kept her composure and patiently asked them, “Since the accident has happened, how should we handle this? Do you want to go through official channels or settle privately?”

The drunk man said with a hostile expression, “You hit us. Pay three thousand.”

Chen Xi couldn’t help but say, “You were driving illegally—you were going the wrong way.”

The other two men said smugly, “Beauty, listen to our big brother. Three thousand is already a bargain for you.”

Chen Xi surveyed the surrounding environment. Cars occasionally roared past, and she steadied her nerves.

“Let’s go through official channels then.”

The drunk man said nothing and stood there lighting a cigarette, while the other two punks looked at Chen Xi with sleazy grins.

A car was approaching from ahead, and Chen Xi realized there would be traffic passing through.

She picked up her phone to call the police, thinking that if they dared to lay hands on her, at least someone would see, and if she encountered a good Samaritan, they might even get out to help her.

The drunk man lunged forward, trying to snatch Chen Xi’s phone.

Chen Xi stepped back and said sternly, “Don’t touch me. Try touching me again.”

Without saying anything else, Chen Xi directly dialed 110. The drunk man lunged forward to grab her phone.

The call connected, and Chen Xi started to speak, “Hello, I need to—”

The other two punks saw what was happening and rushed over.

One snatched Chen Xi’s phone away, while the other pressed down hard on Chen Xi’s shoulder.

The drunk man took the phone his companion handed him, hung up immediately, and casually threw it on the ground.

“Let her go.”

He said to his subordinate, who was holding Chen Xi.

Chen Xi was released, and unknowingly, cold sweat had broken out on her back.

In the darkness, the drunk man approached Chen Xi, his strong alcohol breath hitting her face.

His expression was grim. “Didn’t I tell you that paying three thousand would be fine? You dared to call the police?”

The other two punks said, “Brother, this woman is just stubborn. She doesn’t see how many of us there are versus how many of her.”

“Out here in the wilderness, three thousand buys peace of mind, but she insists on making trouble for Long Ge.”

A trace of fear quietly crept into her heart, like a poisonous snake’s cold tongue.

Chen Xi realized her current situation was very dangerous.

She calmly glanced at the highway nearby.

The car she had pinned her hopes on slowed down as it passed them, but quickly roared away again, seemingly unwilling to get involved.

Chen Xi’s last hope was dashed. She spoke, her voice unconsciously trembling.

“No police, no compensation—so what do you want?”

The drunk man stepped forward and shoved Chen Xi.

“You were so arrogant just now, how come you’re cowering now?”

Chen Xi stumbled backward and suddenly bumped into a hard chest.

She spun around and saw a grim face.

His deep eyes suppressed anger, and his entire being radiated a heart-stopping sense of oppression.

Chen Xi’s heart relaxed, and she almost wanted to cry with relief.

She spoke with a trace of post-disaster panic.

“Qin Lie, how are you here?”

Qin Lie said nothing, steadied Chen Xi with one hand, and pulled out his phone to dial 110.

The call connected quickly, and Qin Lie’s low, hoarse voice rang out in the darkness.

“Mingsha Mountain Road, three people driving in the wrong direction and hitting someone…”

The drunk man rushed forward to hit Qin Lie, while the other two grabbed Qin Lie’s phone.

Qin Lie protected Chen Xi and took a punch to the shoulder.

He pushed Chen Xi far away, turned around, and without a word, swung his fist at the drunk man.

A dull thud.

Chen Xi heard the sound of hard bone in the fist colliding with the man’s cheekbone—dull, like an axe chopping on a cutting board.

The drunk man let out an inhuman howl from his throat and furiously lunged at Qin Lie.

Another dull thud, and Chen Xi’s heart trembled with it.

She had been in fights and broken up many fights, but this was the most heart-stopping one.

Every punch Qin Lie threw was like him as a person—not many words, but brutal.

The other two punks saw their big brother getting beaten and both rushed at Qin Lie, but were knocked down by Qin Lie with just two or three punches.

Qin Lie bent down to pick up Chen Xi’s and his phones, sat down casually on a roadside concrete barrier, and nonchalantly asked the three men lying scattered on the ground.

“Official channels or private settlement?”

The three men had lost all their arrogance and said fearfully, “Private settlement.”

Qin Lie looked at Chen Xi, “Are you hurt?”

Chen Xi shook her head.

She was in a hurry and didn’t want to get entangled with these three scumbags any longer.

Qin Lie asked, “What about the bike?”

Chen Xi bent down to help up the motorcycle from the ground. The headlight was broken, and the handlebars were bent out of shape.

Qin Lie said, “You guys figure out how much compensation.”

The three men went from offering five hundred to one thousand.

Qin Lie looked down at them with a grim expression, remaining silent.

Finally, the drunk man took three thousand yuan in cash from the car and gave it to Chen Xi.

He glanced at Qin Lie’s expression, and seeing that he said nothing, fled back to his car as if escaping.

Chen Xi watched the Land Rover speed out of sight, then turned to look at Qin Lie. “You can fight.”

Qin Lie smiled and looked down, then stood up and walked toward his car.

Chen Xi got on her motorcycle but found it wouldn’t start.

She cursed under her breath at the bad luck, got off to check the problem, and discovered that a connector plug in the ignition system had been shaken loose.

The part was too small.

She turned on her phone’s flashlight and searched in the grass by the roadside, but couldn’t find it.

Chen Xi had no choice but to call Liu Boyang to come to the bike.

After making the call.

Chen Xi walked over and sat on the concrete barrier, looking down at her feet and unconsciously letting out a soft sigh.

A can of beer appeared in front of her.

Chen Xi looked up and saw that Qin Lie had returned and was standing in front of her.

“Want to drink?”

Qin Lie looked down at her.

Chen Xi was extremely frustrated and wanted to drink, but she still had to pick up Grandpa Guan later.

While she was hesitating, Qin Lie sat down on the concrete barrier next to her.

The two sat in silence, watching the last ray of sunset disappear into the vast desert behind them.

Car headlights lit up in the distance, roaring past them.

An SUV drove by with its windows open, and music from its stereo drifted over, spreading all along the road before floating away with the night wind.

It was a very old song.

“Looking back again, clouds block the way home.”

“Looking back again, eyes blurred with tears.”

“Once questioning in the dim and repetitive darkness, only to realize that plain and calm composure is the truth.”

“Looking back again, it’s like a dream; looking back again, my heart remains the same, only that endless long road accompanies me.”

…

Chen Xi suddenly felt empty in her chest, as if a rib had been pulled out, leaving her bewildered and wanting to cry.

In that instant, she missed Bai Yuning so much.

Qin Lie glanced at her and suddenly said, “It’s still early before ten o’clock. If you want to drink, go ahead.”

As soon as he said this, both of them were stunned.

Qin Lie paused, then said again, “I’ll go with you to pick up the person.”

Chen Xi stared at Qin Lie for a moment, then wordlessly turned her head to the side and took the beer he handed her.

Qin Lie waited in the car.

Soon, Chen Xi came out of the courtyard with Fan Mingsu and Sensen, walking toward his car.

Fan Mingsu saw it was an unfamiliar car with an unfamiliar man in the driver’s seat.

She walked up to the car and hesitantly asked Chen Xi, “Where’s Yuning?”

Through the open car window, Qin Lie saw a flash of pain cross Chen Xi’s face.

“He’s busy.”

Chen Xi kept her eyes downcast, opened the back door, and let Fan Mingsu and Sensen get in.

Fan Mingsu sat in the car, leaned forward to look at the man in the driver’s seat, and asked with a smile, “And this is?”

Chen Xi got in the passenger seat, fastened her seatbelt, glanced at Qin Lie, then turned back to Fan Mingsu and said, “A friend.”

Fan Mingsu wasn’t so easily satisfied and threw a direct question, “What kind of friend? You should give us a proper introduction.”

Qin Lie turned around and smiled at Fan Mingsu, “Hello, we meet again.”

He didn’t know why, but every time he saw Fan Mingsu, he thought of those clumps of tumbleweeds on the Gobi Desert—neither sun-dried nor drought-killed.

Seeing her blinking eyes and the way she turned her head, Qin Lie couldn’t help but want to smile.

Fan Mingsu used the car’s interior light to see Qin Lie’s face clearly, and suddenly widened her eyes.

She pointed at Qin Lie with a look of pleasant surprise, “Oh my, it’s you!”

Qin Lie smiled and nodded, starting the car.

Fan Mingsu turned her gaze to Chen Xi and asked curiously, “You two know each other now?”

Chen Xi nodded and explained, “I design game characters for him. All those drawings I’ve been working on recently are for his company.”

Fan Mingsu had a sudden realization, “So he’s your boss?”

Chen Xi was speechless for a moment and was too lazy to explain to Fan Mingsu, so she nodded perfunctorily.

Fan Mingsu turned to Qin Lie and asked with a smile, “Young man, what should we call you?”

Qin Lie held the steering wheel and turned his face to answer, “Qin Lie.”

Fan Mingsu’s lips moved, and she immediately said, “What a good name—it has the fierce spirit of us Northwest children.”

Chen Xi turned around and gave Fan Mingsu a speechless glance.

The old lady didn’t even look at Chen Xi and enthusiastically asked again, “Where do you work?”

Qin Lie answered, “I don’t have a job. I opened my own VR experience center.”

Sensen, who was listening nearby, excitedly interrupted, “Is it that big experience center on the way to the Mogao Caves?”

Qin Lie nodded.

Sensen’s eyes lit up with delight.

“My classmate went there and said it was amazing inside—there’s a 4D simulated starry sky, and when you walk in, it’s like entering the universe.”

Qin Lie smiled and said casually, “Come play sometime.”

Sensen bounced on the leather seat and nodded happily.

Fan Mingsu took over the conversation again.

“At such a young age, you already have your center.”

“I knew it—the first time I saw you, I felt you were extraordinary, definitely someone important.”

Qin Lie couldn’t help but smile, amused by the old lady.

Chen Xi simply couldn’t listen anymore and turned back to change the subject.

“What time does Grandpa Guan arrive at the station?”

Fan Mingsu replied, “Ten-thirty.”

Chen Xi said, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I could have gone to clean his house this afternoon.”

Fan Mingsu pursed her lips, “Do we need you young people for that? You’re all running around all day. Your aunt and I have already finished cleaning.”

They arrived at the station.

Qin Lie waited in the car while Chen Xi went with Fan Mingsu and Sensen to the arrival gate to pick up the person.

After walking some distance, Chen Xi noticed Fan Mingsu was still turning back to smile at Qin Lie in the car.

She couldn’t help but tease, “Grandma, you said he was a simple boy at first.”

Fan Mingsu glared at Chen Xi, “When did I ever say that?”

Chen Xi was speechless, “…”

Only a few people were waiting at the arrival gate under the bright fluorescent lights overhead.

In the early summer weather, moths and mosquitoes were already flying around the lamp shades.

Chen Xi leaned against the railing in silence.

Whenever she had a moment to herself, she felt somewhat lost and aimless.

Her heart didn’t know where to settle, and unconsciously, she began thinking about Bai Yuning.

Wondering if he had reached his accommodation yet?

Were there moments when he couldn’t help but want to text her?

…

The more she thought, the more her heart ached.

For a moment, she even wanted to buy a plane ticket and fly over immediately.

But in the next second, she wondered—after flying over, would she stay?

Or would she drag him back?

Chen Xi raised her face, forcibly holding back tears that threatened to spill without warning.

Not far away, Fan Mingsu and Sensen stood at the arrival gate.

The old and young pair stretched their necks, eagerly watching the deep end of the tunnel.