I Just Want to Be with You

Not long after turning onto the country road, the scenery on both sides gave way to vast expanses of grasslands and a scattering of small villages.

Sunlight spilled over the prairie. The winding path stretched ahead, meandering endlessly out of sight.

Mesmerized by the breathtaking scenery, the three cars pulled over at a spacious spot so everyone could step out and take it all in.

A few of them grabbed Meng Qianyu's camera to snap some photos. Every now and then, a herd of seven or eight black yaks would leisurely stroll across the grass.

Nearby, a few horses grazed with their heads lowered. Some locals dressed in traditional Tibetan attire looked over, welcoming them to Yuzixi. After a brief, friendly exchange of greetings, the locals smiled and went on their way.

"So this is Western Sichuan!!"

Liu Bo shouted as he sprinted to a higher vantage point, throwing his arms wide open to embrace the highland wind.

Prayer flags fluttered in the breeze along the road. In the distance lay endless grasslands and rolling mountains, with herds of cattle and sheep wandering lazily across the plains.

The clouds in the sky felt so close that one could almost reach out and touch them.

Overcome with excitement, the girls held hands and went running onto the grassy plains.

Seeing this, Meng Wenzhou immediately called out, "Hey, don't run so fast! The altitude is really high here, you'll easily run out of breath and get altitude sickness!"

"We're fine!" the girls hollered back, completely unbothered.

Watching them, Su Yang suddenly recalled a saying he had read before: Western Sichuan might be short on oxygen, but it is never short on faith, joy, and freedom.

[Ding! Detected that the host is deeply immersed in and thoroughly enjoying the beauty of nature. Reward: 3 million.]

Su Yang smiled faintly, standing by the roadside with Pan Ning as they watched the others.

"Why don't you go for a walk too?"

Pan Ning shook her head. "I just want to stay here with you."

Hearing this, Su Yang couldn't resist reaching out to pinch Pan Ning's smooth, delicate cheek.

Just then, Meng Wenzhou happened to turn around. He laughed and called out, "Hey, hey, what are you two doing over there?"

Pan Ning shot Meng Wenzhou a glare.

"Uh, pretend I didn't say anything." Seeing the look in Pan Ning's eyes, Meng Wenzhou rubbed his nose and turned back to find Liu Bo and Zhang Ziming.

After hanging out on the grasslands for about ten minutes, the group hopped back into their cars and headed toward their final destination.

Their GPS was set to the Yuzixi Starry Sky Campsite, which was only about twenty or thirty kilometers away.

They wound their way up a rather rugged mountain road for over thirty minutes before turning onto a stretch of dirt road about two kilometers long.

After being delayed for another ten minutes by cattle and horses blocking the path, they finally made it off the dirt road and pulled into the parking lot at the peak of Yuzixi.

Countless vehicles were already parked there, but the mountaintop was so vast and expansive that it could easily accommodate as many cars as arrived.

As soon as they stepped out of their cars, the howling wind rushed past their ears.

After all, at an altitude of 4,200 meters with nothing but open space around them, the wind was naturally fierce. It even carried a chilly bite against their skin, a sure sign that it would be freezing at night.

Not far from the mountaintop parking lot was the tent hotel of the Yuzixi Starry Sky Campsite.

Visitors could choose to stay in the hotel's starry sky tents or pitch their own; the hotel provided wooden platforms for those setting up their own gear.

Those who preferred not to camp could head down the mountain to stay in a guesthouse, but that would defeat the whole purpose. Since they had made it all the way up here, camping at the summit was a must.

The hotel was surrounded by vast grasslands, which featured a spacious viewing platform.

Surrounding the platform were various glass cabins of different sizes. Some sold snacks and beverages, others offered medical supplies and oxygen canisters, and a few sold an assortment of local street food.

About twenty meters to their right, a standalone glass cabin bore the English word COFFEE on its exterior.

Meng Qianyu tilted her head, pointing at it as she exclaimed, "There's actually a coffee shop up here!"

"That's fantastic!" Su Yang smiled. "I could really use a cup right now. I didn't think they'd sell coffee all the way up here."

"Hehe, let's go grab a seat there later."

"Absolutely."

The group wandered around a bit more and spotted a few Tibetan milk tea food trucks, surrounded by crowds of eager customers.

"Not bad at all. So, are we staying in the hotel's starry sky tents or pitching our own?" Tang Ziyun asked, looking at the group.

Su Yang smiled and said, "I'm leaning toward pitching our own, but if you guys think it's too much of a hassle, we can just stay in the hotel's tents."

Realizing something, Meng Wenzhou chimed in, "I bet the hotel's tents are already fully booked. Just look at how many people are here."

He turned and gestured at the tourists milling about, then pointed toward the hotel's starry sky tents in the distance. There were only eight of them in total.

"No way!" Meng Qianyu quickly pulled out her phone, looked up the hotel, and checked the availability.

Sure enough, the starry sky tents were completely sold out.

Meng Qianyu pouted. "They really are all gone."

Meng Wenzhou chuckled. "No big deal. It's not like we didn't bring our own tents."

"That's right! Do it yourself and you'll have everything you need," Liu Bo chimed in with a grin.

"It's just that the hotel's starry sky tents look so pretty. Look at the pictures, they're fully furnished, spacious, and bright. It looks so cozy," she said.

"Well, what do you want to do then? Want to go negotiate with someone and see if they'll give up their tent for us?" Meng Wenzhou teased.

Meng Qianyu shook her head. "Forget it, I'll just pitch my own."

"Hehe, lesson learned for next time. If you want a starry sky tent here, you have to book well in advance!"

"I honestly didn't expect the hotel to have so few of them," Zhang Ziming noted.

"Even if you had tried booking last night, there probably wouldn't have been any left. For a place like this, you'd likely need to book at least three or four days, or even a week, in advance."

"Oh well, let's just go to the hotel and rent some tent spots."

Su Qingci pointed toward the vast grasslands and asked, "Aren't these all tent spots? Do we actually have to rent them?"

Su Yang smiled. "It looks like we can't just pitch them directly on the grass. The hotel provides designated platforms. Look over there."

He pointed toward the hotel, where rows of vacant, square wooden platforms were laid out on the grass nearby.

A few people were already busy pitching their tents on them.

"Oh, I see," Su Qingci nodded in understanding.

"Let's hurry, or else the tent spots will be gone too!" Meng Wenzhou said, leading the charge as he jogged toward the hotel entrance.

The rest of the group quickly followed suit.

Inside the hotel, they inquired at the front desk and learned that they could not only rent spots but also rent tents of various sizes and models.

The group unanimously decided to rent the tents. This would save them a ton of hassle and spare them from having to unpack and pack up their own gear.

The management fee for each tent spot was 150 yuan. On top of that, there were cleaning fees and, of course, the rental cost of the tents themselves.

The options ranged from small single-person tents to large two- or three-person tents, with prices increasing based on size.

Tang Ziyun footed the bill this time, renting four three-person tents. The group then headed back out to the grassy field to pick their spots.

They opted for a cluster of four large, adjacent platforms situated a little further away from the main crowd.

After a nearby staff member gave them a quick rundown of the setup process and the campsite rules, Liu Bo asked, "Hey man, what are the names of those snow-capped mountains over there in the distance?"

The staff member followed the direction of Liu Bo's pointing finger and introduced them one by one: "Those two on the left are the Yala and Yamu Snow Mountains. That stretch on the right is the King of Shu Mountains, the Gongga Mountain Range."

"Oh, so that's the Gongga Snow Mountain?"

"That's right, and over there is Mount Siguniang."

The staff member pointed in another direction.

The group nodded. "Nice, nice. It just feels a bit too far away to see clearly."

"If you want a close-up view, you'll definitely need to go to the specific viewing areas for those mountains."

"But we can see a lot of mountains from here. At sunset tonight or sunrise tomorrow morning, with today's weather conditions, you are absolutely guaranteed to see the golden alpenglow on the snow-capped peaks."

"Got it, thanks for the info!"

"No problem. I'll go get the tents for everyone."

Soon, a few staff members brought over their four tents. "Ladies and gents, do you need a hand from us?"

Meng Wenzhou waved his hand. "No thanks, we can handle it ourselves."

"Alright then. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anytime. Let's exchange contact info."

"Sure." Ji Bo stepped forward and added the staff member on WeChat.

After the staff left, everyone started pitching their tents.

...