The Last Night in No Man's Land

As they talked, everyone parked their cars and got out to prepare dinner.

Su Yang set up the lights and turned them on. Liu Bo walked over, offering him a cigarette. "Self-heating hotpot again tonight?"

"What do we have left?"

"A few boxes of self-heating hotpot, instant noodles, steamed buns, beef jerky, and an assortment of snacks."

"Then let's stick with the self-heating hotpot."

"I want instant noodles," Meng Qianyu raised her hand and smiled.

Zhong Qing chimed in, "I'll have instant noodles too."

"Alright, who else wants instant noodles? Speak up."

"Count me in."

"Me too."

Gao Yue and Tang Ziyun also opted for instant noodles, while the rest went with the self-heating hotpot.

After deciding what to eat, everyone got busy.

While preparing the food, Su Yang called out to Ji Bo not far away, "Xiao Ji, do you still have any alcohol in your car?"

"Yes," Ji Bo replied while setting up his hotpot.

"How much?"

"I think we still have two cases of craft beer."

"Bring it all down. Let's finish it all tonight."

"You got it."

After finishing what he was doing, Ji Bo quickly ran to the back seat to get the beer.

More than ten minutes later, everyone sat in a circle, enjoying the savory self-heating hotpot and instant noodles.

"Tonight is our last night in the no man's land, so let's enjoy it to the fullest," Su Yang said, taking a sip from his beer bottle.

"Yeah, it feels like time flew by. In the blink of an eye, we've been out here for more than half a month," Chu Qiunan sighed emotionally after slurping a mouthful of Gao Yue's noodles.

"Exactly. If everything goes smoothly tomorrow, we can drive straight to Yutian County. The day after, we'll head to Hetian to catch our flights home. This road trip across more than half of China will finally come to an end."

"Hey, speaking of which, why am I suddenly feeling a bit reluctant to leave?" Zhong Qing smiled.

"Tell me about it, I feel the same way. After all, our group has been through so much together. Now that the journey is suddenly ending, it really is hard to say goodbye."

Liu Bo took a bite of food, shook his head with a smile, and then downed more than half a bottle of beer.

"Why are we getting all sentimental? The friendship among our group can no longer be summed up by the simple word 'friends.' We'll have plenty of opportunities to hit the road together in the future."

"Exactly, Old Meng is right!"

Meng Wenzhou looked at everyone and raised his bottle. "Come on, a toast to our friendship. Cheers!"

"Cheers, cheers!" Everyone raised their bottles, clinked them together, and took a big gulp.

"After we get back this time, everyone should get back to their lives. Those without girlfriends, go find one; those without boyfriends, go find one. Rest and recover. I hope that the next time we set off, our team will be even bigger!"

"Great! Another toast!"

Everyone sat around the cars with beaming smiles, eating, drinking, and chatting, as the lights illuminated the open space.

Amidst the laughter and cheerful voices, the simple yet heartwarming dinner soon came to an end.

After dinner, they cleaned everything up and then debated whether or not to pitch tents.

Although the altitude here was slightly lower than last night's, they were still in the no man's land.

Wild animals might wander over again during the night, making pitching tents a wasted effort.

After some discussion, everyone unanimously decided to just make do and sleep in the cars for another night.

It was 10 PM, and the temperature had quickly dropped to minus seven or eight degrees Celsius.

The freezing wind blew fiercely, making their ears ache as if they were about to fall off.

After a quick wash, everyone hurried into their cars to blast the heater.

In Su Yang's car, a few girls were covered in thick blankets, chatting about who knows what.

Seeing Su Yang get in, Meng Qianyu smiled. "Brother Su Yang, what are you planning to do next after we get back?"

Su Yang thought for a moment and said, "I'll rest up first after getting back, and then I have a lot of things waiting for me."

"Like what?"

"Going to your sister's place for dinner, checking on how the construction of my little courtyard at Lianwu Lake is coming along, and all sorts of other miscellaneous things."

Hearing this, Su Qingci asked, "What little courtyard?"

"Brother Su Yang is building a little wellness courtyard in a very scenic spot over by Lianwu Lake," Meng Qianyu beat Su Yang to the answer.

"Oh? Really? That sounds quite interesting."

"Of course. Once the courtyard is finished, Brother Su Yang is going to invite all of us over to hang out."

Su Yang shook his head and laughed. "You sure know how to make plans for me."

"Isn't that what you said before?"

"You have a really good memory. I'll invite everyone over once it's done. How should I put it? We can treat it as our own backyard. Whenever we're tired, we can just arrange to go there. It's not far anyway."

"Exactly, our backyard," Meng Qianyu giggled.

Pan Ning chimed in, "How is the construction going?"

"It's mostly done. I reckon it'll be completely finished in another ten days or so."

Pan Ning nodded. "Which day are you planning to come back with me for dinner?"

"You arrange it. Any day works for me."

Hearing this, Meng Qianyu in the back seat rolled her eyes playfully, leaned on the front seat, got close to Pan Ning, and smiled, "Sis, can I tag along for a free meal?"

"Why would you go? It's not like you haven't been there before."

"It's just that I haven't had Auntie's cooking for a long time, and I suddenly really want to eat it," Meng Qianyu babbled an excuse.

Pan Ning rolled her eyes at Meng Qianyu. "You can go eat there whenever you want, but just sit this one out."

Meng Qianyu pouted, "Fine."

Su Yang smiled silently. Just then, someone walked over outside the car and knocked on the window.

Su Yang rolled down the window and looked out, only to see Meng Wenzhou standing there. "Old Su, are you busy?"

"Hmm? What's up?"

"I have something I want to talk to you about."

"Alright, I'll get out." Su Yang said as he opened the door and stepped out.

The two of them walked up the slope as they talked.

"What's on your mind?" Su Yang took out a pack of cigarettes and handed one to Meng Wenzhou.

Meng Wenzhou took the cigarette and lit it. "Since we're heading back soon, I have a project in mind after we return. I wonder if you'd be interested in doing it together?"

"Oh? Tell me what kind of project it is first. What field?"

"Racing," Meng Wenzhou smiled, exhaling a puff of smoke.

"Racing? Well, you've hit right on my interests, haha. Tell me the details."

"Alright. We have two racing circuits in Haicheng. One is the Haicheng International Circuit, which you know about; we even raced there once before."

Su Yang nodded.

Meng Wenzhou continued, "The other one is quite different. You know about the Nürburgring Nordschleife, right?"

"Of course."

"The second circuit I'm talking about is somewhat similar to the Nordschleife—an outdoor, long-distance track. Of course, the scale is miles behind; after all, theirs is one of the most famous tracks in the world."

"Right now, because of the influence of the Haicheng International Circuit, this track located in the Qinglian Lake New District has been neglected for a long time. Hardly any organizers host races there anymore. Mostly, it's just some reckless kids taking rented cars there for a spin."

"So," Meng Wenzhou said, looking at Su Yang. "Old Su, you should know what I mean by now, right?"