Chapter 77: All Because of the Driver

The two of them exchanged glances in silence for a moment.

Ye Fangfei snapped out of it, raised her eyebrow, and said, “What are you doing?”

Lu Zhou hesitated, feeling somewhat awkward. He cleared his throat. “Nothing… I was just worried you might bump your head, so I tried to shield you.”

Ye Fangfei immediately understood and replied with a casual, “Oh, thanks for being so considerate.”

Lu Zhou responded, “You’re welcome.”

They remained in the same positions as before. Lu Zhou’s posture gave the impression that he was holding her in his arms. Silence stretched between them as they locked eyes for another two seconds.

Ye Fangfei said, “I’m awake now.”

Lu Zhou nodded. “I know.”

Seeing that he still hadn’t moved, Ye Fangfei pressed her lips together and stated plainly, “I mean, my head isn’t at risk anymore, you don’t need to shield me…”

Lu Zhou’s mouth twitched. “I know… but your head is still resting on my hand, and it would be awkward to forcibly move it…”

Now it was Ye Fangfei’s turn to feel embarrassed.

“Oh, I didn’t notice.”

She blinked, leaned forward slightly, and moved her head away.

Lu Zhou was finally freed and pulled back his arm.

Just then, the car suddenly took a sharp turn. Neither of them was prepared, and their bodies lurched from the inertia.

Lu Zhou quickly grabbed the seat in front to steady himself, but in the next instant, a soft body crashed into his arms.

Lu Zhou: “???”

Ye Fangfei: “…”

The livestream viewers were about to lose their minds—

[Oh my god]
[Screenshot taken, you’re welcome]
[The driver knows exactly what audiences want]
[I’m stunned, let go of my wife!]
[Zhang Chen is probably crying in the restroom]
…

“Sorry.” Ye Fangfei’s cheeks flushed as she struggled upright from his chest.

Lu Zhou’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and he replied in a low voice, “It’s fine, the road is rough.”

Ye Fangfei awkwardly smoothed her long hair away from her forehead and frowned at the driver. “Sir, could you please drive more steadily? The bumping is too much.”

The driver replied, “I’m already being careful. There are lots of bends here, please bear with it.”

Ye Fangfei sat up straight and turned to look out the window. Apart from the music from the radio, the car was quiet. There was a subtle feeling in her heart—perhaps embarrassment, she thought, as she watched the trees slide past.

At that moment, a car behind them caught up, drawing nearer until it was side by side. The window rolled down.

Ye Fangfei saw the passengers clearly—it was Li Jiayan, and she looked surprised.

“Hello!” Li Jiayan beamed, waving energetically at them and greeting them loudly.

Ye Fangfei pressed her own window button, smiling with curved eyes. “So you’re behind us?”

“Yes! We’ve been following you, but now we’re going to overtake on this bend!” Li Jiayan’s voice was bright with excitement.

“Bye-bye!” Xu Junze also leaned over from their car to wave.

Watching their taillights fade into the distance, Ye Fangfei laughed, “Is this some kind of race?”

Lu Zhou looked at the car ahead and replied, “Didn’t they mention a mysterious prize? Maybe they’re interested.”

Ye Fangfei turned back. “You’re not interested?”

“I am, but the show hasn’t said how to win it, so I don’t think rushing ahead matters much.” Lu Zhou smiled.

“That’s true. The production team is so cunning, it’s never as simple as it looks.” Ye Fangfei shrugged.

The driver up front suddenly spoke, “If you want to catch up and pass them, I can speed up!”

Lu Zhou chuckled at the driver’s unexpected competitiveness.

“…” Ye Fangfei, remembering the earlier moment in the car, said with a trembling smile, “No need, just keep this pace. Please drive steadily.”

Driver: “Alright then.”

The viewers in the livestream were amused—

[This pair is so laid-back]
[Be more ambitious, even the driver has more drive than you two]
[Why is my mouth grinning like the sun?]
…

Wind billowed in through the window, tossing Ye Fangfei’s long hair around the car. She closed the window.

“I’m still a bit sleepy. I’ll nap for a while. Wake me when we arrive.” Ye Fangfei adjusted her posture, preparing to doze off again.

Lu Zhou murmured, “Go ahead and sleep.”

Ye Fangfei had just closed her eyes when a thought struck her. She opened them and looked at him. “I forgot to ask—did I hurt your hand just now?”

Lu Zhou took a moment to understand, then laughed. “How could that little pressure hurt me? Don’t think I’m that weak.”

“Good.” Ye Fangfei smiled. “By the way, if that happens again, you don’t need to shield me. My head is tough, it won’t get hurt, don’t worry.”

Lu Zhou smiled, “Alright.”

The car sped on toward the volcanic crater lake.

…

The first pair to arrive at The Crater Lake were Xu Junze and Li Jiayan, who had suddenly decided to overtake at the bend.

Their driver dropped them off at the entrance, and the two grabbed their backpacks, ready to head inside, only to discover they needed tickets.

“We have to buy tickets? What do we do? We don’t have any money.” Li Jiayan was bewildered.

Xu Junze set his backpack down and crouched to rummage through it. “I remember the show’s map had two tickets tucked inside.”

“Oh! Right, I think it did.” Li Jiayan recalled.

But Xu Junze searched every corner of his bag and found no sign of the map.

“I don’t think I put the map in here. Is it with you?” Xu Junze looked at Li Jiayan.

“Is it with me?” Li Jiayan wasn’t sure. She’d been distracted the whole journey and didn’t remember if she’d taken it.

She began searching her backpack too, but still couldn’t find it.

“It’s not here. Did we lose it?” Li Jiayan was stunned.

“I remember looking at the map after we got in the car. When I was about to put it away, you wanted to look at it and took it. I don’t think you gave it back afterward,” Xu Junze recalled.

“Huh?” Li Jiayan frowned, trying to remember. “I think I held onto it after looking, but I forgot if I put it in my bag. Let me check again.”

She resumed searching her backpack.

“Maybe it got left in the car. I’ll check.” Xu Junze handed his backpack to Li Jiayan and went to look for the car they’d just arrived in.

But after searching for a while, he couldn’t find it.

“Hey, where did our car go?” Xu Junze looked around, gradually realizing the situation.

Li Jiayan heard the commotion and joined in searching. “What’s going on? Wasn’t it just here?”

“There it is, over there—it’s leaving!” Xu Junze pointed at a car in the distance that had just turned around and was about to drive off. He sprinted after it, shouting, “Hey! Driver! Wait!”

But the driver didn’t seem to notice him…

“Hey! Driver! We left something in the car! Hey! Hey! Stop!”

Xu Junze ran and yelled…

Li Jiayan stood there, dumbfounded.

If they didn’t catch up, wouldn’t they lose their tickets?

They had no wallet, no phone—how could they buy tickets? Without entry, they couldn’t reach the next check-in spot…

Only now did she realize that today’s trip was far from simple—a small mistake could cause major trouble for both of them.

Her partner was Xu Junze, a man she’d only spent a brief time with, without really getting to know him. If she kept drifting off, how could they finish today’s journey?

Watching Xu Junze chase desperately after the car, Li Jiayan was filled with regret.