From July into August, they spent their days on the road.
Chen Shi'an drove, while Li Wanyin sat in the passenger seat, navigating and feeding him. Wen Zhixia and Lin Meng Qiu sat in the back, sometimes bickering, sometimes making up, but more often falling asleep huddled together.
Fat Cat found a sunny spot among the luggage. Its daily routine consisted of sleeping, being fed, and shifting position to sleep some more. Whenever they reached a new destination, it got out to pee and mark the place.
Passing along the edge of Western Sichuan, they occasionally glimpsed scattered Tibetan villages, prayer flags swaying gently in the wind, and fellow countrymen in Tibetan robes leading yaks slowly along...
Only when they stepped into the Great Northwest did they truly understand the weight of the words "vast heaven and earth."
The wind was free, the clouds carefree, and everything in sight was breathtaking.
They camped in river valleys, where the streams were cold enough to numb their toes. Wen Zhixia stepped in with a shriek and dragged Lin Meng Qiu in too. In the end, all four of them had wet trouser cuffs;
They rode horses on the grasslands. The chestnut horse Lin Meng Qiu rode only wanted to graze, refusing to move no matter how she tugged the reins. Only after a herdsman gave its rump a slap did it finally break into a leisurely trot, making the girl squeal in alarm;
They watched the stars at the edge of the desert. Wen Zhixia said she wanted to count them, but fell asleep somewhere past three hundred;
They visited a market in an unnamed little town. Li Wanyin bought mushrooms from an old woman, who threw in an extra handful of wild scallions, telling her what a pretty girl she was...