"How special is it?" Yan Heqing asked casually before takeoff.
Lu Lin opened his laptop, clicked on a folder, and inside was a photo. "A place with lakes and volcanoes."
Yan Heqing leaned forward and looked at the screen. It was a picture of a lake at sunset, with a series of volcanoes in the distance.
The composition isn't particularly outstanding; the focus is mainly on the fishing rod in the foreground.
"This photo was taken when you graduated from university?" Yan Heqing noticed the time in the lower right corner; it was a photo from 11 years ago.
"Yes, it was a graduation trip." Lu Lin unpacked a pair of disposable slippers and handed them to him. "A fishing buddy recommended it. He was 76 years old at the time and said this lake was the most exciting place he'd ever fished in, so I messaged him privately to ask for the address."
Yan Heqing paused in changing his shoes. "An active volcano or a dormant volcano?"
"Dead Mountain."
Yan Heqing then continued, changing her shoes and placing them under the chair. She smiled and said, "I've been so busy these past few days that I haven't had time to rest. I'm going to take a nap."
The plane was newly purchased by Lu Lin, and the seats could be laid flat into a single bed as he requested. Yan Heqing fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Lu Lin gave him another blanket before getting up to go to the other seat to work.
The flight takes 16 hours, departing from the capital at 8 pm and landing on time at 12 pm on March 3.
The ground temperature was around 2 degrees Celsius, but it was dry and cold. Yan Heqing and Lu Lin walked out of the airport, both wearing light down jackets, and did not feel cold. A motorhome drove up, and the driver got out and handed the keys to Lu Lin.
After getting into the car with their luggage, Lu Lin went to the driver's seat. "Let's buy some food first; it'll take another six hours to drive there."
Yan Heqing closed the car door, walked a few steps to sit in the passenger seat, and said as he fastened his seatbelt, "Okay."
This small place was very remote. Lu Lin drove along the highway for quite a while before finally arriving at a relatively lively place.
After parking the car, they first found a restaurant for lunch, but the food was really not good enough, so they decided to cook the remaining two meals themselves.
They needed to buy ingredients to cook, so after leaving the restaurant, the two searched around again and finally found a supermarket.
Compared to the abundance of goods in China, the selection here isn't as extensive, but it's still fresher than bringing things from China, so I picked out ingredients for two meals, a few cases of water, and a case of local wine.
Carrying their things back to the car, Yan Heqing sat in the driver's seat first, saying, "I'll drive."
Lu Lin didn't argue with him. She took out a bottle of water, opened it, and handed it to him first, saying, "Let me know if you get tired of it."
Yan Heqing nodded, drank a few sips of water, and set off.
There's no GPS here; we have to rely entirely on Lu Lin's directions. He's only been here once, but his directions are incredibly clear.
"With such a strong memory, why can't you remember Lin Fengzhi?" Yan Heqing suddenly asked as they turned onto a road.
Lu Lin glanced at Yan Heqing, and that strange feeling welled up again.
It's not that he can't remember Lin Fengzhi; it's just that he doesn't care about people who are boring or useless, and he won't waste time remembering them.
Lin Fengzhi all three qualities.
But he didn't mention this to Yan Heqing.
This situation is similar to tomorrow's Sunrise; one involves knowing the past, the other involves predicting the future.
Lu Lin seemed thoughtful. He rarely took more than five seconds to respond to Yan Heqing's words, but today he waited five seconds before replying, "No need to remember him."
Yan Heqing wasn't surprised by the answer and continued driving without asking further. Lu Lin, however, worried that he might be bored and brought it up herself, saying, "I remembered you from the first time I saw you."
Yan Heqing smiled, "Those two drops of olive juice?"
Lu Lin chuckled. "Only a curious person would be curious about that glass of wine."
He was curious about Yan Heqing the first time he met Yan Heqing at the bar.
So he was curious why the Negroni recipe Yan Heqing made was more bitter than the ones from other places.
Yan Heqing was somewhat surprised this time. He originally thought that Lu Lin had no impression of him that time, but unexpectedly, he succeeded from the very beginning.
Yan Heqing stopped the car, rubbing his arm as he stood up. " Mr. Lu, you drive the rest of the way."
This road is rarely traveled, so Lu Lin pulled Yan Heqing into his arms and massaged his arm for a while before returning to the driver's seat and setting off again.
Yan Heqing drove for about 4 hours. By then it was already dark, and there were no streetlights. Only the car headlights shone a beam of light on the winding road. After driving for another 2 hours, he finally arrived at his destination, which was a straight, broken road.
Lu Lin and Yan Heqing explained, "More than twenty years ago, the local government wanted to build a volcano park and construct roads, but the project was stalled, and construction on this road was halted after a short distance."
Yan Heqing nodded, opened the door and got out of the car. Without lighting, he couldn't see his surroundings clearly, but he could deduce that he was in a wide plain or basin, with a series of volcanoes in the distance.
Lu Lin also got out of the car carrying his things, set up a grill on the side of the car, and started cooking rice.
"The lake is a few minutes to the left; you can go fishing if you want." Lu Lin poured a box of fruitwood charcoal, which he had brought from China, into the stove, and then added, "Don't go too far."
"Let's go after we watch the Sunrise tomorrow." Yan Heqing came over to help. "Let's cook together."
Last year, he and Lu Lin spent their holidays looking for new places to go fishing. Lu Lin taught him his wilderness survival skills, and now he can easily handle camping alone.
Lu Lin chuckled and told Yan Heqing to start a fire while he prepared the ingredients.
Before long, smoke began to rise from the desolate horizon, carrying with it the rich aroma of meat, fruits, and vegetables.
The temperature was dropping, especially late at night, and the wind felt like it was going to peel off a layer of skin. After grilling the skewers and cooking the instant noodles, the two quickly carried the food back to the car.
Opening the rear door of the car, all that could be seen was a vast expanse of darkness. A cold wind blew in, but it had a unique charm. The two of them ate their meal at the back of the car.
Besides the grilled items, there was also a braised beef instant noodle dish with plenty of ingredients, a plate of local seasonal fruits, and Yan Heqing scooped two cups of ice from the small refrigerator and opened a bottle of local wine.
With an alcohol content of over 30 degrees, a refreshing and sweet taste, and a hint of wheat aroma, paired with grilled skewers and instant noodles, the two of them finished the entire bottle of liquor without even realizing it.
Yan Heqing had a good tolerance for alcohol, but he still got drunk. After a quick wash, he crawled into bed to sleep, but a few seconds later, he got up again to look for his phone.