Early the next morning, after filling up their tanks at a gas station, Mu Jingpei and Aixi set off again.

Aixi sat in the passenger seat, looking at Mu Jingpei's profile thoughtfully, and felt that he looked a little strange today.

She couldn't tell exactly what was strange about it.

"You really don't want me to drive it?" she asked.

Mu Jingpei glanced at the navigation and said, "No, my hand is almost healed."

Aixi: "Okay."

Then there was silence in the car.

Usually when they are on the road, either Mu Jingpei teases Aixi or Aixi asks Mu Jingpei some questions. Except when Aixi is sleeping, the car is rarely so quiet.

At noon, they stopped in a small town to eat.

Walking towards the airport, it gradually became less remote. In this town, you can see two or three tourists sporadically, all of whom are going to hike in the mountains and are stranded here because of the previous heavy rain.

While eating, Aixi couldn't help but ask Mu Jingpei, who was sitting opposite her, "Mu Jingpei, what's wrong with you today? Are you in a bad mood?"

Could it be that she was a little excited about sleeping in the upper and lower bunks with him last night, and she tossed and turned frequently, causing him to not sleep well?

When Mu Jingpei heard Aixi ask this, she smiled, her brows full of distraction: "Why do you think I'm in a bad mood?"

Aixi couldn’t say.

All morning, she spoke to him and he responded, in the same tone as usual.

But she just felt something was wrong. It was as if something suddenly separated them and the distance between them suddenly became greater.

This feeling made Aixi very lost.

"Is it because I turned over and disturbed you?" she asked.

Mu Jingpei laughed: "No, I'm in a good mood. I'm especially happy when I think about arriving at the airport soon."

Aixi frowned.

Yeah?

At this time, a young woman came over to them and asked, "You are not locals, are you?"

The woman was wearing a light green floral dress. She had long straight black hair that reached her waist. She had a slender figure and exuded an artistic temperament.

Aixi shook her head.

The woman smiled and said, "I'm not a local either, can we share a table and chat?"

It was the first time for Aixi to meet someone who wanted to share a table when eating out.

It just so happened that she also needed someone to chat with to ease the inexplicable atmosphere between her and Mu Jingpei. So she nodded: "Okay."

The woman sat down and introduced herself: "My name is Zuo Ying, what's yours?"

"My name is Aixi."

Seeing Mu Jingpei looking down at his phone without saying anything, Aixi introduced him, "His name is Mu Jingpei."

He didn't even want to talk, and he said he wasn't in a bad mood? But at least he was much nicer to me than to strangers. Thinking of this, Aixi's accumulated dark clouds in her heart dissipated a lot.

Hearing Aixi's answer, Mu Jingpei looked up at her.

Who told her to tell strangers their names? She had no sense of defense at all.

As soon as Zuo Ying entered the store, she noticed this man with a unique temperament. Unfortunately, it seemed that this man was not easy to get along with.

"What are you doing in such a remote place?" she asked.

Mu Jingpei was still casually scrolling through her phone, with no intention of answering.

Aixi didn't know how to answer.

Not getting an answer, Zuo Ying smiled and found a way out for herself: "If it's inconvenient to say, then don't say it. Who doesn't have some secrets?"

Aixi asked: "What about you?"

"As for me, I just feel that life is too impetuous and meaningless. I want to get close to nature, cleanse my soul, and calm down to think about what I really want."

Aixi, who spends her days in nature, doesn't quite understand how being in nature can cleanse the soul. She said, "It sounds amazing."

They started chatting, with Zuo Ying asking questions and Aixi answering most of the time.

After the meal, Zuo Ying said with embarrassment: "You are going to the airport, can you give me a ride? I have been out for three months and I don't have much money left. I can't afford to rent a car. I am a girl out there, and I don't dare to take a stranger's car."

Aixi thought that she was very capable and it was not easy for her to be alone, so it would be a good thing to take her with her for a while. However, she always took Mu Jingpei's car and could not make a decision.

"That... you have to ask him." She looked at Mu Jingpei.

Although Mu Jingpei didn't say anything, she was listening to their conversation.

What about pursuing poetry and distant places, getting close to nature? This kind of pseudo-female intellectual who picks up people halfway can only have two purposes, either to take advantage of them, or to have a romantic encounter. Usually, they want to have a romantic encounter and save on accommodation and transportation fees.

This level of skill is not enough for him, and it can only scare Aixi who just came out of the village.

The little girl is so naive and believes everything anyone says. What will happen in the future?

Mu Jingpei rejected Zuo Ying without thinking.

The words were on the tip of his tongue, but when he saw Aixi, he changed his mind, curled his lips, and said, "Okay."

It was a good opportunity to use her to dispel Aixi's thoughts about him.

Mu Jingpei ignored her from beginning to end. Zuo Ying thought there was no hope, but she didn't expect him to agree and even smiled at her.

She was very surprised and felt better than before.

After dinner, the three of them set off.

Mu Jingpei was still driving, Aixi was sitting in the front passenger seat, and Zuo Ying was sitting in the back seat.

Zuo Ying was more active than before, glancing at Mu Jingpei from time to time.

"Are you boyfriend and girlfriend?" she asked tentatively.

Aixi felt a little embarrassed but also a little happy when asked this question.

Do she and Mu Jingpei look like boyfriend and girlfriend?

She was about to deny it with a red face when she heard Mu Jingpei, who had been silent the whole time, smile and say, "We don't look alike, do we?"

This sentence was like pouring a bucket of cold water on Aixi's heart, instantly extinguishing all her excitement and expectations.

She lowered her eyes, feeling a little lost in her heart.

Zuo Ying, who had successfully struck up a conversation, leaned forward and asked, "Do you have a girlfriend?"

Mu Jingpei: “No.”

"You're so handsome, but you don't have a girlfriend? Then...what type do you like?"

Mu Jingpei didn't like being peeped at by strangers and didn't want to pay any attention to Zuo Ying.

But he saw Aixi with her eyes downcast, so he replied, "Independent, mature, and charming."

He deliberately said the opposite of what Aixi said.

Besides, he does appreciate mature and independent people.

Aixi silently compared what Mu Jingpei said with herself.

Every time she compared them, her heart sank.

She was not independent, mature, or charming, and was totally different from the type he liked.

And Zuo Ying seems to meet all the requirements.

She suddenly didn't like Zuo Ying so much anymore.

Zuo Ying herself seemed to have identified herself with the situation. She lifted her hair, leaned forward more, and put her hand on the back of the driver's seat to chat with Mu Jingpei.

Mu Jingpei responded to her in a disjointed manner, occasionally making a joke or two, which made Zuo Ying laugh the whole time.

Aixi sat beside him in silence.

She couldn't understand what they were talking about at all and couldn't get a word in.

Looking at Mu Jingpei again, he seemed to have forgotten about her when someone else was talking to him.