The Young Urban Doctor

Chapter 229: Outing

On the morning of September 30th, Yang Qingyin sent Luo Ziling several messages about the plan to leave for the trip in the afternoon.

Since it was her first time traveling with Luo Ziling, Yang Qingyin was not very familiar with his habits, so she gave quite a few reminders in her messages.

Luo Ziling, a freshman, had a class gathering in the morning, but was free in the afternoon on the 30th.

He told Yang Qingyin that he had made all the preparations the night before and assured her that she didn’t have to worry about anything.

The journey from Yanjing to Datan Town, the location of Jingbei First Prairie, covered about two hundred and eighty-something kilometers and would normally take around five hours, so in order to reach the destination before dark, they needed to set off after lunch.

The departure time Yang Qingyin and Luo Ziling agreed upon was twelve noon.

After a simple lunch at the cafeteria, Luo Ziling shouldered his luggage and arrived at the meeting place he had agreed on with Yang Qingyin.

The locations they had agreed to meet before were all outside the school, but this time, it was inside the campus.

When Luo Ziling, carrying a big backpack, arrived at the parking lot Yang Qingyin had mentioned, she was already sitting in the car waiting.

Luo Ziling didn’t see Yang Qingyin, and while he was looking around, Yang Qingyin poked her head out of a nearby car with the window rolled down and greeted him.

“Senior sister, are you armed to the teeth?” Luo Ziling, noticing Yang Qingyin’s large sunglasses and baseball cap topped with a blanket scarf, couldn’t help but tease her as he approached the car, “It looks like you have more travel experience than me.”

“Don’t underestimate me,” Yang Qingyin said with a smile as she hopped out of the car to help Luo Ziling stow his large backpack in the trunk.

The car was a BMW X5 SUV that was commonly seen on the streets, in an unobtrusive black color that didn’t attract much attention.

Luo Ziling joined Yang Qingyin in the back seat and only then did he notice that there was another person in the driver’s seat.

It was the rather cool woman who was with Yang Qingyin when she came to rescue him after he was taken to the police station.

“Hello,” Luo Ziling politely greeted the woman with sunglasses.

“Hello,” the woman replied dryly and then fell silent.

“Ye Xiaoli, our dedicated driver for this trip,” Yang Qingyin playfully introduced her to Luo Ziling before promptly instructing Xiaoli to drive, “Xiaoli, let’s go.”

After Ye Xiaoli acknowledged, she smoothly drove out of the parking lot.

“What did you bring? Such a big pack,” Yang Qingyin joked with a smile, after instructing Luo Ziling to fasten his seatbelt as the car left the parking lot, “It looks like you have even more stuff than us.”

“Some essential travel items, clothing, toiletries… Since you said we have a car, I brought a bit more,” Luo Ziling smiled and replied, “I used to travel often, so I prepared according to what I needed before.”

Luo Ziling hadn’t been in a good mood these past few days, mainly because of the comments Wuyue made when she brought him a gift, which left him quite depressed. But upon seeing Yang Qingyin and noticing nothing unusual about her, his mood immediately lifted.

“Don’t think of me as a delicate flower from the greenhouse, I travel often too,” Yang Qingyin said proudly, “I’ve been to more places than you have for sure.”

“Okay,” Luo Ziling didn’t argue with her, “So on this trip, will the Great Guide Yang continue to lead this junior brother around?”

“Weren’t you the one preparing the travel guide?” Yang Qingyin said with a radiant smile, looking at Luo Ziling, “I haven’t prepared anything like that. I went to Bashang Grassland when I was very young and hardly remember it now.”

“All right, then let’s go according to my plan,” Luo Ziling said a bit awkwardly while touching his nose, “But I didn’t book any rooms, I wasn’t sure how to, and I didn’t know if you guys wanted to camp or not.”

Luo Ziling was telling the truth—he had no experience with e-commerce and online booking, so he wasn’t clear on how to use them, and was too embarrassed to ask the other three. He hadn’t set up Alipay or WeChat payments, and fearing Yang Qingyin might mock him, he quickly explained, “Before coming to Yanjing, I hadn’t encountered these things, so I wasn’t sure about them.”

Seeing Luo Ziling’s embarrassed face, Yang Qingyin couldn’t help feeling affectionate, she grabbed his hand and gently pinched it, laughing, “Don’t worry, I’ll have Xiaoli arrange it.”

After a pause, she added, “But you can’t forget the promise you made to me; you have to teach me horseback riding, personally grill lamb for me, and take lots of pictures of me.”

Luo Ziling readily agreed, “Of course I won’t forget. You can make more requests anytime, and as long as I can do it, I’ll make sure you’re satisfied.”

“I forgot to record that, I should have caught your words on tape,” Yang Qingyin said, bursting into joyful laughter.

Luo Ziling also beamed with joy, and the gloom from the past few days dissipated amidst their laughter.

The two of them chatted and laughed all the way, and time flew by.

Ye Xiaoli was a stable driver, and as the two got carried away in conversation, they almost forgot they were in a car with someone else driving in the front.

Bashang Grassland refers to the area formed by the sudden elevation of the grasslands, creating meadow-style grasslands due to climatic and vegetation factors, with a total area of about 350 square kilometers and the highest altitude reaching 2,400 meters. The famous Mulan Weichang is part of the Bashang Grassland, which is also the source of both the Luan and Chao Rivers. Bashang Grassland has cool summers and is a great place for vacations. In October, it turns into a spread of golden hues, which is quite enchanting.

After driving for about three hours and leaving Yanjing some two hundred kilometers behind, they could see endless grassland.

The colors of the grassland here, like when Luo Ziling left home, were a mixture of green and yellow.

“It’s pretty,” Yang Qingyin, lowering the car window to view the scenery outside and taking a few photos with her phone, said to Luo Ziling, “The grassland in autumn might be a bit desolate, but the scenery is even more colorful and varied.”

“There are so many tourists. If there weren’t this many visitors, the scenery would be even more beautiful.”

“So, are you saying that the scenery in a little Northwest village is more beautiful than here?” Yang Qingyin tilted her head to look at Luo Ziling, “Is that so?”

Embarrassed, Luo Ziling nodded, “That’s probably true, the scenery there is an unknown beauty, sequestered away from the world.”

“You promised to take me there, you can’t go back on your word,” Yang Qingyin said playfully.

Hearing Yang Qingyin still talking like that, Luo Ziling was quite surprised and, after looking at her seriously for several moments, he nodded earnestly, “No problem, I will definitely take you to see it, and also take you to find Tianshan Saussurea.”

“It’s a deal, you can’t back out,” Yang Qingyin said, stretching out her pinky finger toward Luo Ziling.

“Definitely!” Luo Ziling also extended his pinky finger and hooked it firmly with Yang Qingyin’s.