Stalling on such a mountain road was quite a challenge for the two of them.
It was the dead of night. There wouldn't be any pedestrians or vehicles passing by here. They could either wait in place until dawn or walk back on foot.
Mu Yuze checked the distance on the navigator and calculated the journey. It was about five kilometers to walk back.
Although it wasn't too far, it would still be a huge drain on their physical strength.
After a moment of silence, Lu Xue spoke up, "How about we just wait here until dawn? In three more hours, there will be pedestrians and vehicles here. If we're lucky, we can hitch a ride back to the village."
Mu Yuze nodded. For the time being, this was the only option.
They sat quietly in the car, waiting. Fortunately, the weather was nice that night, and the night breeze was cool.
Apart from the spooky darkness all around, there weren't any other inconveniences.
Lu Xue found a comfortable position on the back seat and fell asleep, as if she were in her old - fashioned bed at home.
After sleeping for a while, she turned over and said to Mu Yuze, "You should rest too. It'll be more than three hours before a vehicle passes by. Just sitting in the car will make you tired."
Mu Yuze looked at the girl in the rear - view mirror. His eyes softened as he simply said, "It's okay. You sleep. I'm not tired."
Lu Xue fell asleep again, while Mu Yuze sat quietly in the front row, looking at the thick night outside.
They were in the middle of nowhere, and it was late at night. For safety reasons, one of them had to keep watch.
In the middle of the night, Lu Xue couldn't sleep and woke up several times, tossing and turning.
Perhaps it was because the back - seat was really uncomfortable. She got up, put on her coat, opened the door, and took a look at the empty fields outside.
Maybe it was because the night was so quiet, or perhaps because in this desolate wilderness in the middle of the night, they had no one to rely on but each other. They could only draw spiritual security from one another.
Lu Xue sat back on the back seat. In the dim light, she looked at Mu Yuze's profile and whispered, "Do you regret coming to find me in your heart?"
Mu Yuze turned back to meet Lu Xue's gaze and said, "How could I?"
Lu Xue said in a low voice, "Actually, you didn't have to come. You're just causing trouble for yourself now."
Mu Yuze was silent for a while and then said, "I just followed my heart. The moment I knew you had left, my first reaction was to find you no matter where you were. If I didn't do it, I might regret it."
Something seemed to stir in Lu Xue's heart. She finally brought up the matter about the will.
"We've lived under the same roof for so long. Why have I never heard you mention the engagement?"
Mu Yuze said slowly, "Because I was afraid of scaring you, so I always thought I'd have a chance to mention it later. But who would have known..."
He was silent for a moment and didn't continue.
Who would have known that time would be so hasty? He didn't have time to get along with her slowly and steadily as he had planned. Instead, he always encountered unexpected crises.
Perhaps because it was so quiet in the car, and there was no way to kill time in this long night except by chatting, Lu Xue began to ramble to Mu Yuze about her childhood.
"My father died in an accident when I was very young. My mother was bed - ridden and passed away soon after. I was left alone in the family. As a young child, I grew up under the care of the kind villagers in the village. I ate at different villagers' houses. After school every day, I would go to different houses to have dinner. During festivals, sometimes Aunt Wang would make new clothes for me, and sometimes Aunt Li from another family would prepare new stationery for me for the new semester."
"Growing up in such an environment, I received a lot of care and love from many people, but I always lacked the most important family companionship. In my subconscious, it seemed that nothing truly belonged to me. Life was just like living under someone else's roof..."
At this point, there was another silence in the car.
Mu Yuze turned his head. After a long while, he let out a sigh and said, "I'm sorry. If your father hadn't tried to save someone in that accident back then..."
Lu Xue interrupted him, "Let's not talk about the past. I don't want to dig into what happened back then."
Mu Yuze continued, "Grandpa felt guilty towards you back then. He knew that your father had left behind an orphan girl with a hard life, so he wanted to take you in here. But due to some things that happened in the middle, it took us many years to find you. So..."
Lu Xue shook her head and said, "It's okay. I think my childhood was very happy. And I'm lucky to have received the sponsorship of a behind - the - scenes entrepreneur. I received an overseas education at a very young age."
It was the first time Mu Yuze had heard Lu Xue talk about this. After a moment of silence, he asked further, "Did that mysterious sponsor help you all the way from childhood?"