Chapter 146: Brother Qin, I

"No, absolutely not allowed."

"If you dare act on your own, don't even think about stepping through this door."

"I'll tell you, Xia Xiaoxing, skipping work after college I've let slide, and I've said nothing about you roaming around like a wild savage—but now you're thinking of driving into Tibet? Have you forgotten who you are?"

"You're just a girl—do you really think it's safe to run off alone? What if someone has ill intentions? What will you use to fight back? Will it even matter by then?"

"You drop this idea right now, or I'll break your legs."

"Xia Xiaochuan, you keep an eye on your sister—if she tries to run off, you're sharing the punishment."

"And you, Xia Heng, stop grinning like an idiot—get serious. Look what your indulgence has done to your daughter. Hmph, you're killing me."

Recalling his mother's furious expression, Xia Xiaoxing couldn't help smiling.

But looking at Xia Xiaochuan in the passenger seat, she found him annoying.

"Don't stare at me like that—if Dad hadn't asked me to, do you think I'd want to come with you? Wouldn't it be better to lie in bed and binge shows?" Xia Xiaochuan didn't look up, playing with his phone as if he'd read her mind.

"Hmph!" Xia Xiaoxing pouted and turned to look out the window.

Ye Cheng is in Xinjiang, with high skies and light clouds, perfect weather. The city isn't bustling, nowhere near the prosperity of second- or third-tier coastal cities, let alone Shanghai.

But it carries a raw, rugged feel.

Even looking up toward the distance, you can see the Kunlun Mountains stretching across the horizon, majestic beyond words.

Along the road, only a few vehicles with stickers reading "Xin-Zang Line," "Ali," and "Lhasa" were visible, but their license plates all seemed local—foreign vehicles were rare.

To make this Tibet trip happen, she'd worn down her mother for a full month—and still got no approval. In the end, she had no choice but to sacrifice her father.

Still, having a useless extra along annoyed her.

"Xia Xiaochuan!"

"What?"

"You're not giving any orders on this trip—you're just decoration, got it?"

Xia Xiaochuan lifted his eyes from his phone and sneered at Xia Xiaoxing: "I paid my share too—how am I just decoration? Dad said if I think something's wrong, I can veto your ideas. You forgot?"

Xia Xiaoxing sneered: "One hundred thousand."

"Two hundred thousand."

"Deal! Transfer it!"

Without hesitation, Xia Xiaoxing transferred two hundred thousand to him on her phone: "You know what to do?"

Seeing the bank alert, he grinned and made a zipping motion across his lips: "Relax—I'll keep my mouth shut. No opinions from me."

"That's more like it."

At that moment, the walkie-talkie on the dashboard crackled with the leader Zhou Sihai's voice: "There's a Kunlun Rest Station up ahead. We'll stop there, eat and drink our fill, then truly set off. Prepare to pull over."

Xia Xiaoxing's eyes sparkled with excitement—she didn't care anymore about the punishment waiting for her back in Shanghai.

Their convoy had six vehicles and nine people: a chef, a mechanic, a logistics specialist—all fully equipped. Besides Xia Xiaoxing, everyone else was part of a regular team; she'd only been shoved in because of outside connections.

Though she had zero experience, her gear was top-tier and she'd paid a hefty fee—so Zhou Sihai, tears in his eyes, had agreed.

Soon, the vehicles slowed and pulled over, lining up in a row as figures jumped out of each one.

As soon as Xia Xiaoxing stepped out, she immediately pulled out her phone and took a selfie.

After a moment's thought, she found Qin Yun in her contacts and sent him a message, along with a voice note: "Brother Qin, I'm heading into Tibet."

Hearing this, Xia Xiaochuan beside her glanced with curiosity. His sister hadn't dated in college—when had she met this guy? And she called him so affectionately—she didn't even call her own brother "brother," hmph!

At that moment, Qin Yun had just landed and turned on his phone.

He first sent a voice message to Su Huan, then checked his messages.

When he saw Xia Xiaoxing's voice note, a little girl's face instantly flashed in his mind—1.5 meters tall, driving a G-Wagon, their two-day encounter had left a deep impression.

After thinking for a moment, he replied: "Safe travels."

As for entering Tibet, that was also Qin Yun's next plan. He was currently at Xining Airport in Qinghai; his original route was to enter Xinjiang from Mangya City, then drive all the way to Urumqi, and from there, slowly make his way to Ye Cheng in Xinjiang—fifteen days total.

Today was December 4th; his wilderness survival training in Canada was on December 20th. He could easily finish his Xinjiang trip before then.

He found his Land Rover in the parking lot—it had been nearly twenty days since he last drove it, and the car was covered in dust.

He started it smoothly, then headed to refuel and wash the car. After washing and eating, he stepped on the gas and hit the airport expressway.

A solo journey can be dull—or profoundly peaceful.

Qin Yun cherished these moments of solitude—no pressure, just pursuing the goals he'd set for himself: to see, to feel, to experience the landscapes and human warmth along the way.

When alone, he didn't drift into aimless thoughts, nor did he empty his mind—he remained in a balanced, orderly, and active state of body and mind.

Unlike before, when idleness brought inner turmoil, anxiety, and endless overthinking—or just blank staring and daydreaming.

This feeling was like he could slip effortlessly into natural flow—the kind where action and awareness synchronize.

…

Those who could afford long-distance overland trips were generally well-off, with leisure time and the inclination to travel.

Otherwise, stuck in a daily office grind, you'd never find the time.

The same was true of Xia Xiaoxing's team—this was clear from their vehicles.

Excluding her own G-Wagon, the other five included two Land Cruisers, one Fang Chengbao, one pickup truck, and one Land Rover Defender.

This wasn't a temporary group—aside from Xia Xiaoxing and a sister named Su Wan, all six others were veteran teammates who regularly organized self-drive off-road trips. According to Xia Xiaoxing, the team wasn't limited to these people; they'd just assembled this particular group for the trip.

After resting in Ye Cheng, the group continued south.

Soon, the city vanished, the oasis disappeared, and endless Gobi desert and sky roads surged toward them.

Xia Xiaoxing's excitement was palpable, leaving Xia Xiaochuan speechless.

"Do you really need to be this happy?"

"You wouldn't understand!" Xia Xiaoxing exclaimed. "This is my first real trip in my life—last time to Quzhou doesn't count."

Shaking his head, Xia Xiaochuan sighed: "You should worry about altitude sickness first. I looked up a ton of info before we left—after Ye Cheng, the elevation hits 4,500 meters. Are you sure you can handle the symptoms?"

"What's there to worry about? I already packed oxygen bottles."

Xia Xiaoxing smiled, utterly unconcerned: "Of course I know this is the highest-altitude road in the world, and the most isolated route into Tibet—but don't you think it sounds just thrilling?"

Xia Xiaochuan rolled his eyes, speechless.

"Besides altitude sickness, there are winding mountain roads, cliffside paths, risks of falling rocks and landslides, and tires bursting easily."

"Jinx!" Xia Xiaoxing shot a sideways glance at her older brother. "Every car has a spare. What's there to fear?"

"Fine." Xia Xiaochuan knew that if everything went smoothly, all these problems were just hypothetical—but this route into Tibet was never easy. He hoped for smooth sailing.

To be honest, Xia Xiaochuan thought the scenery alone was breathtakingly beautiful.

Endless rolling desert plains, towering Kunlun Mountains, snow-capped peaks glittering in the sunlight.

But once the car entered the first stretch of the winding road—the Kudi Daban—the beauty lost all meaning. The road narrowed and grew rough, one side a sheer cliff, the other a towering mountain wall; tires crushed over gravel, emitting a constant "crunch-crunch" sound.

The walkie-talkie crackled again with the leader Zhou Sihai's voice: "Slow down, honk at curves, maintain distance, no overtaking!"

"Xiaoxing, should I drive?"

Xia Xiaoxing refused without hesitation: "It's such a wide road—why would you drive? Don't you trust my driving?"

Watching the seat pushed all the way back, leaving his vision at normal human height, Xia Xiaochuan covered his face.

Xia Xiaoxing suddenly noticed the car ahead braking; she slammed her own brakes to a stop.

"What happened?"

"The pickup blew a tire," came He Guang's voice over the walkie-talkie.

He Guang was the entire convoy's mechanic—38 years old, ordinary-looking, stout-built—responsible for all vehicle repairs and maintenance, though mostly just patching and replacing tires.

Everyone got out of their cars to find He Guang inspecting the vehicle.

He slapped the dust off his hands and sighed: "Too many loose stones on this stretch—the tire got punctured, and the hole's too big to patch. We'll have to swap in the spare."

Zhou Sihai lit a cigarette; his dark face grew even darker. He felt like bad luck had struck right from the start—only two hours into the winding road, and already a blowout.

"Then fix it. Hurry up. We're still at Kudi Daban—whether we reach the Thirty-Mile Camp by eight tonight is still uncertain."

"I understand." He Guang nodded. On the other side, Song Shanhe had already pulled out the spare tire and repair tools.

Since they couldn't move, no one clustered around He Guang. Everyone scattered, strolling freely.

The altitude hadn't yet reached three thousand meters, so everyone felt fine—no signs of altitude sickness. Instead, the sharp turns of the winding road were making people dizzy.

Most noticeably, Su Wan leaned against her car door, rubbing her head, her initial excitement long gone.

"Sister Su, are you okay? Have some water."

Xia Xiaoxing handed her a bottle of mineral water.

Su Wan lifted her almond eyes, smiled at her, and took the water: "I'm fine—just a bit dizzy. A little rest will fix it."

"Mm." Xia Xiaoxing nodded. "We'll rest properly once we reach the Thirty-Mile Camp."

Su Wan's gaze flickered over Xia Xiaoxing's jade bracelet, then toward Xia Xiaochuan nearby. She tilted her chin: "Did your mom send your brother to keep an eye on you?"

Xia Xiaoxing sighed helplessly: "They didn't trust me driving alone—they insisted my brother come along."

"That's nice. At least you have family caring for you. I don't—I lost my parents early. Only my grandmother's left."

"Ah?"

Xia Xiaoxing's expression instantly flustered: "I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine," Su Wan said lightly. "I'm used to it."

She glanced over at the pickup—He Guang's progress was decent.

She pulled out her phone and checked: signal was present, but only one or two bars.

"By the way, Sister Su," Xia Xiaoxing remembered something. "How did you join the convoy? Was it through an introduction too?"

Su Wan nodded: "I've known Tang Tang for a long time. After I quit my job, I wanted to rest properly—and since I was planning to enter Tibet anyway, I came along."

Tang Tang was the other person in the convoy driving a Land Cruiser.

"Oh, I see."

At that moment, He Guang shouted loudly: "All set! We can go. Everyone, try to avoid areas with lots of loose stones ahead—don't want another blowout."

Zhou Sihai walked over, inspected the vehicle carefully, then signaled everyone to get back in. The convoy resumed its journey.

After this minor interruption, Xia Xiaoxing's excitement had dimmed slightly.

But once they left Kudi Daban and entered the Mazha Daban, the convoy encountered another problem—this time, it brought the entire group to a standstill.

Zhou Sihai looked at the two girls breathing oxygen, feeling helpless.

But for Xia Xiaoxing, he didn't mind—she'd paid. He was happy to help. But Su Wan had come through Tang Tang's connection, and he hadn't received a single cent from her. Her altitude sickness was genuinely frustrating.

"Sorry for holding everyone up," Su Wan said. Already dizzy, the altitude sickness hit like a bomb—had she not been prepared, she might have crashed straight off the cliff.

"It's fine," Tang Tang comforted. "Everyone goes through this. You'll get used to it."

On the other side, Zhou Sihai's wife Liu Nanzhou raised an eyebrow: "Hurry up. Once it's dark, this mountain road becomes dangerous."

Humans are creatures ruled by emotion—when happy, nothing seems a problem; when in pain, everything feels unbearable.

Xia Xiaoxing was exactly like that now—her head pounded, her body weak, convinced she was about to die.

The excitement she'd felt before entering Tibet had vanished completely.

In contrast, Xia Xiaochuan, at four thousand meters, still felt fine—though like everyone else, he occasionally needed to inhale oxygen.

He patted Xia Xiaoxing's head: "It's okay. You'll adapt soon."

"Mm!"