WSSAPF chapter 1

The weather in the mountains was unpredictable, with clear skies in the morning, but suddenly raining after noon, and the temperature dropping sharply, making it feel like winter all of a sudden.

Even though it was the end of April.

Li Zhuoyao drove his black Sedan on the winding mountain road. The navigation warned: “Dangerous road ahead, please drive carefully.”

He looked ahead, and indeed, a small section of the road was becoming narrower, allowing only one car to pass. Below was a cliff, densely populated with pine trees. At the end of the narrow road, slightly wider, stood a stone with the words “Dapingpo.”

“Boss, be careful when you pass Dapingpo. The road condition there is bad, and the government doesn’t bother to fix it. It’s been like this for nearly ten years, and it seems there are accidents every year.”

This was what his assistant Xie Jun said while helping him pack before he came to Guizhou. Xie Jun’s hometown was in Dushan County. Dushan County was located in the Qiannan Autonomous Prefecture of Guizhou, with many continuous mountains and treacherous terrain.

Li Zhuoyao came to Dushan this time to shoot his new variety show, “Field Notes,” an observational slow variety show. He had been preparing for about half a year and finally chose Wengtai Village in Dushan as the main shooting location. This year, he had been thinking about doing a “return to nature” program, like a “pastoral song” style show. The station didn’t support it, didn’t approve the budget, and he was too lazy to find sponsors, so he spent three million of his own money to start this program. His shows almost became popular one after another, well-received by celebrity artists. Many artists voluntarily reduced their fees to participate.

Three million was not a big deal for him. Selling two cars, a Cayenne and a Lotus sports car, which he rarely drove anyway. Compared to these, he preferred driving this Sedan.

Now the rain was intensifying, and the wipers seemed a bit overwhelmed. Raindrops flowed down the windshield in dense lines.

“Fortunately, it started pouring after passing Dapingpo.” He breathed a sigh of relief, checked the fuel tank, and it showed insufficient fuel, remaining 20%.

He searched the map, and there was a gas station at the foot of the mountain, about five kilometers from his hotel.

Just right.

As evening approached, the wind started to rise in the mountains. Li Zhuoyao only wore a black windbreaker, feeling a bit unable to resist the cold. He also didn’t like driving with the air conditioner on, and soon he felt a bit stuffy and heavy in his nose. He didn’t even see a rock in front; the Sedan rolled straight over it, making his hands numb.

Fortunately, he soon descended from the mountain. The temperature at the foot of the mountain was much higher than on the mountain, and Li Zhuoyao felt that the chill on his body had decreased. By now, the rain had become relatively small, and the rain strands, like fine bead curtains, were blown into a slanting shape by the wind.

In the distance, he saw the gas station standing in a misty rain.

There was no umbrella in the car. He didn’t mind much, facing the fine raindrops, and walked straight over.

“Hello, 95 gasoline, add three hundred yuan.”

He called out to the man in dark blue work clothes. There were no other cars coming to refuel at this time. The man, wearing rubber gloves covered in black engine oil, half rolled up his sleeves, revealing a sturdy and bronzed forearm, was bending half of his body under the car, fixing it with pliers.

“Okay, coming right up.”

The man responded and crawled out from under the car, dusting off some dirt, then looked up.

A handsome and slender face came into Li Zhuoyao’s eyes.

Li Zhuoyao never expected to see such an outstanding face in such a place. There was even a black oil stain on the right side of his face.

The man saw Li Zhuoyao, first stunned, then quickly wiped his face with the rolled-up sleeve, threw the gloves into the car’s front hood, took a few steps over, and removed the fuel pump to refuel the car. His gaze remained locked on this car, seemingly evaluating something.

“Excuse me, is there anything wrong with my car?” Li Zhuoyao moved a bit closer and asked curiously.

“No, it feels like an old car, but well-maintained.”

“I’ve had it for seven years. It has sentimental value.”

“You’re quite nostalgic.”

The man said casually, his eyes looking at a point without focus, as if immersed in some emotion. After a few seconds, he came back to his senses, turned to look into Li Zhuoyao’s eyes, perhaps not completely emerging from that emotion, his gaze seemed to be wrapped in a layer of moist mist, deep and still.

Li Zhuoyao felt a bit embarrassed under his gaze.

“Is there something on my face?”

“No, just that you don’t look like a local.”

Out of habit, Li Zhuoyao took out a cigarette box. Just as he was about to take out a cigarette, he remembered he was at a gas station and quickly put it back.

“Sorry, forgot you can’t smoke at the gas station. I’m from Guangdong. First time in Guizhou.”

“Heh, the first time…” The man chuckled, repeating Li Zhuoyao’s words. Perhaps it was an illusion, but Li Zhuoyao saw a difficult-to-describe emotion in his face, seemingly tinged with some mockery. The color in his eyes quickly clouded with a layer of sadness, but it was so faint that before Li Zhuoyao could delve deeper, it disappeared.

Lowering his head, the man stopped looking at Li Zhuoyao, focusing on the gas tank. The prompt sound of the gas pump “beeping” happened just then.

“Done. The payment code is on the wall.” The man put away the fuel hose and pointed to the wall.

“Oh, okay.”

Li Zhuoyao awkwardly took out his phone to scan the code but found no signal. He pulled out his wallet, and three bills fell out. One of them was a Polaroid photo, floating to the man’s feet and quickly getting soaked in a few raindrops.

The man picked up the photo, seemingly unconscious of it, and handed it to Li Zhuoyao.

“You dropped something.”

“Thank you.”

Li Zhuoyao took the photo and their fingertips touched for a brief second. The man’s fingertips were cold, like they had been soaked in mountain river water for a long time, while his own were warm.

Li Zhuoyao put the photo back into his wallet. It was a half-cut Polaroid with him making a V-sign towards the camera.

This photo had been kept in his wallet for a long time. Due to its age, the edges had started to turn yellow, but he had preserved it well.

“Keep your belongings closer. Be more careful next time.” The man spoke casually, turned around, and walked into the building, rolling down his sleeves.

“Sorry.”

Although it was his own thing that fell, Li Zhuoyao strangely felt a twinge of guilt in his heart.

He returned to the car, fastened his seatbelt, started the engine, but before leaving the gas station, there was a dull sound from the car body, and then, the right rear tire burst with a “pop.”

“Tsk, must be because of that rock.” Li Zhuoyao parked the car, immediately unfastened the seatbelt, and got out to check. He realized the man who had fueled the car had approached at some point.

“Tire burst?” Walking around the car, he pressed the right rear tire.

“Yeah. Just ran over a rock on the mountain.”

“Let me take a look.”

Without hesitation, the man crawled under the car.

Li Zhuoyao also squatted down, turned on the flashlight on his phone to illuminate for the man.

“The tire behind is punctured, and it’s leaking a bit.” The man’s voice came from inside the car, sounding a bit muffled.

Supporting the wheel with one hand, he bent down a bit and came out, clapping his hands to get rid of the dust.

“But I’m out of the stuff to fix the tire temporarily. It needs to be bought in town tomorrow; the repair shop closes early.”

Looking up at the densely cloudy sky, he frowned.

“Ah Lan, it’s time for dinner.”

At this moment, an old man walked out tremblingly from the house, holding a large basin of mutton noodles in his hands. Seeing Li Zhuoyao standing in the yard, he immediately greeted warmly, with the most sincere friendliness of the mountain people on his face.

“Guests are here? Sit down and have some food before leaving. The lamb soup is warm.”

The old man put the basin of mutton noodles down and walked towards Li Zhuoyao.

“No, Uncle, it’s too kind of you.”

He declined politely.

“Have a meal before leaving.”

The man looked at Li Zhuoyao, his eyes very dark, as if dipped in the deepest ink of the night. Seeing Li Zhuoyao hesitating, he added.

“Your car won’t be going anywhere for a while.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Li Zhuoyao found himself unable to come up with a reason to refuse this man named Ah Lan.

“So, what’s your full name?”

Many Chinese characters quickly flashed through his mind as he imagined which ones could best represent this man.

“I’m Zhou Chulan. Chulan from the State of Chu, and Lanchao from turbid waves.”

“I’m Li Zhuoyao. Extraordinary from Zhuo, and brilliance from the sun character.”

When he said these words, Li Zhuoyao nervously looked at the man. He felt that the man in front of him was a bit unfathomable, unsure if introducing himself would cause any displeasure.

Zhou Chulan pulled over a red plastic stool, wiped it several times with his sleeve, and pushed it in front of Li Zhuoyao.

“Sit here; it’s not dirty.” He said softly.

Li Zhuoyao thanked him and took a seat. Zhou Chulan’s father began talking warmly to Li Zhuoyao, and Zhou Chulan silently arranged the bowls and chopsticks. He handed the only ceramic bowl to Li Zhuoyao, and he and his father used the steel bowls commonly used in the countryside.

“Young man, are you from outside? You don’t look like a local.”

“Yes, Uncle, I’m from Guangdong.”

“Touring around here?”

“No, I came to shoot a program.”

“Oh? What kind of program, the ones broadcast on TV?”

“Yes, on both Southern and Northern Satellite TV, probably around the Spring Festival.”

“Dad, is there any food left in the kitchen?” Zhou Chulan suddenly looked up, interrupting the old man.

“The fridge is almost empty. I didn’t go to town today because of the rain.”

“No problem, I’ll check.”

Zhou Chulan got up and walked into the kitchen. The kitchen immediately filled with the sounds of cutting vegetables and the clattering of spoons and chopsticks.

“There are rarely any outsiders here.”

The old man sighed.

After a while, Zhou Chulan came out with a tray, which contained a plate of braised beef, a plate of cold-dressed folded ear roots, and a dish of fried peanuts.

“Just make do with this.” He said as he arranged the dishes.

The small table was soon filled with dishes.

He reached for Li Zhuoyao’s bowl, picked up a full bowl of lamb noodles with the chopsticks from Li Zhuoyao’s side, and scooped up most of the lamb from the bottom of the basin, covering it with a few slices of beef.

There were only a few pieces of lamb left in the basin.

“Here, yours. Eat while it’s hot.”

His own bowl seemed a bit plain, with only two or three thin slices of lamb.

“I don’t like lamb. You eat.”

Li Zhuoyao took the thick slices of lamb from his own bowl, picked up several pieces, and put them in Zhou Chulan’s bowl.

“Oh. We like lamb noodles here; you might not be used to it.” He slowly stirred the noodles in the bowl with the chopsticks, and the rising steam covered his facial expression.

“No, I didn’t mean that…” Li Zhuoyao realized he had misspoken. He originally wanted to say, “If all the lamb is in my bowl, what will you eat?” But when the words came to his lips, he felt it was awkward and couldn’t say it.

Li Zhuoyao was proud, coming from a wealthy family, and was not used to worrying about what he said. However, this time, he felt a rare unease for misspeaking, and he didn’t know how to explain it.

“Eat it before the noodles get cold.”

Li Zhuoyao quickly lowered his head and took a sip of the soup from the bowl, stunning himself with the first sip.

He had never tasted lamb noodles so delicious. The soup was rich and flavorful, the texture of the noodles was just right, smoothly sliding down his throat, and the lamb was not gamy at all. The thin layer of mint leaves and chopped green onions on the surface, along with the touch of chili oil, were exquisite touches.

“Add this, ginger oil.” Zhou Chulan reached for a small white plastic oil bottle at the corner of the table and handed it to him.

Li Zhuoyao took the oil bottle, brought it close to his nose to sniff, and immediately frowned.

“Why does it smell like laundry detergent?”

“…,”

Zhou Chulan took the oil bottle from Li Zhuoyao, poured a few drops of ginger oil into his bowl, tore up two mint leaves, put them in, and then drizzled a layer of chili oil. The red and green intermingled, looking very attractive.

He picked up the bowl, sniffed it, then stirred the noodles in the bowl in a circular motion with chopsticks. The mint leaves, green onions, and chili oil turned the soup red and green in the bowl. He picked up a large chopstick of noodles, cooled it in the air, blew it twice, and started eating.

Li Zhuoyao found the way Zhou Chulan ate the noodles strangely familiar.

He vaguely remembered that there was someone in his memory who ate like this.

The expression on Li Zhuoyao’s face froze bit by bit.

He looked at Zhou Chulan’s face, the high straight nose, the bronze skin with a slight red hue indicating good health, the high eyebrows, the slightly deep eye sockets, and the corners of his eyes slightly lifted.

An indescribable and strange feeling welled up from the bottom of his heart.

“Zhou Chulan, have I seen you somewhere before?”