After the car got on the highway, it sped southward and basically never stopped except for going to the service area to use the restroom.
Because I didn't have a driver's license, I could only let her drive alone along the way.
Every two hours I would ask her to stop at the service area and rest for twenty minutes. It was really unfair to her. She had to drive alone for such a long distance.
The expressway cannot reach Dongshan County. Even to the city, you need to take a section of the national highway. There are a few expressway sections for the rest of the journey, but most of them are county roads and provincial roads.
It was already dark before we even got off the highway.
In a parking area, I asked An Lan to park the car. She had been driving for more than seven hours since setting off.
Although I stopped to rest midway, such high-intensity driving still poses safety risks.
The place where we parked our car was a viewing platform, but because of the darkness, there was no view outside.
And the place illuminated by the car lights was strewn with all kinds of garbage.
You can imagine how many cars were parked here during the day.
I said to her: "Get off the car and do some activities. We will find a place to get off the road later and we will leave tomorrow."
An Lan nodded. It could be seen that she was very tired and didn't even want to say anything.
I didn't say much more. As soon as I opened the car door, a stream of moist and cold air rushed into the car.
This is a place with no villages and no human habitation.
Except for the occasional large truck passing by, the whole world was as quiet as a cave, and even breathing seemed to have an echo.
When An Lan got out of the car, she stood in front of the car door and moved her hands and feet. Seeing her like this, I was really ashamed.
I said to her: "Let me drive later. You can rest for a while. As long as it's not a toll station at the provincial border, we usually won't check the car."
"I'm fine. I'll just rest for a while. Is there a Red Bull in the car?"
"You can't do this anymore. If you insist on driving, I won't leave."
"Why are you still acting childish with me?"
"I'm not childish. I'm thinking about your safety and mine. You've been driving for more than seven hours this way. You really can't drive any more."
She let out a long breath, moved her hands again, and said to me: "Okay, I listen to you, you can drive later, and we will find a place nearby to get off the road."
I nodded, and then a car stopped in front of us.
I immediately became more vigilant, because the area here is really remote, with mountains on both sides, and few cars passed by.
An Lan and I both looked at the car that stopped next to us at the same time. I instinctively walked in front of An Lan and protected her behind me.
The car window slowly rolled down, and a man in his forties stretched his head out the window to look at us.
I instinctively took a step back and was about to ask him what he did.
But he asked us first: "Did you have a flat tire? Do you want help?"
An Lan and I were both stunned for a moment, and then I replied: "No, thank you, brother, the car is fine."
The driver gave us a confused look, probably because he couldn't think of the reason why we stopped here.
After all, it was late at night and there was no scenery to see.
He then said to us: "You are driving such a good car, but don't stay here. Safety is the first priority for everyone on this road!"
"Thank you for reminding me, I'll leave now."
The driver stretched out his hand to indicate that it was okay, and then drove away.
I looked at the tail lights as he left and let out a long breath. I just thought too much and was too nervous.
Because the neighborhood is really too far away, except for the sound of our car's engine, we basically can't hear any sound.
Even on the highway, there were very few cars passing by, so I was so cautious just now.
After letting out a gentle breath, I finally said to An Lan: "Let's go, I'll drive."
With that said, I sat directly in the cab.
After leaving the parking area, I drove the car and continued towards Yunnan.
An Lan fell asleep the moment he got into the passenger seat.
She is really able to hold on!
Just now she told me that it was okay, and I finally saw that she was just stubborn.
I looked at the navigation system and found that the nearest exits were still some distance from the county seat. If I were to get off the road at this point, I would have to drive a long way to the county seat to find a hotel.
Naturally, it's not worth it, but I'm still in good spirits now, so it's no problem to drive a little longer.
After making this decision, I plan to drive a little further and find a city not far from the highway exit before getting off the highway.
In the endless darkness, I turned my head and glanced at An Lan in the passenger seat.
She just curled up on the seat with a quiet look on her face.
My restless heart also calmed down
After passing the Kunming section, the road conditions began to get worse. Basically every ten kilometers of driving, there would be a traffic jam that could stop the car completely.
Congestion on the highway is really fatal. You have to be prepared for the risk of rear-end collisions, and you also have to worry about the risk of being rear-ended.
Fortunately, I no longer need to take the expressway, most of the next journey will be national highways and provincial highways.
It is already 8:30 in the evening, and there is no county or town nearby, so I can only continue to follow the navigation.
The car continued to drive forward along the winding mountain road. After getting off the highway, I didn't see a car on the road for half an hour.
And even the mobile phone signal is intermittent, which invisibly adds a lot of pressure to me.
I really wanted to find a place to stay nearby, but after searching in the navigation for a long time, I couldn't find it. Even the nearest county town to us is more than 30 kilometers away.
I have no choice but to keep driving forward. As long as I run out of this mountain, I should be able to find a place to stay.
But as we went deeper and deeper into the mountains, the speed gradually dropped to 30 kilometers per hour.
Because the weather conditions here are inherently bad. Even though autumn has just begun, the temperature in the mountains has already dropped to zero degrees, and there is still a lot of snow on the road.
In addition, there are sharp turns everywhere, so if you want to ensure safety, you can only reduce the speed to the minimum.
An Lan finally woke up at this time. She glanced out the car window in a daze, then looked at me in a daze, and asked, "Where are you?"
"We've already gotten off the expressway, and I haven't found a place to stay yet."
She looked at the area in front of the car where the headlights were shining, and said, "No wonder it's so cold, it's snowing!"
I sighed softly and said, "It's my fault. If I had known this, I should have exited at the last parking area. I just took a chance and ended up with the highway closed and I couldn't walk on it."
"It's okay, don't be upset! I'm asleep now, let me take a while."
She was about to unbuckle her seat belt as she spoke, and I hurriedly said to her: "No need, you have never driven on a mountain road like this. I am quite energetic now, so I can just drive."
"Don't be stubborn, stop the car quickly! I just want to make it easier."
"What's convenient?" I didn't react for a moment.
An Lan is not such a carefree person, so she still said a little embarrassedly: "Just peeing."
I quickly said "Oh" twice before finding a gentle place to stop the car.
After An Lan took out the tissue from the tissue box, he opened the car door, and then a blast of cold air poured into the car.
After An Lan shivered instinctively, he took his mobile phone and went to a shelter a little further away, and squatted down.
This scene suddenly made me feel a little dazed.
In my vague memory, I seemed to have experienced this scene, and it gradually became clear in my mind