WOOY Chapter 15.1

This woman was like a snake, hissing and probing, leaving no corner of a person’s mind untouched, even licking clean the accumulated dirt.

Chang Dong replied, “A momentary lapse.”

“You spaced out right this moment?”

“Who times their memory lapses?”

Ye Liuxi was annoyed: “Chang Dong, don’t think I’m interested in your or Kong Yang’s business. Get this straight, we’re not just strangers who met by chance. The photo of the woman in my camera bag is your deceased girlfriend. That’s why I came to find you! Any secrets you have are obstructing my business.”

Chang Dong understood the logic, but when fishing, you bait the fish slowly. How could she only speak three parts of the truth and expect him to pour out his heart?

He said with emphasis: “A momentary lapse.”

After finishing, he turned to leave, but Ye Liuxi moved quickly, grabbing his collar with one hand, pushing his shoulder with the other, and kneeing his leg, slamming him against the car[mfn]👀[/mfn]: “What kind of person are you?”

Chang Dong was caught off guard, his lower back aching from the impact. It was quite a novelty; this move was something he had only used on others a couple of times, and only when extremely angry. Now it was his turn, and to be handled by a woman no less.

Looking down, he saw that his collar was completely out of shape from being yanked.

 

He shifted his body, making himself more comfortable under her grip, without any intention of resisting: “Still the same, business is business, but we should remain friends. Every time things get tense, you turn hostile. Can’t we leave some room for negotiation? Are you so sure you’ll never need my help in the future?”

Was that true? Ye Liuxi thought for a moment.

Then, she suddenly let go, even kindly smoothing out his deformed collar, looking up with a smile: “Chang Dong, can you help me tow the car?”

How… did she change the topic so quickly… 

Chang Dong took a few seconds to react, looking up at the high point of the sand slope.

In the moonlight, he saw two rows of deep and shallow impressions—downward footsteps.

No wonder he didn’t hear a car. It turned out she was stuck.

Rarely did fate align so well for him. Chang Dong sneered, “You didn’t even apologize. Why should I help…”

“I’m sorry.”

 

Chang Dong almost laughed in frustration, pausing and leaning closer to her, saying, “Ye Liuxi, have some shame. Stop talking to me.”

He tugged at his collar, turned, and got into the car, slamming the door hard enough to kick up sand as if  wind had risen.

Ye Liuxi sighed.

Chang Dong was tougher than she had thought, not yielding to her intimidation. When she humbly admitted her mistakes and changed her attitude, he said she was shameless.

 

She still preferred someone like Fei Tang, who, when grabbed by the back of the neck, turned pale and kept calling her “sister”: “Sister, sister, let’s talk, don’t get physical…”

That man she stripped wasn’t bad either. When she tied him up, he struggled on the bed like a chicken about to be slaughtered, crying out: “Beautiful lady, take all the money, just don’t kill me, I promise I won’t call the police…”

Now that’s what you call obedient, cooperative, and easy to get along with. What kind of man was Chang Dong, so hard to deal with?

She felt bored, with nowhere to go for the moment, so she plopped down, still feeling angry, and laid down.

The sand was fine and soft, with a pleasant smell. The residual warmth from the day had dissipated, gradually turning cool, requiring her body heat to warm it up.

Chang Dong was preparing to rest, adjusting the seat back. When he looked up, Ye Liuxi was gone.

His heart sank.

Leaning forward, he saw her lying in front of the car, back towards him. That twisted posture—luckily it was here and now; elsewhere, he would have thought she was a professional scammer.

Chang Dong held his patience.

Five minutes passed, and she made no sound or movement.

Unable to resist, Chang Dong lowered the car window and leaned out to shout at her, “Ye Liuxi, what are you doing?”

Ye Liuxi coldly replied, “Sleeping.”

“Don’t you know that at this temperature, you can’t sleep outdoors?”

Ye Liuxi responded intermittently, her tone frosty: “What can I do… the car is stuck… the bed is in the car… walking back is too far…”

Chang Dong held his temper: “Couldn’t you ask me for a tent?”

“I… have my pride, didn’t you tell me… not to talk to you…”

After saying this, she fell silent again, lying down like a dried poplar, making him want to pick her up and throw her as far as possible.

Five more minutes passed.

Suddenly, the engine of the off-road vehicle roared loudly, the tires ground, sand beneath them scattered, and the headlights blazed on, illuminating the ground in front of the car like a spotlight suddenly lighting up a dark stage.

Ye Liuxi’s messy hair fluttered in the airflow as she opened her eyes.

She heard Chang Dong’s cold voice: “Where’s the car stuck? I’ll tow it.”

Ye Liuxi quickly got up.

 

——

 

Early in the morning, Fatty Tang received a call from Chang Dong, instructing him to tail any travel group and meet them at the big sign in the core area of the Wild Camel Preservation Center.

He also told him to buy some vegetables in the mining area, regardless of their quality, especially radishes. If there were no white radishes, carrots could be used instead.

Fei Tang agreed, but after hanging up the phone, he was puzzled: Why?

The “tour reception” person explained to him: “Don’t you know there are two things you must do before entering Lop Nur? One is to offer mineral water in front of Peng Gongyu’s tomb, and the other is to eat radishes. Both ensure safe entry and exit from Lop Nur.”

Fei Tang bought two kilograms of radishes, thinking: My brother Dong is quite superstitious.

He followed the convoy of the travel group from the previous night, speeding all the way to the agreed-upon sign: it was just a big iron frame, with welded letters on the crossbar. The letters and frame were peeling paint, rust-stained, and through the grid of the frame, he could see the distant barren desert hills, rising like crowded tombs.

Both Chang Dong’s and Ye Liuxi’s cars were there.

Fei Tang enthusiastically suggested that everyone travel together since their routes were similar. They could look out for each other, which would increase safety.

However, there was little response.

Ye Liuxi didn’t even lift an eyelid. She needed to sleep at night and didn’t want to hear any noise.

Chang Dong’s expression also seemed uninterested.

As for the club leader, his enthusiasm seemed high at first. But after recognizing Chang Dong and his car, he seemed to realize something and quietly led the convoy away.

Once they left, the whole place fell silent. The wind blew through, causing the iron sign to creak, starkly different from the bustling mining area last night.

This was an uninhabited zone.

Fei Tang shivered and couldn’t help but steal a glance at Ye Liuxi. Only upon entering the desert, did he realize how hard finding ancient buried treasure was. It was better to focus on one goal. Where did she hide the animal-headed agate?

——

 

TLs note: Let me know if you spot any mistakes