Chapter 39 Part 1

The photoshoot here was almost finished. The sister had originally wanted to take them to have some fun here for a few days, but they both refused. After so many days, they were both quite tired. Besides, Miao Jiayan had never been away from home for so long; he missed his grandparents. Not to mention Chen Chao, who would never be willing to hang out with unfamiliar people.

Tomorrow was the last day. They would finish shooting in the evening, stay one more night, and then head straight to the airport the morning after.

When Miao Jiayan called his grandma, he told her he would be back the day after tomorrow. Grandma Miao was delighted.

However, the next day's work did not end smoothly, nor were they able to leave the base as planned.

The weather forecast had predicted showers for the day. It had rained a few times over the past few days, always stopping after a short while. On the last day, they were shooting at the indoor base, so the rain outside didn't affect them much.

However, the sky was incredibly gloomy, affecting the lighting. The feel of artificial lighting was still different from natural light. Brother Di wasn't very satisfied with the shots and said he would touch them up back at the studio.

Miao Jiayan changed back into his own clothes. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, saying to Chen Chao, "Brother Chao, I'm finally done shooting."

Chen Chao was also dead tired; he had clearly lost some weight from the ordeal of the past few days.

Everything was packed and loaded into the car. The sister said that all the clothes Miao Jiayan had worn were his to keep, but Miao Jiayan refused. The sister said, "We always give them to the model after the shoot. You should keep them."

Miao Jiayan still shook his head, saying, "I can't wear these normally. I don't want them."

The sister couldn't persuade him and finally had to say, "Alright then. I'll give them to someone else, okay?"

Miao Jiayan nodded and said, "Okay."

They had planned to wait for the rain to stop, but after waiting for over two hours, the rain showed no sign of letting up.

Chen Chao was a bit drowsy, dozing off in his chair. Miao Jiayan sat next to him, asleep while slumped over the back of his own chair.

This was the first time it had rained so heavily in all these days. The sister was a bit worried about the outdoor flowers. The technical director at the base said not to worry; the ones kept outside were naturally hardy. When Miao Jiayan woke up from his nap, the rain outside still hadn't stopped.

Waiting like this would get them nowhere. In the end, they decided to drive back in the rain. It was only a few dozen kilometers to the city anyway; driving a bit slower would be fine.

Raindrops pattered against the car roof. Driving in the rain could make one feel anxious. Brother Di was also in their car today, so in the back seat, besides Miao Jiayan and Chen Chao, there was also the sister. The three of them were slim, so it wasn't crowded. Miao Jiayan and Chen Chao sat close to each other, trying to leave more space for the sister and also to avoid touching her leg.

The sister and Brother Di were chatting while Miao Jiayan watched the rain outside the window. In this kind of weather, they couldn't possibly drive fast. The car moved slowly at a speed of forty, and as the rain didn't lessen, they couldn't pick up speed.

In the end, they weren't able to leave.

Halfway there, they saw many cars stopped up ahead, all with their hazard lights flashing.

"Is there an accident up ahead?" the sister asked.

The driver said, "I don't know, probably."

The driver grabbed an umbrella, got out of the car, and went to ask. He came back over ten minutes later, completely soaked. As soon as he got in, he said, "The road's been closed."

"Huh?" the sister pressed, "Why is it closed?"

"They said there was a landslide up ahead. We probably can't get through today," the driver said.

The route to the city passed through a small mountainous area, with mountains flanking both sides of the highway. This was the only road, so if it was closed, they couldn't get through.

"Then what do we do?" The sister had clearly never encountered such a situation before and was a bit lost.

"There's no other way, we can't get out." The driver was a local who usually worked around the base and was obviously more experienced. He comforted her, "It might not be a real landslide. They're just cautious in mountainous areas. When it rains heavily, they close the roads. It'll open up once the rain stops."

The sister was a bit reluctant to give up. "So we wait for a while?"

They were already halfway there, and now they were stuck in the middle of the road with cars in front and behind them. They had no choice but to wait.

They were stopped in the middle of nowhere, with nothing interesting to see outside, and the rain showed no sign of letting up. The car couldn't keep the heater running while stationary, so the driver turned off the engine, and the cabin gradually grew cold.

The temperature outside was only six or seven degrees. In this kind of weather, the car would get thoroughly chilled very quickly without the heater. Miao Jiayan and Chen Chao were sitting close, so huddled together, they were a bit better off.

"Are you cold?" Chen Chao asked Miao Jiayan, looking down at him.

"It's alright," Miao Jiayan replied.

He reached into the back and grabbed two jackets they had worn in the past two days. He gave one to the sister and spread the larger one flat over himself and Chen Chao.

Chen Chao was sitting by the door, where a draft was coming through. Miao Jiayan took another piece of clothing from the back and blocked the side.

With the road closed, just waiting like this was not a solution. Gradually, cars behind them began to turn around one by one.

The sister also ran out of patience and decided to head back to the base first and leave once the road opened up. If it didn't open tonight, they couldn't possibly wait here all night; they would freeze to death.

So, after driving for several hours, they ended up back where they started.

There were a few empty rooms here, but they were nothing like the ones at the previous base. People who came here usually stayed in the city, so the empty rooms hadn't really been cleaned up.

The sister had a rather go-with-the-flow personality. After complaining about the rooms, she finally said, "Since it's come to this, let's just make do. But let's not be miserable. I'll make arrangements, and we'll party tonight."

She took charge of dinner, using the ingredients readily available in the kitchen to whip up a table full of dishes, and even had someone go to the village to buy more things.

Miao Jiayan helped her out. The sister asked him, "You know how to cook?"

"A little," Miao Jiayan said.

"Impressive." The sister chatted with him while chopping vegetables. "But when I was your age, I knew how to do everything too. I have two younger siblings, and my parents worked, so I had to cook for them."

Miao Jiayan was very efficient, just not very chatty.

It was still raining outside. They set up the table in a corner of the flower greenhouse, where it was both warm and bright. Although the day had been a bit frustrating, at this moment, it didn't seem like such a big deal.

The sister was still wearing an apron, her makeup already removed. She carried a case of beer in, thudding it heavily on the ground, and said, "This sister is dead tired. Come, drink with me."

Brother Di said, "Sister, you drink. This little brother is so sleepy, I'm also just going to eat quickly and go back to sleep."

"If you don't drink, you don't eat." The sister asked Chen Chao, "Do you drink, handsome?"

There was no such thing as being able to or not being able to drink. Chen Chao took a can and opened it.

"Can Yanyan drink?" the sister asked Miao Jiayan.

Miao Jiayan had never drunk before. He shook his head and said, "I don't know."

"He can't," Chen Chao said.

Miao Jiayan followed up with, "I can't."

The sister burst out laughing, opened a can for him directly, and said, "Why do you listen to your brother so much?"

This was the first time Miao Jiayan had ever had a drink in his life, thousands of miles away from home, with Chen Chao and a few strangers.

The sister was a heavy drinker; she said she'd built up her tolerance over the years.

She told Miao Jiayan many stories about when she first started her business and also told him about some other models. After half a can of beer, Miao Jiayan was feeling dizzy.