Chương 37: Chapter 36 — Impromptu Road Trip (2)

"What's a road trip without music?" Lin Che had barely finished his sentence before Xu Fang had already connected his phone to the van's bluetooth. Before anyone could offer a song suggestion, a thunderous power metal ballad blasted through every single speaker at full volume. Guo Mingzhe immediately covered his ears.

"WHAT IS THIS?" he shouted.

"IT'S A CLASSIC," Xu Fang shouted back.

"Xu Fang, I must say—""WHAT?" Lin Che reached over and turned the volume down to just 12%.

"I'm saying this as your closest friend: get a better taste in music."

"How about a taste of this?" offered Guo Mingzhe, reaching to the front two seats and holding up some cereal bars.

"Everyone says it tastes like shit but seems fine to me."

"Never get a job in marketing," said Xu Fang.

"Your cereal bar has more protein than cereal — of course it's going to taste like shit."

"Fine then. More for me." Whilst Xu Fang was busy pushing away protein bars, Lin Che managed to disconnect his phone from the van's bluetooth, instead linking it up to his. He opened his main streaming app and searched for a 2010s karaoke playlist for the group to enjoy. He eventually settled on a playlist, put on the shuffle, and held his phone out at an angle for Mingzhe with the lyrics up: all in time for the long motorway drive they had just turned into.

The first song hit like a time capsule detonating in the middle of the van, with the group recognising the song within the first few notes. Lin Che turned up the volume to 60% and shot finger guns right at Xu Fang once the intro was over. Xu Fang, to his eternal credit, did not hesitate. He came in exactly on time, one hand on the wheel, and the other conducting the air beside him as his chest belted out lyrics that were committed to memory. He didn't need Lin Che's lyrics, and instead kept his eyes on the road.

During the second verse, Lin Che joined in, even shuffling in his chair to the beat. Guo Mingzhe, however, remained a man of discipline with his arms folded and face straight. He was still thinking about the small bruises he'd received without notice, and how the man responsible for such dominating combat prowess was now shaking his hips to white girl music. But, by the time the chorus came, even Mingzhe cracked, and the minivan was filled with deep, off-tune voices having the times of their lives.

The song ended and there was a brief, comfortable silence.

"Okay, genuine question," said Guo Mingzhe from the back, unwrapping his third cereal bar of the day.

"Where are we actually going? Xu Fang said there was a bouldering spot."

"There is," confirmed Lin Che.

"Eventually."

"What does 'eventually' mean?"

"It means there are some other things on the way." Guo Mingzhe pointed his cereal bar at Lin Che like a weapon, before immediately pointing it at Xu Fang instead.

"I swear to everything—""There's a historical site," said Lin Che.

"And a farm trail. And then the bouldering spot is after that, so really it's the highlight of the whole thing."

"A farm," repeated Mingzhe.

"A farm trail," corrected Lin Che.

"The historical site had better be something interesting," added Xu Fang.

"It's from the Song dynasty, I think. Or possibly Jin — I'm not too sure. I'll leave it to the expert here." Another twenty or so minutes passed as Lin Che reaffirmed the entire plan with Xu Fang offering additional stops or goals along the way, before Lin Che moved to play the next song. However, before doing so, he realised Guo Mingzhe had been silent the entire time. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

"Hey, Mingzhe," he called.

"What are you up to?" He responded in half a daze.

"Oh, me? I'm playing the running man game."

"The running man game?" Xu Fang answered for him.

"You know the running man game. We've all played the running man game."

"What on earth is the running man game? We're in a car; we're not running."

"No, no," said Xu Fang.

"Turn around and follow Mingzhe's eyes." Lin Che did as he was told.

"Okay, what now."

"I can't look right now, but I guarantee you they're moving up and down and left and right."

"Those are all the directions," remarked Lin Che.

"But yes, he is doing that."

"Yeah, so he's imagining a little man running along the road with us doing parkour and dodging cars." Lin Che was silent for a moment.

"You know what — you're right. I've done this before." There came a buzz from the speakers.

"Sounds like someone's calling you," said Guo Mingzhe, nearly asleep. He had drained himself the past few nights, working tirelessly on his new forms, and now that his body finally had a chance to rest, thanks to a vibrating window cradling his skull, he was already half in dreamland. Lin Che fiddled with his phone for a moment, hitting 'block'.

"Must have been a wrong number," he said. The karaoke carried on as Mingzhe drifted into a proper slumber.

Guo Mingzhe woke up to darkness and a slightly stiff neck. His head was slowly bobbing up and down in the rumble of a slowing vehicle before he sat back up. In the front of the car, Xu Fang and Lin Che were talking in low voices.

"—doesn't make sense to keep going if we're all tired," Xu Fang was saying.

"There's a cluster of places about two miles ahead. We'll stop at the first one that looks decent." Mingzhe leaned forward between the seats and wiped the drool away from his lips.

"How long was I out?"

"About six hours," said Lin Che, without looking up from his phone.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"You seemed tired and we weren't up to much else." Xu Fang indicated left and turned. A few minutes later, set back from a service road, was the kind of motel that had probably looked modern and brand-new in the late 80s. The car park had about a dozen vehicles inside of it, leaving just enough space for the minivan to pull up.

"This looks alright," said Lin Che.

"This looks like the opening scene of a horror film," said Mingzhe. The three exited the vehicle with a slight groan as they stretched their legs. Xu Fang pressed the lock button on his car keys four times before the signal went through and the lights flashed to indicate the vehicle had locked. At the front desk, a lady looked up as a group of suspicious-looking men showed up without a booking. Instead of greeting them, she narrowed her eyes on her computer and pressed a couple of keys before looking up.

"We have two rooms available — a single and a twin," she said. The three men looked at each other.

"Mingzhe and I will take the twin," said Xu Fang, after a moment.

"I didn't agree to that," said Mingzhe.

"You're the one who fell asleep and forfeited your right to negotiate."

"That's not a rule."

"It is now."

"Lin Che, tell him that's not a rule." Lin Che was already reaching for his wallet.

"I'll cover both rooms," he said, sliding his card across the desk before either of them could protest.

"It's the least I could do."

"You don't have to—" started Xu Fang.

"I dragged you both here on no notice," said Lin Che.

"Sleep well." Mingzhe opened his mouth, but thought about the bruises from earlier that day and decided that a free room — even half of one — was adequate compensation for his troubles. He picked up his bag.

"You owe me a proper bouldering session."

"Already on the itinerary," said Lin Che. They took their keys and parted ways down the corridor, leaving Lin Che alone in a quiet room that had a faint musty smell to it.

Lin Che dropped his bag and sat on the edge of the bed. He reached into his pocket and brought out his phone, unlocking it with his fingerprint as the room was too dark for Face ID to work. He tapped on the browser and typed in the address from memory before hitting enter. File unavailable. Stupid, stupid Lin Che, he thought, hitting himself in the forehead. Of course the link doesn't work if you haven't generated it in this life.

He leaned back further into the bed, now against the headboard, and had a brief conversation with himself to figure out exactly how to access the Shen Clan records in this life. After a brief moment, it hit him. He opened the email app and hit 'Sign in with a different account.'