Chapter 685 - 332: Journey Home
Chapter 685: Chapter 332: Journey Home
For instance, they had Red Bull to fight off fatigue, snacks for the road, a neck pillow for comfort, toilet paper, wet wipes, and other essentials. They were fully prepared.
Seeing Qin Yuenan carrying so many supplies for the trip, Lin Shen teased her with a smile. "Looks like you’re really planning for the long haul."
"Of course. It’s going to be a pretty long drive, after all." Qin Yuenan pressed the elevator button. While waiting, she glanced back and said softly, "Remember to tell me when you get tired, and I’ll take the wheel."
"Okay." Lin Shen smiled faintly. He then followed Qin Yuenan downstairs and walked up to his Maybach S680.
After cramming all their prepared luggage and various gifts into the trunk, they found there wasn’t a single inch of extra space left. It was a testament to just how much stuff they were bringing home.
Once inside the car, Lin Shen brought up his favorite music playlist and fastened his seatbelt. After Qin Yuenan settled into the passenger seat, he turned on the navigation system. "Ready to go! The total distance is 700 kilometers, with an estimated travel time of eight hours."
"That’s not too bad." Qin Yuenan checked the time on her phone—it was 9:00 AM. This meant that even with a half-hour rest stop, they would arrive at Lin Shen’s hometown around 6:00 PM.
"Let’s hit the road!"
Lin Shen smiled as he stepped on the gas pedal, and the car smoothly pulled out of the Jiayu Pavilion underground parking lot. Truth be told, he was brimming with excitement and anticipation for this trip home. He hadn’t seen his parents in over half a year; the last time was during the Spring Festival. Moreover, this time, he was returning as a successful and wealthy man.
As the old saying went, "To become rich and not return home is like walking in the dark wearing brocade." Lin Shen intended to properly repay his parents on this trip. The thought of fulfilling his filial duties made the corners of his mouth curl up into an involuntary smile.
The car soon left the Modu city center, passed through the toll gate, and merged onto the highway.
The midday sun, carrying a hint of autumn warmth, shone through the windshield onto Lin Shen’s face. He turned on the air conditioning to adjust the cabin to a more comfortable temperature. A beautiful melody flowed from the Burmester 4D surround sound system.
? "Even after the earth is destroyed..." ?
? "I will still love you boundlessly..." ?
JJ Lin’s highly penetrating voice echoed in Lin Shen’s ears, making him feel as though he were right at a live concert. He couldn’t help but hum along. Qin Yuenan joined in, and the two of them softly sang together in the car. The shadows of trees quickly flashed by on both sides, yet not a shred of outside noise reached their ears. Such was the impeccable sound insulation of the Maybach S680.
A sense of unprecedented happiness bloomed in Qin Yuenan’s heart, keeping a faint smile fixed on her lips. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t gone out with Lin Shen before; outdoor mountain climbing was often on their agenda. Yet, traveling together by car today gave her an inexplicable sense of peace.
It felt as though they were truly a married couple.
He drove, while she sat in the passenger seat, adjusting the AC and music, occasionally feeding him water and snacks, or sharing amusing things she found on her phone. Then, they were heading back to his home together to celebrate the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival. Just thinking about it felt wonderful.
Qin Yuenan adjusted her seat to the most comfortable angle, opened a bag of potato chips—something she rarely ate—and fed a piece to Lin Shen as they chatted about everything under the sun. But as they talked, Qin Yuenan noticed something was wrong.
Lin Shen was driving slower and slower. His speed had dropped from 120 kilometers per hour when they first got on the highway to 100, and now it was hovering around 70. More and more cars were piling up ahead.
"A traffic jam?" Qin Yuenan looked completely bewildered. They hadn’t even left Modu yet. How could there be a traffic jam already? This was way too fast!
"It’s normal," Lin Shen replied calmly. Back when he worked a regular job, he had long gotten used to the morning and evening rush hours. If he could adapt to being squeezed on a packed subway, why wouldn’t a traffic jam be normal?
He casually handed control over to the Maybach S680’s autopilot system, letting it handle the stop-and-go congestion. After all, his foot would cramp up if he had to keep hovering over the pedals the whole time. Of course, Lin Shen kept his hands on the steering wheel while asking Qin Yuenan to open G-Map to check the cause of the delay.
"You can actually see why there’s a traffic jam?" Having never experienced these little life hacks, Qin Yuenan was intensely curious. Following Lin Shen’s instructions, she opened the map app and sure enough, found a dedicated chat group for the traffic jam.
The app automatically pulled drivers stuck in the same jam into a localized chat room where they could vent and complain together. It was a decent little feature to relieve boredom. At the very least, Qin Yuenan found it quite amusing to watch people complain wildly in the chat.
In fact, she kind of preferred being stuck in traffic. It gave her more energy to interact with Lin Shen.
When he was driving at high speeds, she only made light conversation for fear of distracting him, mostly just playing on her phone by herself. But once they were stuck in traffic, there was plenty to talk about. Lin Shen even rested his hand on Qin Yuenan’s thigh, gently caressing it to feel her soft skin. Although there was a layer of fabric between them, the white dress she wore today was quite thin—a summer design. Thus, Lin Shen could easily feel the elasticity of her skin beneath his palm.
After all, the supermodel-level long legs of this aloof beauty were no joke. No matter how much he touched them, he never felt satisfied. He even toyed with the idea of slipping his hand under the fabric...
However, the moment he tried to act on that thought, Qin Yuenan clamped down on his hand and glared at him in embarrassed annoyance.
"Touching through the dress is enough! Why are you trying to sneak your hand inside? Focus on driving!"
"Look at how backed up it is ahead!" Lin Shen pointed speechlessly at the endless line of cars before sighing softly. "I feel like we should have left a day earlier. Why is everyone trying to be a genius today? Are they all leaving on the 30th?"
"Everyone probably had the same idea as you." Qin Yuenan smirked, teasing him slightly. Then, she checked her phone and comforted him, "It’s fine, just take it slow. The map says we’re almost past the congested area... Oh! We’re moving!"
Just as she finished speaking, the cars ahead began to inch forward. Lin Shen seized the opportunity and stepped on the gas to close the gap, preventing any private cars trying to cut in from the emergency lane. He hated people who broke the rules like that. In the past, whenever he got stuck on the highway, private cars would often use the emergency lane to cut in line on sections without traffic cameras. They had zero manners.
Today, however, no one dared to cut in front of Lin Shen. After all, he was driving a Maybach S680. If they accidentally bumped into it, they would never be able to afford the compensation. It went to show the inherent advantages and safety factor that came with being wealthy. Everyone else just went out of their way to avoid you.
Fortunately, after driving a few more kilometers, the traffic gradually picked up speed. By then, however, it was nearly midday. Seeing that it was getting late, Lin Shen decided to find a decent rest area to stop and have lunch before continuing the journey. Qin Yuenan gladly agreed to the idea.
They drove steadily until 11:30 AM, then exited the highway and pulled into a rest area.
"I’ll say this upfront, there isn’t much good food here," Lin Shen warned Qin Yuenan in advance after stepping out of the car. "At most, they have noodles and some local dishes. If you’re not used to the food, you’ll have to settle for instant noodles."
"It’s fine. I’m not a picky eater." Qin Yuenan shook her head.
This genuinely surprised Lin Shen. "Your family is so rich, and you can actually stomach instant noodles?"
"What’s wrong with instant noodles?" Qin Yuenan raised a delicate eyebrow and shot him a cool, sidelong glance. "I eat them all the time when I’m working overtime."
"Fair enough."
Lin Shen had always felt that Qin Yuenan was quite down-to-earth. Even though she came from a good family background, earned a high income, and was formerly the Marketing Director of Pet Guardian Home—her status was undeniably high. For an executive like her to be willing to eat instant noodles meant she had a solid upbringing and wasn’t overly pretentious.
But her aloofness was definitely real.
When Lin Shen and Qin Yuenan walked into the service area, they ended up drawing the stares of quite a few onlookers. Their physical appearances were simply too outstanding; they didn’t look like the type of people who would ever show up at a highway rest stop.
Shouldn’t celebrities be taking planes or high-speed trains? The curious bystanders couldn’t help but wonder.