Qin Fang stared at the sight before him, unable to look away. He asked Xing Yan, "What is this?"

Xing Yan patted the seat and said, "It's a sidecar motorcycle, you northerners call it a 'kuazi'."

Qin Fang asked, "We're riding this?"

Xing Yan nodded.

At that moment, Qin Fang took a deep breath, feeling like his soul had been captivated. The metal object before him, exuding a cold and sharp aura, was something Qin Fang had only seen in his childhood or in games.

When Xing Yan lifted the cover, it suddenly came into view, striking his visual nerves.

There were eight sidecars and a few motorcycles when they set off. Xing Yan gave his things to Guo-ge, and the two of them only kept Qin Fang's bag, which contained water, tissues, and such. Guo-ge didn't drive his little old van anymore, but a modified jeep instead, carrying the things that couldn't fit elsewhere.

Such a convoy was very eye-catching, a heavy motorcycle team traveling, with a rumbling sound filling half the street.

Xing Yan was dressed in black, a white helmet on his head. Qin Fang sat beside him in the sidecar. In the neighborhood, the speed wasn't high, so he hadn't put on his helmet yet, and everything in his field of vision was very clear. He had never experienced this feeling before, passing through the streets with the wind blowing on his face and the loud, heavy volume in his ears.

Qin Fang raised his voice and called out to Xing Yan.

Xing Yan turned his head to look at him. Qin Fang smiled and said, "You guys look so cool."

The helmet covered half of Xing Yan's face, but through the transparent visor, his eyes could be seen. Qin Fang saw a flash of laughter quickly pass through his eyes. Qin Fang looked up at the sky, the sun obscured by clouds, the edges of which were beautifully gilded.

Everyone gathered at the highway entrance, and there were even more vehicles than before, making the scene even more spectacular. Qin Fang was quite surprised, "We can go on the highway?"

"Yes," Xing Yan took off his helmet and shook his head.

Qin Fang suddenly remembered Xing Yan saying he shaved his head every year, probably for wearing a helmet. Qin Fang asked him, "How long have you been doing this?"

"Too long," Xing Yan waved at someone across from him, "When I was too young to get a license, Wu-ge always took me in his sidecar."

"You rode in the sidecar?" Qin Fang asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Xing Yan nodded, "I was in Wu-ge's sidecar when I was ten."

Qin Fang raised his eyebrows, "How did you get into this?"

Xing Yan put his helmet back on his head, not yet fastening the visor, and said lightly, "My dad liked it."

Some people had already started moving. Xing Yan said to Qin Fang, "Put it on."

Qin Fang put it on while smiling, "I'm a bit excited."

"I told you that you would like it," Xing Yan said, looking at him.

Qin Fang asked from behind the helmet, "Is it addictive?"

Xing Yan affirmed, "Addictive."

As they passed through the toll gate, Xing Yan's visor was not yet fastened. He turned his head and said to Qin Fang, "We're getting on the highway."

Qin Fang said, "I know."

Xing Yan looked into his eyes and calmly asked, "It will be very fast. Are you afraid?"

Separated by two helmets, Qin Fang suddenly had a feeling. He discovered that Xing Yan's eyes could sometimes be very mesmerizing. For example, when Xing Yan asked him if he was afraid, those eyes actually made one feel a kind of crazy tenderness.

Crazy and tender, two very unrelated words, but they truly existed simultaneously in Xing Yan's eyes.

Qin Fang looked directly at him and laughed with a "tsk", then raised his hand to fasten Xing Yan's visor, his arm straight, pointing forward into the distance.

Xing Yan hooked the corner of his mouth behind the visor.

The vehicle sped along the highway, with sidecars or motorcycles from the convoy in front and behind. Through the helmet, all sounds were not harsh. The scenery ahead rushed by, and everything behind was left behind. They traveled through the cracks of the wind as if trying to squeeze into the cracks of time and space.

This made the men's adrenaline surge, even raising goosebumps all over their bodies. From the soul to their physical bodies, they felt satisfied, felt great.

Only by "flying" on the road like this could one truly understand why Xing Yan called it "stepping on the wind". The wind was under the feet, everything was under the feet.

Time had no end, the road had no end, and at moments like this, the youth and running of boys also had no end.

They rested at a service area at noon. Qin Fang went to the restroom, and when he came out, Xing Yan asked him, "How does it feel?"

"Great," Qin Fang ran a hand through his hair, smiling to reveal a mouthful of white teeth.

Xing Yan pursed his lips and smiled lightly, "Scared?"

Qin Fang shook his head, "Thrilling."

It was indeed thrilling, the soul was violently shaken, at least on the road, it was true relaxation and ease.

They ate something simple at the service area, rested for a while, refueled, and the convoy hit the road again.

In the afternoon, the convoy was no longer as orderly, with varying speeds, gradually pulling apart. Those seeking speed were out of sight ahead, while those wanting to stroll slowly were trailing behind at a steady pace.

Xing Yan hadn't been driving too fast originally, considering it was Qin Fang's first time riding. The vehicles behind gradually overtook them, and when one guy passed, he even provocatively blew a long whistle.

They definitely couldn't hear each other talking. Qin Fang patted Xing Yan's arm, and Xing Yan turned slightly towards him.

Qin Fang pointed ahead at the vehicle that had just passed, his hand swiftly swinging forward.

Xing Yan immediately understood his meaning and nodded with his helmet on.

So for the rest of the afternoon until the end, Qin Fang remained excited, his nerves highly stimulated. He hadn't been this happy in a long, long time, or rather, this was a happiness he had never experienced so thoroughly before.

Sidecars couldn't fly past motorcycles, let alone compare in speed with some of the modified racing vehicles, so when motorcycles overtook them, they let it go.

But there couldn't be any sidecars ahead of them. When a sidecar overtook them from behind, Qin Fang would signal Xing Yan to fly past it. Later, Xing Yan didn't need him to signal anymore. He would first point forward to indicate that he was going to overtake, and Qin Fang would give him a thumbs up.

The two communicated completely unimpeded through gestures, their tacit understanding off the charts.

It wasn't until dusk that this stretch of road finally ended. They turned onto the ramp and exited the highway toll gate.

In the neighborhood, the speed had to be reduced. Qin Fang took off his helmet without waiting for the vehicle to stop and whistled. His face still held undispersed excitement, sweat on his forehead, his eyes shining brightly, smiling the whole time.

Xing Yan quickly glanced at him, his eyes also tinged with laughter.

After exiting the highway, they didn't stop right away, still driving for more than half an hour, probably entering some village. On the scattered roads later, Xing Yan drove very slowly, basically taking Qin Fang for a slow tour.

He signaled for Qin Fang to put his helmet back on, and Qin Fang did, but didn't fasten the visor. The scenery was beautiful, everything that met the eye was beautiful.

Qin Fang turned his head to look at Xing Yan beside him. Xing Yan was slightly bent over, his back arched in a beautiful curve, like a crouching little leopard.

In Qin Fang's eyes, it seemed as if Xing Yan had blended into the scenery.

Finally, they stopped at a grassy field, with a range of low hills not far away.

Xing Yan turned off the engine and took off his helmet. There was a layer of sweat on his forehead. His skin was so fair that even his eyes looked moist, though they actually weren't.

Qin Fang took out a wet wipe from his bag and handed it to Xing Yan. Xing Yan took it, unfolded it, pressed it on his face and wiped.

"You worked hard, Yan-ge," Qin Fang said with a smile.

After wiping his face, Xing Yan asked him, "Happy?"

"Happy." Qin Fang smiled freely and said "Thanks."

Xing Yan glanced at him, got off the bike, pulled out the key, and said to Qin Fang, "Bring the stuff, we'll stay here tonight."

It was a small village with few households. Every time they went out, someone would arrange the itinerary in advance and contact the accommodation. They had to stay separately in villagers' homes. Xing Yan and the others had been here before, it wasn't their first time.

Some people brought tents and slept directly on the grass at night.

Qin Fang didn't care about these things. He didn't mind whose house he slept in or where, as long as he was with Xing Yan.

"Xiao Xing is still so fierce." Everyone gathered together to rest, and someone greeted Xing Yan.

He was the big brother who whistled when overtaking. He liked to joke around. Xing Yan smiled at him without saying anything.

The enthusiastic brother also greeted Qin Fang. Qin Fang nodded at him. He asked Qin Fang, "How does it feel?"

"Pretty good," Qin Fang said.

"Next time let him take you on a motorcycle," the brother pointed at Xing Yan and laughed, "Even fiercer than this, we can't even catch his shadow."

They ate at a restaurant by a lake. Qin Fang couldn't really taste whether the food was good or not. His nerves had been tense and excited, and he didn't feel hungry. He took a few bites and put it down.

Xing Yan asked him in a low voice, "Why aren't you eating?"

"Not hungry," Qin Fang replied softly.

Xing Yan looked at his face and asked, "Dizzy?"

"No," Qin Fang shook his head, "I'm not uncomfortable, just not hungry."

Since he said so, Xing Yan felt relieved and didn't bother him anymore. Xing Yan drank a little with the others. A group of motorcycle enthusiasts, when they got together, the topics were all about these things. Qin Fang really couldn't understand much.

But this didn't stop him from liking it, liking this activity, liking the conversations they had. There were people of all ages in the group. Most of them had known each other for a long time, and they were quite inclusive of new friends who joined. Everyone could talk to each other with a kind of natural familiarity.

This was much more interesting than a bunch of rich second-generation kids getting together to talk about sports cars. The only flaw was that some of them had very heavy accents.

Someone asked Qin Fang if he drank. Qin Fang shook his head and smiled, "I can't drink, not good at it."

"Then don't drink," Wu-ge said, "Just have fun, no pressure to drink."

Qin Fang raised his cup to him and took a sip of tea.

Xing Yan didn't drink much either, it was practically as if he hadn't drunk at all. After the meal, Xing Yan asked Qin Fang, "I'm going for a walk, are you coming?"

"Yes," Qin Fang stood up with him.

There were many mosquitoes in the mountains. Both of them wore jackets, still the long-sleeved clothes and pants from the daytime. The mosquitoes were so dense that they hit their faces. Qin Fang waved his hand and casually asked, "You must attract a lot of mosquitoes, right?"

"It's okay," Xing Yan raised his eyebrows, "Why would I attract them?"

Qin Fang laughed, "You're so fair-skinned."

Xing Yan shook his head, "What kind of logic is that?"

"I heard that white people have sweet blood," Qin Fang put his hands in his pockets and walked slowly side by side with Xing Yan, "Or maybe you're more noticeable to them?"

Xing Yan was amused by what he said, "Stop talking nonsense."