Tropical Highway

I don't feel tired on the road. When the hotel is settled, the physical and mental fatigue is long overdue.

On the first day on the plateau, it is not advisable to take a bath for health reasons, but Youzhen had already spent a few days in Qinghai before, and had already adapted to the air with relatively low oxygen content.He washed up briefly, and walked out of the bathroom, and what he saw in the steaming heat was the picture of Zhai Lan lying straight on the bed, holding his phone high.

During the long bus ride, the two chatted about their respective affairs. During the conversation, You Zhen knew that Zhai Lan was a little younger than he looked. He had only studied for two semesters in college, and he was less than 20 years old this year.

You Zhen didn't ask the reason for the suspension of school. He also experienced the student days, and he can probably think that it was either because of physical or psychological problems.Zhai Lan is able to do well at an altitude of 4000 meters, so it must not be due to some illness, and the latter has become the trigger for the suspension of school, so You Zhen shouldn't ask more questions.

He and Zhai Lan haven't gotten to know each other well yet, let alone close friends.Even if he joins up with Zhai Lan on a whim—you can also say "take in"—You Zhen understands that he has selfish motives.

Zhai Lan didn't know anything.

"Who are you chatting with?" You Zhen sat by the other bed, "The expression is so dignified."

Zhai Lan put down the phone after hearing the sound, and changed to lying on his side: "My cousin."

"Report safe?"

"Uh, well, he's too lenient." Zhai Lan said, unwittingly complaining, "It's agreed that I'll make arrangements for myself these few days, but he keeps asking, do you have dinner tonight and where do you live? , Post a location, is the altitude sickness still serious, it's like... something, hey."

Noticing that there was a knot in Zhai Lan's long speech, You Zhen quietly memorized it, but didn't ask him anything, just said: "So your altitude sickness is better now?"

"What, you too..." Zhai Lan looked at him with an aggrieved tone but his eyes kept smiling, "Okay, it's much more comfortable now. But You Zhen, is it so worrying to me?"

You Zhen rubbed his hair, feeling that his smile was a bit dazzling: "It's the first time to travel by yourself."

"Hey." Zhai Lan gave up struggling, and Yu Zu covered his face.

You Zhen looked at the floor, the water droplets on the tip of his hair blurred a dark color, and soon dried again.

Half a meter away, Zhai Lanweng buried himself in the pillow and talked, as if talking to himself, but called You Zhen's name: "You Zhen, will you take me to play tomorrow?"

"Yes." You Zhen said, involuntarily and gently, "Didn't I just say on the road, tomorrow I will go to the Potala Palace, and then go around the city. When you get used to the climate, you can pick a few other places..."

"why?"

You Zhen was stunned for a moment: "Usually there is an adaptation period when entering Tibet for the first time——"

"Why did you agree to play with me?"

When Zhai Lan said this, he lifted the pillow, revealing only half of his face.His eyes are very bright, and the drooping curvature of the corners of the eyes can't be seen clearly in the shadows, but the round eyes are sharp and oppressive when looking at someone.

It was indeed a hedgehog, turned out his belly and rubbed it, and pointed the thorns on his back again when he was upset.

You Zhen secretly laughed at this imagination.

Nothing showed on his face, he threw the towel aside, straightened up, turned his back to Zhai Lan, and went to pack the suitcase. After a long silence, he opened his mouth slowly.

"You remind me of my...brother." You Zhen's voice seemed to be caught in a long memory, "I haven't seen him for a long time."

Zhai Lan didn't expect the answer, and the pillow bounced off.

From the time when You Zhen's words touched the scar, he experienced the feeling of melancholy and sadness, not long ago.

"Seeing you, I don't know why, but I always feel that he should look like you now." You Zhen began to fold clothes, shaking out a sweater and kneading it together, "It doesn't look like it, I feel, if he... …So, when I arrived in Lhasa, I always thought that it was because of him that I came here for the first time.”

"Really." Zhai Lan murmured back.

"And you two are about the same age, the age of college." You Zhen turned his face sideways, and blinked at Zhai Lan in relief, "So, it's not impossible to be your brother for a few days."

Zhai Lan sat cross-legged and said after a while, "I only have one elder brother, Li Feimu."

"Ah."

"So I don't want to be regarded as a 'younger brother' in front of you and get certain privileges." Zhai Lan pressed his fingers on the edema on his calf, and called his name lightly and presumptuously, "You Zhen, don't be accommodating." I!"

There are quite a lot of requests, You Zhen looked at the boy who put forward strange conditions, and nodded.

"Okay."

On the night of arriving in Lhasa, Zhai Lan finally got a good night's sleep when he got off the train bumping and humming all the way.I didn't dream, I didn't wake up halfway, and I didn't suddenly have difficulty breathing due to lack of oxygen.

The next day, the sun caressed his eyelids through the uncovered curtains, Zhai Lan turned over and woke up.

During the past six months at home, he has been upside down day and night, and it has become normal for him to lie down for more than ten hours during the day without energy. At this time, he woke up naturally, and Zhai Lan was surprised.He checked the time, thinking it would be at least nine or ten o'clock, and fell silent in front of the huge "7:25" on the phone screen.

I don't feel tired at all, and I don't feel any slight or severe discomfort in my body, just... very energetic.

It seems that all the minor problems in the whole body have been repaired, and they are full of nutrition and ready to go.

The sound of footsteps approaching, Zhai Lan simply turned on the light: "Good morning."

"Morning." You Zhen asked, "How did you sleep?"

"Special, special, great!"

In order to prove that what he said was true, Zhai Lan got up and opened the window to let the sunshine in.He was full of air when he spoke, and he was completely different from the airy person on the train: "I can go out and play now!"

"...That's enough." You Zhen couldn't help laughing, "Then go change your clothes."

Zhai Lan nodded, and glanced at him before rushing to the bathroom.

It is inevitable to be a bit rough on the road, and You Zhen’s current attire is closer to what Zhai Lan saw the first two times—the stage is radiant, and the coffee shop is casual but exquisite—the color matching and embroidery of the sweater are clearly vintage style, the jeans have holes, exposing the kneecaps, as if they are not in the same season as the upper body.

You Zhen is very suitable for a retro, alternative, and fancy dress, with the dark green hair that is no longer frizzy after resting on the head, standing on the streets of Lhasa, and carrying a guitar, it is definitely the focus of the crowd.

"You look handsome today." Zhai Lan praised him.

Against the light, he couldn't see that You Zhen's face suddenly turned red, and he could only hem and haw inexplicably.

"Oh, oh, is that so?" You Zhen took a glass and began to drink water, "My clothes are all like this, uh, they are too expensive. I didn't take it seriously when I went out..."

Zhai Lan said sincerely: "But you look good in your clothes."

After finishing speaking, he hurried to wash up.

After closing the door, I don't know that You Zhen looked at the mirror for a long time in the same place.

Zhai Lan didn't pay much attention to appearance before going to school, and later on he was autistic all day long, let alone in the mood to tidy up.

On this day, being stimulated by You Zhen has driven An Jing's competitive spirit for more than half a year, Zhai Lan is determined not to make herself look too ordinary - at least standing with You Zhen will not make the comparison too tragic - but the hardware does not match.

In his backpack are two or three basic items, sweatpants, and a light down jacket at the end.

Wanting to travel back to a few days ago, he scolded himself for being too self-willed, and didn't even prepare his clothes properly. When he finally resigned to his fate, Zhai Lan randomly picked a white dress and put on a jacket.

Accepting the reality of being a first-time tourist, Zhai Lan followed You Zhen obediently.

The hotel provides a free breakfast, both Chinese and Western, and the taste is acceptable. I went early enough and got a freshly cooked fried dough stick, which was extra fluffy.Zhai Lan habitually tore open and soaked in soy milk, the soup soaked in, the deep-fried dough sticks became soft but could still taste a little crispy, mixed with a little bit of bean fragrance and sweetness, he actually felt that he was awakened for the second time.

The body was satisfied when I first woke up, and now even the empty heart is filled with the classic combination of breakfast.

Maybe there was sunshine too, Zhai Lan turned his head, and outside the window was the bustling stone street.

After eating and drinking enough, walk along the long street all the way to Syracuse.

The Potala Palace stands in the city of Lhasa, and its red and white colors are piled up for thousands of years.It itself is like a sacred mountain. The vertical and horizontal streets and white bungalows under the feet constitute a small city called "Snow", which is protected by it.

"...I heard that this place used to be the place where the Tubo people lived, did business, and where officials worked." You Zhen flipped through the memo, "Oh, you need to get the reserved tickets first."

Zhai Lan followed him, treating himself as an ordinary pendant, and couldn't help but say at this moment: "So you didn't do your homework."

You Zhen: "..."

You Zhen spoke eloquently: "I didn't read the strategy a second time after I made it."

The Potala Palace needs to reserve tickets in advance, and the number of visitors is limited every day.You Zhen asked for his ID number the night before, so he had a chance to make an appointment, otherwise he would have to wait another day.

Many people's trips to Lhasa start or end at the Potala Palace. After thousands of years, it has become a symbol of Lhasa.Outside the snowy area, the Potala Palace is equated with Lhasa and even the whole of Tibet.

The weather is fine, the warmth of spring and the remaining chill are mixed in the savage wind, the sun is shining, and the Potala Palace is still shining everywhere without being built with gold and colored glaze.The contiguous buildings are not inferior to the mountain peaks, the snow is white, the faith is red, and the windows are like the eyes of Xue Yu, looking out of the mountains and seas.

It didn't feel shocking from a distance, but it wasn't until Zhai Lan really stood on its feet that he sighed: "...that's amazing."

The long slope stretches, and the prayer flags hang under the eaves.

When I first entered the Cloth Palace, the sun was still rising in the east. When I finished the visit, I walked out of the small gate with the Buddha statues, gold pagodas, scriptures and countless agate gems I had just seen. When I saw the sky again, the sun was already shining in the sky.

"...Those towers are too luxurious!"

"Yes, yes, and that story, I seem to have heard the tour guide mention Tsangyang Gyatso?"

"He was originally a Living Buddha—"

"Hey, it's shocking. How did so much granite get transported to the city bit by bit in the past..."

The tourists seemed to dare to speak loudly only after leaving the door, and the conversation was endless.

Zhai Lan took a sip of water, thoughtful.

"What's the matter?" You Zhen caught up with him from behind, "Have you felt the uncanny craftsmanship of the ancients?"

Zhai Lan shook his head.

"Every era has this kind of architecture that transcends human power, and the Potala Palace is unique only because it is on the plateau."

You Zhen raised his eyebrows when he heard the rather novel point of view.

"I was thinking that the long slope connecting the Red Palace and the White House is more interesting than the treasures inside. The White House is the 'earth', and the Red Palace is the 'heaven'. We need to measure on foot and feel the limit of physical fitness. It takes a trek at a high altitude of several thousand meters to reach its gate—I always feel that this meaning is closer to the Potala Palace itself.”

The long speech made You Zhen look at him with admiration, and joked: "The primary school bully knows a lot?"

It would be a bit harsh for someone else to say this, but You Zhen's tone was so sincere that Zhai Lan actually started to feel embarrassed: "Just... nonsense. I'm not a believer, so I can't understand those deeper things."

"It's very interesting, I like this interpretation." You Zhen paused for a while, seeing that his eyes seemed to have changed, "Zhai Lan, you are the normal one now, right?"

"normal?"

"Well, I can talk and laugh, I can run and make trouble."

The sun was shining directly, his eyes were dazzling, of course Zhai Lan understood that You Zhen didn't mean that his physical exhaustion was finally dispelled.He turned his head, nonchalantly touching the sagging strap of his schoolbag.

As far as the eye can see, the Gesang flower is swaying in the wind and is in full swing.

"Isn't that what you said? You can't live up to every good weather, the past will always slowly settle for a moment..." Thinking of You Zhen's short-term loneliness before, Zhai Lan couldn't continue talking, so he hurriedly started a new topic, " You Zhen, I'm hungry."

"You really don't want to be called 'Brother'..."

"It wasn't your brother."

"Where's the conscience?—"

Zhai Lan deliberately said loudly: "No!"

Immediately, You Zhen slapped you on the head as a joke, but the force was better than nothing, like being hit by a Gesang flower.

The author says:

Although I have a very simple understanding of Tibetan Buddhism and Tubo history, in short, I have to go to Lhasa without going to the Potala Palace...!