Chapter 185: Me, I Even Have Fans Now?

Upon arriving in Dunhuang and reuniting with Qin Haoran and the others, everyone looked at Cheng Yao with eyes full of admiration.

Zhou Qing teased, "Right now, a lot of people online are calling you a national hero, haha."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration. It's just a boxing match, not to mention I had an ulterior motive anyway."

"What motive?"

Cheng Yao chose to keep his mouth shut because Chen Xingyan's glare looked as though she wanted to kill him.

Oujun Yu hugged his electric guitar and complained, "We've been waiting for you guys for a whole day. What's the itinerary for next? Who made it previously?"

"I did. Just a moment."

Cheng Yao found a spot to sit down and flipped through the travel guide.

Traveling in Dunhuang wasn't limited to the urban area of the county; rather, one had to take the Dunhuang Mogao International Airport as the center and draw a large circle for an in-depth tour, which meant encompassing a vast number of attractions.

While he was planning the route, Qin Haoran and the others had already started greeting Ouyang Aili and Ouyang Zhenli.

Ouyang Aili, usually lively and energetic, instantly became extremely alert. She hid behind Ouyang Zhenli and stopped talking, only occasionally casting a resentful glance at Cheng Yao.

Ouyang Zhenli, a social butterfly, exchanged a few ambiguous pleasantries.

Shen Yeye looked over at Chen Xingyan and the others, asking, "How do you guys know each other? Does that mean you're traveling with us now?"

"Yeah, they're just two sisters from Guangzhou, and both are wealthy second-generation heirs. It's not safe for the two of them out there alone, so we're traveling together. They'll come with us to Jinling later, hang out there for a few days, and then head back to Guangzhou."

"Damn, if I'd known that, I wouldn't have brought my girlfriend along," Shen Yeye muttered in agony.

These two sisters were simply top-tier beauties, and being in the same group meant having a distinct advantage simply by virtue of proximity.

Shen Yeye wasn't the only one harboring such thoughts; Qin Haoran felt the same way. They usually didn't show it overtly, but that didn't mean they weren't interested in beautiful women.

Wealthy heirs, aside from chasing girls, essentially just chased more girls.

Cheng Yao wasn't worried at all. Both Ouyang Zhenli and Ouyang Aili had their principles, and moreover, when it came to personal charm and capability, he had never feared anyone.

If someone could be stolen away by simply fluttering a finger, such a woman wasn't worth keeping anyway, and would only bring unnecessary frustration.

Ouyang Zhenli also maintained a proper distance, remaining warmly conversational only with Chen Xingyan and her friends.

In response, Shen Yeye and the others could only manage a wry smile, silently cursing whichever bastard was about to get lucky.

Achoo!

Cheng Yao rubbed his nose. The surrounding wind and sand were becoming increasingly noticeable. Once the route was finalized, he took the lead and walked at the front.

They spent half a day at the Mogao Caves. Everyone says that going to Dunhuang without visiting the Mogao Caves is a wasted trip, but these murals held no real attraction for them.

To be honest, they weren't even as exciting as a slightly revealing picture found online.

Whether there was artistic conception or not was entirely beyond them; they simply took out their phones, snapped a few photos, and considered this attraction checked off the list.

After wandering around the Mogao Caves beneath the scorching sun, Cheng Yao contacted a local tour guide and booked a novel experiential activity.

Camel handlers in the desert lead camels to take tourists for a spin through the dunes.

Upon seeing a dozen camels appear before them, Lin Sujiao and the others all exclaimed how cute they were.

"So cute! Look at their eyes, they feel so gentle."

"Do you have any fruit?"

"I have two grapes here..."

"I only have two apples, but you can buy fruit to feed them, it's not expensive."

Several girls gathered around the camels while Cheng Yao negotiated the price with a camel handler—one hundred yuan per person for every four kilometers, which wasn't expensive at all.

The camel handler explained, "We're working for someone else, so we only get a fraction of the money. In such hot weather, whatever we earn in the desert is hard-earned money, and prices have stayed the same for the last few years."

"One hundred per person, right? No problem at all."

Cheng Yao didn't fuss over the money. It was said that camel handlers had very low wages, working for bosses and relying heavily on tips to make a decent living.

None of them lacked money; as long as they had a good time, that was all that mattered.

"There are eleven of us here. I'll scan the code to pay."

After transferring eleven hundred yuan, the camel handler glanced at the screen, smiled, and nodded, "Then let's go."

The camel handler let out a whistle, and the camels obediently knelt down.

"So well-behaved."

"I wonder what it feels like to sit on one, haha."

Cheng Yao mounted the frontmost camel. Sitting on it felt a bit hard; overall, it wasn't very comfortable—hard to put into words, really.

It was one camel per person, with a total of two handlers.

They led the camels by ropes at the front, while Cheng Yao wore sunglasses and a cap because the wind and sand in the desert were somewhat strong, and the sun was scorching. He hadn't bothered to apply sunscreen, though; getting a slightly healthier skin tone from the sun wouldn't be a bad thing.

Being too pale made him look like a delicate "little fresh meat" celebrity.

And "little fresh meat" was hardly a compliment.

The camels walked across the golden sand. The autumn wind kicked up yellow dust, which danced with the breeze, evoking a vast and magnificent feeling.

Cheng Yao held a camera. It wasn't cheap—costing six figures—though in their circle, it wasn't considered extravagant.

Since he was good at photography, Lin Sujiao and the others scrambled for his attention.

Ouyang Aili and Ouyang Zhenli also joined in on this, asking for help to take a few pictures while pretending they barely knew him.

Cheng Yao readily agreed and took a few group shots for the sisters.

The barren desert,
The Gobi landscape,
The camel caravan—

Whether viewed from afar,
or experienced firsthand, it was a truly wonderful thing.

Sitting atop a camel, they admired the magnificent scenery of the vast desert.

Riding a camel wasn't as comfortable as sitting in a car; it was quite bumpy, swaying back and forth. However, for those who had never seen or ridden a camel before, this minor discomfort meant nothing, as their excitement helped them adapt.

The four-kilometer journey took an hour under the blazing sun.

Charging only one hundred yuan was honestly far too cheap.

Riding the camel, Cheng Yao found the bouncing a bit disruptive for photography, so he would occasionally dismount to take a few shots before hopping back on. The camel, for its part, was very obedient.

The camel handler cautioned, "Handsome, be careful with your things when taking pictures so you don't drop them, or you might lose them forever."

"How could they get lost?"

Cheng Yao glanced at the camera in his hand.

The camel handler explained, "It's not that they get lost; they get swallowed by the sand. The sand in some areas is fluid, and when tourists drop their phones, they sink in almost immediately, making them impossible to find. Also, we can take photos for you for twenty yuan a person."

"No need, I'm quite good at this."

Cheng Yao politely declined, though in the end, everyone tipped the handlers two hundred yuan each as a gesture of appreciation.

Tips were meant as a small token of gratitude, especially since this wasn't some high-end establishment.

Once it was over, the group rode the camels back.

Having worked up a sweat along the way, everyone rushed into the bathrooms to shower upon returning to the guesthouse, while Cheng Yao set about planning the next day's itinerary.

Tomorrow, they would definitely take a city transport vehicle to the Singing Sand Dunes and Crescent Moon Spring, which would be their final stop.

That place was a tourist resort in the hearts of countless people. The visitors who came there weren't just Chinese; there were plenty of foreigners too, because tourism knows no borders.

That being said, there were certainly places one had no business visiting—why go endure radiation and drink nuclear wastewater?

As long as one possessed a free-spirited heart and circumstances permitted, an impromptu trip could be undertaken at any time.

Once the itinerary was sorted, Cheng Yao took a shower as well.

After changing into clean clothes, the group headed out for dinner. Chen Xingyan wondered aloud, "It feels like there isn't much to eat here."

"The locals in Dunhuang love eating mutton, chicken, and beef. Let's get a whole roasted lamb, plus some cold tossed beef. The beef and mutton prepared by their hands are said to be full of local flavor."

With Cheng Yao saying this, the group, who were already starving to death, felt their mouths water at the mere mention of roasted whole lamb.

Thus, they sought out the most reputable roast lamb restaurant in town, which was quite bustling with guests in the evening.

Just as they stepped into the restaurant, a few young men near the entrance looked over, exchanged bewildered glances, and after taking a closer look to confirm they weren't mistaken, immediately stood up.

"Hello, are you Ch- Cheng..."

The young man smiled, momentarily failing to recall the name.

Another young man chimed in, "Cheng Yao! From the King of Boxers Challenge. We're all your fans. Are you here traveling?"

Hearing this, Cheng Yao was somewhat surprised. He already had fans within this circle?

"Yeah, came to travel after finishing my boxing matches."

"Then this meal is on us! We'll treat you!"

"No need, no need, please don't be so polite. There are a lot of us, so just enjoy your own meal."

"Can we take a photo together, then?"

Given their enthusiasm, Cheng Yao was left smiling wryly. He now fully understood how celebrities felt—the sense of vanity was simply through the roof.

Fortunately, he didn't particularly revel in that kind of feeling.

In the end, he did agree to a photo, which caused the surrounding people to cast frequent, curious glances, wondering who he was.

A single look revealed him to be quite handsome; those unaware might have thought he was some television idol.

Ultimately, Cheng Yao requested a private room.

The proprietress cast a few extra curious glances his way, mistaking him for some celebrity visiting her establishment, though she still couldn't quite place him.

Amidst the teasing looks from Qin Haoran and the others, Cheng Yao remarked, "Being famous brings trouble, how strange. I never imagined I'd have fans."

"Tsk tsk, listen to him fake modesty. Didn't you say earlier that every single girl in your entire university was your fan?"

Cheng Yao nodded slightly, "Ask anyone at Finance and Economics University; which girl doesn't know me? Even if she doesn't know me personally, she's definitely heard of me."

"Look at you bragging. Boss, bring out a whole roasted lamb first."

"Got it, the menu is right on the table. By the way, young man, which celebrity are you?" the proprietress asked.

Chen Ruiyong answered, "Not a celebrity, a boxer. The champion of the Qinghai TV King of Boxers Challenge."

"Oh, oh, oh! That's impressive! We've been too busy in the shop to watch TV. Here, let me treat you to some drinks, the beverages are on the house!"

"Thank you, thank you!"

After the proprietress left, Cheng Yao picked up the menu to browse. It was said that the locals in Dunhuang paid special attention to flour-based dishes.

Huanghuang noodles were as thin as dragon whiskers;
Dunhuang handmade hand-pulled noodles featured meticulous cutting and a delicious broth.

Another specialty was apricot skin tea, made from locally produced Liguang apricots, which was the ultimate thirst quencher. Fortunately, this restaurant happened to have it on offer.

Local delicacies that should be available were all on this restaurant's menu, well beyond just roasted whole lamb.

Ouyang Zhenli chimed in, "After we finish eating, we can go to the Shazhou Night Market. Reportedly, there are tons of shops there, prices are cheap, flavors are authentic, and the small alleys are very lively."

"Since we've come all this way, we definitely have to check it out."

Cheng Yao checked the itinerary. This was their fifth day in Qinghai, and tomorrow would be the sixth and final day.

Because they had skipped many less prominent places, they had moved through the sights quite quickly.

However, those other locations lacked renown and offered repetitive scenery, so he had bypassed them. A six-day itinerary was basically enough to cover everything worth seeing.