Chapter 170 An avalanche buried him.

Hidden in remote villages nestled among towering mountains.

Yan Yu was listless every day, constantly thinking about Shen Jin, wondering when Shen Jin would return, and sometimes worrying that Shen Jin would not return.

Shen Jin hated him so much, so this time when he left, he really meant it.

It's been so long, and he still hasn't come back.

Yan Yu stood at the village entrance, motionless for a long time, his eyes fixed on the road leading to the village.

If Shen Jin wants to return, this is the only way.

Yan Yu's shoulders and hair were covered in snow, and even his eyebrows were covered in white snow.

When I first arrived here to wait, it was really cold, but I gradually got used to the temperature and was able to bear it.

He suddenly remembered what Shen Jin had said that day. He said that he used to be very cold, and his nights were always icy cold when he slept. Now, he understood that feeling too.

"So you're here again." Xiaoqing's voice came from beside my ear.

Immediately afterwards, an umbrella appeared over Yan Yu's head, shielding him from the swirling snow.

Yan Yu's brows twitched slightly as he looked at Xiao Qing and shook off a snowflake.

"Look, your clothes are all wet. I know you're waiting for him, but it's not like you can just come here every day. It's not like he's not coming back. And why didn't you bring an umbrella?" Xiaoqing sighed, somewhat helplessly.

Since Shen Jin left, Yan Yu has been coming to the village entrance to wait for him whenever he has free time.

She felt a pang of pity for the pitiful little thing. She thought it would have been better if Shen Jin had taken Yan Yu with him when he left.

"It hadn't snowed yet when I came," Yan Yu replied softly, taking the umbrella Xiao Qing gave him.

Xiaoqing felt even more helpless.

At first, they would try to persuade Yan Yu not to wait anymore, but to no avail, and in the end they had no choice but to let him be.

But this couldn't go on forever, so they tried to find things for him to do every day and would invite him to any activities. However, once they had nothing to do, they would let their guard down for a moment and Yan Yu would run to the village entrance.

"Alright, come back with me. It's time to eat. Don't wait here," Xiaoqing said to Yan Yu.

"Oh," Yan Yu replied, and then went back to the village with Xiao Qing.

The two returned to the old lady's house, where the meal had already been prepared.

"You're back, hurry up and eat, it's getting cold," the old lady said to the two of them, setting out the bowls and chopsticks.

Yan Yu and Xiao Qing responded and sat down at the table.

"If it doesn't snow tomorrow, let's go up the mountain to gather herbs together?" Xiaoqing said, serving Yan Yu a bowl of rice.

"Okay." Yan Yu nodded in agreement.

They seem very obedient.

However, Xiaoqing knew that Yan Yu's mind was not on these matters at all; he was only thinking about Chen Jin. The things they did for him were only to temporarily distract him from thinking about him.

However, this only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause.

After finishing his meal, Yan Yu returned to his room, lay on his bed, his mind clear, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Shen Jin also slept in this room; the two of them once lay on the same bed.

Yan Yu hugged the pillow where Shen Jin had lain, burying his face in it, trying to find a trace of Shen Jin's scent. It was indeed very faint, and the more he did this, the more intense his longing became.

It almost devoured him completely.

"Shen Jin... Shen Jin..." Yan Yu hugged Shen Jin's pillow, repeating Shen Jin's name over and over again.

Even his name sounds so nice.

After muttering Shen Jin's name to himself many times, Yan Yu chuckled softly, and then a strange sense of terror enveloped his entire body.

He was so afraid... that he would never see Shen Jin again.

When Shen Jin used to sleep in this room with him, it was he who made Shen Jin angry and leave. If only he had known... he wouldn't have made him angry.

As he thought about it, Yan Yu's eyes reddened.

"Don't leave me, I really won't make you angry again." Yan Yu lowered his eyes, his gaze filled with a strange sense of grievance, and his voice was hoarse.

Finally, Yan Yu didn't know how he fell asleep.

The next morning, since it wasn't snowing, Yan Yu went to gather herbs with Xiao Qing and the others.

Xiaoqing brought a large basket and gave it to Yan Yu: "Here, you can use this."

Yan Yu took the basket and carried it to the ground, then put all his herb-gathering tools inside.

Many people went up the mountain with them today, most of them were children from various families, just over ten years old, the youngest being only seven.

"They all wanted to go up the mountain to collect herbs, and since I'm more experienced, I took them with me," Xiaoqing explained to Yan Yu.

Yan Yu nodded, looking at the children with some nervousness, his hands gripping the basket straps tightly.

"Hello...hello everyone." Yan Yu greeted them cautiously.

The children were very enthusiastic. When they heard Yan Yu's greeting, they all laughed and surrounded him, trying to strike up a conversation with him.

At first, Yan Yu was a little reserved, but he gradually started to exchange a few words with them. Xiao Qing watched from the side and chuckled.

"By the way, when will that other big brother come back? I miss him so much," a child suddenly said on the way up the mountain.

Yan Yu froze instantly, his eyes flashing.

“Yes, I miss him too. He’s such a nice guy!” another child chimed in.

“He’s clearly nicer to me. Last time I was chased by a dog, it was that older brother who chased it away for me,” another child said.

Yan Yu listened quietly, his expression unreadable.

Yes, he's good to everyone, but why can't he be a little nicer to him... Even though he's been so careful, Shen Jin still wants to leave.

Seeing Yan Yu's change in mood, Xiao Qing felt a little worried, but in the end she didn't ask anything, only letting out a barely perceptible sigh.

"I miss him so much too." After a moment, Yan Yu let out a long sigh and whispered.

Upon hearing Yan Yu's words, the other children all stopped talking and stared at him blankly for a while.

Immediately afterwards, the crowd continued to surround Yan Yu, asking him repeatedly what his relationship with Shen Jin had been before.

Yan Yu was somewhat slow and deliberate, his mind in turmoil.

How could he possibly know what his relationship with Shen Jin was before? If he did know, he wouldn't be so helpless now.

All he knew was that he must have done something in the past that Shen Jin could not forgive.

The days that followed were very difficult.

Every day, as usual, he waited for the ashes to set, and with each passing day, Yan Yu's heart ached a little more.

This feeling is like being subjected to extreme torture.

But he still listened to Shen Jin and waited obediently for him to come back, and he would help the old lady and Xiao Qing with some things every day.

He's been so obedient, Shen Jin will definitely come back, he definitely won't abandon him...

That afternoon, Yan Yu was helping the old lady shell beans. His hands never stopped moving, but his eyes were unfocused, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

A bowl was placed in front of Yan Yu, and he peeled the beans one by one and put them into the bowl.

Place one.

"He will come back."

Put one more in.

"He won't come back..."

"They'll come back...but they won't..."

He just awkwardly repeated those two sentences, and I'd never heard them before.

Meanwhile, the old lady and Xiaoqing had already received the news that Shen Jin and the others were coming back. They were overjoyed and immediately wanted to tell Yan Yu.

As soon as Xiaoqing walked to Yan Yu's side, she saw Yan Yu's actions and was stunned for a moment.

A moment later, Xiaoqing quietly walked over and shouted in his ear, "Hey!"

Yan Yu was focused on his work when he suddenly heard Xiao Qing's loud shout. He was startled and stared blankly at Xiao Qing.

Seeing Yan Yu's expression, Xiao Qing couldn't help but chuckle.

"Don't look so lost. I have good news for you. Brother Chen Jin and the others are coming back." Xiao Qing's cheerful voice rang out from behind her, her eyes crinkling.

Yan Yu's movements stopped abruptly, and even his fingers trembled slightly.

A moment later, Yan Yu looked up at Xiao Qing, his lips trembling as he moved them, but he was too excited to speak for a moment.

After a while, Yan Yu suddenly stood up, flipping the chair over to the ground.

"Really? Shen Jin... is back?" Yan Yu looked at Xiao Qing, his eyes suddenly filled with countless lights.

This was the first time Xiaoqing had seen Yan Yu look at her like that since Shen Jin left.

Xiaoqing paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "It's true, they've already reached a place not far from here. They just need to cross one more mountain to get in. It's the same every year. When they get close enough to get a signal to the village, they'll call to let us know."

"Is Shen Jin here too? Did you hear him speak?" Yan Yu asked excitedly.

Xiaoqing nodded, both amused and exasperated, "Don't worry, he's back too. He won't leave you here."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiaoqing saw Yan Yu running towards the village entrance and was immediately stunned.

That's way too hasty...

Yan Yu felt completely overwhelmed with joy and couldn't think about anything else.

He's back, he's back... He didn't abandon him.

At the same time, Yan Yu was somewhat incredulous, unable to believe that Shen Jin had really returned.

He thought that Shen Jin hated him and would never come back... But now he's back, really back.

Yan Yu ran all the way to the village entrance without stopping for a moment, while Xiao Qing helped the old lady chase after him.

"Yan Yu! Slow down, be careful of the slippery road!" the old lady shouted at Yan Yu from behind.

However, Yan Yu couldn't listen to anything at this moment. He was only thinking that Shen Jin was about to return, and he wanted to see Shen Jin as soon as possible.

I really want to see him right now; I don't want to wait even a second longer.

Yan Yu ran to the village entrance, but he had no intention of stopping. He was still thinking of running out of the village to meet Shen Jin. Xiao Qing, who caught up with him, quickly grabbed Yan Yu, panting heavily, her cheeks red from the cold.

"Why are you so agitated? We'll be back soon. It's just a short distance, is it really that big of a deal?" Xiaoqing said to Yan Yu, panting. "It's probably still half a day's journey!"

The old lady also came to Yan Yu's side. If it weren't for the heavy snow in winter, it would have been much faster, but with the heavy snow and difficult roads, it would naturally take time.

"Just wait for him to come back here. Don't go any further. It's still quite dangerous up ahead." The old lady was both amused and exasperated.

Despite what they said, Yan Yu still wanted to go out of the village to greet him.

"But... I really want to see him soon," Yan Yu said softly.

The voice wasn't loud, but it conveyed a certain inexplicable determination.

Xiaoqing and the old lady were at a loss. Yan Yu was so stubborn that no matter how much they tried to persuade him, it was no use.

In the end, Yan Yu still wanted to go out.

"Didn't you say before that Shen Jin disliked you? Don't say that. Shen Jin might not be happy to see you later," Xiao Qing suddenly said to Yan Yu.

Upon hearing Xiaoqing's words, Yan Yu stopped what he was doing.

A moment later, Yan Yu's smile faded, he lowered his eyes, pursed his lips, and looked somewhat aggrieved.

Finally, Yan Yu said in a low voice, "Then I won't go. I'll just wait here."

The old lady nodded in satisfaction.

While Yan Yu was waiting for them to return in the village, things weren't going so well on the other side.

Chen Jin looked out the window at the scenery in the car.

Outside, everything was white. This was a snow-capped mountain, covered with thick snow all year round. From this angle, it was actually quite beautiful.

After watching for a while, Chen Jin asked the person next to him, "How much longer until we reach the village?"

Upon hearing Shen Jin's words, the man couldn't help but chuckle and glanced out the window.

"It'll be here soon, it'll be here soon. You're so impatient, you've asked me so many times along the way." The man replied with a smile, and there was nothing that could be done about it.

After being teased like that, Shen Jin smiled a little embarrassedly.

“Yes, I want to go back as soon as possible,” Shen Jin replied.

After saying that, he continued to look out the window.

The closer he got, the more he wanted to get there quickly, and he didn't know why.

This feeling... is insane.

How could he possibly want to see Yan Yu anytime soon...?

Just as he was lost in thought, Shen Jin suddenly felt the car jolt violently and creak, and he froze.

"What's going on?" Shen Jin asked in a deep voice, a bad feeling spreading through his heart.

The people around looked puzzled and shook their heads, having no idea what had happened.

"Did you feel the tremor?" Shen Jin asked again with a solemn expression, afraid that it might be his imagination.

The group of people all nodded, indicating that they had felt the vibration.

Shen Jin pursed his lips and glanced out the window, where he saw only a vast expanse of white snow-capped mountains.

Suddenly, there was another violent tremor.

Now everyone felt it; the car stopped, and for a moment, the crowd became noisy.

"It's an avalanche!" Shen Jin suddenly realized.

However, it was already too late; large swaths of snow were already falling from the mountain.

Even if they react in time, there's not much they can do with so many people halfway up the mountain.

After realizing it was an avalanche, everyone panicked.

"Don't panic, get out of the car quickly! Hide behind the rocks!" Shen Jin said to the crowd, maintaining a sliver of rationality.

As Shen Jin finished speaking, everyone scattered and ran away in a chaotic rush, as an endless wave of snow surged over.

In an instant, Shen Jin felt a white light before his eyes, and then he was swallowed up by the surging, powerful snow wave...