Chapter 175 Searching tirelessly but never finding him

“It’s Chen Jin’s…” Yan Yu stared at the shoe and said blankly.

"Yan Yu..." Xiao Qing realized what was happening and quickly reached out to grab Yan Yu, afraid that he would lose control.

Yan Yu's gaze gradually became unfocused, as if he had lost his soul, making Xiao Qing's heart leap into her throat.

A moment later, Yan Yu struggled to get up from the ground.

"Shen Jin, Shen Jin must be here..." Yan Yu mumbled, his steps unsteady.

Xiaoqing was afraid that Yan Yu would fall to the ground, so she quickly reached out to help him up.

"It'll be soon. Shen Jin is in these places." Yan Yu continued walking towards the steeper area in front of him, and began digging through the snow, trying to find Shen Jin's figure.

Suddenly, tears streamed down Yan Yu's face, but he didn't notice at all.

Yan Yu walked unsteadily, his body looking as if he would fall to the ground at any moment. Xiao Qing felt very sad watching him and wanted to comfort him, but she couldn't say anything.

"Shen Jin, don't be afraid, I'm coming to find you right away." Yan Yu's eyes were blurred with tears, and his voice was choked with sobs.

Yan Yu searched for Shen Jin all over the steep snow-capped mountains, calling out Shen Jin's name while letting his tears flow freely.

At this moment, many people noticed Yan Yu and stopped what they were doing. They looked at Yan Yu in silence, just like Xiao Qing, wanting to comfort him but unable to find any words of comfort.

"Shen Jin, I'm here. It's all my fault for not finding you sooner, making you suffer in the cold for so long. Please don't blame me." Yan Yu cried like a child, looking very pitiful.

Those watching couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

At this moment, Yan Yu had only one thought in his mind: to find Shen Jin. His mind could not hold anything else except Shen Jin.

He just wanted to find Shen Jin as soon as possible; Shen Jin had promised him he would come back.

"You promised I would come back, you promised me..." Yan Yu choked up badly.

Yan Yu searched for a long time without ever stopping, until the afternoon of the next day.

A long time has passed since the avalanche, and Yan Yu still hasn't found Chen Jin.

Those who came to rescue people earlier have stopped, because by this time, anyone found would already be a cold corpse. Besides, most of the people had already been found yesterday.

Only ashes remained, without a trace.

On the vast white snowfield, someone was responsible for bringing food from the village and distributing it to those who were still rescuing people in the snow. Everyone was eating the delicious food, while Yan Yu continued to search for Xiao Qing without stopping.

No matter how others tried to persuade him, he refused to stop.

He wouldn't listen to a word anyone else said; his mind was now solely focused on Shen Jin, and he couldn't tolerate anything else.

Some people took the wounded out of the snow back to the village for treatment. Some of the dead were taken care of by others. Still others were still searching the ground for the few lucky survivors. There were two or three of them scattered around, like Yan Yu, who were still searching even though they couldn't find anyone.

However, they were about to give up as well.

Yan Yu has never stopped searching for Chen Jin since he arrived in the snowy area.

At this point, Yan Yu was in a terrible state, covered in cuts and bruises from the fall, the blood frozen, making him look terrifying.

“Chen Jin came back to me. He didn’t lie to me. He doesn’t hate me…” Yan Yu’s eyes were dry, and he couldn’t even cry anymore.

He still remembered that when Shen Jin left, he begged Shen Jin to take him with him, even though Shen Jin had clearly told him that he would come back.

But he didn't believe Shen Jin. He thought that once Shen Jin left, he wouldn't come back. But... Shen Jin came back. He came back to find him.

Yan Yu continued searching until the third day.

The villagers had given up hope. All the people who had been rescuing people in the snow had been evacuated, and only a few scattered people remained on the snow-covered ground.

However, even those still in the snow are not searching for anyone; they are just dealing with some follow-up matters. Perhaps the only one truly still searching is Yan Yu.

Yan Yu paid no attention to the reactions of others, as if he were immersed in his own world. He was covered in wounds in his search for Shen Jin, but he seemed oblivious to the pain.

In fact, Yan Yu's sense of pain had long since become numb; at this point, apart from his heart, he felt no pain anywhere else.

But the thought that he hadn't found Shen Jin for so long, and that Shen Jin had been alone in such a cold place for so long, made Yan Yu feel as if his heart was being torn apart.

Finally, someone couldn't bear to watch any longer and came forward to advise Yan Yu: "Young man, stop searching. At this point, even if they weren't crushed to death by the snow or hit by rolling stones, they've frozen to death. Even if we find them, they'll just be corpses."

Upon hearing his words, Yan Yu stopped what he was doing, looked up at him, and his eyes were cold, like sharp knives.

The man was startled when he saw Yan Yu's gaze for the first time and instinctively took two steps back.

"Shen Jin won't die! You're not allowed to say that!" Yan Yu roared at the person.

This was the first thing Yan Yu said all day.

Yan Yu's shout ignited the other person's temper: "Why are you so stubborn? I'm trying to give you some advice, but you don't appreciate it!"

"I don't need your advice, get out of my way, or Shen Jin won't die!" Yan Yu ignored him completely and continued to yell at him.

The man choked, wanting to shout back, but when he opened his mouth, he couldn't utter a single word.

A moment later, someone came up and stopped that person.

"What are you doing? Why are you arguing with a child? Can't you just talk properly?" the man said.

"I was trying to talk to him nicely, but he didn't appreciate it. It's been so long, he must be dead by now. Did I say anything wrong?!" The man was a little unconvinced at first.

Yan Yu didn't want to listen to their arguing, so he turned around and continued playing to find Chen Jin.

He wouldn't believe them. Shen Jin wouldn't lie to him. He said he would come back to find him, and he definitely would.

When the two men saw Yan Yu start searching again, they were speechless for a while, not knowing what to say.

After a while, the person who came later realized that it was no use persuading Yan Yu to stop, so he had no choice but to say, "Young man, it's not a good idea for you to keep searching like this. You haven't eaten anything in a long time, why don't you eat something first and then continue searching?"

"I won't eat," Yan Yu replied quickly, not giving the other person even a second glance.

It looked a little childish, yet it was filled with a stubbornness.

The man was stunned for a moment when Yan Yu rejected him so decisively, and he wanted to say something.

At first, that person immediately grabbed him and said, "Alright, alright, even if you tell him a hundred times, he won't appreciate it. Just give up."

After saying that, she simply pulled him away.

The two had just turned around when they saw Xiaoqing bringing food to Yan Yu.

"Are you here to deliver food?" someone asked.

"Mm." Xiaoqing nodded in response.

As she spoke, Xiaoqing glanced at Yan Yu, who was still searching for Chen Jin, and sighed softly.

So much time has passed...

"Come on, he won't want it," the man continued.

Xiaoqing glanced at him and forced a smile: "Okay, I understand."

After saying that, Xiaoqing continued walking towards Yan Yu.

The two men looked at Xiaoqing for a while, then left.

Xiaoqing came to Yan Yu's side and stood there for a while, but Yan Yu seemed not to see Xiaoqing at all and continued with what he was doing. Several times Xiaoqing wanted to talk to Yan Yu, but when she saw Yan Yu's serious expression, she didn't say anything.

Suddenly, Yan Yu stepped on a loose stone and fell straight down.

"Yan Yu!" Xiao Qing was startled and dropped what she was holding, rushing to grab Yan Yu.

However, it was too late. Xiaoqing didn't even manage to grab Yan Yu's clothes before Yan Yu had already fallen rapidly.

The patch of snow under Yan Yu's feet was full of loose pebbles, with many hollow areas, which caused his body to be cut in many places by the sharp stones when he fell.

"Ah!" Yan Yu screamed in pain as he crashed heavily onto the snow below.

Xiaoqing hurriedly tried to go down, but the slope was too steep, and she knew she couldn't go down like that.

"Xiaoqing, don't come down," Yan Yu said to Xiaoqing from below.

"Are you alright?" Xiaoqing's voice was filled with anxiety as she called out to Yan Yu below.

Xiaoqing felt her heart was still pounding; she had truly experienced what it meant to be thrilled.

If the slope were any steeper, Yan Yu might have continued to fall down.

"I'm fine," Yan Yu replied to Xiao Qing, pushing away the rubble covering him.

Hearing Yan Yu's answer, Xiao Qing finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Then, Xiaoqing hurriedly went to call someone to help pull Yan Yu up.

"Xiaoqing, there's no need to look for anyone," Yan Yu said, stopping Xiaoqing.

Hearing Yan Yu's words, Xiao Qing was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Yan Yu with a puzzled expression: "Why?"

"I'll look around here; I haven't searched this area yet." Yan Yu lowered his eyes. "We'll find it eventually..."

With such a vast expanse of snow, Shen Jin could be anywhere that hasn't been searched yet. He's definitely safe and sound; someone must be waiting for him right now.

For a moment, Xiaoqing didn't know what to say.

Yan Yu ignored Xiao Qing's expression and turned around to start digging at the snow on the ground with his hands.

"Then be careful." Xiaoqing didn't intend to stop Yan Yu anymore, but just reminded him to be careful.

Yan Yu remained silent, his eyes utterly dim and lifeless. He felt as if his world had suddenly collapsed, as if he had fallen into a lonely, cold abyss, never to see the light of day again…