Chapter 184 The Two Hold Hands in the Rain

[6,000 words]

Hearing Yan Yu ask such a cautious question, the two tomb raiders were both taken aback for a moment, then looked at each other and laughed in unison.

"Hahaha, young man, you really are hilarious!" The tomb raider who was cooking couldn't help but laugh loudly.

Another tomb raider joined in the laughter, showing no intention of stopping.

Their laughter was so loud that it woke up the other tomb raiders, who got up groggily.

"Stop laughing, I really want his forgiveness," Yan Yu said anxiously when he saw that the two of them couldn't stop laughing.

He genuinely wanted to learn from them.

Hearing Yan Yu's words, the two of them finally managed to stop laughing.

"Ahem...Leave this to us. We'll make sure Ah Jin forgives you." One of them patted his chest and said confidently.

Yan Yu's eyes lit up immediately.

"Yes, yes, don't worry," another person echoed.

"Then what should I do?" Yan Yu asked earnestly, almost as if he was about to take out a notebook and pen to take notes.

By this time, the tomb raider who was cooking had almost finished preparing the meal.

"Go and wake Ah Jin up for dinner now," the person said to Yan Yu.

Upon hearing his words, Yan Yu nodded and got up to walk towards Chen Jin.

Watching Yan Yu's departing figure, the two couldn't help but chuckle again.

"What do you think their relationship is?" the chef asked with a smile.

"I don't know, are they friends? Or brothers?"

"Brother, let's go..."

Yan Yu slowly walked to Shen Jin's side and squatted down: "Shen Jin, it's time to get up and eat..."

Upon hearing Yan Yu's voice, Shen Jin frowned slightly, groggily opened his eyes, and looked at Yan Yu.

Yan Yu immediately gave Shen Jin a smile.

"Step back, don't get so close to me." After a moment of silence, Shen Jin spoke slowly, his tone distant.

Yan Yu's smile froze instantly.

A moment later, Yan Yu slowly retreated a little distance.

"I just came to invite you to dinner. I kept my distance from you all night and didn't get close to you," Yan Yu carefully explained to Shen Jin.

He was afraid that Chen Jin would be angry.

However, Shen Jin merely glanced at him before calmly withdrawing his gaze and getting up to leave.

The two people watching this scene from a short distance couldn't help but sigh.

It has to be said that the difference between Shen Jin's attitude towards him and his attitude towards them is like night and day.

For some reason, they suddenly felt some sympathy for Yan Yu.

Chen Jin quickly washed up by the stream and then went to eat. Breakfast was ready, and everyone got up to eat.

Yan Yu watched Shen Jin from the side, his mind not on his breakfast at all.

At this moment, the two men quietly called Yan Yu aside.

"Listen carefully, I'm going to teach you a trick today. Use it on Ah Jin after dinner." Someone said to Yan Yu with a very serious expression. "You'd better listen carefully!"

Seeing his serious expression, Yan Yu nodded solemnly and acknowledged that he understood.

"After we finish breakfast, someone needs to clean up the things. Today it's Ah Jin's turn, so you can go help him and talk to him while you're at it," the person continued.

Upon hearing these words, Yan Yu's brows immediately furrowed.

He wanted to help Shen Jin, but Shen Jin wouldn't let him get close at all. What could he do?

"But he won't let me get close at all, so how can I have a chance to help him?" Yan Yu asked this question cautiously.

The man was taken aback by Yan Yu's question.

After a moment, the other person who hadn't spoken replied, "That's easy, just say we sent you, and you had no choice."

Before Yan Yu could even speak, the man reached out and grabbed Yan Yu's shoulders, turning him around completely.

"Stop hesitating, just go ahead and do your thing. You can trust me to handle things. Don't you still need Ah Jin's forgiveness?" the man said as he pushed Yan Yu.

Yan Yu didn't feel anything from the first few sentences, but the last half sentence hit him hard at his weak point.

So Yan Yu stopped caring about all that and decided to try anything, even if it seemed hopeless.

Before long, everyone had finished breakfast and started packing their things, preparing to continue their journey.

Chen Jin moved everything he needed to wash to the stream.

As soon as he squatted down, someone squatted down next to him. Shen Jin was slightly taken aback and turned his head to look. He saw Yan Yu squatting next to him.

"Go away." Shen Jin withdrew his gaze.

Yan Yu was not surprised at all upon hearing Shen Jin's words.

A moment later, Yan Yu did exactly what the tomb raiders had taught him.

“They asked me to come and help you,” Yan Yu replied after a moment’s hesitation.

“No need,” Shen Jin refused directly. “I can manage.”

Despite Shen Jin's refusal, Yan Yu did not leave. This was what the two tomb raiders had told him: no matter how cold Shen Jin was to him, he would stubbornly refuse to leave.

So Yan Yu gritted his teeth and ignored Shen Jin's words.

He even tried to snatch things from Shen Jin's hands to wash them, a trick he learned from that tomb raider. This way, Shen Jin would think he was very considerate and would forgive him a little.

Shen Jin was washing when Yan Yu suddenly reached out and snatched the things from Shen Jin's hands, causing Shen Jin to stop for a moment.

"I'll help you..." Yan Yu was already willing but unable to help under Shen Jin's glare.

This time, Shen Jin didn't even refuse; he simply threw everything in his hands to Yan Yu.

"You can wash as much as you want," Chen Jin said, somewhat bewildered.

Yan Yu was at a loss and didn't know what to do.

After washing the food, Yan Yu immediately went to consult the two people.

"What should we do? It's still no use. He seems even angrier," Yan Yu asked, sounding troubled.

Hearing Yan Yu's answer, the two were not surprised, but simply sighed.

The two of them had already witnessed what happened while they were by the stream, so they weren't surprised.

"It's alright. We'll be heading to another forest soon. Just approach him, apologize, and ask for his forgiveness," someone said.

Since the hard approach doesn't work, we'll have to try the soft approach.

So the two of them carefully recounted the entire process to Yan Yu.

The two men were basically saying that when they left, he would apologize to Shen Jin and ask Shen Jin to forgive him.

"But will this work?" Yan Yu hesitated for a moment before asking.

He felt that even if he apologized to Shen Jin, it wouldn't make a difference; on the contrary, it might make him dislike Shen Jin even more.

"It's useful, it's useful." The two tomb raiders were particularly certain.

“But…” Yan Yu didn’t believe it. After all, what’s the use of just admitting your mistake?

Seeing Yan Yu like this, someone continued, "Don't worry about so much, just admit your mistake. Anyway, whatever A-Jin says goes. As long as you are sincere, he should forgive you."

Upon hearing this, Yan Yu finally took a deep breath, nodded, and decided to do just that.

After everyone rested for a while, they set off for the next mountain forest.

Yan Yu followed Shen Jin for a long time. Every time she tried to get closer to Shen Jin, she was frightened by Shen Jin's cold gaze and withdrew her hand.

Beside him, the two people kept giving Yan Yu meaningful glances.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go!" someone mouthed to Yan Yu.

Yan Yu glanced at him and pursed his lips.

"Go for it! Go for it!" Another person mouthed encouragement to Yan Yu.

Seeing that Yan Yu didn't dare to make a move, the two men became extremely anxious.

Finally, Yan Yu mustered his courage, took a big step forward, and grabbed Shen Jin's clothes.

Shen Jin stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Yan Yu.

"Um... I was wrong, please forgive me." Yan Yu hesitated for a while, took a deep breath, and said to Shen Jin.

After saying that, he bowed to Shen Jin at a ninety-degree angle, hoping to gain Shen Jin's forgiveness.

However, Shen Jin only glanced at him indifferently before continuing to do what he was doing.

Yan Yu immediately became anxious and turned to look at the two people who had given him advice. The two looked at Yan Yu and vigorously made the gesture to continue.

Seeing their gestures, Yan Yu decided to go all out and suddenly stepped forward to hug Shen Jin.

Suddenly embraced by Yan Yu, Shen Jin's movements stiffened slightly.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again next time, please forgive me." Yan Yu's voice immediately lowered, "Please don't do this anymore, I'm scared..."

The next second, Yan Yu was shoved away by Shen Jin, who said expressionlessly, "I told you you've mistaken me for someone else, don't bother me."

"No, what I wanted to say was that we..." Yan Yu still forced himself to do as the two people had taught him.

Before Yan Yu could finish speaking, Shen Jin cast a glance at him. Yan Yu immediately stopped talking.

As expected, what those two people said was useless. Shen Jin hated him, and that was it. No matter how much he apologized, Shen Jin would never forgive him, and would not even pay him any attention.

"Shen Jin, at least pay attention to me..." Yan Yu remained silent for a while, his heart filled with bitterness and sorrow, "What can I do for you to forgive me..."

“You don’t need to do anything,” Shen Jin said calmly, not looking at Yan Yuni’s expression. “You just need to stay away from me.”

"I..." Yan Yu's pupils suddenly contracted, his nose felt a little sore, and he almost felt like he had fallen into an ice cellar. That feeling was just too uncomfortable.

Shen Jin stared quietly at Yan Yu, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

Stared at by Shen Jin, Yan Yu was even more at a loss for words, and suddenly felt that he had brought all this upon himself.

Shen Jin already disliked him, and he still had to use this method to pester him. It would be strange if Shen Jin wasn't annoyed by him.

Finally, Shen Jin withdrew his gaze, turned around, and continued on his own path.

"I'm sorry," Yan Yu said softly as he took a step forward to catch up.

“No need,” Shen Jin quickly replied to Yan Yu.

Although the words seemed not to be blaming him, Yan Yu felt an extraordinary sense of alienation, which hurt him even more than being scolded.

Shen Jin's nonchalant attitude can only mean one thing: he doesn't care anymore.

After a moment, Yan Yu took a deep breath and continued to follow.

Even if Shen Jin treats him this way, he still has to be good to Shen Jin. He was the one who wronged Shen Jin first, so whatever Shen Jin does to him is what he deserves. He needs to make it up to Shen Jin.

Shen Jin is so good...maybe he won't treat him like this anymore once his anger subsides.

Thinking of this, Yan Yu's eyes darkened slightly.

Or perhaps, even if Shen Jin doesn't forgive him, he still wants to stay by his side, just to be able to see him.

For the six months following the avalanche, he lived in a daze, as if he were in extreme torment every day. Every night he would dream of Chen Jin, but when he woke up, his bedside would be empty.

He really didn't want to experience that heart-wrenching pain again.

He couldn't afford to lose Shen Jin again.

"Don't follow me." After walking a few steps, Shen Jin said to Yan Yu again.

Upon hearing Shen Jin's words, Yan Yu paused for a moment, then slowed his pace and distanced himself from Shen Jin.

Seeing that the distance between the two had increased, Yan Yu lowered his eyes in grievance, not daring to say anything.

Just then, someone patted Yan Yu on the shoulder: "Hey, little brother?"

Yan Yu immediately came to his senses and turned to look, only to see the two tomb raiders who had helped him devise a plan.

"Judging from your expression, you didn't succeed?" One of the tomb raiders looked at Yan Yu's expression, hesitated for a moment, and then asked.

Upon hearing his words, Yan Yu thought of his own behavior just now. Not only had he failed to please Shen Jin in the slightest, but he had also made Shen Jin dislike him even more. Shen Jin already hated him enough.

"Forget it, forget it, don't say anymore." Yan Yu sighed and said dejectedly.

Although he didn't succeed, he couldn't blame the two tomb raiders who gave him the idea; he could only blame himself.

"How could it not have succeeded..." another person muttered to himself.

Yan Yu gave a wry smile, patted his shoulder, said nothing, and continued walking forward.

The two watched Yan Yu's retreating figure and silently followed behind Shen Jin, always keeping a distance and not daring to get close, which made people feel a little sad.

"Brother, look, Yan Yu looks so pitiful." One of the tomb raiders said, looking at Yan Yu's lonely figure.

The tomb raider next to him sighed and replied, "For someone as good-tempered as Ah Jin to be so angered by him, I guess he's not a good person either."

The man immediately retorted, "You can't say that. Look how much he's trying to please Ah Jin now. He must know he was wrong. Who hasn't made mistakes when they were young? He's definitely corrected them by now."

"...What you said makes sense."

The two stared at each other for a long while.

After a moment, one of the tomb raiders spoke up: "He's quite pitiful, let's help him."

What this man said was exactly what the other tomb raider wanted to say, and so the two reached an agreement.

Then, the two quickened their pace and walked towards Yan Yu, but pretended to be nonchalant, as if they were not following Yan Yu at all.

Yan Yu was puzzled when he saw the two of them approaching, but he didn't say anything.

Suddenly, a tomb raider rammed into Yan Yu. Yan Yu was startled and didn't react in time. He was knocked forward by the impact.

Just then, there was another downhill slope ahead, and Yan Yu stumbled and tripped over a stone.

Yan Yu let out a muffled groan.

Immediately afterwards, Yan Yu couldn't stop and crashed violently into Shen Jin in front of him.

"Ah!" Shen Jin cried out as Yan Yu bumped into him, and he fell hard to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Yan Yu's face turned pale with fright, and he stammered, "I..."

Seeing that Yan Yu had successfully bumped into Shen Jin, the tomb raider who had bumped into Yan Yu immediately laughed out loud—if you're a good brother or a good friend, give him a hug! Help him up!

"What are you doing?" Shen Jin frowned instantly as Yan Yu pinned him down.

"I..." Yan Yu immediately got up from him, like a primary school student, with his head down and not daring to speak.

The tomb raider who had been secretly observing from behind realized that things were not going well, so he immediately stopped smiling and looked at another person.

"Why did you bump into me?" The tomb raider began his act.

"I didn't! You were the one who wasn't watching where you were going! And you bumped into Yan Yu!" The other person saw his wink and quickly cooperated.

The two of them were speaking loudly, and Shen Jin could hear them clearly. He then realized that it was that person who bumped into Yan Yu, which was why Yan Yu bumped into him.

"I'm sorry..." Yan Yu had no intention of shirking responsibility at all, and apologized to Shen Jin in a low voice.

Shen Jin wasn't the kind of person to be unreasonable, so he didn't pay much attention to the problem after learning about it. Shen Jin patted his clothes and was about to get up.

"Alright, if it's not you, it's not you. Why apologize?" Shen Jin said.

Upon hearing his words, Yan Yu was momentarily stunned.

Immediately afterward, Yan Yu remembered that he had bumped into Chen Jin earlier and became anxious: "Are you hurt anywhere? Let me see."

As he spoke, Yan Yu reached out to tear off Chen Jin's clothes.

His health was already compromised after the avalanche, and he couldn't withstand any more stress.

When Yan Yu reached out, he trembled and suddenly grabbed his clothes, backing away: "What are you doing?!"

"Ah..." After being yelled at by Shen Jin, Yan Yu realized how inappropriate his action was and was immediately stunned.

Immediately afterward, Yan Yu withdrew his hand, opened his lips, and wanted to apologize.

Shen Jin knew he wanted to apologize, but he was too lazy to listen, so he simply got up and left.

Seeing that Shen Jin had left, Yan Yu immediately got up and followed.

The two players behind them watched them and discussed it for a while, but they didn't know whether there was any progress or not.

The group walked for a while longer.

It was noon soon.

The two people wanted to help Yan Yu gain Shen Jin's forgiveness, so they decided to help Yan Yu one more time.

"Hey, Yan Yu and A Jin... why don't you two go and cut some bamboo? We need it to cook lunch," one of the tomb raiders said to Yan Yu.

After saying that, the man kept winking at Yan Yu, and Yan Yu immediately understood and gave the man a grateful look.

However, even if they created this opportunity for him, he still didn't know if he could make any progress with Shen Jin, and whether Shen Jin was willing to go with him was another matter entirely.

"It's alright, I can go by myself." Shen Jin replied quickly.

“I want to go too…” Yan Yu’s eyes dimmed slightly.

"No, no, I'm worried about you going alone. Let Yan Yu go with you. Hurry up, hurry up, it's just the two of you sitting here." The tomb raider said forcefully.

With that, he pushed the two of them away.

Shen Jin turned around, wanting to explain to that person that there were several other people who were free.

However, the man didn't give him a chance to speak at all, and pushed the two of them out, giving each of them a sickle.

“Shen Jin…” Yan Yu looked at Shen Jin and spoke softly.

Upon hearing Yan Yu's voice, Shen Jin glanced at him, his eyes devoid of any expression.

A moment later, Shen Jin bent down and picked up a sickle: "Come back after you finish cutting the bamboo. Less talk, more work."

Yan Yu: "..."

After saying that, Shen Jin left immediately.

Yan Yu quickly picked up another sickle and followed.

The two searched for a while before finding a bamboo grove. Shen Jin selected a bamboo stalk, raised his sickle, and prepared to chop it down.

"I'll do it, I'll do it, don't chop, I'll do it." Yan Yu quickly stepped forward to stop Shen Jin.

As Yan Yu was speaking, he reached for the scythe in Shen Jin's hand, but his fingers accidentally touched Shen Jin, and Shen Jin's eyes immediately narrowed slightly.

"No need." Shen Jin avoided Yan Yu's hand, preventing him from getting the scythe.

Yan Yu watched as Shen Jin continued chopping bamboo, remained silent for a while, and then turned around to chop bamboo as well.

He needs to cut down a few more quickly so that he has enough so he won't have to cut down the Ashes anymore.

Yan Yu carefully cut down two bamboo stalks.

Suddenly, rain began to fall from the sky, and Yan Yu was stunned.

In that instant of distraction, the rain suddenly started, soaking many parts of Yan Yu's clothes.

Yan Yu immediately turned around to look at Chen Jin.

At this moment, Shen Jin was standing under a bamboo tree, motionless, clearly just as bewildered as Yan Yu.

"There's a straw hut over there, let's quickly hide there." Yan Yu hurriedly stepped forward, grabbed Shen Jin's hand, and led him to the straw hut not far away.

Suddenly, Yan Yu grabbed his hand, and Shen Jin was stunned for a moment before trying to shake him off.

However, Yan Yu was so busy running to the straw hut to take shelter from the rain that he didn't even think of it. He was still holding Shen Jin's hand tightly, and Shen Jin couldn't break free for a moment.

Soon, the two arrived at the straw hut.

When they arrived at the straw hut, Yan Yu suddenly felt a soft warmth in his palm. He was slightly startled and looked down, only then realizing that he had been holding Shen Jin's hand.

Yan Yu felt a surge of secret joy, secretly reluctant to let go, but when he felt Shen Jin's gaze, he immediately cowered, hastily releasing his grip and pursing his lips: "I'm sorry..."

"..." Shen Jin glanced at him, but said nothing or made any statement.