Emotional amplification factor... This physics nerd!
When the plane landed at Keflavik International Airport, Iceland's unique biting cold wind mixed with the smell of sulfur gave the two visitors from afar a firm hug.
Mu Xinrong wrapped his "mango battle robe" tightly, leaving only his eyes exposed, and looked curiously at this alien-like country covered with black volcanic rocks and tundra.
Chao Youye naturally took Mu Xinrong's luggage cart, and held his hand wrapped in thick gloves firmly with her other hand.
"Are you cold?" he asked in a low voice, his voice cut by the whistling wind.
"Not cold!" Mu Xinrong answered loudly. His voice sounded muffled in the scarf, but his eyes were surprisingly bright and he looked around excitedly.
"It's just that the wind is so strong! It feels like ice knives are scraping my face! But it's so cool!"
They rented a powerful four-wheel drive off-road vehicle. Chao Youye got into the driver's seat, his movements smooth and steady.
Mu Xinrong was like a primary school student on his first spring outing, leaning on the car window, looking at the wasteland, low shrubs, colorful little houses dotted among them, and the outline of the glacier covered with snow that was looming in the distance, and exclaiming "Wow" and "Oh my God" from time to time.
"Youye Youye! Look! Is that the tundra? It's like a green carpet spread over black stone!"
"Well, the lichens and mosses on the remains of volcanic lava grow extremely slowly."
"Over there! Is that the white smoke coming out of the hot spring? It's so thick!"
"An area with intense geothermal activity. Iceland is a country sitting on the crater of a volcano."
"Wow! The sea! Such a... such a vast sea! Black sand beach?!"
"The black sand beach in Vic is a product of weathered basalt. The wind and waves are strong and dangerous."
“…”
Chao Youye's answers were concise and precise, like an encyclopedia entry, yet she was always able to respond promptly to Mu Xinrong's every exclamation. Her purple eyes focused intently on the seemingly endless road ahead, which was divided by car lights.
Mu Xinrong's chattering and the vast, desolate scenery outside the window with its primitive and wild beauty intertwined to form a unique background sound on the way to Reykjavik.
We checked into a stylish boutique hotel in the heart of the city. The room was small but cozy and comfortable, with large floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking colorful low houses and the distant silhouette of snow-capped mountains.
Mu Xinrong couldn't wait to open the curtains and pressed her face against the cold glass. "Youye! This place is so cute! It's like it was built with fairy tale building blocks!"
He turned around and looked at Chao Youye who was putting away the suitcase with sparkling eyes. "Shall we go for a walk tonight? I heard that Hallgrimskirkja Cathedral looks like a pipe organ!"
Chao Youye stood up, walked to his side, and looked out the window at the fairy-tale town where dusk was gradually falling.
"Let's eat first." He raised his hand and naturally rubbed Mu Xinrong's hair, which was a little messy due to the hat. He felt a soft and slightly cool touch on his fingertips.
"Add some heat. The wind will be colder at night."
Dinner was at a highly rated seafood restaurant near the hotel. The warm lighting, wooden decor, and the aroma of grilled fish and bread filled the air.
Mu Xinrong was like a curious baby, exclaiming at the strange names of Icelandic dishes on the menu (such as fermented shark meat Hákarl, which Chao Youye decisively stopped him from trying) and fresh lobster and cod.
Finally, following Chao Youye's "scientific advice", we ordered the perfectly grilled Arctic salmon and delicious lobster soup.
Mu Xinrong's cheeks puffed up with food, and he squinted his eyes in satisfaction. "Delicious! Ten thousand times better than the quantum lunch in our cafeteria!"
He scooped up a spoonful of thick lobster soup, blew on it, and naturally handed it to Chao Youye's mouth, "Would you like to try it? This soup is amazing!"
Chao Youye looked at the spoonful of soup that was handed to her lips, then looked at Mu Xinrong's bright eyes full of desire to share. Without any hesitation, she lowered her head slightly and drank it from his hand.
The warm current mixed with the rich aroma of seafood slides into the throat.
"Hmm, not bad," he commented in a low voice.
After dinner, the two of them bundled up and strolled through the cool streets of Reykjavik. The wind was still strong, making their cheeks hurt.
The towering basalt columns of Hallgrímskirkja Cathedral, against the backdrop of night and lights, are indeed like a huge organ, silently playing a symphony of ice and fire.
Mu Xinrong excitedly pulled Chao Youye to take pictures from various angles, and the phone screen quickly issued a battery warning in the low temperature.
"It's so cold!" Mu Xinrong put his frozen hands back into his sleeves, stamped his feet, his nose red, but he was still in high spirits.
"But it's so beautiful! Youye, do you think the aurora will appear tonight?"
Chao Youye looked up at the sky, which was dyed dark orange by the city lights, and a few sparse stars were twinkling hard.
He pulled out his phone and quickly opened a professional weather app to check the real-time data. "The cloud cover is high, and the geomagnetic activity index Kp is low."
He analyzed the situation calmly, and when he saw Mu Xinrong's face instantly fall, he added, "The probability isn't high, but it's not zero. It requires patience and a bit of luck."
He reached out, held Mu Xinrong's frozen hand and sleeve, and put them into the warm and spacious pocket of his down jacket.
Even through thick clothes, I can still feel the warmth from the palm of my hand.
Mu Xinrong immediately moved closer to Chao Youye like a small animal that had found a heat source, absorbing the peaceful aura emanating from him.
"Well! I believe in your calculations! And I believe in our good luck!"
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