At dusk, they drove off the road in an off-road vehicle and bumped along in the wilderness covered with thick snow.
Outside the window is an endless white wasteland, with black volcanic rocks showing their hideous backs in the snow. In the distance are the continuous and silent silhouettes of snow-capped mountains, appearing a lonely and magnificent iron-gray in the twilight.
The sky was a pure deep indigo blue, with a few early stars pinned to the sky like diamonds.
Mu Xinrong was wrapped in his "mango suit", holding a thermos tightly in his arms (which contained hot cocoa prepared in advance by Chao Youye), and looked at the desolate scene rapidly receding outside the window with both nervousness and excitement.
"Youye, can we find that lake? Everything here looks the same..." His voice trembled a little due to the bumpy ride.
"The coordinates are accurate." Chao Youye's voice remained calm, his eyes sharply scanning the GPS navigator and the terrain outside the window, "It's just ahead. Sit tight." The steering wheel was as steady as a rock in his hands, and the off-road vehicle roared up a gentle slope.
Suddenly, the view became clear.
A small, not-yet-fully-frozen lake appeared in sight, like a piece of dark jade inlaid in the snowy plain. Thin ice floated on the surface, reflecting the indigo sky and the rising stars.
There was absolute silence all around, the only sound being the howling of the wind across the snowy plains and the low roar of the off-road vehicle's engine. There was no one here, only the vast expanse of earth and sky and the boundless starry sky belonging to them.
Chao Youye parked the car in a leeward spot and turned off the engine. In an instant, an absolute, almost sacred silence enveloped the area.
The cold was like a substance, penetrating thick clothes and seeping into the bone marrow. Mu Xinrong couldn't help but shiver.
"Get off the car, move around, and keep your body temperature up." Chao Youye made arrangements quickly, his voice particularly clear in the silence.
He quickly took out a folding chair, a thick moisture-proof mat, high-power binoculars, and the portable weather monitor from the trunk.
He quickly set up a simple observation point on a relatively flat snowy ground by the lake, laid out a moisture-proof mat, placed a chair firmly, and even took out an extremely thick wool blanket like a magician.
Mu Xinrong was helping him pass things.
Everything was set up. The two sat side by side on folding chairs, wrapped in thick blankets.
Chao Youye pressed a cup of steaming, fragrant cocoa into Mu Xinrong's hands. Mu Xinrong took a sip, the warmth sliding down his throat, dispelling some of the chill.
Time flowed slowly in silence. The stars in the sky became more and more numerous and brighter, like diamonds scattered on black velvet.
The faint light of the Milky Way was faintly visible across the sky. Mu Xinrong looked up, greedily gazing at the brilliant starry sky that he could never see in the city, forgetting the cold.
"Youye, that brightest star...is it the Big Dipper?"
"Well, the handle of the spoon points to the North Star."
"Is that... is that Orion? Three stars in the belt!"
"Yes. Down there is Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky."
"Wow...it feels so close, I can reach it with my hand..."
Mu Xinrong's voice was soft, a dreamy whisper. Chao Youye tilted her head and looked at his face, illuminated by the starlight, filled with wonder. His long eyelashes cast a small shadow in the starlight.
The wait was long, especially in the freezing temperatures of more than ten degrees Celsius below zero. Mu Xinrong's initial excitement was eroded by the chill, and he began to fidget. His toes were numb from the cold, and he couldn't help but stamp his feet.
He secretly glanced at the monitor screen on Chao Youye's knee. The KP index was slowly climbing, but the cloud coverage icon still showed a large area of gray.
"Youye... Will it really come tonight?" Mu Xinrong's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible grievance and worry. He shrank closer to Youye's arms, absorbing the reassuring warmth and breath.
Chao Youye didn't look at the screen, his gaze was cast towards the deep sky in the north.
He reached out his hand and gently rubbed the back of Mu Xinrong's head through his thick hat and scarf. His deep voice carried an unquestionable certainty: "Yes. It's on the way. Be patient, Mu Xinrong."
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