Chapter 96 Visitors from the Mountains
When Chu Yan returned to the camp after a day of field exploration, he was stunned when he saw the figure standing outside his tent abruptly, which was out of tune with the surrounding environment.
Chu Yu was wearing a dark suit, clearly expensive and wrinkled from the long journey. His hair wasn't as neatly combed as usual, with a few strands cascading across his forehead. He looked dusty, his face etched with undisguised weariness and a kind of almost bewildered anxiety. He stood there like an expensive house cat that had lost its way.
"Brother Yu?" Chu Yan's tone was full of surprise, "Why are you here?" He did know that Chu Yu had been following his itinerary in some way, but he never expected that one day Chu Yu would appear in this deep mountain forest in such an embarrassing and direct way.
Chu Yu turned abruptly upon hearing Chu Yan's voice. When he finally faced Chu Yan's eyes, filled with surprise, a wave of regret and embarrassment washed over him. He glanced down at his wrinkled suit and dusty shoes, pursed his chapped lips, and explained in a hoarse voice, "I went to your school to look for you... They said you and your advisor were here on a geological survey."
Chu Yan nodded: "Yes, there are several important inspection points recently, and the tasks are relatively concentrated." He looked Chu Yu up and down, really couldn't figure it out, "Then you ran so far to find me, is there something urgent?" He was very curious about what kind of big thing could make Chu Yu put aside the complicated affairs of the Chu family, cross a distance of more than 3,000 kilometers, and chase all the way to this desolate mountain.
This question was like a basin of cold water, instantly waking up Chu Yu, who was driven by impulse.
He opened his mouth, but found that all the words he had prepared were stuck in his throat. He looked at Chu Yan's calm, even a little distant, questioning eyes, and suddenly realized how inappropriate and self-righteous his appearance at this moment was.
It was he who, under pressure from his parents and his own inner cowardice, had chosen to retreat, draw a line, and push Chu Yan away. Now, after his parents finally relented, he came running without a care in the world, hoping that everything could go back to the way it was.
Why should Chu Yan accept his capricious interruptions? What did he think of him? An object that could be summoned and dismissed at will?
A huge feeling of shame and self-loathing overwhelmed him, making him speechless in an instant, unable to utter a single word. He just froze in place, his eyes broken, and his whole body exuded a gloomy aura that was almost despair.
Chu Yan looked at his silent and vulnerable appearance, and swallowed back the question on the tip of his tongue. He paused, and said in a softer tone: "It's windy outside, come in first."
He led Chu Yu, who looked like a child who had done something wrong, towards his small one-person tent. The space in the tent was very limited. Apart from a quilt, a camping lantern, a laptop, and some scattered tools and materials, there was almost nothing else.
Chu Yan rummaged through his limited luggage and found a clean cotton T-shirt and a pair of loose sweatpants. He handed them to Chu Yu and said, "There's a makeshift shower room built with waterproof cloth next to the camp. There's a solar hot water bottle, so there should be some hot water. Go take a shower and change your clothes first, so you can get comfortable."
He looked at the completely dark sky outside the tent, then looked at Chu Yu who didn't even bring a change of clothes, and said naturally: "The conditions here are rather simple. You can stay here with me tonight and share a tent with me, okay?"
Chu Yu took the clothes silently, nodded, and obediently took the clothes to find the simple shower room.
Watching Chu Yu's back disappear at the entrance of the tent, Chu Yan touched his chin, thinking about something.
"What's he up to?" the system asked, unable to contain its curiosity. It was currently being sought by the "Tongjie" for "fraudulently" stealing Wangchuan system points. Too frightened to surf the internet, it could only stay obediently by Chu Yan's side, watching him dig rocks out of boredom. Its curiosity was now overflowing.
"You don't know?" Chu Yan asked in his mind, somewhat surprised. "Didn't you set up a separate thread to monitor the movements of the three of them?"
[Uh...] The system froze for a moment, feeling a little guilty. [I thought you two had broken up completely a long time ago, and there was nothing interesting to watch. In order to save computing resources, I withdrew the line that monitored Chu Yu...] It didn't expect to miss such a crucial plot.
Very good, now it becomes a one-man show and everyone is in the dark. I can’t guess what President Chu is up to.
Chu Yu came back quickly after taking a shower, wearing Chu Yan's T-shirt and sweatpants, with his wet hair draped softly over his forehead. Without the disguise of an elite in a suit and tie, he looked surprisingly well-behaved.
Chu Yan was sitting cross-legged on a moisture-proof mat, boiling water on a small gas stove, with two buckets of braised beef noodles at hand. Judging from Chu Yu's appearance, he probably hadn't eaten properly either.
"Please sit down." Chu Yan gestured to the few empty seats beside him.
The tent was so small that Chu Yu sat down next to Chu Yan, their arms almost touching, feeling each other's warmth. Chu Yan handed him a bowl of noodles and said, "Make do with this for now, it'll fill your stomach. There's nothing good in these deep mountains and forests. You can have a good meal tomorrow when we get back to the city."
Chu Yu lifted the lid of his instant noodle bowl, and the steam instantly hit his face, misting over his glasses. He raised his head, looking at Chu Yan through the blurry lenses, and shook his head. His voice was not loud but remarkably clear: "I'm not going back." He paused and added: "I'll wait for you to go back together."
"?" Chu Yan paused, "Isn't the Chu Group busy recently?" As far as he knew, the Chu Group was never idle.
Chu Yu looked at him firmly and nodded, "Not busy." He seemed to think this reason was too weak and unconvincing. After thinking it over carefully, he offered an "irrefutable" reason: "Or I can invest in your scientific expedition team to update equipment and improve logistics."
Chu Yan couldn't help laughing when he saw his "rich and powerful" appearance.
"Okay," Chu Yan nodded obediently, "Then I'll go tell the professor later. But the tent is gone, so I have to set up another one for you tomorrow."
"No need." Chu Yu immediately refused and pushed the still foggy glasses on his nose. "I can live with you. This place is too remote. What if there are ghosts..." He tried to find a better reason for staying.
Chu Yan: “…” Talking about idealistic ghosts in a geological expedition team composed of staunch materialists, Chu Yu was talking nonsense seriously.
"Alright," Chu Yan finally gave in. He could sleep in the tent even if they squeezed together. "Then I'll go to the logistics department tomorrow morning to get you another blanket."
A bowl of hot instant noodles quickly washed away the chill and some of the fatigue. Chu Yu huddled under Chu Yan's blanket, his eyes exposed. He blinked as he watched Chu Yan, clutching his laptop and intently sorting through the day's survey data by the light of a camping lantern.
The tent was very quiet, with only the soft tapping of Chu Yan's keyboard and the faint sound of the wind in the distance.
Chu Yu looked at Chu Yan's serious face, and his heart seemed to be filled with something, a sense of security that had been lost and regained slowly flowing. He quietly took out his phone and found that there was a weak signal here. He quickly sent a message to his assistant, briefly explaining his schedule for the next few days and asking him to prepare some necessities for delivery.
Although Chu Yan was sorting through the documents, he didn't ignore the powerful gaze beside him. He could probably guess the reason why Chu Yu rushed over so hastily: it was simply that his heart knot had been resolved and he was now trying to make amends.
[So, you two are reconciling?] The system, unable to suppress its curiosity, resurfaced.
"How can it be that simple?" Chu Yan asked inwardly, amused. "Reconciliation takes time and steps. Besides," his tone became calm and even a little indifferent. "My mission is almost complete. Wouldn't it be even more cruel to provoke Chu Yu now?"
He spoke with such conviction that the system remained silent for a moment, not refuting it but silently taking a screenshot. It was doing so simply to bet that Chu Yan would be humiliated again.
It was already late at night when he finished sorting the data. Chu Yan quietly turned off his computer and camping light, plunging the tent into darkness. He fumbled for his blankets and lay down next to Chu Yu.
As soon as he lay down, the person next to him subconsciously groped his way over, wrapped his arms skillfully around his waist, and rubbed his head against his neck dependently. After finding a comfortable position, his breathing soon became even and long, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Chu Yan raised his eyebrows in the dark, feeling the weight of the arm around his waist and the warm breath on his neck. In the end, he did not push him away. In this somewhat crowded but exceptionally warm position, he also closed his eyes.
Tsk, he silently commented in his heart, she feels too thin when I hold her. This year, Chu Yu really didn't take good care of herself.
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