Chapter 8
The sun sank behind the distant mountains, and the moon hung in the sky, bright and clear.
Mike refused to leave and urged Su Yue to go back to his tent to rest.
Su Yue shook her head firmly: "It's not finished yet." She had already made up her mind: she would stay here all night.
Unfortunately, as the light dimmed and twilight engulfed the scenery, the landscape in the painting became a blurry mess.
Su Yue's face grew increasingly dark.
Mike's lips curled into a slight smile, as if he were gloating, or perhaps confident, waiting for his prey to walk into his trap.
The night wind was chilly, and Su Yue couldn't help but sneeze.
"Let's go, it's chilly outside," Mike advised.
Su Yue, holding the brush proudly, said, "You go back first, I'll finish this one."
Mike glanced at his thin shoulders, and without saying a word, took off his coat and draped it over him.
"Oh, no need..." Su Yue was about to refuse when a gust of cold wind made her shiver. She had no choice but to wrap herself tighter and then advised, "Then you should go back quickly! You don't have a coat."
Mike crossed his arms, unintentionally highlighting his well-defined arms and chest muscles: "A football player like me isn't afraid of the wind? I'll wait for you."
Su Yue: "..."
Is there really no escaping it tonight?
Just then, Mike suddenly turned his head to look at the woods on his left, his expression changed drastically, and his whole body tensed up.
Su Yue was startled and looked in the direction indicated—a brown bear was standing in the bushes thirty meters away!
The bear was massive, standing about two meters tall, almost as tall as the bushes. Its eyes reflected a glassy light in the moonlight, like two small, cold lamps.
Mike's face turned pale, and he grabbed Su Yue, trying to retreat towards the camp.
Su Yue stubbornly refused to move: "What?"
"There's a bear over there!" Mike exclaimed urgently. It was a real bear, capable of crushing bones with a single swipe, leaving the victim either dead or severely injured, not some "fake bear" like him who only wanted to take advantage.
"Let go!" Su Yue struggled.
Mike's temper flared: He helped him escape and the boy didn't even appreciate it? If he had a different face, he would have beaten him unconscious and thrown him to a bear for dinner!
"Let go!!"
Mike's fists clenched so tightly they cracked, and he was about to make a move when Su Yue shouted urgently, "You're seeing things! There's no bear at all!"
"Damn, it's so big..." Mike turned his head angrily, but froze.
The bear has disappeared.
He released Su Yue, rubbed his eyes, and stared at something thirty meters away—in the dim light, only two broken wooden stakes, each about the height of a person, stood in the bushes.
Mike: "..."
Su Yue: "Look, there are no bears. The brown bears in the Alps went extinct a hundred years ago, how could there be any? You've been drinking, haven't you?"
“I didn’t drink it.” Mike’s face was grim.
He stared at the two broken pieces of wood again, becoming suspicious: Had he really seen wrong? But those reflective eyes from before were so lifelike…
After agonizing over the decision for a moment, Mike, still uneasy, gathered firewood and started a fire on the observation deck.
“Beasts are afraid of fire.” The firelight illuminated their faces, and Mike regained his confidence. “With fire around, whether it’s a bear or a wolf, they won’t dare to come near.”
Su Yue remained silent, as if nothing had happened, and calmly picked up his brush to continue painting.
When the firewood was almost burned out, Mike got up and went back to the camp to get more fuel.
Once he was out of sight, Su Yue immediately put down her paintbrush and quickly walked towards the bushes on the east side.
He was cautious, looking around as if searching for something.
He lied just now.
He lied to Mike, saying there was no bear and he was seeing things—but he actually saw it too. Not only that, he also saw a person standing next to the bear!
That man… seemed to be the bear's owner? He wasn't sure if bears could be tamed, but he'd seen news online about Russian tycoons keeping tigers. Perhaps, bears could too?
At least from what I saw at the time, the tall brown bear stood unusually obediently beside me, even stealing glances at its "master's" face, looking like a bear that obeyed my every command.
The man remained calm and composed, showing no fear of the ferocious beast that could devour him beside him.
Unfortunately, the light was too dim, and he couldn't see the facial features clearly, but he inexplicably felt that the other person was extremely familiar, as if he had seen them before.
Even when Mike was desperately pulling him back and was so anxious that he wanted to knock him unconscious, for a moment, he actually wanted to run towards the man and the bear without regard for anything else.
It was a struggle to hold back.
Because... he didn't want Mike to know there was another person there.
As soon as Mike left, he immediately set off to look for him.
But the man and the bear had already disappeared.
Su Yue was extremely anxious and ventured deep into the dark bushes, searching left and right.
A thorn pierced his shirt and embedded itself in his arm, causing him to hiss softly.
As if hearing a noise, the person reappeared—ten meters to his right. The moonlight clearly illuminated the face: sculpted features, long chestnut hair cascading down to the shoulders, and long, deep eyes like an ancient lake.
Su Yue was stunned, and thought to himself: He's damn handsome.
There's also a two-meter-tall brown bear that serves as both a pet and a bodyguard.
What kind of god-like man is this?!
Driven by curiosity, he quickly stepped forward and called out, "Hey! You...hello! Wait a minute—"
The man remained expressionless, turned around, and left with the bear.
Su Yue panicked: "Hey! Wait for me!"
The other person walked faster and faster, quickly disappearing into the shadows of the forest.
Meow!
Su Yue wanted to give chase, but the bushes around him were a tripping hazard, and thorns were lurking nearby. He gritted his teeth and charged forward regardless, groaning as he was pricked—he treated it as being bitten by iron mosquitoes.
They chased after the person to where he had been standing, but there was no one in sight. They went another twenty or thirty meters, but it was still empty, as if what they had just seen was just an illusion.
Su Yue was unwilling to give up and inexplicably wanted to pursue the matter to the end. Suddenly, his foot slipped—
I stepped into an empty space.
Mike returned from the observation deck carrying a large bundle of firewood. He found the easel and brushes still there, and paintings scattered all over the ground, but Su Yue was nowhere to be seen.
He circled the stage and called out several times, but no one answered.
Remembering the bear, Mike broke out in a cold sweat: "Su Yue—! Su Yue—!"
Several night birds were startled awake, but there was still no response.
"Oh no!" He turned and rushed back to the camp, urgently seeking help from Teacher Philip.
On the other side of the mountain, a hundred meters from the summit, Su Yue curled up on the ground, hugging his legs and enduring the pain.
Fortunately, he was stopped by trees along the way, preventing him from being smashed to pieces. But with the cliff face so high and low, and not being a skilled climber, how was he supposed to escape? Besides, this fall would likely have broken his leg, causing him excruciating pain.
He could vaguely hear shouts coming from above, as if they were calling his name. But he was exhausted and in too much pain to make a sound.
This time I'm really going to die... I brought this on myself.
I felt pain, embarrassment, and regret.
Martin once bumped into a lamppost while staring at a beautiful woman, leaving a huge bump on his forehead that took two weeks to heal, and he was laughed at for a whole year. I thought things couldn't get any more embarrassing…
Now, he fell off a cliff while chasing a man, is critically injured and on the verge of death, and what's even more shameful is that he still hasn't caught up with him.
Meow...
Through his blurred vision, he heard a faint sound.
Someone actually came to this cliffside place?
Did it fall too? But I didn't hear a thud...
Is it him?
Su Yue tried to open her eyes and saw that person again.
This time I saw it clearly: a white shirt, navy blue trousers, traditional Alpine attire, but with glowing...circuit boards? Or armor?
Why is he dressed so strangely? Is the man he risked his life to chase after mentally sound?
This was Su Yue's last thought before she completely fainted.
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