Chapter 585: It Is You

Chapter 585 It Is You

Drinking the pot of warm mutton soup amid the snow-covered landscape, their body quickly warmed up. A clump of warm fire seemingly burned within their bellies.

As for Lin Leyan, she felt awkward.

They were atop a snow-capped mountain, a seemingly despairing situation. However, this Chen Xiaolian, who was beside her, was clearly not some ordinary being. The seemingly precipitous environment – although he did not say it aloud, Lin Leyan could tell that the look of concern revealed on Chen Xiaolian’s face was not concern about the weather. In other words, the cold, the fact that they were atop a snow-capped mountain was something that he considered as ‘not an issue’.

Lin Leyan was in the dark about the details and Chen Xiaolian would not take the initiative to tell her about it.

However, for this young woman, in her 20 plus years of life, this was a rare and unforgettable moment. 

Although they had started a fire, the air inside the cave did not get very warm. She leaned close to the fire to let the warm flow of air heat up her body and drank a bowl of mutton soup – ordinarily, she was someone who shied away from eating smelly foods like mutton. At present, however, she no longer cared.

Probably… because…

This man beside her.

There was no reason for it. There was no cause either. Sitting beside him, watching him as he stared at the fire with a brooding look, Lin Leyan felt an indescribable feeling of dependability from him.

He was neither tall nor muscular. However, in this world, there would certainly be this type of man: One who could make you think that he is like a mountain.

At present, in Lin Leyan’s eyes, this Chen Xiaolian sitting beside her was giving her that exact impression.

Dependable, reliable, secure, and… …

… … the desire to become more intimate with him.

Lin Leyan’s face was a colour of deep red. Part of it was due to the heat from the fire. As for the other part, that was something that only the heart knew.

Truth be told, at that moment, Chen Xiaolian was not aware of the complicated thoughts running through this young woman’s mind. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say, while he was able to sense it, he was not in the mood to be concerned about that.

He stared into the fire, his mind racing as he pondered.

Random assignment? Teleportation? Segmentation of areas? Then, what is the BUG in this instance dungeon? How to break it?

Also, where did the snow sheep that Tom Huggins picked up come from?

Reaching that line of thought, Chen Xiaolian suddenly got up. He strode out of the cave and stood outside the cave, where snow covered the land and a snowstorm raged and engulfed all around him.

Chen Xiaolian stood straight amid the snowstorm. In the darkness, his eyes seemingly shone.

There were also traces of a sneer at the corners of his lips.

He looked forward, looking down at the foot of the mountain before him. Then, he suddenly turned around to look at the mountain top behind him.

As it was deep at night, visibility was low. Despite how well the snow reflects light, his vision was being obstructed by the snow and he was not able to see too far away.

However, there in the distance where the mountaintops rose up one after another within the snowy landscape, he was able to see it.

Although he could not see it clearly…

It was there!

“If that is the case, then let’s not head down.” Chen Xiaolian suddenly clenched his fists.

Sending a sheep over, you fear we would starve to death or something?

Good will?

Or… … playing with a toy? Are you afraid that we would die too fast, thereby making this less enjoyable?

In any case, Chen Xiaolian would not associate the other party’s action with the word ‘good will’.

Since his companions were over 800 kilometres away, the plan to descend the mountain can be scrapped.

Next… … since the other party is on this mountain, they have already exposed traces of themselves.

If so, let’s head forward!

…

Chen Xiaolian came to the decision while standing amid the snowstorm. Then, he turned back into the cave. After that… his firm attitude nearly crumbled. An awkward situation laid out before him.

“Eh… … this…”

This youngster stood at the entrance of the cave and looked inside.

It was already late at night.

The couple, Tom Huggins and Jenny were already asleep.

They were using the sleeping bag used by mountain climbers.

Chen Xiaolian did not possess such items in his storage equipment. Tom Huggins, who was clearly a skilled mountain climber, had brought the item with him.

However, there were only two.

At that moment, Tom Huggins and his wife, Jenny, were using one of the two.

Jenny seemed to be showing some adverse reaction to being in a high-altitude place. Additionally, she was also not feeling too well. During the night, her body was feeling feverish and her body shivered. The thickset and mountain-like Tom Huggins, who clearly loved his wife, embraced her and they snuggled into one of the sleeping bags. Tonight, he would be using his own body temperature to provide warmth for Jenny.

Even if Chen Xiaolian wanted to say something… … what could he say?

Was he supposed to wake the couple up and said: Hey, let your wife sleep together with Lin Leyan in one sleeping bag.

As for the two of them, males, they would sleep together in the other one?

No matter how you look at it, that was not a good way of allocating the sleeping bags.

Chen Xiaolian stood still. Truth be told, Lin Leyan had already thought of something, which caused her to blush.

A sleeping bag shared between two people may feel cramped. However, it was still usable. Besides, sleeping together amid the snowy landscape would allow them to feel the warmth of each other’s embrace.

But the problem is… 

We are not a couple!

…

This young woman before him was not someone unfamiliar to him. It was not as though there was no intimacy between them before.

During their escape from that African country, on the boat, in the forest, amid the war within the city, the two of them had had close contact with each other.

Chen Xiaolian could especially still remember their parting words.

Mm, what did she say back then?

She had asked me if I regretted my actions of refusing that chance for intimacy with her.

Back then, how had I answered her?

Mm, right. Back then, I thought it was time to part and we would never meet again. Thus, I had discarded all of my concerns and spoken the truth.

“My intestines are already green with regret.”

And now, his saying had turned into a prophecy.

There was no need to regret it anymore. At this very moment, the chance for intimate contact lay right before his eyes.

Chen Xiaolian sighed.

…

In the middle of the night, Lin Leyan woke up from her partially asleep state – she was not able to actually sleep.

After encountering such a strange and bizarre situation, after getting pulled into this, after meeting Chen Xiaolian, a familiar stranger, how could she sleep?

She wrapped herself with the sleeping bag, alone. However, the truth was, she had not actually fallen asleep. 

After waking up, she subconsciously turned to look at the entrance of the cave.

The youngster was sitting there.

Sitting at the entrance to the cave, his body appeared like a barrier, blocking off the snow from drifting inside the cave.

Beside the youngster was a large, cat-like animal. It laid down meekly beside his legs.

Chen Xiaolian’s hand gently stroked the back of the big cat, causing it to squint its eyes.

After Lin Leyan turned her attention toward them, the big cat suddenly turned its head and stared at her. A warning growl similar to that of a fierce tiger reverberated out from its throat.

“Shh.”

Chen Xiaolian patted it and said in a hushed tone, “She’s on our side. Don’t be noisy.”

The Four-eyed War Cat lay down once more.

Chen Xiaolian then turned to Lin Leyan and said, “There is no need to be afraid. This is just my pet.”

Lin Leyan did not ask questions such as “Where did this cat come from?”. It was as though there was no need to ask this strange youngster such a question – he was likely someone with extraordinary abilities, someone who could do anything.

Blushing, Lin Leyan weighed her words and hesitated for a moment. Then, she said in a dry voice, “Are you not going to sleep?”

“… … not sleepy,” said Chen Xiaolian with a warm smile.

“… you, actually, you can come here and sleep.” As Lin Leyan was uttering those final few words, her voice became near inaudible.

Chen Xiaolian entered a state of silence. Next, he gave her a silent smile and proceeded to do and say nothing.

Lin Leyan’s heart palpitated furiously. The sound coming from her heart beat caused her to think: Would he end up hearing it?

However, she was not the shy and introvert type. In the end, gritting her teeth, she slipped out of the sleeping bag and moved to sit beside Chen Xiaolian.

The Four-eyed War Cat got up. After Chen Xiaolian gave it a pat, it lay down once more.

“Is it all right if we have a chat?”

“… … mm.” Chen Xiaolian nodded his head.

“Although I do not know why I would forget everything about you, I can now be certain that we were not only acquainted… … we have a special relationship, right?”

“… … mm.” Chen Xiaolian nodded again.

“So… …” Lin Leyan took a deep breath.

Chen Xiaolian felt troubled. As he was worrying about how he should explain if Lin Leyan questions him about the matter, she suddenly smiled.

“Then… … I won’t ask about it anymore. Since it is already forgotten, you are now the only one with those memories. I don’t have it. Even if I ask, what is forgotten remains forgotten. That resonance will not be there as well. Still, we can talk about something else.” There was a bit of a care-free look on her smile. “If so, let us get to know each other once more. Hello, my name is Lin Leyan.”

Her smile was earnest and her eyes showed no hesitation – however, there was seriousness there.

Looking at her outstretched hand, Chen Xiaolian hesitated for a moment before accepting it.

“My name is Chen Xiaolian.”

Next, their conversation took on a more relaxed and disorganized tone.

“I know, you are not an ordinary person, am I right?”

“Mm, a bit special, I suppose.”

“Are you a superman?”

“You can say that.”

“So, you fellows need to go on perilous adventures?”

“… more or less. There are some restrictions, so, there is a need to do so.”

“Have we slept together before?”

“… … eh?”

When she asked that final question, it had sounded casual. However, it was a standard sneak attack.

Chen Xiaolian was caught off-guard and there was a dumbfounded look on his face for a moment. Next, he smiled wryly and shook his head. “No… … really, no.”

Lin Leyan revealed a faint smile and said in a whisper, seemingly to comfort her blushing self, “That is good… … if we did, and I forgot about it, it would be unfair for me.”

Chen Xiaolian felt somewhat awkward; he did not know how to respond to that.

“We did not sleep together, but… … we kissed before, right?”

“… … …” Chen Xiaolian said nothing.

Lin Leyan exhaled. “I understand now. It’s just, it is not fair.”

Chen Xiaolian could feel it. Within his heart, that ripple was gradually spreading out and growing larger.

The young woman’s voice was very gentle.

“About what I want to do next, don’t think of me as flippant or frivolous. Truth is, I don’t normally act this way. However… … I want to feel it. Because… … it is you,” Lin Leyan said softly. “Mm, yes. It is not someone else, it is you. I, for the past few days, I would occasionally have these strange dreams. When I wake up, I would remember. After waking up though, most of the contents of the dream would be forgotten. However, there are some parts that left a vague impression upon me. I remember… I kissed a man, but I cannot remember the man’s face. Now that I have met you, I think, I think I might have the answer. So… don’t think of me as a frivolous woman. I just want to prove something. If it were someone else, I might feel too ashamed to try this. Or maybe, I would not even think about it… thankfully, it is not someone else, it is you. I am willing to try it to confirm it.”

This young woman’s voice, which was as soft as the gentle winds of March, drifted into Chen Xiaolian’s ear.

Following that was a faint fragrance.

Lin Leyan leaned over and her soft lips made contact with Chen Xiaolian’s lips.

“… … …” Chen Xiaolian stared with widened eyes.

After a brief moment, Lin Leyan leaned back. She stared into Chen Xiaolian’s eyes and gave a gentle sigh.

“It is, as expected, it is you!” Lin Leyan whispered before leaning forward once more. She placed her chin on his shoulder.

“We… … were we once lovers?”

“… … …” Chen Xiaolian did not respond. However, he did inwardly answer.

For that short period of time… … I suppose.

…