Yan Shenyu picked up his phone and saw that Xie Siyan had contacted him.
【I have arrived.】
Yan Shenyu immediately stood up and saw a black Mercedes-Benz G-Class parked downstairs in the distance.
Yan Shenyu immediately slung his backpack over his shoulder and rushed downstairs. When he reached the door, he slowed down and asked casually, "Why are you here so early?"
"I was afraid you'd be ready beforehand and waiting for me," Xie Siyan rolled down the car window. "There's plenty of time, you don't need to rush."
Yan Shenyu tried to hide the bag behind her back. She was only halfway there when Xie Siyan spotted it.
"Are you all better now?" Xie Siyan asked him, seemingly somewhat surprised.
“Uh…” Yan Shenyu: “I was afraid you would arrive early and wait for me.”
Xie Siyan smiled, a rare occurrence. He got out of the driver's seat, opened the passenger door, and took the backpack from Yan Shenyu's hand, tossing it into the back seat.
Only now did Yan Shenyu get a clear look at Xie Siyan's outfit: a black quick-drying T-shirt paired with matching black hiking pants, black ankle boots, black sunglasses, and his hair was messy and disheveled.
The way he carried the bag caused the muscles on his arms to bulge out in a beautiful arc, making him look wild and handsome.
When he stood up, his waist and back lines were incredibly beautiful, and his chest muscles bulged under his T-shirt, like a tough male protagonist in a Hollywood movie.
"What's wrong?" Xie Siyan asked him, seeing him standing there frozen and not getting into the car. "Did you forget something?"
Yan Shenyu: "If you went to make movies, you would definitely be very popular."
"Hmm?" Xie Siyan glanced at him sideways. "Why did you suddenly think of this?"
Yan Shenyu: "Because of your chest..."
Because your chest is just like a movie male lead's.
"Because of my breasts?" Xie Siyan raised an eyebrow.
Yan Shenyu: ? ?
Wait! What did he just say?!
Yan Shenyu stared at Xie Siyan's chest, repeating the same sentence over and over in her mouth.
"Because of your chest...because of your brother...because that's what your brother said!"
"My brother?" Xie Siyan looked down at him. "Who?"
"That happened so long ago, how could I possibly remember!" Yan Shenyu joked, trying to get away with it.
"Is that so?"
“That’s it!” Yan Shenyu stepped into the passenger seat, pulled the seatbelt over and fastened it with a click. “I’m ready, let’s go!”
Xie Siyan got into the driver's seat, a distinct smile curving his lips in the morning light.
Ever since the near-car accident when she went out, Yan Shenyu has been unusually well-behaved.
He sat quietly in the passenger seat, keeping his eyes straight ahead the entire time, only occasionally glancing up to steal a glance.
Unexpectedly, Xie Siyan caught his eye every time he glanced at him. After a brief eye contact, Xie Siyan considerately asked, "What's wrong?"
Yan Shenyu: "..."
Forget it, I'm not going to watch anymore. I'll just close my eyes and go to sleep.
Their campsite was in a nearby high-altitude pasture, about 3 hours from the city.
About two hours later, the off-road vehicle exited the highway onto a county road, and then drove through a dirt road... When the off-road vehicle passed through a dense forest, a green meadow appeared before them.
Beneath the azure sky, fluffy white clouds drifted by, and below them, a graceful mountain range stretched out before them. The mountainsides were covered in deep green forests, while below, lush grasslands stretched out, dotted with herds of cattle and sheep. Nearby lay a lake, where cattle and sheep drank at the water's edge—a clean, beautiful, and vibrant scene.
Xie Siyan parked the car by the lake and opened the trunk to prepare for camping.
Ever since seeing these animals, Yan Shenyu has been completely captivated. The adult cattle and sheep are not easy to approach, running away from people at a distance, but the lambs and calves are innocent and adorable, their fluffy fur and quiet eyes looking at you.
"It's so beautiful," Yan Shenyu said incredulously. "How did you find this place?"
Xie Siyan brought out the tools and explained, "An elder retired and came to the countryside to herd livestock; this is the land he contracted."
No wonder he didn't see this place online. If it were open to the public, there would probably be a ton of people here by now.
Seeing Xie Siyan busy, Yan Shenyu came over and said, "What do you need to do? I'll help you."
Xie Siyan: "I'll drive in the ground stakes to install the canopy first. Can you check the distance for me?"
The awning was just a piece of cloth for sunshade. After setting up the awning, they set up a tent next to it before bringing out all their camping equipment.
For lunch, they had stir-fried beef with black pepper. Yan Shenyu couldn't cook, so he just watched Xie Siyan do the cooking the whole time, occasionally doing some tasks that didn't require any skills.
Seeing that he wouldn't need her help for the time being, Yan Shenyu took out her camera and asked Xie Siyan, "Can I take some videos?"
"You took a picture of me?" Xie Siyan held the spatula and raised an eyebrow at him.
Yan Shenyu nodded: "I didn't have the production crew with me this time, I need to shoot some footage for them. But I won't film your face, even if I do, I'll cover it up in post-production, so don't worry about people misunderstanding."
Xie Siyan: "I'm not worried about others misunderstanding."
After these words were spoken, both of them fell silent for a brief moment.
A cool breeze carrying the scent of grass brushed against his hair. Not far away, cattle and sheep grazed peacefully, and food in the pot steamed and crackled.
Xie Siyan sat about a meter away from him, her long legs casually propped up on either side, staring intently at him.
The sky cast a shadow over his head, making his eyes appear deep and captivating. Occasionally, a wisp of mist drifted by, adding an extra layer of mystery.
Wait, fog?
Where did the fog come from?
Yan Shenyu suddenly came to his senses, looked down and saw that the oil in the pot was completely gone, and he could still faintly smell a burnt smell.
"Xie Siyan!" Yan Shenyu quickly reminded him, "Is the food... is it burnt?"
The person cooking seemed to come alive then. He quickly turned down the heat and moved the small pot aside, barely managing to salvage their lunch.
The lunch was a bit awkward. The black pepper beef was burnt, the kale leaves were charred, but the stems were still raw. The tomato and egg soup was alright, but it tasted faintly of black pepper beef.
"I'm sorry," Xie Siyan said, looking down. "It's fine to cook at home. I should have just made spaghetti."
"It's okay, it's delicious!" Yan Shenyu picked up a large piece of beef and put it in his mouth, but couldn't chew it; it was too tough.
The beef mixed with rice was stuck in his throat, and it took him a lot of effort to swallow it down.
"Stop eating." Xie Siyan raised her hand to stop him.
Yan Shenyu picked up another piece of kale with his chopsticks and said to himself, "It tastes pretty good, but it's a little undercooked."
Xie Siyan: "It's not bad?"
Yan Shenyu placed a piece of beef on his plate: "Try it yourself, isn't it pretty good?"
Xie Siyan was taken aback for a moment, but stopped trying to stop him and continued eating with his head down.
The two grown men had enormous appetites; they finished all two dishes, a soup, and two servings of rice. After clearing the table, Xie Siyan brewed another batch of hand-drip coffee.
This time, they came to his area of expertise. The coffee was brewed to be fragrant and rich, and Yan Shenyu couldn't resist drinking it all.
"Oh no." Yan Shenyu suddenly exclaimed after finishing his coffee.
Xie Siyan tightened his grip on the cup, then loosened it, and asked casually, "What's wrong?"
Yan Shenyu: "The coffee smelled so good, I accidentally drank too much. What am I going to do about having insomnia tonight?"
"Well……"
"It's over," Yan Shenyu said, looking at the empty cup with deep regret. "I'm definitely going to have trouble sleeping tonight..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xie Siyan suddenly raised his hand and ruffled his hair.
It wasn't the kind of affectionate caressing between opposite sexes, but rather a violent, almost violent rubbing, like high school boys treating each other like fathers, wanting to rub each other's hair off.
"What are you doing?" Yan Shenyu looked up and glared at him. This was his hair, which he had just washed last night.
"Nothing much," Xie Siyan stood up, his tone smug, "just itching to get my hands dirty."
Yan Shenyu: "..."
I think you're just asking for trouble.
Yan Shenyu was so annoyed by Xie Siyan that he put on his sun hat and went to find his neighbor next door in a huff.
A calf, about half a person's height, was drinking water by the lake. When it saw him coming, it curiously used its nose to identify his scent.
Yan Shenyu reached out his hand to it, and the calf stuck out its tongue to lick his palm. It was soft, warm, and a little itchy.
Yan Shenyu couldn't stand the licking and laughed as he withdrew his hand. The little calf, however, followed, wanting to taste the salt from the sweat on his palm.
The cow's tongue was longer than expected, and Yan Shenyu couldn't dodge it, so she was licked several more times.
When it finally lost all its flavor, the calf stood quietly beside him. Its entire body was covered in fluffy fur, with its ears standing upright, making it look like a lifelike plush toy.
Yan Shenyu rubbed its ears; they felt so good that she couldn't bear to put them down.
Yan Shenyu glanced at Xie Siyan not far away and suddenly shouted, "Little Niu, Little Niu, do you think Xie Siyan is annoying? He combed my hair nicely, and without saying a word, he just started to ruffle it and made it look like a bird's nest."
“Moo moo moo,” then Yan Shenyu changed his tone and imitated the sound of a calf, “You mean that big guy over there? He’s so annoying, so fierce, he never smiles.”
"Little lamb, little lamb."
Suddenly, a voice reached Yan Shenyu's ears.
Do you think Xiao Yan will forgive us today?
Yan Shenyu: ?
He turned around and saw that Xie Siyan had caught a lamb from somewhere and was holding it in his hand, mimicking how he had talked to the cow.
The sheep in Xie Siyan's hands was tiny, with curved eyes and a soft, fluffy body; it was incredibly cute.
“Meow meow meow,” Xie Siyan also changed his tone and said expressionlessly, “I think he will definitely forgive us, after all, he is kind and gentle, cute and handsome.”
He originally wanted to imitate a sheep's voice, but he didn't have Yan Shenyu's voice-changing skills, and his voice was very flat and steady. Instead of being cute, it sounded rather comical.
Yan Shenyu couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.
But Xie Siyan was completely oblivious, and kept mimicking the little lamb's voice in a high-pitched tone: "Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan, don't be angry, okay?"
Yan Shenyu laughed until her stomach hurt, and it took her a long time to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes: "I should have recorded you on my phone so you could see how funny you were just now."
Xie Siyan took a step forward: "Aren't you angry anymore?"