Chapter 380 - 132: Encounter on the Snowy Mountain
The room had heating, so it wasn’t cold at all, rather it felt a bit dry.
Chen Yan entered the room, changed his shoes, locked the door, and threw himself onto the bed.
He twisted his body to take off his coat, pulled up the quilt and curled into a ball, and within two minutes, he was sound asleep.
·
When he woke up, it was already the next morning.
Chen Yan sat up in bed, habitually calling out: "Gu Xiao..."
Just as the words escaped his mouth, he suddenly realized Gu Qingyi was no longer by his side.
He paused for a moment, then smiled wryly at himself.
Sitting in bed, he looked around the room, only to find it utterly quiet, and a faint trace of loss welled up inside him.
Though he had slept well, Chen Yan felt refreshed, took a deep breath, and jumped off the bed.
First, he went into the bathroom, taking a delightful and thorough shower— those past days when he lived together with Gu Qingyi, he didn’t bathe while sick, and later, after recovering, because Gu Qingyi was in the room, Chen Yan always rushed his showers, feeling very awkward inside.
This time he scrubbed thoroughly.
Coming out of the bathroom, he took a set of clean clothes from his Alchemy Furnace and changed into them, then casually ruffled his somewhat damp hair, not bothering to dry it.
After all, he was just moving around indoors.
Feeling his stomach already growling, Chen Yan headed out.
When he checked in yesterday, he was told that breakfast was on the second floor of the hotel.
Upon reaching the second floor, he found it was a buffet restaurant—such hotel buffets are really nothing unusual, much the same everywhere.
Chen Yan entered, swiped his room card, and found a seat by the window, then took a plate and started to fetch food for himself.
As he walked along the buffet line, he noted the food was typical, the kind of elegantly arranged buffet you find in star-rated hotels.
The thing that piqued Chen Yan’s interest was a large pot of hot and steaming coarse grain porridge.
You can’t find this in the South, so Chen Yan happily served himself a big bowl and then took a few large breadsticks, along with a couple of fried eggs.
This coarse grain porridge has a rough texture, it might even scratch your throat if you savor it carefully, but... it’s fragrant!
Chen Yan devoured three bowls in one go, finishing off the breadsticks and two fried eggs, then relaxed contentedly in his chair.
His seat was by the window, with a floor-to-ceiling window beside him offering a view outside to the mountain forest...
The wide slope carved out on the hillside must be the ski resort.
When he arrived last night it was already dark, and when he got up this morning, it was still dark outside, so Chen Yan hadn’t looked out much earlier, but now as he sat by the window, he noticed that snowflakes were starting to fall outside.
It’s quite a bit of snow.
Chen Yan raised an eyebrow, picked up his phone to check the weather forecast, and made a judgment call.
He probably wouldn’t be able to leave today.
The forecast said heavy snow today, with snow in the coming days too.
Judging by the current snowfall outside, the roads would likely be piled with snow by the morning, making driving difficult.
It would take some time for officials to clear the roads.
Since there’s no urgent business to rush back to, staying here for a couple more days wouldn’t hurt.
Thinking this relaxedly to himself, Chen Yan took out his phone and snapped a few pictures of the snowy scene outside the window.
He sent them to Lu Sisi via WeChat.
Thinking about it, his finger lingered over the name "Gu Qingyi". Though he knew full well that the other had gone to another world and surely couldn’t see them, he still inexplicably sent them.
After sending the photos, Chen Yan left the restaurant and went to the front desk in the lobby on the first floor to extend his stay at the room for three more days.
Since he had decided to stay here, he might as well find something to do—he couldn’t just play with his phone in the room, could he?
Previously in Beijing, while sick, he’d already holed up in a hotel room for several days, and he really didn’t want to live like that again—besides, back then, he had Gu Qingyi for company in shared affliction; now, lying alone in a room for days, Chen Yan wouldn’t have it.
After asking a few questions at the front desk, he first headed to the hotel’s concierge, found a staff member, and fueled up his car at the hotel’s own gas station, then parked it in the underground parking lot.
Returning to the hotel, Chen Yan felt nearly frozen.
As a southerner, the thick clothes he claimed to bring were really no match for the cold here.
Well, speaking of which, in many movies and TV shows, when talking about the bitter cold in the north, there’s often a place mentioned called Ninggu Pagoda, isn’t there?
They’d say it’s a huge punishment for criminals, sending them to endure such cruel cold...
Where Chen Yan was now, it was even farther north than Ninggu Pagoda!
The ski equipment shop at the ski resort sold ski outfits which were thick enough, so Chen Yan decided to buy a set of ski clothes, even a pair of boots.
However, he wasn’t actually interested in skiing and personally didn’t like it. Faced with the enthusiastic sales pitch of ski equipment from the shop staff, Chen Yan politely declined.
Though he heard about a café intended for skiers to rest, with a great location also offering views of the snowy scenery.
Chen Yan decided to check it out.
Regarding this café, how should I put it...
Its decoration had a strong Russian feel.
A towering, bulky vibe, even the counter was made of solid wood.
When Chen Yan walked in, there weren’t many people, and he chose a seat far from the door but close to the window.