The Withered Tree Always Welcomes Spring chapter 47

After three days of continuous torrential rain, the sky finally cleared. Alongside flood relief efforts, authorities repaired the collapsed mountain roads. Two days later, the path into the county town finally reopened, allowing more relief personnel, including Chen Xian and his group, to leave.

There were only two vehicles leaving the county town. Chen Xian’s group sat in the last row of a bus. Through the window, family members of pregnant women they had saved were trying to give Chen Xian eggs.

Chen Xian declined, “Food is scarce now. You should keep these for the pregnant women.”

The family insisted that Chen Xian accept them. Seeing this, Wu Bie swiftly took the eggs. “You’ve gone to such trouble for a few eggs. The roads are open, the rain has stopped, and food isn’t so scarce anymore. If you won’t take them, I will. It’s going to be a long trip back to our province, and don’t come looking for me when you’re hungry.”

“Eh!” Chen Xian wanted to say something, but Wu Bie had already taken the eggs and moved to the other side.

Only after Chen Xian’s group accepted the eggs did the family agree to leave. Shen Jixue bid farewell to Boss Wang and a few colleagues. The bus started, its engine roaring as it slowly moved forward, shaking slightly.

They were on their way.

In his heart, Shen Jixue silently repeated, “We’re going back.” Though the roads were repaired, the danger of landslides remained. Chen Xian and Wu Bie had been busy rescuing people these past days, and even on the bus, they didn’t dare to rest. It was only when the bus had completely left the mountains that they breathed a sigh of relief.

It was already dark when they entered the city. After a whole day of bumps, they found a nearby inn to rest. Originally, a single room would have sufficed, but with Shen Jixue along, Wu Bie reluctantly took a separate room.

He was too tired to argue anymore. He took the key from the boss and pointed to Chen Xian standing beside him. “He’ll pay.”

Chen Xian pursed his lips, took out his wallet to pay the deposit, and heard Wu Bie asking the boss for a charger. They had rushed here and didn’t expect it to take so long; their phones were already dead.

The landlady took out a shabby charger from a drawer and glanced between the three of them. “Twenty yuan deposit for the charger.”

“He’ll pay,” Wu Bie snatched the charger and headed upstairs without looking back.

The conditions at the inn near the station were poor; there was no hot water readily available, so they had to fetch it from the water room. They managed with a kettle of warm water to wash up.

Early the next morning, they boarded another bus back to the neighboring province. Perhaps due to exhaustion from these days, despite resting the night before, Chen Xian and Wu Bie were still drowsy. The journey back to the province posed no threat of mudslides, so they dozed off once they were on the bus.

Shen Jixue couldn’t sleep. He opened the window, letting the warm breeze brush over his face. He was filled with excitement and joy, listening intently to every sound. These days apart from Chen Xian had felt like a dream, and now they were together again.

It felt unreal, or perhaps, it was still a dream, fueled by his longing for Chen Xian.

The atmosphere in the bus was somewhat dull. There was the sound of the engine, the rush of wind, and various noises outside the window, but hardly any voices inside the bus. Everyone was dozing off.

Everyone was asleep, except Shen Jixue. He cherished this moment of solitude, turning his head and softly calling Chen Xian’s name.

“Chen Xian?”

After calling out, Shen Jixue held his breath. The only response was Chen Xian’s light breathing; he was still asleep.

A strange feeling surged within Shen Jixue, an itchy sensation that was quiet yet unbearable, making it hard for him to breathe.

After hesitating for a moment, he slowly reached out. His fingertips first touched Chen Xian’s T-shirt, feeling the warmth of his body temperature. Motivated, he covered Chen Xian’s hand with his own.

The palm was warm, feeling something beating underneath. Shen Jixue felt fortunate; under his palm was Chen Xian’s beating heart.

Chen Xian remained unresponsive, and Shen Jixue grew bolder. He extended his other hand, both hands gently caressing up Chen Xian’s chest, feeling his collarbone, then his Adam’s apple, and finally stopping at his chin.

Chen Xian’s features had been somewhat blurry in Shen Jixue’s memory, but in this moment, they became clear. Shen Jixue’s hands continued from Chen Xian’s chin to his cheek. In these days, Chen Xian hadn’t had time to groom himself, and stubble had grown on his face.

Shen Jixue grew even more curious, wanting to see what Chen Xian looked like. He wanted desperately to see him with his own eyes.

“Mm…” Chen Xian couldn’t help but murmur as his face itched. He turned his head slightly, sunlight pouring in through the window. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting in the bright light. When his vision cleared, Shen Jixue had already withdrawn his hand.

Shen Jixue, pretending innocence, asked “Chen Xian, are you awake?”

“Mm.” Chen Xian coughed lightly, peering past Shen Jixue to look out the window. “Where are we? Are we in our province yet?”

Shen Jixue couldn’t answer his question, but the road signs had already given Chen Xian the answer: they were back in their province.

Excited, he turned his head. “Almost there, almost there.”

Hearing Chen Xian’s cheerful tone, Shen Jixue also felt happy. He was excited to get there faster, but happiness was always fleeting. His longing was insatiable; once they returned to Chen Xian’s home, they would face separation again.

Chen Xian was about to go back to work, and the nature of his job meant he was free-spirited; no one should confine him, and he didn’t need to stay home.

Even though he appeared composed, Shen Jixue still couldn’t face the separation calmly. He asked softly, “When are you setting sail?”

“Didn’t I tell you? The department’s ship went out for flood relief.” Chen Xian knew what Shen Jixue was thinking. After a pause, he said seriously, “I might not be going out again for a while. Wu Bie and a few colleagues want to go solo. We’re still in the planning stages.”

Shen Jixue suddenly looked up. His ears twitched involuntarily, and his dim pupils lit up. He didn’t quite understand what Chen Xian meant by “going solo,” but it seemed like it required a lot of money and carried significant risks. He was glad Chen Xian could stay at home with him, but he also worried for him.

“Does it require a lot of money?”

Chen Xian didn’t want to discuss money with Shen Jixue; it was stressful. “Money is definitely needed. Wu Bie and I plan to invest together. We’ll put in all the money we have at home. Anyway, I’m single now, so I’m not afraid of losing money and not being able to support a wife and child.”

He was afraid of alarming Shen Jixue too much, thinking he might worry unnecessarily, so he added, “We still haven’t finalized everything.”

Few minutes earlier…..

The bus jolted suddenly. Wu Bie’s phone in his pocket made a “ding” sound, but the engine noise was too loud. Wu Bie was drowsy and irritated by the noise. As he reached into his pocket to grab his phone, he caught sight of Shen Jixue beside him. He froze.

He couldn’t describe Shen Jixue’s expression, but he saw Shen Jixue’s hand stroke from Chen Xian’s chest up to his neck.

Every movement of Shen Jixue’s was cautious and seemed precious, as if caressing a lost treasure, afraid of waking Chen Xian. His touch was extraordinarily gentle, especially when his fingers lingered on Chen Xian’s Adam’s apple. Wu Bie involuntarily swallowed, a sour feeling rising deep in his throat.

Shen Jixue obviously couldn’t see, but when he looked at Chen Xian, a smile lingered on his lips, his eyes affectionate enough to wring water from them. He looked at Chen Xian as if…

The word stuck in Wu Bie’s throat. He felt as if he had been shocked all over, tingling all over his body. The next second, Chen Xian woke up. Wu Bie quickly turned his head, closed his eyes, and pretended to continue sleeping.

With this act, he slept until they got off the bus. When Chen Xian woke him up, his mind was still groggy. He looked at Chen Xian holding Shen Jixue’s hand and shivered.

“Why are you startled? We’ve arrived.”

Wu Bie pushed the two in front of him away and rushed out of the door.

Chen Xian quickly supported Shen Jixue. Unable to help himself, he complained, “What’s he doing?”

The three of them took a tricycle at the station’s entrance. Wu Bie was still sulking and ignored anyone who spoke to him. No one knew what he was upset about.

When they got off and walked towards the dormitory compound, Wu Bie, who was at the forefront, suddenly remembered something. He took out his phone and glanced at it. He finally saw the message Zhang ge had sent him. He forced himself to suppress his annoyance. “Zhang ge messaged me. He probably couldn’t reach us on the phone and wanted to discuss the ship. Shall we go find him now?”

Upon hearing that it was about the ship, Shen Jixue immediately said he had no problem and let Chen Xian and Wu Bie go handle it. He didn’t want to delay Chen Xian from earning money.

Chen Xian glanced at his and Wu Bie’s dirty clothes. “Let’s change first.”

After changing clothes, Chen Xian exchanged a few words with Shen Jixue and hurried downstairs to meet Wu Bie. Just as Shen Jixue was about to close the door, the neighboring iron door creaked open.

“Why do I hear Xiao Chen’s voice?” Aunt Wang peeked out and was somewhat surprised to see Shen Jixue. “Xiao Shen, you’re back?”

Shen Jixue nodded. “Yeah, I came back after dealing with my dad’s affairs.”

Aunt Wang sighed, “Such is life.” Then she asked, “Has Chen Xian returned?”

Before Shen Jixue could answer, Aunt Wang continued, “Jiang Ying had come looking for him several times. She couldn’t reach him by phone, and there was no one at home.”

Shen Jixue hesitated. Just as he was about to speak, Aunt Wang added, “She didn’t say what it was about, but she seemed quite anxious, coming over several times.” Seeing Shen Jixue’s troubled expression, Aunt Wang asked, “Xiao Shen, are you not feeling well?”

Shen Jixue composed himself. “I’m fine. Thank you, Aunt Wang. I’ll tell Chen Xian about it later.”