King of the Wilderness

Chapter 470: Chapter 265: After Drinking and Secrets

Max suddenly put the coffee cup in his hand on the table with a bang.

"Hey, don’t play the tragedy hero act with me." She stood up and picked up the coat hanging on the coat rack.

"With that expression on your face, it’s like you’ve just sent your own child to the battlefield. Come on, let’s not stay here."

Lin Yu’an looked up at her: "Where to?"

"My apartment, it’s just behind the research center, a five-minute walk."

Max put on her coat and raised an eyebrow at him, "I’ve got a nice bottle of Laphroaig Whiskey there. I think what you need right now isn’t coffee, but a bit of real painkiller."

They quickly arrived at Max’s apartment, which was indeed a typical geek’s room.

There wasn’t much feminine decoration; the largest piece of furniture in the living room was a massive bookshelf stretching from floor to ceiling, crammed with thick professional books and scientific journals.

On the walls were complex genetic sequence charts and maps of the Arctic Circle’s ecology. The room could hardly be called tidy.

A fleece jacket was casually draped over the sofa, and scattered data reports lay on the coffee table, but everything had a functional order.

Max took out two old-fashioned glasses from the cupboard, placing a large ice ball in each.

As she unscrewed the bottle cap of the Laphroaig Whiskey, a domineering aroma instantly filled Lin Yu’an’s nostrils.

It smelled like the intense smokiness from a campfire being extinguished, mixed with the unique scent of iodine and herbs.

This strong peaty aroma was a delicacy to those who loved it and hell to those who hated it.

At that moment, it resonated perfectly with the heavy yet resolute emotions in both their hearts.

They sat on the carpet, leaning against the sofa, with only a dim floor lamp instead of the main light.

The amber liquid in the glass slowly swirled over the ice ball, reflecting the dim light of the lamp and casting moving light spots on the glass wall.

The only sound in the room was the occasional clink of the ice.

Max was the first to break the silence.

"Regret?" Her voice was not loud, but it had a hoarse note after drinking.

"Don’t get me wrong, I one hundred percent support your decision. I’m just curious, how does it feel to make a right decision that makes you extremely pained?"

Lin Yu’an stared at the play of light and shadow in the glass, not answering immediately. He could feel the spicy liquor warming his stomach, countering the cold in his heart.

"The pain isn’t from the decision itself," he slowly began, "but from the cost that comes with making it."

"Cost?"

"Yes." Lin Yu’an raised his eyes to look at her, "My feelings, my reluctance, are the price to pay for this wild experiment."

"If I’m not willing to bear even this little cost, then the freedom I promised to December is nothing but cheap self-sentimentality."

His logic was almost ruthlessly clear, like dissecting a scientific specimen, not discussing his own emotions.

Hearing this, Max laughed lightly, "Nice words, Lin."

She leaned forward, the dim light casting sharp relief on her face, making her eyes appear particularly sharp.

"You’ve built a sturdy cage for your emotions with a perfect set of logic. You tell yourself it’s the cost, it’s the price."

"So you can comfortably savor the tragic and noble sensation of that sacrifice."

Her words, like a sharp scalpel, cut through the layers of defense Lin Yu’an constructed with reason.

Lin Yu’an did not retort, just took another sip of the drink. The impact of the liquor was stronger than before; he could feel his blood accelerating.

Seeing his silence, Max softened her tone instead, placing her glass on the ground, hugging her knees, as if sharing an observation.

"I’ve seen many so-called idealists, Lin. They fall in love with the posture of suffering for their ideals."

"But you seem different." She tilted her head, observing him closely, "You genuinely seem to feel that your pain is insignificant."

"Because it truly is insignificant." Lin Yu’an finally spoke again, his voice low and firm, "Compared to whether December can return to that endless ice field, my emotions are trivial."

The air once again fell into a peculiar silence. This time, the silence was no longer oppressive but an aftershock from a clash of thoughts.

Max found herself completely unable to see through the man before her. He was a blend of extreme rationality and extreme sensibility, like ice and fire, forcibly melded together by a strong energy.

She suddenly felt that this man, and herself, might be of the same kind.

Lonely, stubborn, loyal to a personal code within, even if that code was at odds with the world.

She looked at Lin Yu’an’s slightly heavy profile, lit by the soft yellow light, and suddenly spoke.

"Lin, are you worried that although I agreed verbally, in my heart, I might still prefer the low-risk zoo plan?"

Max’s gaze was clear and direct, clearly revealing his deepest concern.

Lin Yu’an didn’t speak, but his silence itself was a kind of acknowledgment.

Max smiled, a smile mixed with helplessness, understanding, and a touch of pride.