Chapter 693: Sunny Day's Heartbreak
In Gaoligong Mountain, Fan Peng and his team were also busy.
The area where villagers used to plant Amomum tsao-ko had been abandoned for several years, and recently, the tree canopies on both sides had grown and reconnected.
The research team planned a new route for the Skywalker gibbons, hoping this time the single male gibbon from Grandpa and Grandma's family could meet his cousin.
Once everything was ready, Li Xing and Fan Peng set off!
The first day of searching for the male gibbon was not very successful, so they returned to the village.
On the second day, they continued searching and found signs of the male gibbon!
The staff were now very familiar with the process. They first played a love song to attract the male gibbon's attention.
Then they opened the microphone to connect him with his cousin.
Fan Peng raised his binoculars, carefully observing the male gibbon's movements.
"Oooh, oooh~~"
The male gibbon squatted on a tree trunk, listening quietly for a while, then tentatively called out.
He then stood up, kicked off a branch, and using its elasticity, lightly jumped to another trunk two meters away.
Reaching the top of this tree, he surveyed his territory from the high vantage point, looking for his cousin!
Several kilometers away, the cousin was still lonely, hugging her knees and squatting on a tree!
Hearing the male gibbon's call, she perked up, her eyes seeming to sparkle.
She raised her neck and softly sang back.
My beloved, where are you?
The male gibbon responded passionately!
"Oh, oh, oh, oooh~~~"
I'm here! Wait for me to find you!
He gracefully swung through the air, heading towards the microphone.
Singing love songs while swiftly moving between trees, his movements were fluid and beautiful.
The male gibbon was much more proactive than the female!
The staff hurriedly moved to guide the male gibbon along the planned route.
Sometimes he would veer off course, and the duration of their "phone calls" was uncertain, depending on mood and signal, making it tricky to steer him back on track.
At the point where the tree canopies reconnected, the male gibbon passed through smoothly.
This was an area he had never reached before!
For several days, he crossed numerous ridges.
With each ridge crossed, he got closer to his cousin.
At a critical moment, fearing they might lose the male gibbon, Fan Peng said, "Let's tough it out and stay in the mountains tonight!"
Li Xing saw the other staff preparing and asked, "Mr. Fan, we didn't bring tents. Aren't you worried about the dampness?"
Fan Peng pointed to a ranger who was chopping down branches with lush leaves using a large machete.
"Don't worry, we have sleeping bags. We'll bake the leaves over the fire to drive away insects, then lay them on the ground. It'll be soft and warm."
Li Xing was intrigued, "I've been on many trips with you guys, but this is the first time staying in the mountains."
"Yeah, we usually don't stay in the mountains because we'd need to carry extra stuff, but today's a special case."
"By the way, isn't it dangerous at night, like getting bitten by a venomous snake?"
Fan Peng laughed, "Snakes avoid us. They won't attack unless we step on them. Actually, the scariest thing in the mountains isn't encountering a venomous snake, but accidentally getting a phone signal from Laos or Myanmar and facing a huge data bill."
Li Xing couldn't help but laugh. His iPhone turned into a brick as soon as he entered the mountains, which might be a blessing in disguise.
They spent the night under the starlit sky, listening to the sounds of insects and occasional bird calls.
The next morning, the soft dawn light filtered through the leaves, bathing everyone.
"Ooooh~ oooh~~"
The melodious calls of the gibbons echoed through the nearby mountains.
The gibbons' calls were the best alarm clock, and everyone got up.
The mosquitoes were quite numerous, but baking the leaves seemed effective; they didn't get many bites.
Li Xing and his team washed their faces in a nearby stream, had some breakfast, and continued guiding the male gibbon!
In the morning, the mountains were still shrouded in mist.
By noon, the bright sunlight turned the forest into a golden spectacle.
The male gibbon finally reached the edge of his cousin's family's territory!
Separated by a valley, he could now see his cousin.
"Ooooh~ ooooh~~"
Hearing the distant calls from the opposite mountain, the male gibbon was puzzled!
The previous calls had always felt a bit off.
After all, they were connected via the internet, and the signal affected the sound quality.
Standing on a tree trunk, he looked far into the distance and suddenly saw his cousin!
He spread his arms in disbelief and walked to a spot with sparse leaves to get a clearer view.
His excited voice rose several pitches, singing loudly, "I've been searching so hard for you!"
His cousin also saw the male gibbon from afar!
She stood up excitedly on the tree trunk.
For so many years, this was the first time she saw a male gibbon other than her cousin's family!
The two gibbons sang passionately together!
After a long-distance online relationship, they finally met in person!
The staff were also thrilled, smiling with joy!
"Oh my, getting them to fall in love was so hard!"
"Yeah, it wasn't easy!"
Understanding where each gibbon lived in this forest, studying their behavior patterns, and trying various methods.
Each ridge crossed represented thousands of hours of effort!
Li Xing took a couple of photos and sighed, "Love knows no bounds, mountains and seas can be overcome!"
Fan Peng said, "Alright, let's wrap it up!"
The two gibbons singing love songs had to handle the rest themselves.
As matchmakers, they could only help this far; staying longer might interfere with the gibbons' interaction.
Next, the male gibbon had to overcome another challenge.
This was the territory of his cousin's family. The cousin was a relative, so she was occasionally driven away even though she lived on the edge. As an unfamiliar outsider, the male gibbon would definitely face conflict if he tried to enter.
If the two gibbons hit it off, the cousin would leave this area and follow the male gibbon to establish their own new territory.
...
Fang Ye also received the good news!
While happy for the male gibbon and his cousin, he felt a bit sorry for Sunny Day.
Sigh, this kid used to chat with his cousin frequently a few months ago, overjoyed.
Recently, he wasn't needed for the chats anymore and seemed quite down, even losing interest in playing with his younger brother.
For the first time in his life, he experienced the pain of heartbreak.
As the saying goes, "I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the light."
Only time could heal his emotional wounds.