“Yunyan ge, you’ve done a great job this time!”

Stepping down the last step of the stairs, a vigorous male voice fell on Gu Wenxi’s ears. It was the young man he had met at the inn on the first day, Gu Wenxi was quite good at remembering people.

“Mr. Gu?” Du Yunyan’s gaze shifted to the stairs. “Would you like to try the freshly baked cake?”

His eyebrows relaxed, his spirits lifted, and his tone seemed a bit higher. Gu Wenxi could tell that his mood was good, at least different from his cold demeanor yesterday.

That young man… was his name “Yun Han”? Gu Wenxi glanced at him, they were probably discussing making cakes just now.

“Mr. Gu?”

“Sure,” he walked up to the two. “Thank you.”

The cakes were delicate flower-shaped, each only the size of a teacup. They seemed to be made from the same mold, probably baked for a short time, steaming hot.

Du Yunyan brewed red tea to accompany the cakes, but he and the young man named “Yun Han” didn’t sit down to enjoy them together. Instead, they walked behind the bar counter and chatted.

“Are you still planting tea trees next year?”

“I… may have other plans.”

…

The dining area was not large, their conversation drifted intermittently, revolving around village life, harvests, and the like. Although Gu Wenxi was somewhat interested, he was not from here, inevitably listening in a fog; a few minutes later, their conversation became completely incomprehensible background noise.

“Yunyan ge, I’m going back now!”

When Yun Han left, he carried some pomegranates and cake. Du Yunyan escorted him outside, then turned back and entered the inn, making the wind chime on the door ring.

“The cake tastes good, doesn’t it?” 

His mood seemed really good, even taking the initiative to strike up a conversation with Gu Wenxi.

“Yeah, did you make them yourselves?”

“Yes,” Du Yunyan’s cheeks were slightly flushed. “Yun Han is better at making Western pastries than I am.”

“Where did you buy the molds from?” Although there was a town near Pingliang Village, Gu Wenxi didn’t think they could buy such unique molds there.

“Of course, we bought them online.”

“Online?” Gu Wenxi asked without hesitation, “Do you shop online?”

Du Yunyan could guess his thoughts but didn’t care much, “If there’s a convenient way, why not use it?”

“Where are you going?” Gu Wenxi asked subconsciously as he noticed him going out again after just two minutes.

“Just wiping my motorcycle,” Du Yunyan pushed open the glass door with one hand, “Feel free to do as you please.”

He seemed to be in a good mood, wearing a smile all morning. Although it might not be obvious on others, any subtle changes on Du Yunyan’s icy face could be easily noticed.

The only special thing, perhaps, was that someone had come over early in the morning.

Resting his chin on his right hand, Gu Wenxi glanced out the window. Du Yunyan was washing his motorcycle in the front yard, with two dogs lazily lying behind him.

Gu Wenxi had assumed that Du Yunyan had a car, otherwise how could he change the tires himself? However, in his yard, there was still only his SUV parked, and no other vehicles could be seen. It seemed that Du Yunyan’s only means of transportation was this two-seater motorcycle.

Lost in thought, the plate in front of him was completely empty, leaving only some cake crumbs. He put down his small fork and stood up.

---

Gu Wenxi still chose to go out in the afternoon and walked to the riverside he passed by yesterday. However, today he walked far along the riverbank, and the small path he took gradually disappeared from view. The river was wider here, the riverbank overgrown with weeds, and various unnamed trees densely distributed.

The water flowed as calmly as yesterday, but there were more protruding rocks along the water’s edge, making it uncomfortable to walk. Gu Wenxi didn’t get too close, only casting his gaze across the river.

He adjusted the camera’s focus, searching for the right angle to take pictures. Just as he was about to press the shutter, something hard suddenly hit his shoulder.

“Whoa—” He lowered his head and saw a fruit rolling under his feet, into the thicket.

“I’m sorry, are you okay?”

Gu Wenxi followed the sound and saw someone on the tree beside him. Upon closer inspection, Du Yunyan emerged from among the branches.

“Why is it you?”

“Picking fruits!” He slightly raised the cloth bag hanging in front of his chest, “Just dropped one accidentally.”

“Do you need help?” Gu Wenxi couldn’t think of what help he could offer, so he asked out of courtesy.

“It’s fine, I’ll come down in a moment.”

“Be careful!”

The tree was nearly ten meters high, and although Du Yunyan hadn’t climbed to the highest point, Gu Wenxi still sweated for him. He didn’t know how he managed to climb up there.

Du Yunyan slung the cloth bag over his shoulder, carefully stepping on the thicker branches, moving down little by little from the top. It was not easy to reach the nearest point to the ground. However, the branch he was holding onto was not very stable. Just as he was about to jump down, it broke, causing him to lose his balance and his body tilted.

“Be careful!”

Standing under the tree, Gu Wenxi nervously rushed forward to catch him. Du Yunyan fell straight into his arms, luckily Gu Wenxi exerted enough force to support them both from falling to the ground.

Having intimate contact with the same man in an ambiguous manner for two days in a row, Gu Wenxi felt a bit embarrassed and didn’t dare to breathe.

After Du Yunyan regained his balance, he moved away from his embrace, his expression unchanged. “The soil here is soft, it’s okay even if you fall.”

They were standing on a dirt road covered with layers of tree leaves. Further towards the riverbank, there would be more hard rocks.

“Oh.” But the ground is so dirty. Gu Wenxi couldn’t figure out Du Yunyan. Sometimes he seemed elegant and refined, sometimes completely unconstrained.

“How did you come to this side?” Du Yunyan asked as he walked towards the riverside.

“Just walking around,” Gu Wenxi followed, “Isn’t it interesting to wander around in unfamiliar places?”

“Aren’t you afraid of getting lost?”

“I’m good at recognizing paths,” Gu Wenxi jumped onto a wider rock surface, “Besides, I have a phone navigation if anything.”

“Sometimes the signal is poor in mountainous areas,” Du Yunyan said without looking up as he washed two fruits in the river.

“It’s okay, I can remember,” Gu Wenxi squatted on a stone, watching him wash the fruits. The gravel at the bottom of the river was clearly visible. “Is it clean with this water?”

“It’s clean,” Du Yunyan stood up again and handed him a washed wild fruit, “Even if it’s not that clean, it’s okay to eat.”

Gu Wenxi wasn’t particularly obsessive about cleanliness, so he immediately took it from him. This fruit was smaller than an apple but larger than a hawthorn, pale red in color. He had never seen it in the city before.

Gu Wenxi asked with a sour tone, “What is this?”

“Dew Red Fruit.”

“Why have I never heard of it before?”

Du Yunyan began to walk back, “Because I named it.”

“You named it?” Gu Wenxi found it curious; he couldn’t figure out the significance of this name. “Why?”

“It’s not very complicated,” Du Yunyan slowed his pace, “This kind of fruit ripens every October in the lunar calendar, and in folklore, the tenth lunar month is called ‘Dew Month’, and it’s red.”

“Is that all?”

“Also, there’s the poem by Zeng Gong, ‘Dew red, smoke purple, can’t surpass the charm’. The tree blooms very brightly when it flowers, so it’s kind of an apt name.”

Gu Wenxi didn’t expect to discuss poetry with someone in the mountains because of the name of a wild fruit. He stared at the fruit in his hand that he had taken a bite of, but couldn’t see anything special about it.

“You’re quite thoughtful,” he followed Du Yunyan, who had always walked two steps ahead, “But why did you name the dogs so casually?”

Du Yunyan suddenly stopped, “My mother named them.”

“And your mother now—”

“She passed away.” He resumed his previous pace.

“…I’m sorry.” Gu Wenxi couldn’t get over the fact that his mother had passed away early, and thinking about it from the other person’s perspective, he regretted bringing up the topic, which might have stirred up feelings of sadness.

“It’s okay,” Du Yunyan ate almost all the wild fruit in his hand, “How does it taste?”

Gu Wenxi took another bite and felt it was even more sour than the first bite. Did anyone really like eating this kind of fruit?

“It seems quite sour.”

“Yeah, so not many people pick them, but I think they’re not bad,” Du Yunyan stepped onto a narrow dirt road, “Let’s go this way, it’s closer.”

“And also,” he continued, “If you use sugar to pickle them, they won’t be as sour.”

“Is that so.” Gu Wenxi didn’t understand how to cook, so he just nodded in agreement.

This afternoon was probably the most Du Yunyan had spoken to him. Gu Wenxi guessed that if he talked to this person about how to make money in business, he probably wouldn’t be interested at all, but if he asked about how certain mountain specialties grew and how to eat them, he wouldn’t stop talking.

---

Upon arriving at the inn, Du Yunyan said dinner would be ready in a moment. Gu Wenxi went back to his room on the second floor, took a quick shower, changed into a clean hoodie, and put on a coat.

The phone lying on the bed started ringing, and there were only two words on the bright screen—Jiang Chen.

Gu Wenxi casually pressed the answer button, “Hello.”

“Wenxi,” Jiang Chen’s voice sounded urgent, “You finally answered my call!”

Actually, he had almost let go of the past events, they weren’t worth keeping in mind at all. But Jiang Chen’s tone made him feel uncomfortable, “You’re overthinking it. Do I need to avoid you because of this?”

“Wenxi, you…” Jiang Chen paused, “You’re still mad at me, aren’t you?”

“I said, you’re overthinking it.”

“Then why did you leave without saying goodbye? I saw the photos you took, are you okay where you are?”

“How did you see my photos?” Gu Wenxi had clearly blocked him when he posted on his Moments.

“I saw them from Bo Nian,” Jiang said helplessly, “You said you’re not mad, then why did you block me? I’ve been… waiting for you at the bar.”

“Jiang Chen,” Gu Wenxi sighed, “My world doesn’t revolve around just you, or just Liang Qian. I’m leaving, it doesn’t have much to do with you guys, so stop making it seem like one can’t live without the other, isn’t that cheesy?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone suddenly. Gu Wenxi ignored it and continued, “Since you two have feelings for each other, just live happily.”

“No,” Jiang Chen interrupted him loudly, “Wenxi, actually, she and I—it’s not what you think.”

“What is it then?”

Gu Wenxi only remembered Liang Qian saying that she had fallen in love with Jiang Chen. Did Jiang Chen not feel the same way? Then why did he cooperate with her to show affection in front of him?

Jiang Chen remained silent again, and Gu Wenxi lost patience with the quiet receiver, “That’s it then. Let bygones be bygones. I don’t want to go home now, so don’t bother me.”

“Wenxi—” he finally spoke, “I have something I want to tell you, you’ll understand once you hear it.”

“What is it?”

“I wanted to wait for you to come back before saying anything. I actually wanted to talk to you before, but then you suddenly left,” Jiang Chen’s voice sounded slightly resentful.

“Well, you could have waited. I still don’t know where I’m going next or how long I’ll be gone,” Gu Wenxi replied indifferently.

“It’s okay, I’ll wait for you. I—” Jiang Chen seemed to chuckle, “You’ve always been like this, enjoying yourself outside. I understand. I was just afraid you wouldn’t talk to me anymore, but now… I can rest assured and continue waiting for you.”

Gu Wenxi frowned incessantly. He felt Jiang Chen’s tone today was very strange, not purely out of guilt, but it gave him goosebumps.

“Okay, goodbye.” He hung up the phone and sat back on the bed.

Gu Wenxi interacted with people entirely according to his mood. He could chat with anyone on the surface, but his close friends were Jiang Chen and Zeng Bo Nian. They had known each other since their freshman year. They were even assigned to the same dormitory. However, Gu Wenxi wasn’t accustomed to living in a collective dormitory. He rented an apartment off-campus and often invited them to visit.

In their sophomore year, the three of them formed a band, gaining some popularity on campus for a while. However, with Gu Wenxi taking a year off and the band disbanding, it gradually faded away. During his year off, Gu Wenxi traveled alone, covering almost half of China and some countries in Europe.

He leaned back on the bed, closing his eyes slightly. Before that trip, when he went out drinking with Jiang Chen and the others, Jiang Chen had also said he would wait for him to return to school. It’s just that that day’s words were not as sour as they were now.

What did he want to tell him?

“Mr. Gu!”

Gu Wenxi quickly snapped back to reality, got up, and walked to the window. Du Yunyan was standing in the backyard, just below the room, with his hands cupped around his mouth, shouting at him, “You can come for dinner now.”

“I’ll be right there!” Gu Wenxi waved at him.

Before closing the window, he leaned out and glanced southwest, where the setting sun hung halfway between two mountains. A faint elegant pinkish-red thin cloud surrounded the now dimmed halo, the golden and red edges blurred, almost merging into one.

It turned out that from this room, he could see such a gentle sunset.

Gu Wenxi’s mood instantly improved.

---

^[1]Author’s note:

The fruits are made up, and the poem is from Zeng Gong’s “Peony Pavilion.”