In a half-drunken state, Gu Wenxi slept particularly long. When he woke up the next day, the bed by the wall was empty. Du Yunyan had taken an early train and had presumably already left.

He vaguely remembered that as he was almost asleep last night, Du Yunyan had brushed back his hair and wiped his face and hands. Unfortunately, his mind was too foggy at the time to fully appreciate it. He also didn’t wake up early enough today to see him off.

Gu Wenxi slowly got up and suddenly noticed a neatly packaged mango cake and a box of milk on the bedside table. Under the cake was a note, written in the same familiar handwriting:

[I asked the service staff to clean the room later. Remember to eat breakfast when you wake up. I’ve gone back first. — Yunyan]

He lay back down on the bed, holding the note and reading it over several times. The words “I’ve gone back first” felt as if they were saying “I’ll be waiting for you.”

It wasn’t that Gu Wenxi was overconfident. Du Yunyan always spoke in a roundabout way, and each straightforward line seemed to have a deeper meaning. Gu Wenxi had gotten used to deciphering his hidden thoughts, finding it quite enjoyable.

He had previously received three notes from Du Yunyan, all tucked into a planner. But since he didn’t have the planner with him, he decided to keep the new note in his wallet for now.

After a quick wash, he opened the white box containing the cake.

Gu Wenxi began to enjoy the breakfast with the wrapped cake.

Last time he left home impulsively without a clear destination or timeframe, without even saying goodbye; this time, he had decided to live in another place, and he would inevitably need his family’s consent, especially from his father.

Gu Yuching did not force him to stay at the company, but could he accept his child settling in a completely unfamiliar environment? Pingliang Village was considered to have relatively good material conditions in the rural areas, but compared to the metropolitan area where they lived, it was still far behind, and there was no comparison in terms of convenience.

Gu Yuching had also been wanting to talk to his son about the future. Both of his sons were academically talented and had excellent practical abilities among their peers. The younger son, Gu Wenheng, was methodical and highly rational, studying finance at a prestigious university and showing a strong interest in working in the family business in the future. Gu Wenxi, on the other hand, had been carefree since childhood, lacking perseverance in his actions, acting on impulse, although he was smart enough to keep up with his studies. After graduating from college, he didn’t even look for a formal job, doing one thing today and another thing tomorrow, which seemed like loafing around in Gu Yuching’s eyes, causing him some dissatisfaction.

On a Saturday afternoon, Gu Wenxi, who returned to the Gu family’s residence, knocked on the door of his father’s study.

“Come in.”

“Dad.”

Gu Yuching was writing something on the large desk, and Gu Wenxi walked straight over and sat across from him.

“Wenxi, have you figured out what you want to do?” Gu Yuching guessed the topic Gu Wenxi wanted to discuss without needing to look up.

Gu Wenxi said solemnly, “Yes, I’ve come—to bid you farewell.”

The steel pen in Gu Yuching’s hand almost poked a hole in the paper. He slowly raised his head, took off the flower glasses perched on his nose.

---

In the middle of February, the weather in the mountains was sometimes cloudy and sometimes sunny. A few patches of rapeseed flower fields between the villages started to bloom one after another, and the dazzling golden color caught the eye as one passed by.

Du Yunyan returned to the village and carefully stored the letters left by Zheng Yun. Zheng Yun had a deep foundation in calligraphy, and Du Yunyan also loved writing. Their initial correspondence was because of Zheng Yun’s sentence, “Your handwriting is very spiritual, I like it. If you’re willing, you can write to me often.” Unfortunately, perhaps no one would have the patience to read his letters in the future and reply with the same enthusiasm.

Life in the village went on as usual. Uncle Sheng and his wife had just returned from the city, and the elderly couple seemed to be doing well during this period, with better complexion than before. Yan Yan’s father had left home for work again a few days ago, and just as the elementary school had started, that weekend Du Yunyan found Yan Yan lingering at the entrance of the guesthouse, looking very troubled.

Du Yunyan was tidying up the front yard, sweeping some fallen leaves. When Yan Yan approached, he temporarily put down the broom. “Is it because of a question you can’t do?”

She shook her drooping head, saying nothing.

The little girl looked very unhappy, and Du Yunyan didn’t ask her anything. Instead, he suggested, “I made strawberry juice. Do you want some?”

Her eyes flickered slightly, then she followed him into the house.

The autumn-planted strawberries had long been ripe. The old man surnamed Du, who ran the farmhouse at the village entrance, also managed a picking garden. Du Yunyan bought a lot of strawberries from him and had just squeezed some juice in the morning.

Yan Yan liked sweet drinks, so Du Yunyan added a little honey to the glass he gave her.

“Thank you, Uncle Yunyan!” She took the glass and drank a big sip, showing a faint smile.

Du Yunyan guessed that she had something on her mind, but he was not accustomed to probing into others’ hearts. The little girl’s character was easy to understand. She couldn’t hide things, so he would wait for her to speak out when she was ready.

However, after Yan Yan had drunk more than half of her juice, she suddenly asked him, “Uncle Yunyan, do you miss Uncle Gu?”

Du Yunyan was caught off guard. “Why do you think that?”

“Because you had a good relationship with him.”

Both of them had recently left Du Yunyan’s side, but she didn’t mention Yun Han, but rather asked about Gu Wenxi. Of course, if asked why this ten-year-old girl had such a question, she probably couldn’t explain it herself.

Du Yunyan found it difficult to answer, thinking about whether she missed her family. “Are you missing your dad?”

Yan Yan shook her head again. “Actually, in a few months, I’ll go to the city with my mom to find dad.”

“Really,” he had heard Yan Yan’s mother mention this last year, but he didn’t expect them to leave so soon, “then you can reunite as a family, right?”

After saying this, Du Yunyan suddenly realized her dilemma: “Is it that you’re reluctant to leave here?”

“Yeah,” she nodded vigorously twice, “I want to go find my dad, but I also really like it here. And after leaving, I’ll miss you, Grandpa Sheng, Grandma Liu, and, and…”

“Du Xinyu too?”

Her face blushed slightly, but she didn’t deny it. She nodded blankly, then asked Du Yunyan, “Uncle Yunyan, will he forget about me?”

Even if children of this age had some budding emotions, they still retained their innocent nature, and their thinking about issues wouldn’t be overly complicated or long-term.

“Yan Yan,” Du Yunyan patted her shoulder, “if you can’t figure it out now, just leave it to time. You’re both still young, with endless possibilities in the future.”

Her mouth pouted slightly, seeming somewhat dissatisfied with this answer. “Uncle Yunyan, that’s like not saying anything at all.”

“Yeah,” Du Yunyan admitted, “because some things you have to find the answers to yourself. It’s actually a kind of pleasure.”

Whether these two children will meet again in the near future or each have their own new lives, Du Yunyan couldn’t predict, nor did he want to use formalistic clichés to comfort Yan Yan.

But if the one she confided in was Gu Wenxi, perhaps she would get a different answer.

Yan Yan remained somewhat confused and silent for a while. The wind chimes at the door rang countless times, and she lifted her head, no longer asking about Du Xinyu: “Uncle Yunyan, will Uncle Gu come back again?”

Du Yunyan gazed at the swinging wind chimes and moved his lips slightly. “I don’t know.”

---

“You’re going to live in Pingliang Village?”

“Yes.”

Gu Wenxi carefully observed Gu Yuching’s expression, surprised, puzzled… but not overly angry.

He omitted the details about Du Yunyan, uncertain if his father could accept that he was leaving for another man was one aspect; more importantly, he didn’t want to show in front of Gu Yuching that he was leaving for someone else. They hadn’t even truly been together yet, involving him prematurely might make Gu Yuching develop a dislike for Du Yunyan from the beginning.

“I understand,” Gu Yuching said with a cold expression. “I’ve always hoped you could find your own pursuits and have your own life goals. So, is this the life you’ve been seeking so hard for?”

“Yes.”

“Alright,” Gu Yuching said, “You’re already grown up, I can’t interfere with your freedom. But if you still see me as your father, how about we make a deal?”

“What deal?”

Gu Yuching stood up from his seat and said in a low voice, “Work at the company for a month first.”

Gu Wenxi was very surprised. “Didn’t you say I didn’t have to stay at the company?”

“I did say that,” Gu Yuching stared at him directly, “that’s under the premise that you have other more suitable things to do. Now that you’ve made such an outrageous decision, I have to reassess you.”

“Reassess?”

“Or test,” he turned slightly, “Wenxi, you grew up here and are familiar with this life. You interned at the company before and didn’t encounter too many difficulties… Even if you don’t like this environment, you can’t say you’re not good at it, right? If you can’t stand working in your own field for just one month, why do you think you can live in such a completely unfamiliar environment?”

Gu Wenxi began to understand: “You think my decision to go there is impulsive?”

“Don’t rush to turn it down,” Gu Yuching continued, “I know you have a strong personality and definitely won’t admit it, but as long as you have enough awareness, a little hardship before that shouldn’t be unbearable, right?

“You can choose a suitable position for yourself, because it’s only for a month, the salary won’t be too high, but you can gain valuable experience in exchange for your work.”

“Then after taking this money and leaving, you can’t touch anything belonging to the Gu family for at least a year. Of course, if you change your mind after a month and think this place is still good, or if you can’t bear it and come running back before a year, then the Gu family will welcome you anytime.”

After saying these things, Gu Yuching faced him again, waiting for his response.

“Alright,” after a brief moment of thought, Gu Wenxi met his gaze, “Okay, it’s a deal.”