In all his years, Gu Wenxi had walked countless paths, but this was the first time he experienced the sensation of falling from a mountain. The world flashed before his eyes, and the ground seemed to flip as he fell. Instinctively, he braced himself with his hands to protect his head, but then gravity pulled him downhill, and he rolled uncontrollably, unable to stop.

In that moment of danger, the mountain was not steep, nor were there large rocks. Gu Wenxi reacted quickly, grabbing onto a not-too-thick dead branch to stop his fall, then slowly finding his footing and standing up.

It was Du Yunyan above who turned pale with fright. The incident happened so suddenly that he didn’t even have time to grab Gu Wenxi. He watched as Gu Wenxi rolled past him, and when he stood up below, he was still shaken.

“Wenxi!” Du Yunyan took a few steps towards him, wanting to help him up.

“I’m fine!” Gu Wenxi shouted loudly, carefully stabilizing himself and slowly walking back. When he was close, he reached out and grabbed Du Yunyan’s hand.

He was uninjured except for a noticeable pain in his right hand. Apart from the scratches on the back of his hand and wrist, there might also be some joint bruises, but fortunately, there were no fractures.

Du Yunyan looked at the conspicuous red marks, feeling a wave of fear. If they had gone to a steeper mountain today, or if Gu Wenxi had hit a rock… the consequences would have been unthinkable.

“Good thing I reacted quickly,” Gu Wenxi thought. He could endure a little pain in his hand, as long as he didn’t end up disabled or with a concussion. He even started to feel lucky, patting his hands together to dust off the dirt. “Ouch—” The pain came again with the pat, and he noticed some tiny blood spots on his palms, indicating minor bruises.

“Don’t move,” Du Yunyan took his hand and examined it, then took out a tissue from his pocket and carefully wiped off the dirt and gravel. “Where else did you get hurt?”

“None…” Gu Wenxi wasn’t so particular. If he fell, he fell. But seeing Du Yunyan’s serious expression, he couldn’t help but tell the truth, “My knee hit something hard, it hurts a bit.”

Du Yunyan adjusted the bag on his shoulder. “Let’s go back.”

“Are we just leaving like this? We haven’t picked much yet.”

“We’ll talk about it later.”

Du Yunyan turned around directly, took a few steps downhill, then turned back and reached out his hand to him.

“Is it safe here?” Gu Wenxi felt a little embarrassed at the thought that Du Yunyan might be afraid of him falling again.

Du Yunyan insisted, “It’s better to go further ahead.”

The fear of falling down the slope had long since dissipated, but Du Yunyan, out of concern for him, decided to call off today’s plan. Gu Wenxi didn’t intend to defy his wishes and obediently followed him down the mountain.

Du Yunyan remained silent, as if he hadn’t fully recovered. Gu Wenxi knew he was a worrier, and his own fall must have scared him. So, he tried to lighten the mood with some small talk. “Guess what I saw just now?”

“What?”

“A snake—so long.” Gu Wenxi gestured with his hands.

Du Yunyan stopped walking. “And that’s why you fell?”

“Yeah.” Thinking back to the slippery creature, he still broke out in a cold sweat.

“I forgot about this,” Du Yunyan sighed. “People around here are used to it and not afraid. Besides, there are no venomous snakes here. Generally, if you don’t provoke them, they won’t attack.”

“Is that so…” Gu Wenxi shrugged slightly. “I still find it scary.”

Du Yunyan gestured for him to come closer. “Actually, snakes are considered auspicious symbols in folklore. Encountering them may not necessarily be a bad thing. It’s best not to harm them, or else you might take away your luck.”

“Do you believe in that too?”

“It’s not bad to believe in it a little,” Du Yunyan finally showed a faint smile. “After all, we often encounter them, so it’s good to think positively.”

“You said… we often encounter them?” Gu Wenxi was completely unsettled.

“Except in winter,” Du Yunyan comforted him. “Don’t go to the mountain alone. Stay closer to me, and you’ll get used to it over time.”

Gu Wenxi nodded slightly, but he seriously doubted whether he could ever adapt to encounters with such creatures.

Back at the inn, as soon as they entered the room, Gu Wenxi’s first action was to take off his outer clothes. The cardigan had already been torn by branches and rocks and was completely unwearable. It was a pity that Du Yunyan had just sewn a button back on for him.

He vented his frustration on the quality of the clothes. “I’m never buying from this brand again.”

“With your way of doing things, any brand would break,” Du Yunyan said indifferently, holding a small bottle in his hand and approaching him. “Here, hold out your hand.”

“What for?” Gu Wenxi suddenly became wary.

“For some medicine.”

Du Yunyan had already opened the bottle and was about to apply the ointment on the cotton.

The cotton swab dipped into the solution.

“Do you still need to apply medicine?” Gu Wenxi looked at his right hand, where only the skin was broken, and not even a drop of blood had come out.

“Just in case,” Du Yunyan didn’t back down, “Just applying a bit of iodine, it can disinfect.”

That seemed a bit exaggerated.

The cold tip of the cotton swab touched the wound, causing Gu Wenxi to gasp, as if the pain from the medicine was worse than the scratches.

Du Yunyan applied the medicine just as carefully as he had wiped away the dirt earlier. He didn’t miss any of the wounds, his eyes focused on Gu Wenxi’s hand, his long eyelashes hanging down. After finishing with the back of his hand, he moved to the wrist and palm. Hearing Gu Wenxi inhale sharply, he asked, “Does it hurt a lot?”

“It’s okay… go on.” Despite feeling like it was being blown out of proportion, Gu Wenxi rather enjoyed being cared for by Du Yunyan and obediently let him take charge.

“Take off your pants.” After applying the medicine to his hand, Du Yunyan said expressionlessly.

Gu Wenxi didn’t react at first, “What?”

Was he suggesting something indecent in broad daylight?

“I want to check your knee.”

Seems like he overthought it.

He was wearing tight pants, so he couldn’t roll up the pant legs from below, and had to unzip and slowly pull them down. There was just a bruise on his knee, no broken skin. Du Yunyan then put away the medicine bottle, instructing him to change into loose pants and rest in the room, while he prepared to go downstairs to work.

Once Du Yunyan left the room, Gu Wenxi sat on the bed in a daze. Since Wen Nan left, no one had pampered him like this. Although Gu Yuching was tolerant, he didn’t indulge him in everything. At least for minor accidents or illnesses in daily life, there wouldn’t be much special attention. And cutting off his financial resources these two times was also straightforward.

The faint smell of medicine still lingered in the air, but the areas where the medicine had been applied had already dried up. Gu Wenxi raised his right hand and lightly brushed his lips against it.

---

During this period, there were more sunny days than cloudy ones, and even when it rained, it was only for a short while, not like the endless rain of the rainy season.

The wounds on Gu Wenxi’s hand gradually healed, but the joint bruise had not fully recovered, making it difficult for him to exert force. Fortunately, he didn’t need to do anything strenuous.

One afternoon in late April, after a sudden rain shower, the sun came out again. A humid heat rose in the air, and the temperature rose.

Gu Wenxi was at the counter, organizing appointment records, when he heard the lazy tinkling of wind chimes. He looked up, “Welcome—Yun Han?”