Before boarding the plane in the afternoon, Song Mianfeng tried calling Lu Yin Zhen again. The mechanical female voice on the phone still repeated, “The number you dialed is powered off.” Not being able to reach Lu Yin Zhen made him feel restless. Perhaps his emotions were too obvious on his face because Wang Letian spoke to him cautiously, “What’s wrong…”

Song Mianfeng lowered his head to type a message, “I’m boarding the plane now, so I’ll turn off my phone. Shall we have dinner together tomorrow?” He thought for a moment and deleted the second half of the message, only sending, “I’m boarding the plane now and will contact you when I arrive in City S.”

After sending the message, he relaxed his furrowed brows slightly. “It’s nothing…”

The over ten hours on the plane were long and dull. Song Mianfeng couldn’t sleep, so he stared absentmindedly out the window at the clouds.

In his mind, sometimes he recalled the day they first met, when he mistakenly called Lu Yin Zhen “uncle” and Lu Yin Zhen lightly laughed; sometimes he remembered when Lu Yin Zhen gave him flowers and translated word for word the sentence “The vast universe is worthless to me, only you, this rose, are my worldly root” in his voice; and sometimes he recalled the scene of holding Lu Yin Zhen’s wrist under the table in front of his father and writing in his palm…

He could easily touch the jade bracelet hidden under his thin T-shirt, which Lu Yin Zhen had put on him himself.

Suddenly, he felt a little sad.

He was fine before boarding the plane, even saying he would take him to see the centenarian when he returned. How could it be that in just a few days, he couldn’t find Lu Yin Zhen anymore…

Wang Letian slept on the plane for a while. Before he woke up, Song Mianfeng had been staring out the window absentmindedly. Even after he woke up, Song Mianfeng remained in the same position, not moving at all. The bread and drink brought by the flight attendant were placed on the tray table, but he neither ate nor drank, resembling a meditating monk.

Wang Letian was startled and nudged his shoulder. “Song Mianfeng, are you cultivating immortality?”

They boarded the plane at three in the afternoon, and now it was almost midnight. Walking the runway was already exhausting, and after the show, they still had to retouch the photos and release them as soon as possible. He practically pulled an all-nighter, and Song Mianfeng had stayed up late the previous night too. They hadn’t even had breakfast; they hastily grabbed some food in the car on the way to the airport.

Song Mianfeng’s mood seemed off in the car, but Wang Letian didn’t think much of it. He thought it was just the aftereffects of staying up late. At the airport lounge, he did ask, but Song Mianfeng brushed it off with a “It’s nothing.”

But how could this look like nothing?

His eyes were bloodshot, his lips cracked, his complexion not great at all. Wang Letian lost his sleepiness seeing him like this.

“What’s wrong with you?” Wang Letian asked tentatively, “Did you have a fight with Lu Yin Zhen?”

“No,” Song Mianfeng rubbed his forehead. He had thought of many excuses for Lu Yin Zhen, like being busy, not checking his phone, or his phone running out of battery… But their last message was still on the day he flew to Country M. Those excuses he thought of seemed somewhat far-fetched.

“I can’t reach him,” Song Mianfeng said. “We didn’t fight; I just suddenly can’t reach him.”

Wang Letian handed him a piece of bread concisely, “Eat.”

“I’m making a big deal out of nothing. We didn’t fight, and we didn’t break up. Maybe he’s just busy and hasn’t checked his messages.”

They hadn’t even been together, so how could they break up?

Song Mianfeng stared at the bread in his hand, genuinely not feeling hungry. “He hasn’t replied to my messages these past few days, and his phone is off…”

Wang Letian furrowed his brows, unable to come up with a reasonable explanation, but he couldn’t bear to see Song Mianfeng tormenting himself like this. “Eat something first, get some rest, and after a few hours, we’ll be landing in City S. You’re worried you won’t find him when we’re back in the city?”

“If his phone is off, we’ll go to his company. If no one’s there, we’ll go to his house,” Wang Letian muttered softly. “If all else fails, we’ll call the police. A person can’t just disappear into thin air.”

Song Mianfeng managed a faint smile at his words but had no appetite. He drank some water and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes. “I’ll take a nap.”

When the plane landed, Song Mianfeng woke up. He hadn’t slept well, and when he opened his eyes, he still felt a bit groggy.

Mei Siye was waiting for them at the exit. Wang Letian and Liu Chengyin went to get their luggage, while Song Mianfeng called Lu Yin Zhen again.

Still powered off.

After leaving the airport, Liu Chengyin split from them and took a taxi with his luggage. Wang Letian put their suitcases in the trunk and turned to see Song Mianfeng still typing on his phone, head bowed.

Wang Letian asked, “Did he reply?”

After typing the last word, Song Mianfeng looked up, his expression still unpleasant. “No.”

Once they were in the car, Song Mianfeng gave an address, surprising Mei Siye who raised his eyebrows.

It was an unfamiliar address.

Wang Letian sat in the passenger seat. Just as he closed his eyes to rest, he heard Song Mianfeng give an unfamiliar address, which irritated him.

“Don’t listen to him,” Wang Letian said. “He’s lost his mind from staying up late. Let’s take him home first.”

Mei Siye glanced at Song Mianfeng through the rearview mirror. “What’s going on?”

Song Mianfeng didn’t answer, and Wang Letian, too tired to keep his eyes open, spoke naturally, “Song Mianfeng, can you go home first, get some rest, eat something, take a shower, change clothes, and then go find him?”

“Look at yourself now.”

Song Mianfeng still didn’t say anything, whether he had heard or not, Mei Siye didn’t know.

Mei Siye had wanted to ask what was going on, but seeing Wang Letian, who looked tired, fall asleep, he stopped probing and focused on driving.

When Song Mianfeng’s phone rang, he was startled and answered hurriedly, not even looking at the caller ID.

The voice on the other end shattered his expectations, and he replied with a faint “Hmm,” feeling a sense of disappointment that even he didn’t realize.

“Brother?” Song Zhanyue heard something off in his tone, “Have you arrived home?”

“Almost.”

“Oh… then get some rest, okay.”

Song Mianfeng hummed again, “I’ve been busy these past two days and didn’t have time to buy you anything. Fu Qingshan is still in Country M for a few days, so I gave him the list and asked him to help buy and send it to you.”

“Okay, no problem.” Song Zhanyue actually just called to see if he had arrived home after getting off the plane. After all, when Song Mianfeng gets busy, he tends to neglect his health and schedule, so she had to remotely supervise him. “Eat something and rest after you get home. I’ve had the house cleaned and made some food. If it gets cold, remember to heat it up in the microwave first.”

Song Mianfeng was silent for a few seconds before softly saying, “Okay, I got it.”

Thanks to Song Zhanyue’s call, Song Mianfeng’s mood had improved a lot by the time he got off the car, at least not as restless as when he first got off the plane.

Mei Siye dropped him off at the entrance of the residential area, watching him take his suitcase and backpack from the trunk. Suddenly, he asked, “Need any help?”

He asked about the luggage, and he didn’t.

Song Mianfeng waved his hand, leaving a “Thanks,” slung his bag over his shoulder, dragged his suitcase, and walked towards the gate of the community.

Swiping his card to enter, the security guard in the security room suddenly pushed open the window and called out to him, “Mr. Song?”

“I have a letter for you.”

The security guards in the community almost all knew the residents, and since Song Mianfeng was handsome, the security guard had an even deeper impression of him.

These days, fewer and fewer people write letters, and the packages stored in the security room are mostly parcels that the homeowners cannot collect in time. It was rare to have someone store letters, so the security guard naturally always kept an eye out, waiting for Song Mianfeng to return and hand the letter to him personally.

“My letter?” Song Mianfeng was stunned for a moment, reaching out to take it.

It was a very ordinary envelope with only “Song Mianfeng (Receiver)” written on it, no address, sender, or postage stamp. The seal was pasted shut and had not been opened.

Song Mianfeng felt the handwriting on the envelope was somewhat familiar. “When was this letter sent?”

“On the 13th,” the security guard thought for a moment and said, “It was a young man who asked me to pass it to you.”

The 13th… the day he went to Country M.

Song Mianfeng rubbed the name on the envelope for a moment, then smiled lightly.

He thanked the security guard and didn’t rush to open the letter. He carried his luggage back home, heated up the meal, ate, took a shower, changed his clothes, and then sat at his desk to open the letter.

He opened it very carefully, tearing along the seal bit by bit. After tearing it open, he felt the thin paper inside, breathed a sigh of relief, and then slowly unfolded the letter.