Stormy mountain road, drifting youth

Shi Yun responded, sounding genuinely happy as he spoke about Uncle Qu’s daughter.

An Huaixu walked half a step behind him, watching him, and couldn’t help but lift the corners of his lips.

As they walked along the small path, Shi Yun gradually forgot about the silent Ani and the camera operator behind them, and unconsciously relaxed.

Passing familiar scenery, he would tell An Huaixu about his childhood, like climbing high to see far, picking flowers from trees, sliding down steep slopes, and so on—every place was a happy sanctuary for him.

An Huaixu listened from the side, occasionally humming in agreement.

Although he didn’t show it on his face, he had already painted a complete picture of Shi Yun’s childhood in his mind.

He even felt as if a ‘little dirtball’ was jumping and skipping around him, following Shi Yun’s words.

Shi Yun noticed that An Huaixu was staring at an empty space, revealing a rare tenderness.

He followed An Huaixu’s gaze, tilting his head in confusion.

Before he could speak, he suddenly caught sight of a shadow moving by a tree not far away.

He was startled at first, but after taking a closer look, it turned out to be a child of just a few years old!

He confirmed that there were no other adults around and instinctively shouted,

“Little friend, what are you doing there by yourself!”

Unexpectedly, the little friend ignored him and turned to run up the mountain. 

Shi Yun glanced at the cloudy sky, frowning as he pondered for a moment. He still couldn’t shake off his worry.

He told An Huaixu to head back to the kindergarten first, while he quickly chased after the direction where the child had disappeared.

Standing at the foot of the steep mountain path, Shi Yun tentatively called out, “Little friend?”

His voice echoed for a long time but received no response.

He thought for a moment and, after confirming that there were no houses up the mountain or nearby, immediately anxiously began to climb.

“What are you doing?”

An Huaixu hadn’t gone back to the kindergarten at all. Instead, he followed closely behind him, stopping him just in time.

“This road is so difficult to walk, and it’s about to rain. You want to go up the mountain now?”

Shi Yun told An Huaixu about what he had just seen.

An Huaixu also sensed that something was wrong and put his hands on Shi Yun’s shoulders. “You wait for me here. I’ll go up.”

Looking at An Huaixu’s figure, Shi Yun suddenly had a bad premonition.

He grabbed An Huaixu’s hand: “Let’s go together.”

An Huaixu felt the warmth in his palm, and his fingers couldn’t help but tremble.

Shi Yun didn’t notice anything. “Sister Ani, please wait for us here for a little while.

If it starts raining, you should go back first. We’ll be as quick as we can.”

After he finished speaking, he carefully brushed aside the outstretched branches and turned to remind An Huaixu,

“This rock is a little unstable. Be careful.”

Although An Huaixu hummed in response to his words, his attention wasn’t on the path. Instead, it was on their interlocked hands.

Why is Shi Yun holding my hand?

Has he forgotten to let go?

Is it normal for a younger brother to hold his older brother’s hand like this?

An Huaixu took one step, and a question flashed through his mind.

He took another step, and another question flashed through his mind.

As the surrounding atmosphere grew quieter, he became lost in his own emotions.

“There’s no good path ahead. Could the child have run up there?”

Shi Yun stood on a relatively wide rock surface and pulled An Huaixu up, asking for his opinion.

An Huaixu snapped out of his thoughts and frowned. “Are there any other paths down the mountain?”

Shi Yun shook his head. “This place is notoriously difficult to walk.

Generally, if people go up from here, they won’t come back down this way. They can only go forward to Nanshan Road.”

“How much further?”

Shi Yun raised his finger and pointed. “Climb up and walk for a while, and you’ll be almost there.” He couldn’t understand.

“Nanshan is all orchards. Why would the child not go home on a rainy day and go to Nanshan?”

An Huaixu looked up at the sky and finally realized that ominous dark clouds were gathering, and rumbling thunder was brewing in the distance.

Shi Yun tsked and decided to continue forward.

An Huaixu put away his other stray thoughts and steadily followed Shi Yun.

He studied Shi Yun’s figure as he pushed aside the flowers and plants.

He felt that his current state wasn’t quite right, vaguely similar to when his fear of the dark acted up, but… upon closer inspection, it was completely different, and it could even be said they were two extremes.

When Shi Yun’s fear of the dark acted up, he was quiet and clung to others, seeking a sense of security.

But the current Shi Yun…

An Huaixu slowly came up with an unbelievable answer.

Was Shi Yun being agitated?

Or rather, was this a state of self-protection for Shi Yun?

What was wrong with him?

Suddenly—

A purple lightning bolt that seemed to split the entire sky appeared directly above them, and the shocking light instantly illuminated the entire mountain!

Immediately afterward, the thunder was deafening!

Not just Shi Yun, even An Huaixu instinctively pressed against the rock wall and closed his eyes. 

His ears were ringing, and he couldn’t hear anything other than the sound of wind and clouds swirling around.

When he adjusted and opened his eyes again, he found that there was no one in front of him.

Only the leaves were dancing in the wind, making him feel as if finding Shi Yun was a ridiculous dream.

He caught a glimpse of the cliff not far away, and the worst possibilities with rapid breathing uncontrollably appeared in his mind.

On the way here, he had clearly confirmed that the cliff was bottomless.

This place was so small. Shi Yun definitely couldn’t have gone anywhere else…

His heart stopped beating, and suffocation quickly swept over him.

He had passed it, and for a while, it was difficult to move his feet.

He just stood in the pitch-black front, seeing the light.

His eyes were sore, and he stared at the bottom.

He was lost.

Heaven seemed to want to emphasize the atmosphere.

Almost the next second, a torrential downpour began, and the sound of the rain swallowed the sound of him calling out to Shi Yun.

The cold turned into fine needles, striking his body and piercing into his bones.

This time, I won’t let you wait in a dark place for too long.

An Huaixu took a step forward, and the broken stones immediately tumbled down.

Just at that critical moment, a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back hard.

“Brother Huaixu, what are you doing!”

Shi Yun’s clear but angry voice broke through the rain, as he held an umbrella open for An Huaixu.

An Huaixu turned his head inch by inch, and a bright color gradually appeared in the black world before him.

Shi Yun was soaked, and his pink clothes outlined his not-very-broad shoulders.

Water droplets ran down his hair and across his slender neck.

His skin was fair, his cheeks were flushed with anxiety, and his hair, which he had swept back, highlighted his youthful vigor.

Shi Yun’s mouth opened and closed, as if he was saying something, but An Huaixu couldn’t hear a word.

He trembled as he touched Shi Yun’s face, and when he felt the warmth, he opened his arms and hugged him tightly.

Instantly, the familiar scent rushed into his nostrils, slowly calming his wildly beating heart.

“You… scared me to death.”

Although Shi Yun didn’t understand what An Huaixu was saying, he sensed the rare vulnerability in An Huaixu’s low voice.

He had wondered what An Huaixu’s emotions were like other than coldness, such as fear.

Shi Yun never thought he would have the chance to see this side of him, but today…

He didn’t have the mind to observe An Huaixu’s appearance as he had imagined.

He only felt heartache and instinctively patted the man’s back, saying softly, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

An Huaixu tightened his arms, greedily taking in the warmth from Shi Yun’s body.

He didn’t know how long it had been before he gradually calmed down and felt the person in his arms move.

He lowered his head to meet a pair of worried eyes.

“Brother Huaixu, are you alright?”

An Huaixu reacted and quickly released Shi Yun, turning his head to look elsewhere to hide his feelings. “I’m fine.”

Shi Yun didn’t hear him clearly and leaned closer to ask loudly, “What did you say? I can’t hear you. Let’s go over there and talk!”

He took An Huaixu’s hand again and walked towards a hidden large rock on the side of the path.

It was also at this time that An Huaixu discovered that there was actually a small triangular cave here.

The rock in front of the cave obviously jutted out, which had blocked his view just now.

Under the rock, a little boy with a dirty face poked his head out.

He looked to be only about five years old, and when he saw Shi Yun coming, he waved excitedly. “Brother, come in!”

Shi Yun put his hand on An Huaixu’s shoulder and pushed him in first, then he bent down and sat at the entrance, blocking the rain from flying in.

The surroundings suddenly darkened.

An Huaixu took out his phone, shook off the water, and confirmed that it still worked. Then, he turned on the flashlight.

The light instantly spread across the rocky surface.

An Huaixu looked into the corner, where a mess of things was piled up into a nest.

He could vaguely see a small pillow, a small blanket, and a teddy bear with half a leg missing.

The little boy who had just peeked out was hugging his legs, huddled in the nest, and staring at him timidly.

Shi Yun smiled and waved to the little boy, handing him a piece of candy.

The little boy crawled over and quickly stuffed the candy into his mouth, looking very happy. “So sweet!”

Shi Yun touched his head. “Go inside and play. It’s cold here.”

The little boy shook his head and huddled next to Shi Yun.

Shi Yun didn’t mind the dirt on him and put his arm around him.

An Huaixu noticed with sharp eyes that there were obvious scratch marks on Shi Yun’s arm.

He didn’t need to guess—it was definitely this kid who had done it.

An Huaixu didn’t realize that his gaze had turned cold for a moment.

The little boy was very sensitive. After being glared at by him, he clung to Shi Yun in fear. “Scary… afraid…”

Shi Yun soothed him in a low voice. “Qiaoqiao, be good. This gege is also very nice!”

Qiaoqiao peeked out with one eye, staring at An Huaixu and blinking, but didn’t say anything more.

An Huaixu: “What’s going on?”

Shi Yun sighed. “I was wondering how there could be a child I’d never seen before nearby. I just asked him.

He was abandoned by his parents and has been wandering around for a few days.

His name is Yu Qiao, and he’s three and a half years old.”

He rubbed Qiaoqiao’s little cheek with his finger. “Our Qiaoqiao can go to the small class.”

Qiaoqiao giggled and snuggled into his palm.

An Huaixu caught sight of an inconspicuous little red string around Qiaoqiao’s neck.

He lowered his eyes and looked at the similar red string on his own wrist, and a thought vaguely surfaced in his mind: “He wasn’t abandoned, was he?”