Fu Yan rushed out of the room without looking back. He couldn't take it anymore—he really couldn't bear Gu Zhan's contemptuous gaze, as though no matter how much he did or how desperately he pursued him, Gu Zhan would only keep retreating, even looking at him with disdain and disgust.

He knew that he had become almost unlike himself. He had never imagined that he could go this far for someone.

In the past, he had been an absolute gentleman when it came to relationships. He was considerate and gentle with his partners, always treating them with care and propriety. He had never before desperately tried to seize someone by force like this.

But he couldn't control himself. Whenever he saw Gu Zhan being cold and indifferent toward him while smiling warmly at other people, whenever he saw Gu Zhan being intimate with anyone other than him, he simply couldn't control himself. All of it reminded him of the fact that Gu Zhan no longer belonged to him—and he couldn't accept that.

But who could he blame? He had caused all of this himself. A year ago, he had been the one who chose to break up with Gu Zhan.

By the time Fu Yan reached the foot of the mountain, his clenched fist was still dripping blood. The taxi driver asked whether he wanted to go to a hospital.

“Take me straight to the airport.”

Seeing the gloomy expression on his face, the driver was afraid of getting himself into trouble and didn't say anything more.

Fu Yan looked at his bleeding hand and silently clenched it tighter until it began to tremble slightly.

The person he really wanted to punch wasn't that fragile glass coffee table, nor was it the disdainful-looking Gu Zhan. What he really wanted to punch was his past self from a year ago. He desperately wanted to beat some sense into that proud yet useless version of himself who had abandoned Gu Zhan on that snowy night.

He didn't know what he was supposed to do anymore. It seemed that the harder he tried, the farther Gu Zhan moved away from him. What exactly could he do to win Gu Zhan back?

After boarding the plane, Fu Yan's mind was still in turmoil. He couldn't concentrate. His entire mind was filled with Gu Zhan and all the moments they had shared along the way.

As the plane was about to land, a flight attendant came over once again to ask whether he wanted his injured hand treated. That finally brought him back to his senses. He went to the restroom and rinsed the wound.

The sting of cold water against his torn flesh helped clear his head considerably. He cupped some water and splashed it over his face, then straightened his suit collar in the mirror, making himself look calm and composed before returning to his seat.

A year ago, when something had happened at the Fu family's factory, Fu Hongping had been hospitalized once from exhaustion. Later, as he fought Chenglang to the death, he often felt that he was running out of strength.

His father had spent his entire life building the family business, and it hadn't been easy. Fu Yan knew he could no longer be a carefree young heir who had nothing to worry about. He had to grow up quickly so that he would have the ability to protect the person he loved.

And it was precisely because he had thrown himself more deeply into his work that Fu Yan had gradually come to understand Gu Zhan. Many times, he simply couldn't indulge himself in personal emotions. In the adult world, there were many things that couldn't simply be chosen between; all you could do was try your best to find a balance.

As soon as he got off the plane, his assistant came over.

“President Fu, just as you expected, Chenglang has already arrived at the signing venue. They've brought a contract that's more favorable to C-brand and are trying to steal the deal from us.”

“Has anyone from C-brand arrived?”

“One of their vice presidents is there. President Aaron had a meeting this afternoon that delayed him a little. He's still on his way.”

“Fine.”

Fu Yan strode forward. Just as he was about to leave the airport, his phone received a message. It was the same number that had anonymously sent him the photographs before.

It said that something had happened to Gu Zhan in Sheng Mountain, and that he had become separated from the main group while they were on the mountain.

Fu Yan dismissed the message, thinking it was probably another one of Chen Lang's tricks. But a few minutes later, his phone received several more photographs.

A group of people were scattered chaotically throughout the mountains, apparently frantically searching for someone.

There were men and women in outdoor jackets in the photographs, as well as Chris. But there was no sign of Gu Zhan.

Fu Yan deliberately enlarged Chris's expression. The anxiety on his face was absolutely not what someone would look like if they had simply gone into the mountains to search for a freelance photographer. Something had genuinely gone wrong.

Fu Yan could no longer remain calm. He immediately turned around and headed back into the airport.

His assistant called out in confusion, “President Fu, where are you going?”

Fu Yan jogged as he answered, “I have an emergency. I need to go back to Gusu. Take care of C-brand for me.”

“What? President Fu, you just got back! President Aaron is already on his way. How can you not go yourself? And Chenglang is waiting for an opportunity—I…”

The assistant suddenly remembered something.

“Also, when I came to pick you up, I was worried that today's bad weather might affect your flight, so I checked. A lot of flights at Shanghai Airport have been delayed this afternoon. If you go back now, your flight might not leave on time.”

Fu Yan stopped.

“Then I'll take the high-speed train. Buy me a ticket from the capital to Suzhou. Immediately.”

“Oh, okay.”

The assistant hurriedly nodded and got to work. Looking at his boss's dark expression, he realized that the situation was probably serious and didn't dare say anything more.

Time was tight. The earliest high-speed train only had ordinary hard seats left.

As soon as Fu Yan entered the carriage, a pungent, heavy smell hit him. The carriage was noisy, occasionally punctuated by the cries of children. Luggage of all sizes was piled everywhere, leaving barely any room to stand.

When Fu Yan first entered, he couldn't even find his seat. Of course, it was possible that he simply wasn't in the mood to look carefully. After scanning around and not seeing an empty seat, he leaned against a corner of the carriage and began calling Gu Zhan and Chris.

As expected, neither phone could connect.

Listening to the repeated beeping tone, his heart clenched.

Could something really have happened to Gu Zhan?

Gu Zhan absolutely cannot be hurt.

By the time Fu Yan arrived in Suzhou, it was completely dark.

Torrential rain was pouring down, accompanied by howling winds. Fu Yan's heart was as chaotic as the trees swaying outside the train window in the storm.

He had gone hiking with a mountaineering team before, so he knew how dangerous such terrible weather could be if someone was alone in the mountains without guidance from a professional leader.

He began praying silently for the frightening storm to stop.

Perhaps the heavens really had heard his sincere prayer. By the time they neared Sheng Mountain, the strong winds had already stopped, and the rain had weakened to a drizzle.

Suddenly, the taxi driver slammed on the brakes.

“We can't get through up ahead.”

“What happened?” Fu Yan asked anxiously.

“There's been a landslide. It must have been caused by that storm just now. This area around Sheng Mountain often gets mudslides during heavy rain. Young man, why are you going up there so late? Just turn around and go home. There's only this one road into the mountain.”

“No, driver. I have something important to do. I have to get into the mountain.”

“Look, I'm not a magician. The road's blocked. Even if I wanted to, I can't fly over it.”

Fu Yan got out and took a look. Sure enough, the road ahead was littered with rocks, branches, and tree trunks blown down by the wind. The road was completely blocked. There was no way the taxi could get through.

He paid the driver and headed alone toward the wrecked mountain road.

The driver tried to call after him, but it was too late.

“Hey, young man—”

He couldn't wait any longer.

If even a man-made mountain trail could be destroyed to this extent by the wind and rain, he couldn't imagine how Gu Zhan could possibly escape from the wilderness, where there were only natural paths.

He had to reach Gu Zhan as quickly as possible. He had to get closer to him. Otherwise, he couldn't feel at ease.

Fu Yan jogged for nearly an hour before finally reaching the guesthouse. From a distance, he saw a crowd gathered in front of it, everyone talking over one another. The situation clearly wasn't good.

Fu Yan hurried forward and grabbed Chris, breathing slightly heavily.

“President Fu? What are you doing here?”

“Gu… Gu Zhan—how is he?”

“We still haven't found him. We searched the mountain for a while, but then the rainstorm came, so we had to come back first.”

“How did he get separated from everyone?”

“We don't know exactly. The mountain fog was probably too thick and visibility was poor. Nobody was paying enough attention to the people around them.” Chris looked dejected. “It's all my fault. I insisted on going up the mountain to look for someone. We didn't find him, and now we've lost someone else. President Fu, did you two have a fight last night? Actually, I could tell this morning that President Gu wasn't in a good state. I shouldn't have asked him to accompany me up the mountain. It's all my fault.”

“Where's the team leader? I want to go up and find him.”

Fu Yan's eyes lit up as he scanned the crowd.

Chris grabbed his arm.

“President Fu, don't rush. We've already called for rescue. You shouldn't go up there. The mountain paths are slippery, it's dark, and it's far too dangerous.”

“The road down here is already blocked. Who knows when the rescue team will arrive? No. I have to go find him. If he's injured and there's nobody there to help him, it'll be too dangerous.”

The guesthouse owner also came over to stop him.

“You really can't go. If something happens to you, no one can take responsibility.”

“I don't need anyone to take responsibility!”

Fu Yan grabbed a hiking backpack from the nearby table and began packing equipment into it—compasses, flashlights, and other supplies.

“He's still up there. I'm going to find him!”

“But…”

The owner was about to say something more, but Chris waved a hand to stop him.

“Let him go.”

Chris looked at Fu Yan. The usually impeccably dressed President Fu now had disheveled hair and was soaked through, covered in mud and dust, with water—or perhaps sweat—running down his face.

Suddenly, Chris could deeply understand how he felt.

The person he loved was missing. His heart was probably in an even worse state than his appearance.

How could he possibly sit around and wait?

Fu Yan shouldered the equipment and headed into the mountain.

The conditions on the mountain were even worse than he had imagined. Even with his searchlight, he could barely see his own hand in front of his face. The fog was simply too thick.

All Fu Yan could do was repeatedly call out Gu Zhan's name into the darkness, desperately hoping there was even the slightest chance that Gu Zhan might hear him.

The rain gradually became heavier, striking his face painfully. Fu Yan didn't know how long he had been shouting. He only knew that his entire body was freezing and his throat felt like it was on fire.

Exhausted, he finally stopped and touched the droplets hitting his face.

Only then did he realize that it seemed they weren't raindrops at all.

It was snow.

He had known from the beginning that the chances of finding someone alone were slim, but he simply wanted to do something.

There were so many ties between him and Gu Zhan, so much understanding between them that no outsider could ever match.

What if there was a miracle?

What if everyone else failed to find Gu Zhan, but he could?

But no miracle happened.

Even heaven itself seemed unwilling to help him.

The snow was piling up, making the mountain path increasingly slippery and dangerous. He probably wouldn't be able to stay much longer before he had to turn back down the mountain.

“Gu Zhan… Gu Zhan… Gu…”

His voice grew increasingly hoarse.

Suddenly, he cried out.

“Gu Zhan—!”

Because on a tree branch in the valley below, he saw a scarf.

He shone his searchlight over it several times and confirmed that it was Gu Zhan's scarf. He had seen it in Gu Zhan's luggage the day before.

But why was his scarf hanging from a tree branch?

The tree jutted out from the cliff face, with an abyss stretching endlessly below.

Could it be that Gu Zhan had already…

Fu Yan didn't dare think any further.

He crawled to the edge of the cliff and repeatedly shouted Gu Zhan's name at the top of his voice…