Su Chiyuan mentioned a spot for a spring outing in the eastern suburbs of City A. He said last week he went to the Peach Blossom Festival with a mother and daughter, and this week it was Gu Pan’s turn.

　　"My turn?"

　　"Yeah, time to take you out for a bit."

　　Gu Pan started to type a response, something like, "You don’t have a lifelong duty to take care of me. There’s no need for 'lifetime customer service,' especially since there was no 'sale' in the first place." But then he thought about it. Hadn’t they already worked through all this during a previous conversation? Why bring it up and stir things up again? So, he deleted the thought from both the message box and his mind.

　　The weekend was sunny and beautiful.

　　They drove east, heading deeper into the unfamiliar countryside.

　　“Did Mr. Su’s friend recommend another good spot?” Gu Pan still remembered Su Chiyuan’s legendary friend who seemed to know everything about local dining and entertainment. The first time he was taken to that music bar, it was recommended by this “friend.”

　　“Oh, that friend of mine. You’ve got a good memory. Today’s destination isn’t a tourist spot...but it’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to go but never managed to. The road ahead is unknown, but let’s hope it’s worth it!” Su Chiyuan glanced at Gu Pan with a determined look. Gu Pan, too, slowly settled into the relaxed state of a spring outing, reclining his seat to show his easy-going attitude.

　　Su Chiyuan nodded approvingly.

　　Their car sped forward, passing by village cottages, farmlands, and the vast blue sky in the background, offering a refreshing visual treat for their city-weary eyes. The scenery, full of bright sunshine and crops, stirred a feeling of boundless freedom inside Gu Pan. He knew this sense of liberation came from the rolling wheels beneath them. He felt more grateful than ever for Su Chiyuan’s “gifts.”

　　Seeing Gu Pan’s face turning rosy, Su Chiyuan worried that it might be due to stuffiness in the car. He cracked the window open slightly to let in some fresh air, which also brought in the scent of flowers from ahead.

　　“What’s that smell? Canola flowers?” Su Chiyuan gestured for Gu Pan to look towards the right-front, where a sea of bright yellow stretched out.

　　Gu Pan sat up, guided by Mr. Su to look at the scenery outside the window. Growing up in a small town, these sprawling springtime fields weren’t anything new to him. He wasn't awestruck, but he was curious about the "scent" Su Chiyuan mentioned and tried to figure it out.

　　He recalled those trips to the countryside with his father to pay respects to their ancestors. They'd walk along a path flanked by fields of yellow flowers. Riding on the back of his father’s electric scooter, he’d take in a smell that was more layered than what was coming through the car window now. It included the distinct aroma of fertilizers.

　　“It’s kind of sour, a bit bitter, and a little sweet—probably from the canola flowers. But it’s far off, so there's no fertilizer smell. It doesn’t feel familiar,” Gu Pan said, wrinkling his nose and taking a deep sniff.

　　Su Chiyuan chuckled at the boy’s dry humor. He glanced at Gu Pan again, who was now leaning further into the window. This ordinary scene suddenly reminded Gu Pan of something else—something about a smell seeping in through a crack.

　　“Gu, there's something I’ve always wanted to ask. Why don’t you stay in the dorms?”

　　“I don't really get along with the others,” Gu Pan replied.

　　"Really?" Su Chiyuan asked, raising an eyebrow. He thought anyone who admitted they didn’t fit in was like someone insisting they weren't drunk when they clearly were. It was either an exaggeration or just not true. But there was a difference: the former had hidden reasons, while the latter was just confused by their own limitations. "You don’t fit in?" he asked again.

　　"...Yeah," Gu Pan hesitated for a moment but ultimately accepted the label of "not fitting in" for Yu Yan’s sake.

　　"If that's the only reason, then when you find yourself no longer craving solitude, wouldn’t you consider moving back? Hmm?" Su Chiyuan reached over and gently touched Gu Pan’s short hair. "Kid, from what I’ve observed over a long time, I don’t think you have any real social issues. Even if you had a slight tendency toward social anxiety, you should have mostly overcome it by now. Don’t label yourself too quickly. Personally, I think you’re ready to try rejoining a group..." Mr. Su analyzed Gu Pan's self-proclaimed "not fitting in" as a given fact.

　　"Don’t want to," Gu Pan replied as briefly as possible, hoping Su Chiyuan, with his sharp insight and training as a psychological counselor, would drop the topic.

　　Sure enough, sensing Gu Pan's resistance, Su Chiyuan backed off. "Alright, you don’t want to, so you don’t have to! Let’s talk about your roommate... she’s a girl, right?"

　　Gu Pan was momentarily speechless. He remembered Su Chiyuan visiting his apartment once. That day, Su Chiyuan had been brought in reeking of alcohol. In his hazy state, he had mistakenly opened Yu Yan’s bedroom door. Later, he had passed out, and when he woke up, he saw a crystal ball on the bedside table and a thermos filled with hot water. Whatever else happened that night was a blur. He had no idea what Su Chiyuan was thinking at the time.

　　Only Su Chiyuan knew what had been on his mind that day. The allure of those two closed wardrobe doors was his secret. The faint scent that escaped through the narrow crack seemed to grab him by the collar. To him, that scent was ghostly, almost like a spirit.

　　"What, did I say something wrong?" Su Chiyuan asked.

　　"No. My roommate is a girl. But it’s definitely not what you’re thinking," Gu Pan quickly explained, stumbling into a pointless and foolish clarification.

　　"What do you think I’m imagining? Haha, kid, are you trying to read my mind now? I think it’s perfectly normal for guys and girls to share an apartment. No big deal. Just live your life the way you want."

　　"Uh-huh!"

　　When Gu Pan turned back, Su Chiyuan had a faint smile on his face. Clearly, Mr. Su had generously allowed Gu Pan to "do his own thing." The words "I don’t want you to..." remained unspoken, melting away between his lips.

　　After reaching the village entrance, the car moved cautiously. The two of them were guided by the navigation system to a small clinic.

　　“This is the only landmark,” Su Chiyuan said, gazing into the distance before turning off the engine. “Alright, kid, time to get out.” He pointed in the direction of the clustered village houses. “We can’t drive any further.”

　　They stood on a narrow path, just wide enough for two people to walk side by side. It twisted in places but stretched out straight and long overall.

　　“Mr. Su, where are we going?” Gu Pan asked.

　　“To find a river,” Su Chiyuan replied, carefully stepping around the fresh grass and wildflowers by the roadside. His steps were gentle, almost protective. “...Yes, a river.”

　　“Do you know its location or name?” Gu Pan followed cautiously.

　　“Not exactly.”

　　“An unprepared venture?”

　　“Not really. You don’t understand, do you? Sometimes we’re caught off guard. No time to prepare, no time at all…” Su Chiyuan turned his face away, avoiding Gu Pan’s confused gaze.

　　This reminded Gu Pan of the night of the first snow, when Lu Yitong had analyzed with conviction. She had said that the way the handsome man in the “Time Corridor” exhibition looked at Gu Pan was like he was looking at a lover.

　　Gu Pan knew he wasn’t Su Chiyuan’s lover, but he increasingly felt like he might be filling some sort of void in the older man’s life. In their previous interactions, his value had been apparent. Now, and in the future, his presence would continue to be significant.

　　“I’ll help you find it, Mr. Su. Let’s go!”

　　Following directions from some locals, they found the only river that ran through the village.

　　“So now the question is, which part of the river? Mr. Su?”

　　“There’s a bend with a big rock that looks like a piece of cheese. If you stand next to it, you can see a small grove of Chinese toon trees. In the spring, their leaves are reddish-purple…”

　　The more Gu Pan listened, the more he picked up on the emotional undertones in Su Chiyuan’s description. It was as if he was reciting a cherished image from memory, one that held great significance for him. Finding this “cheese” rock and the purple-red leaves in spring was clearly one of Su Chiyuan’s life goals.

　　“How much of a role do I really play in this? How important am I? And is there really such a place?” Gu Pan wondered silently, not voicing his thoughts. He moved ahead of Su Chiyuan, his youthful eagerness to explore quickening his pace.

　　“Hurry up, Mr. Su!”

　　The reddish-purple tree crowns gradually came into view. Gu Pan saw them in the distance and leaped with excitement. “There they are! Come on, let’s go!”

　　Su Chiyuan followed close behind. As someone who rarely ran outside of a sports field, and being a lawyer and psychological counselor in his thirties, he always prided himself on being calm and composed. But the allure of the unknown "cheese" ahead made him abandon his usual restraint, and he found himself running after Gu Pan.

　　“Is this it? Mr. Su, come look! Is this the cheese?” Gu Pan shouted loudly in the countryside, his voice mingling with the sound of the gurgling stream at his feet.

　　Su Chiyuan watched Gu Pan’s unabashed joy, a smile spreading across his face, but inside he was filled with anxiety. It felt almost like the nervous anticipation he experienced before his first aviation case in court.

　　He wasn’t inexperienced; he wasn’t untested. But on this day, as he eagerly traversed the terrain, the uncertainty of whether this peculiar rock was the right one filled him with an irrational sense of unease.

　　But being accustomed to self-reflection, he quickly recognized that this emotional turmoil was indeed a bit unreasonable.

　　Gu Pan was still buzzing with excitement. Su Chiyuan stood back, observing him until he found the right words.

　　"Does it really matter if that rock under Gu Pan's foot is the actual 'cheese'? Does it matter if it's real or not?"

　　He kept reassuring himself: "As long as Gu Pan believes it, then it is!"

　　Gu Pan balanced on one foot atop the pitted rock, his face beaming with triumph. His excitement mirrored Su Chiyuan's, eager for another, seemingly more authoritative set of eyes to confirm his find, but already celebrating with abandon.

　　"Hey kid, you feelin' good?" Su Chiyuan asked, watching Gu Pan's joyful dance amidst nature from a slightly lower angle.

　　"Absolutely!"

　　"Because the mission's accomplished?"

　　"Yeah! Honestly, at first, I didn’t even think this place was real."

　　"So, you're feeling satisfied now?"

　　"Yep! Totally satisfied!"

　　Gu Pan looked at Su Chi Yuan from a distance, smiling knowingly. He was confident that Mr. Su, the wise and aloof man, didn't quite understand "peace of mind" the way he did. All along, Gu Pan had been waiting for the right opportunity to repay Su Chi Yuan. Being constantly indebted made it difficult for him to fully embrace his own masculinity. Even sharing that celebratory drink with his father, Gu Xueping, for turning twenty, didn't help. But this unexpected journey of exploration made him believe that his prayers had finally been heard.

　　"Kid, if you're happy, let's hang around a bit longer, alright? I'm here with you!" Su Chi Yuan watched proudly as Gu Pan stood confidently on "The Cheese." The kid, in harmony with nature and the world around him, struck a chord in Su Chi Yuan's heart, bringing tears to his eyes.