The School of Management’s Mountaineering Club was gearing up for its first real outing, scheduled for a week from now.

　　The club president dropped the location in the group chat, and someone immediately suggested another spot, saying the fall colors there were way prettier and totally worth the trip.

　　This sparked a heated debate in the group about whether this event was supposed to be a scenic autumn outing or a serious hiking trip.

　　This club was pretty loosely organized. Compared to the Volunteer Association, where Gu Pan put most of his energy, this club felt disorganized and passive. Despite being a member for over half a year, the club had stayed dormant, and he hadn’t done any actual hiking, which felt pretty misleading. Now that someone had finally initiated an activity, he was thrilled and couldn't wait.

　　However, he didn't expect such disputes to arise during the initial planning of their first event.

　　After arguing for half the day, the group couldn’t reach a consensus and decided on two locations. One group would go to Baicha Mountain in City D, known for its lush forests, and the other to Hongcha Mountain in City G, famous for its beautiful maple leaves. Members could choose either location and join accordingly.

　　This outcome left Gu Pan speechless and made him want to quit. His overly idealistic view of teamwork led to a sense of disillusionment.

　　He texted his feelings about this disappointment to Ling Hanlu, hoping to hear her perspective.

　　However, Ling Hanlu didn’t respond directly about whether the organizers had the authority to manage the situation or the ability to mediate disputes. Instead, she said something that made Gu Pan decide right away.

　　She said, “What a coincidence, I have a seminar in D City next week.”

　　“Really? I was actually thinking of not going, of giving up,” Gu Pan replied.

　　Ling Hanlu was walking along the plane tree-lined avenue at the outer courtyard. Even though she couldn’t see him, she could easily imagine the little guy’s disappointed expression. Those eyes, which were even prettier than puppy dog eyes, must be glistening with a hint of sadness right now... She couldn’t help but chuckle softly, drawing curious looks from a few students passing by who nodded and bowed as they walked past.

　　"Why do you want to quit? Not meeting your expectations?"

　　"I thought a 'team' should have the same goals. When disagreements arise, the president should clarify the purpose of the activity and get everyone back on the same page. Instead, he just muddled things up..."

　　"Someone's clearly upset. What to do?" Ling Hanlu thought of the event more as an outing. Though Gu Pan's frustration was understandable, she didn't think it was worth getting too serious about.

　　"Yeah, I'm a bit upset. But knowing you'll be in D City at the same time gives me some motivation. So, I've decided—D City, Baicha Mountain it is!"

　　Ling Hanlu agreed.

　　She didn't ask the obvious question. Why else would Gu Pan choose D City? To be with her, of course. Even though the seminar and Baicha Mountain were an hour apart by car. They'd be traveling separately, he with a five-person team on a long-distance bus, and she with her colleagues on a train. So, D City as their common destination was just a hollow concept. Their "being together" was ethereal and unreal.

　　But the decision was made.

　　2

　　A week later, the long-distance bus and the train set off half an hour apart. They headed to the unfamiliar destination via different routes.

　　On the way, Ling Hanlu and Gu Pan exchanged pictures of the scenery they saw, using these messages to keep each other company.

　　“Ms. Ling, did you bring the little bird?”

　　“Of course!” Ling Hanlu replied, sending a picture of the bracelet on her wrist.

　　Gu Pan placed her image next to his own bracelet with the male bird version and admired them together for a long time.

　　On the train, Ling Hanlu struck a similar pose, ignoring the puzzled looks from her colleagues.

　　After arriving at the hotel arranged by the conference organizers, Ling Hanlu and her colleagues quickly freshened up before diving into the packed meeting schedule.

　　The conference tasks were intense and numerous, leaving her with little time for anything else, including checking Gu Pan’s updates about Baicha Mountain.

　　The whole day was a whirlwind of meetings, meals, and more meetings... It wasn’t until late at night that she finally had a moment to sleep.

　　The next morning, Ling Hanlu found herself back in the conference hall. She had rushed through breakfast and overestimated her tolerance for the red chili flakes, leaving her with an upset stomach.

　　Hunched slightly, she rubbed her upper abdomen with one hand and opened Gu Pan’s messages with the other.

　　Most were pictures. The last one, sent the previous evening, was the first photo Gu Pan had taken of a bird flying through the forest after they entered the mountain. He was clearly thrilled, his excitement practically radiating from the image.

　　Ling Hanlu smiled through the pain, pressing harder on her stomach. She hadn’t contacted Gu Pan all night and wanted to check on him, but her discomfort made her instinctively share her own predicament first: “I really miss your soup, the kind that's good for the stomach. The food here isn't great, I don’t like it.”

　　After sending the message, Ling Hanlu slumped over the conference table, a fine layer of sweat forming on her back.

　　Two minutes later, a colleague lightly tapped her arm, whispering that her phone was ringing. She looked up to see "Xu Shuping" flashing on the screen.

　　Immediately, she sensed something was wrong. Sister Xu knew she was at the conference and wouldn’t call unless it was urgent.

　　Hesitating for a moment, she slipped out the back door, hunched over.

　　The first thing Xu Shuping asked about was Gu Pan.

　　“Is the little guy at Baicha Mountain?”

　　“Yeah, why?”

　　“When did you last hear from him?”

　　“Yesterday afternoon, I don’t remember the exact time. I’ve been so busy… Why, what happened?”

　　“I’ll keep it brief. It’s just a coincidence, but I was following the local news since you mentioned you’d be in D City. There was a breaking story this morning about a hiking group that went missing for four hours yesterday afternoon on Baicha Mountain. They were rescued, but some were injured. Details are still coming in…”

　　“Shuping, I have to go. I’ll call him right now!”

　　As she frantically dialed his number, she kept repeating to herself, “It’s not him, it’s not him,” while squatting in the corner, her back drenched in cold sweat from fear.

　　But Gu Pan’s phone was off.

　　Now her heartache overshadowed her stomach pain. She recalled Xu Shuping mentioning “some were injured,” without any mention of fatalities. That was good, right? But injured—how serious? Before she could confirm if Gu Pan was among those affected, her fingers trembled as she opened the local news Xu Shuping had forwarded.

　　The news said this group of five went hiking on Baicha Mountain. On their way back, they took a wrong turn and got stuck. Firefighters got the call and went searching all night. They found them and got the injured to the hospital.

　　Hospital... Is he in ICU or what?

　　Ling Hanlu tried Gu Pan again, still no answer.

　　What's she gonna do? Phone died? Can't charge it? Maybe he's hurt bad, knocked out? Maybe he lost his phone? Or, worst case, he's in surgery? How bad could that be?

　　Ling Hanlu looked up every hospital near Baicha Mountain, checking them out. Finally, one got back, said they took in some hurt climbers late last night. But when she asked for details, they said they didn't have it all yet.

　　She couldn't wait on "we'll get back to you." Her legs ached, but she ran out of the hotel.

　　3

　　Forty minutes later, Ling Hanlu arrived at the hospital's emergency center.

　　It wasn't as big as the ER at City A's A Hospital, but the vibe was just the same.

　　Last time she ended up here, poisoned and barely conscious, she could still hear folks screaming in pain.

　　This was City D Hospital's emergency zone. Wonder if there's a kid somewhere howling in agony?

　　At the reception desk, the staff were MIA for some reason. Staring at the empty station, Ling Hanlu squeezed her fists. Her guts were in a twist, not sure where the dull ache was coming from.

　　She was running on empty, sweat beading on her brow. Mustering strength, she wandered off, trying to find where they do the fixing up.

　　Pulling back bed curtains, she strained to see who was where.

　　Meanwhile, outside the lobby, ambulances continued to unload more wounded. The desperate cries of a casualty from an explosion brought back memories of Xu Shuping and Liang Chen. That child would never appear again, never climb that juicy grapefruit tree with Xu Jiejie or Xu Auntie, reaching for those plump fruits swaying in the branches. Even Gu Pan had hoped to pluck one someday...

　　Ling Hanlu struggled to move forward. Her vision blurred, she gazed at those faces contorted in pain, urgently and fearfully imagining what Gu Pan might look like right now.

　　But halfway down the corridor, everything went black before her eyes, collapsing behind two or three relatives.

　　Gasps drew several medical staff, including a young person outside the emergency room, left-handedly arranging hospital gowns.

　　4

　　Ling Hanlu blinked awake to find Gu Pan squinting at her. She recalled the moment of losing consciousness, overwhelmed both physically and emotionally. So, seeing Gu Pan, whose fate was uncertain then, left her feeling lost in a haze. It was like being in another world.

　　"Hey, nice to see you again. I remember in a past life you rocked this hairstyle. Short, really suits your face and those eyes. Those pretty eyes shouldn't be hiding behind hair. Looks like the stylist here's got good taste, tailor-made..."

　　"Teacher, you feeling fuzzy?" Gu Pan gently smoothed Ling Hanlu's hair, pushing it back in place.

　　"Oh, your hands are warm."

　　"Well, duh! You think we all went up to heaven or what?"

　　Just then, a patient with bandages around their head nearby objected. "Going up to heaven" as a phrase was a bit jarring in the ward, definitely not cool. They grunted and turned their head away.

　　It seemed like Ling Hanlu fully woke up at that moment. She touched Gu Pan's face, spotting a small scratch on her jaw.

　　"You got hurt on your face?"

　　"Yeah... just a scratch from a branch, nothing major." Gu Pan showed Ling Hanlu two band-aids nearly parallel on her right cheek.

　　"Does it hurt?"

　　"Nah, just a scratch from a tree branch."

　　"Ah, got it." Ling Hanlu relaxed, seeing the kid only had minor scrapes. "Your phone's been off. Forgot to charge it or what?"

　　"Not... I mean..."

　　Gu Pan had indeed kept his phone off for a while in the hospital. When he finally charged it and saw Ling Hanlu's messages, he dreaded being questioned about the mountain trip. Telling the truth might worry her, but lying wasn't an option either. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, he chose not to respond.

　　"Huh? What's going on?" Ling Hanlu pushed.

　　"My bad," Gu Pan admitted, skirting the full truth.

　　Seeing his sincere attitude, Ling Hanlu let go of the issue. But another question popped into her mind, "By the way, how did you know I was here?"

　　"I was going to ask you the same thing. How'd you find your way here?"

　　Ling Hanlu suddenly remembered Xu Shuping. That woman must still be worried. "Gu Pan, do you have my phone? I need to call Shuping; she told me about the rescue on Baicha Mountain. I need to..."

　　"Sure!" Gu Pan twisted around, using his left hand to reach for Ling Hanlu's bag on the chair.

　　Seeing his awkward movement, Ling Hanlu leaned in closer. "Your... your arm..."