So this was the complete Xiao Shan?

Kang Wei stood dazed.

Shan Yu Jun was indeed curious about everything. They had started dating because Shan Yu Jun was interested in Kang Wei’s business ventures in the south.

Only someone who loves life would be interested in unfamiliar fields.

Cheng Qurong’s narrative helped Kang Wei fill in his mental image of ‘Xiao Shan more completely… Xiao Shan was exactly that kind of person. After a moment’s daze, Kang Wei came back to his senses:

“Auntie Cheng, thank you for telling me all this. I love Xiao Shan, and you’ve helped me understand her better. But why she broke up with me doesn’t matter anymore. I just want to find her.”

It didn’t matter if they weren’t together – as long as Xiao Shan was alive, that would be enough.

Kang Wei smiled bitterly. Had Xiao Shan broken up so decisively because she thought he couldn’t be another “Cheng Qurong”?

He thought about who he was two years ago.

Indeed, he couldn’t have been.

Back then, when he quit his job to start a business, he was full of enthusiasm for making money and building his career. He had the illusion that as long as he worked hard, everything in the world would be under his control. If Xiao Shan had told him then that she might stay in the Northwest and not return, he probably wouldn’t have understood.

There were so many others who could contribute – wasn’t it enough that his father was already a martyr?

These two years had changed him completely.

Xiao Shan was more mature, ahead of him, and now Kang Wei could truly understand her choice.

He didn’t know if he could be “Cheng Qurong,” but two years later, he was willing to try.

—But what was the point of talking about this now? He just wanted to find Xiao Shan!

Cheng Qurong, who had been composed until now, began to cry:

“Auntie hopes you know that Yu Jun truly loved you. She wrote home saying she’d bring you back after graduating. She didn’t prioritize her ideals over you – she prioritized them over herself. I hope Yu Jun is strong enough and lucky enough to hold on until we find her, but if… if… we should all be prepared.”

Cheng Qurong’s words changed everyone’s expressions.

Her composure since arriving at the village had been a facade. With so many people searching without results, Cheng Qurong didn’t hold much hope for her daughter Shan Yu Jun’s survival.

She had prepared herself for the worst outcome.

She wasn’t trying to delay the rescue by talking to Kang Wei. Shan Yu Jun was the connection that made Cheng Qurong care about him.

If Shan Yu Jun had truly perished, Cheng Qurong wanted to explain things to her daughter. Kang Wei was her daughter’s first and only boyfriend. If she hadn’t come to the Northwest, she would have brought Kang Wei home after graduation… Wouldn’t a stable life have been better? Yu Jun had given up a secure choice, and Cheng Qurong wept.

Kang Wei’s face turned pale, his lips trembling.

“Auntie, I’m only prepared to rescue Xiao Shan. I can’t accept any other outcome. I can’t stay to talk anymore. I need to find Xiao Shan.”

Kang Wei ran out, and this time Shao Guangrong didn’t stop him but followed.

Xia Xiaolan supported Cheng Qurong:

“Auntie Cheng, let’s follow them. I believe heaven will be kind to Senior Sister Shan!”

This was already the afternoon of the fifth day since Shan Yu Jun’s disappearance.

Xia Xiaolan felt it wasn’t time to give up.

As a mother, Cheng Qurong didn’t want to give up either. Her words to Kang Wei were more about preparing him mentally for the worst possibility… How heartbroken must Cheng Qurong be as a mother, yet still thinking about Kang Wei’s feelings? She was truly a woman with innate gentleness.

Shan Yu Jun took after both her father and mother.

Cheng Qurong wiped her tears and joined Xia Xiaolan in the jeep, accompanying others in the search and rescue operation.

The fifth day passed without finding anyone.

Two more helicopters joined the search.

Nobody talked about giving up. Captain Xing even encouraged everyone:

“The search area is shrinking. We haven’t found any bloodied clothes in the areas where we’ve cleared the wolf packs.”

The sixth day, the thirtieth of the lunar month.

Xia Xiaolan’s rallying cry was to find them and celebrate New Year together. The exhausted rescue team members all agreed!

More people joined the search team, not just villagers from the Gao brothers’ village, but parents of students Shan Yu Jun had taught, including those who had graduated from primary school last year and gone to county middle school. Strong young men formed groups of three to five, searching the Gobi bit by bit.

Even Xia Xiaolan hadn’t rested, let alone Kang Wei.

After two days without sleep, Kang Wei’s spirit grew even more intense. The man was burning with determination – he couldn’t stop until he found her.

Time passed quickly.

Every minute, every second was a race against death.

Kang Wei longed to see signal flares, from any direction, indicating they’d found traces of Shan Yu Jun and the two others.

Yet he also feared the flares.

Feared finding bloodied clothes, or worse, unrecognizable remains…

At nine in the evening, the Gobi’s low temperature could freeze off one’s toes. Kang Wei pressed against the helicopter window, looking down, afraid to miss any sign of hope.

Shao Guangrong fought back a yawn – he too hadn’t slept for two days.

“Kangzi, want to rest a bit?”

Kang Wei shook his head.

Shao Guangrong didn’t dare persuade him further.

The pilot was in a difficult position – they were running low on fuel and needed to turn back.

Kang Wei checked his watch:

“Search twenty more li forward!”

Twenty li, or even thirty, didn’t make much difference. If the direction was wrong, even searching a hundred li further would be useless.

But Kang Wei couldn’t bear to try.

“We’ve already searched this area.”

The pilot said this but still flew forward as Kang Wei requested.

He understood why Teacher Shan’s boyfriend didn’t want to give up.

The helicopter flew at low altitude.

Kang Wei thought he saw something flashing in the pitch-black ground.

“Guangrong, look below – isn’t there something? Pilot, can you go lower!”

Shao Guangrong focused his attention downward. There was something greenish, like clusters of ghost fires, looking particularly eerie in the night desert.

The searchlight swept down, and the pilot saw clearly:

“Wolves! A pack of wolves down there!”

Indeed it was a wolf pack.

At least a dozen wolves, disturbed by the rotor sound, howled at the sky.

These wolves were bold, and fearless.

“Let us down!”

“Kangzi, are you crazy?”

Kang Wei wasn’t crazy. He shouted at Shao Guangrong: “The wolf pack isn’t running even though they’re disturbed. Something down there is attracting them. What do you think it is?”

Starving wolves would only be attracted by food.

Shao Guangrong froze, then immediately agreed to go down.

From the helicopter, the terrain below was clear. There were some large rocks, but they didn’t look like they could hide people.

It was strange for the wolf pack to linger in such a place. Shao Guangrong supported going down to check.

As the helicopter descended further, Kang Wei saw a crevice in the rocks, only about ten centimeters wide – too narrow for an adult to pass through… but Kang Wei’s heart began pounding. He jumped to the ground and walked toward the crevice.

Under a watermelon-sized rock, something was pressed. Kang Wei pulled it out forcefully.

It was a book!

“Medicinal Plant Cultivation Techniques”?

Who would read such a book… It was Xiao Shan – Xiao Shan was leading a medicinal plant cultivation base project in the area!