Green mountains stretched endlessly on both sides as Cen Jin gripped the steering wheel, unexplained regret creeping into her heart. She had left too impulsively, alone, without preparation or any detailed plan.

But the car was already on the highway, and turning back wasn’t so easy anymore. She could only steel herself and continue forward.

When the navigation announced “Sheng Zhou,” Cen Jin’s anxiety was washed away by the scenery outside. She saw the long-missed view—lush mountaintops rushing into view, sky blue as the sea as if she were inside an oil painting.

Her destination was a place called Yunfeng Village in Sheng Zhou. Her last visit was over a year ago, with Wu Fu driving, so Cen Jin didn’t remember much. Fortunately, with navigation guiding her, she managed quite smoothly.

After exiting the highway, passing through the town, and carefully navigating several narrow mountain roads, she reached her destination.

A pure white sports sedan suddenly stopping at the village entrance was like a noble swan resting on borrowed ground, drawing curious glances from passing villagers.

A dark, skinny child ran to the front of the car, tiptoeing to peer through the front window. Before getting a clear look at the person inside, they were scolded and dragged away by the collar by their parent.

Cen Jin smiled faintly, got out, and stopped an old man carrying a bucket. “Uncle, could you tell me where the village committee office is?”

She couldn’t remember the exact location of the child’s home and could only first seek help from the director from back then.

The old man abruptly stopped, momentarily dazzled by her fair face, raising a trembling hand to point in a direction.

Cen Jin smiled in thanks and got back in the car.

In just that short time, another group of children had gathered in front of the car to watch, like a flock of chirping gray sparrows. Cen Jin opened the window to ask them to make way, but they didn’t move, just standing in a row and grinning at her like they were watching a visitor from the heavens. At a loss, Cen Jin could only honk the horn—one long blast, full of authority—and the little sparrows finally scattered with shouts.

On the way to the village committee, Cen Jin drove extremely slowly, firstly because it had just rained here, making the road muddy and bumpy; secondly, because the village children were truly fearless, showing no wariness of cars, frequently darting across the road, popping out like ghosts—one moment of distraction could lead to disaster.

Cen Jin hadn’t slept for almost two days, relying solely on a pre-trip cup of coffee to stay alert, not daring to be careless for a moment.

Fortunately, as she approached the committee office, the road widened somewhat and was paved with smooth cement, finally allowing her to breathe easier.

The committee office was one place she still remembered, unchanged from before—a whitewashed single-story building with the national flag flying high in the courtyard, unfurling in the wind. While it couldn’t compare to urban buildings, in this mountain village, it was already quite an impressive structure.

As soon as Cen Jin got out of the car, she saw a bespectacled young woman standing at the door, hair in a ponytail, her face still showing traces of youth. She looked at Cen Jin with confusion.

Cen Jin walked toward her.

The young woman asked, “Who are you looking for?” As she spoke, she glanced at the car in the distance.

Cen Jin stated her purpose directly: “Is Deputy Director Yan Changsheng here?”

The young woman paused, then realized: “You mean Village Chief Yan?”

Cen Jin blinked: “Oh, he’s been promoted to village chief… yes, I’m looking for him.”

The young woman shook her head: “The leaders are all at a county meeting, they won’t be back until noon tomorrow.”

She led Cen Jin toward the office: “What do you need him for? I’m a reserve cadre for the village, I can help you register first.”

Stepping over the threshold, Cen Jin said: “It’s quite urgent. I drove four hours to get here and need to head back soon.”

“What?” the young woman was surprised: “Where did you come from?”

“Yi City.”

The young woman whirled around, her voice unable to hide excitement: “Yi City? I went to university there!”

Cen Jin’s eyebrows raised slightly: “F University?”

The young woman blushed slightly: “I couldn’t get in there—I went to Lake University.”

Cen Jin understood immediately: “That’s good too. So you’re a village official now?”

The young woman smiled: “Something like that. This is my hometown, I came back after graduation.” The coincidence of having lived in the same city instantly brought them closer, and she lowered her guard with this unexpected visitor, bringing over a chair: “Please sit, I’ll help you contact someone.”

Cen Jin sat down, taking out that old photo from her phone, wanting to ask this girl directly about Li Wu’s current whereabouts, but when she looked up, the girl was already dialing the landline.

They exchanged smiles, not speaking further.

The girl was still watching her—the woman before her embodied everything she aspired to be. Though dressed simply like herself in a white top and jeans, she looked completely different: slender, pure, like a white tea flower, neither competing nor showing off, yet impossible to ignore, possessing an elegance she might never achieve in her lifetime—and for this woman, that elegance seemed effortless.

Cen Jin looked up again, seeing the girl staring at her in a daze, and raised an eyebrow: “Did you get through?”

The girl hurriedly put down the receiver: “No, they might be in the meeting, phones on silent.”

Cen Jin walked over, showing her phone screen: “Do you know this boy? His name is Li Wu, he also lives here.”

The girl focused for a moment before recognizing the person in the photo: “Oh, him—his grandfather just passed away, right?”

“Yes,” Cen Jin thanked heaven and earth, “Two years ago, through Village Chief Yan’s introduction, I became his sponsor. He’s recently run into some trouble, so I wanted to come check on him. Do you know where he’s living now?”

“I do!” the girl looked up, “I’ll take you there.”

Cen Jin smiled gently: “What should I call you?”

“Cheng Lixue.”

“Thank you, Miss Cheng.”

The girl beamed, this time from the heart.

—

With Cheng Lixue leading the way, Cen Jin felt much more at ease. Away from the village center, the mountain path became rough and narrow again, definitely not suitable for driving. As they stepped through the mess of crushed grass stems and mud, Cen Jin could only be thankful she wore sneakers—otherwise, she wouldn’t know how to manage this stretch of road.

Along the way, Cen Jin tried to ignore what was under her feet, keeping her expression relaxed as she asked Cheng Lixue: “He’s living with his aunt now, right?”

“Yes,” Cheng Lixue, accustomed to these road conditions, turned her head slightly: “Did something happen to him? Director Yan cares about him. As soon as his grandfather passed, he arranged for him to stay with his aunt, worried the child would be too lonely and miserable on his own. Living with relatives at least means someone can look after him.”

Cen Jin asked in a deep voice: “Which high school is he attending now?”

“Should be Nongxi County High.”

Cen Jin seemed to have heard this school name in the navigation on her way here—it wasn’t close. She asked: “Does he board at school?”

“Probably not. Not many kids here board at school. Parents see boarding as an excuse to be lazy outside, plus it costs extra—who’d be willing to spend that money?”

Cheng Lixue spoke casually, but Cen Jin fell silent.

After walking about seven or eight hundred meters, Cheng Lixue finally stopped, pointing to a house on a small slope, “That’s it, Li Wu’s aunt’s house.”

Cen Jin looked up to see a single-story house, like most dwellings in this village—tall door, narrow windows, walls made of irregular stones, and behind the blue tiles rose towering mountains, green so deep they were almost black.

They passed through a lush vegetable garden and stopped at the front door. The wooden door was wide open, with only vague conversation audible but no one in sight.

Cheng Lixue stepped forward and knocked twice firmly: “Anyone home—”

Remarkably, the seemingly inexperienced young woman suddenly found the right position, her raised voice carrying a hint of authority: “Is anyone there?”

Cen Jin watched her profile, subtly curving her lips.

Someone inside responded: “Who is it?” A woman, speaking in dialect.

“It’s me! Cheng Lixue, from the village committee office—” Cheng Lixue also responded fluently in dialect, then took a deep breath, turning to glance at Cen Jin with resignation: “They’re all like this.”

Cen Jin nodded: “Mm.”

The person inside hurried out—a middle-aged woman with short hair wearing red clothes. She was stout with a broad face, but her features were small, all squeezed together when she smiled, extending into crisscrossing furrows, looking somewhat uncomfortable.

She smiled and called out: “Secretary Cheng.” Her eyes simultaneously swept over Cen Jin from head to toe.

Though subjected to this discourteous scrutiny, Cen Jin showed no discomfort, just standing quietly, her face bright and clear, carrying an air of detachment like the high-hanging moon.

The woman somehow sensed the visitor’s unfriendly nature and restrained her smile: “What brings you here? Come in and talk—have you had evening tea, Secretary Cheng?”

Cheng Lixue didn’t go in immediately, just asked: “Is your nephew home?”

The woman’s eyebrows rose: “Why are you looking for him?”

Cheng Lixue stepped aside, gesturing to Cen Jin: “This lady came from Yi City to see him.”

The woman fell silent: “Who is she?”

“His sponsor!”

“Ah—?” Li’s aunt opened and closed her mouth, striving to make her accent closer to standard Mandarin: “So it’s you! This is the first time meeting such a generous benefactor. Why did you suddenly come without saying anything in advance?”

Cen Jin had no time for small talk, only asking: “Where’s Li Wu? He should be home,” she lowered her eyes, glancing at her phone, “It’s Saturday.”

The woman said: “He’s home, of course he’s home,” she turned back to call: “Li Wu! Li Wu? Someone’s here to see you!”

After a moment, there was no movement from inside.

The woman let them in, rushing toward the partition anxiously gesturing: “I’m calling you to come out, get up! Stop feeding! Are you listening to me?”

Her tone was almost scolding.

Cen Jin followed behind, stopping at the same door.

At the same time, the youth by the stove also put down his porcelain bowl, turning his head to look over.

His brows slightly furrowed, and the moment his gaze reached this spot, the large eyes beneath those thick eyebrows, previously unfocused, became extraordinarily startled.

Cen Jin quietly looked at him. The youth’s face overlapped with the one in the photo, yet there were differences—he seemed sharper now, or rather, his features had become more matched to those unyielding eyes.

The youth quickly stood straight. Cen Jin thought she would still be able to look him in the eye as before, but soon, she found herself silently self-mocking as her gaze involuntarily moved upward:

It turned out that in time they hadn’t even noticed, the cypress had never stopped growing.