B County and C County are almost equidistant from City A. This is particularly evident when looking at a map.

　　Gu Pan had actually seen it before, prior to his "chance encounter" with Ling Hanlu at the train station. He used his magnetic card to compare the map on his phone, meticulously measuring and comparing it twice. It was like trying to solve a geometry problem in middle school without any clue, directly using a ruler to compare the answers.

　　He boarded the long-distance bus. This time, he was heading towards a place that was theoretically a seven-hour drive from C County. That was where he would find the "relatives" that he and Ling Hanlu had mentioned.

　　Gu Pan dragged his suitcase to the front door of his home.

　　By this time, the sun had already set. It was a two-story standalone house. Inside the living room, a group of people had gathered. Having just finished a game of cards, they were still engrossed in conversation.

　　Among them were two individuals, one being a relative and the other a close family member.

　　Li Danxia had her back facing the door, with her hands on her hips. She rhythmically swayed her waist in clockwise and counterclockwise motions. In their last phone call, Gu Pan had heard her mention a herniated disc in her waist, coupled with shoulder inflammation. He had tried to advise her to stay away from the card table, but Li Danxia only halfheartedly agreed and clearly didn't make any changes.

　　Underneath the large dining table in the living room, there were two basins placed. On the rim of the white and blue enamel basin, there was a ring of sunflower seed shells scattered from high overhead. Inside the basin, watermelon rinds were piled up high. The red, white, and green colors indicated that no one had the patience to finish eating these watermelons, which were meant to relieve heat and promote diuresis... The visual experience was extremely unpleasant, and the smell of fructose, phosphoric glutamate, and amylase that Gu Pan could anticipate from their interaction made him hesitate to move forward.

　　In the bright light of the incandescent bulb, Gu Pan felt as if he was being swarmed by light-seeking insects on a summer night amidst the fragmented conversations of the crowd. Instinctively, he tried to dodge, but accidentally knocked over his suitcase.

　　The first person to notice Gu Pan was his aunt, Li Qingxia. She was of the same height as her sister, Li Danxia. Initially, her arms were crossed as she engaged in an intense discussion with the others. Her line of sight happened to be blocked by her sister. However, when she heard the dull sound of something falling outside the door, she quickly turned her body. In just a glance, a look of joy quickly appeared on her face.

　　"Oh, the college student is back!" she exclaimed. Li Danxia also twisted her body and faced the door. The two of them eagerly went out to greet him together.

　　Aunt Li Qingxia stayed for dinner. In my memory, she had never been willing to do so before. But this time, on the evening of Gu Pan's return home, it seemed like she suddenly didn't have a needy infant daughter and husband who required her to serve their meals in order for them to eat properly. She became a free person.

　　Gu Pan felt that there must be a reason behind this change.

　　"Qingxia, it would be best if you talked to your nephew." Li Danxia signaled to her sister with a glance..

　　Li Qingxia set down her chopsticks and wiped her mouth with a tissue. Before broaching the serious topic, she positioned herself properly. Seeing this, Gu Pan couldn't help but put down the half-eaten chicken wing.

　　"Pan, you'll be entering your sophomore year of college next semester, won't you?"

　　"Yes, that's correct."

　　"There's something... " Li Qingxia hesitated, a rosy flush appearing on her plump face.

　　"Sister, he's your own nephew. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Just say it!" Li Danxia encouraged her sister.

　　"Alright, dear. Auntie has a friend who owns a large department store. Business is thriving in our county town!"

　　As Gu Pan listened, he predicted the direction of Li Qingxia's words. He caught a glimpse of his mother, Li Danxia, whose expression couldn't hide her triumphant determination, and he understood her intentions.

　　"They have a daughter who is also studying in City A, just starting her freshman year of college. She's two months younger than you... Last time I met my friend, she mentioned that this girl has known you since high school and praised your tall and handsome appearance!"

　　Gu Pan glanced at Li Danxia again, further confirming how far his mother had gone in enforcing and practicing the "family rules." The obvious intention danced between Li Danxia's dark eyebrows. He knew that his mother's fear of him getting involved with older women had reached an almost pathological level. Someone like his mother needed obedience and reassurance.

　　His gaze turned to his father, who was completely engrossed in drinking and eating meat. Gu Xueping's indifferent and detached demeanor was exactly as his son had expected. As for this middle-aged man's compliance, it had been long-standing.

　　After dinner, Gu Pan went out for a walk. Just as he had walked a short distance, he received a response to his WeChat friend request.

　　The girl's name was Lu Yitong, and she sent Gu Pan a smiling emoji.

　　Gu Pan shook his head, pondered for a few seconds, and then deleted the inadvertently liked smiling emoji from the chatbox.

　　He put his phone back in his pocket and walked away, turning his back to the bustling and prosperous scenery. As he continued walking, it became increasingly tranquil until he reached a place where he could only hear his own heartbeat and the sound of water.

　　The sound of water emanated from the direction of a stone bridge, a place that once bore witness to a painful experience from Gu Pan's childhood.

　　It was a bridge devoid of any guardrails, scattered with rocks on its sloping surface. Time had weathered these rocks, eroding their sharp edges, rendering them smooth and rounded. Yet, its most terrifying aspect lay in the deceptively conquerable illusion created by the not-so-steep slope and the seemingly stair-like arrangement of the scattered rocks. Just as you approached it with an air of mundanity, it had the power to shatter your self-righteousness at any given moment.

　　It was here that Yuyan's forehead scar was left behind, a reminder of how she was pulled back into the mortal realm.

　　After coming ashore, they lay on a smooth boulder, basking in the sunlight until their clothes were partially dry. Yuyan feared her drenched pants being noticed by her aunt, dreading the possibility of her aunt's already less-than-graceful features scrunching further toward the center, resembling a poorly crafted dumpling made by an inexperienced cook. Often, this would be accompanied by a disdainful gaze, something she didn't want to witness.

　　Later, they had the "safe house." Whenever she wanted to escape from these ugly visual experiences, she would retreat inside. Sometimes Gu Pan would also join her.

　　At this moment, Gu Pan once again casually strolled over.

　　The wooden door of the storage room remained unlocked, with a rusty iron hook loosely hanging. Gu Pan pushed the door open and entered.

　　Strictly speaking, he was trespassing on private property. The small, crude, and low-roofed cabin was not meant for habitation, and it was built illegally. However, it held the belongings of others. Yuyan had brought him here in the past, so it was technically legitimate. Although her aunt always treated her as an outsider.

　　A faint musty smell wafted through the small cabin. However, it was bearable, so Gu Pan closed the door behind him. Bathed in moonlight, he saw a scattered assortment of old and discarded items throughout the room.

　　Perhaps due to his small stature in childhood, Gu Pan always felt that the space he was currently in was much smaller than he remembered. He crouched by the window, still covered by a light-blocking curtain, and tried to peer outside from the perspective of ten-year-old Yuyan, through the narrow gap.

　　Outside, against a backdrop of ink-blue, frogs, and insects chirped, and tree shadows swayed. The moon was perfectly positioned, a jade disc hanging high in the sky, gentle and serene. But stepping back just ten centimeters, its brilliance turned into a silvery sword, slashing through the narrow opening... Perhaps, this was what Yuyan saw most of the time! Gu Pan thought to himself.

　　He stood up and took a step back, bumping into a small stool against the wall. Bending down to examine it carefully, he confirmed that it was the same stool Yuyan had sat on. She had sat there, her eyes filled with fear, tears streaming down her face. She had urged her little brother Panpan not to mention the bloodstains on her pants to anyone.

　　"Okay, I'll do as you say." After a decade had passed, Gu Pan found himself surrounded by old cotton and worn-out stools, rehearsing this "promise" once again. As the words smoothly escaped from his throat, he suddenly felt the air in this house, resembling a miniature world, grow thin. The fleeting presence of a gecko darting by his feet served as a reminder that this was not a place to linger.

　　3

　　After lying down, Gu Pan glanced at the time for the tenth time. It was already two o'clock in the early morning.

　　Downstairs, in Gu Xueping's single bedroom, his snoring echoed like thunder. Since their son entered middle school, Li Danxia had been living separately from her husband. They resided in a two-story building commonly found in the local urban-rural fringe area, providing them with the space to live apart.

　　In small communities, the dissemination of news has a unique advantage, particularly when it comes to tantalizing and scandalous family matters. Spreading gossip is the norm.

　　"The daughter-in-law of the Gu family refuses to share a room with her husband," this provided ample material for the neighbors to discuss during their leisure time. The women speculated, with occasional stifled laughter, that half a year ago, Gu Xueping injured his leg while working the night shift, possibly rendering “his sword grew dull” They engaged in lively conversations and found great satisfaction in their social interactions.

　　Of course, 'gossip is not always a lighthearted and pleasant activity.

　　In the same month, at the beginning of the month, two weeks before the "separation incident," they spread the word of a calamity.

　　Not far from the Gu family, another household had a tragedy. The head of the household, Lai Yonggang, passed away. He accidentally fell into the river and drowned while riding his bike home at night.

　　According to local customs, the body was kept for three days before being cremated and buried. During those three days, Lai's mother cried and wailed, almost losing her sight. Yu Yan, as Lai's niece, was assigned to take turns with other younger relatives to stay overnight and keep watch.

　　After the funeral was over, the adults held a discussion. Yu Yan moved into the small house on the west side of her grandparents' place. On the day she moved out, she stood on the balcony of her uncle's house for the last time, gazing into the distance.

　　His incident primarily showcased the tragic aspect of a family losing its pillar of support. Therefore, the women in the neighborhood who enjoyed gossiping did not collectively condemn the "heartless" aunt.

　　Instead, half a month later, Li Danxia and her husband chose to live separately, igniting the once-dormant neural pathways in their busy minds. Their keen sense of smell and talent for finding clues allowed two conflicting narratives to unfold: one of betrayal and the other of unwavering loyalty. In the end, they chose to believe that women uphold loyalty for "true love."

　　This group of women indulged in numerous novels depicting the love, hatred, and complex relationships between young artists and wealthy girls during their teenage years. In their youth, they were fortunate enough to encounter television dramas adapted from similar storylines, immersing themselves in those narratives. Being carefree in their daily lives, they eagerly sought opportunities to play the role of tolerant spectators in the tumultuous lives of others. They had long grown accustomed to getting lost in the extravagant language used to describe plots involving someone usurping another's place. Consequently, when the rigid and uninteresting notions of "right" and "wrong" flashed before them, they chose to overlook them.

　　Moreover, Li Danxia had an average appearance and often presented herself as a generous and charitable person, which helped her regain a significant following among women.

　　So, Li Danxia's family mahjong and chess parlor continued to thrive, despite her being labeled as the leading character in a family drama filled with gossip and scandal.

　　Amidst the bustling sounds of mahjong tiles clashing and occasional bursts of laughter, Gu Pan spent a significant portion of his childhood and adolescence. Now, riding the train from youth to adulthood, he wonders where this serene berth on a summer night will take him.

　　Lying on his side, he can't shake off the faces that haunt his mind. Yu Yan, the bloodstains on her pants in the "safe house." His mother, Li Danxia, inexplicably repulsed by Yu Yan...

　　With wide-open eyes, Gu Pan stares at the ceiling, which resembles a blank writing board. At the age of eighteen, he once again confronts this puzzle, linking the photographs of the people involved with black lines, just like the detectives in crime dramas. As he delves deeper into the mysterious path, he finds himself becoming less and less happy...