Chang Dong waited for a while, still no movement. After a moment's hesitation, he opened his eyes. Ye Liuxi pushed the portfolio back onto the bed and said, "I thought you didn't fear anything at all." Chang Dong smiled, then after a while walked over to the bedside and sat down, reaching out to gently touch her face. Ye Liuxi turned her face aside, avoiding the touch, and firmly asked, "Do you have anything to say? If not, just go out through the door." Chang Dong said, "I'm wrong." "Wrong in what?" "The things we had agreed upon should not be disrupted. It's one thing to take risks yourself, but to burden others as well." Ye Liuxi bit her lips: "It's not just you working alone. Everyone has been involved, inside and out. Everyone had agreed that the priority was to come out unscathed, even if the matter didn't succeed. Today's good fortune is that Old Zhao let us down. If something goes wrong, I'll be lucky to make it through. As for Gao Shen and Liu, they'll be stuck outside—neither of them will be able to escape." Chang Dong said, "I'm sorry Actually, adventures are inherently unpredictable—often relying on the team's chemistry and on-the-spot responsiveness to hold things together. When everything runs smoothly according to plan, there's truly no "risk" left to speak of. Leaf Liu often complains about Chang Dong, mostly to vent her frustration. Yet Chang Dong never argues—he simply accepts everything, and she finds it deeply touching. For a moment, she doesn't know what to say, so she reaches out and taps his head. As her fingers make contact, she notices something unusual and asks, "What's on your head?" She leans up to get a better look. Chang Dong takes a moment to recall, "Maybe it's a scar from when I was hit before." Indeed, it's located on the side of his scalp above the forehead—about a foot long, now healed, with faint traces of stitching visible. Chang Dong usually wears a hat, so she hadn't noticed it before. Leaf Liu says, "Ah, that was the time you were hit?" Chang Dong nods. Ye Liuxi felt a bit uncomfortable, sensing that his current willingness to take full responsibility stemmed in part from the incident involving the mountain tea: there had been relentless criticism directed at him, and yet he had always been reluctant to argue—he could only offer, at best, "I'm sorry." Ye Liuxi spoke softly: "When others complain about you, they don't always have to be right. When I get angry without reason, you should also speak up. Don't just keep apologizing, especially when it's not entirely your fault." Chang Dong smiled and said: "I apologize to others because, under those circumstances, that was the only way I could find to bring myself peace. They wanted to see you fall, yet you kept your head high—only to invite even more storms. But when I apologize to you..." He paused: "I apologize to you because I know you're doing me a favor—how much you're worried, the more you care. That worry means so much to me; it's a blessing. So even if I'm scolded or shouted at, I'm happy to take it. I feel genuinely pleased when I hear it." Ye Liuxi listened, and he found himself nearly Chang Dong looked at her, "Having gotten so emotional here, wouldn't you typically leap into my arms and make a move according to the usual plot development?" Ye Liuxi burst out laughing. Chang Dong smiled and reached out to pull her into his arms, embracing her tightly. The soft pressure of her body against his chest sent a flutter of excitement through him—his heart could clearly feel her heartbeat close by, gradually syncing with his own, until they became indistinguishable. Chang Dong spoke softly, "No matter what the truth turns out to be in the future, Liuxi, remember to stay by my side. We won't be fooled or manipulated by others." Ye Liuxi was momentarily taken aback, sensing there was more beneath his words. She pulled herself free from his embrace, "What's wrong? Did you find something unusual from Old Zhao?" Chang Dong asked her in return, "You just said Old Zhao let you down—what exactly do you mean?" Ye Liuxi recounted what had happened in the study: "He should have been quite capable—how could he have been seated so easily by me? Moreover, the look in his eyes was both embarrassed and irritated, as if some important secret had just been uncovered." Chang Dong asked, "Do you suspect he's not genuine?" Ye Liuxi shook his head. "If he were a fake substitute, one would expect him to stay hidden and avoid public appearances. But Zhao Guanshou is quite the opposite—he's constantly on the move, not only coming out of the city to meet us but also arranging meetings with the elderly lady. In public, he projects an air of dignity and authority, as though determined to announce to the world that he remains vigorous and indispensable as a pillar of the Yulin military force. I find it more likely that he's trying to conceal the fact that he's actually fallen ill—after all, the Yulin Guard relies on martial strength. A leader of such stature, now so frail, wouldn't that be rather comical?" Chang Dong nodded: "Ah, He also mentioned that after the sandstorm in the Poplar City, Zhao Guanshou hadn't moved a muscle in battle, and he was particularly sensitive about people saying he wasn't up to the task—so it's no surprise that today, everything went smoothly in the study." Ye Liuxi brought the conversation back to him: "And you? What did you find in your pile of discarded papers? What did you take when you opened the glass door?" Chang Dong started with the two sets of calligraphy— —"The advantage is already secured." —"A mountain nine仞 is only complete if not lost at the final step; a certain victory must guard against a single misstep. Be cautious. Be vigilant." "I remember clearly that you had retrieved a stamped guarantee letter from Zhao Guanshou before. After comparing the handwriting carefully, I'm certain it's his." "My impression is that Zhao, the old man, is planning something that's nearing its conclusion—yet he's feeling uncertain, even anxious. Sometimes he's very confident, believing victory is within reach; at other times, he worries about the final stretch, fearing that even after all the effort, a mistake might occur at the last "Ye Liuxi asked, 'What's going on?' Chang Dong paused thoughtfully: 'It's a hunch that's directly tied to you, since Zhao Guanshou has recently been focusing on your affairs. These two sets of calligraphy were just recently placed here—clearly written within the past few weeks.' Ye Liuxi also felt a connection to himself: 'Then what about the bookshelf? I remember seeing you take out a volume or two.' Chang Dong didn't answer immediately. After a moment, he reached to his waist, pulled out a magazine tucked in his back pocket, and handed it to Ye Liuxi. But this one dates even earlier—impossible for it to have been printed inside the region. It must have been brought from beyond the frontier. Zhao Guanshou thought it utterly ridiculous to see a magazine about outdoor activities. Ye Liuxi flipped open the cover, but almost as soon as he did, a sudden flash of insight struck him, and he immediately flipped it back. "Yes, in Zhao Guanshou's bookcase. Each shelf is labeled, and this magazine is placed under the section titled 'West of the Jade Gate.' The room remained quiet for a long while, and so did the outside world, with only occasional 'gurgle' sounds coming through—uncertain whether it was Zhun Shan He or Zhun Si Hai releasing air from their throats. How could it be Chang Dong? Ye Liuxi hesitated slightly: 'Could it be that you're also from the interior region?' Chang Dong shook his head: 'Before I came to find you, I had carefully considered this. I simply cannot be from the interior: I have no memory gaps; I remember all the details of my childhood clearly, can name my relatives, and I wasn't adopted. My parents and grandparents were ordinary people—nothing particularly special about them.' Ye Liuxi stared at the cover: 'But Zhao Guanshou wouldn't have randomly collected a magazine about you, would he?' She quickly scanned the magazine directory, aside from feature interviews, the rest were mostly outdoor advertisements, route guides, or tips on outdoor activities. To say Zhao Guanshou was particularly interested in these seemed rather forced. "Yes, so it feels rather unsatisfying," Chang Dong hesitated, continuing, "I came to this Yumen Pass specifically for Kong Yang, and then, for you, I've had to untangle this mess. I always thought I was being drawn into this, connected to it—yet..." But he never imagined he had been arranged. Ye Liuxi remained silent. That was why Chang Dong had said: no matter what the truth turns out to be in the future, remember to stay with me—we won't be fooled or manipulated by others. At this moment, it felt as though the fog had become an ocean, boundless and without shores, while the two of them sat quietly on a dry, cracked leaf, being tossed about on the waves. It took a long time before Ye Liuxi spoke: "That's fine. At least now we've gained a bit more insight, haven't we?" Whatever happens next, just keep a watchful eye out. You don't need to be anxious—if someone truly has been orchestrating things from behind the scenes, planning this for so long, it's no easy task for us to unravel it all in the short term." Chang Dong reached out, gently brushing her hair behind her ears. "I'm not anxious. How winding the game may be, it all comes down to solving it step by step. All I hope for is that we don't lose each other along the way." Ye Liuxi said, "How could we possibly part? Besides, if we do part, we'll just find each other again." She looked down at the magazine, flipping it open. "Let's not overthink it—I'll just see how they're interviewing you in the magazine..." Chang Dong wanted to stop her, but it was too late. His interview opened the issue, with full-page photos, the very first one being... He rested his hand on his forehead, a deep sigh escaping him. He felt that single sigh could spiral and echo all the way through the morning. A moment passed. Yexi held the magazine up and looked at Changdong: "On the Gobi Desert, wearing a white shirt—so wet from the water that it's even soaked, with three buttons deliberately undone at the chest... Are you just posing for the photo?" Changdong simply didn't have the courage to meet her gaze: "All magazine photos are staged." "Who would dress like that?" Who would dress like that? Changdong had once doubted it himself, but the photographer insisted it was called 'contrast beauty.' Yexi: "Do you see—did you intentionally dab oil on your chest? It's glowing in the photo—must have been post-production work?" "…Yes." "And your chest muscles? Are they also digitally enhanced?" Changdong felt it necessary to correct her: "…They're real." Yexi flipped the page. Then she spotted another photo of a café—Changdong sitting by the window, turning the pages of a poetry collection, sunlight slanting in from outside the glass, and the warm steam rising from the coffee beside him. This kind of demeanor—how to put it— isn't bad at all, but on Changdong, it just feels a bit off. Ye Liuxi has a bit of stomach discomfort: after all, she's used to the seasoned artist's style, where he holds the chisel in one hand and the shadow puppet in the other. Changdong feigned composure: "The magazine insisted we show a more everyday, daily-life feel. So I went to a café and took one photo—well, look, there's really nothing much to it..." He reached out to pull the magazine away. Ye Liuxi stepped aside, holding it up and reading aloud: "This man appears gentle on the outside, yet it's hard to imagine such sharp, resilient strength hidden within. My colleagues say he is..." Changdong felt a sudden jolt of panic, no longer caring about the details—he immediately seized the magazine. Ye Liuxi laughed, playing a game of tug-of-war, sometimes lifting the magazine high, sometimes tucking it beneath her, still managing to slip in a few lines here and there—"I think, too much brilliance can be overwhelming; a quiet, contained radiance, however, tends to soften one's gaze..." It was unbearable—just one more word and he'd burst. Changdong reached under her, firmly turning her over and pressing his body against hers... Ye Liuxi suddenly stopped reading. She breathed a little quickly, the magazine resting against her lips, damp droplets brushing the edge of the page. Her hands clutched the magazine tightly, her eyelashes curled, and every subtle tremor at the tips of her lashes made his throat tighten. Chang Dong reached out, slowly withdrawing the magazine and setting it aside, then lowered his head. Ye Liuxi closed her eyes. Chang Dong suddenly remembered something, his voice rough with restraint, speaking softly, "Wait a moment. Keep this position. Don't move." He got off the bed and turned over. Ye Liuxi tilted her head curiously to watch— he walked to the door, locked it; then to the window, checked the latch, pulled the curtains taut. Finally, he turned off the light. When he returned, he explained, "Precautionary measures." Ye Liuxi couldn't hold back her laughter, but it quickly turned into soft, breathy sighs as Chang Dong leaned close to her ear, his voice low and almost persuasive, "Do you prefer something gentle, or something more intense?" Ye Liuxi bit her lower lip. A gentle nightlight spread across her eyes as she said, "Let's all give it a try."