Hearing the voice, Ouyang Zhoujing turned to look at her, his steps unconsciously halting. "Me?"

Song Nuan was finally able to catch her breath.

Excitement flickered in her eyes as she nodded emphatically. She was too tired to speak and didn't want to utter a single word unless absolutely necessary.

He smiled and said, "I thought you weren't planning on talking to me the whole way."

Song Nuan: "..."

Was she really that obvious?

Being exposed in public didn't embarrass Song Nuan. She twitched her lips and casually made up a story, "Walking on mountain paths is tiring, talking will waste energy."

Are you tired?

Song Nuan remained expressionless. "It's alright."

He looked up at the sky and said, "There's still time. Let's rest for a bit; I'm a little tired."

It had rained recently, and there wasn't much to sit on the mountain. It was damp and wet. They traveled light, carrying only tools and no cleaning supplies. They said they were resting, but they were really just standing and leaning against the thick tree trunks.

Song Nuan didn't even dare to hope to be able to sit or squat to rest.

"You haven't answered my question yet."

She had just made up a topic casually, but now she really wanted to know why Ouyang Zhoujing was in Yunxian.

"I'm here to investigate something."

She said "oh," realizing she couldn't ask any more questions. Whether it involved personal privacy or business secrets, it wasn't something she wanted to hear or could hear.

As the old saying goes, the more you know, the faster you die.

But Ouyang Zhoujing continued, "It's related to the Wen family. Cheng Yi was forced to drop out of school by them, so I should return the favor."

"..."

She didn't reply, and the air suddenly became quiet again.

The mountain wind was strong, making the branches and leaves tremble and rustle. There were also a few faint bird calls, but more than anything, there was the tranquility of this land.

Five minutes passed.

"Let's go." Song Nuan had just stood up when she heard Ouyang Zhoujing speak.

She nodded, slung her bag over her shoulder, and Ouyang Zhoujing glanced at her slender fingers and smiled gently, "The ring is quite beautiful; it's a very rare natural blue diamond."

"Thank you," she replied curtly.

She wasn't wearing a ring at the hotel, so why did she suddenly put one on?

At the Berlin product launch, he and Ansze gave her a diamond set, but he never saw her wear it. When he saw her in other situations, she almost never wore jewelry and was always much more elegant than others.

Suddenly remembering something, Ouyang Zhoujing smiled.

"Was that a gift from Ah Jing? Is he afraid I'll eat you up?"

This man's thinking is terrifyingly meticulous.

The second half of the sentence seemed to be mocking Li Jingchen, but Song Nuan felt that the sharp edge between the lines was pointed at her, aimed directly at her face.

Many things between adults are understood even if they are not spoken aloud.

Moreover, someone as intelligent as Ouyang Zhoujing.

Song Nuan slightly tugged at the corner of her lips, her tone slightly raised, and asked him, "What did you do that made him mistakenly think you were going to eat me?"

He shrugged with a faint smile, sighed helplessly, and said, "Ah Jing has always been like this, easily nervous, always worried that I will take you away."

"He's overthinking it."

"That's what I said about him too."

Song Nuan smiled and said, "If it weren't for Ouyang Chengyi, I would have basically no contact with you. He would be more worried about me and An Sze than about you."

He chuckled faintly, said nothing, and remained expressionless. It was unclear whether he hadn't understood what she meant or simply didn't care.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

After resting, we set off again, and our pace was much faster than before.

The survey was not difficult. Going up the mountain was mainly about looking at the terrain. Based on the mountain's shape, it was determined that a large area of ​​bayberry trees were planted on the mountains of Yunxian County, which was a resource on which most of the villagers in Yunxian County depended for their livelihood.

Some villagers have orchards at the foot of the mountain, so the round trip doesn't take much time, and the bayberries are less likely to be damaged by the bumps during transport. But it's different for villagers whose orchards are halfway up the mountain.

Song Nuan recorded the various data obtained from the test, and the repeated squatting and standing made her feel a little dizzy.

Ouyang Zhoujing has disappeared.

She put down the drawings, thinking of getting up to rest, but as soon as she straightened up, a wave of dizziness hit her, and her vision went black. She swayed, and in that instant, the feeling of weightlessness intensified, and she lost control of her body.

She fell and hit a rock. Before she could even cry out in pain, her body rolled uncontrollably down the slope. Dry branches, pebbles, and various obstacles she couldn't see bumped into her and scraped her skin.

Even with three layers of clothing protecting her, Song Nuan could still feel a burning pain in the skin beneath the fabric.

Its body rolled until it stopped on a flat surface.

Song Nuan was in pain all over her body, so much so that she couldn't muster any strength. She lay there looking up at the sky, gritting her teeth and shouting, "Ouyang Zhoujing!"

No one responded.

She sighed resignedly, and, enduring the pain, used her hands to support herself on the ground, trying to stand up, only to find that her legs were in unbearable pain.

Carefully rolling up her trouser leg, Song Nuan discovered that the abrasions on the side of her leg were not serious; it was the swollen ankle that was affecting her walking.

She reached out to try and rub it open, but the moment she touched it, she gasped in pain, "Hiss—"

Fortunately, the phone wasn't broken.

She dialed Ouyang Zhoujing's number, and it rang several times before he answered, "Song Nuan, where did you go?"

"I fell down the hillside."

"What?" His usually calm and clear voice was tinged with anxiety. "I can't hear you. Can you hear me?"

She had to repeat herself, "I fell down the hillside."

"Sizzle—"

The static suddenly interrupted the call.

"It's over," Song Nuanxin said.

Sure enough, not only could Ouyang Zhoujing not hear her, but she could not hear his voice either.

That's really unlucky.

First it was Xu Yiran, then it was her. Is the feng shui of this place bad for them?

Song Nuan was on the verge of tears. She didn't want to sit and wait to die, but it wasn't bayberry season, so there weren't many people coming up the mountain. At least, they hadn't encountered anyone other than themselves on their way up.

Should we place our hopes on Ouyang Zhoujing?

Regardless of what he wanted to investigate about the Wen family, he came for Ouyang Chengyi, which shows that he still values ​​this younger sister, and her accusations...

This was the direct cause of Ouyang Chengyi's dropping out of school.

Even if she had made that call, and Ouyang Zhoujing knew she was injured, he might not have come to her rescue.

Or perhaps, in fact, there was nothing wrong with the signal she sent when she first called for help.

It's terrifying to think about.

Song Nuan shook her head and crossed Ouyang Zhoujing's name off her mind. Rather than waiting for him to come to her rescue, she would rather ask Qiu Rong for help.

Yes, and Qiu Rong too.

Song Nuan quickly sent a text message to Qiu Rong, but the signal was bad and the message could not be sent.

She was getting anxious, holding up her phone and searching for a place with a good signal, but her movements were limited, and she could only wander around a few places, with no difference in the surrounding area.

"I should have checked the almanac before going out."

As soon as he finished speaking, his phone rang; it was Qiu Rong calling.

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly answered the call, "Mr. Qiu, I fell down the hillside. From here, you can see the red flag in the village."