Late Night · Old Rented Apartment
The night was already deep.
The old rented apartment was unusually quiet, the kind of quiet that pressed against the ears. The small desk lamp in Xie Zihan's room was still on, casting a pale circle of light over scattered notes, rough sketches of terrains, and a half-open laptop screen that had long gone idle.
He hadn't written a single new line of code in the last hour.
His thoughts kept drifting—uninvited, uncontrollable.
That image from earlier in the day lingered in his mind like a thorn he couldn't pull out. The back of a woman in a photo. A silhouette that felt too familiar. A certainty he didn't want to admit.
Maybe… it's really over.
A soft knock broke the silence.
Before Zihan could respond, the door creaked open slightly.
Xu Feng leaned against the doorframe, still in casual clothes, phone in hand, expression unusually serious for someone who was usually carefree.
"Still awake?" Xu Feng asked.
Zihan didn't turn around."Yeah."
Xu Feng stepped in and closed the door behind him, lowering his voice instinctively, as if afraid to disturb the fragile quiet in the room.
"I just got a notice from the department group," he said. "Cultural Studies field trip."
Zihan's fingers paused on the edge of the desk.
"A field trip?" he echoed faintly.
Xu Feng nodded."Tomorrow morning. Well—technically today now."
He walked over and casually picked up one of the sketches on the desk: fog-covered peaks, ancient stone stairs winding upward.
"They're taking us to Qingyun Mountain," Xu Feng continued. "You know, the place that's always mentioned in immortal-mortal legends. Old temples, broken altars, mountain mists. The professors say it's perfect for worldbuilding research."
Zihan finally looked up.
Qingyun Mountain.
The name settled into his chest, calm and heavy at the same time.
Xu Feng glanced at him, then added more gently,"They said it's optional, but… if you're working on an original project, especially something mythology-based, it's strongly recommended."
He didn't say Mythfall out loud.
He didn't need to.
Zihan lowered his gaze again. His reflection faintly appeared on the dark laptop screen—tired eyes, restrained emotions, everything carefully locked away.
A place tied to immortals and mortals.A place where legends blurred the line between fate and choice.
It sounded… distant. Quiet.
Exactly the kind of place he needed right now.
After a long pause, he said softly,"What time?"
Xu Feng's lips curved slightly, relieved."Be ready by 7 a.m. The bus leaves sharp. We'll reach the mountain around 11 o'clock."
He straightened up and added, half-teasing, half-serious,"Fresh air, ancient legends, Might do you some good."
Zihan exhaled slowly.
"…Alright," he said.
Just one word, but it carried a decision he hadn't been able to make all night.
Xu Feng smiled."Good. Then get some rest. We've got a long day tomorrow."
He turned to leave, then paused at the door.
"Oh—and bring your sketchbook. This trip isn't for sightseeing."
The door closed quietly behind him.
Zihan sat alone again.
The room returned to silence.
He reached for his notebook, flipping through pages filled with half-finished ideas—realms divided by fate, mortals struggling to ascend, immortals falling for things they weren't supposed to touch.
Outside the window, the city lights flickered faintly.
Tomorrow, he would go to the mountain.
Not to escape.
But to breathe.
And somewhere in the stillness of Qingyun Mountain, fate was already arranging a meeting neither of them had planned.