CH 65

The “open space” mentioned by the villagers was located about two hundred meters from the village entrance. It was approximately the size of three football fields. Originally, it was a place for drying grains. It was spacious and flat enough to accommodate the entire village population without any issues.

The inn was not far from there, just a few minutes’ walk away. As Pei You counted the number of people and hurriedly followed his colleagues, the villagers had already started to gather there in scattered groups.

The village chief was anxiously moving through the crowd, checking the headcount and assessing the injured. When he turned around and saw Pei You, he hesitated for a moment, then quickly approached, speaking Mandarin with a regional accent, “Are you kids alright?”

“We’re fine,” Pei You replied. “Thanks for your concern. The inn only has two floors, so we managed to get out quickly.”

The group accompanying Pei You on this business trip consisted of young and strong men and women. They were quick to react and were physically fit. When they were awakened, the first thing they did was rush out of the building, holding their phones. Even the one who was slower on their feet was pulled out by Pei You and the others, sustaining only minor injuries.

Pei You guessed that they weren’t at the epicenter of the earthquake, so the impact wasn’t as severe. At a glance, most of the people in the open space seemed to be fine. There were only a few injured individuals who had been moved under a makeshift rain shelter nearby, crying out in pain.

“Well, as long as everyone’s okay, that’s what matters.” The elderly village chief sighed and muttered softly, “This earthquake came at the wrong time. So many people were sleeping, they couldn’t even react in time.”

The injured individuals under the rain shelter had varying degrees of wounds. A few of them seemed to have been pulled out from their slumber, covered in dust and dirt. Their arms and legs were stiffly placed on damp blankets, and it was uncertain if their bones were injured.

The blood flowing from their wounds mixed with rainwater, creating a pale pink hue as it wound its way along the muddy ground, pooling in a nearby puddle.

Pei You furrowed his brows slightly, finding it hard to look at the scene.

“Village Chief,” Pei You spoke up, “Shouldn’t we send the injured to the hospital first?”

“Ah, I just made a phone call earlier,” the village chief said. “The town hospital said they’ll come to pick up the injured soon. They asked us to take a headcount first and they’ll take everyone away together.”

“That’s good,” Pei You sighed in relief and asked, “So, what’s the situation here? Once the aftershocks subside, can we organize everyone to evacuate to a safe area?”

“That might not be possible for now,” the village chief wiped water from his face and said with a troubled expression, “I heard that the road to the city from our town is blocked by landslides. It’s not just cars, even people can’t climb over it.”

Located halfway up a mountain, Guangnan Town had only one road connecting it to the outside world. Pei You and his team had passed through it before. It was uneven and partially unpaved. It was narrow enough to barely be called a two-way road. Whenever a large vehicle came from the opposite direction, the smaller vehicle had to reverse until there was a passage.

After an earthquake, the most dangerous thing was aftershocks. Given the risky state of the mountain road and the heavy rain, no one dared to take the risk of crossing the muddy area created by the landslide.

“What does that mean?” a young intern behind Pei You asked anxiously, “Are we trapped here?”

“Not exactly,” the old village chief reassured, “We have a lot of people in our town, so they definitely won’t leave us stranded. Even if we don’t receive any news, we can’t leave the injured here. Once the rain stops and if there are no more aftershocks, we can organize some young and strong villagers to try and clear the road.”

The intern seemed agitated and was about to say more, but Pei You gently pulled him back, stopping him from speaking.

“Understood,” Pei You said, “If there’s anything we can do to help, please let us know.”

The old village chief wiped the rainwater off his face and nodded in agreement. He pointed to two areas under plastic sheets nearby, which served as makeshift rain shelters.

“You can go over there to take cover,” the old village chief said. “We don’t know when we’ll be able to leave, and with this heavy rain, you shouldn’t risk getting sick.”

Pei You acknowledged and led a few colleagues to the plastic shelter, picking up a stone from the edge to sit on and stay dry.

The young intern who had spoken earlier was quite young and had only recently graduated. He wandered around with his phone, talking to himself.

“…Such bad luck,” he complained softly, “We went out for a trip and ended up in this mess. And my phone’s broken too. My mom must be so worried.”

His anxious demeanor seemed to affect those around him to some extent. Pei You looked down and couldn’t help glancing at his own phone’s black screen.

He wasn’t worried about his family. He had been on business trips so often that his mother, He Ping, and sister, Pei Yu, were used to it. They didn’t ask where he was going anymore. It was normal for him to be busy for ten days or even half a month without contacting them.

What truly concerned Pei You was the call from Zhou Qingbo that he couldn’t answer. Zhou Qingbo would have definitely seen the news and should have been trying to reach him. Not being able to contact him multiple times made him wonder how anxious Zhou Qingbo must be.

Thinking of this, a rare touch of anxiety appeared on Pei You’s face. He lowered his eyes and, despite knowing there wouldn’t be any result, subconsciously pressed the power button, hoping for a miracle.

“Pei Ge.”

Busy as he was, a young woman suddenly sat down beside him. She handed Pei You an unopened packet of tissues and suggested, “Try using these to absorb the water. They might work.”

Pei You whispered his thanks and took out a dry tissue from the packet.

“It’s rare to see you so anxious,” the girl said. “Trying to reach your family?”

Pei You gave a soft affirmative sound and said, “He gets anxious easily, and I’m afraid he won’t be able to reach me.”

“Oh,” the girl keenly sensed something from his tone, blinked, and teasingly glanced at him, saying, “Someone you like?”

Pei You wasn’t particularly fond of discussing personal matters at work, but perhaps it was the sense of surviving a disaster or maybe he was just missing Zhou Qingbo too much at this moment. He nodded his head lightly and, almost involuntarily, let out a soft affirmation.

“Rare! Pei Ge is finally in love,” the girl exclaimed with a wail. She asked, “What’s he like?”

“He…” Pei You stumbled over his words, still not used to talking about Zhou Qingbo in front of others. So, he didn’t manage to say much, his gaze drifting away.

“He… is really good at acting cute,” Pei You said. “About the same age as me but much livelier. A skilled professional, and he’s particularly protective of me.”

“Oh…”

Finding humor in difficult situations is a Chinese tradition. Amidst pouring rain, talk of their leader’s love life reduced some of the clouds of worry and lightened the mood. Even the previously anxious intern joined in, squeezing into the circle to listen to Pei You.

“Falling in love seems so nice,” the first girl to speak said, “I want to fall in love too… at least at a time like this, having someone to think about must feel really good.”

Pei You fiddled with his phone, his mind drifting. Secretly, he agreed with her words.

There are many things that go unnoticed in the mundane routine of daily life. Just like how Pei You always thought of himself as a reserved and practical person, carrying the heavy burden of adulthood’s pragmatism. He did everything in a systematic manner, even his “love life” was confined within a “correct” box. While that might conform to most people’s ideals, it lacked impulsiveness and was overly conservative.

But it was only in that critical moment that Pei You realized how wrong he was. In that moment of crisis, he didn’t even consider how his mother would react if something happened to him. He didn’t ponder his young age and promising future, about to be buried in a remote town. He didn’t even get a chance to think about the work files he hadn’t uploaded to the cloud yet. His mind was entirely consumed by one thought—if only he had called Zhou Qingbo last night.

He had discarded all that was “useful” and “practical,” and in his mind, only an insignificant thought remained.

But it was this “insignificant” thought that lingered in his mind,  gently but persistently, accompanied by threads of regret, silently entwining his heart.

It was only in this moment that Pei You realized that, in life and death situations, only Zhou Qingbo could occupy all his thoughts, along with those unspeakable “regrets.”

The phone in his hand remained a dark brick. Pei You wiped away the water stains with the tissue, carefully wiping every corner.

The “gossip topics” around him continued, with the young minds vibrant and active. They wandered through fanciful thoughts, eventually circling back to Pei You.

“Hey, look at how focused Pei Ge is. You can tell he’s in a good relationship.” Someone chuckled. “We’ve been through a life-and-death experience, so why not turn your girlfriend into your wife when you get back? It’ll be one less thing to worry about.”

Pei You’s ears automatically filtered out the phrase “girlfriend,” leaving only the latter part of the sentence.

He thought for a moment, and from that delicate state, a trace of anticipation unexpectedly emerged, following their joking remarks.

“…Hmm.” Pei You’s tone was light, more like a muttered affirmation to himself than a response. “Of course.”