Lu Yi was dead.
Just a few days ago, Lu Yi warned him to stay alert, and urged him to stay close with his family when it rained heavily, as it might lead to a flood. However, Lu Yi failed to stay alert himself.
He threw himself into the rising flood. Though he was a doctor, capable of saving lives, he was not gifted with the ability to bring back the dead, let alone those missing people whose corpses could not be found. How could he bring them back alive?
Lei Qingyi crouched on the ground as he produced a cigarette and proceeded to light it up.
“It’s a hospital ward,” He Yibin reminded him. “You can’t smoke here.”
“I’m sorry, I forgot about it.” Lei Qingyi doused the cigarette, but he lingered in the same position.
He felt uneasy without taking a smoke. So, he sucked the doused cigarette that was sitting in between his fingers. Although the cigarette no longer gave out any smoke, he felt like it eased his addiction a little.
“Sea City’s riverbank had collapsed, and a dangerous flood is coming anytime soon. We had fenced everyone up behind the danger zone and cordoned off the entire area, preventing unnecessary entries.”
“Yet there were still people who weren’t afraid of death, insisting to see this flood with their own eyes.”
“They were not afraid of death.”
When He Yibin heard this, his anger came as if on cue. How dare they take their own lives so lightly. If they were to give their lives up, they should not have to claim others’ lives with them. Should we even save these people?
Lei Qingyi took another sip of his cigarette, but it tasted like nothing.
“Yan Huan went there to save them, but the railing crumpled. The flood came and all of them were saved. Only Yan Huan had fallen into the water. Lu Yi jumped into the water when he saw that. I think he knew that the fallen woman is Yan Huan. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have sacrificed himself to save someone he doesn’t even know.” Though they were public servants, they were not dumb enough to trade their own lives to save others.
They have their own families, they are someone’s child, someone’s husband, someone’s father, they would not have left their loved ones behind.
“Yan Huan was too meddlesome,” He Yibin voiced his annoyance. “She almost killed herself with this and now Lu Yi died because of her. She is a bane! If Lu Yi had not met this woman, he wouldn’t have died.”
Whatever He Yibin just said had intensified Lei Qingyi’s grief and self-blame, making him more ashamed of himself.
Yes, there was a bane. But the real bane might be him.
“Nevertheless, the worst of them were the few who went to see the flood. Did they knock their heads on a door or are they naturally foolish? Don’t they have even the slightest awareness about safety? How could they even set their feet there? No one had warned them before, not even their family members? How could their families allow them to come and cause such harm to others?”
“These people deserve to die, but they are still alive now, yet Lu Yi was sacrificed.”
After everything, Aunt Lu and Uncle Lu had to go through the grieving process of sending their child away before themselves, and Yan Huan was made a widow. It was better for Yan Huan, since she could find someone else in the future. But for Lu Yi’s parents, nothing was left for them because they had lost their child. Lu Yi was their only child and this was a tragedy for their generation. Most of them were the only children of their parents. If anything happened to them, it might be a relief for them to die without much worries, but it would be a sorrowful experience for their parents.
“Do you know who they are?” Lei Qingyi raised his head. His eyes were puffed red, snot coming out of his nose, as if his addiction for cigarettes had been triggered again.
He Yibin shook his head. How could he have known? They were all unrelated to him but these unrelated people had shattered a family.
Lei Qingyi wiped his face with his hand, sniffing hard to stop his snot from falling. At the moment, he felt like a ghost.
His lips parted, but he was not smiling, instead, he was crying without tears.
“The worst of them, as you called them, are my wife, my mother, and even Lu Yi’s mother. Judge for yourself, how can Yan Huan not save them? How can Lu Yi not save Yan Huan? If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.”
Suddenly, he swung his arm and landed a hard slap on his own face. “Damn it, what was I thinking? I’ve warned the school, the mall, the stall which sells snacks and the beggars. For God’s sake, I had even warned the prostitutes! But I failed to warn my own wife and mother, almost killing them in the process! And now they are both alive but someone had sacrificed himself in their place!”
“Say, aren’t I the one to blame?”
Lei Qingyi, a tough looking man, was tearfully crying, but no one would laugh at him.
No one wanted these kind of incidents to happen, but it did. What should they do, what should they really do?
He Yibin sighed, and patted Lei Qingyi’s shoulder.
“This isn’t the time to blame anyone. Just look at her.” He Yibin pointed at Yan Huan. “Her breathing has been weak. You and I can do nothing about the dead, that is now up to Yanluo1. Now, she’s alive, but she’s not trying to survive.”
“Her life was saved by Lu Yi. Qingyi, we have to think of a way to make her stay alive, because this is the only thing we can do for Lu Yi. We have grown up together with Lu Yi, have you not figured out who he was? You see, even in circumstances like that, he had chosen to save Yan Huan’s life. That means he wanted to see her alive. But I can tell, she has no intention to live anymore, she wants to die.”
“We have to make sure she stays alive, do you hear me?”
Lei Qingyi was nodding continuously. He choked and he could not say a word, because he knew that he would descend into tears again if he spoke.
He Yibin patted Lei Qingyi’s shoulder again. You don’t have to worry, I will take good care of her, provide her with the best medication and give her the best care. I will keep her safe, shielding her from the paparazzi.
They all knew that the more people cared, the more harm it would cause. For example, for some public figures, even a small move would cause an outbreak of tumultuous gossips. With Yan Huan’s fame, not only the whole city, but the whole world would know about it.
“Yes, I understand.” Lei Qingyi stood up and wiped his face with his sleeve. Other than having a pair of reddened eyes, his figure had turned back into a menacing bear. “I will wait a few days before breaking the news to my parents and Lu Yi’s parents.”
“I can’t bear to have them see Yan Huan like this.”
“I know.” He Yibin turned around. Now, Yan Huan’s face was distorted. Among all, she survived in the water for two days and two nights. Not many were able to survive that long in that condition. But most importantly, the flood had not given a second life to her, but a life worse than dying.
1 Lord of the underworld in Chinese mythology
