He moved his arm. It did not hurt much, but when he looked down, he saw the worry and fear in Xia Ruoxin’s eyes.
“Don’t overthink it.” Chu Lui truly did not mind his injury. He did a quick calculation of the time and figured it was around daybreak. They should just keep things as they were for a few more days. He reached and placed his hand on Xia Ruoxin’s face.
She’s already so thin; how is she going to gain back all the weight that she had lost? He really did not think that she was ugly in any way. To him, Ruoxin would always be the adorable little girl that he met over twenty years ago, no matter what became of her.
She might have looked different, but her heart was the same.
“Oh, right. Tell Shen Wei that Brother San is here, too. We picked two routes. Brother San went to the other one, but I’ll let him know so that he can put his mind at ease.
“Okay, go back.”
He nudged Xia Ruoxin on the shoulder as the latter looked back reluctantly. She felt her feet began to ache, and she was afraid.
She was afraid that they might not have the chance to meet again if she left.
‘Don’t worry.’ The man mouthed. Even though it was voiceless, she knew these two words were what he meant to say.
She walked back into the bunkers, and Shen Wei sat up.
“What’s wrong? Why did it take you so long to go to the bathroom?” Shen Wei yawned. She had begun to worry that Xia Ruoxin might have fallen into the hole.
Xia Ruoxin hurried over and hopped into her blanket. It was still warm. En, warmth.
“I have something to tell you.” She leaned over. The two were rather close so it was quite easy for them to whisper to each other. Still, she was afraid that someone else would have overheard.
She leaned into Shen Wei’s ear and whispered to her.
Shen Wei was first shocked then stunned.
“He managed to find even this place?”
Xia Ruoxin put her fingers to her lips. “Shh…”
Shen Wei understood. She lay back in bed but sat up soon after. This seems a little too good to be true. It’s this place we’re talking about! She reached for her hair and pulled hard.
She was not sure if she should be excited, agitated, or moved.
If he were here, then there was one thing that she could believe: he promised to bring them out of here so he would. Chu Lui was not just anybody. He never did anything that he was uncertain of.
His appearance here meant that he had made the necessary arrangements, but she could not figure out how he would do it, no matter how hard she thought about it. Since he asked them to wait, all they could do was that.
No matter what the future held, she knew that she was not going to fall asleep that night. She believed that it was the same for Xia Ruoxin. Even though she was lying there, her breathing was uneven. She probably felt uneasy and lost.
Daybreak… wake up and pan for gold. Even though life was repetitive, everything seemed better perhaps because they had something to look forward to.
However, two days passed. Xia Ruoxin was beginning to wonder if Chu Lui had lied to her, that he had no way of getting out but was only lying to reassure her. If that were the case, she should have been the only one suffering. Rainy had already lost a mother; she could not lose her father, too.
If they both remained here, they might die tomorrow; and her poor daughter would be an orphan.
Another day passed, and she was in despair. She could barely sleep at night. All she could think of was how the man was suffering like she did as he did the same things she did.
“Do you hear something?” Shen Wei asked Xia Ruoxin. She seemed to have heard something strange.
“What thing?” Xia Ruoxin grabbed a handful of sand as she looked towards the sky. The furthest they could see from where they were was the night sky. The weather was rather pleasant today, and one could feel the warmth from the sun. It was a little less cold, but the water underneath their feet was still freezing.
Perhaps the weather was getting warmer, just like when they first arrived. Even though things were rather tough then, they have never been this terrible. She felt worse when she thought of the man.
She would rather that he never came to look for her, that he remarried… instead of suffering here with her.
“Helicopter…” Shen Wei muttered. Xia Ruoxin looked towards the blue sky, and there it was—a helicopter. Everyone stopped working when they saw the helicopter and stared blankly at it as it landed. The helicopter door then opened, and a few military personnel—with a young man—walked out of it. They said something to the Puff, and fear rose in her face as she looked down and remained silent.
Chu Lui walked out from the side, barefooted. Even so, despite how disheveled he was, the aura that he emanated made it clear that he was in charge.
The young man instantly understood when he saw Chu Lui. He walked over and reached out his hand. “Hi, are you Mr. Chu?”
“Yes.” Chu Lui reached out his hand. “I’m Chu Lui.”
The young man smiled. “I’m Gu Qi, Mr. Mo’s assistant.” He said something to Chu Lui that the other could not hear. Chu Lui shook his hand, turned, and then stepped into the freezing water. He walked over to Xia Ruoxin. He could spot her instantly in a crowd. This time around, he would not get the wrong person.
“We can go home now.” He patted her sparse hair, undisturbed by its greasiness. To him, Xia Ruoxin was the woman that he had waited for over twenty years. No matter what she looked like, she was still his daughter’s mother.
“Go home?” Xia Ruoxin’s chapped lips were shaking. “You mean we can leave this place and go home?”
“Yes,” Chu Lui placed his hand on her face. “Let’s go home.”
Xia Ruoxin turned and beamed at Shen Wei.
“Shen Wei, we’re going home.”
