Night fell, but they remained where they were because it was too risky to walk around without a phone signal. They could only wait.
Yi Ling took several packages of self-heating rice meals from her car and gave it to the children, as they could not take spicy food. The adults ate the spicy self-heating hot pot meals; the portions were generous, and most importantly, the food was piping hot. A good meal in the belly would make the chilly night a lot easier to bear.
Yan Huan and Yi Ling let the children sleep in their tent; the kids were young, scared, and not as resilient as the adults, after all. Yan Huan pulled out the extra blankets from the car and handed them out, asking everyone to make sure to share their blanket with someone else as there were not enough to go around.
The car, too, was already full of people; there was still some gas left in the tank, which meant those inside the car could turn on the heater and stay warm. Even without the heater, the car was still an enclosed space that offered protection from the chilling wind outside.
Both the tent and the car were full, which meant that Yan Huan, Yi Ling, Lei Qingyi, and Lu Yi would have to sleep outside. Luckily for them, they had two extra blankets to share among them.
“Here, wrap yourself with this.” Lu Yi pulled a blanket over Yan Huan, and then tucked it securely around her. Yan Huan had given up her tent; there was no way he was going to let her sleep in the open without even a blanket.
Yi Ling regretted not bringing a few extra blankets with her. Even if the mudslide had not happened, she could have used the extra blankets to cover the car and shield it from the elements. But she had not thought of that, and now they had to share two blankets among four people. She did not mind sharing a blanket with Yan Huan; they had done it many times before this, but the same could not be said for Lu Yi and Lei Qingyi. Both of them were large, muscular men—the blanket was not big enough to cover one of them, let alone two. This was especially true for Lei Qingyi, who was so massive that normal-sized blankets barely covered his feet.
Being too tall had its own disadvantages: you needed bigger clothes, and a bigger blanket.
Okay, fine, Yi Ling thought to herself. This was not the time to be selfish. She handed Yan Huan their blanket, and told her to share it with Lu Yi. Yi Ling, for her part, would be sharing a blanket with the large bumbling bear known as Lei Qingyi.
Ordinarily, it would be extremely awkward for a man and a woman to share the same blanket unless they were in a romantic relationship, but this was not the time to be a prude. They had far more pressing issues to worry about—such as not freezing to death.
“Here, Big Bear.” Yi Ling handed Lei Qingyi one end of the blanket.
“Thanks.” Lei Qingyi quickly pulled half of the blanket over himself. He kept his hands to himself after that, and made sure not to make any unnecessary movements. His mind stayed firmly out of the gutter, which was not that difficult as most people only thought of naughty things when they were warm and well-fed. He was cold and hungry—he had not eaten nearly enough to fill his stomach.
And anyway, Yi Ling did not look like a woman to him. At least, that was what he told himself even as he blushed.
Yan Huan snuggled into her half of the blanket, and then covered Lu Yi with the remaining half, tucking it around his shoulders.
Lu Yi helped Yan Huan brush the bangs away from her eyes. He wrapped the blanket securely around the both of them; it was warm and toasty inside the blanket, thanks to their combined body temperature.
Yan Huan was exhausted. She fell asleep as soon as she settled herself against the car. The cold mountain wind blew against her face every now and then, but she felt warm and at ease.
Luckily, it had not rained. Luckily, they were all safe.
Yan Huan was not worried. It was uncomfortable and inconvenient, yes, but she knew for a fact that they would be rescued in a few days.
She had fallen asleep almost immediately, but she did not sleep well because of her uncomfortable sleeping posture and the biting wind. When she opened her eyes again, she was surprised to find her head resting upon Lu Yi’s thigh. The blanket was wrapped around her; Lu Yi had given up his half of the blanket. Yi Ling, on the other hand, was actually sleeping on top of Lei Qingyi—his massive body was like a soft Simmons mattress to her.
Yan Huan carefully sat up. Lu Yi was still asleep, his face as stoic as always. His eyes were shut, but he looked like a lion that could wake at any moment. There was always a tense aura around him, a palpable undercurrent of formidable strength, even when he was at his most serene.
Yan Huan moved her numb legs and waited for the pins and needles to go away before standing up. She covered Lu Yi with all of the blanket, and then walked towards the roaring river a small distance away. The swift river was now muddy and full of debris. Yan Huan knelt on the ground, and felt the slightly humid wind break against her face. It was not a pleasant feeling; the wind grazed her face like tiny razors.
She sat down on the river bank and let the wind blow against her, again and again. The cold wind helped clear her mind.
She closed her eyes as she waited for the time to pass. For dawn to break.
She was happy to be here. Although she could not provide much help, she had brought them water, food, and shelter from the wind and rain.
She was happy to see that she had helped make the situation more bearable.
She wanted to be a good person this time around.
In her previous life, she had thought that being evil was the easy way through life; she had robbed other people of the fruits of their labor without batting an eye. But she had learned, in the end, that evil people had to pay for their wickedness; she had died a gruesome death, and she was sure that everyone had been happy to see her go. Not even death could have saved her horrible reputation.
She wanted to be a good person this time around. If she was good, perhaps the gods would pity her and reunite her with her daughter—her unborn daughter who had not been able to experience the wonders of life because she had been brutally removed from her mother’s womb six months into the pregnancy and killed.
Yan Huan knew better than anyone that life was not a bed of roses. It was sometimes full of suffering, hardship, and pain.
Even so, she wished her daughter had had a chance at life. You had to prevail until the end to know if your life was worth it.
Yan Huan watched the river surge ahead beneath her; its once crystalline waters now turbid with mud and sand. The beautiful view was now forever marred by the mudslide.
She idly pulled a stalk of wild grass from the ground and put it into her mouth. It tasted bitter on her tongue, but she did not mind.
Suddenly, she spotted something floating along the river. She sat up, pulled the grass out of her mouth, and tossed it away.
It was a small wooden bath tub. Something seemed to be moving inside it.
Was it a cat? A dog? Or a baby?
Before she knew what she was doing, she was already scrambling down the steep river bank.
As she slid downwards, the sharp blades of glass cut her palms, and mud clung to her clothes. But she did not mind the pain. In fact, she did not even register the pain; she was so focused on getting to the tub it did not occur to her that she might fall into the river herself and drown. It was a swift river with strong currents; not even the best swimmer would be able to survive it.
Almost there, she told herself as she grabbed a tree branch and carefully tested her weight against it. She reached out with her other hand towards the river.
As soon as the tub drifted within reach, she immediately grabbed hold of it and pulled it towards her. But she lost her footing, slipped, and was about to fall into the river when someone grabbed her arm.
She turned her head around to look, and was greeted with the sight of Lu Yi’s pale, worried face. His good hand was wrapped around her arm, and Yan Huan could see that he had anchored himself by gripping a large tree root with his injured hand.
“Climb back up. Be careful now,” he said to Yan Huan. Then he turned his head around and shouted, “Qingyi, come here!”
