“How can I ask you for money?” Lei Qingyi said again, genuinely taken aback. He thumped his chest. “You saved my life. My life is worth a lot, you know. If you want Lu Yi’s car, no problem! I’ll model a car for you when we get back. I mean what I say.”
Yi Ling chewed on her thumb. “You really mean it?”
She had forgotten that she had saved his life. It was the Chinese way to return favors tenfold; surely it was perfectly reasonable for her to ask for a car in return?
“Yes, I mean it.” Lei Qingyi thumped his chest again for emphasis. “I was the one who modified Lu Yi’s car for him. I’ll put together a better, flashier car for you.”
“Okay, it’s a promise.” Yi Ling reached out, intending to pat Lei Qingyi on the shoulder, but she was much too short and Lei Qingyi was much too tall. She tried standing on tiptoe, but even then all she could do was feebly flap her fingers near his shoulder.
“You’re a real bro.”
The smile on Lei Qingyi’s face froze in place.
Were they bros? Really?
The other survivors boarded the helicopter and left, leaving Lu Yi, Lei Qingyi, Yan Huan and Yi Ling behind to wait for another helicopter to come for them. The other survivors would be taken to the local police station, where the government would assist them with their current, more pressing needs, and also with their plans for the future.
A second helicopter arrived; it flew Yan Huan’s group directly to Sea City, landing on top of Yan Huan’s apartment building. Yan Huan had never been to the top of her apartment building before; she was surprised to see that it was large, spacious, and free of obstructions. Her imagination raced ahead, and she began to wonder if it had been built specifically as a landing pad for military helicopters.
Lu Yi escorted Yan Huan to the 15th floor. When they arrived before her apartment, Yan Huan turned and stared pointedly at his hand. She was sure his injury needed to be cleaned and treated properly.
“I’ll be back in a moment.” Lu Yi opened the door to her apartment for her.
Yan Huan opened her mouth, but could not think of anything to say.
She gave up and entered her apartment. When she turned around to look, Lu Yi had already left.
Yi Ling hugged her sofa as soon as she entered her apartment.
“My sofa, my dearest sofa, I’ve missed you.”
She kissed her sofa. They had been away for almost ten days, and it felt like an eternity. But she did not regret the trip; it had been scary, yes, but they had made it out alive. The vacation had not gone according to plan, but it had been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It had been worth it.
Her only regret was the car. She wished she had at least brought the steering wheel back with her, to keep as a souvenir.
Yan Huan pulled a fresh set of clothes from her wardrobe before entering the bathroom to take a shower. She stank horribly. She turned on the shower, and her knees almost turned to jelly at the sensation of the warm water raining upon her.
She opened her hand and inspected the cuts on her palm.
She had been a little too reckless. She had not been afraid then, but thinking on her actions now, she felt a belated twinge of fear.
She placed her forehead against the wall, closed her eyes, and slowly let out a long breath. She could still see, in her mind’s eye, a vivid image of the swollen river—the turbid water, the branches and logs that bobbed furiously along, and the frothing bubbles.
She remembered asking her mother where she had come from.
Her mother had said that she had fished her out of a swollen river, that there was a tiny child inside every bubble on the frothing river surface. After hearing that, Yan Huan had hoped for the river to swell again, so that her mother would be able to fish out another child like herself.
It was much later—when she was all grown up—that she finally realized that it had been a metaphor. Rivers had nothing to do with children.
But it turned out that her mother had not lied to her.
It was actually possible to find a baby amidst the frothing current of a river.
“Huanhuan, are you done?” Yi Ling knocked tentatively on the bathroom door, wondering if Yan Huan had passed out inside; she had been there for more than an hour now.
“Yeah, I’m almost done.” Yan Huan turned off the shower, wrapped herself in a bathrobe, and finally emerged from the bathroom.
Yi Ling let out a sigh of relief. She had been worried about Yan Huan, afraid that she had fallen sick after their ordeal. She entered the bathroom and took her time showering, making sure to clean herself thoroughly.
Once she was clean, she dressed herself and went to the pet shop to pick up Little Bean. The pet shop attendant had told her that Little Bean had not been eating much, and it showed; she was obviously a lot lighter now than before.
Yi Ling’s heart ached for her poor baby.
Yi Ling was sitting on the sofa with Little Bean on her lap when the doorbell rang. She patted Little Bean on her tiny head and moved the cat onto the sofa before walking over to the door. She opened the door and saw that it was Lu Yi; standing next to him was an unfamiliar man.
“Hi, nice to meet you.” The man smiled cheerfully at Yi Ling. “My name is He Yibin. I’m a doctor.”
“Hello.” Yi Ling quickly stepped aside to let him through.
Yi Ling was happy to have a doctor in the house. He would be able to give them a check-up; she would be able to sleep easier at night if she knew for certain that there was nothing wrong with Yan Huan.
He Yibin checked Yi Ling first. She was in perfect health.
Yan Huan, on the other hand, was running a slight fever. She was feeling a little groggy and sluggish.
The wound on her hand had become infected.
“How is she?” Lu Yi frowned. He knew from He Yibin’s expression that something was wrong.
“Don’t worry. It isn’t serious. I’ll give her an injection; she’ll be fine as soon as her fever breaks tonight,” He Yibin replied as he pulled out an IV bag from his medicine kit and hooked Yan Huan up to it.
Lu Yi tossed his house key to him. “You can stay in my apartment. I’ll call you if we need you.”
“Okay.” He Yibin slid the key ring around his index finger. He did not bother taking his medicine kit with him, since he would be sleeping at Lu Yi’s place that night. It was only a few floors below Yan Huan’s apartment.
That night, Yan Huan drifted in and out of consciousness. Yi Ling was relieved to have Lu Yi in the apartment with them; in fact, she was so relieved she fell asleep as soon as she seated herself on the sofa in the living room.
After the ordeal, Yi Ling was now much more comfortable with Lu Yi and Lei Qingyi.
They had survived a harrowing life-or-death situation together, which made them comrades-in-arms now. She would gladly give the shirt off her back for her fellow comrades if necessary—although she was pretty sure no one did that any more.
The point was, they now trusted one another.
Yi Ling knew that she could trust both Lei Qingyi and Lu Yi with anything, no questions asked.
When Yan Huan opened her eyes again, the sky outside had brightened. She lifted a hand to rub her eyes, only to discover that it had been wrapped in a thick layer of bandages.
“What…?”
She stared uncomprehendingly at her hand, turning it around to inspect it. She felt a slight throbbing pain from her palm.
It was her wound. It hurt.
