“A father shouldn’t back away at his daughter’s touch,” said Yan Huan, holding the sodden cloth. “You are my father. You may not have made me or raised me, but you made Lu Yi, raised him, and educated him. He’s the only man in my life to cherish, love, and dote me. Therefore, you are my father as much as his.”
Lu Jin sighed, desisting.
“I have some food in my bag, Dad. Here, have some,” said Yan Huan, passing her bag to Lu Jin. She had given most of the chocolate and tidbits away to the casualties, and all that remained were two meat buns from that morning and a few snacks.
Lu Jin took the bag but left its contents untouched.
“Please eat something, Dad. You’ll need energy. Food aid will come tomorrow,” said Yan Huan, looking up. She knew what was on Lu Jin’s mind—that was all the food they had, they couldn’t possibly distribute or share them. It wouldn’t be enough.
“Okay,” said Lu Jin. He took out a meat bun and began eating. Yan Huan used the cloth to clean the wound at Lu Jin’s feet. Part of the reason why she asked Lu Jin to eat was to distract him from the sight of his feet.
Carefully, she extracted the bits of stone and glass from Lu Jin’s feet. She didn’t know how Lu Jin endured the pain and covered that much distance with these embedded in his feet. There wasn’t a single woundless spot.
“It’s alright,” said Lu Jin, stroking Yan Huan’s hair. “Dad has gone through worse in the army. These wounds are nothing.”
Yan Huan cleaned his feet with the cloth once more, but what she could do was limited—they had run out of water. They drank it all.
She took the shoes and wiped the inside of it. Thankfully, the shoe had a soft woolen base. Even if Lu Jin didn’t have socks, she couldn’t have asked for the man to remove his socks as well.
She fitted the shoe on Lu Jin’s feet and tied the shoelaces. Fortunately, the shoe fitted well. Lu Jin’s feet were large, and it had taken her quite some time to find a pair that fits him. It was still a little tight, but no doubt, better than nothing.
Lu Jin passed the last meat bun to her.
Yan Huan took it and gobbled it down.
Lu Jin took out the phone from Yan Huan’s bag. He sighed. There was no signal.
Yan Huan knew that, which was why she didn’t take out her phone earlier. It wouldn’t be of any use. The signals in Serene City would be out for about 24 hours, and the rescue team will only be able to reach them through the debris a day later. That meant that the victims would need their help till then.
Lu Jin was a general, adept at commanding and maintaining order. Therefore, he had to preserve strength. No one was as important as Lu Jin in this situation. Many lives rode on his back.
Yan Huan hugged her bag tightly. It was pitch-black around her, almost as if the city had fallen into ruins. Everywhere smelled like dust, and she could hear the occasional caving in. At night, a few rounds of aftershocks kept everyone awake, weeping in fear and seeking warmth from each other.
“Don’t be scared. We’ll make it out,” Lu Jin comforted Yan Huan. “Dad will bring you out of here.”
“Mhm. I know,” nodded Yan Huan, hugging her bag tighter. She reached inside and found a bar of chocolate, which she passed to Lu Yi.
Lu Yi understood. He took the chocolate and munched on it. He rarely ate sweet stuff, but things were different this time. He will bring Yan Huan out of this mess even if its the last thing he’ll do. And he planned to make it out alive too.
He can’t die. He can’t leave Shuyun husbandless, or his son fatherless.
Right now, Ye Shuyun was hugging Lu Yi and bawling her eyes out. The Ye Family and Lei Family were both present.
“What do I do? What do I do?” asked Ye Shuyun. “Lu Jin’s in Serene City when the earthquake hit, and the hotel he’s staying at is right in the epicenter of the earthquake!”
Lu Yi wanted to console her, but he found himself mute. News about the earthquake was everywhere on TV; the destruction of roads had impeded rescue efforts, and the rescue team was doing what they could to fix the roads. But how could that be easy? Serene City was full of slopes and rocks. A person may be dying at every minute, and things were getting more dangerous as time elapsed.
Lu Jin was indeed at the epicenter of the earthquake. From the satellite pictures, the hotel had been reduced to rubble and debris. The fate of his father, Lu Jin, unknown.
On top of that…
Huanhuan. His Huanhuan was there too.
His hands tightened around the phone in his pocket. No incoming calls. Signal was out in Serene City. No news at all.
Suddenly, his phone rang. In the still atmosphere, they all turned their gazes at him. Lu Yi took out his phone. It was from Luo Lin.
“Hey, Lu Yi, it’s me, Luo Lin! Did Yan Huan come home? Did she?” said Luo Lin anxiously. “Say something! Is she back? She was at the epicenter of the quake, you know?”
Lu Yi parted his cracked lips, but couldn’t get his voice out of his throat.
“No, she hasn’t come back.”
Luo Lin hung up immediately. Lu Yi gripped his phone tightly without another word. Scary rumors about the disaster site from unknown sources kept emerging in the hours that followed.
According to reliable sources, the best actress of the year, Yan Huan, was also caught in the epicenter of the earthquake in Serene City.
“There is nothing we can do now but pray,” said the news reporter.
Ye Shuyun’s head buzzed. She trembled, trying to find something to say, but failed. As her lips parted, the world went black before her. She passed out.
She wasn’t strong enough for this news, this blow, this ending.
Near them, Lu Qin and his mother enjoyed the show. As the others worried, they were filled with joy.
