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◎The King of Scrolls, Day Forty-Seven◎

He walked toward her, his steps hurried, raindrops sliding down his angular face.

Zhou Qingyu's gaze remained fixed on her.

Everything around me became a blurred background.

Jiang Wanzhou stood rooted to the spot, as if her feet were nailed to the ground, only her heart pounding wildly in her chest, almost bursting out of her throat.

She watched him approach step by step.

He stopped in front of her, just inches away.

He carried the scent of rain, mud, and sweat—not pleasant, but undeniably real.

"Wanzhou." He called out again, his voice even hoarser than before, carrying something almost fragile, striking Jiang Wanzhou's heart.

She finally found her voice, and with a heavy nasal tone, she softly replied, "Mmm."

All the words I wanted to say were stuck in my throat at this moment.

She wanted to ask him if he was hurt, what he had been through, and how scared she was...

But in the end, she didn't ask anything; she just looked up at him, staring at him without blinking.

Zhou Qingyu reached out, seemingly wanting to touch her face, but stopped when he saw his own muddy hands.

Jiang Wanzhou ignored him and reached out to tightly grasp his cold, damp hand, which was covered in scratches and calluses.

The taut string in Zhou Qingyu's heart snapped completely.

Without further hesitation, he wrapped his hand completely around hers, raised his other hand, went around her slender neck, and stroked the back of her equally wet head.

With irresistible force, he pressed her forehead against his firm, slightly damp chest.

Jiang Wanzhou did not resist and obediently moved closer.

Her ear was pressed against his chest, where she could hear his steady and powerful heartbeat, each beat clearly reaching her eardrums.

The strength I had been holding on to crumbled at this moment.

Tears welled up silently, quickly soaking his already drenched shirt.

She didn't make a sound, but her shoulders trembled slightly, and she gripped his hand even tighter.

Zhou Qingyu felt a damp heat on her chest and was deeply saddened.

He tightened his arms, pulling her closer into his embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head, closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath.

"I'm sorry," he whispered above her head, his voice deep and filled with guilt, "I made you worry."

Jiang Wanzhou shook her head vigorously in his arms, her tears smearing onto his clothes.

She lifted her tear-filled face, looked at his chin so close to hers, and finally choked out a complete sentence: "It's good that you're alright."

Zhou Qingyu felt as if something had hit her hard, leaving her feeling both sore and tender.

He lowered his head, his forehead touching hers, their noses almost touching, their breaths mingling.

He could clearly see the tears clinging to her eyelashes and his own reflection in her eyes.

“I’m fine,” he repeated. “I promised to come back, and I will.”

The two embraced under the eaves, oblivious to everyone around them. The rain wove a fine curtain around them, as if creating a world that belonged only to them.

The comrades around him laughed good-naturedly.

Another wave of noise approached, and several search and rescue team members practically dragged a person over—it was Jun Yanghong.

She was ten times more disheveled than Zhou Qingyu and the others. Her whole body was covered in mud, her hair was disheveled and stuck to her face, her clothes were tattered, her eyes were unfocused, and she was uttering meaningless mutterings. She was almost in a semi-conscious state.

"This... Honghong!" Su Xiaomei covered her mouth in shock when she saw her sister-in-law's inhuman and ghostly appearance.

A search and rescue team member reported irritably, "Found her in that desolate valley to the northeast! She almost fell off a cliff! When we asked her what she was doing, she said she was looking for someone! That's ridiculous! She's just making things worse!"

The commotion also startled Zhou Qingyu and Jiang Wanzhou, who were embracing each other.

Zhou Qingyu loosened her grip on Jiang Wanzhou slightly, but her hand remained around Jiang's shoulder as she frowned and looked in that direction.

Stimulated by the cold wind and noise, Jun Yanghong slowly woke up.

Her blurred vision first caught sight of Zhou Qingyu, who was completely unharmed and even intimately embracing Jiang Wanzhou. Her confused mind felt as if it had been doused with ice water.

Her lingering obsession and the immense disparity made her struggle violently, letting out a sharp, piercing sound.

"Comrade Zhou! I came here to find you! I heard you were in danger, so I risked my life to find you! I almost died in the mountains! Did you see that?!"

Zhou Qingyu's brows furrowed instantly, her eyes turning as cold as knives.

He shielded Jiang Wanzhou behind him, his sharp gaze fixed on Jun Yanghong.

“Comrade Jun Yanghong!” His address was cold and formal. “My safety is the responsibility of the organization and my comrades! Your actions are reckless and irresponsible, disregarding discipline, interfering with the search and rescue, and showing extreme irresponsibility towards your own life! Please immediately stop these meaningless and erroneous remarks!”

His words were clear and calm.

Jun Yanghong's deafening wails stopped abruptly, as if she had been choked.

Jun Yanghong slumped in the cold mud, Zhou Qingyu's chilling rebuke making her stiffer than the rain.

Her face was covered in mud and tears, her once beautiful features contorted in disbelief, shock, and overwhelming shame.

The gazes around him were no longer filled with curiosity or sympathy, but with naked contempt, disgust, and even mockery as if they were watching a clown.

She had fantasized countless times about close encounters with Zhou Qingyu, whether it was him being moved to tears of gratitude or being amazed and touched. But none of them were like this, where he treated her like something dirty, stripping away all her pretense in public with the most severe and businesslike attitude, leaving only her most embarrassing inner self.

"I...I didn't..." she tried in vain to explain, her lips trembling, but she couldn't form a complete sentence.

Su Xiaomei's face drained of color; she felt as if she had lost all face in this one moment.

She couldn't care less about anything else. She practically pounced on him, and together with the impatient search and rescue team members, she forcefully lifted up the mud-like Jun Yanghong, her voice trembling with tears and anger: "Stop talking! Aren't you ashamed enough already! Come back with me!"

She dared not look at Shen Xinglian, much less at Jiang Wanzhou; she only wanted to escape this place that made her feel utterly ashamed.

Zhou Qingyu ignored the chaos over there and slowly turned around. All his coldness and seriousness melted away the moment he turned around.

He looked at Jiang Wanzhou again, took a step forward, and moved closer. He raised his hand, and this time without any hesitation, gently and tenderly wiped away the moisture from the corners of her eyes and cheeks with his fingertips. His fingertips were still cool from the rain, yet his movements were incredibly gentle.

“I don’t know Comrade Jun at all.” His voice was low and hoarse, carrying the fatigue of a night’s journey, and even more so, filled with the guilt that worried her. “Trust me.”

Jiang Wanzhou looked up at him, and the bloodshot eyes and the bluish stubble on his chin were clearly visible.

"I know."

I believe it.

He said no more, stretched out his arms, and embraced Jiang Wanzhou with unwavering determination.

Jiang Wanzhou's body stiffened at first, then completely relaxed, burying her face deeply in his neck, feeling the pulse of his pulse and the scent of soil, rain and faint soap on his body.

Shen Xinglian leaned against Jiang Renzhou's chest, watching the two embracing in the golden light of dawn, and finally revealed an extremely gratified smile.

She gently nudged her husband with her elbow. Jiang Renzhou looked down at her, then at his sister and Zhou Qingyu. The lines on his usually serious face softened considerably.

After a long while, Jiang Wanzhou's emotions gradually calmed down.

She lifted her head shyly from Zhou Qingyu's embrace, her eyes and the tip of her nose red.

Zhou Qingyu looked down at her, and couldn't help but raise her hand to wipe the corner of her moist eyes with the pad of her thumb.

"Alright." His voice regained its usual composure, carrying a reassuring strength. "It's cold outside, let's go inside."

Jiang Wanzhou nodded, finally finding her voice, which was thick with a nasal tone, and asked softly, "Are you really not hurt?"

"No," Zhou Qingyu answered confidently, and even stretched his arms to reassure her.

Shen Xinglian walked over with two bowls of ginger soup that had been kept warm on the stove, interrupting them with a smile.

"Alright, alright, let's go inside and talk things out. Drink this first to warm yourself up! What kind of behavior is it to stand out in the wind like this!"

Zhou Qingyu and Jiang Wanzhou then separated somewhat embarrassedly and accepted the ginger soup.

As the scalding hot and spicy broth went down, a warm feeling spread from the stomach to every part of the body.

Zhou Qingyu looked at Jiang Wanzhou, who was sipping soup beside her. The sunlight shone on her slender fingers and drooping eyelashes, making her look exceptionally peaceful and beautiful.

He put down the bowl, his gaze calm and focused on Jiang Wanzhou's face, his tone solemn.

"Wanzhou," he called her name clearly, "once the approval comes down from the higher-ups, we'll go get our marriage certificate."

Jiang Wanzhou's fingers tightened slightly around the rim of the bowl, and her heart skipped a beat.

She looked up and met his deep, unwavering eyes, which clearly reflected her image, as well as his undisguised seriousness and expectation.

"A question you already know the answer to."

She looked at him, and the corners of her lips slowly turned up, forming a faint smile.

She nodded vigorously, her voice not loud, but crystal clear.

"good."

The morning light completely dispelled the gloom of the past few days, washing every leaf on the island until it was a vibrant, lush green.

Water droplets dripped from the eaves, striking the stone slabs with a crisp sound.

At the entrance of the Jiang family's courtyard, there were messy footprints on the muddy ground.

Shen Xinglian deftly swept the muddy area at the doorway.

Jiang Renzhou was sent to the inner room to catch up on sleep, while Mingyuan was still fast asleep.

A muffled sound came from behind the wall.

It was Jun Yangjian's low growl, suppressing his anger, mixed with Su Xiaomei's tearful pleas and Jun Yanghong's sharp, aggrieved rebuttal, which was hard to hear clearly.

Shen Xinglian pouted and continued sweeping the floor vigorously, as if she wanted to sweep away the bad luck from next door as well.

Jiang Wanzhou put on a clean floral shirt.

She sat in a chair by the window, sunlight streaming through the glass and falling on her serene profile, her long eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath her eyes.

What are you thinking about?

After tidying up outside, Shen Xinglian came in carrying two bowls of hot porridge. Seeing that she was lost in thought, she asked her a question.