Chapter 75 I Was Born To Love You

The endless sand dunes suddenly danced as if they had come to life, like a demon descending. Qin Tian had seen Tong Zhongyuan just a second ago, but the fear on his face was obscured by the sudden onslaught of yellow sand. The sandstorm swept over her, and her vision was filled with only a dark chaos, with nothing to see. She couldn't open her mouth to shout, or even breathe. All she breathed in was sand. She reached into her pocket for the mask Tong Zhongyuan had given her and put it on. Although the sand continued to seep in, at least she could breathe. She couldn't open her eyes, and the sand hit her face so hard that it hurt.

She squinted her eyes, bent over to minimize wind resistance, and walked step by step in the direction she remembered Tong Zhongyuan. She couldn't see the road at all, and with each step she sank into the sand and pulled herself out. After a few minutes, she was gasping for air, her oxygen supply clearly insufficient. She almost wanted to sit down and rest, but she knew she absolutely couldn't. If she couldn't get out, sitting down would only make her more easily buried in the sand, and harder for Tong Zhongyuan to find. He was looking for her, she knew, he must be looking for her.

The vast blue sky connected to the banks of the Huangpu River. The clock of the Customs Building struck nine, and white seagulls circled around the spire of the Shanghai Museum. Qin Yizhang gazed at the Oriental Pearl Tower in the distance. She sighed softly. It seemed that Tong Zhongyuan couldn't find her this time. Because she left the agreed area and hid in the clock tower. He must be getting impatient looking for her now. She used to feel happy, because he always won, leaving her with no sense of accomplishment. But this time, she waited for a long time and still couldn't see him, which was quite boring. If he had found her earlier, they would probably be playing rickshaw pulling now.

"Ah!!!!!!!!" Suddenly there was a loud roar, and a figure jumped out from the corner and pounced in front of her.

"Ah!!!!!" She jumped three feet high in shock and screamed.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!" Tong Zhongyuan pointed at her and laughed so hard that he fell over.

Qin Yizhang finally saw that it was him. He stroked his pounding chest and said angrily, "What are you doing?!"

"I was going to ask you something. You're playing dirty, hiding here. I had to look for you in the sculpture gallery for ages."

Qin Yizhang lost his temper: "You always win, how boring."

"I think it's interesting." He said with a smile.

"How did you come here to find me?" she asked curiously.

"Well, it's a secret."

"Hmph, boring."

"In short, remember, no matter where you hide, I can find you." He said proudly.

With every breath Qin Tian took, the mask sank deeper, sucking sand into her airways and stimulating her to cough violently. But each cough only caused her to swallow more sand. The lack of oxygen made her feel dizzy, and she couldn't tell if it was just the darkness of the sky or if her vision was just blurring. She pinched her hand with her last bit of strength, determined not to faint. She pulled her phone from her pocket, played a recent song, and turned the volume up to full blast. The music continued, drowning out the roar of the sandstorm.

She flipped through the playlist, selected a new song, turned on the flashlight on her phone, and held it high in the wind.

After a loud bang of electric bass, the high-pitched and penetrating roar of Queen pierced through the shackles of the wind and sounded in the sandstorm.

",With every single beat of my heart.

Yes' I was born to take care of you, Every single day..."

She had only recently heard this song. The other day, Song Suiyang said he was listening to rock music, and she'd somehow managed to search for this band. So, he actually liked this kind of music. Beneath his calm, watery face, what color was his soul?

Moisture welled up in the corners of her eyes. If she had known this would happen, she shouldn't have asked him to come to Niya in the first place. She wasn't worried that she would die here, because she had brought this upon herself. She was only worried that he wouldn't be able to forgive her.

Amidst the swirling sand, a silhouette loomed, like a formless ghost, becoming clearer with each step. His steps grew firmer, closer and closer. Tears welled up in her eyes, and strength returned to her body. She didn't want to wait here for him to rescue her. She walked towards him, her steps light and her feet deep.

Tong Zhongyuan's pounding heart made it almost impossible for him to hear the song. But he knew he was safe. He had finally found her. When he grasped her outstretched arms, it was like waking from a nightmare to see the morning sun, like a plane safely landing after a bumpy flight. He was safe. Because of her presence, he had escaped from his horrific imagination. He had no complaints, only gratitude. It turned out that her mere existence was worth gratitude.

He pulled a pair of goggles from his pocket and put them on her face. Her face was covered in tiny scratches, and her eyes were wet. He had said he would find this crybaby no matter where she hid.

He pulled out his phone and activated the compass. There was no signal here, but there was still a magnetic field. The tomb was northwest of where they had parked. Now, he could only firmly trust the compass and his sense of direction.

He held her hand tightly as they walked across the dunes. Unlike last time, his hand was cold and clammy, devoid of any warmth. Her hand slipped slightly, so he tightened his grip again, slipping his fingers between hers and clasping theirs tightly. After walking for a while, the warmth in his palm slowly returned.

They walked for an unknown amount of time in the pitch-black sandstorm. Two blurry circles of light appeared in front of them on the left, like a faint sun. There was also the faint sound of a horn.

Tong Zhongyuan breathed a sigh of relief. However, he did not dare to slow down. He stepped firmly on each step before moving forward, letting Qin Tian follow in his footsteps.

Azati honked his horn repeatedly, and two blurry figures gradually emerged in the spotlight illuminated by the car lights. He stopped honking and unlocked the car.

Tong Zhongyuan opened the back door, escorted Qin Tian to the car, and got in himself. They were both covered in sand from head to toe, especially Qin Tian. Her hair was thick and tangled, making her look like someone from the Beggars' Sect. She was trying to brush the sand off her head, pulling at it roughly. Tong Zhongyuan couldn't bear it anymore and grabbed her hand.

"It's tied, don't pull hard," he said.

He untied her hair tie and tried to straighten out the tangles. His fingers were much more nimble than those of an average person. Qin Tian lowered her head and quietly let him handle her hair. After a while, his low voice came from above her head.

"alright."

She shook her hair, and the sand fell like a lion caught in the rain.

Azati drove the car in a small blind circle to prevent the tires from getting stuck in the sand dunes.

"How long does a sandstorm usually last?" Tong Zhongyuan asked him.

"At least three to five days, and sometimes more than ten days." Azati answered, his voice no longer as cheerful as before.

"Has it always been like this?"

Azati said dejectedly, "There will be days when the wind is weaker, but even then we can't get out. We can't find the way we came in, and getting stuck in quicksand will only make things worse. And if we leave this position, even rescue efforts won't find us. Usually, we come in with two or more cars, so I was too careless."

Three to five days. They had enough fuel, and barely enough food and water. But what if it was more than ten days? What else could they do besides wait for rescue? Now was the time when their willpower and physical strength were at their strongest. Waiting until three to five days later, when food and water were exhausted, to find a solution would undoubtedly be a far cry from what they had now.