Chapter Three

The phone screen on the coffee table kept lighting up with push notifications. The man, who was curled up on the sofa watching an action movie, barely managed to pull himself out of the exciting plot. He put a sunflower seed in his mouth, brushed the crumbs off his hands, and swiped his phone to see the news automatically pop up.

—Breaking News! A 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Ming'an City! The epicenter was 10 kilometers deep. Within five hours of the quake, more than 10,000 PLA ​​and armed police officers and special forces arrived in the disaster area to begin rescue operations. As of 1 p.m. on the 15th, 1,267 survivors had been recovered from the rubble, and the death toll was confirmed at 517.

Upon seeing the news, the man, without even spitting out the sunflower seed shells in his mouth, grabbed his phone and rushed into the kitchen.

The woman in the kitchen was simmering pork rib soup, and the aroma was rich and fragrant, but the man had no interest in taking a deep breath.

"What's the rush? The soup isn't ready yet."

"Something's happened!"

The woman rolled her eyes at the man. "Pah, pah, pah! Stop talking nonsense in broad daylight. If I don't win at mahjong this afternoon, it's all your fault."

The man said, "Why are you still playing mahjong? There was an earthquake in Ming'an City where your brother lives. It was a magnitude 7 earthquake, and people are dying." As he spoke, he handed the news on his phone to the woman.

The woman looked at the man with suspicion, wiping her hands on her apron before taking the phone. "These days, the news always exaggerates." After reading the news, her hesitant face suddenly turned serious. "Was there really an earthquake?" the woman murmured to herself.

Seeing the woman's distraught appearance, the man didn't dare to speak loudly, asking, "Is your brother's family alright?"

The woman reflexively retorted sarcastically, "What could possibly happen to him? Ha, he's been lucky since he was a child, he won't die."

The tone was harsh, but the words contained genuine prayers.

The woman ignored the fragrant soup in the pot and went back to her room like a lost soul to get her phone.

The man didn't ask; he knew the woman had gone to call her younger brother.

However, this phone call was destined to be unsuccessful.

Zhou Mo searched in the ruins for a long time. She knew exactly where her home was, but when she stood where her home was, she could not find any trace of it. Her fair hands were already bleeding from being worn by stones and gravel.

She mechanically repeated the movements, but she always encountered stones she couldn't move, yet she didn't want to give up.

Zhou Mo knew what was beneath the stone.

It is hope.

But she still didn't understand.

Besides her own hopes, there were also living human lives at stake.

Zhou Mo encountered another troublesome rock. It was more like a wall than a rock, with exposed steel bars covered in rust, resembling splattered blood. Zhou Mo couldn't help but shiver.

The intermittent snowfall showed signs of becoming heavier. She pulled her blue and white school uniform jacket tighter and continued her work. She struggled to move a stone slab nearly thirty centimeters long, which was pitch black inside. Just as she was about to move to another spot, a glimpse of white out of the corner of her eye made her stop.

Zhou Mo stared blankly at the mass inside, her throat becoming dry and itchy. Her body trembled slightly, but she still mustered her courage and squatted down. She heard herself say, "Are you still alive?"

That thing wasn't a thing, it was a person.

The white patch Zhou Mo had just seen was that person's neck.

She didn't know if it was a man or a woman, or if it was dead or alive.

She had never actually seen a dead person before today. When her grandmother passed away, her father did not allow her to see her grandmother one last time. During the funeral, the mourning was done in front of a black and white photograph, with paper money being scattered across the bridge. The adults all said that this would help her grandmother cross the Bridge of Helplessness. But as she sat in the hearse, all she wanted was to see her grandmother one more time.

Today, she saw the way her parents died, their last moments together. Only then did she realize that what remained of those last moments was endless longing and sorrow, unrealistic fantasies, an escape from which she never wanted to open her eyes again, and the unbearable pain of separation.

She hated the last moments of death.

Zhou Mo suppressed her wild thoughts. Not receiving a response from the people inside the ruins, she became somewhat afraid.

I fear I will have to face death again.

Even the death of a stranger left her helpless.

Just as she was on the verge of a mental breakdown, the person inside the ruins spoke, "Alive."

The two words were very short and husky, but Zhou Mo heard them clearly; it was a boy.

"Are you hurt? I can go find help to get you out. Wait a moment."

"Forget it."

As Zhou Mo turned to leave, she heard the boy say this. Shocked, she turned back to look at the ruins. The boy, who had just been facing away from her, suddenly turned around and stared directly into her eyes. This eye contact sent a shiver down her spine.

She quickly realized something was wrong. The fact that the boy could turn around meant that he had a lot of room to move around, and she had only moved one rock to reveal his location. If the boy wanted to, he could actually come out on his own.

A surge of anger suddenly welled up in Zhou Mo's heart. God had given him such a good chance to survive, and this person actually said to forget about it?

Those trapped underground, pleading and struggling, will they ever have a chance to ask God to let it go? To ask God to take back the disaster and bring the dead back to life?!

Do you want to die?

The boy seemed to sense Zhou Mo's anger, and said, "I don't really want to."

Zhou Mo was even more puzzled.

Fortunately, the boy did not stop there. "My foot is stuck, but I can move my body. I knew I wasn't buried very deep, but I didn't expect it to be so shallow. The rescue force must be very strained right now. They should go and rescue those who are in more critical condition first. I won't die for now."

The clear and logical explanation, coupled with the calm tone, gradually soothed Zhou Mo's anger and confusion.

Zhou Mo: "I'm sorry, I..."

"Thank you. You are the first person who would be angry about my life or death."

Zhou Mo was unsure how to respond, as nothing seemed quite right, because this wasn't a place for casual conversation. Her hostility towards the boy had turned into a probing one.

What kind of personality could allow him to maintain such a mindset?

If you ignored the venue, she would think she was attending a literary or philosophical discussion.

The boy, however, showed no sign of stopping and continued, "Actually, people should take life and death less seriously, just live one day at a time..."

"Shut up."

Zhou Mo interrupted the boy without hesitation, "You wait here, I'll find someone to rescue you, stop talking nonsense."

The boy seemed surprised by Zhou Mo's vulgarity. His droopy eyelids lifted slightly, and his eyes reflected Zhou Mo's departing figure.

Not long after Zhou Mo left, she encountered a support team that had come to search and rescue the area. When they saw that Zhou Mo was a student, they immediately called over the accompanying doctor to check on her.

"It wasn't me. Ahead, there's a boy who's been buried. He's still alive, his mind is clear, and he's in good spirits. He said his foot was trapped, but he can still move his body."

Upon hearing Zhou Mo's words, the leader of the troops immediately headed in the direction she indicated. With Zhou Mo's guidance, they quickly found the boy.

The boy wasn't buried very deep; he was stuck in a fairly large blind spot. His only injury was to his ankle, with the steel bar pressed tightly against his skin. If his foot had been slightly to the left, the steel bar would have pierced through his ankle or the top of his foot. If he hadn't met Zhou Mo, even if he had been found with such a wound, the possibility of amputation would have been very high.

All I can say is that the boy is a lucky person.

The boy lay on the stretcher, gazing at Zhou Mo beside him.

Zhou Mo finally got a clear look at the boy's face. It was a face with a touch of dejection and roguishness, but because his eyebrows and eyes were so delicate, he had an androgynous feel to him.

Zhou Mo stared, somewhat dazed.

"Yu Xi".

The sound drifted over, only to be scattered by the merciless cold wind.

Zhou Mo was unsure what she had heard; it seemed to be a name. By the time she came to her senses, Yu Xi had already been carried away. She waved her arms and called out in Yu Xi's direction, "My name is Zhou Mo."

Zhou Mo didn't know if Yu Xi had heard it, but the leader next to her had. He looked at Zhou Mo, and Zhou Mo felt a little flustered by his gaze.

"Zhou Mo? Your father is Zhou Qinian?"

"You know my father?"

“Many of those who came to rescue us this time were his comrades-in-arms.” The man suddenly frowned. “Zhang Xing told me, ‘You were at school?! What are you doing here?’”

Seeing that her scheme had been exposed, Zhou Mo could no longer hide it.

The events of reality dispelled her confusion and brought her back to solid ground.

After hearing Zhou Mo's words, the man looked like he wanted to teach her a lesson but didn't know how to say it. Zhou Mo, who had always been good at reading people, immediately apologized and tentatively asked to stay and search for the ring.

Unsurprisingly, Zhou Mo was rejected.

She was taken back to the school's shelter by men sent by the man.

The road was unusually quiet. Zhou Mo bit her lip, tears falling silently, not daring to disturb the escorting soldiers ahead.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

"Children have the right to make mistakes. As long as there is still a chance to change things, it's not too late." The soldier handed over a tissue.

Zhou Mo took it and blew her nose loudly. "Thank you."

Natural disasters can be avoided, but man-made disasters can.

Zhou Mo didn't say anything more. She knew that the reason these people were so kind to her was mostly because of her father, Zhou Qinian.

Now that she's calmed down, she realizes how willful she's been.

When she got back, she wanted to apologize to her teacher and Qi Xiao.

When the teacher saw Zhou Mo return safely, she burst into tears of joy. Before Zhou Mo could apologize, she was embraced and gently patted on the back, followed by a warm caress.

"It's okay, the teacher is still here. If you feel unwell, just tell the teacher, and the teacher will stay with you."

Zhou Mo sniffed, her eyes reddening with tears, and gently nodded in her teacher's arms.

Nestled against her teacher's shoulder, her slightly raised eyes caught Qi Xiao, who had been peeking this way from the corner.

Inside the tent, Qi Xiao sat on the edge of the bed with her head down, her fingers nervously intertwining. "I..."

"I'm sorry, Qi Xiao, but thank you, Qi Xiao."

Upon hearing this, Qi Xiao looked up at Zhou Mo, then suddenly threw herself at Zhou Mo and gave her a big hug. "Zhou Mo, I'm so scared, scared that you won't come back."

"I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this."

Qi Xiao hugged Zhou Mo tightly, "I'm afraid you'll die, Zhou Mo. I don't want the girl I admire to disappear."

Qi Xiao's bluntness left Zhou Mo somewhat at a loss.

"I……"

"Your eyes looked like a final farewell."

"Zhou Mo, can I be your friend?"

Zhou Mo noticed that Qi Xiao's body was trembling. She covered Qi Xiao's clenched fist with her hand, and the warmth of their hands was transferred to each other, slowly dispelling the cold brought by the natural disaster.

"sure."

In the following days, aftershocks continued in Ming'an City, but they were gradually brought under control, and Zhou Mo and the others were transferred to a more comfortable shelter.

The rings from her parents were still nowhere to be found, but with Qi Xiao by her side, Zhou Mo wasn't too downcast.

Zhou Mo seemed to have accepted the passing of her loved ones.

On the sixth day after the disaster, Zhou Mo met her aunt. Her aunt looked just like she remembered, except that there was a bit more anxiety in her eyes. She only relaxed when she saw Zhou Mo.

"Zhou Mo!" Aunt rushed over and looked Zhou Mo up and down.

Although Zhou Mo didn't like her aunt, this sincere concern softened her heart. After all, this was the closest family member she had in the world. "Aunt, I'm fine."

“I’ve already heard from them that your parents are dead. Oh dear, what a tragedy! Your father was incredibly stupid. What was he searching for? Even if they were children, they were still someone else’s children. Didn’t he ever think about what would happen to his own children if he died?”

"And your mother, I don't even want to talk about her..."

That's enough.

Her aunt was about to continue nagging, but Zhou Mo couldn't stand it anymore. She pushed her aunt away, causing her to stumble. Her aunt looked at Zhou Mo with disbelief in her eyes. "Zhou Mo! I came all this way to pick you up, and you give me that attitude? Do you know you don't have parents anymore!"

"I know!" Zhou Mo's eyes reddened uncontrollably, bloodshot veins clinging to the whites of her eyes, making her look somewhat frightening. "I know my parents are dead. I don't need you to remind me. My eighteenth birthday is in two days. I don't need a guardian. I don't need you!"

My aunt's lips moved a few times, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't say anything.