Chapter 52 Severe Weather
noon.
Raindrops pounded haphazardly against the windowpane. Although He Peiru had drawn the double curtains tightly shut, she could still hear the howling wind outside.
Simon led the property management team to inspect the property early in the morning. The team quickly covered the glass with cross-shaped tape or plastic wrap.
In fact, judging from the quality of the house itself, its location on a hillside and its ability to withstand typhoons were already taken into consideration during construction, so there is no need to worry about its stability.
However, even before making landfall, rumors circulated that this typhoon, named Sosap, was a once-in-a-century event.
Therefore, just in case, in addition to the necessary work, the property management team also chose these practices to reassure residents.
Through the dense raindrops, Ho Pui-yu peered into Victoria Harbour and could vaguely see the waves crashing violently against the railings; the seawater had risen to the same level as the shore.
The Star Ferry, which usually shuttles back and forth across the sea, is now neatly moored on the shore.
She remembered the phone call from a few days ago.
At the moment their conversation abruptly ended, Gu Zhaoqian, as before, let her finish speaking first.
Is this the kind of courtesy he shows to everyone, or is it just his indulgence towards her?
He Peiru wouldn't go to such lengths to get to the bottom of such a trivial matter.
Sometimes knowing too much isn't necessarily a good thing.
She then asked, "Have you returned to Repulse Bay yet?"
"I'm back," Gu Zhaoqian continued. "The driver just brought me back."
It was as if she wouldn't believe it, she added deliberately.
He Peiru was taken aback, surprised by her own thoughts, but quickly composed herself and asked again, "Are all these kinds of banquets... very important?"
I couldn't help but voice the question that had been on my mind.
"Hmm?" Gu Zhaoqian seemed to ponder for a moment before replying, "It's not impossible to say that, as it will affect the development of regional affairs in the future."
This type of dinner party is no longer just ordinary social gathering; it involves the most complex interpersonal relationships and social niceties.
She'll have to deal with these things sooner or later.
"I see." He Peiru didn't forget to steer the conversation back on track. "So, what were you trying to say just now?"
He asked, "I was wondering if you're planning to stay at the Mountain Mansion soon?"
"Yes."
After receiving an affirmative answer, Gu Zhaoqian continued unhurriedly, "The weather doesn't look good this week, so it would be best to have Sophia buy you some food and daily necessities."
He Peiru didn't expect him to talk about such an ordinary thing. At first, she was worried that something important might be coming up.
While surprised, she quickly replied, "I haven't been paying attention to the weather forecast these past two days. I'll talk to Sophia about it later."
She used to go out regardless of the weather, but after returning to the Jiang family, she was free to go out or not regardless of the weather, so she rarely paid attention to weather changes.
Gu Zhaoqian added, "I heard this might be a super typhoon. If you need any help, feel free to contact me anytime."
"Okay," she replied softly. "Did you tell me this specifically?"
“That’s right.” He admitted it readily. “I was just about to tell you about the cufflinks, but I didn’t expect you to know about it first.”
-
He Peiru came to her senses.
She had forgotten what happened after that phone call, only remembering how the man's directness had stirred her heart.
At this time, the observatory had already hoisted the No. 9 typhoon signal.
The weather changes in the blink of an eye. In the morning, it was sunny and bright, but by noon, the blue sky suddenly turned gloomy.
Before long, raindrops the size of peas began to fall.
Sophia had prepared lunch for He Peiru in advance. She originally planned to take advantage of the good weather to go back to Repulse Bay and bring the soup that Zheng Wanqiao had ordered to be stewed to the Mountain Mansion.
But now, looking at the situation outside, He Peiru felt that Sophia didn't need to take this risk to come here.
But now it was Sophia's turn to be worried.
Sophia: [I'm worried about leaving you alone at the mountain mansion!]
He Peiru: [Let's wait until the weather gets better. I can take care of myself.]
The Jiang family wasn't too worried, but they still gave her plenty of advice.
Jiang Yici: [Remember not to get near the glass. Contact us immediately if anything happens.]
He Peiru: [Okay, uncles too.]
He Peiru: [Please remember to let me know if anything happens at home.]
After replying to Jiang Yici's message, she looked up at the television that had just been turned on.
A news report was playing on the screen at the right time.
"The strong typhoon is located about 230 kilometers south-southeast of Hong Kong and is expected to move west-northwest. The Observatory expects it to continue moving toward the western coast of Guangdong. Depending on the wind conditions, the No. 10 hurricane signal will be issued later."
"Based on the predicted path, storm surges are expected, resulting in huge waves in coastal areas..."
If what's being reported in the news is true, the weather is already bad enough.
This is just the beginning.
The news report was immediately followed by a broadcast.
The reporter is currently located in Heng Fa Tsuen, near the Lei Yue Mun Strait.
This is the narrowest part of Victoria Harbour, and flooding is inevitable every time a typhoon or heavy rainstorm hits.
It was clear that seawater had surged onto the shore, overturned chairs that were usually used by citizens for rest, and snapped trees in the strong winds. The situation was far from optimistic.
In such terrible weather, reporters on field assignments endure the baptism of storms, making them undoubtedly the most arduous group.
He Peiru couldn't help but sigh at their hardships. No one knew how long this kind of weather would last, and she couldn't help but think about what she could do for them.
"Please stay indoors and do not..."
The broadcast, mingled with the sound of wind, echoed in the empty living room.
The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier, and the noise made He Peiru feel less lonely.
The current terrible situation also makes it difficult for her to concentrate on doing anything else.
She checked the time and decided to take a nap.
As for the rest, we'll see how things go after we wake up.
-
When He Peiru opened her eyes again, the sky had completely darkened.
She didn't know if the weather was affecting her sleep quality, but the hazy state of her sleep made it take her a while to regain consciousness, and only then did she slowly remember her current situation.
Instead of getting up, she groped for her phone on the bedside table.
It's 3 PM now.
In the notification bar, the Observatory changed the typhoon signal to No. 10 half an hour ago.
He Peiru has lived in this city for over twenty years, and this is the first time she has seen this signal.
I can't imagine what the outdoor environment is like now.
Besides that, during the time she was asleep, she received a series of messages from different people, all expressing their usual concern, but she wasn't in a hurry to reply.
She just wanted to make sure there was no emergency.
He Peiru stayed in bed for a while longer before getting up.
When she went back to her room, she didn't turn off the TV. When she came out to the living room, she saw that the screen was playing the news, and there were fallen trees all over the streets.
The entire island was damaged by the typhoon.
Her heart became heavy as a result.
I don’t know when it started, but He Peiru began to consciously think about what she could do for this city and the people who live here.
She decided to seriously consider this issue and tell Jiang Yici after she had thought it through.
There was another matter waiting for her at that moment—
What should we have for dinner tonight?
Sophia can't come to the mansion for a while, so even if we make do, we still need to do it ourselves.
Despite seeing the increasingly gloomy sky, He Peiru did not turn off the television, allowing the typhoon's trajectory to continue to be reported.
In the face of natural disasters, the insignificance of humankind is fully highlighted, and we are even powerless to deal with secondary disasters.
The kitchen was stocked with plenty of ingredients, and Sophia prepared them all according to her preferences. As for how to cook them, she could simply ask Sophia.
She didn't actually create any culinary disasters, which is a blessing in this kind of weather.
Sophia had already prepared the ingredients; she only needed to take out what she wanted to eat, decide how to cook it, and then put it directly into the pot.
He Peiru checked the time and realized there was still some time before dinner, so she prepared to reply to the messages she had received on her phone that she had put aside.
Although the content seemed brief, it was anything but vague, which warmed her heart.
He Peiru first opened the group chat with her girlfriends.
Ho Pui-yu: [I'm currently living alone at the Mountain Mansion. Sophia can't come back from Repulse Bay, but things are okay here.]
He Peiru: [How are things on your end now?]
Fang Xiaoxin: [The situation on the beach isn't good.]
Fang Xiaoxin: [However, the area where we live is on higher ground, so there is some standing water but not enough to cause flooding.]
Feng Shiqi: [I'm safe here for now, but quite a few trees downstairs have been broken by the wind.]
Feng Shiqi: [My current worry is about water and power outages.]
No matter how much this city strives for efficiency, it cannot perform immediate repairs in this kind of weather, and water and power outages will inevitably affect people's lives.
Naturally, I was worried about that.
He Peiru: [I'm also worried about water and power outages, I hope it won't come to that...]
She said this in order to seek psychological comfort.
After replying to all the messages, He Peiru went to ask Sophia about the recipe.
Not long after, Sophia sent several voice messages in Cantonese with a Filipino accent, explaining each step in detail—
"The food in the refrigerator has already been processed; the frozen section contains minced garlic and chopped ginger..."
As if worried that it might be inconvenient for her to listen to the voice message, they later sent her a text tutorial, which was very detailed and she could follow it step by step to make it.
Just as He Peiru put her phone down and was about to start making dinner, she received another message.
She had originally planned to look at it later, but when she glanced down and saw Gu Zhaoqian's name, she immediately changed her mind and picked up her phone.
Gu Zhaoqian: [There's a power outage near the Mountain Mansion. Remember to keep an eye out for messages from Simon.]
He Peiru: [Okay, I'm fine here for now.]
Gu Zhaoqian: [What are your plans for dinner? Maybe something simple would be better?]
Although he said it was just making do, if he saw how perfunctorily she ate, he probably wouldn't have said that.
He Peiru glanced at the ingredients that had just been taken out on the central island and continued to reply.
He Peiru: [I plan to cook something simple, anything too complicated will do...]
However, just as she pressed the send button, the light above her head suddenly flickered a few times.
Then the room was plunged into darkness.
really.
What you fear most is what will happen.
He Peiru picked up her phone in distress, intending to ask Simon what was going on, but the screen was filled with incoming call information the next second.
She looked closely.
It was Gu Zhaoqian.
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