When the snow started to fall, Su Yunbai and Mary were not very alert and continued to drive in the snow. Later, the snow became heavier and the visibility was poor. For safety reasons, the two finally stopped the car.
They stopped in a small town, preparing to wait for the snow to subside before moving forward.
The town was quite prosperous, and the atmosphere was actually quite lively when it first started to snow. It was already late at night, and the two rested in the hotel for a night. When they got up the next day, the snow on the road was already four or five centimeters.
Su Yunbai began to realize that something was wrong.
Snowing and snow accumulating after falling are two completely different things. The reason why Su Yunbai was not in a hurry was because the so-called snow before was actually more like ice chips, which melted as soon as they hit the ground, not much different from the next rain.
The temperature in T State did not reach below zero, so even if it really snowed, it would not accumulate.
But now, snow can already accumulate.
When I got up in the morning, I saw a vast expanse of white everywhere. The snow on the main roads left behind many wheel wrecks, which were messy and chaotic. But even so, a clear road was never cleared.
Su Yunbai realized later that the entire T State might not be equipped with snowplows. Now the snow is only four or five centimeters thick, and the car can still be pushed, but what if the snow gets heavier? Will the car be unable to drive at all by then?
The electric wires on the road were covered with snow. As the snow melted and the temperature dropped, icicles hung on the ends of the wires, pulling them straight down and forming amazing curves in the air.
Su Yunbai began to feel troubled.
She knew that there had been snowstorms in the south of the country. In areas where it rarely snows, a little snow is fine, but if it really becomes a trend, something bad will happen.
Su Yunbai opened the weather forecast and found that the snow was going to continue. She decided to leave immediately, otherwise the city would be blocked by snow and she would not be able to leave even if she wanted to.
Mary also had a sense of crisis, and she agreed immediately when Su Yunbai mentioned it to her.
The two of them restocked their supplies in the small town and continued along the planned route to R.
After they set off, it began to snow again. Cars cannot move fast in snowy weather, and the snow on the road has not been cleared, so everything looks messy and the traffic is not surprising. With the stops and
starts along the way, the disaster in T State has become an established fact. After the water, electricity and internet outages, the number of cars on the road suddenly increased, and people were everywhere preparing to go to other states.
The traffic became more and more congested. The nearby base stations had a large-scale power outage, and even external communication was impossible.
Su Yunbai's bad premonition became stronger and stronger.
A bunch of cars were stuck on the road. According to the original route the two of them had planned, they would almost have to cross most of T State from east to west, which meant they had to keep walking in the disaster-stricken areas.
Su Yunbai temporarily changed her route and headed north, intending to bypass the area of water vapor covering the sky above T State first, and then head east and west toward R.
Her plan went well at first, but unfortunately, halfway through the journey, the snow started to fall heavier and the visibility became lower and lower.
That night, the two stopped at a farm. The owners of the farm were a couple in their fifties and sixties, who warmly took them in.
After this stop, they could never go on. When they woke up the next morning, the snow on the road was so thick that it was difficult to drive forward.
Su Yunbai's car was not an SUV, and the chassis was not that high. Even if she didn't care about the car and just scraped it, if the car got stuck in the middle of the road, who could they expect to help when there was no tow truck at this time of disaster?
The farm couple also warned them seriously that they couldn't drive forward with such heavy snow.
The area had long been without water, electricity, internet and signal, and everything had returned to its original state. Fortunately, there was no shortage of firewood for the time being, and the farm couple didn't want to go out all the time, so they had always had the habit of storing food.
Su Yunbai and Mary stayed on the farm. At this time, the two down jackets that Su Yunbai brought played a big role - without the heating, she finally experienced the severity of the temperature of minus ten degrees.
They built a fire. Most of the firewood burned on the farm now comes from the dismantling of the horse farm fence. The purchased firewood is too big and needs to be cut.
Bob - the male farmer was busy chopping wood with an axe. Mary was very considerate and came forward to help. The two got along very happily.
Su Yunbai couldn't do these things, so she helped the hostess prepare meals.
In the days without running water, they couldn't be particular, so they had to melt and boil the snow to use as drinking water. They tried to gather around the fire day and night, relying on each other for warmth.
Su Yunbai and Mary had no way to inform their relatives and friends of their situation. How could the couple contact their children and their daughters?
Apart from not being able to communicate with the outside world, the days with someone around were not that hard to endure. The two parties enthusiastically shared each other's stories. Since their backgrounds were completely different, there was no shortage of topics to talk about.
The power and signal had not been restored. They had lost contact with the outside world and were inevitably a little anxious, but they were still comforting each other.
It had been six days since they left X University, and they had been out of contact with the outside world for three days. Su Yunbai was reluctant to convey negative emotions to her companions during the day, but at night, when she curled up around the fire to sleep, she couldn't help feeling a little lost.
The signal conditions in many places in the United States are not good. It is not surprising to have no network and no signal in a slightly wild place. Su Yunbai had no way of knowing in advance the consequences of this extreme weather. When she first found that her mobile phone had no network and no signal, she just thought that she suddenly encountered an area with poor signal and it would be fine after a while.
She couldn't predict it in advance, so naturally she couldn't explain it to Huo Qinian in advance. From his point of view, she might have suddenly lost contact.
It is not good to contact too frequently. Looking at the current situation, I wonder if Huo Qinian will have any bad associations.
Su Yunbai didn't want to be self-indulgent, but she did feel a little sorry.
As for whether Huo Qinian would send someone to find her... Su Yunbai didn't want to let herself indulge in such imagination, and she didn't dare to have such expectations.
The psychological state of a person when something bad happens is probably similar to that of a person who is sick. You can't help but check something.
Su Yunbai always thought that she didn't care about some things, but this time, trapped in the snowstorm in T State, she finally couldn't help but think about some more extreme possibilities.
If she was more unlucky and something really happened to her... then who could she count on?
Of course, she knew that her friends missed her very much, but friends are friends, and many things are different.
Friends, relatives, lovers... these roles are distinguished because they are all irreplaceable.
Why do people look for partners? In addition to the instinct of biological reproduction, is it just for this moment? Someone cares about you, someone is thinking about you, someone is anxious about you, and someone thinks about you.
Su Yunbai has never been more aware of her loneliness than during this period of time. She thought she was no longer at the age of longing for family relationships, but it turns out that she still envied and still longed for them.
Are these things human instincts, or is she too weak and too emotional at the moment, so that she subconsciously wants to pin her hopes on something?
Su Yunbai actually has no answer in her heart.
On the fourth day of being out of contact with the outside world, Su Yunbai woke up early as usual, but he did not rush to get up. Instead, he looked out through the skylight in the living room, staring at the sunlight that sneaked in - it seemed that today was a sunny day.
It was always a good thing to be able to see the sunshine on such a cold day. But the sunshine at this time may not necessarily be a good thing.
The sun will melt some of the accumulated snow, and the temperature is so low that this part of the melted snow is likely to condense into a layer of ice again.
Wouldn't the accumulated snow be more difficult to clean up then?
For so many days, no one knew how far the disaster relief and rescue had progressed.
The remaining three people were simply happy to see the sunshine. Bob kept saying that this was a good sign, and that maybe the electricity would be restored soon.
After a simple breakfast, the few people huddled around the fire again - it was too cold outside, and they would not go out unless it was necessary.
Bob, who was adding new firewood to the firewood pile, suddenly sat up straight, concentrating and tilting his ears, as if listening to something.
Anna looked at him in confusion: "What's wrong?"
Bob said, "Hey, I think I heard a car."
Anna didn't believe it, "Bob, our farm is in the north, it's not close to the main road. At this time, no one will pass by us..."
Anna had just finished speaking when the faint engine sound became more obvious.
The few people looked at each other, stood up, opened the door and walked out.
As soon as the door opened, cold temperature came over him, and Su Yunbai couldn't help but shiver.
They had already cleared a barely passable path at the door, but other than that, looking around, it was all white. Where was the shadow of a car?
No, there was one.
Su Yunbai looked at the car with yellow indicator lights flashing in the distance with almost surprise. There was a groove for pushing snow in front of the car - isn't this a snowplow?
Are they finally starting to clear the road?
Seeing the snowplow, the roar of the engine seemed to suddenly become louder.
Bob excitedly waved at the snowsweeper, not caring whether the driver could hear him or not, and shouted excitedly: "Hey brother, here! There's someone here!"
The snowsweeper obviously saw them and was almost bulldozing towards them.
Several people went to meet it, and then they found that there were two black SUVs following not far behind the snowsweeper.
The road at the door had just been cleared by the snowsweeper, and the black SUV following it stopped. The car door opened, and a tall figure ran straight towards them, with a murderous look on his face.
Bob couldn't help but show a little vigilance, and Mary pulled his and Anna's sleeves as soon as she saw the person clearly.
Su Yunbai didn't notice their movements, she just stared at the people in the distance, her heart beating wildly.
This...did she see it wrong?
Su Yunbai blinked. In front of the black SUV, Huo Qinian, wearing a down jacket and a sprint jacket, was still striding towards her.
At first he was walking, but then he couldn't help running, approaching Su Yunbai quickly, hugging her tightly.
The cold warmth against her face made Su Yunbai shudder.
She didn't know why, even though the environment was still like this, she suddenly felt at ease.
Then, she heard Huo Qinian's almost gritting teeth voice, with a shudder: "... You really scared me to death!"
Mary didn't need to explain, seeing them like this, Bob and Anna both smiled knowingly.
Bob had already applauded without hesitation: "Hey, young man, good job!"
Huo Qinian took a deep breath and slowly calmed down. He let go of Su Yunbai and greeted Bob and Anna, but his hand was tightly holding Su Yunbai's hand.
Everyone present was a discerning person. After a few simple words, Anna was busy asking the visitor about the news outside; Bob was very interested in the snow sweeper and wanted to experience it; Mary suddenly became very busy...
Only Huo Qinian and Su Yunbai were left.
Huo Qinian pulled Su Yunbai into the house.
He pulled her to stand in front of him, scanning her body inch by inch, as if he wanted to see if Su Yunbai was unharmed.
Su Yunbai felt uncomfortable under his searchlight-like eyes, so she had to speak first: "Why are you here?"
After Huo Qinian checked the person, a big stone in his heart finally fell to the ground.
He hugged Su Yunbai in his arms again and sighed deeply. This time, he heaved a sigh of relief: "You really scared me to death..."
Huo Qinian's voice came from Su Yunbai's head: "I've been looking for you for two days. I thought you would follow the navigation, and I wasted a lot of time on the road, but I couldn't find you.
"Later they said that you might have turned north and wanted to leave T State early..."
"The snow fell again and again, and I asked many people, but they all said they had seen similar people..."
As he spoke, his arms began to tighten unconsciously, and he almost trembled.
Su Yunbai couldn't hide the bitterness in her heart.
Although it was just a glance just now, she still noticed Huo Qinian's image-unshaven beard, bloodshot eyes, and it was obvious that he had been enduring for a long time.
When has Huo Qinian ever been so savage? He has always been able to
handle things with ease, so how could he be so confused? Su Yunbai knew the difficulty of finding someone in such a huge crowd. Especially... the power here has not been restored yet, and there is snow everywhere. If you want to find someone here, you can imagine the manpower, material resources and mental effort you need to put in.
She must know what is good for her.
Su Yunbai raised her hand hanging at her side slightly, hesitating, but still gently wrapped around Huo Qinian's waist.
Winter clothes are thick, she just wrapped her arms around Huo Qinian in a pretentious manner, not intending to alarm him. But she was in Huo Qinian's arms, and the movement of her arms was so tight that she couldn't hide it from him at all.
Huo Qinian freed one hand and reached along Su Yunbai's arm, and immediately understood what happened.
Huo Qinian's body trembled and he froze.
Is this... is this a response?
A surge of blood rushed to Huo Qinian's head. He was so excited that he almost trembled, but he was afraid that he would scare people. He just tried his best to suppress his emotions, and his voice was still a little suspicious and unbelievable: "Yun, Yunbai?"
Su Yunbai knew that he had found out.
She hesitated and doubted for a moment, but decided to take the responsibility.
She tightened her arms, buried her face in Huo Qinian's arms, and hugged him back without avoiding.
She said in a muffled voice: "Huo Qinian, I still... feel a little scared. I won't hide it from you. In the short term, I don't plan to enter a stable relationship. I don't have that much time and energy, and I haven't gathered enough courage yet..."
Huo Qinian's eyes darkened slightly.
Su Yunbai said: "But I... I don't deny... I am a little bit greedy for that warmth, those concerns..."
Huo Qinian's eyes lit up again.
Su Yunbai was actually very nervous. She even began to regret bringing up this topic: "I know this is irresponsible, but... just consider it as selfish. I don't want to make promises, I don't want to give a name, I'm unwilling to take responsibility, and I can't guarantee that I won't give up or be fickle in the future...
"In short, I don't want to have any psychological pressure...
"If, if you can accept this premise and don't force the future to have a happy ending, maybe, maybe we can try to start over."
After she finished speaking, she hastily added, "Of course, I don't mean to force you. Don't have any psychological pressure. Just refuse..."
Before she finished speaking, Su Yunbai felt her chin being lifted by Huo Qinian.
He lowered his head and looked into her eyes. It was as if there were two fires burning in his eyes, and his emotions were surging.
His voice was hoarse: "Don't talk nonsense. Now, the groom is going to kiss his bride."
As soon as he finished speaking, he lowered his head and kissed Su Yunbai heavily, almost violently and aggressively, with fiery passion, as if he wanted to integrate Su Yunbai into his bones and blood, never to be separated again.
At first, Su Yunbai was still able to think distractedly.
She didn't understand, shouldn't it be gradual? How did it suddenly develop to this point?
Didn't she explain it clearly enough?
Gradually, Su Yunbai began to feel a little difficult to breathe. She leaned against Huo Qinian, but felt her hands and feet were weak. It took her a long time to muster up some strength to push him.
But this little strength did not allow Huo Qinian to hold back at all.
He even went too far, hugged Su Yunbai's waist, and carried her to sit on the nearest table. He trapped her in the gap between the table and the wall, supported the back of her head with one hand, and kissed her almost passionately.
Things began to get a little out of control.
Su Yunbai vaguely felt that the zipper of her down jacket seemed to be pulled down by someone, and a pair of hands stretched out from the hem...
Su Yunbai finally came to her senses after a while, and hit Huo Qinian in a rage.
Huo Qinian came back to his senses from that frenzy, and his movements slowed down and became gentle. He hugged her, cupped her face, and continued to kiss her tenderly.
Su Yunbai's mind finally became a mess.
After a long while, Huo Qinian finally let go of Su Yunbai.
Su Yunbai's breathing was a little unstable, and her anger took a beat to form, and it was about to explode.
Huo Qinian still held her face, kissing her from time to time, laughing as he kissed, and he was so happy that even his unshaven image could not hide his high spirits.
He said, "Yunbai, you promised me yourself, let's start over! You don't have to worry about anything... By the way, don't you have a score sheet? Let's use it again. If you are not satisfied with something, feel free to deduct points.
"It's just... we agreed that you have to tell me if I did something wrong."
He said, and couldn't help laughing again, "From today on, I have a girlfriend!"
Isn't that right? She clearly said that she would not give us any status...
It's far from being a boyfriend or girlfriend, right?
But he was so happy...
Forget it, a girlfriend is just a girlfriend, just a title.
The world is changing too fast, Su Yunbai has no way of knowing what will happen tomorrow or in the future. So, she decided not to think about those long-term things, just live in the present, and cherish every bit of kindness in front of her.
She still hasn't forgotten the past wolves, But no matter what, she is willing to try again. This time she will not force it, whether the result is good or bad, she can accept it.
She feels very happy with this sense of steadiness now.
In this world, there are joys and sorrows, joys and sorrows, separations and reunions... Being able to blend into it, live passionately, and experience it is itself a kind of magnificent wave.
Su Yunbai thought of this, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly.