Restrained comfort
Gu Yansheng trembled as he unscrewed the medicine bottle and swallowed the small pill that could temporarily suppress the storm in his body. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes tightly, and tried to adjust his breathing, waiting for the medicine to take effect, and also waiting for the turbulent waves in his heart to calm down a little.
A few minutes later, the bone-gnawing itching pain and the suffocating panic feeling were still there, but they seemed to be separated by a layer of gauze and became more bearable. At this moment, the car window was knocked again.
Gu Yansheng took a deep breath and rolled down the car window. Standing outside was the ambulance driver from before, holding a brand new yellow raincoat in his hand.
"Brother, since you're new here, put this on!" the driver said quickly, urging with good intentions, "The rescue command center and the temporary shelter for the wounded are right under that big blue tent up ahead. Most of the doctors are over there! Go over there quickly, they need help!"
The driver apparently mistook Gu Yansheng for the medical personnel who came to provide support.
He took the raincoat without explanation, the plastic feeling cold when his fingertips touched it. The driver's words gave him some strength. Help was needed here, and he wanted to join them and offer a little help.
"Thank you." His voice was still hoarse, but with a hint of firmness.
Closing the car window, he took a deep breath of air mixed with the smell of rain, soil and disinfectant, and put the raincoat on himself with force. The plastic rubbed against his sensitive skin, causing him a little discomfort, but he gritted his teeth and ignored it.
Then, he did something he had previously thought impossible, which was to open the car door in the rain.
The cold rain mixed with wind immediately hit his face, but he did not retreat. He followed the driver's instructions and walked towards the conspicuous blue greenhouse with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
Every step he took was in the mud, and the slippery and sticky feeling under his feet constantly irritated his nerves, but he forced himself not to think about the abandoned factory of his childhood, and only focused on the swaying figure in front of him and the blue target that was getting closer and closer.
People were swarming under the shed. Gu Yansheng anxiously searched for that familiar figure in the crowd. Jiang Lin. He and Jiang Lin had grown up together. No matter how chaotic the environment was, he should be able to spot him at a glance...
However, after looking around, he didn't see anyone, but instead saw two unexpected people.
Not far away, outside a large truck with its trunk open, Zhou Muyuan, wearing the same yellow raincoat as himself, was laboriously moving boxes of mineral water from the truck. Next to him, Zhao Qiang was taking the boxes with swift movements and placing them on the relatively dry ground.
"Teacher Zhou? Boss Zhao?" Gu Yansheng shouted in surprise and trotted towards them.
Zhou Muyuan looked up at the sound and was visibly stunned when he saw Gu Yansheng, wrapped in a large raincoat, his face pale and covered in rashes. "Yansheng?! How...how did you get here? You have these..." His tone was filled with disbelief.
"I'm having some allergies... The hospital's car needed urgent help, so I came to help deliver supplies." Gu Yansheng explained briefly, his eyes still wandering through the crowd, "Did you see Jiang Lin?"
Zhou Muyuan put down the box in his hand. Gu Yansheng's tone sounded like nothing serious, so he didn't ask any more questions. He wiped the rain from his face and said quickly, "Doctor Jiang should be treating the seriously injured in the innermost part. The situation over there is more complicated. We are responsible for the supply of supplies and the initial settlement of the lightly injured in the outer area."
He looked at Gu Yansheng worriedly, "It's too messy here, can you... do it?"
"I can." Gu Yansheng answered without hesitation, his eyes earnest, "Let me help, I can do anything."
Zhou Muyuan saw how he was trying to hold on, and he understood. He stopped trying to dissuade him and pointed to the few remaining boxes of water in the car. "That's perfect! Help us move these last few boxes of water down and move them under the shed over there to distribute to those in need. Be careful, the ground is slippery."
"Okay." Gu Yansheng nodded, and immediately walked to the back of the car, imitating Zhao Qiang's behavior and reaching out to move the box.
The box was not particularly heavy, but it seemed a bit difficult for Gu Yansheng, who had consumed a lot of his physical strength due to illness at the moment. He picked up a box of water, and his movements seemed unusually slow and dull due to the stiffness and discomfort of his body.
Every step was taken carefully, fighting against the sharp protests from the skin while keeping the center of gravity steady to avoid falling on the slippery and muddy ground.
Rain flowed in through the gaps in his raincoat, mixed with sweat and stuck to his hypersensitive skin, which was a new round of torture. His breathing was a little rapid and his face looked even paler under the hood of his raincoat, but he gritted his teeth, did not stop, and did not complain. He just silently and stubbornly carried the supplies one trip after another.
Just as Gu Yansheng struggled to place another box of water at the designated location and straightened up to take a slight breath, his gaze passed through the noisy and swaying figures and suddenly fixed on one direction.
At the entrance of the makeshift first aid tent, Jiang Lin was bending over and walking out. His white coat was already stained with mud and dark blood, sticking wetly to his body, outlining his exhausted appearance.
He was lowering his head and quickly explaining something to the nurse next to him, his brows furrowed, the lines of his face as tense as a cold stone, and his face, covered in rain and sweat, showed an almost numb concentration and fatigue.
But in Gu Yansheng's eyes, such a figure seemed to have its own light, instantly illuminating the dark and desperate rain curtain.
"Jiang Lin!" Gu Yansheng blurted out, with a huge surprise and relief in his voice that he himself did not realize. He even forgot the discomfort in his body and subconsciously trotted in that direction.
His actions caught Jiang Lin's attention.
Jiang Lin raised his head and looked in the direction of the voice. When his sight passed through the rain and fell clearly on Gu Yansheng, he froze.
At that moment, the emotions in Jiang Lin's eyes were complex and dark.
When he heard the familiar voice, he almost suspected that he was hallucinating because of excessive fatigue. How could Gu Yansheng be here? It was still raining heavily... and this was a disaster area, so there was a high possibility of a temporary rescue site for a second landslide.
Immediately afterwards, a wave of deepest fear and dread surged in his heart. The memory of that childhood attack made Jiang Lin's heart palpitate for a moment. He knew that he was a little stressed out now. The stress related to Gu Yansheng's rain hypersensitivity syndrome had started again...
His eyes quickly swept over Gu Yansheng's body. When he saw the frighteningly pale cheeks covered with eye-catching red rashes under the hood of the wide raincoat, and the backs of his hands exposed from the cuffs, which were also covered with hives and a little red and swollen, he was angry and helpless.
How could this "good man" remain indifferent when he heard the disaster area was nearby? The answer is impossible. He knew this kind-hearted young master too well...
Jiang Lin always knew that Gu Yansheng was not fragile inside, but he never thought that such kindness and courage could burst out in such an extreme situation and in such a tragic way.
In this disaster area where everyone is busy taking care of themselves, no one will notice that the rescuer himself is also a patient who needs care.
Gu Yansheng trotted to a few steps in front of Jiang Lin and suddenly stopped. He looked up at Jiang Lin, his eyes flashing with the light of finding support, and a hint of guilt as if he had done something "wrong".
He was wet, cold, and sticky all over, and the burning sensation under his skin was still vivid. He wanted to throw himself into Jiang Lin's arms without hesitation and absorb the strength and warmth that could make him feel at ease.
But he didn't.
He just stood there, nervously clutching the hem of his raincoat with both hands, trying hard to force a smile at Jiang Lin, even though the smile looked a little distorted and ugly because of the rash and discomfort on his face.
"Jiang Lin..." He called out again, his voice trembling slightly, but filled with immense satisfaction, "You're okay... That's great."
[Seeing you safe makes all the fear and suffering I've endured along the way worth it]
Of course, he kept this sentence in his heart and did not say it out loud, but the eyes looking at Jiang Lin were clearly filled with all of this.
Jiang Lin's throat was choked, and all the words of blame were stuck there, unable to utter a word. He looked at Gu Yansheng's forced smile, and saw him restraining himself despite wanting to get closer. His heart felt like it was being tightly grasped by an invisible hand, feeling sore and swollen.
He took a few steps forward, and in front of Gu Yanyan's somewhat surprised gaze, he hugged the person tightly and forcefully. He ignored the mud and water on both of them, and ignored the possible looks from the people around them, and just used all his strength to hug this person who was so brave that it made him feel distressed, and so proud that it made him feel soft-hearted.
His hug was filled with unspeakable heartache, but also with an unprecedented, profound recognition and love.
Gu Yansheng froze for a moment, then his whole body softened in this embrace. Jiang Lin's body temperature was transmitted through the wet and cold clothes, and the familiar breath dispelled the chaos and despair around him. The cautious avoidance collapsed at this moment. He greedily breathed in the scent of Jiang Lin, and his eyes instantly turned red.
Jiang Lin's voice was low and hoarse, close to his ear, with a strong nasal tone, "...Who asked you to come..."
Gu Yansheng buried her face in the crook of his neck, rubbed it gently, and did not answer.
The rain was still falling and the rescue was still going on, but in this brief, tightly embraced moment, both of them felt more at peace than ever.
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