Chapter 242 Yao Yao, you cried too soon.
The feelings that had been buried deep in her heart and never spoken were brought up again by the person involved, just when she was about to forget them. Jiang Xingyao retorted without hesitation: "You wish! I don't even know you. How could I possibly like you?"
"What about after we get married? Will you still love me after we get married?" Jin Qingyu asked again, feeling as if he had unknowingly lost something very important.
Jiang Xingyao said, "Do you think that's possible? Jin Qingyu, back then you were always entangled with Jiang Cancan, never came home, and if it wasn't for the old house, you probably wouldn't even think of coming home to see me once a year. Should I like you?"
Jin Qingyu's face was stiff. He couldn't refute a single word Jiang Xingyao said. From their wedding night onwards, it seemed that from any angle, there was nothing about him that Jiang Xingyao could like.
The rain was still falling outside, and it showed no signs of letting up.
It was dark, and there was no moon in the pouring rain, only the flashes of lightning that occasionally illuminated the bottom of the cave.
In the cold air, the two embraced tightly, their rain-soaked clothes clinging to their skin, so thin they seemed to offer no resistance. In this most intimate position, skin to skin, warmth to warmth, even their heartbeats seemed to resonate.
Yet they both knew that their hearts were very, very far apart.
Even if bodies are very close, they can't bridge the distance between hearts.
It was still quiet outside, except for the sound of rain, thunder, and wind; there was no sound of footsteps.
As the conversation came to an end, hunger struck, and the fear that had been suppressed not long ago began to surge back.
What frightened Jiang Xingyao the most was that, due to the continuous rain, some puddles around their feet were filled with water, and water seemed to be accumulating under them as well. If they continued to be soaked in the rain and blown by the wind like this, they probably wouldn't be able to get through the night so easily.
Jiang Xingyao fumbled for her phone to check the time and try to get a signal, but the rain was too heavy. Even though Jin Qingyu had put the phone in his pocket, both phones were wet and wouldn't turn on.
Jiang Xingyao reached for Jin Qingyu's wrist again, but it was empty. She then remembered that when they came to Hulu Village, they wore casual clothes to keep a low profile, so they naturally didn't wear watches.
"Don't be afraid, it's getting dark, someone should be coming soon," Jin Qingyu said.
There was no moon or light today, making it difficult to estimate the time, but it was already completely dark. According to Jin Qingyu's previous assumptions, Aunt Hongxia should have brought people over by now.
But there's been absolutely no movement at all.
A sense of unease began to creep into his mind, as if something had gone wrong with his arrangements.
But at this time, he couldn't tell Jiang Xingyao about it, nor could he let her continue to live in fear.
Even if he didn't say it, Jiang Xingyao already had some guesses in her mind.
It had been dark for a very long time, and she felt that her knees were numb from the cold water. If Aunt Hongxia was going to come, she would have arrived long ago.
There's been no movement at all so far, not even the police have come, there must be something wrong.
The increasingly loud rain sounded more like a death knell.
Jiang Xingyao asked uncertainly again, "Jin Qingyu, we'll get out, right?"
"Yes, definitely," Jin Qingyu said, his hand never stopping as he patted Jiang Xingyao's back reassuringly, as if he were comforting a child.
Even his resolute words, under the shadow of darkness, could not offer Jiang Xingyao much comfort.
Worst of all, Jiang Xingyao could clearly feel that Jin Qingyu's body temperature was not cooled down by the rain, but instead became hotter and hotter.
Falling from such a height, and with Jin Qingyu cushioning her fall, even if he said he was fine, Jiang Xingyao felt he must have been injured somewhere, and now, he clearly had a fever.
Jin Qingyu didn't say it himself, and Jiang Xingyao didn't point it out either. At this time, making the terrible situation too clear would only further erode confidence.
Jiang Xingyao opened her arms and hugged Jin Qingyu tightly. The two were so close that they seemed to merge into one, with no gap between them.
In such circumstances, they all knew that it was just a matter of survival, and there was no ambiguity whatsoever.
Time continued to pass, and before she knew it, the rain seemed to have subsided. Jiang Xingyao's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, so heavy that she felt like she couldn't open them anymore.
Just then, she seemed to hear light footsteps mixed with the sound of rain, and she thought she saw a flickering light shining in.
It's a flashlight.
Someone is coming.
After a night of silence, her heart suddenly stirred. Jiang Xingyao quickly nudged Jin Qingyu, saying, "Wake up, Jin Qingyu, someone's coming."
Jin Qingyu had long since fallen silent, having apparently drifted off to sleep. His body was burning hot, like a furnace, and Jiang Xingyao felt that even if rainwater fell on his face, it would evaporate instantly.
"Someone's here, Jin Qingyu. We'll be out soon. Wake up!"
"Wake up, we're going out!"
There was no sound from the people around him, so Jiang Xingyao could only keep shaking him. Just then, he heard someone calling from above the cave entrance: "Mr. Jin, Madam, are you there?"
It's Assistant Xu!
“Yes, we’re here,” Jiang Xingyao shouted back while continuing to push Jin Qingyu.
Perhaps because she had caught a chill, her voice was terribly hoarse. Even though she was shouting with all her might, the sound that came out was very soft.
Assistant Xu, who was outside, probably couldn't hear it.
Jiang Yuncheng had deliberately concealed the hole. Jiang Xingyao was terrified at the moment, worried that Assistant Xu would leave if he couldn't find them, and then they would be unable to get out.
She couldn't wake Jin Qingyu no matter how she called him, which made her very worried.
Before she knew it, tears were rolling down her cheeks. The warm tears landed on Jin Qingyu's hand that was around her waist. Jin Qingyu's fingers twitched slightly: "Yaoyao, I'm not dead. You're crying too soon."
Hearing him still joking at a time like this, Jiang Xingyao instinctively wanted to punch him, but she suppressed the impulse. Jiang Xingyao said, "Assistant Xu is here. He's upstairs. I called him, but he couldn't hear me."
My phone still won't turn on, what should I do?
Under these circumstances, Jiang Xingyao had become accustomed to relying on Jin Qingyu.
Jin Qingyu was not fully awake yet. When he heard Jiang Xingyao's tearful voice, he instinctively comforted her, "Don't be afraid, I have a way."
Assistant Xu's voice seemed to be getting closer and closer. Jin Qingyu fumbled around and picked up a few stones, then threw them directly at the top of the cave entrance.
The entrance to the cave was blocked by fishing nets, so the stones couldn't be thrown out. They hit the nets, made strange noises, and quickly fell to the bottom of the cave.
The voice was still too soft, not loud enough for the people above to hear. Jiang Xingyao had no choice but to try shouting again: "We're down here! Assistant Xu, can you hear us?"
"Stop shouting, don't you want to lose your voice?" Jin Qingyu asked.
He stood up, leaning against the wall. The water on the ground had accumulated even more, almost reaching above his shoes. The soil was also becoming increasingly soft. He didn't feel it much when he was sitting, but when he stood up, he could clearly feel it sinking.
The water was blocking the view, so the bottom of the hole was not visible.
Jin Qingyu then groped around in the water and found a few more slightly larger stones, repeating his old trick.
But the hole was originally a trap dug by the villagers, and there weren't any large rocks at the bottom, so it didn't make much noise.
Xu Wei's voice sounded a little closer outside. He was searching the vicinity bit by bit. Jin Qingyu explained, "My phone is off and I can't contact anyone. The location software might have some errors. Xu Wei has to search little by little."
Don't worry, as long as there's a signal up there, he'll know we went missing in this area and he'll realize we're trapped underground.
He was probably wary of traps, which is why he was taking so long to find them.
His words were much more detailed this time, which gave Jiang Xingyao a lot of confidence. Jiang Xingyao said, "Since you knew he could find us, why did you look for stones again just now?"
"Help him pinpoint the location quickly, Yaoyao, take two steps back," Jin Qingyu said.
Jiang Xingyao didn't think much of it. She obediently stepped back and saw Jin Qingyu take out his own phone from his pocket and throw it at the phone like a stone.
As expected, the phone landed in a small puddle in front of him with a crisp, clear sound. Jiang Xingyao asked, "What are you doing?"
“It’s already broken, so what if it gets a little worse?” Jin Qingyu said, dropping his phone again. Just then, Xu, the assistant, finally came excitedly from upstairs: “Over here! Mr. Jin, is that you? Make some more noise.”
"Idiot." Jin Qingyu muttered. His voice wasn't much better than Jiang Xingyao's, and he couldn't raise it either.
But he showed no mercy and threw the phone away again.
Assistant Xu's voice was already very close to them. This time, he quickly found the cave entrance. When the flashlight beam shone down from directly above, Jiang Xingyao felt as if her whole world had been brightened by that beam of light.
Assistant Xu also brought police officers, and a rope ladder was quickly lowered from above.
The rope ladder was shaky, and if it were before, Jiang Xingyao probably wouldn't have dared to climb it. But now, whether it was the will to survive that gave her courage, or Jin Qingyu behind her that made her feel safe, Jiang Xingyao climbed up without hesitation.
On the contrary, Jin Qingyu was much slower and struggled much more than Jiang Xingyao.
As soon as he climbed out of the cave, he collapsed to the ground, as if he had lost all his strength. Assistant Xu even joked, "Mr. Jin, why do you seem to have less stamina than your wife?"
Jiang Xingyao said, "Take him down the mountain quickly, he has a fever and seems to be injured."
Assistant Xu immediately became serious and rushed over to help the person.
Jiang Xingyao's condition was also not good, and the police did not want to ask too many questions at this time, so they took her to Aunt Hongxia's house first.
Jiang Xingyao then learned that the heavy rain and landslide had blocked the road into the village, which was why they had arrived so late.
The police originally wanted Jiang Xingyao to rest for the night, but Jiang Xingyao was worried about whether Jiang Yuncheng had been caught. She simply changed her clothes at Aunt Hongxia's house, drank some hot water, and then went back to the police station with the police.
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